Ludo Draft R1: Zlatan vs Himannv

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

........................................ TEAM ZLATAN 7 ............................................................................... TEAM HIMANNV .................................


TEAM ZLATAN 7

Ok, so I looked at himanvvs players and I’m thinking there’s a good chance he’ll play a 352, admittedly it could be anything but 352 is a good a guess as any.

I had lots of formations I’ve been deciding between including a 352, I just find it a little defensive for my liking so I’ve decided to attack himmanv with a 442.


On the one wing will be figo, he’ll tend to stay wide providing the width and obviously causing havoc with his feints and dribbling, and of course wicked delivery.

On the other wing will be Rivelino, a mazy runner who will be happy to stay wide if we’re up against a 352 keeping the wing backs pinned back, Rivelino though will also have the license to come inside into a central 10 roll if that’s where the space is and play behind Del Piero and ronaldo for a while, Carlos as left back will be more than capable of providing that width down the left flank and getting balls into the box.

Del Piero will be playing slightly off Ronaldo, a perfect foil for him, Del Piero will occupy and drift and pull defenders all over while Ronaldo will stay up top, running channels, playing in the space Del Piero can create.


In the centre will be Davids and Redondo, I think these will be such a complimentary pairing, Davids being the work horse covering every blade of grass, Redondo staying deeper controlling the game and Playmaking from deep.


The defence, Carlos I’ve already mentioned will be up and down that wing if/while Rivelino comes inside. On the other side, Thuram will be less adventurous and will stay back more creating a 3 man defence when Carlos goes on his travels.

My 2 centrebacks, firstly Hierro, a Real Madrid legend will control the back line, the ball playing centreback of the two excellent at playing out from the back. With him is lucio, strong and commanding in the area and dominant in the air. I can see these two making it hard for any lone striker looking to win balls in the air.

And the last line of defence, Peruzzi one of the great Italian keepers.


All the best himannv

TEAM HIMANNV

Gameplan: Almost all the midfielders and defenders in this team are creative and can definitely pick a pass. This is aimed at creating as many chances as possible for the front two. The defense and midfield are perfectly suited to working hard for the team without the ball and find the perfect pass to unleash the front two.

• Van Basten and Bergkamp are a perfect pairing up front. As a duo they are both perfectly suited to playing alongside each other and are a potent front two. The rest of the team are mostly customized to support this dynamic duo.

• To feed the front two, I obviously have Beckham on the right who is perfect to feed MvB. Also Bergkamp was at his peak with a winger. Obviously Beckham isn't playing as an out-and-out winger hugging the touchline and he's more of a tucked in winger who will move wider into spaces to cross.

• Petit started his career as a left winger and he's actually great with the ball at his feet. I see him creating chances for the front two, while being that perfect box-to-box foil that enables everyone else to shine. Also consider the experience he has playing with Bergkamp at Arsenal. Here's a nice video of his skills.

• Cocu plays as a defensive playmaker, a role that he primarily played although he was a very versatile player. He's another player who has experience playing with the likes of Bergkamp and Petit.

• The 5 man defense is mainly marshaled by the impeccable Franco Baresi. He's perfectly positioned here to be the extra man and general in defense, while also striding forward and helping the midfield.

• Schnellinger and Buchwald bring that German efficiency into the defense. Schnellinger obviously helps with the creativity, while Buchwald is the typically brilliant German stopper.

• Briegel and Tassotti play as wingbacks. Tassotti is obviously the more defensive of the two and he provides more of a platform for Beckham, while Briegel is more attacking and is another who creates for the front two.

• Kahn is my keeper and he brings the commanding presence at the back along with his aggression and passion to dominate.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Zlatan 7 @Himannv All the best!

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Ah, the battle of @Skizzo's freebies!

Yea yea, am still bitter.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

For starters, Zlatan's team looks like an average drafter's wet dream and hence has an instant pull to vote.

But when I look at the front 2, I can see Del Piero and Fenomeno being contained by the opposition defense.

On the other side, Van Basten and Bergkamp against an uncomplimentary pairing of Lucio and Hierro is what doesn't inspire confidence. If there was a decent RB on the bench, I would have put Thuram in the middle with Lucio.

Would have voted Zlatan's by now if not for that.

