B2B Draft - R1: Moby vs Enigma

Who will win the match?


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Edgar Allan Pillow

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TEAM MOBY

The team is clearly playing a highly technical and possession oriented brand of football with a splurge of directness and fast breaks, highly fluid movement and all round midfielders who will contribute in both phases of the game making this an incredibly unpredictable team with the offense being led by the mercurial Lionel Messi - as the scoring-creating hybrid phenomenon.

In defense we have the unique sweeper keeper freak in Manuel Neuer. Absolutely at home with the ball at his feet and an incredible mix of a brilliant shot stopper and a crazy sweeping machine, he will be guarding goal behind the CB duo which was at the heart of the Dutch total football giants Ajax - Velibor Vasovic and Barry Hulshoff. Vasovic was an elite sweeper who was a cornerstone of the Ajax defense in the late 60s, while Hulshoff partnered him as the physical stopper complementing him perfectly.

Out wide are two technically immense fullbacks in Lahm and Junior. Both adept at either going out wide or joining the midfield, they would be a great asset to have in defense as well as when keeping the ball, providing creative outlets from the back and making overlapping runs down the flank doubling up on the opposition.

In midfield, at the base is Nestor Goncalves. A defensive juggernaut, Goncalves was a huge leader of a title winning machine like Penarol, and while his primary duties were to defend the opposition threat and curb them, he was an excellent passer of the ball. Next to him are Josef Masopust and Luis Suarez Miramontes. Two Ballon D'or winning midfielders, both of whom are a great hybrid of offensive creative genius as well as tremendous engine and mental toughness off the ball, making this unit tough as steel while being an unstoppable force going forward, with both Masopust and Suarez capable of bombing forward and scoring goals themselves, Masopust with the traditional dribbling and penetration and Suarez with being the chief architect of the team, they are well placed to impact the game in both phases.

In attack, we have Hristo Stoichkov on the left as the wing forward darting in towards goal and providing the immense stamina and work rate along with being a deadly goal scorer as well as an insane dribbler. Up front is Eusebio, one of the greatest goalscorers the game has ever seen and someone who can easily drop deep to bring others into play as well as be the goal machine that he was. And lastly, there is Lionel Messi, more in his 14-15 incarnation where he was a mental creative machine for the front 3 that we saw devastate the entire world of football, while always being an absolute goal machine himself and one of the greatest dribblers the game has seen.

Overall, the attack really gels together in terms of the fluidity, goal threat, all three being able to create for others or score themselves and having an absolute GOAT in Messi to knit it all together and provide the kind of genius that not many have been able to stop. The midfield provides a great mix of ability on and off the ball and would be a massive competition for any combination that comes against them, while the defense fits in perfectly with the theme of the team in terms of their ability on the ball, while being incredibly intelligent and full of dynamism to never be caught off guard by the opposition.


TEAM ENIGMA:

Formation: 4-3-3
Defensive line: Balanced
Style: Fluid, Direct, Attacking
Tactics: Tactically we will look to stretch the pitch through world-class wing-play whilst Redondo, Davids and Didi dominate possession in the middle. On the ball we will shift the ball quickly, probing for opportunities to release the explosive offensive abilities within the front three.

Defence:
  • A fantastic unit led by the greatest defender of all time in Franco Baresi - unmatched in his combination of playmaking, ball-winning and defensive reading of the game. Opting for a classing sweeper-stopper combination, his partner Oscar Ruggeri compliments Baresi with his aggression, physicality and aerial ability.
  • At right back we have arguably the greatest defensive right back of all time in Berti Vogts (two time Footballer of the Year in Germany, highest average rating by Kicker in ’73, ’75, ’76, ’77 ahead of the likes of Gerd Muller and Beckenbauer). Similar to Tassotti in style Vogts will tuck in and provide Baresi with the platform to influence the match.
  • At left back the machine-like Hans-Peter Briegel provides physicality and energy which will be vital in restricting Messi when he gets on the ball. In possession Briegel will push forward to support Rivaldo on the left wing and stretch Moby’s backline.
Midfield:
  • The pivot of our midfield is Fernando Redondo – the one-man midfield who led Real Madrid to Champions Leagues success in ’98 and ’00. Arguably the most compete midfielder since Matthaus, Redondo will orchestrate play from deep whilst providing defensive solidity and elite-level ball-winning.
  • Bringing balance and unmatched physicality to the side, Edgar Davids compliments the technical style of Redondo/Didi as the team’s engine-room and ball-winner (who was also excellent in possession – which is often overlooked). His energy on the left of midfield will be vital in containing Messi when he drifts infield.
  • Linking midfield and attack is the legendary Didi, one of the best midfielders in history and star of the ’58 World Cup. With a 1 in 3 goal record Didi is both decisive in the final third whilst also a supreme technician with his passing and dribbling ability.
Attack:
  • On the flanks we have two Ballon D'or winners, beginning with Luis Figo - in his absolute zone here with a defensive right back behind him, providing him the opportunity to stretch the pitch and target Junior 1 vs 1 with his dribbling and trickery.
  • On the left Rivaldo has freedom to drift centrally to impact the game as a goalscorer (averaging 29 goals a season between ’98 and ’01 for Barcelona) and link up with his Brazilian strike partner – an explosive combination filled with creativity, pace and technical quality.
  • Leading the line is Romario – the absolute gold-standard when it comes to clinical #9’s. His burst of pace and movement should pose problems for Moby’s backline, particularly with the quality of service he will receive from Didi, Rivaldo, Figo and Redondo.
Why we have the edge:

