Polaroid
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- Joined
- Dec 17, 2003
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This is a fantasy tournament SOLELY BASED ON PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES IN THEIR WORLD CUP PRIME (PERFORMANCES OUTSIDE OF THE WC DO NOT COUNT)
Anyone can vote
Managers and assistants can vote in their own matches but their votes will not count
Anyone can vote
Managers and assistants can vote in their own matches but their votes will not count
Tactics:
What total football did was turning the idea of free movement into strictly organised chaos, everyone needs to move, but to make it work, all the players need to complement each other perfectly. That's what we're trying to do, starting with a strikerless 4-3-3 that allows me to outnumber my opponent on the wing without loosing the midfield battle. The key parts are versatility of my attacking players, a central midfield that combines tactical awareness with physical strength, attacking fullbacks, a lot of movement and in Cruyff and Jairzinho two brilliant dribblers with the ability to go past any defender. The best way to attack against my opponent is through the wings to either use my numerical advantage out wide or force him to help out and drag his defenders out of position all the time.
How it works in possession:Cruyff often talks about how he loved to get into 1on1 situations, so here's an example how this idea of football isolates Cruyff on the wing and why it works so well with my team:
Forlan excelled with that movement in 2010, scoring from outside the box or getting that extra second of time to play dangerous passes, Ceulemans scored a crucial goal against the Soviet Union after one of those runs into the box. So Cruyff's movement not only allows himself to get into his beloved 1on1 on the wing, it also brings out the best of all my attacking players. If a second player joins to help out against Cruyff, it brings Marzolini into the game, who when moving forward acted as a wide playmaker. Then he can connect the wing quickly with the rest of the team, so I can play through the gap that opens up when defenders are dragged out of position or give one of my defensive midfielders the chance for another game winning long range goal. Davids and Haan love to score one of those in worldcup knockout games.
Here's more, if you like those formation graphs, the idea behind them is to show how natural it looks for all my players to take up the different positions on the pitch.
The following shows, why my amazing Brazilian right wing fits so perfectly into this idea for the team.
Similarities to Carlos Alberto's goal in the final '70 are purely coincidental.
How to open up space that allows Arie Haan to release one of his long-range rockets, while Cruyff covers the right wing defensively and my attacking players are in position for a rebound:
Everything starts with Cruyff and that's the brilliance of him in full power. No player ever had a comparable tactical understanding of the game and the individual ability to pull that off, influencing the game in so many different positions. And the most beautiful thing about him, all his teammates benefit from it during the game.
How it works without possession:So how do I survive in defense against two of the most prolific worldcup goalscorers of all time? The best way to keep Vavá and Rossi from scoring is to keep them out of the penalty box, because that's where their strength lies. A high defensive line suits my team best anyway and in midfield we add something you could call 'chaotic hunting for the ball'. Forlan will move further inside to put pressure on the centerbacks while Jairzinho gets the freedom to become the linchpin of every counterattack. My fullbacks can defend his wingbacks, which leaves all my central players free to press against his midfielders. De Boer will join them depending on the situation to intercept passes and Schulz will stay at the back and if necessary pull off some last second tackles and blocks which made him such a huge fan favorite in '66. If I'm lucky, it might force Cerezo into another horrific back pass or get de Boer to play an assist like he did in '98, so there's a good chance I can turn defense into offense a few times during the game.
You have doubts that all this could actually work, built around a player from the 70's? Have a look at this short compilation about the Netherlands' tactics at the worldcup in '74 and if you want to know more about my team, click herefor the player profiles.