 

[harms]

Yeah, would've voted for Zlatan instantly if not for that CB pairing. Himannv's team is definitely not a finished product but van Basten/Bergkamp and Baresi are right where he needs them to be to potentially tip the odds in his favour.

 

[Himannv]

Good luck @Zlatan 7 !

 

[Zlatan 7]

Nice to see a few comments and it’s not about how wrong my tactics are . Personnel I can deal with.

I did have Reiziger on the bench and thought of using him for a brief moment, even in a 352 but didn’t want to lose any of my forwards for him.
As for replacing Thuram for him and then hierro for Thuram, I’m not sure if that’s an upgrade to be honest. Hierro may lack the speed but he’s composed at the back and certainly no walk over. I thought having him as someone who can carry the ball out of defence or find a pass and then Lucio being more there in the tackle, man marking and clearing, both winning most Ariel duals was a pretty good pairing.

 

[Physiocrat]

Nice to see a few comments and it’s not about how wrong my tactics are . Personnel I can deal with.

I did have Reiziger on the bench and thought of using him for a brief moment, even in a 352 but didn’t want to lose any of my forwards for him.
As for replacing Thuram for him and then hierro for Thuram, I’m not sure if that’s an upgrade to be honest. Hierro may lack the speed but he’s composed at the back and certainly no walk over. I thought having him as someone who can carry the ball out of defence or find a pass and then Lucio being more there in the tackle, man marking and clearing, both winning most Ariel duals was a pretty good pairing.

I think tactically it's a very clean and well-rounded setup. I can see Rivelino, Del Piero and R Carlos linking very well on the left. Whilst Lucio and Hierro aren't the best CBs around I think Lucio's pace compensates for Hierro's relative lack of it, also Bergkamp and MVB weren't speed demons. Aerially they will do well.

 

[Zlatan 7]

I think tactically it's a very clean and well-rounded setup. I can see Rivelino, Del Piero and R Carlos linking very well on the left. Whilst Lucio and Hierro aren't the best CBs around I think Lucio's pace compensates for Hierro's relative lack of it, also Bergkamp and MVB weren't speed demons. Aerially they will do well.

My thinking too re lucio and hierro. Thanks for your input.

My first few drafts I got ripped and looking back on my teams I can see why so I tried to stay as true as possible this time (Del Piero deeper and left, riv to play inside with Carlos running flank, Thuram not so adventurous and help defence, Davids covering for redondos lack of pace/effort)
442 scared me slightly as it can probably be seen as weak midfield wise but I think the width and 2 forwards is a good trade off for that

 

[Synco]

Zlatan's team seems brilliant all around to me, and especially his midfield looks way superior to the opposition's.

... an uncomplimentary pairing of Lucio and Hierro ...

What makes you think so? Lucio was physical, quick & a beast in his Leverkusen prime, while Hierro was a technically strong defender, who I remember doing well as the marshal behind the original Galacticos at an 'advanced' age - looks like a pretty classic CB pairing to me at first sight?

Himannv's team has a number of great players, but I still have some difficulties imagining how it's all supposed to work in offense. The little I know about Tassotti doesn't immediately suggest "wingback" to me (as opposed to RB in a back four), am I wrong there? Perhaps a fourth midfielder (LW) instead of a central defender would have been better? Bergkamp/MvB is an utterly brilliant pairing of course, but I'm not sure if they'd get the necessary amount of support.

 

[willhse456]

So many good combinations in Zlatan's team, I just had to go for it. Carlos/Rivelino, Davids/Redondo, Figo/Thuram.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

What makes you think so? Lucio was physical, quick & a beast in his Leverkusen prime, while Hierro was a technically strong defender, who I remember doing well as the marshal behind the original Galacticos at an 'advanced' age - looks like a pretty classic CB pairing to me at first sight?

For me, neither have pure stopper tendencies in their game. If you are to stop Van Basten, you need one of them. Both their games are also kind of similar if you remove the pace aspect of it.

Hierro, I don't rate high enough as compared to Lucio, so a rugged no nonsense defender alongside Lucio would have been more sensible in my books.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

The little I know about Tassotti doesn't immediately suggest "wingback" to me (as opposed to RB in a back four), am I wrong there?

No you are not. He did contribute in attack at times but never good enough to be a wing back. Presence of Beckham there makes it slightly easier on the eye.

