Nuno Espirito Santo’s BRILLIANT Tactical Setup

From a goalkeeper to changing this club’s modern history for the better.

Nuno Espírito Santo, widely known for his managerial success, began his illustrious footballing journey as a player before transitioning into coaching.

Nuno was born in 1974, in São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation off the west coast of Africa. However, his footballing journey began in Portugal, where he moved at an early age.

Starting his professional playing career as a goalkeeper, Nuno’s early promise earned him a move to Vitória de Guimarães, one of Portugal's big clubs, in 1992. His performances there quickly solidified his reputation as a dependable shot-stopper.

In 1993, Nuno took a significant step in his career by joining Deportivo La Coruña in Spain. Although primarily used as a backup goalkeeper during his tenure, his time in Spain provided him with invaluable exposure to one of Europe’s most competitive leagues.

He was loaned out multiple times during his stay at Deportivo, at Mérida and Osasuna, where he gained further experience and honed his craft.

After several years in the Spanish football, Nuno returned to Portugal in 2002, signing with FC Porto, one of the country's most prestigious football clubs. He was one of the first customers Jorge Mendes had as a footballing agent.

This move marked a pivotal moment in his playing career. Although he was not Porto's first-choice goalkeeper—often serving as an understudy to the legendary Vítor Baía—Nuno contributed to a golden period for the club.

Under manager José Mourinho, Porto achieved remarkable success, including winning the UEFA Champions League in 2004.

During a 2003 Portuguese Cup match against Varzim, he was allowed by Mourinho to convert a penalty kick, scoring the club's last goal in a 7–0 home win.

Following his time at Porto, he had short spells with Dynamo Moscow in Russia and Aves back in Portugal before retiring as a player in 2010.

Throughout his playing career, Nuno was not known for flashy or spectacular performances but for his calm composure, leadership qualities, and reliability—a foundation that would later define his managerial ethos.

After hanging up his gloves, he turned to coaching, beginning as a goalkeeper coach under Jesualdo Ferreira at Malaga. Soon after, he took the reins as a manager, starting his journey wit the Portuguese club Rio Ave in 2012.

His innovative tactics and ability to inspire his players quickly helped. Under his guidance, Rio Ave reached the finals of both the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup in 2014, a historic achievement for the club.

Nuno's reputation as a manager earned him a move to Valencia CF, in La Liga, in 2014. His first season was an overwhelming success; he guided the team to a fourth-place finish, securing qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

His ability to organize teams defensively while maintaining fluidity in attack was widely lauded. However, his tenure at Valencia also demonstrated the challenges of managing high-pressure environments, and he departed the club in 2015 after mixed performances in his second season.

In 2016, Nuno returned to FC Porto, this time as the manager. Although his tenure lasted only one season, he led the team to a second-place finish in the league.

Despite falling short of silverware, his time at Porto reaffirmed his ability to manage at the highest level and maintain consistency in results.

Perhaps the most defining chapter of Nuno’s managerial career came during his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) in England. Appointed in 2017, Nuno transformed the club from a Championship side to a competitive Premier League outfit.

In his first season, he led Wolves to promotion as Championship winners, playing an attractive, high-pressing style of football.

Once in the Premier League, Nuno’s Wolves were a revelation. A well-organized defense, quick transitions, and a flair for counterattacking football, they achieved back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, securing European football for the club. Wolves’ performances in the UEFA Europa League were extraordinary, reaching the quarterfinals in 2020.

Nuno's ability to develop players was on full display during his time at Wolves. Players like Raúl Jiménez, Adama Traoré, and Rúben Neves thrived under his guidance.

His tenure at the club was marked by tactical flexibility, strong team cohesion, and an unwavering commitment to his footballing philosophy.

Other appointments followed his departure from Wolverhampton, but we will stay in the Wolves timeline longer, to recreate his tactic in Football Manager.

Throughout his career, both as a player and a manager, Nuno Espírito Santo has been defined by meticulous planning, adaptability, and a keen understanding of the game. His tactical setup reflects his evolution in football.

Whether employing a three-at-the-back system—favoured during his time at Wolves—or adapting to a more conventional back-four, Nuno’s tactical approach prioritizes balance and efficiency.

His ability to connect with players and instil a strong team ethic ensures that his philosophy is implemented with precision.

One of the defining hallmarks of Nuno’s Wolves was their defensive organization. His preferred three-at-the-back system—comprising two wide centre-backs and a central defender—provided a strong foundation for the team’s success.

