Football Manager 2024 News

In football, it's about being at the right place at the right time - and few players are better at that than a Segundo Volante.

One of several roles to be impacted by Football Manager 2024’s new positional play changes, the Segundo Volante can perform a range of duties, from long-range passes to darting runs and shots from distance.

In this guide, we’ll be taking an in-depth look into the role, what makes it so good, and how you can make the most of it in your latest FM24 career.

[h2]A DYNAMIC ROLE STEEPED IN HISTORY[/h2]
Originating from the 4-2-4s that revolutionised football in the 1950s and 60s, the Segundo Volante was a player typically deployed as the more creative outlet in a midfield two alongside a defensive pivot.

In modern times, the Segundo Volante is still used as part of a double pivot, often in a 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. Often paired with a pure ball-winner, the Segundo Volante will play a similar game to other defensive midfielders, focusing on recovery, holding their position and seeking to intercept misplaced passes or beat their man on individual duels.

However, the Segundo Volante has a more influential role in their team’s offence. Unlike a Regista or a Deep-Lying Playmaker, they don’t just influence games through passing. They also offer dynamic forward runs, attacking the box and offering passing options to their teammates with runs into space.

[h2]THE SEGUNDO VOLANTE ON THE TACTICS BOARD[/h2]
The Segundo Volante is a role that can complement your attacking approach without leaving gaps behind. However, that also means that you need a very complete player for the role to be effective in your tactic.

It’s not a specialist role per se but a good Segundo Volante is someone who can recover the ball, pass over a variety of distances, move well with the ball at their feet, and also offer a goal threat. That means you’re looking for a good combination of the following Attributes: Marking, Tackling, Positioning, Teamwork, First Touch, Dribbling, Agility, Passing, Vision, Decisions, Anticipation, Off the Ball, and Stamina. Not every player will excel in all of those but if their strengths lie in a few of them, they’ll be able to influence matches across the whole pitch.

To illustrate what a great Segundo Volante looks like in FM24 and how to use one, I’ve started a save with Yokohama F. Marinos. Why them? Well, their defensive midfielder Takuya Kida meets many of the requirements I laid out above.



As you can see from his profile screenshot above, Kida is a well-rounded midfielder. However, as with all roles in a tactic, it will only be as effective as it’s allowed to be by the supporting roles you’ve chosen in the rest of the team.

Given that movement is such a big part of the Segundo Volante’s game, they need to understand how their teammates shuttle around the pitch. For example, with Kida starting his runs from deep and arriving late in the opposition penalty area, you’ll need players on their side of the pitch like Wingers and Wing-Backs that will stretch the game and give them the space to arrive into.

With that movement, that also means that you also need to think about the risk of turnovers and opposition counter-attacks. As such, you need Kida’s defensive midfield partner to be someone who will cover the gaps left by him pushing forward and serve as the team’s primary ball-winner – think about using an Anchorman or a Defensive Midfielder on a Defend duty.

Further forward, you’ll need an aggressive striker that will keep the defence on their toes. Having a player that stays high up the pitch will occupy the opposition's central defenders, meaning that Kida will have space in behind. To achieve this effect, your best options are to use a Poacher, Advanced Forward, or Complete Forward on an Attack duty.

Taking all of those considerations into account, let’s head to the Tactics board to see how we’ve got the Yokohama F. Marinos lining up.



Using a slightly modified version of the Fluid Counter-Attack tactical preset, I’ve got Kida as a Segundo Volante alongside Eduardo as a Defensive Midfielder.

On the left, we’re taking advantage of the coverage provided by Kota Watanabe by deploying Katsuya Nagato as an overlapping Full-Back with Yan Matheus as a Winger on a Support duty.

However, on the right we’ll use Football Manager 2024’s new positional play features to maximise Kida’s impact as a Segundo Volante. Here, we’ve got Ryuta Koike as an Inverted Wing-Back on Support and Elber as a more attacking Winger. When our team is in possession, Koike will move into defensive midfield alongside Eduardo, meaning that Kida can push up freely without worrying about us losing a player through the middle.

Up front, Anderson Lopes will keep the opposition defence on edge as an Advanced Forward, while Kota Mizunuma as an Attacking Midfielder on Support will provide a passing outlet for all our runners.

[h2]THE SEGUNDO VOLANTE ON THE PITCH[/h2]
Everything that we’ve discussed so far is the theory. Now it’s time to see how it all works in practice on a Matchday.

Looking at the screenshot below, it’s clear that the tactical shape and role combinations we’re using are working out perfectly.



Elber is staying wide on the right, keeping his opposition full-back occupied, while Anderson Lopes’ holding of a central position means that the centre-backs are keeping tight to him instead of spreading out more evenly across the pitch. This means that Kida can burst forward into the space created, ready to receive a pass from Mizunuma. Kida’s movement is also, as you can see, being covered by Koike drifting in centrally.

