Welcome to the Road Trip Draft II KO Stage.
Only the club career for the clubs mentioned against player names will be considered for evaluation. No national teams performances count whatsoever.
VS
TEAM HARMS
I'll post a more detailed write up on my players' club careers later, but I'm really happy with what I've got here.
Defense.
My defensive unit is just incredible, lead by the AC Milan's and Serie A Player of the Century. Jaap Stam was a one-man wall for the Fergie's treble-winning side; Djalma had played close to 1000 official club games and is considered a true legend by three Brazilian clubs; Bossis had played in every defensive role possible and 2 times — in 1979 and 1981, he was voted as a French Player of the Year. Keep in mind that the likes of Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Manuel Amoros were all eligible at the time.
Midfield.
In my midfield I have 2 mavericks — Falcão and Netzer, who are going to play some breathtaking football, with Néstor Gonçalves acting as a holder. If there ever was a draft to pick him and give him a Voronin treatment, it was this one.
In the 1980s, during the heydey for Italian club football, when Serie A thrived with great teams and the world’s best players, it was the intense rivalry between Juventus and Roma which gripped the nation. Platini was indispensable for the Bianconeri while Falcão’s instrumental influence in the Roma side drove the Giallorossi to their first title in 41 years and ensured that the rivalry brought success to both teams. If not for the infamous Er’ go’ de Turone game, when the referee had given Juventus an off-side goal, Falcão would've had 1 more league title to his name.
Netzer was the diamond in Borussia Mönchengladbach's crown. It was probably the best league rivalry in Bundesliga's history — star-studded Bayern Munich side (Beckenbauer, Müller, Breitner & Maier) had competed with Borussia (Netzer, Vogts, Bohof, Heynckes, Stielike) at the domestic arena year after year with alternating result. Netzer was a part of the kicker's Bundesliga Team of the Season for 7 seasons in a row and also won Footballer of the Year in Germany twice. With peak Beckenbauer and Müller around.
Finally, anchoring the midfield is Néstor Gonçalves, the Captain of Captains — the fulcrum of Peñarol's side of the 60's that was voted as the best South American club side of the century by IFFHS. Yes, even ahead of Pelé's Santos.
Attack.
Jairzinho replaced his idol Garrincha not only in the national team, but also for Botafogo. He's had more freedom than he did for Brazil and scored at the astonishing rate for someone who was not a striker — he had scored 186 goals in 413 appearances.
Ferenc Puskás is in his Real Madrid version. The man was simply a goalscoring machine and he'll love the support that I've given him. His performances in the European Cup are immensely impressive — to score 3 and 4 goals in different EC finals, imagine that! Even though he had played until he was 39, he still managed to maintain a 1 in 1 goal-per-game ration, scoring 242 goals in 262 appearances. He was La Liga's top scorer 4 times and twice he ended up as one in the European Cup.
If you think Puskás' trophy haul is impressive, take a look at Paco Gento. He appeared in a joint record eight European Cup finals, winning a record six, as well as winning 12 La Liga titles.
TEAM PAT_MUSTARD
Formation and Tactical Synopsis:
Counter-attacking 4-3-1-2 that can seamlessly convert to a 5-3-2 if required. Scirea commands the defence, with Guido Buchwald playing a tactically vital role as a midfield destroyer who can drop back into the defensive line. Leandro and Roberto Carlos provide much of our attacking width. Eusebio is the main man in our attack, and finds himself in something approaching his ideal habitat, enjoying a free role in a counter-attacking set-up, with an abundance of creativity behind him and a powerful, line-leading centre forward in Gigi Riva to play off.
Player Roles and League Credentials:
Lev Yashin: Goalkeeper (USSR): A one-club man for Dynamo Moscow, 5 time Soviet Top League winner, and the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or. Quite possibly the greatest ever in his position, and his credentials are unimpeachable.
Leandro: Attacking Right-Back (Brazil): Another one-club man with an impressive trophy haul – he won 5 Rio State championships, 3 Brazilian national championships, a Copa Libertadores and an Intercontinental Cup for Flamengo , achieving 2 Bola De Prata awards for himself along the way. He plays as a modern attacking full-back here, providing width on our right wing , utilising his excellent dribbling and long-passing, and defending against Gento (he was good enough to retain his place in the Brazil squad as a centre-back towards the end of his career after a serious injury).
Gaetano Scirea: Libero (Italy): One of the vanishingly few players who can seriously rival his opposite number Baresi as the best defender on the pitch. A 7 time Serie A winner, he’s the command centre of our defence, and he’ll step into midfield when we’re in possession to initiate our attacks.
Jose Santamaria: Centre-Back/Stopper (Uruguay): The rugged, physical foil to Scirea, he’ll closely monitor his former teammate Puskas when he’s in his zone. He won 5 Uruguayan championships for Nacional and forged an illustrious reputation before departing for Real Madrid at the age of 28.
Roberto Carlos: Attacking Left-Back (Spain): Arguably the greatest attacking left-back ever, he spent 11 seasons in La Liga for Real Madrid rampaging up and down that left wing. His role mirrors that of his compatriot Leandro – a one-man flank.
Guido Buchwald: Midfield Destroyer/Auxiliary Centre Back (Germany): A Bundesliga stalwart who scored the goal that won the championship for Stuttgart on the final day of the 1991-92 season, he plays a tactically crucial role for us here. Patrolling the zone in front of our defence against the threat of Netzer and Puskas, he can seamlessly drop back to switch our formation to 3-5-2/5-3-2 if the match situation calls for it, and when we’re in possession he can drop back to CB to cover for any forays forward that Scirea makes. More commonly used in drafts as a pure CB, Kicker magazine awarded him their highest ranking of ‘world class’ as a defensive midfielder in 1990, and ranked him as the best defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga on three occasions in addition to his accolades at centre back.
