Edgar Allan Pillow
Ero-Sennin
vs
.................................................. Team Micheal ................................................................................................................ Team Beam .....................................................
Team Michael
My team will play a counter attacking 4-4-2 formation.
The strength of my team is it's central spine (all of my outfield selections in this area were my first 6 selections). In goal we have the shot stopping and ball playing ability of Chilavert. In the center of defence I have McGrath and Pietro Vierchowod who was described by Maradona as his toughest opponent and by Marco van Basten as one of the two best defenders he ever faced. In the center of midfield Redondo will be both the primary ball winner and playmake from deep while Coluna will play more of a box to box role. Up front Francescoli will have a Cantona/Dalglish type role where he will be both a goalscoring threat and create chances for others particularly Spencer, Joya and Coluna. He will be partnered by Alberto Spencer the alltime top goalscorer in the Copa Libertadores who was best known for his pace and aerial ability (nicknamed magic head and considered by Pele to be a better header than him).
On the right hand side the more attacking of my two fullbacks will be Leandro and I aim to make full use of his long passing ability to create chances for Spencer. Leandro was also very solid defensively as outlined in this post by @GodShaveTheQueen a particular highlight of which was Carlos Alberto stating that Leandro had both his (Carlos Alberto's) offensive ability and the defensive ability of Djalma Santos. In front of him we have Julio Abbadie who I consider the greatest defensive winger of all time largely because of his role as shown in this post from @antohan in stopping both Gento and Amancio in the 1966 intercontinental cup final. Offensively he will use his intelligence to decide when to move forward, when to cross from deep and when to play Leandro through on the overlap.
On the left hand side, Denis Irwin will be the more defensive of my two fullbacks. This will give my left winger Juan Joya who was included in Penarol's all time team more license to attack with his pace, dribbling and goalscoring abilities.
Team Jim beam
Formation: The English classic, the 4-4-2
Tactics: Balanced, but with quick transition and ability to hurt the opponent in multiple ways.
Strengths and personnel: Perfectly balanced combos and players that compliment each other beautifully. From stopper - sweeper combo in Virgil van Dijk and Karlheinz Förster to a world class partnership of Valery Voronin - Paul Breitner in the center of the pitch. In such partnership Voronin will be more reserved, sit between the defence and shield the defenders while still being capable of dictating the game alongside a creative, high energy and powerful dynamo in Paul Breitner who can either cut you open with a pass or a shot from distance at any given time.
On each side of them are pacy wide players in Jimmy Johnstone and Zoltan Czibor, each possessing a different set of problems for opposition defence stretching them wide.
Upfront again a combo who would thrive from each other. The strength and physicality of Alan Shearer matches perfectly with Jimmy Greaves ghosting style of play behind him and bursting into life as soon as there is a brief moment to hurt the opposition.
And then you also count that machinery behind.
.................................................. Team Micheal ................................................................................................................ Team Beam .....................................................
Team Michael
My team will play a counter attacking 4-4-2 formation.
The strength of my team is it's central spine (all of my outfield selections in this area were my first 6 selections). In goal we have the shot stopping and ball playing ability of Chilavert. In the center of defence I have McGrath and Pietro Vierchowod who was described by Maradona as his toughest opponent and by Marco van Basten as one of the two best defenders he ever faced. In the center of midfield Redondo will be both the primary ball winner and playmake from deep while Coluna will play more of a box to box role. Up front Francescoli will have a Cantona/Dalglish type role where he will be both a goalscoring threat and create chances for others particularly Spencer, Joya and Coluna. He will be partnered by Alberto Spencer the alltime top goalscorer in the Copa Libertadores who was best known for his pace and aerial ability (nicknamed magic head and considered by Pele to be a better header than him).
On the right hand side the more attacking of my two fullbacks will be Leandro and I aim to make full use of his long passing ability to create chances for Spencer. Leandro was also very solid defensively as outlined in this post by @GodShaveTheQueen a particular highlight of which was Carlos Alberto stating that Leandro had both his (Carlos Alberto's) offensive ability and the defensive ability of Djalma Santos. In front of him we have Julio Abbadie who I consider the greatest defensive winger of all time largely because of his role as shown in this post from @antohan in stopping both Gento and Amancio in the 1966 intercontinental cup final. Offensively he will use his intelligence to decide when to move forward, when to cross from deep and when to play Leandro through on the overlap.
On the left hand side, Denis Irwin will be the more defensive of my two fullbacks. This will give my left winger Juan Joya who was included in Penarol's all time team more license to attack with his pace, dribbling and goalscoring abilities.
Team Jim beam
Formation: The English classic, the 4-4-2
Tactics: Balanced, but with quick transition and ability to hurt the opponent in multiple ways.
Strengths and personnel: Perfectly balanced combos and players that compliment each other beautifully. From stopper - sweeper combo in Virgil van Dijk and Karlheinz Förster to a world class partnership of Valery Voronin - Paul Breitner in the center of the pitch. In such partnership Voronin will be more reserved, sit between the defence and shield the defenders while still being capable of dictating the game alongside a creative, high energy and powerful dynamo in Paul Breitner who can either cut you open with a pass or a shot from distance at any given time.
On each side of them are pacy wide players in Jimmy Johnstone and Zoltan Czibor, each possessing a different set of problems for opposition defence stretching them wide.
Upfront again a combo who would thrive from each other. The strength and physicality of Alan Shearer matches perfectly with Jimmy Greaves ghosting style of play behind him and bursting into life as soon as there is a brief moment to hurt the opposition.
The purest finisher England has ever produced, Greaves functioned with deadly economy. Like nature’s great predators, there was nothing on his mind except the act of killing. The hunger it fed was a secondary consideration. In subsequent decades, Gerd Müller and Romário operated to similar effect – but both were rewarded with the honour so painfully denied to the Englishman: a World Cup winner’s medal awarded as the result of a starring role in a final.
In Alan Shearer, who is quite underrated in here, Greaves should have a perfect partner. And Shearer in equal way from Greaves style of play with defenders always wary of Jimmy's movement and ability to pop up at different places. Simply put, the best striker partnership that England can offer, in a good, old English 4-4-2.And in that sense the physique is significant, for Greaves was in the vanguard – in England at least – of a new conception of what the centre-forward should be. He was not the classic English No 9. He was not Nat Lofthouse or Tommy Lawton. He was not some imposing physical presence there to batter away at the centre-half.
The British game had been about wingers beating their full-back and getting crosses into the box for the big No 9 but, as back fours neutralised them, new modes of attacking had to be found. Which is where forwards such as Clough and Greaves with their extraordinary goals records came in. Greaves scored 366 goals in 528 league games, Clough 251 in 274 (although only one of his goals came in the top flight).
“It was all about ghosting into space …” Greaves wrote in his autobiography, or “… taking up a position where I thought the ball was going to end up”.
And then you also count that machinery behind.