1. Baresi led defence – Both teams have a fantastic attack but we would give our defence a clear edge which should prove pivotal over the course of the game. Whilst Eusebio was a fantastic forward, there is no one better than Baresi to track his movement dropping deep or sniff out danger when he tries to push forward – in contrast we don’t see Moby’s centre backs offering the same protection against Romario. Similarly we feel Vogts is virtually the best possible option (along with maybe Thuram) to play this right back role vs Stoichkov.

2. Ball-winning ability in midfield - Both teams have fantastic ball-players in midfield but we feel we have an edge in defensive ball-winning to recover possession (particularly if Moby plays Rivelino over Goncalves). Amongst all midfielders Davids stands out as the most mobile and energetic ball-winner, but we also have the likes of Redondo who ran midfield’s virtually single handledly for Madrid and is well equipped at recovering the ball and shielding the back four.

3. Service to Romario – As a striker Romario is known for his blistering pace, ability to beat defenders 1 vs 1 and his decisive finishing. With both of Moby’s defenders lacking pace over short distances Romario should be able to capitalise from the stacked creativity throughout the team. From the through balls of Redondo / Didi, the wingplay and crosses of Luis Figo or the slick Brazilian one-two interplay with Rivaldo – Romario is going to get numerous chances in this match and he has the proven ability to make it count.​
 
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Enigma_87

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Have picked him long time ago, but a player that just doesn't get pick often enough in these:

A brilliant piece on Didi by Anirudh Menon , well worth the read if you have the time.

The Greatest Footballer you've never heard of - Didi

Anirudh Menon



“Most have been forgotten. Most deserve to be forgotten. The heroes will always be remembered. The best. The best and the worst. And a few who were a bit of both.” – George R.R. Martin

As ever, the man’s right, isn’t he? Man’s stay on Earth is finite, and most of us dissolve into obscurity as soon as we depart it. There is nothing that can be done about it... unless you are one of those characters that stride the planet and hold all in front of them in awe, characters that inspire us, characters that make us move heaven and earth to get a glimpse of them, characters that bring joy and happiness to untold millions, heroes in other words... those kind never die.

Most of them, anyway. Life, though, is a lot harsher than we make it out to be. There are some men, who, despite being lauded as heroes during their peaks slowly slip into the shadows, unnoticed by an uncaring world that’s just looking for its next great hero... men whose names echo around in the vast emptiness of history without finding an escape route to the present... heroes who are forgotten.

This is the story of one such man...

This is the story of Didi.

The man who invented Folha Seca – The ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ Freekick


I can hear the football aficionado's head nearly burst in indignation... ‘it’s Juninho’s technique that Ronaldo copied’ and they are right. That knuckleball technique of hitting the ball in such a way that it generates massive power and physics-defying dip is a masterful, and often unstoppable, way of taking a free-kick when going for goal. I used the Ronaldo simile merely because it’s him that’s got it to the wider world’s attention, but it is the Brazilians who are the true masters of this particular art, something they call Folha Seca – dry leaf – after the way the ball’s trajectory mimics the form of a dry leaf in the way it goes up and suddenly takes a dip at the end.

Before Juninho, there was Zico – arguably the greatest free-kick exponent the world has ever seen – but even before him, there was Waldir Perreira... Didi. It was he who came up with this unique way of hitting the football, and as with any great invention, it was born out of sheer necessity.

The streets may be the birthplace of true football, but it's not always the safest. Didi, as with many Latin American greats, grew up playing football on the streets and dusty fields of a small town; in his case Campos dos Goytacazes, 150 km north of Rio. Growing up, Didi had always been the most skillful player in his area, and as such was the subject of some pretty shoddy, physical, treatment from the bigger boys in the area who simply didn’t like the fact that this kid was so much better than them. In one particularly bruising match, Didi injured his leg rather seriously. The open wound was allowed to fester and it got so bad at one point that the doctors attending the 14-year-old’s knee said that it might need to be amputated.




