The Euro Draft - Round 1 - Aldo vs Skizzo

[Moby]

To add to all that, there is the emperor (Sorry, I love calling him that ) playing in front of them. He was a great passer himself and I could have opted for a 5-man midfield here to make the midfield even more in my favour. Not to say Albert won't drop deep if it is really needed, though I really can't ever see that necessary, if the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Nedved being supported by defensive players who are themselves great on the ball cannot produce enough chances then no one can. But he will be operating in the final third most of the time. @Raees posted a nice clip of him that shows some of his finer moments, thanks for that btw. But the reason he is playing mainly behind Baros and in a free role is because given the service from midfield, he should be at his best dropping in the space, picking up the ball and running with it.

Albert is not a traditional number 10, rather more a forward with tremendous pace and dribbling. He was almost Cruyff-like when he went on those incredibly runs after picking the ball deep and was impossible to stop. A lot of times the Spanish have been criticized of not having enough pace and directness to compliment their creativity and control, and that is exactly what Albert will provide. He will contantly run at defenders, isolate them and create spaces for others. That's the great thing about having two up front, the CBs need help from midfield to deal with them. In this case, Monti would usually have to drop into defense to contain Albert, and that would give a lot of space to my midfield to work. This is vital here, and it avoids the chance of the midfield being cogested, as I have a top player who will constantly stretch the opposition.

I don't know much about Olivella to comment how he can deal with Albert running at him, but a lot of defenders would tell you it was not something they looked forward to.

 

[Skizzo]

loving @Aldo
@Skizzo team is going to have a tough time as Jarni and Ramos will need big help from the midfield which will leave space for Xavi to control the game. Will need to find something about few players as their are not to familiar to me, both centerbacks and Monti, if you guys gave something on them? And again to say im not the biggest fan of Suker Van Basten combo but with Van Basten up there you cant go wrong, major threat. Leaning towards Aldo but will do the research about unknown players before i vote....

Ferran Olivella

He was a defender on a grand scale; secure, simple and with excellent positioning.

Team of the Tournament in 1964 when Spain won the tournament, with him as Captain. In qualifying, he missed the first 3 games, and Spain gave up 4 goals. Upon him coming into the team, they only conceded 1 in the next 3 games. At club level, he made over 500 appearances for Barcelona...scoring a whopping 1 goal. He was a defender first and foremost, and could raise the performances of those around him.

Jan Popluhar

He was picked as Slovakia's top footballer of the 20th century after Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
He earned a reputation for his fair play, avoiding any bookings throughout his 19-year-long career.

Jan Popluhar was very similar to Ronald Koeman , in that he could take cannon-ball free-kicks , Popluhar was a much better defender thou and one of the best of all time.

One of the biggest football legends of post war era in Czechoslovakia. He grew up in modern libero, who participated in many All-Star teams of Europe and World.

Popluhar was part of the Czech defense that stopped Brazil scoring in the 62 WC group stages. (Garrincha and Pele were in the team)

Luis Monti

the only person to have played two World Cup finals for different countries, representing Argentina in 1930 and Italy in 1934. "Doble Ancho" (double wide), as Monti was nicknamed after his ability to cover a wide zone of the field

Monti was a rugged and ruthless player, but had the technical skills to go with his strong tackling

Vittorio Pozzo, the coach of Italy, thought that Luisito was the perfect link between the talented forward Meazza and the defender Monziglio

In the semifinal against Austria, Luis Monti was given a man-marking job on Matthias Sindelar, one of the most talented players of the decade, a task that Monti completed with a lot of success

Bit of background for you on each of the players you asked about. Both defenders are of high quality, and I feel complement each other well. Popluhar was great on the ball, as was Monti...so all are capable of springing our team forward quickly and accurately.

 

[Moby]

Lastly, the fullbacks contest.

I think it is fair to say without no disrespect, that Lahm and Kaltz are a cut above Ramos and jarni in all phases of the game. In a diamond, the fullbacks face a lot of pressure, and usually you need fullbacks who can defend and attack and be reliable while doing both. I believe, this setup will put a bit too much pressure on Jarni and Ramos, considering I have wide threat from midfield as well the two fullbacks who will regularly bomb forward and overlap.

