Recently, the news that Jonas "Jonny" Wirth crushed his opponents in EA FC 24 Tournament and became the champion of Virtual Bundesliga 2023-24 attracted the attention of many people. In this guide, we’ll give you a brief overview of his playing style and give you expert advice on both defense and offense.
Stable Defensive Formation
Let’s get down to business. There’s nothing flashy about his style of play, especially on defense, which is the foundation of his success.
In fact, I rarely see someone so disciplined on defense that he doesn’t pull defenders out of position and keeping shape is his norm.
Since the midfielders still have a long way to go to cover the wings, Jonny knows that if he involves the full-backs too early, it will create an unfavorable situation on the wings. Because the attacker has the player's advantage on this side. Therefore, with patience, he can allow the wingers to step in, or switch to full-backs, which can stabilize the wings and ultimately help him win the ball.
This composed way of holding a defensive shape is evident in every area of the pitch, and he rarely over-commits with a player even in the trickiest moments of this formation.
Every FC player knows that it’s the scariest defensive situation when you win the ball and immediately concede it. But Jonny could stay calm, and he immediately performed a Jockey movement with L2/LB to maintain defense. While it’s easy to get busy after conceding a goal in front of your own goal, a rock-solid defense is absolutely key to winning the title.
What Is On & Off The Ball Defending?
While he’s unlikely to over-commit his players, he keeps the pressure high with an excellent combination of On and Off The Ball Defending.
So, what is On and Off The Ball Defending? On The Ball is what you know as directly defending the opponent’s player with the ball, but when Jonny switches to anticipating the next ball and uses Second Man Press, that’s Off The Ball Defending.
The best players in the world can fluidly switch between On and Off The Ball Defending because it puts pressure on the player in possession of the ball. Besides this, it also affects their next passing options, forcing opponents into trouble and making mistakes more likely.
Offside Trap
Another tool to put your opponent in trouble is the frequent use of Offside Trap. He likes to use this early in the opponent’s attack, and a pass to his center back is Jonny’s chance to trigger Offside Trap.
This will greatly affect the pace and momentum of the offensive players. Because they have to reset their position, especially when used for the second time a few minutes later, it makes the area in front of the defense difficult to play.
Timing is key here in order to limit the opponent’s movements to create some space in the middle. So Jonny only uses Offside Trap when all four defenders are in position. The opponent cannot pass the ball forward the moment the four defenders push up, so many times when the opponent turns around, it is the key time for Offside Trap.
It’s a very subtle thing, and it rarely results in a direct win of possession, but overall, it changes the dynamics on the pitch and breaks up the opponent’s typical attacking pattern.
Deceptive Long Balls
Now let’s look at Jonny’s offense. One characteristic of his Deceptive Long Balls is that he has a calm playmaking ability and does not rush by changing sides a lot to get players in the right position.
He will often deceptively initiate runs from wingers or full-backs. Then, when a player performs a Deep Run, he will make an extra pass or two to get the ball to a player with good Long Ball Pass ability. What I want to remind you is that buying the right FC 24 Player can help you implement this strategy better.
Jonny chose Bastian Schweinsteiger and Kimmich in the central midfield position. They are the best passers. He scored 13 goals in the semi-finals and final, six of which were initiated by long balls from these two men or the centre-backs.
What’s more, even if opponents adapt and try to start covering these runs, it’s still difficult to defend. Opponents have to recognize the run and mark it, but this gives Jonny more space and freedom to operate in the midfield and he can always deliver excellent passes to Strikers.
In short, Jonny always knows exactly what he needs to do in front of the goal. No matter how tight the angle is or how far away from the goal, he can score easily. Master and use these skills and you can win the game! Good luck!