Somehow, though, he recovered... well enough to feature for several youth teams in and around the area – São Cristóvão, Industrial, Rio Branco, Goytacaz, Americano, Lençoense, and Madureira before the giants that are Fluminense came a-calling. Before his injury, Didi had been renowned in his locale for the sheer power of his free-kicks, but post-it he found that he couldn’t smack it with the same kind of ferocity. Therefore, in order to ensure his freekicks were still A-grade, he had to come up with something else, something out of the box and thus was born the short back-lift, and a two-toed stab of the ball that Cristiano Ronaldo would popularize more than half-a-century later. Soon, he’d make it to the Brazil team, and it was one such trademark free kick that beat the Peruvians and helped A Selecao qualify for the 1958 World Cup.

"From that point," wrote Didi much later, "such kicks became a sort of trademark of mine, and everyone asked me, to the point of driving me to desperation, exactly how I did them."

How he did it might have been a mystery. But how he kept doing it, was not.

"Above all," he wrote, "a lot of practice, and constant practice. For instance, when I joined Botafogo [also of Rio] from Fluminense, in my first period with the club, the Botafogo coach did not care for my long practising with free kicks, and, for a time, the skill was lost to me. The press said, 'Such a pity, Didi has forgotten his famous kick.' All that happened was that I was not getting the constant practice, and this experience taught me how vital this practice was."

As talented as he was, as natural as his ability was, it was his incessant practice that made him a true great of the game... a man so inspirational that a young Edson Arantes de Nascimento was forced to say:

“I’m nothing compared to Didi,” he said. “I’ll never be anywhere near as good as he is. He’s my idol, the guy I look up to. The very first picture cards I bought were of him.”

For the uninitiated, you may know Edson Arantes de Nascimento better by his nickname... Pele

The man who was better than Pele


When we think 1958 World Cup, we think a 17-year-old Pele. The Black Pearl’s subsequent meteoric rise and overwhelming influence was so great that we tend to forget most of the main orchestrators of that famous first triumph... and there was no one more important for the team than Didi.

Playing their virtuoso 4-2-4, Brazil swept all in front of them with Didi acting as the fulcrum in that midfield. He was the original deep-lying playmaker, pinging passes first-time and splitting defences with an insouciance that would have made Andrea Pirlo envious. His brain functioned at a level far above anybody – on either side –

“He was too smart at times. He would pretend that he was going to cross the ball to one side of the pitch, and then cross it to the other. It sometimes confused us instead. He would shout, ‘No, you idiots, I’m trying to confuse the other team!” – Pele on Didi

He was voted into the team of the tournament that year – again Pele stole the headlines with his hat-trick against France in the semifinals, but it was Didi’s easy mastery of the game that won the game for the eventual winners as he dominated the French midfield that contained the legendary Raymond Kopa:

The final against Sweden so showcased his immense ability to keep calm – when Sweden took the lead early on and the stadium lost it’s collective mind, Didi picked the ball out of the net, and with it under his arm slowly started walking back to the centre. Mario Zagallo came running to him and shouted “Come on Didi, we are losing” with an aim of making the great man move faster. Without a flicker of difference in his manner, Didi turned to him and told him “Calm down. We are still a better team than they are. We will turn this game around soon enough.” Four minutes later Brazil equalized. Before scoring four more without reply.

Didi was their general, their inspiration, and his mere presence spread a surreal calm amongst his teammates. He never looked flustered, he never looked hurried. In fact, even his style of play was dictated by that early injury... he abhorred physical contact and never slid in for a tackle or tried to strong-arm his way through defences. He used his brain to find spaces where most couldn’t and his ability to make sure he did exactly what was needed to exploit that space. He rarely ever liked to, as they say in the colloquial, “mix it up” .

This philosophy was going to be very important for the next chapter of his life.

The man who was to replace Alfredo di Stefano


Then, as now, Real Madrid were obsessed with getting the flashiest new toy in town. Back in the summer of 1958, there were none flashier than Didi. Los Blancos signed him and presented him to the world as the heir to the throne of Alfredo di Stefano. He was exactly the kind of player who Madrid could build a team around.. a man whose footballing intelligence was unquestionably brilliant and whose pedigree was impeccable. There was just one problem, though, di Stefano was not ready to be replaced:

“They say you’ve come to replace me. Well, you’re too old and not good enough,” – di Stefano to Didi.

What followed was a year or so of drama, rumours, insinuations, and controversy that would have put the best telenovelas to shame. With the Spanish media completely behind the di Stefano camp. The common perception revolving around the notion that he was not fast enough, not quick-thinking enough to fit into the European footballing scene... as La Vanguardia contemptuously put it "Didí has not yet managed the speed necessary to play in Spain". One match report even indicates that di Stefano got so tired of Didi’s laconic style that he used to take the ball off him just to hurry things along, or alternatively, to stamp his authority on the game and let the upstart know just who was boss.