Both Iniesta and Nedved are well capable of attacking the flanks, and there will without a doubt be times where they take on Ramos and Jarni. So for example, Iniesta can take on Ramos, and Ramos whenever played as fullback couldn't cope with players who had great ball control. He is much more at home against direct pacy players as he is a wonderful athlete, but Iniesta, specially in his Euro 2012 form, was practically impossible to take off the ball, and regularly took on multiple defenders. Once this happens, Lahm will instinctively overlap pulling one of his midfielders wide. At this point I am already on the front foot with Iniesta on the ball and Lahm stretching the defense, with spaces opened up in the middle with the likes of Albert and Nedved waiting in the vacated pockets of space. Mirror the whole thing and it goes the same for Nedved isolating Jarni with Kaltz overlapping. Scenarios like this will open up throughout the game and lend me the opportunity to grab a goal.

It is important to note that while I have set up the middle with loads of creativity and ability on the ball, I have balanced it with players who will help in stretching the play. Lahm and Kaltz while they overlap, specially as they don't have any wide threats to deal with and Albert with his direct running at full pelt (the man knew how to accelerate!). The balance is there to see.

I really don't want to talk anything negative about Skizzo/Pat's team, but Netzet-Suker-Van Basten, while being great individually, doesn't quite provide the same sort of complimentary aspects as my attack. All three would operate centrally most of the time and I agree that Van Basten could have been paired with someone who could go out wide and provide something different. Sorry, it's just a small detail but I had to mention it.

 

[Moby]

Well, I think I have said most of what I had to. In case I missed something, I will add it later. Thanks for all the compliments and criticism, feedback is always greatly appreciated.

Also apologies for not being online earlier. Unexpected company on a Sunday afternoon, one thing leading to another, oh well..

 

[Skizzo]

To avoid any talk (not that there has been so far ) of Netzer not being able to have an impact on his game...let's delve a little deeper into the talented German.

Brief quote to start with...

Best player in 1972. It's that simple. And yes, I know that Gerd Müller scored 80% of our goals and that Beckenbauer was fantastic in defense, Netzer was better though

Netzer won the German Player of the year award in 1972 and 1973, and that was with Muller scoring freely, and Beckenbauer in his peak Ballon D'or winning form.

Signed by Real Madrid and led them to quite the little trophy haul of 2 La Liga titles, and 2 Copa Del Rey's...which is after his fantastic showings in Germany for probably the best German club side of all time.

An excerpt from an interview with Breitner regarding them playing in Spain

In my first year at Real, he played like I’ve never seen anybody else, except Franz Beckenbauer perhaps. Günter’s leadership on the pitch was absolutely gigantic, superior even to what he did for Germany in 1972 and 1973

Netzer was capable of roaming to find space, and would drop deep to orchestrate attacks. He single-handedly dismantled England at Wembley.

With all due respect to Cocu, there aren't many players capable of negating his influence as it is...especially when there's no one assigned to him. I'll make the bold statement of saying he will impact this game, especially the way the sides are set up, more than any other player.

His play with Muller in '72 was quite ridiculous in terms of link up and goals/assists. Here with Van Basten, who is head and shoulders above almost any other striker in the draft based on performance...it's nothing short of deadly.

 

[Skizzo]

Well, I think I have said most of what I had to. In case I missed something, I will add it later. Thanks for all the compliments and criticism, feedback is always greatly appreciated.

Also apologies for not being online earlier. Unexpected company on a Sunday afternoon, one thing leading to another, oh well..

I should have waited for you to finish...now I got in the way of your posts

Great posts by the way. I'll try and address a few of the points you made. Can't really criticize too much, but obviously we'll disagree on how certain factors will influence

 

[Moby]

I should have waited for you to finish...now I got in the way of your posts

Great posts by the way. I'll try and address a few of the points you made. Can't really criticize too much, but obviously we'll disagree on how certain factors will influence

Thanks man. And yea I can understand, it's a close game this one.

 

[Moby]

Sorry, just to quickly get one last point in.