In each match, this space allowed Kida to push forward and arrive late at the edge of the box as we were attacking. This puts him in good position to finish off any cutbacks or, as in the screenshot below, take long-range shots with a clear sight of goal.



The Pass Map included below from one of our league games shows that the Kida covers a lot of ground in the Segundo Volante role. He consistently keeps the ball moving, using the space around him to open up the play and demonstrate his great range of passing.



The below image, meanwhile, is the converse – it’s a demonstration of Kida’s received passes during a match. Here, you can again see his movement across the pitch and the fact that he’s consistently making himself available as a relief option when his teammates come under pressure in the midfield.



The Segundo Volante is a special role and one of my favourites in FM24. Starting from deep positions, Segundo Volantes offer a unique blend of defensive coverage, ball-carrying, long passes and a scoring threat. While not all teams will have someone suitably versatile, this example with Takuya Kida and Yokohama F. Marinos shows how they can influence matches. Give it a try in your latest career.

Happy managing,

Rock’s End FM

YFM Squad

In recent years, Brighton & Hove Albion have been widely heralded for their style on the pitch and strategy off it. Many other clubs in Europe have taken note of their innovations and sought to replicate them.

What makes the Seagulls’ approach so special is their knack for matching the right players with the right roles to accelerate their development and help the club achieve an exciting playing style.

Here, MaddFM dives deep on the Wing-Back role in Football Manager 2024, using Brighton’s stars to showcase how best to deploy the role in your tactics.

[h2]BRIGHTON’S EVOLVING USE OF THE WING-BACK[/h2]
Since being promoted from the Sky Bet Championship in 2017, Brighton have gone from strength to strength; 17th in their second top-flight season (2018) to a sixth-place finish in 2023 that secured them UEFA Europa League football for the first time.

One of the most impressive aspects of Brighton’s rise has been how they have, through successive managers, evolved their tactical philosophy. A key theme of their approach has been their developing use of full-backs and later wing-backs as the building blocks for their possession and attacking play.

Let's look back over the last five seasons. We can see clear progressive development in terms of the type of roles and players used in wide defensive positions - moving from a more traditional full-back pairing in 2018 through to a slightly more advanced full-back system in 2020 and then shifting towards a much more attacking pair of Wing-Backs in 2022 via the likes of Tariq Lamptey.



[h2]WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A WING-BACK[/h2]
Since pivoting their approach from traditional Full-Backs to more mobile, technical and attack-minded Wing-Backs, Brighton have had to identify other key characteristics in the players they sign. The three most immediately important criteria are Pace, Crossing and Passing.

Pervis Estupiñán ticked all of those boxes and more when he signed in 2022. Not only is the Ecuador international lightning quick, but his combination of great Work Rate and Stamina Attributes, as well as the “Gets Forward Whenever Possible” Trait, make him incredibly well-rounded. The 25-year-old also ranks well for many other important metrics, including his Anticipation, Dribbling, Decisions, Off the Ball and First Touch.

As well as being impressive on paper, Estupiñán has delivered in practice. In his first season on England’s south coast, he notched eight assists and ranked among the league’s best for crossing, passing and progressive ball carries.



Still only 25, Estupiñán has continued to impress this season, recording three goals and three assists by February. However, that hasn’t stopped Brighton from futureproofing themselves in this vital position. In January 2024, the club followed in the steps of so many FM fans by signing FM24 Wonderkid Valentín Barco – described by manager Roberto De Zerbi as “an important player” for the club’s future.



Looking at Barco’s profile, Brighton’s preference for an attack-minded Wing-Back is again clear. Barco has the “Gets Forward Whenever Possible” trait, as well as strong Attribute scores for Stamina, Work Rate, Passing, Vision and Dribbling. At just 19, there’s even more time for him to develop and potentially represent the club’s next evolution in the role.

[h2]DEPLOYMENT & PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF WING-BACKS IN FM24[/h2]
Now we’ve addressed the key elements of what Brighton look for in their Wing-Backs, it’s now time to turn to the other big question – how best to use them in FM24? If we look at the in-game definition, the Wing-Back is described as follows:

“Usually playing out wide with no wing support, the Wing-Back must fulfil all the attacking and defensive duties of wingers and full-backs. In attack, he must be prepared to run at his man and put in aggressive crosses, in midfield to help win the possession battle and in defence to close down opponents, block crosses and win back the ball when possible.”

That’s quite a lot for one player to do. So, that means that if you’re going to use Wing-Backs, they’ve got to be vital members of your team but they’ll also need some protection from their teammates against the risk of opposition counter-attacks.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has interchanged frequently between a 4-2-3-1 shape and a 5-4-1 this season. The corresponding duties you’d use your Wing-Backs on in FM24 very much depends on which formation you go for.



