This involved moving forward to play beside and sometimes beyond the striker. As the main goalscorer, Pele played behind the three forwards: left winger ( ponta-esquerda), centroavanteВ (centre forward) and ponta-direita (right winger).ДЄlthough Pele occupied the position of an attacking midfielder, he was very aggressive in attack. In SantosвЂ™ formation, the teamвЂ™s main playmaker and the player mainly responsible for playmakingВ was the meia-armador. He also would drop back to help the midfield duo of mГ©dio-volanteВ (defensive midfielder) and meia-armadorВ (midfieldВ playmaker). As the teamвЂ™s вЂњspearheadвЂќ, Pele had the important job of playing off of centre forward. In Brazil players who played there were usually the teamвЂ™s primary goalscorers. PeleвЂ™s position, called the ponta de lanГ§a (вЂњspearheadвЂќ in Portuguese), was essential. It should only take as long Pele scoring a goal.

To understand how PeleвЂ™s Santos played its 4-2-4 (aka 4-2-3-1), one needs a quick crash course in Brazilian footballing terms so please bear with me. A formation that has become very popular in Europe in the recent decades and revolutionized English football in the early 2000s, was widely used in Brazil some seventy years ago. At least on paper it was 4-2-4 but in reality Brazilians ran this formation as a very modern 4-2-3-1. In Brazil, for over four decades almost every team played some form of 4-2-4 both domestically and internationally. All through PeleвЂ™s reign, from his Santos debut in 1956 until his move to New York in 1975, Brazilian football has been influenced by one formation. The origins of PeleвЂ™s unique attacking style was as much a product of the contemporary Brazilian footballing culture as well as his own personal touch. Note PeleвЂ™s withdrawn position on the field. How? Ponta de LanГ§a: Legacy of The Great One ArtistвЂ™s representation of SantoвЂ™s formation during 1960s, courtesy of the excellent Imortais do futebol (unfortunately only in Portuguese). The Brazilian managed to score 1281 goals, more than any striker in history, while operating mostly from the attacking midfield position and not the traditional striker role. But before he became the Brazilian ginga master of the unexpected, Pele mastered the shadow arts. Likewise Pele has come to embody the whole of Brazilian ginga football style. Today, his name alone has come to symbolize greatness, unrivaled athleticism, grace and flair. Bend it like PeleДЇor any football fan, no explanation is needed for Pele or what made him into a world phenomenon. That title should probably go to the one and only, Pele. Incidentally although stillness and speed are both excellent words to describe the hunterвЂ™s instincts required for this enigmatic role, Bergkamp was not the first or even the greatest shadow striker to grace the beautiful game.

ArsenalвЂ™s Dennis Bergkamp (right), jumps to control the ball in midair as Newcastle UnitedвЂ™s Andy OвЂ™Brien (right) looks on dumbfounded.Дennis Bergkamp famously labeled himself as a shadow striker in his autobiography вЂњStillness and Speed: My StoryвЂќ. So what makes it such a universal attacking role? Shadow striker FM19 guide. Unlike he other exotic roles, a Shadow Striker can be utilized in any tactical system and competition level in FM19. Yet I think it deserves to be celebrated for its shear usefulness. So why write a Shadow Striker Guide? it is a role that has been around for a while. Then FM did its biggest tactical revamp by dropping the old sliders and introducing the ubiquitous player roles and duties. It was one of the original roles from 2013. In that respect the Shadow Striker role is not new. While Pressing Forward and Wide Targetman have only been added in the recent entries. Some of the roles I highlighted, like Raumdeuter, Regista and Trequartista, have been the staples of the game for years. Last year I started to cover the more exotic player roles of Football Manager.

I strike from the shadows