Formations and roles
Ten formations, twelve roles and a table that says exactly what a covered slot costs.
Album 38 has ten formations. You pick one before the first pack, and the choice matters more than it looks: the formation decides which slots you have to fill, and Serie A packs fill some slots far worse than others.
The ten formations
- 4-3-3 — Three in midfield, three up front. The default: it asks for a winger on each side, and wingers are the hardest slot to fill well.
- 4-3-3 off — The attacking variant: both inside midfielders push up. It wants midfielders who can play as playmakers.
- 4-3-3 dif — The defensive variant: two screens in front of the back four. It forgives packs that only bring holding midfielders.
- 4-4-2 — Two banks of four and two strikers. The easiest to fill: full-backs also cover the wide midfield slots.
- 4-2-4 — Four up front. It asks for two real wingers and two real strikers, and it punishes a bad pack harder than any other.
- 4-2-3-1 — A central playmaker between two high wide men. The number ten slot is the one Serie A data fills best.
- 3-4-3 — Three at the back, four in midfield, three up front. It wants three centre-backs: in Serie A squads that is never a problem.
- 3-5-2 — Five in midfield. The formation that absorbs any midfielder, and it needs plenty of them.
- 5-3-2 — Two wide men and three centre-backs. The most defensive: it asks for full-backs, which the packs bring in abundance.
- 5-4-1 — A lone striker. If the packs bring no forwards, this is the formation that saves your album.
The practical rule. Wingers are the hard slot: in the 2007-2014 squads many wide players are filed as centre-forwards, so a 4-2-4 asking for two real wingers can come up empty. A 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 absorbs almost any pack.
Who can play where
A slot does not only accept the role written on it. A centre-back covers a full-back slot, a holding midfielder covers the playmaker, a winger covers the striker — but every cover has a cost, which the player pays on his rating for the whole season. Zero is his own role; a dash means there is no path at all: that player cannot go in that slot.
Rows are the player's roles, columns the formation's slots.
| Player's role | GK | CB | LB | RB | CDM | CM | CAM | LM | RM | LW | RW | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | · | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CB | — | · | −2 | −2 | −2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LB | — | −2 | · | −2 | — | — | — | −2 | — | −3 | — | — |
| RB | — | −2 | −2 | · | — | — | — | — | −2 | — | −3 | — |
| CDM | — | −3 | — | — | · | −1 | −3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| CM | — | — | — | — | −1 | · | −1 | −2 | −2 | — | — | — |
| CAM | — | — | — | — | −3 | −1 | · | −2 | −2 | — | — | −3 |
| LM | — | — | −2 | — | — | −2 | −2 | · | −2 | −1 | — | — |
| RM | — | — | — | −2 | — | −2 | −2 | −2 | · | — | −1 | — |
| LW | — | — | — | — | — | — | −2 | −1 | — | · | −2 | −3 |
| RW | — | — | — | — | — | — | −2 | — | −1 | −2 | · | −3 |
| ST | — | — | — | — | — | — | −2 | — | — | −1 | −1 | · |
A player with several roles pays the cheapest of his. The cost stays deliberately small — one or two points, three across departments — because it has to weigh on thirty-eight matchdays without making a choice illegal: an album built of stopgaps still finishes the season, it just finishes lower.
The bench
Five slots after the eleven, and they take anyone at no cost. They do not play and do not score, but they are worth a depth bonus of up to half a point on the season, scaled by how close the reserves are to the starters. Sixteen packs for eleven slots is a real choice: it lifts the XI by about one and seven tenths compared with the eleven-pack format.