--------------------------------HARMS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------GIO
HARMS TACTICS
So... let's do a zona mista then. It's an obvious choice when you have Gaetano Scirea on your team — put him between 2 stoppers, put a lateral on one side and hard-working wing player on another, make up your midfield three with a defensive midfielder, deep-lying playmaker and a trequartista, put a striker up front and play another goalscoring forward next to him starting out from the wing.
Possible questions that I can see being raised in the thread — please read this before commenting on it:
Jimmy Greaves on the wing? But wasn't he a striker?
Yeah, if you were to try to describe Greaves in one word it would probably be a striker — or goalscoring, to be exact. With 568 goals in 813 official games (numbers from RSSSF), he is the most prolific English footballer of the TV era. But it would be wrong to assume that he was only a poacher — in fact, his former teammate Terry Venables noted that he reminded him much more of Leo Messi than he did Cristiano. After watching many Spurs & England games from the 60s for my videos on Best, Charlton (coming soon) & Moore (coming soon) I was amazed at how good his dribbling and vision were — and how he roamed all around the front line, often starting out wide (and even taking many corners and wide free kicks ahead of Charlton no less). In the 1966 World Cup he didn't start even once as a real number 9 — Hunt played centrally with Greaves starting out either on the left or on the right side of him. Against France it even looked like Charlton played as a some sort of a false 9 with Greaves cutting in from the left. More on Greaves more, obviously.
Alberto Tarantini on the right? But wasn't he..?
Tarantini blew the world away with his performance in the 1978 World Cup as an adventurous left back, aged only 22. It was only beginning off his career though — he famously waited out his contract with Boca, played a season at Birmingham and then got back to Argentina. At River Plate he formed a brilliant partnership with a fellow World Cup winner Daniel Passarella — not as a left back now, but as a stopper next to Passarella. Funnily enough (a bit like Ramos in reverse), a former left-back preferred to play on the right side of a centre back partnership, which suited him nicely as he was right-footed. So yeah — I'll ask him to perform a conservatively defensive role next to another all-time great libero without contributing a lot to the attack.
Goals, goals, goals...
Career stats of my front four are otherwordly, I can't even think of another word.
- Gerd Müller is probably the most prolific and efficient finisher of all-time with an incredible resume of decisive goals in biggest games. Over the course of his career and only counting official games he had scored 735 goals in 793 games
- Jimmy Greaves isn't that far behind actually, and his record of 366 goals in 528 top-flight matches was only beaten recently by two footballers — a certain Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. His career stats are even scarier — 568 goals in 813 games!
- And while Zico is first and foremost known for his magic dribbling, flair and skill, he was also one of the most ruthless goalscorers of all-time, maintaining a Messi-esque balance between creating and finishing. He had scored 545 goals in 797 official games.
- Allan Simonsen, who is demoted to a secondary role in this set-up due to his versatility and work ethic, was also a decent goalscorer, although his 222 career goals (in 555 appearances, I swear, I didn't edit the numbers) doesn't look quite as impressive as goalscoring records of his teammates.
And a special mention goes to Jordi Alba, who had formed an incredible partnership with Lionel Messi, even sometimes becoming Barcelona's second most important player in offensive stages, all from left back position. NowI don't have Leo Messi here, but Zico is one of the closest players to that late central version of Messi that I've seen — and his passing ability and vision would allow him to equally efficiently spot Alba's brilliant offensive runs — and to finish a prolonged one-two off with an accurate shot if needed.
GIO TACTICS
We set up in a positive 4-3-3. First of all, getting the best out of Romario commands enterprising football. Hence the all South American attack, supported by Zidane and Neeskens, and swashbuckling South American wing-backs, all of whom should be on the same wavelength. Alongside Romario is his Brazilian compatriot Rivaldo who excels as both match-winner and provider. Both forged incredible partnerships with R9, and should complement each other here nicely. Indeed, for Brazil Romario averaged a goal every 59 minutes when Rivaldo was on the park. Completing the trio is Teo Cubillas, whose punchy give-and-go style should be relished by Rivaldo and Romario. Cubillas has fallen off the radar in our drafts in recent years so it feels like an overdue opportunity to unleash him in a fluid and attacking Joga Bonito set-up.
In midfield we blend Zidane's smooth artistry with Neeskens' busier more forceful style. Together they should threaten, both in servicing the front 3, and in joining them to provide goals from midfield. Defensively, Neeskens will go through a power of work and make a meaty contribution alongside Penarol legend Tito Goncalves, who replaces Souness here. Partly because Zico was the one opponent that got the better of Souness, but also because Goncalves made a hugely successful club career out of shutting out brilliant Brazilians. His focus and leadership is much welcomed.
Baresi leads the defence where he offers the GOAT level anticipation and positioning required to keep tabs on Muller - as his 1994 World Cup Final showing against peak Romario demonstrated. Campbell is a very natural partner and upgrade on Costacurta, whose physicality and man-marking prowess should complement Baresi's forensic reading of the game.
Out wide it looks like Harms has taken a more significant hit through the loss of Amoros' wing-play. And while we too will miss Brehme, Sorin similarly stretches play, where his dynamism and gusto is what you need on the flanks. With Sorin and the smoother, more technical Arce on the right, we should be able to double up on the flanks with Rivaldo and Cubillas to overload team Harms where injuries have made his otherwise excellent team more vulnerable.