Here’s a glimpse of how the Spanish media viewed the whole thing at the time:

- Madrid-based newspaper ABC, October 27, 1959... Real Madrid vs Osasuna

‘Didí and his millimetric passes, he did it 6 times in 90 minutes. Didí who prides himself of a prodigious shot only did it twice against Osasuna's goal. Didí, as super-technical as he is, had the rare technique of being almost always close to the ball but apparently with the intention of checking what it looks like rather than what it feels like, for he touched it very little. Overwhelmed by the velocity of the naive Pamploneses, he almost never caught up with them, pulled back late, sought for his place with delay and intervened in the game less than we would have wished. This is not relevant when the other forwards suffice to get the win. But when a tough game comes along, a battle, without rest, a truceless combat, then Didí will be a big hole through which RM's defeat will arrive’.

‘It is time to proclaim the following in all honesty: Didí is a phenom, a wise man of football, a world champion, etc. etc. But he must urgently rise his game or opportunity must be given to Mateos first and then Rial. Either one has done much more than the Brazilian. If he does not step up, either one of them will outperform him today’.


Di Stefano’s constant desire to dictate play stifled Didi
- Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo, November 23, 1959... Real Madrid vs Malmo

"Didí, a bit withdrawn, was the orchestrator and delivered good passes which were well celebrated by the public like the one for Canario's second goal. A compensation for the booing he earned in other occasions due to his absolute lack of fighting spirit".

- On the same match, this is what the always contemptuous ABC had to say

"(...) Because despite his halo, which he has yet not justified here, the Brazilian Didí is incapableof directing the game of the European champion even when the RM forward line has men that would not need a Didí to direct them and would handle themselves well with a much less reputed name behind them. All this showed in the first half but also the second".

Didi’s main issue with Spanish football was that it was too rough:

“Human intelligence and reasoning ability divides us from the animals,” he once said, “so what is a football player who depends solely on his physical strength?”


He hated that the fans valued displays of passion and that greatest of intangibles, heart, above pure footballing nous:

“My shirt and socks would still be spotless by the end of a match and they [the Spanish fans] couldn’t get their heads round it. I used to have to grab a handful of mud and smear it across my shirt. Why should I have to do that, when I could attack and put our strikers through on goal? The fans used to get so angry.”

All this eventuated in him coming to loggerheads with Real Madrid’s Napoleonic dictator-general, Alfredo di Stefano.

There are conflicting reports from the time, ranging from di Stefano having an issue with Didi’s wife (a journalist back home) spewing vitriol against the Argentine in articles defending her husband to suggestions that di Stefano was jealous, and angry, because the Madrid hierarchy who owed so much to him had proclaimed that they would replace him with Didi. One thing was clear though... when it came to Didi vs di Stefano, there was only ever going to be one winner in Spain.

Epilogue
After returning from Spain, he rejoined Botafogo and guided them to further domestic glory as he slowly recovered from what he referred to as “my so-called failure, something that proved the greatest disillusionment in my life”. He led Brazil to a second successive World Cup title in 1962, his presence calming nerves after Pele was injured early on in the tournament and allowing Garrincha to run rampant further up the field. His only great disappointment? Not having been able to play against di Stefano after the latter pulled out of Spain’s match against Brazil... for he "utterly desired to show them the kind of player I was"

He needn’t worry, though.

His legacy will live on long after death, as will his philosophy. For Didi, his philosophy of brain over brawn was not just a close-minded, romantic ideology. For him, it reflected everything he’d done to go from selling peanuts on the streets to make sure his family had something to eat to playing for Real Madrid as the galactico of his time. He lived by that code, he fought by it, and he died by it. For that, he will always have our undying respect.

There can be no greater compliment for the Waldir ‘Didi’ Perreira than the fact that If ever there was someone for a young aspiring footballer to look forward to, it was the man they called Mr. Football. He will forever remain one of this beautiful game’s greatest heroes.

(Didi, born October 8, 1928; died May 12, 2001)
 

Enigma_87

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And a bit more on Briegel and his versatility and ability to put up with the task presented by the opposition (taken by Kicker ratings):


Hans-Peter Briegel [Stopper]

Over the course of the year we always rated Briegel as “international class” but by the end of the year the majority of our writers were now sure he had to be rated in the highest category. Briegel, the former ‘muscle man’ from Kaiserslautern who was more known for his athletic abilities than his football skills by now has mastered the ABC of football in such a high degree that he even managed to oust the national team’s stopper Karlheinz Förster from the first place in this, his strongest position. And he managed this despite him not being able to show what he has to offer as stopper for the national team. His performances for his club already were sufficient to rate him as a stopper of world class. How glad Jupp Derwall can feel for having two such highly-rated players available for the stopper role!
Positional rankings of each "Rangliste" and compiled a team of 11 players involving the highest-ranked players for each position:


1980 (January – July)
Schumacher – Kaltz, Pezzey, K.Förster, Dietz – Schuster, Breitner, Briegel – Keegan, K.H.Rummenigge, Cha

1980 (August – December)
Schumacher – Kaltz, Pezzey, Briegel, Horsmann – Breitner, Magath, H.Müller – Geye, K.H.Rummenigge, Jara

1981 (January – June)
Schumacher – Kaltz, Pezzey, K.Förster, Briegel – Breitner, Magath, H.Müller – Pinkall, K.H.Rummenigge, Allgöwer

1981 (August – December)
Schumacher – Kaltz, Pezzey, K.Förster, Briegel – Dremmler, Breitner, Magath – K.H.Rummenigge, Fischer, Bastrup

1982 (January – July)
Schumacher – B.Förster, Stielike, K.Förster, Briegel – Dremmler, Breitner, Burgsmüller – Littbarski, Hrubesch, Lienen

1982 (August – December)
Schumacher – B.Förster, Strack, K.Förster, Wehmeyer – Briegel, Breitner, Magath – Littbarski, K.H.Rummenigge, T.Allofs

1983 (January – June)
Schumacher – Kaltz, Strack, K.Förster, Briegel – Rolff, Magath, Allgöwer – Littbarski, Völler, K.H.Rummenigge


1984 (January – June)
Schumacher – Brehme, Stielike, K.Förster, Briegel – Buchwald, Magath, Sigurvinsson – K.H.Rummenigge, Völler, K.Allofs


1986 (January – July)

Schumacher – Jakobs – Eder, K.Förster – Berthold, Matthäus, Magath, Lerby, Briegel – Völler, K.Allofs


Best Full Back(Vogts + Briegel)

1968-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1969-1 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1969-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1970-1 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1970-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1971-1 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1971-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts
1974-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts
1975-1 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1975-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1976-1 Hans-Hubert Vogts
1976-2 Hans-Hubert Vogts (WC)
1981-1 Hans-Peter Briegel
1982-1 Hans-Peter Briegel
1984-1 Hans-Peter Briegel

Hans-Peter BRIEGEL


World class: 1 time
International class: 14 times
Broad circle: 3 times
Considered: 1 time

At the start of his professional career in 1975 Briegel was a bit of a controversial player for football connaisseurs because he had excelled as a decathlete in his youth and thus was not deemed a proper football player. His physical appearance was clearly that of a decathlete and it didn’t help matters that his moves were looking clumsy to some observers. His true love had always been football though and he had played the sport from his youngest days and didn’t have to learn how to stop and pass a ball at the age of 17 as some ill-natured writers had claimed. Undeservedly, Briegel until this day has a bit of a stigma attached to him as he is used as the prime example for the end of the “golden age” of German football (the 1970s), where technique and ball trickery were allegedly the highest virtues, while with the start of the 1980s power, pace and stamina became the new virtues in German football, of which Briegel was the textbook example. What people forget is that football always had a mixture of all kind of different players and for a player of his size and upbringing, Briegel was actually quite a talented ball player, steadily working on his ball skills. By the early-1980s, he was an all-round complete athletic footballer with great physical presence coupled with sound technical passing and crossing skills in his left foot and a very good aerial ability. In his career Briegel started out as a left winger in his very early Bundesliga days but was subsequently withdrawn to midfield until he settled as a stopper by the late-1970s playing for Kaiserslautern. For Germany he was either deployed in a central defensive midfield position or as a wide midfielder and from 1981 onwards, after left back Bernard Dietz had been dropped by Germany manager Jupp Derwall after opposing the return of Paul Breitner to the national team, the left back position became his permanent place when playing for Germany.
 

Šjor Bepo

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the width in that central midfield duo of moby, almost line to line :drool:
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Messi makes for a better F9 than Eusebio imo and better placed centrally. I can see them interchanging well despite position on pitch, so more of a gripe than a criticism. Not a fan of Junior/Masopust flank either. Both tend to operate in same areas. A defensive side midfielder with Junior or a traditional flanking fullback with Masopust would have been more complimentary.

Classic team building from Enigma. Would have preferred a classic and more attacking #10 than Didi though.
 

Enigma_87

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Really enjoyed that Didi write up @Enigma_87
Cheers mate. He was one of the first virtuoso midfielders and a true master with the ball. Love watching him play in some of the highlights and was one of the first Joga Bonito players alongside Zizinho.