 

[Himannv]

I've picked great strikers in the past, and I often felt that I want someone who can do well aerially, while also being a great striker who can act as a great goal scorer and also a scorer of great goals. So, from the very beginning I wanted to pick Van Basten and more or less build the team around him.

Van Basten is a 3 time Ballon D'Or winner and honestly there aren't many who can claim winning this prestigious award so often. To be the greatest player in the world and being there or thereabouts for so long meant that we were obviously witnessing one of the best players of all time. He shone bright in an era that had some truly wonderful players.

He scored all types of goals really. He could score volleys, thunderbolts from outside the box, overhead kicks, headers, and tap-ins. His strike-rate is immense (he scored something like 218 in 280 appearances as per wiki) and he's comfortable scoring with either foot.

Here's a nice video of him.


If you analyse the kind of goals he scored in the video above, you also see a very intelligent footballer there in terms of how he created space for himself. His excellent first touch and clever movement with the ball at his feet just made him so much more than just a tall striker. His instinct of where to go and how to finish was just so incredibly natural.

Himannv's team has a number of great players, but I still have some difficulties imagining how it's all supposed to work in offense. The little I know about Tassotti doesn't immediately suggest "wingback" to me (as opposed to RB in a back four), am I wrong there? Perhaps a fourth midfielder (LW) instead of a central defender would have been better? Bergkamp/MvB is an utterly brilliant pairing of course, but I'm not sure if they'd get the necessary amount of support.

On the contrary, I think this team is setup to support the front two. Beckham is probably the most obvious supplier. For me, Tassotti's role here is to give Beckham more license to attack and find spaces to whip in those crosses for MvB and Bergkamp.

Petit, started out as an LW and can certainly provide for the front two. He's a box-to-box enabler who is just perfect to bring the best out of others. Cocu as a deep lying playmaker is also a supplier of passes from the deep, either targetting the front two or setting up someone for an assist. Both Schnellinger and Baresi also have playmaking capabilities from the deep.

For me, there is just loads of supply options and I back a pairing of MvB and Bergkamp against the Hierro and Lucio pairing, which for me is flawed as neither of them are a world class stopper for me. Don't get me wrong, I actually rate Lucio quite highly and have picked him in drafts before, but he was always that player who played the sweeper role in combination with a perfect stopper.

 

[Himannv]

Wow, just voted and saw the score. Game over?

 

[Himannv]

Bread and butter for Bergkamp and MvB:

 

[Zlatan 7]

If your plan is beckham crossing balls into the box I’m sure hierro and lucio would be more than happy with that kind of defending. Both dominant in the air, van Basten is obviously quality but he’s having no easy time here with Lucio on him.
My left side is prone to roasting you too if beckham gets caught forward looking for these angled crosses. There’ll be big gaps between him and Tassotti

 

[Zlatan 7]

Also, he’s got ronaldo on the end of those crosses hasn’t he? I’ve got figo out on that wing, also with a wicked cross putting balls into that same ronaldo

 

[Himannv]

If your plan is beckham crossing balls into the box I’m sure hierro and lucio would be more than happy with that kind of defending. Both dominant in the air, van Basten is obviously quality but he’s having no easy time here with Lucio on him.

Bergkamp and MvB are both great in the air. They're both the same height as Lucio and Hierro. You've also got to consider that they've both got an exceptional first touch and are two of the most intelligent attackers to ever play the game. Lucio and Hierro are good players of course, but they're both sweepers for me. They're also not on the same level of players as MvB and Bergkamp, while I have Baresi marshalling my defense alongside more than capable defenders in Schnellinger and Buchwald.

My left side is prone to roasting you too if beckham gets caught forward looking for these angled crosses. There’ll be big gaps between him and Tassotti

Not sure what you mean here, mate. Tassotti is a very good fullback and defensive problems seem like the wrong criticism? Beckham is also probably one of the most hard working wingers ever, and I don't see a defensive frailty on that flank.

 

[Himannv]

Perruzzi is a good keeper, and I've watched him a few times while he was at Lazio. For me, his biggest weakness was dealing with crosses and also distribution (which was, of course, not a big deal during the era he played in). He often just punched or parried crosses instead of catching them. Not dealing with crosses well when you have Beckham in the opposition lineup is a problem IMO.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Not sure what you mean here, mate. Tassotti is a very good fullback and defensive problems seem like the wrong criticism? Beckham is also probably one of the most hard working wingers ever, and I don't see a defensive frailty on that flank.

