I need help on closing down & tackling players!

[Chuck Morris]

This is the one part of my game, which is a big part, that i always seem to stuggle on, so if anyone can give us some tips i would be very greatful.

Almost every time i play games in the Master League my opponents always seem to have loads of space and i can't close them down quick enough to make a challenge. Then when i get on the attack i've always got about 2 or 3 defenders on me. I've tried different formations and different defence types but nothing seems to work consistantly.

Its starting to do my head in a bit now because i have had PES2 since it first came out, yet for some reason i haven't been able to get hang of closing players down and tackling them, although i do manage to win the ball in the end it just seems like a big struggle to do so.

If anyone has got any tips so that i could improve on this part of my game i would be very grateful.

Cheers.

 

[Zygalski]

Try varying the team attack level, the coloured bars under the player name on pitch.

Red makes your team push forward and close down the ball more aggresively.
Blue pulls your players back towards your box to defend deep.

I have been more effective in defence since I stoped using man marking.

Give your defenders and DMF(s) back arrows towards your goal and your attackers an arrow towards they oppositions goal so you can attack and defend in numbers.
When I attack, I put my team attack level to red, pushing everyone forward, giving me more players and more options in attack.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Chuck Morris]

Cheers mate.
What defence type do use for your back 4, a mixture of covering and zone marking?

 

[Zygalski]

These days I use nothing and it works great!

 

[Chuck Morris]

When you are closing an opponent down do you hold down square so that another player comes over to help you? coz i tend to use that alot.

 

[FIORE_FAN]

Hold square down

I usually hold both x and square down at the same time when i play defence. But don't do it all the time - 'cos then you'll open up holes in your defence. Practice your timing with holding both spuare and x at the same time, and you'll be closing down defenders in no time and at the same time you'll start to intercept their passes a lot more - which is much more effective than tackling them.
I'd say that you could hold down both buttons aprox. 80-90% of the time you play defence - that works great for me.
Just practice, practice, practice.............

Good luck to ya!!

 

[FIORE_FAN]

Oh by the way.
If you play with 3 defenders then position them no wider than to the side of the penaltybox. And also have the middle defender a bit further behind the other two - as a safety.

If you play with 4 defenders, have the two center defenders almost in the center of the penaltybox with only a little space between them. It makes them almost impossible to overrun

 

[FIORE_FAN]

And as Zygalski says: Everytime you lose the ball, make sure that your attacking level goes down to minimum 2 at the second you lose the ball. That way your players'll start running back to defend.

Just in case: you'll change your attaklevel by holding L2 and then tab R2 for more defensive and R1 for more offencive

 

[Chuck Morris]

I pretty much new all about the holding down square and x its that my timing of it must be a bit crap. I didn't really know about the attacking levels that much sdo that is a big help.

Cheers mate!

 

[Zygalski]

It's never easy using the pressing buttons.
Sometimes it's good to press with square while the defender you control covers a runner to easily intercept the obvious pass.

 

[jamez]

Attack Bar Levels May Help

Heres a summary of what the settings do:

Red= Players push up pitch aggressively.

Orange = Players push up.

Green = Neutral Stance.

Blue = Players sit back.

Purple= Players sit very deep.

The more your team pushes up, the easier you will find it to close down and press opposition players. However, the definsive line will sit more towards the halfway line and therefore can be caught out by lofted and grounded through balls, particularly to pacey players. On the plus side, your defence may be able to stamp out attacks before they can get near the goal and threaten.

The more your team sits deep, the easier it will be for the opposition to find time on the ball. However you have more players in your half to break down and you will have more time to think about how you are going to defend. Defensive line sits more in front of goal so opposition may be reduced to half chances/shots from range, or to take on the defenders and play their way through.

Press L2 plus either R1 or R2 to change the level. You can set it the same the whole game if you want to play a particular style, or change it according to whether you are attacking or defending. Be sure to set attack level to manual in the strategy settings pre-match otherwise CPU changes levels for you

Give it a go it does make a difference. Good luck!

 

[Zygalski]

jamez, what settings do you use?

 

[jamez]

I tend to change the attack level during the game depending on circumstances. Quite often i will leave it on the neutral setting for most of the match as it gives good balance in the team.

If im desperate to score in the dying seconds i will hike it up to red and go all out. I will also do this if the opposition starts to sit deep and im confident i can outplay them without them threatening my goal too much.

If im feeling the pressure from the opposition, i will switch to a defensive setting and use the counter attack strategy to try and catch them out with long through-balls.

What do you use Zygalski? (or do you change attack levels depending on the circumstances of the match?)

 

[Zygalski]

I tend to put it to orange or red with all my attacks and green when defending.
Lots of quick counter attacks.

 

[flore]

iv worked out that if you change players to often to try and win the ball.the attack will cut through you like butter.the best way is to hold square and when your player is near the man with the ball press x.saftey first.Let the ball do the work.

 

[Lorenzinho]

i only use square when pacey defenders are on the ball, coming down either of the wings

 

[flore]

Trouble is when your constantly chasing the ball around and switching players.The shape of your team gets pulled apart.And also your attacks will not be as methodical and inventive.Soon as you comit a player to chalenge for the ball and he misses.Its one less defender for the attacker to contend with.If im playing with 3 defenders,I drop the middle One right back to were the goalkeeper is and make him a sweeper.dont be to hasty to win the ball.if you invite the opposition to come on to you,You will have more space to counterattack.With a good defender E.G Nesta,Lucio,Cannavaro.Put your foot on the ball and consider what your options might be.Dont let the computer make your mind up where your going to pass it.

 

[jbavon]

Hi, i have another question which is related to this.


I've always wanted to use the ingame method, which is R2 + L2 to change agressiveness (i think, cant remember correctly cause i havent used it.)

The problem as i saw with it, was that you only change one player in the line. Or is this not true? Do you change the entire defense, midfield or attack when changing one players agressiveness?

Because just changing one player is outright disastrous, in reall football at least.

Eagerly awaiting your answers, cause i need to beat a guy at work... soooooo bad! and he has my defense picked to pieces at least twice a game.

 

[Zygalski]

The coloured bars during the match represents the attitude for the whole team rather than a player.

 

[jbavon]

Originally posted by Zygalski
The coloured bars during the match represents the attitude for the whole team rather than a player.

excellent thanks a lot... i dont know why, but somehow i got it into my head that those bars were for individual players. Anyways, thanks a hoot... or something!