Every single player in this team is more than capable on the ball, right from the back. Usually defenses need one good ball playing defender and that is more than enough to play it out when under pressure and not lose possession with aimless clearances. However, all 4 of Lahm, Kaltz, Bossis and Happel (from whatever I've read) are fantastic on the ball, well above the average ball playing ability for a defender. The front 6 speak for themselves. That is a huge asset and goes absolutely perfectly with our style of play. I think this more or less ensures that I will keep the ball not only for more amount of time but with greater ease and an attack can be initiated by anyone. They are all great passers as well as capable of beating their man. This, I believe, is vital in the context of controlling the game.

 

[Skizzo]

In regards to Lahm, it's hard to downplay him, as he's a fantastic player. Lahm on the left, certainly isn't the same as Lahm on the right though. Lahm himself has insisted he prefers the right, and there's a difference in his game when deployed on the left.

Lahm's left foot is completely useless. He doesn't tackle with it and rarely put crosses in with it. He found a way to work around it though. Lahm at leftback usually moved inside and became an additional CM and didn't provide width the way you expect it from a leftback. One of the first things van Gaal did was moving Lahm to the right.

Not exactly the full back you'd want to offer width with a winger like Iniesta...both who will be looking to move inside, and neither offering true width on the left.

In contrast to Ramos and Jarni, both playing on their natural side. When they move forward, which they will on occasion, they will be able to offer us some width to open up spaces for our playmakers to use.

Ramos faced Lahm and Podolski at Euro 2008, and was part of keeping a clean sheet, with Iniesta the "winger" in front of him. He's a capable defender, even to the point that Iniesta has praised him. (interesting side note, somewhat irrelevant, but came across it when looking into things....Ramos reached 50 goals quicker for Madrid, and Iniesta for Barca!) As well as Ramos being a fantastic athlete (as Aldo did kindly mention) he's a great reader of the game. He won't be rushing round the field being reckless (as some will assume based on madrid moments) and if Iniesta does move inside, he'll be moving to where the field is congested.

Jarni was part of the impressive Croatian team at Euro 96 (along with Suker). In the group stage they only conceded after already qualifying, and playing a patched together squad against Portugal. In the QF against Germany, they were tied up at 1 until they went a man down and conceded to Sammer a few moments later. He'll be assisted by Bonhof on that side. The biggest advantage to Kaltz as a full back is his crossing ability...with Baros the target, I wouldn't be too concerned about him pinging balls in to Baros, who I don't remember being particularly impressive with his head.

 

[Skizzo]

Davor Suker seems to have been typecast into a certain type of player here also. He's far from a immobile, lumbering poacher...he would often drift along the front line to find space, turning in behind defenders, and was more than capable of beating a man on the dribble. His link up play is excellent, and he's dangerous with the ball at his feet.


He'd thrive in the space created by the opposition needing to focus on Van Basten and Netzer. If they're left in one on one situations, or in space, they'll relish the chance. Suker was usually the main man on Croatia in the WC and Euro's, so he would be the focus...here, he'd be chomping at the bit to enjoy the extra freedom of being the second most deadly striker.

 

[Balu]

Why do you quote me without adding my name in the quote @Skizzo ? That's slightly odd to be honest and you've done it twice now . I don't think I should be quoted as an expert, I'm just a football fan like everyone else around here.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too critical with Lahm on the left. I guess my expectations after seeing him on the right are crazy high and I judged his performances on the left a bit too harshly in the past. That being said, it's true that he doesn't really provide width going forward when played on the left, at least not consistently in the way you'd get it from a real leftback. He can stretch the play and stay disciplined out wide of course and should fit in nicely into Aldo's short passing game, I doubt Aldo really relies on crosses from the left in any way, Kaltz on the right will hit enough dangerous ones to add a different dimension to the team.

 

[Physiocrat]

Going with Aldo. I think his front six will work wonderfully especially against a narrow diamond. In Euro form Baros will pop away most of the chances

 

[Skizzo]

Why do you quote me without adding my name in the quote @Skizzo ? That's slightly odd to be honest and you've done it twice now . I don't think I should be quoted as an expert, I'm just a football fan like everyone else around here.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too critical with Lahm on the left. I guess my expectations after seeing him on the right are crazy high and I judged his performances on the left a bit too harshly in the past. That being said, it's true that he doesn't really provide width going forward when played on the left, at least not consistently in the way you'd get it from a real leftback. He can stretch the play and stay disciplined out wide of course and should fit in nicely into Aldo's short passing game, I doubt Aldo really relies on crosses from the left in any way, Kaltz on the right will hit enough dangerous ones to add a different dimension to the team.