Immensely skillful often played one twos and was a player that you can easily see transcendent in the modern game:


 

Enigma_87

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Messi makes for a better F9 than Eusebio imo and better placed centrally. I can see them interchanging well despite position on pitch, so more of a gripe than a criticism. Not a fan of Junior/Masopust flank either. Both tend to operate in same areas. A defensive side midfielder with Junior or a traditional flanking fullback with Masopust would have been more complimentary.

Classic team building from Enigma. Would have preferred a classic and more attacking #10 than Didi though.
yeah to be fair we discussed it a fair few whether we should go with a classic #10 or Didi for this round, but Didi's ability to release the ball to Romario IMO is key for this game as we believe in Romario that we have the match winner here coming at the opposition center backs. Also Didi's output was pretty good 1 in 3 for club and country.

His vision and ability to spray passes to the wings and through balls is really unrivaled and you also have to consider Rivaldo being part of the equation. He will most likely cut to the inside left channel hence we will have no overlaps there and also allow him to be closer to Romario as well.
 

willhse456

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Cheers mate. He was one of the first virtuoso midfielders and a true master with the ball. Love watching him play in some of the highlights and was one of the first Joga Bonito players alongside Zizinho.

Immensely skillful often played one twos and was a player that you can easily see transcendent in the modern game:


I've always thought that he was better starting in a slightly deeper position, where he could carry the ball as shown in the clips above. The role he has in your team seems to be more of a playmaker though, is that correct?
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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yeah to be fair we discussed it a fair few whether we should go with a classic #10 or Didi for this round, but Didi's ability to release the ball to Romario IMO is key for this game as we believe in Romario that we have the match winner here coming at the opposition center backs. Also Didi's output was pretty good 1 in 3 for club and country.

His vision and ability to spray passes to the wings and through balls is really unrivaled and you also have to consider Rivaldo being part of the equation. He will most likely cut to the inside left channel hence we will have no overlaps there and also allow him to be closer to Romario as well.
He is a class player, but in your setup someone who can play quick one-twos and better dribbler in tight situations would be more useful in bringing the attack together. Didi is better slightly deeper and with Davids/Redondo, you don't need that ability. Still a very good team nevertheless.
 

Enigma_87

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I've always thought that he was better starting in a slightly deeper position, where he could carry the ball as shown in the clips above. The role he has in your team seems to be more of a playmaker though, is that correct?
From what I've seen of him he slightly prefers the right side, probably being right footed. You can see him in very advanced positions during games near the opposition box(like the first gif) and also in deeper positions.

He's an advanced playmaker as we're playing in a 4-3-3 with a clear roles - Redondo being the deep one, who also shields the back four. Davids the classic B2B that covers the left hand side helping out Briegel and Didi the more advanced one linking up with Figo, Rivaldo and Romario.

He has good shot on him, very productive and the combination of flair and vision is more needed closer to the box in this game rather than orchestrating from behind.

He dribbled in short bursts. That one I've posted is probably the longest I've seen him carry the ball at once. He can carry the ball but he's not the Kaka type that glides through the pitch with pace, his technique is more of a dribble through the opposition.
 

Enigma_87

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He is a class player, but in your setup someone who can play quick one-twos and better dribbler in tight situations would be more useful in bringing the attack together. Didi is better slightly deeper and with Davids/Redondo, you don't need that ability. Still a very good team nevertheless.
Cheers mate. He can operate in both scenarios obviously and his dribbling is top notch considering the era. I think he would have a pretty good game here between the lines as the opposition midfield is not the harassing type and should give him time on the ball, which we can exploit
 

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reckon im the only one that doesnt really like Didi(well, alongside Di Stefano i guess :D)....good player and i had him before in drafts but im not sure if he is "even" better then Rivera, n10 that rarely gets picked in drafts.
 

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Have 1 each concern with both teams.

Briegel vs Messi - Based on a recent few drafts. Briegel struggled against tricky wingers? If so, Messi and Eusebio tandem would be a bit too much for him to handle.

  • Briegel had a documented weakness against agile, tricky, low center-of-gravity wingers. e.g. Conti:

If you track their actions, Bruno had the beating of Briegel time and again. Considering Amancio is a player with a similar profile, I'd expect him to to get a fair bit of joy.
Romario vs Hulshoff/Vasovic - While I am a huge fan of Moby's CB pairing, the lack of a CB with pace anywhere close to Romario's can be a big concern, especially when playing attacking football and getting caught on counters is a very real and often happening possibility.

Will hold out on the vote to see if there are some thoughts on these.
 
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GodShaveTheQueen

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reckon im the only one that doesnt really like Didi(well, alongside Di Stefano i guess :D)....good player and i had him before in drafts but im not sure if he is "even" better then Rivera, n10 that rarely gets picked in drafts.
I like him in the current setup with Rivaldo being closer to goal than your average LW. Playing him in the hole with 2 proper wingers (Say Best and Figo) is not my cup of tea though.