I meant, you’re showing vids of beckham out wide and at the byline crossing the ball. There’ll be a massive gap between him and your defensive wingback and prone to overlaps from my left side.

Your players can’t be everywhere at the same time, your setup look hell defensive and then relying on midfielders carrying the ball or playing a long ball to Bergkamp the other end of the field?
There’s no link up, and if your midfielders (petit, beckham do go supporting your strikers there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the park filled by Cocu.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Rivelino, del piero and ronaldo will pull that defence all over the place and you’ve got Cocu in there stopping Davids and redondo?

Re, Peruzzi, yes he wasn’t the tallest but as you rightfully said, more than capable of clearing the ball by punching it. As long as he doesn’t punch it to the right wing to beckham

 

[Himannv]

I meant, you’re showing vids of beckham out wide and at the byline crossing the ball. There’ll be a massive gap between him and your defensive wingback and prone to overlaps from my left side.

Your players can’t be everywhere at the same time, your setup look hell defensive and then relying on midfielders carrying the ball or playing a long ball to Bergkamp the other end of the field?
There’s no link up, and if your midfielders (petit, beckham do go supporting your strikers there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the park filled by Cocu.

As I said in the OP, Beckham is playing more in midfield here. Tassotti is simply the enabler who allows Beckham to position himself in the best position to play the ball to Bergkamp and MvB. Our whole game plan is getting the ball to the front two and relying on them to beat your CB pairing, which I think is a slight weak link considering the players they're up against.

 

[Himannv]

Rivelino, del piero and ronaldo will pull that defence all over the place and you’ve got Cocu in there stopping Davids and redondo?

Re, Peruzzi, yes he wasn’t the tallest but as you rightfully said, more than capable of clearing the ball by punching it. As long as he doesn’t punch it to the right wing to beckham

I think it's a weakness against the likes of MvB who is simply excellent in the box. You need to be catching and not parrying against a striker like that.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Punching, not parrying

 

[Zlatan 7]

Your game plan was to create chances for the front 2, I assumed that meant other players getting involved and creating chances.
Now the game plan is just get the ball to the front 2 and make it a 2v2 against my centrebacks?

Our whole game plan is getting the ball to the front two and relying on them to beat your CB pairing, which I think is a slight weak link considering the players they're up against.

 

[Himannv]

Your game plan was to create chances for the front 2, I assumed that meant other players getting involved and creating chances.
Now the game plan is just get the ball to the front 2 and make it a 2v2 against my centrebacks?

Well, this is from the OP:

Gameplan: Almost all the midfielders and defenders in this team are creative and can definitely pick a pass. This is aimed at creating as many chances as possible for the front two. The defense and midfield are perfectly suited to working hard for the team without the ball and find the perfect pass to unleash the front two.

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

 

[Himannv]

Punching, not parrying

Still risky against a proper goal poacher. As I said, he's a good keeper and an excellent shot stopper but not the best with crosses and that's a problem considering the kind of players he's up against.

Anyway, I feel like I'm repeating the same thing here so will let the voters decide. This seems over already anyway.

 

[Synco]

For me, neither have pure stopper tendencies in their game. If you are to stop Van Basten, you need one of them. Both their games are also kind of similar if you remove the pace aspect of it.

Hierro, I don't rate high enough as compared to Lucio, so a rugged no nonsense defender alongside Lucio would have been more sensible in my books.

And I'm sure the defender you're looking for is - Lucio. I'm gonna do a write up, will take some time.

Edit: although "no nonsense" is perhaps not an accurate description, in a rather funny way. More on that later.

 

[Zlatan 7]

@Himannv i doubt we’d agree too much, I just think too much is being made out of my two centrebacks. I’d personally think Lucio is a pretty good match for Van Basten, he’ll challenge him in the air, be strong, dominant, mark him tightly, won’t give him a minute and was no slouch to go with it.
Unless we’re talking goats I suppose anyone would struggle against Van Basten but Lúcio is as good as it gets otherwise.

 

[Synco]

@GodShaveTheQueen

Lucio is a player I watched quite extensively during his years at Leverkusen and Bayern, so I'm halfways confident of getting this right. Then again, most of this is 10 to almost 20 years back, and I'm open to dissenting opinions, as always.