It wasn't done intentionally. I wasn't sure if quoting from forum page to forum page worked, so I just copied it and added the "quote" parts myself. I didn't use you as the be all and end all of knowledge...but you've seen Bayern play as much as anyone else, so used a comment you made when I was going through.

 

[Balu]

It wasn't done intentionally. I wasn't sure if quoting from forum page to forum page worked, so I just copied it and added the "quote" parts myself. I didn't use you as the be all and end all of knowledge...but you've seen Bayern play as much as anyone else, so used a comment you made when I was going through.

Yeah, no problem . You can copy/paste quotes from one thread to another. Works perfectly fine.

 

[Skizzo]

Yeah, no problem . You can copy/paste quotes from one thread to another. Works perfectly fine.

Well now I know for future Thanks. It wasn't meant to be anything sinister, or underhanded btw Don't want you to think I avoided quoting you so it looked like it was something more official.

 

[Skizzo]

Going with Aldo. I think his front six will work wonderfully especially against a narrow diamond. In Euro form Baros will pop away most of the chances

It's not a "narrow" diamond, unless you just mean that all diamonds are somewhat narrow by nature. His front 6 contains one natural winger in Nedved, the best all do their best work centrally. Monti is a better defensively than anyone on the opposite side. Cocu or Xavi trying to stop Netzer? Based on Euro form, Van Basten and Suker would pop away most of the chances too, especially with Netzer running the show behind.

To touch back on my original point from earlier, both teams have an ability to break down the opposition, but I feel we are better set up defensively to counter against his goal scoring threats. Suker and Van Basten were both prolific, Netzer contributed a fair few. For him, Baros won golden boot, Albert averaged less than 1 in 2 for Hungary, Nedved averaged 1 in 4.5 for Czech Republic and I think scored just 1 goal across 3 Euro final tournaments.

 

[Balu]

Well now I know for future Thanks. It wasn't meant to be anything sinister, or underhanded btw Don't want you to think I avoided quoting you so it looked like it was something more official.

Yeah I know .

 

[Skizzo]

• To stop Van Basten, Suker and Netzer... you need a all-time, world-class defence. I don't think Aldo's defence as good as it is can contain that threat, 2/3 of that trio are final ready and Suker is brilliant at this level.
• The midfield battle is tough to call... you have three world class players plus a solid 4th in Cocu vs greats in Monti/Netzer and solid players such as Bonhof/Arnesen. I think a Xmas tree formation with Cocu at the base with Xavi and Iniesta either side, with Albert/Nedved behind Baros would force that duo to focus more on scoring goals rather than joining in with the midfield battle too much. Either way I think Aldo edges possession here but Skizzo has the more direct players in his midfield and a more incisive duo up top.
• Skizzo's defence is weak but I don't think Ramos for example would struggle in this match up, he isn't really up against any dribblers and Albert/Nedved are going to have to beat the likes of Bonhof/Monti to get at that defence which is a difficult task.

Although my heart is with Aldo's side, I think Skizzo's team is tactically superior.

@Raees

Just wondering what changed your mind/vote here? You state that our front 3 needs a world class defence on show to be able to stop it...observing that one isn't here.

Observe that our midfield is quite capable of nullifying most of the threat posed by the opposition. I've posted the goal scoring stats of the attacking players just above, highlighting that we have the edge in goal threat.

Monti on Albert is going to be a better match for us than Cocu on Netzer on the opposite side.

Just curious is all cheers.

 

[Skizzo]

I feel in all the talk of midfields, we might have been letting Frank Arnesen get a bit under appreciated here as well. While lacking the "star quality" of some of the other midfielders, he fits perfectly into the midfield cog here, and can genuinely offer width when in possession, pushing wide on the right. He's great in possession, and while he won't necessarily be a "game changer" in his own right here, we don't need him to be. He fits in tactically to allow Netzer to shine offensively. He'll free up some of the defensive work load on Monti and Bonhof, and offers an outlet to keep the ball moving.