While he scored a fair few, its his work from deeper areas that bought the best out of him, be it his passing from deep or the dribbles forward.
 

Enigma_87

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reckon im the only one that doesnt really like Didi(well, alongside Di Stefano i guess :D)....good player and i had him before in drafts but im not sure if he is "even" better then Rivera, n10 that rarely gets picked in drafts.
To be fair I'm exactly on the opposite. Rate Didi very highly due to his WC credentials. Proper big player who rose to the occasion.

Rivera was a bit underwhelming on the international stage, bar the 70 WC KO run.

Personal preference and stuff of course, but always enjoyed watching Didi play from highlights, maybe I'm slightly underrating Italian attackers on a side note - like Rivera, Riva, Conti, etc..
 

Šjor Bepo

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I like him in the current setup with Rivaldo being closer to goal than your average LW. Playing him in the hole with 2 proper wingers (Say Best and Figo) is not my cup of tea though.

While he scored a fair few, its his work from deeper areas that bought the best out of him, be it his passing from deep or the dribbles forward.
ohh it was a comment in general about Didi, his role here is fine :)
 

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Have 1 each concern with both teams.

Briegel vs Messi - Based on a recent few drafts. Briegel struggled against tricky wingers? If so, Messi and Eusebio tandem would be a bit too much for him to handle.



Romario vs Hulshoff/Vasovic - While I am a huge fan of Moby's CB pairing, the lack of a CB with pace anywhere close to Romario's can be a big concern, especially when playing attacking football and getting caught on counters is a very real and often happening possibility.

Will hold out on the vote to see if there are some thoughts on these.
Yeah, those two stand out for me. Both teams look really strong. My only quibbles are those two. Messi against Briegel and Ruggeri is a style mismatch, while Romario is a class above what he's facing.
 

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Yeah, those two stand out for me. Both teams look really strong. My only quibbles are those two. Messi against Briegel and Ruggeri is a style mismatch, while Romario is a class above what he's facing.
I do recollect that Hulshoff (and Vasovic) had a pretty good record against Eusebio. Tried hard using this stat to convince @MJJ to pick him when I was assisting him :lol:

Eusebio scored 0 in 5 against Hulshoff (Vasovic also played 3 of those).

Stylistically, I'd say Romario is not far from Eusebio.

 

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I do recollect that Hulshoff (and Vasovic) had a pretty good record against Eusebio. Tried hard using this stat to convince @MJJ to pick him when I was assisting him :lol:

Eusebio scored 0 in 5 against Hulshoff (Vasovic also played 3 of those).

Stylistically, I'd say Romario is not far from Eusebio.

I have become a fan! He has a good record against someone else too. Forgot who though.
 

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Sometimes you say those random things that I can't wrap my mind around. First Sivori - Puskas, now this :)
Haha I have never been a vodka fan either, so maybe that is where it all starts :lol:

While Eusebio didn't play off the last defender and was more than just a goal scorer, his dribbling, burst of pace, shot power and goal scoring prowess is right up with R9 and Romario's style IMO
 

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Agree on Messi vs Briegel (although Davids will probably help there more than Ruggeri, since Messi loves those diagonal dribbles from RW to the number 10 zone, and he is a very good fit for him there) and Romario vs Ajax defence. I'll have to think about it a little more, but as of now I think that Baresi will decide this for me. Switching Ruggeri and Baresi, although both are currently at their marginally stronger side, would've been for the better — Messi is, obviously, more of a threat than Stoichkov and Breigel is more prone to defensive mistakes than Vogts.
 

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Messi makes for a better F9 than Eusebio imo and better placed centrally. I can see them interchanging well despite position on pitch, so more of a gripe than a criticism. Not a fan of Junior/Masopust flank either. Both tend to operate in same areas. A defensive side midfielder with Junior or a traditional flanking fullback with Masopust would have been more complimentary.

Classic team building from Enigma. Would have preferred a classic and more attacking #10 than Didi though.
Don't see an issue with the left flank in a possession based setup. I am not looking for Junior to come into his full fledged CB role here, however in scenarios when Masopust makes his traditional forward bursts whether on a fast break or to unsettle the opposition, we will have a body ready to maintain the passing options in midfield and seamlessly come in and out of the situation. It is a really well complementing flank for me, with Hristo's industry and directness, Masopust's creativity, power and ability to unlock the defenses with the obvious tremendous workrate and Junior further adding to that tremendous work ethic without compromising on the technical prowess of the unit.

On the ball it will be an absolute spectacle to watch and that is what we are aiming for here, outplay the opposition with our creativity, passing, movement, fluidity, loads of industry and workrate and play a brand of football which can finish the game within a matter of minutes, with that devastating attack and midfield being an absolute juggernaut.
 