The wing-backs complemented this structure, offering defensive cover as well as offensive contributions. This setup ensured Wolves were difficult to break down, with disciplined lines of defense capable of absorbing pressure from even the most potent Premier League attacks.

Players such as Conor Coady and Willy Boly embodied the defensive ethos of the team, combining positional awareness with aggression when required.

Moreover, the compact shape ensured limited space for opposition attackers, forcing them to play around Wolves rather than through them.

While Wolves excelled defensively, their offensive breakthroughs often came through blistering counterattacks—a tactical weapon crafted with precision under Nuno’s leadership. His philosophy was predicated on exploiting transitions, with quick turnovers serving as the foundation for attacks. The pace and dynamism of players like Adama Traoré and Raúl Jiménez proved crucial in this regard.

In situations where Wolves held possession, Nuno’s tactical setup emphasized structured build-up play. Wolves were equally adept at patiently constructing attacks through methodical ball progression.

Nuno’s setup encouraged verticality, with wing-backs driving forward to provide width and midfielders offering options for progressive play. This balance allowed Wolves to maintain composure in possession while retaining the ability to switch to direct attacking sequences when necessary.

As formations, he leaned towards a 3-5-2 and a 3-4-3 when he employed a 3 at the back. After a slow start to the 2019-20 campaign and an injury to a key defender in Willy Boly, Nuno shifted back into what might be his favoured formation, the 3-4-3 one.

For this reason, I chose this setup to focus on in the game. With a sweeper keeper on defend duty in goal. The role was chosen to help pass the ball and avoid the opposition’s pressing game.

The back three can be assigned a multitude of role combinations. I left them 3 central defenders on defend, for stability in the game after running a more attacking oriented version in the early games.

In order to emulate as much as possible how the wing backs played in this system, I chose wing back roles on attack duty for them. However, this might prove to be too attacking at times, so a support duty might also work for them.

Whichever role and duty you end up using for them, make sure that they often go up in the attack, overlapping, while the wingers cut inside to overload the midfield area.

Close down more was added as player instruction for them, as they often defended up the pitch, trying to turn the possession over before getting into their defensive positions.

As mentioned earlier, the defensive/central midfielders are the teams passing hug. The midfield duo of Rúben Neves and João Moutinho often orchestrated the midfield, with their ability to pick passes and control tempo proving invaluable.

I am not a fan of double playmaker roles, so close to each other, but in this case I think both players fit the roles. I chose a defend duty and a player instruction of more direct passes for Ruben Neves and a support duty and dribble less for Joao Moutinho.

The wingers are two inverted winger roles as both Adama Traore or Jonny, together with their other colleagues playing on the either flank, often made runs inside the pitch, underlapping and even overtaking Raul Jimenez and creating and scoring goals.

Mark tighter was assigned to both, to make sure they try to disrupt the opposition’s build up play as much as possible.

And for the striker I chose a complete forward role on attack. I know that Raul Jimenez hasn’t always played as a complete forward and can be assigned other roles, but in time, he turned into one in my opinion.

He wasn’t a striker who relentlessly attacked the opposition’s goal. He looked to drop deep, pick up the ball and bring the wingers into play, using Adama Traore’s speed and strength to fashion chances for the team.

As the chosen roles, especially on the flanks and in attack are quite attacking, I chose positive as mentality, to tone down a bit how the team sets up during the game.

In possession, fairly wide attacking width and play out of defence. Standard passing directness and a slightly higher tempo. And play for set pieces.

I debated a lot if I should tick work ball into box option on or not and I ultimately chose not to, to allow the game to pick up the moments when to do it.

In transition, counter-press, counter and distribute the ball to the centre backs through short kicks.

And out of possession a high press and a standard defensive line. Trigger press more often and prevent the goalkeeper short distribution.

In my building a nation save in Romania, we were almost unbeaten in the league, losing only one game. We were crowned champions, scoring 121 goals in the league and conceding 26 goals.

In other competitions, we won the Romanian Cup. And in Europe were knocked out of the Champions League playoff round but played in the Europa League and reached the quarterfinals stage, being eliminated by Fiorentina.

Nuno Espirito Santo is a brilliant manager, who turned each team he managed into dominating forces, each at its own level.

am glad that this is the case. As he deserves this success and we can enjoy underdogs reaching beyond their reach and transforming their level of play.