Like Anto said earlier, its hard to find clips of him that show off his quality. The two posted earlier don't do him justice. In Euro 84 he was second highest goalscorer, and made team of the tournament alongside Platini, Tigana as Denmark made the semi finals. He was a key part of that Danish side, and would work well here alongside our other midfield pieces.

 

[Raees]

@Raees

Just wondering what changed your mind/vote here? You state that our front 3 needs a world class defence on show to be able to stop it...observing that one isn't here.

Observe that our midfield is quite capable of nullifying most of the threat posed by the opposition. I've posted the goal scoring stats of the attacking players just above, highlighting that we have the edge in goal threat.

Monti on Albert is going to be a better match for us than Cocu on Netzer on the opposite side.

Just curious is all cheers.

What changed my vote was re watching Albert's video .. at first I thought Aldos midfield would be too similar and it would play into your hand I.e. I mentioned Ramos wouldn't struggle defending against tiki taka esque dribblers who don't really make you commit but by reminding myself just how good he is I think he will prove the difference here - he is that good.

It is still very tight and I wouldn't say I'm 100% sold on his side but getting the ball off his side is going to be an incredibly tough task.

My points above still stand - I think tactically on the whole you have a better side but I think Albert makes the difference and gives that Aldo side penetration to maybe edge this. Or maybe I just went with my heart after all.

 

[RoadTrip]

Game is as tight as I first expected when I glanced yesterday. I still can't pick a winner.

 

[Skizzo]

What changed my vote was re watching Albert's video .. at first I thought Aldos midfield would be too similar and it would play into your hand I.e. I mentioned Ramos wouldn't struggle defending against tiki taka esque dribblers who don't really make you commit but by reminding myself just how good he is I think he will prove the difference here - he is that good.

It is still very tight and I wouldn't say I'm 100% sold on his side but getting the ball off his side is going to be an incredibly tough task.

My points above still stand - I think tactically on the whole you have a better side but I think Albert makes the difference and gives that Aldo side penetration to maybe edge this. Or maybe I just went with my heart after all.

Can't really argue much against you going with your heart

Albert is still operating in a congested area. To penetrate, he'd have to find ways through Monti, and then the defence. You made no mention of Netzer on the opposite side against Cocu. The biggest gripe in my argument there, I suppose, is that Netzer is the exact player you just described Albert as, based on his Euro performances. The video from the World Cup is somewhat irrelevant in this sense since it wasn't from the CEIC or Euro's. I know it's hard to find that footage, but it would be a bit hard to prove he'd be that effective, or ineffective, in this match based on a WC video. That being said, I know there's some leeway involved since a lot of those players won't have footage for the specific purpose here...but to not mention Netzer, and who he would be up against here, just struck me as a bit odd when he was a monster at the Euro's.

thanks for the response though

 

[Balu]

What changed my vote was re watching Albert's video

Posting the video of his arguably best ever performance in a tournament that should be ignored in the theme of this draft is a bit unfair though. I'm all for giving the greats from past decades their due, but from what I've seen of the Euro 1964, Albert was much more playing as a striker and less involved in the overall build-up for the team. Which I don't mind, he's still fantastic of course and an excellent fit as a 2nd striker for Aldo's team. Just that particular game you posted might paint a picture that isn't necessarily true, at least not for this draft.



The first two goals are excellent examples. Albert scores the first one as a typical central forward. The second goal shows that he linked up well, but it shows how others ran the show in midfield and he was pretty much a final third player. Lajos Tichy looks incredible though. It's amazing how many complete attackers Hungary produced from the 40's to the 60's. Every attacker was basically a perfect total footballer.

 

[Skizzo]

Looks like @Balu read my mind.

I tagged you this time

 

[Moby]

I was really close to picking Tichy when I was looking for a pre 66 striker.

 

[Moby]

The first two goals are excellent examples. Albert scores the first one as a typical central forward. The second goal shows that he linked up well, but it shows how others ran the show in midfield and he was pretty much a final third player.

Precisely his role in my team as well.

