FCSB Tactic - Football Manager 2024 - Elias Charalambous

Throughout history, the club founded in 1947 by the Romanian Ministry of Defence, changed its name various times, but its identity remained the same.

Although, in the past decade, that identity has been put to the test by a court conflict between the club named CSA Steaua Bucuresti and the current owner of FCSB.

In 1998, the football department and its facilities were separated from the CSA club and taken over by a group of shareholders in a post-Ceaușescu privatisation scheme, leading to one of the shareholders acquiring full ownership five years later.

In 2003, a businessman named George Becali managed to gain control over the club by turning it from non-profit to a public share company.

Since he took over the club, he made it his mission to use the club as a platform to promote his beliefs and his ventures. Which, it must be said, was a win-win situation so far for both parties.

The club has won the Romanian league 27 times, the Romanian Cup 24 times, the League Cup twice and the Romanian Supercup 7 times. But you might know the name for a different performance, on the international stage.

Since George Becali took over, he was considered a controversial figure by part of the club’s supporters, but on the pitch, that didn’t matter.

The team qualified for the UEFA Cup group stage in the 2004–05 season and became the first Romanian team to make it to the European football knock-outs since 1993 (also Steaua's performance).

The following season, Steaua reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 2005–06, where it was eliminated by Middlesbrough thanks to a last-minute goal and this goalkeeper.

Steaua thereafter qualified for the following Champions League seasons after a ten-year break, and in 2007–08 Steaua again reached the group stage of the Champions League.

And nationally, the club won two titles—in 2004–05 and 2005–06—and the Supercup in 2006, the latter being the club's 50th trophy in its 59-year history.

In 2013, Steaua won its 24th national title, and also subsequently reached the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage. It repeated the former performance in each of the next two years, being awarded the championship in 2014 and 2015.

After the Ministry of National Defense sued the club, claiming that the Romanian Army were the rightful owners of the Steaua logo, colours, honours and name, the Executive Committee of the Romanian Football Federation approved an application to change the name of the club from "FC Steaua București" to "FC FCSB" on the 30th of March 2017.

CSA Steaua București had previously announced they would refound their football department as CSA Steaua București in the summer of the same year. However, the FCSB owner, George Becali, announced that his team would retain the original honours and UEFA coefficient, and was also hopeful of recovering the name in the future. It’s safe to say that it hasn’t happened yet.

Between 2016 and 2019, FCSB finished each time as runners-up in the league, thus becoming the first club in Romania to do so for four consecutive years.

In July 2019, yet another unfavorable ruling was handed out against the team. According to it, CSA Steaua would be the rightful entity to assert the honors up until 2003, however, the decision was not definitive. Apparently, this cup was looking for its rightful owner.

In the 2023-2024 season, FCSB won the Romanian League title. In the same season, the club appointed Elias Charalambous as manager.

In Romania there are rumours that the person calling the shots at FCSB in terms of formation, players used, and substitutions is the owner, George Becali, not the manager Elias Charalambous.

Who knows what the truth is. Elias Charalambous is a Cypriot football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of FCSB.

He played football and earned 363 senior appearance and scored 20 goals for various clubs, Omonia, PAOK, AEK Larnaca among others.

He also represented Cyprus at a senior level 69 times.

He started his managerial career as an assistant coach in 2017 at the club where he last played, AEK Larnaca.

In the 2019-2020 season, he was caretaker manager at the club, before moving to Hatta Club in UAE, as an assistant coach.

In the same year, 2020, he took over Ethnikos Achna FC, a Cypriot professional football club. And before he came to FCBS, he took over another Cypriot football club named Doxa Katokopias FC.

As tactics, at least when managing FCSB, he seems to prefer a 4-2-3-1 formation in most games played by the team, with emphasis on caution on the ball and counterattack football.

In the game, I went with a 4-2-3-1 formation as well. 4-3-3 was also preferred in some games in real life.

A sweeper keeper on defend duty as the goalkeeper. It might not seem like it, but the team rely on the goalkeeper to become a passing option when the opposition’s pressing game becomes too much.

The back four are two wing backs on support duty and two central defenders on defend duty. I found it tricky to choose the roles of the wing backs, as full backs also fit. I settled on the wing back roles as both players seem to go up the pitch when the team is in possession, overloading the flanks when possible.

No special player instructions for any of them.

The defensive, maybe central defenders are a defensive midfielder on defend duty and Segundo volante on support.

Here, both could be assigned different roles. But, for example, I did not go with a half back or an anchor here as Vlad Chiriches, when he plays, is a possession-oriented player, trying to start attacks from his position. The same happens when Mihai Lixandru or Baba Alhassan play.

For the Segundo volante, though, you could go a bit higher up the pitch and even select a central midfielder on support duty. It depends on the type of player you use here. I think Adrian Sut fits better a Segundo volante role when he plays. However, when Darius Olaru plays, he seems to be more of a central midfielder than a defensive one.

As said, there are many options to choose from for this area of the pitch.

On the wings, I went with a winger on attack on the right side and an inverted winger on attack on the left side. However, if the right flank seems easier to choose a role for, for the left flank and specifically for Juri Cisotti I could have easily choose a raumdeuter role.

This player is unlike any other I have seen in recent times. His work rate is incredible, and his teamwork is amazing.

As player instructions, I chose cut inside with the ball for the right winger.

For the remaining two positions in the formation, I chose an advanced playmaker on support duty and a poacher. Although, here as well, you guessed it, different roles can be used.

Florin Tanase can be an attacking midfielder as well, however, I think he plays more like a playmaker, trying to create goalscoring chances for his teammates. To try to get closer to the way he plays, I added the player instruction of dribble more for this role.

And Daniel Birligea or any other striker player in this position can be a complete forward, advanced forward or even a deep lying forward if your wingers are fit to be inside forwards.

I chose the poacher role as, even though there are times when Daniel Birligea comes deep to take the ball, he most often seems to have a good feeling of where to position himself in the box to score goals.

As mentality, I used positive.

In possession, fairly wide attacking width and play out of defence. Standard or slightly shorter passing directness as it’s translated with a positive mentality and slightly higher tempo. Work the ball into the box and play for set-pieces.

This time, the play for set-pieces option is important. As FCSB have scored many goals this season from free-kicks and corners.

In transition, counter-press, counter and distribute the ball to the defence.

And out of possession a mid block and a standard defensive line. There are times when the team seems to use a low block, but I wouldn’t do that in this year’s edition of the game. As it just invites the opposition to score against your team.

Trigger press more often and step up more. But you can tick off step up more if you would like to.

I only simulated one season using this formation, with FCSB. But the results were on par I would say. The team won the league title in Romanian and they were knocked-out of the Romanian Club by CFR Cluj.

In Europe, the team hasn’t qualified to any European league phase, being knocked-out, eventually, from the Europa Conference League fourth qualifying round by and I am not kidding, PAOK.

The Greek club took revenge in my Football Manager save. At least it wasn’t in real life.

Where FCSB was drawn against Olympique Lyon in the Europa League round of 16 and has high hopes of going through to the next round.

Whether that happens, it remains to be seen. As a fan of the club, I am just enjoying the ride.