In the 4-2-3-1, Estupiñán is employed as a Wing-Back on Support. In this role, he will get forward a lot but will hold a slightly deeper position, closer to your central midfielders. Within this tactical approach, you’d be expecting Estupiñán to fashion goal-scoring opportunities from the half-spaces, whether that’s via through balls or deeper crosses.



With the benefit and cover of an additional Central Defender in the 5-4-1 shape, there’s more scope to use your Wing-Back on an Attack duty.



In this example, Barco comes into the side. His role will be to push further up the pitch and stay wide, overlapping the wide player on his side to help overload the opposition defence and create more direct crossing opportunities closer to the byline.



Using the individual player analysis tool, we can take a look at player heatmaps to analyse player movement, space occupied and interceptions made to give ourselves a true insight as to how each wing-back role works.

In the first graphic, we can see that Estupiñán playing as a Wing-Back on Support duty occupied slightly deeper and more central areas, cutting inside to join the midfield (blue heatmap) and making most of his interceptions (numbered circles) in his half or the centre of midfield.



Conversely, Barco as a Wing-Back on Attack spent far more time in the opposition half, still making interceptions in similar areas but hugging the touchline more often and getting further forward to offer a greater crossing threat. This shows us where we can expect each role to be more effective and also where we might expect to see gaps and spaces as a result of the defensive positioning and attacking movement of the Wing-Backs.



These are just a couple of examples of how you can use Wing-Backs in FM24 but they should be effective in helping you to decide how you use them and how to sign them.

The important thing to ask yourself when trying to decide which role to play is “What do you want from a wing-back”? This will allow you to make the best decisions and tactical tweaks to get the most from the role.


Happy Managing,

MaddFM

The 2023/24 season has been a breakthrough one for Brighton & Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke.

The impressive 23-year-old has become a regular starter for Roberto De Zerbi and his performances were recognised with a big Current Ability upgrade in the FM24 Main Data Update.

The Dutchman is also a big fan of Football Manager. We recently caught up with Jan Paul at Brighton’s training ground to discuss his love of the game, his best save, and his FM24 star signing.

[h2]WHEN DID YOU FIRST START PLAYING FM AND WHY?[/h2]
Probably about seven years ago. I think it started because my brother already played the game and I kept looking at him play. He told me that we could also play with two teams at the same time, so we gave it a go and after that, I was completely into it.

[h2]WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN SELECTING A TEAM?[/h2]
Opportunities. I always go for lower teams and look to take them up to the higher leagues. Take England, for example, I’ll start in Sky Bet League One, Sky Bet League Two, or even the Vanarama National League and try to take them up to the top-flight.

Whatever country I start in, my main goal is always to get to the highest league. To me, that’s the best story you can tell in FM.

[h2]SO, YOU’VE PICKED YOUR LOWER-DIVISION TEAM. WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU START A SAVE?[/h2]
I love the transfer market, so I’m normally trying to look for new players! When you’re a lower division team, you don’t have any money so I tend to go to the Scouting system to see where I can find some players that I can scout for less money. Then, I look at the free agents and make a bunch of free transfers as that’s where you get your bargains.

Even later in a save, I just love scouting and signing players that I can then sell for loads of money.

[h2]WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU PLAY FM? IS IT SOMETHING YOU PLAY AT HOME OR DO YOU TRY AND GET SOME GAME TIME IN WHEN YOU AND THE BRIGHTON PLAYERS ARE TRAVELLING TO AWAY GAMES?[/h2]
I only ever play at home. To be honest, there are always spells when I play FM. When a new version comes out, I’ll play for a few months. I then usually have a break for a bit and then I come back to it again until the next one comes out. Right now, I’m still playing FM24.

Quite a few of the staff around the club play FM, so I chat to them about it, and they play when we go on trips. For me though, it’s only something I play at home.

[h2]WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO TACTIC? WHAT DOES VAN HECKE-BALL LOOK LIKE?[/h2]
Always a 4-2-3-1 where we play out from the back with short passes. Sometimes, if I have players with good Long Shots, we’ll shoot from range, but usually, I ask my team to be patient for opportunities in and around the box. We always have to use a high line as well, that’s very important.

[h2]WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST MANAGERIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FM?[/h2]
A few years ago, I had a save with Bradford City. I took them up from Sky Bet League Two to the Premier Division. We finished third in the top division, which got us into Europe and then that season we won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. That’s probably my best-ever save.

[h2]HAVE YOU EVER SIGNED ANY OF YOUR BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION TEAMMATES IN FM? OR DID YOU SIGN ANY BEFORE YOU MOVED TO ENGLAND?[/h2]
Before, I used to always sign myself! I’ve stopped doing that now though because I’m too expensive, so I either use all of my transfer budget on myself or get outbid by another top club.