 

[Skizzo]

I was really close to picking Tichy when I was looking for a pre 66 striker.

What swayed it?

Not to try and get off topic, but just curious. I'm not too familiar with a lot of the older players of that era, so wondered what swayed you one way or the other?

 

[Moby]

What swayed it?

Not to try and get off topic, but just curious. I'm not too familiar with a lot of the older players of that era, so wondered what swayed you one way or the other?

I just don't know that much about some of these players and I couldn't find enough support of how well they had done at the Euros. Sometimes it is easy to pick older attacking players and sell them because of their insane goal scoring records, but in this case I had to be sure of certain things which I couldn't be when I was reading about him.

The one I would have loved to pick there, was Ferenc Bene. Him and Albert back together would have been really nice, unfortunately he got picked the same round I picked Albert.

And anyway, Baros completely deserves to be a part of this draft. I loved that 04 Czech team and Baros was on fire that year.

 

[Balu]

I was really close to picking Tichy when I was looking for a pre 66 striker.

. Why didn't you pick a 2nd Hungarian player? Did you want to leave the spot open to get one of the big Hungarian stars as an upgrade later? There were many awesome fits for your team still available.

Precisely his role in my team as well.

I know, I did write he's a perfect fit for your team . With Xavi, Iniesta and Nedved running the show in midfield, you certainly don't need him dropping deep a lot anyway.

 

[Balu]

And anyway, Baros completely deserves to be a part of this draft. I loved that 04 Czech team and Baros was on fire that year.

That's true, would have been a shame if he missed out.

 

[Moby]

. Why didn't you pick a 2nd Hungarian player? Did you want to leave the spot open to get one of the big Hungarian stars as an upgrade later? There were many awesome fits for your team still available.


I know, I did write he's a perfect fit for your team . With Xavi, Iniesta and Nedved running the show in midfield, you certainly don't need him dropping deep a lot anyway .

I didn't actually think about upgrades just yet, I'm not anto you know but yeah that's a good point.

 

[Skizzo]

I just don't know that much about some of these players and I couldn't find enough support of how well they had done at the Euros. Sometimes it is easy to pick older attacking players and sell them because of their insane goal scoring records, but in this case I had to be sure of certain things which I couldn't be when I was reading about him.

The one I would have loved to pick there, was Ferenc Bene. Him and Albert back together would have been really nice, unfortunately he got picked the same round I picked Albert.

And anyway, Baros completely deserves to be a part of this draft. I loved that 04 Czech team and Baros was on fire that year.

Bene was one we looked at for a while...but I didn't think we'd be able to do him justice, because I just didn't really know how to best utilize him.

 

[Moby]

Bene was one we looked at for a while...but I didn't think we'd be able to do him justice, because I just didn't really know how to best utilize him.

Yeah, he is a tricky one in that aspect. Even I pencilled him down once I picked Albert, because from what Ive read they seemed to have formed a fantastic partnership in 64.

 

[Skizzo]

Heading to bed soon, and probably won't be back before this is done (although I'll probably end up waking up at 4am and having a peek like usually happens )

So a few final thoughts. Baros is really the prime goal scoring outlet here for the opposition. He's certainly a great option, and has goals in him...but the lack of goals from elsewhere is what would tip the scales. Albert score 2 goals out of the 18 Hungary scored through qualifying and the finals. None in the actual final tournament. Nedved scores almost 1 in 5 games on average, and Iniesta took longer than Ramos to get to 50 goals.

While possession might edge in Aldo's favour...they aren't playing against a long ball team that would just lump it back to them. All of our midfielders, as well as defenders, are comfortable on the ball. Bonhof assisted numerous goals for Germany at the Euro's. Arnesen was second leading scorer. Suker has won the Golden Boot, and Van Basten and Netzer are probably in the top 5 players based on performances at the Euro's (yes, there'll be some arguments there, I'm sure...but it would be hard to argue against)

We just have a much, much more clinical forward line. Possession isn't a benefit if you can't put the chances away. (United vs Chelsea anyone?) And I feel we would be much better set up here to defend against one main goal scoring threat, with a few playmakers in behind, than the opposition is set up to stop us scoring a few here.

