Does anyone know what system Matthaus played at inter in the late 80s early 90s? I had a look around and could only find line-up sheets but nothing on tactics and formation.
Matthaus at Inter
- Thread starter Physiocrat
- Start date
There's one from their Serie A winning season, it's pretty accurate. Bianchi as a winger, Brehme as an attacking wingback, Matthäus in a free 10-ish role in a midfield three (obviously with much more defensive contribution than your regular fantasista).
Awesome, thanks for that. It confirms what I thought. To get the goals from peak Matthaus he only wants three more attacking players in front of him.There's one from their Serie A winning season, it's pretty accurate. Bianchi as a winger, Brehme as an attacking wingback, Matthäus in a free 10-ish role in a midfield three (obviously with much more defensive contribution than your regular fantasista).
Yeah, it's an evolution of zona mista system with fantasista dropping further back in midfield. Berti was your typical box-to-box midfielder with decent goalscoring stats with Marco Tardelli being an obvious comparison.
By the way, here are PES enthusiasts' take on the matter:
Umm...I don't quite know how to put his role into words, really — heroic might be the right descriptive term? You could say that he was a cross between Gerrard and Ballack and Lampard with a dash of Cantona — neither a pure midfielder nor an attacker, but a bit of both — like the former trio, particularly Gerrard, he was afforded some tactical concessions to affect multiple aspects of the team, and was a hugely inspirational figure.
That's probably how I would interpret his general positioning on the pitch. Bear in mind that the other clubs had the likes of Maradona and Gullit and Brady in attacking midfield roles, and Matthäus was supposed to be an answer to that — a tour de force 10 with the combativeness to also contribute in general midfield tussles. If memory serves, Battistini would alternate at sweeper alngside Ferri or as a DM, and then you also had Paganin and Pizzi and Matteolini playing in midfield. Berti was a more constant presence in a Marchio-esque central midfield role (aggressive with a bit of box-to-box coverage but also decent technical skills) to complement Matthäus. And then you had two forwards up top (Serena: who initially scored at an exceptional rate, Díaz, and then Klinsmann: who wasn't that great). Matthäus galvanized the team to a great degree and made it look better than it was (in conjunction with Brehme), but I wouldn't say it was a historic team and their profligacy in attack necessitated superhuman efforts by Lothar — which was great for him and he even finished 2nd in Serie A for scoring but that overall deficiency definitely held them back.
@Gio
This looks very easy to remake with your current side. A lesser often used setup to try and build a draft side around Matthaus in the future.
----------Baggio------Suarez-----------
----------------------------------Jairzinho
----------------------Matthaus-----------
-----------Didi---------------------------
Marcelo--------Rijkaard-----------------
This looks very easy to remake with your current side. A lesser often used setup to try and build a draft side around Matthaus in the future.
----------Baggio------Suarez-----------
----------------------------------Jairzinho
----------------------Matthaus-----------
-----------Didi---------------------------
Marcelo--------Rijkaard-----------------
Good effort @GodShaveTheQueen. Think Italy 1982 would also have been a great habitat for Inter-Matthäus, considering he interpreted the role almost like a pseudo ponta de lança and would add another dimension to the team.
What the heck is a ponta de lega?Good effort @GodShaveTheQueen. Think Italy 1982 would also have been a great habitat for Inter-Matthäus, considering he interpreted the role almost like a pseudo ponta de lança and would add another dimension to the team.
Something to try in the bedroom. Banned in 41 countries. Shhh.
Er, it vaguely translates to tip of a spear (which is used to penetrate the opposition) in Portuguese and is a generalized term for attackers that usually receive the ball and operate behind the centroavante (striker). Pelé is an obvious example (or the best example come to think of it), Zico is another, as well as Rivaldo — even though they had their own unique style they could all be classified as ponta de lança and had freedom to roam around to influence play, and while Matthäus wasn't comparable to them in terms of offensive skill or dropping from attack to midfield, his role in that setup could be interpreted as the pseudo point of attack behind Rossi (centroavante) once Graziani drifts wider on the left. In hindsight, I don't know why I used a Brazilian term in an Italian setup to highlight a German player — utterly moronic, and doesn't fully convey what I wanted to say!
P.S. @oneniltothearsenal can correct me if I'm wrong, he must know much more about this as a massive Zico fan. Maybe Lothar's role will be considered more like a hook?
Er, it vaguely translates to tip of a spear (which is used to penetrate the opposition) in Portuguese and is a generalized term for attackers that usually receive the ball and operate behind the centroavante (striker). Pelé is an obvious example (or the best example come to think of it), Zico is another, as well as Rivaldo — even though they had their own unique style they could all be classified as ponta de lança and had freedom to roam around to influence play, and while Matthäus wasn't comparable to them in terms of offensive skill or dropping from attack to midfield, his role in that setup could be interpreted as the pseudo point of attack behind Rossi (centroavante) once Graziani drifts wider on the left. In hindsight, I don't know why I used a Brazilian term in an Italian setup to highlight a German player — utterly moronic, and doesn't fully convey what I wanted to say!
P.S. @oneniltothearsenal can correct me if I'm wrong, he must know much more about this as a massive Zico fan. Maybe Lothar's role will be considered more like a hook?
At least it added to my knowledge, now to learn how to spell it properly.I kind of get what you mean like a number ten who is the main playmaker and the leader of attack of a side.
I always conceptualized it as being a no.10 that will start attacking movements deeper than say the traditional no.9 (centrovante) and then thrust forward to become the most attacking person at times or sometimes just feeding someone else. I always imagined it was this 'thrusting/lunging' type movement which is why its the 'spearhead'. So its not so much literal that the 'tip of the spear' is always the most forward player but rather the player that controls the 'thrusts of the spear' if that makes sense. Zico wasn't always the most advanced player on the pitch but he controlled the offensive thrusts. A bit like the confusion over 'volante'/steering wheel. My conclusion was always that the Brazilian terminology isn't as straight forward as positions in English but are more about the role in the overall tactic. Or maybe I just thought too much about the analogy hahaEr, it vaguely translates to tip of a spear (which is used to penetrate the opposition) in Portuguese and is a generalized term for attackers that usually receive the ball and operate behind the centroavante (striker). Pelé is an obvious example (or the best example come to think of it), Zico is another, as well as Rivaldo — even though they had their own unique style they could all be classified as ponta de lança and had freedom to roam around to influence play, and while Matthäus wasn't comparable to them in terms of offensive skill or dropping from attack to midfield, his role in that setup could be interpreted as the pseudo point of attack behind Rossi (centroavante) once Graziani drifts wider on the left. In hindsight, I don't know why I used a Brazilian term in an Italian setup to highlight a German player — utterly moronic, and doesn't fully convey what I wanted to say!
P.S. @oneniltothearsenal can correct me if I'm wrong, he must know much more about this as a massive Zico fan. Maybe Lothar's role will be considered more like a hook?
Matthaus at Inter played in that free-role in the 3-man central midfield. He had complete license to bombard forward and join the attack where he would cause chaos in and around opposition box with his late-runs into the box and link-up with the other attackers. In terms of style, I would say he was quite similar to a younger Frank Lampard in terms of going forward, except he was stronger and faster.
Was the role similar to Neeskens?
Neeskens was always a surplus to Cruyff (Ajax/Netherlands/Barca) that adjusted his movement to movement of Cruyff, often finding himself in a central attacking position. While Matthäus was the one initiating the moves.