So here's my take. It's longer than necessary

Spoiler: Lucio

I don't think Lucio and Hierro resembled each other a lot, at least if I don't get Hierro wrong. Lucio was in many ways a physical, hard-tackling stopper, fast, good in the air, a warrior. What can perhaps lead to that impression is that he, like Hierro, made a lot of offensive contributions for a defender as well, including scoring - but it wasn't really in the way of a libero.

Lucio sure had an impressive offensive repertoire (a powerful shot, bullet headers, direct free kicks, dribbling runs), but he could be quite undisciplined and unpredictable for his own team with his forward runs, exposing his backline, turning the ball over in dangerous spots, etc. I don't remember how good his regular build-up play was, but I surely don't remember him as a strategically minded player in any way.

I think that against the ball he was to central defenders what Casemiro is to defensive midfielders today: physical, mobile, direct, lots of impact and quality in man-to-man duels, but also rash and at times a little suspect in terms of reading situations and making decisions. An all-or-nothing type of player in many ways.

But he had the quality to pull it off, and during his peak in the early/mid 2000s he was considered a world class defender. Like Nesta and Chivu, he was projected as a possible target for Real Madrid. But when Perez finally decided to invest in Real's defense, he bought Samuel and Woodgate (which went about as well as the „Zidanes y Pavones“ doctrine these transfers were meant to correct), and Lucio moved to Bayern the same year.

He spent five seasons there, until the newly appointed Louis van Gaal denied him the role of a guaranteed starter. I don't think Lucio with his personality and peculiar on-field characteristics would have had a future under him anyway. So he moved once again and became a classic Mourinho transfer: a battle-hardened veteran who still had something to prove. Especially towards Bayern and van Gaal, which he finally did in the last game of that season, claiming the historic treble with Inter.

So what about the Hierro partnership?

During his time in Germany, Lucio was often paired with some variation of a ball-playing defender, like Nowotny, Kovac, Demichelis. That's why I think Hierro is a fitting partner. And despite Lucio's offensive tendencies, this partnership still resembles a stopper/libero constellation to me.

...and van Basten?

In my opinion, Lucio is a good choice for taking on van Basten in principle - at his best he was a beast of a defender. But Bergkamp/van Basten are also perfect candidates to exploit possible lapses and misjudgements. So I'd expect a quite spectacular fight that could go either way. But it's still a team game, and Thuram/Hierro plus the defensive midfield look like good partners for forming a stable defense to me.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Good post @Synco . I agree that in terms of actual defending, rather than on-the-ball contribution, Lucio was more aggressive stopper than covering defender. I have no issue with the balance of that Lucio/Hierro partnership at all. It's just the sheer quality of the Bergkamp/Van Basten duo that could overwhelm them.

Zlatan's team looks perfectly balanced to me and Himannv's works well too - I don't mind Tassotti at WB with Beckham able to support him from RCM. Edging towards Zlatan as he has more creativity from midfield, but then again Himannv's defence is that bit more robust.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

@Synco

Thanks for the detailed post.

I do feel you are underrating MVB a little and overrating Lucio. At both their absolute peaks, without a complimentary partner, that battle is 9/10 times going only one way in my books, especially when MVB has a really complimentary partner.

When you speak of lapses or misjudgments or natural attacking forays, that is where a no nonsense stopper makes his presence felt. Without one, I'd expect Van Basten to take every chance that comes out of a mistake. Walter Samuel was in many ways his best partner IMO and I'd expect a similar presence going forward if Zlatan qualifies.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Thanks @Synco an informative post
I was going for more of a lucio stopper, hierro passer role. But I also see the problem with using both Lúcio and hierro like that.

I also agree with pat mustards assessment of the game, when I seen himannv solid defence/mid I did panic but I’d also back my more creative attacking team.

Thank GSTQ, if I qualify it’s something I will take into consideration

 

[sincher]

Cocu.

Hm.

 

[Himannv]

Congratz @Zlatan 7

Best of luck for the rest of the draft.

 

[Synco]

It's just the sheer quality of the Bergkamp/Van Basten duo that could overwhelm them.

I do feel you are underrating MVB a little and overrating Lucio. At both their absolute peaks, without a complimentary partner, that battle is 9/10 times going only one way in my books, especially when MVB has a really complimentary partner.