In my current save, I have Brighton’s goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen on loan for me. He’s a mate of mine in real life and he’s doing well for me in the game so I’m very happy.

[h2]WHO ARE YOU CURRENTLY MANAGING IN FM24?[/h2]
I’m managing my old team where I started my career, NAC Breda. They are currently in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the second division in Holland.

In real life, they’re struggling to get promoted. In FM24, I got them up and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. We lost in the quarter-finals to Tottenham Hotspur, which was tough, but I’ve just won the Dutch Cup for the second year in a row so I think I’m doing quite well!

[h2]WHO IS THE BEST SIGNING YOU’VE MADE IN FM?[/h2]
I’ve made a lot but at the moment I have a really good player in my save. It’s the son of Robin van Persie, Shaqueel van Persie.

I signed him for pretty cheap when he was 16 or 17. Now, four or five seasons in, he’s on fire and is scoring loads of goals for my team. He’s worth a lot of money now too so he’s definitely one of my favourites.

[h2]WHAT HAS FM TAUGHT YOU?[/h2]
I’ve seen stories before about how some FM players then became managers in real life and I can see how that happens. Personally, playing FM has taught me a lot about tactics and how you can and should set your team up.

[h2]HAS YOUR LOVE OF FM MADE YOU CONSIDER A CAREER IN MANAGEMENT WHEN YOU FINISH PLAYING?[/h2]
I’m a young guy, still only 23, so I’m not thinking about it a lot yet. But, I think it says a lot that I enjoy learning about that side of things and I play a game like FM where you have to manage. It’s a bit different in real life, of course, but I think I’ve got a bit of the managerial instinct in me.

[h2]WHY DO YOU LOVE FM?[/h2]
For me, it’s a way to relax. Usually, I’m sitting on the sofa and just playing while doing other things but it gets a bit more serious when I have an important game in my save.

It’s also what I said about the transfer market – I love the experience of scouting and buying players, and then selling them for a profit because you’ve trained and developed them.

It’s great too for introducing you to players that you don’t know yet. There are so many players that you end up knowing because of Football Manager. When you see them in real life, you recognise them and think ‘Oh, I know him, he’s going to be great’.

That’s why I love Football Manager.

The Final Data Update for Football Manager 2024 is now available across all platforms*.

Including recent transfer activity in the USA and China, as well as significant non-transfer events, this Update includes more than 400,000 database changes as well as minor gameplay fixes.

All gameplay adjustments will be effective immediately in existing careers, although new save games are required for you to play with the latest player and team data.

Changes to FM24 (PC/Mac) in the 24.4 update include (but are not limited to):

• Crash fixes and general optimisation
  
• Save game compatibility optimisation
  
• Points deductions updated/applied for applicable English, Scottish and Welsh clubs*
  
• Fixed issue where user managers who are over 70 years old and unemployed can’t get a managerial role
  
• Fixed homegrown status not displaying for players that play in certain non-European nations and clubs
  
• [Turkey] Removed 'the match squad cannot have any players aged over 33' rule in the Turkish Cup
  
• [Pre-Game Editor] Fixed issue regarding the importing of fixture files
  

A full PC/Mac changelist is available on our community forums. On there you will also find full changelists for FM24 Mobile, FM24 Console and FM24 Touch.

Additionally, rosters for certain licensed leagues whose seasons run to the calendar year will only be reflective up until the end of the 2023 season and so will not include incoming and outgoing transfers made for 2024.

Most updates of this nature download automatically. If yours doesn’t, please consult our dedicated FAQs page.

*The update may go live at different times on different platforms.
**"These changes are accurate as of our internal March deadline for this Update. Due to the nature of the submission processes for this Update, we are unable to include any subsequent points deductions imposed in early April."

Take charge of your club’s destiny in Football Manager 2024, now on sale across multiple platforms.

FM24 (PC/Mac), FM24 Console (Xbox), and FM24 Touch (Nintendo Switch™) are all now 33% off until Thursday, 11th April. Exact timings vary by platform and region.

FM24 Console on PlayStation 5 will be available at the same discounted rate until 11:59pm BST on Wednesday, 10th April.

Whether your team is chasing promotion, battling relegation, or somewhere in between, now’s the time for you to jump into the managerial hotseat and write your own football story.

Make the most of more than six million changes in our recent Main Data Update, giving you the latest squads and refreshed player data.

Unsure which edition of FM24 is right for you? Use our dedicated Compare Games page to find your perfect fit.



*This is the end time for the sale in the EMEA region. In South East Asia, the end time is 2:59pm BST on Thursday, April 11th, while in the Americas, the sale ends at 7:59am BST on Friday, 12th April.
**This is the end time for the sale in the EMEA region. In South East Asia, the end time is 3:59 BST on Wednesday, 10th April, while in the Americas it’s 7:59am BST on Thursday, 11th April.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2252570/Football_Manager_2024/