 

[Skizzo]

Yeah, he is a tricky one in that aspect. Even I pencilled him down once I picked Albert, because from what Ive read they seemed to have formed a fantastic partnership in 64.

I feel he's one of those players I would have picked, and just botched it to the point where Anto comes in and flips out about how he's being used

 

[Raees]

FWIW I think the Suker/MVB combo might not be perfect but you have two very intelligent and world class strikers there and I can see them gelling ans working towards a common goal - scoring goals. It isn't like partnering up with Ruud who'd be very unhappy.

Posting the video of his arguably best ever performance in a tournament that should be ignored in the theme of this draft is a bit unfair though. I'm all for giving the greats from past decades their due, but from what I've seen of the Euro 1964, Albert was much more playing as a striker and less involved in the overall build-up for the team. Which I don't mind, he's still fantastic of course and an excellent fit as a 2nd striker for Aldo's team. Just that particular game you posted might paint a picture that isn't necessarily true, at least not for this draft.



The first two goals are excellent examples. Albert scores the first one as a typical central forward. The second goal shows that he linked up well, but it shows how others ran the show in midfield and he was pretty much a final third player. Lajos Tichy looks incredible though. It's amazing how many complete attackers Hungary produced from the 40's to the 60's. Every attacker was basically a perfect total footballer.

I think you're both right in that it is unfair for me to base it on that video so I'll try and find some Euro footage and come to a conclusion.

Netzer is a monster too and personally I think he's a better passer than Albert in that 10 role. Both footballers I adore and Van Basten is my favourite striker outside of fat Ronnie.

I'll withdraw for now and make a final decision by deadline time.

Yes footballers from that era are remarkably technically proficient. Hungarians all seemed otherworldly... so ahead of their time. One thing I even noticed from Germany v England 1972 was that even the English looked decent on the ball and the Germans were playing a form of total football which was so futuristic and anarchic.

Maybe the tempo was slower so more emphasis was on technique but guys like Netzer and Albert shit on any number 10 in the game today bar Messi. Both are unique in that they're very explosive 10s big lads both of them ..can't kick em out of a game and both very direct too.

It's like mixing a young Rooneys ability to power past people with the elegance of Zidane.. very dangerous complete footballers.

 

[Moby]

Yeah that's a big factor that gives this side a dimension much needed for a team that has that level of control and creativity in midfield, The front two of Albert and Baros comes in with a lot of pace and directness. I can't be sure of how fast Popluhar and Olivella are, but they need to be really really fast to keep up with those two. Specially Albert, the way he changes gears looks amazing. With the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Nedved threading passes, once these two get away it's gonna be hard to recover for the defense.

 

[Balu]

and Van Basten and Netzer are probably in the top 5 players based on performances at the Euro's (yes, there'll be some arguments there, I'm sure...but it would be hard to argue against)

Yeah, I'm not sure Netzer gets his fair due here. That 1972 side is easily the strongest German nationalteam of all time. The 74 World Cup winning team is a shadow of that team. The run that team had from the game at Wembley in the Euro quarterfinals over the final win until the injured players returned and we went back to the less exciting and more functional side that we saw in 1974 was beyond incredible. The last game with that line-up was a friendly against Switzerland at the end of 1972 and it was still Netzer running the show in an incredible 5-1 win.

Netzer's terrific goal after another driving run through midfield finished by a fantastic 1-2 with Müller (whose link-up play and technical ability is so underrated), 55 seconds into the video:

 

[Balu]

I won't vote, I simply can't decide. I'd argue that Germany '72 and Spain in '08 were the two most exciting teams the Euros have seen. And here we have the key players with a wonderful supporting cast facing each other in the first round, I hate the draw. I really suck, what an awful job I did. Both teams shouldn't have faced each other so early .

 

[Skizzo]

I won't vote, I simply can't decide. I'd argue that Germany '72 and Spain in '08 were the two most exciting teams the Euros have seen. And here we have the key players with a wonderful supporting cast facing each other in the first round, I hate the draw. I really suck, what an awful job I did. Both teams shouldn't have faced each other so early .

I forgive you. As draftmaster, I learned you can't please everyone

Thanks for that video btw.