Rui Vitoria Mastermind
In a quaint village nestled in the Lisbon area, a young boy named Rui Carlos Pinho da Vitória dreamed of making it big in the beautiful game.
Born on April 16, 1970, Rui's journey began on the humble fields of his hometown, where he played as a midfielder.
He dedicated eleven years to the fourth division and four to the third, with his heart tied to U.D. Vilafranquense.
Retiring at the age of 32, Rui's passion for football only grew stronger. He transitioned seamlessly from player to manager, starting with his beloved Vilafranquense.
His talent for leadership was evident, and soon he found himself managing Benfica's junior side in 2004. Two years later, he took the helm of Fátima, guiding them to the second division twice, despite facing immediate relegation.
The turning point came in June 2010, when Rui Vitoria became the manager of Paços de Ferreira. In his first season, he led them to an impressive seventh position in the top division and to runners-up finish in the domestic League Cup.
This success caught the eye of Vitória de Guimarães, who appointed him in August 2011. Rui repaid their faith by leading the team to their first-ever Portuguese Cup victory against Benfica in his second year.
But the pinnacle of his career was yet to come. In June 2015, he signed a three-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica. Despite a rocky start and a loss in the Supercup to Sporting, Rui's resilience shone through.
He led Benfica to a record-breaking third consecutive First League title, achieving 88 points in 34 matches, and setting a record of 11 consecutive away wins.
The team also reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and claimed their seventh Portuguese Cup. His efforts earned him the First League’s Best Coach award.
The 2016-17 season brought more triumphs, with Benfica winning the Portuguese Super Cup and clinching the First League, the Portuguese Cup, and the Portuguese Supercup, achieving a historic treble.
He became the first Benfica manager to achieve an historic four league titles in a row. However, the next season was challenging, with a second-place league finish and a disappointing Champions League campaign, including a record 5-0 loss to FC Basel.
In 2019, following a series of poor results, Rui's tenure at Benfica ended. But his journey was far from over. Within a week, he was appointed as the manager of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
He led the team to a league championship and the semi-finals of the 2020 AFC Champions League. However, in December 2020, he left the club by mutual consent as Al Nassr struggled in the league.
Rui's next adventure took him to Russia, where he joined Spartak Moscow in May 2021. Despite mixed results and a notable 7-1 loss to Zenit Saint Petersburg, his team topped their Europa League group. However, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement in December 2021.
Undeterred, Rui Vitoria continued to look for a team to lead and inspire and eventually he took on the challenge of managing the Egyptian national team in July 2022.
H is tenure ended in February 2024 after an early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
But destiny had more in store for Rui Vitória. In October, 2024 the Greek press was all over the place breaking the news of a Portuguese manager taking over Panathinaikos.
Rui Vitoria signed a deal to manage the Greek club, continuing his journey of passion and perseverance in the world of football.
Following in the footsteps of the great Fatih Terim was tough. In the league, the club seems to be miles away from the league title, Olympiakos firmly keeping their grip on it.
However, things are not that bleak. Since Rui Vitoria took over, he managed to lead the Greek club to 18 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses. Keeping a 60%-win percentage.
On a continental level, Panathinaikos qualified to the knock-out rounds of the Europa Conference League, being eliminated only in the Round of 16 by Fiorentina. That was a hard-fought match-up, only a goal separating the two sides over two legs.
During his career, Rui Vitoria seems to have always leaned on the 4-3-3 formation. However, at times he seems to change the formations according to the opposition, even using a 3-4-1-2 setup against stronger teams.
But we will focus on the 4-3-3 formation. With a sweeper keeper on defend in goal. As these days the goalkeepers try to help their team in possession, we cover this part using this role. But the main objective remains keeping goals out of the net.
The back four is made of two wing backs on support duty and two central defenders on defend. The wing backs are meant to go forward but with a support duty, they will do this in the rhythm of play, giving their teammates wide options for a pass.
No player instructions for them.
In front of them, we have a defensive midfielder on defend whose main objective is screening the defense and stop counterattacks as much as possible. Together with the central defenders, this player will form the 3 at the back setup while the team is attacking in the opposition’s half or even their final third.
No player instructions for him, but please make sure to use here players that fit the role. Otherwise, your team might struggle to defend.
A deep lying playmaker on support duty and a central midfielder on attack make up the central midfield area.
The deep lying playmaker is meant to be the player in charge of finding the best possible passes moving forward. While the central midfielder goes up in the attack and at times, plays like an attacking midfielder creating goalscoring chances for the attackers.
Roam from position as player instruction for the central midfielder.
And the front three is made of two wingers on support and a poacher. The wingers are asked to cut inside with the ball. While the poacher role was preferred as we need a player capable of dominating the opposition’s box and taking the chances when they are created.
As mentality I chose positive.
In possession fairly wide attacking width and pass into space. Make sure to turn pass into space off if your opponent sits deep when defending. Play out of defence is preferred, to keep the possession and draw the opposition onto our team.
Standard or slightly shorter passing directness as it is translated with a positive mentality and a slightly higher tempo.
Work the ball into the box and play for set pieces.
In transition, counter-press, counter and distribute the ball to the defence.
And out of possession a high press and a higher defensive line. However, if this setup is too aggressive for your team you should lower the defensive line to a standard one.
Trigger press more often and prevent the goalkeeper short distribution.
In my building a nations save, I took over Istanbul Basaksehir when they were in 13th position and took them all way to the 3rd place using this tactical setup. With Semih Kilicsoy scoring 15 goals for us. He had none when I took over.
I arrived at the Turkish club from Partizan Belgrade after the owner sold one of our best players.
Panathinaikos may seem to be struggling this season, domestically. However, I think that Rui Vitoria has balanced the team and now has the base on which the club can build for success. I hope the board are patient with him and that Rui Vitoria manages to lead the club to the same performance level he once led Benfica.