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Haha I have never been a vodka fan either, so maybe that is where it all starts :lol:

While Eusebio didn't play off the last defender and was more than just a goal scorer, his dribbling, burst of pace, shot power and goal scoring prowess is right up with R9 and Romario's style IMO
Again, what is "R9 and Romario's style"? :lol:

I'd agree that Eusebio shares a lot of Fenomeno's traits and is comparable in terms of style. Probably one of a few relatively similar players.
Romario was absolutely different though:
  • little frame
  • weaker (compared to Eusebio or Ronaldo)
  • with lower center of gravity (which he had learned to use to perfection)
  • with fantastic burst of acceleration, but not that impressive speed over more significant distances
  • he was usually more accurate or inventive with his finishing
  • etc.
Eusebio was much stronger, faster over a distance, with a thunderous shot that he often used, more used to drop to the wings or to the number 10 zone, unlike Romario he hadn't been flawless in terms of his close control (compared to the other GOATs, not to the mortals) but made up for it with his ability to control the ball at full speed... et cetera.
 

GodShaveTheQueen

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Again, what is "R9 and Romario's style"? :lol:

I'd agree that Eusebio shares a lot of Fenomeno's traits and is comparable in terms of style. Probably one of a few relatively similar players.
Romario was absolutely different though:
  • little frame
  • weaker (compared to Eusebio or Ronaldo)
  • with lower center of gravity (which he had learned to use to perfection)
  • with fantastic burst of acceleration, but not that impressive speed over more significant distances
  • he was usually more accurate or inventive with his finishing
  • etc.
Eusebio was much stronger, faster over a distance, with a thunderous shot that he often used, more used to drop to the wings or to the number 10 zone, unlike Romario he hadn't been flawless in terms of his close control (compared to the other GOATs, not to the mortals) but made up for it with his ability to control the ball at full speed... et cetera.
So when you hear stylistically similar, you expect them to be clones?

When you talk of CBs and their pace to deal with Romario's pace, acceleration and directness, I don't see how it is different to dealing with Eusebio.

Technically, R9 and Eusebio are not similar too then. They share a few traits like they do with Romario. Not sure what is confusing you there.
 

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We all know how Messi is going to play and what he brings to the game in absolutely all facets of the attacking phase, so it wasn't a big deal where to position him on the pitch. However, the thought of him twisting and turning a hapless Briegel for the entire game and drawing defenders out of position was tempting and he would be playing predominantly on his favoured side.

Also, a defender like Baresi would be more comfortable tracking a false 9, even though a player like Messi especially in such a favourable environment cannot really be stopped, but feel Eusebio would bother him a lot more bring the kind of explosive pace and power, taking deep positions facilitating Messi and Hristo or spearing into the goal with the kind of dribbling and pace few can handle. I can see him giving Baresi a tough time here especially with Messi also there on the pitch and the midfield providing the opposition problems of their own.

We've seen what a fluid attacking juggernaut like City with the right tactics and player ability can do to an opposition completely free flowing and dynamic playing style, and that is what this team would be playing and has no hindrance whatsoever from turning up the gears for vast phases of the game and constantly pinning the opposition back and creating chance after another. And we have arguably two of the greatest goalscorers the game has ever seen to seal the chances here, can't see the opposition keeping a clean sheet.

Moreover, the ability to keep possession under pressure and circulate the ball freely, the ability to involve fullbacks both of whom are absolutely at home in a possession based style would give far less burden to our defense than the opposition wants, and they should be comfortable at the back for large parts of the game.
 

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I share the concerns regarding Didi in this game. A more traditional #9 would have been a better fit, but how much are we expecting Didi to work off the ball when the opposition is dominating possession and making him chase shadows? It draws out stamina and it's what it's so effective tiring out the opposition by keeping possession for ages. In Redondo and Didi, you have two players not ideal to be ones who would have to work double shift when my midfield, combined with the three attackers taking turns dropping deep and the two fullbacks tucking in will be rotating the ball effortlessly and looking for openings. The more time my players get on the ball, the more dangerous it is for the opposition.
 

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Cheers @Moby . You had a fantastic team and couldn't really fault your set up. My probably critique would be no natural ball winners and runners in your midfield as you had fantastic trio on the ball, but getting the ball could have been an issue.

Apart from that you had a fearsome front three and a solid base. The minute we saw the draw we expected a very tough game!
 

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Cheers @Moby . You had a fantastic team and couldn't really fault your set up. My probably critique would be no natural ball winners and runners in your midfield as you had fantastic trio on the ball, but getting the ball could have been an issue.

Apart from that you had a fearsome front three and a solid base. The minute we saw the draw we expected a very tough game!
Thanks Enigma and you have a very good team as well.