When you speak of lapses or misjudgments or natural attacking forays, that is where a no nonsense stopper makes his presence felt. Without one, I'd expect Van Basten to take every chance that comes out of a mistake.

That's fair, and I think I get what you mean with "no nonsense" better now, @GodShaveTheQueen.

My point was mainly that Lucio had an unusual combination of traits that made him hard to categorize, and not really comparable with (my half-informed idea of) Hierro. And I feel his surroundings in defense and midfield here (Thuram, Hierro, Davids, Redondo) may actually compliment him, at least when Hierro accepts being more responsible for balance at times.

Walter Samuel was in many ways his best partner IMO and I'd expect a similar presence going forward if Zlatan qualifies.

I'm not too familiar with Hierro, but I imagine this partnership would somewhat resemble Lucio's with Nowotny at Leverkusen? Which was a fine and well functioning duo, as I remember it. Samuel and Lucio were partnered in a Mourinho setup, which is a special case and far from how @Zlatan 7 plays here, imo. So I find that hard to judge. In principle, I'd go with a level-headed organizer/libero type of player as a partner, one who also has an eye on covering for occasional shenanigans, if necessary.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Interesting reading synco, thanks.

Good game @Himannv, I loved your front 2 but didn’t want to admit to that too much during the game, I’ve wanted to use Bergkamp in a draft since I’ve started doing them but not had chance, perfect for mvb too!
I still stand by hierro and Lúcio working well together even if they are lacking goat quality, it’s certainly somewhere I may look to upgrade.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Also my first draft win (yay )

 

[Gio]

Most interesting match-up of the first round. Both well crafted sides with no obvious tactical questions over them.

@GodShaveTheQueen

Lucio is a player I watched quite extensively during his years at Leverkusen and Bayern, so I'm halfways confident of getting this right. Then again, most of this is 10 to almost 20 years back, and I'm open to dissenting opinions, as always.

So here's my take. It's longer than necessary

Spoiler: Lucio

I don't think Lucio and Hierro resembled each other a lot, at least if I don't get Hierro wrong. Lucio was in many ways a physical, hard-tackling stopper, fast, good in the air, a warrior. What can perhaps lead to that impression is that he, like Hierro, made a lot of offensive contributions for a defender as well, including scoring - but it wasn't really in the way of a libero.

Lucio sure had an impressive offensive repertoire (a powerful shot, bullet headers, direct free kicks, dribbling runs), but he could be quite undisciplined and unpredictable for his own team with his forward runs, exposing his backline, turning the ball over in dangerous spots, etc. I don't remember how good his regular build-up play was, but I surely don't remember him as a strategically minded player in any way.

I think that against the ball he was to central defenders what Casemiro is to defensive midfielders today: physical, mobile, direct, lots of impact and quality in man-to-man duels, but also rash and at times a little suspect in terms of reading situations and making decisions. An all-or-nothing type of player in many ways.

But he had the quality to pull it off, and during his peak in the early/mid 2000s he was considered a world class defender. Like Nesta and Chivu, he was projected as a possible target for Real Madrid. But when Perez finally decided to invest in Real's defense, he bought Samuel and Woodgate (which went about as well as the „Zidanes y Pavones“ doctrine these transfers were meant to correct), and Lucio moved to Bayern the same year.

He spent five seasons there, until the newly appointed Louis van Gaal denied him the role of a guaranteed starter. I don't think Lucio with his personality and peculiar on-field characteristics would have had a future under him anyway. So he moved once again and became a classic Mourinho transfer: a battle-hardened veteran who still had something to prove. Especially towards Bayern and van Gaal, which he finally did in the last game of that season, claiming the historic treble with Inter.

So what about the Hierro partnership?

During his time in Germany, Lucio was often paired with some variation of a ball-playing defender, like Nowotny, Kovac, Demichelis. That's why I think Hierro is a fitting partner. And despite Lucio's offensive tendencies, this partnership still resembles a stopper/libero constellation to me.

...and van Basten?

In my opinion, Lucio is a good choice for taking on van Basten in principle - at his best he was a beast of a defender. But Bergkamp/van Basten are also perfect candidates to exploit possible lapses and misjudgements. So I'd expect a quite spectacular fight that could go either way. But it's still a team game, and Thuram/Hierro plus the defensive midfield look like good partners for forming a stable defense to me.

Well said.