FM21 CPL guide: How to manage Pacific FC

2020-11-25

Marty Thompson, Digital Content Editor (@martythompson_)

Do you think you can step into Pa-Modou Kah’s shoes as Pacific FC manager? Pick up Football Manager 21 and give it a try!

The Tridents offer a difficult managerial task in FM21, perhaps for the same reason they had doubters at the Island Games – they’re not a deep side in the virtual world. With just 17 players, they’ll force armchair managers to rely on a handful of players to log serious minutes.

But PFC also has one of the CPL’s best attacking groups in the game, led by Player of the Year nominee Marco Bustos.

Here’s a quick guide to get the best out of those players to better PFC’s second-round exit at The Island Games.

Prioritize wing play

One place Pacific is good, or at least deep, is at fullback. Kadin Chung and Marcel de Jong are potential gamebreakers on either side of the pitch. Utilize these players by giving them wingback roles with attacking and support instructions.

This may leave you exposed, but we’ve had good experiences with these pinching wide players, especially in this formation….

4-3-3 or bust

There’s really only one way to play Pacific FC in FM21. A 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 is the most straightforward way the likes of Marco Bustos, Alejandro Diaz, Terran Campbell, and Jamar Dixon can get on the pitch and be given enough room to make a difference.

Campbell, while a bruting centre-forward, is capable at right-wing in the game, allowing for a lethal front three of Bustos, Diaz, and Campbell – all of which have “finishing” attributes above 13, which is considered excellent among CPL attackers.

Let Marco Bustos do whatever he wants

The beauty of Football Manager lies in creativity – you can do whatever you want. In this case, if you’re managing Pacific, allow Marco Bustos to do the same.

Try adding an individual instruction to your 24-year-old attacker called “roam from position.” This will allow your shifty attacker to move about the pitch looking for pockets of space between lines. His technical ability and mental stats in “off the ball” and “vison” attributes make him perfect for this role.

This will also make the best of one of PFC’s strongest assets. Can you better Bustos’ five-goal, three-assist return at the 2020 Island Games?

Player to watch: Alejandro Diaz

Diaz, like many internationals in CPL’s FM21 database, is incredibly overpowered. He’s surprisingly pacey in the game, perhaps more so than what Island Games viewers saw, and comes with a consistent ability to finish chances.

Feel free to play Diaz as a lone centre-forward with Bustos, Campbell, and others developing play on the wing or up the middle and, who knows, you could get PFC’s lone international player up to a goal-a-game rate.