Teamwork
The quiet number that decides whether a genius plays for the badge or for the highlight reel.
Teamwork is a mental attribute in Football Manager that gauges a player's innate willingness to play for the collective rather than the individual. It sits in the blue mental-attribute block of every player's profile and, on a scale of 1 to 20, tells you how often that player will choose the pass over the shot, the supporting run over the ego, and the team's rhythm over personal glory.
Unlike Work Rate, which measures physical effort and stamina investment, or Loyalty, which tracks a player's emotional commitment to a specific club, Teamwork is about in-the-moment decision-making on the pitch. A player with a 19 in Teamwork will instinctively lay a ball off, drift into a pocket for a teammate, or track back without being asked. A player with a 6 will hold the ball, shoot from thirty yards, and treat every phase of possession as a personal stage.
- Type
- Mental attribute
- Scale
- 1–20
- Category
- Mental (blue block)
- Primary effect
- Willingness to pass, make supporting runs, and play selflessly
- Distinct from
- Work Rate (physical effort) and Loyalty (club commitment)
- Visible in
- Player attribute screen and scouting reports
Lore & Background
In the Football Manager universe, Teamwork is the attribute that separates the player you love from the player you tolerate. Every manager who has ever watched a 92-rated winger refuse to lay a simple pass back to a 78-rated midfielder knows the sting of a low Teamwork score. It is the invisible tax on a squad's chemistry, the reason a star can drag a system down even when every other number glows green.
The attribute has a long and storied place in the community's folklore. Veterans of the series recall early versions where Teamwork was barely visible, buried in scouting reports that only the most patient managers would cross-reference. Over time, Sports Interactive made it more prominent, recognising that players wanted to see at a glance whether a signing would fit a possession-based, team-first philosophy or a direct, individualistic one. The attribute became a shorthand in forums and fan forums: 'What's his Teamwork?' became as natural a question as 'What's his pace?'
There is a particular poetry to Teamwork in FM. It is the attribute that rewards the player who makes the unglamorous run, the one who wins the second ball and flicks it on, the one who concedes a free-kick rather than pulling a shirt. In a game built around managing human beings, Teamwork is the closest the series gets to measuring character.
In Their Own Story
The rain had been falling since the first whistle, turning the pitch at the ground into a slick, green mirror. In the 73rd minute, the number ten had the ball on the left, a clear lane to the byline, a crowd of 38,000 holding its breath. He could cut inside. He could shoot. The highlight reel was already writing itself.
Instead he looked up. Saw the number eight drifting into the channel, that quiet, unglamorous run that no one would ever mention in the match report. He laid it off, soft, two touches. The number eight took it, turned, and fired. The net rippled.
In the manager's office, a man in a rain-spotted coat watched the replay on a laptop, the blue attribute block glowing on the screen. Teamwork: 18. He exhaled, closed the laptop, and made a phone call. The transfer was on. The squad would finally play for each other.
Reader's Guide
Mechanically, Teamwork governs the AI's decision tree during open play. A high score biases the player toward passing to available teammates, making off-the-ball runs into space for others, and tracking back defensively without explicit instruction. A low score biases toward holding the ball, attempting long shots, and prioritising individual dribbling over collective shape. It does not replace Vision or Passing—those determine the quality of the pass—but Teamwork determines whether the pass is attempted at all.
It interacts closely with Work Rate. A player with high Teamwork but low Work Rate will make the right decisions but may lack the physical engine to execute them consistently over 90 minutes. Conversely, high Work Rate with low Teamwork gives you a player who runs everywhere but still shoots from 35 yards because he simply does not want to pass.
The AI reads Teamwork during set-piece routines, pressing triggers, and transition phases. A team with an average Teamwork of 14+ will press more cohesively and recover the ball in tighter areas. A squad averaging 8-9 will press in isolation, leaving gaps.
A common misconception is that Teamwork is the same as Loyalty or that it affects a player's willingness to stay at a club. It does not. A player can have 20 in Teamwork and demand a transfer every January. It is purely about on-pitch selflessness.
Practical advice: when building a possession or tiki-taka side, prioritise Teamwork in the 14+ range for every outfield player. For a direct, counter-attacking system, you can tolerate lower Teamwork on your primary goal-scorer, but your midfielders should still sit at 12+ to maintain structure. Always cross-reference with Vision and Decisiveness to ensure the selfless decision is also a good one.
Did You Know?
- Teamwork is a mental attribute, meaning it appears in the blue section of the attribute screen alongside Vision, Positioning, and Composure, rather than the physical (green) or technical (yellow) blocks.
- A player's Teamwork score can influence how the match engine handles their pressing behaviour and willingness to track back, even in roles that are technically 'attacking' in nature.
- In scouting, Teamwork is one of the attributes that can be hidden from a scout's initial report depending on the scout's ability and the depth of the scan, making it a key differentiator between a quick first look and a
- The attribute is distinct from 'Team' (Loyalty), which measures a player's emotional commitment to staying at a specific club; a player can have 20 in Teamwork and still demand a transfer.