TEAM SJOR/PAT:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
On the Ball:
We've massively ramped up our attacking threat for this match with the additions of new signings George Best and Marco van Basten. Our formation changes to a 4-2-3-1, with van Basten coming in at CF and and Best emphatically addressing any concerns from our previous match about a lack of width on our left wing.
Our crown jewel remains Di Stefano. We've tried to create an ideal environment for him here, surrounded by players who share something of his ferocious workrate and will to win; who have the technical quality to capitalise on his playmaking and in turn create for him; and have the positional versatility and intelligence to fill the spaces as he roams the pitch and controls the match in different areas.
"Di Stefano could play all of the central positions; center forward, second striker, ten, eight, six, central defender, libero. But he played them all simultaneously. As a center forward, he often fell back between the defender in the 3-2-5 to fetch balls directly from his own penalty area and then march forwards. With the ball at his feet, he used his game intelligence to open the game with long-range passes, dodge around spaces and enemy pressing movements with combinations, or simply dribble past one, two, or even three opponents." spielverlagerung.com
“Alfredo Di Stéfano was the greatest footballer of all time; much better even than Pelé. He was, simultaneously, the anchor on the defensive, the playmaker in midfield and the most dangerous sniper in the attack “ – Helenio Herrera
“The great thing about Di Stéfano was that when he was on your team you had two players at any position” – Miguel Muñoz
Perhaps even more clearly in this match, rather than our previous False 9 set up, he's at the nerve centre of the team, with van Basten as the ultimate focal point CF freeing him of any line-leading requirements and enabling him to shuttle up and down the spine of the team as he sees fit.
Van Basten and Gullit, of course, are one of the great proven partnerships of all-time, and in George Best we've also now obtained the truly elite dribbler that we wanted to complete our attack.
Our quality in possession extends into the deeper areas too. Chilavert is one of the rare all-time great GKs who is credible as a sweeper keeper with his superb left peg. Moore is a top-quality footballing CB, Dani Alves is an elite attacking RB who was equally comfortable on the overlap or underlap, and Zebec is about as positionally versatile as they come. Schuster is one of the great midfield all-rounders, who excelled alongside another of the GOAT playmakers in Maradona.
Off The Ball:
Three time IFHHS Goalkeeper of the Year Jose Chilavert is bulwarked by a complementary and top-tier CB partnership of Moore and Kohler. At RB, Dani Alves has possibly redefined the full back role more than anyone since Facchetti, and at LB Zebec seems the prototypical total footballer, excelling in a range of positions that would make the mighty John O' Shea blush. He was a superb athlete too, and with an 11 second 100m sprint in football boots possesses exceptional raw speed. Ahead of them, Bernd Schuster, in his mid-late career incarnation, and N'Golo Kante, who at the ripe old age of 28 has already established himself as a grafter and ball-winner of the highest order, form the double pivot. They'll have powerhouse support in the defensive phase from our attacking line: Don Alfredo and Gullit were both monsters in this regard, van Basten and Gullit were the first line of Sacchi's demanding pressing system, and Best himself has an overlooked work rate (more on that in the thread).
TEAM ENIGMA/THEON
Formation: 4-3-3 (Fluid)
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 Messi 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 we have one of the best attacking left backs in the game - Andreas Brehme, who provides physicality and energy which will be vital both in our attacking game but also be defensively solid to match up against Gullit. In possession Brehme will push forward to support Rivaldo on the left wing and stretch opposition's backline.
- 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/Figo/Messi 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 opposition right flank when Alves goes up.
- Linking midfield and attack we have Figo and Messi moving through the lines. Our best player and a genuine GOAT contender Messi would be drifting in and out in the area where he can find most space and be more dangerous. Figo with his work rate can also help the midfield and also stretch the outside channel, making space for Messi to slice the opposition defence open either with a final pass or scoring himself.
- 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 Zebec 1 vs 1 with his dribbling and trickery.
- Through the middle we have Messi who will occupy the area between the lines as most likely Sjor/Pat will have to sacrifice Kante as a sole DM in order to field both their reinforcements. Messi will operate in the zone of least resistance which can amplify his effect on the game and genuinely create a MoTM performance environment.
- 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 Messi, Rivaldo, Figo and Redondo.
1. Balanced unit all over the pitch – We really don't have a weak point. With the inclusion of Brehme our left flank in incredibly balanced in both phases. Davids can cover the outside, whilst Brehme on his own has a very good record against Gullit, who most likely will operate on the right for Sjor/Pat. Sjor/Pat improved their attack immensely, but most likely we have a good chance in exploiting Zebec on the left and also the DM position where it's either Kante on his own or Schuster dropping deep in his late incarnation.
2. Great fit for opposition attackers - Obviously both teams have fantastic strength in attack. Our advantage however is probably in the suitability in both defences when they come against them. You couldn't ask for a better fit than Vogts against Best, whilst Brehme is also one of the best options coming against Gullit - he's not lightweight a is very versatile and agile which would help him cover the threat. Baresi already faced van Basten and came with flying colors. On top of that we have Ruggeri who is fantastic presence in the box when the opposition try to cross it in.
3. Midfield – We genuinely think we have the edge here. We have a perfect mixture of dynamism, skill and ability between Redondo and Davids and also the needed steel to win the midfield battle. On top of that Sjor/Pat don't have holding midfielders with Kante playing as a B2B at his best, van Hanegem in advanced position and with Schuster more of a DLP in the end of his career. We feel that Messi can really use the space between the lines and put a MoTM performance.
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. Anyway a barnstorming performance from Gullit from the right midfield position (with Massaro playing in the hole) with his pace and dynamism causing all sorts of problems for the Inter defense.