Graeme Souness: Defensive B2B Midfielder (England): In seven seasons with Liverpool he won an astonishing 5 league titles and 3 European Cups, the bastard. Hard as granite and silky on the ball, he’ll play a conservative role here in our counter-attacking set-up.
Josef Masopust: B2B Midfielder (Czechoslovakia): Winner of 8 league titles during his 18 year career in the Czechoslovakian top-flight, the Ballon d’Or winning Masopust was a rare meld of industry and world class creativity. His natural game, particularly his famous dribbling, dictates that he’ll be more offensive than Souness, but he’s a midfielder first and foremost here who will get behind the ball when we lose possession and contribute to the defensive effort.
Michael Laudrup: Attacking Midfielder (Spain): For a time during the first half of the 1990s, Laudrup appeared to guarantee his club a La Liga title, winning four on the bounce with Barcelona, before joining Real Madrid and immediately wresting the title from the Nou Camp to the Bernabeu. Off the ball, we want him to press Goncalves and block off passing lanes to him. On the ball, he’ll provide sumptuous service for Eusebio and Riva.
Luigi Riva: Centre-Forward (Italy): Riva’s heroics in dragging Cagliari to the Serie A title in 1969-70 has to rank as one of the all-time great individual contributions to a title campaign, with the three-time Capocannoniere scoring exactly 50% of his team’s league goals that season. Out of possession, he’s tasked with using his impressive work-rate to press the opposition defence and in particular to limit Baresi’s time on the ball. In possession, this mobile, skilful battering ram provides both an immense goal threat and the back to goal play required to make our counter-attacking game tick.
Eusebio: Free-Role Second Striker (Portugal): The crown jewel of the team. Utterly prolific for Benfica both domestically and in Europe, he has complete freedom in our counter-attacking set-up, able to either drop deep to embark on one of those thrillingly direct runs at goal, or use his searing pace to run in behind. With two top-notch attacking FBs providing the width, a powerful CF to play off, and excellent creativity behind him, we think we’ve provided him with a great opportunity to shine here.
Only the club career for the clubs mentioned against player names will be considered for evaluation. No national teams performances count whatsoever.
TEAM HARMS
I'll post a more detailed write up on my players' club careers later, but I'm really happy with what I've got here.
Defense.
My defensive unit is just incredible, lead by the AC Milan's and Serie A Player of the Century. Jaap Stam was a one-man wall for the Fergie's treble-winning side; Djalma had played close to 1000 official club games and is considered a true legend by three Brazilian clubs; Bossis had played in every defensive role possible and 2 times — in 1979 and 1981, he was voted as a French Player of the Year. Keep in mind that the likes of Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Manuel Amoros were all eligible at the time.
Midfield.
In my midfield I have 2 mavericks — Falcão and Netzer, who are going to play some breathtaking football, with Néstor Gonçalves acting as a holder. If there ever was a draft to pick him and give him a Voronin treatment, it was this one.
In the 1980s, during the heydey for Italian club football, when Serie A thrived with great teams and the world’s best players, it was the intense rivalry between Juventus and Roma which gripped the nation. Platini was indispensable for the Bianconeri while Falcão’s instrumental influence in the Roma side drove the Giallorossi to their first title in 41 years and ensured that the rivalry brought success to both teams. If not for the infamous Er’ go’ de Turone game, when the referee had given Juventus an off-side goal, Falcão would've had 1 more league title to his name.
Netzer was the diamond in Borussia Mönchengladbach's crown. It was probably the best league rivalry in Bundesliga's history — star-studded Bayern Munich side (Beckenbauer, Müller, Breitner & Maier) had competed with Borussia (Netzer, Vogts, Bohof, Heynckes, Stielike) at the domestic arena year after year with alternating result. Netzer was a part of the kicker's Bundesliga Team of the Season for 7 seasons in a row and also won Footballer of the Year in Germany twice. With peak Beckenbauer and Müller around.
Finally, anchoring the midfield is Néstor Gonçalves, the Captain of Captains — the fulcrum of Peñarol's side of the 60's that was voted as the best South American club side of the century by IFFHS. Yes, even ahead of Pelé's Santos.
Attack.
Jairzinho replaced his idol Garrincha not only in the national team, but also for Botafogo. He's had more freedom than he did for Brazil and scored at the astonishing rate for someone who was not a striker — he had scored 186 goals in 413 appearances.
Ferenc Puskás is in his Real Madrid version. The man was simply a goalscoring machine and he'll love the support that I've given him. His performances in the European Cup are immensely impressive — to score 3 and 4 goals in different EC finals, imagine that! Even though he had played until he was 39, he still managed to maintain a 1 in 1 goal-per-game ration, scoring 242 goals in 262 appearances. He was La Liga's top scorer 4 times and twice he ended up as one in the European Cup.
If you think Puskás' trophy haul is impressive, take a look at Paco Gento. He appeared in a joint record eight European Cup finals, winning a record six, as well as winning 12 La Liga titles.
TEAM PAT_MUSTARD
Formation and Tactical Synopsis:
Counter-attacking 4-3-1-2 that can seamlessly convert to a 5-3-2 if required. Scirea commands the defence, with Guido Buchwald playing a tactically vital role as a midfield destroyer who can drop back into the defensive line. Leandro and Roberto Carlos provide much of our attacking width. Eusebio is the main man in our attack, and finds himself in something approaching his ideal habitat, enjoying a free role in a counter-attacking set-up, with an abundance of creativity behind him and a powerful, line-leading centre forward in Gigi Riva to play off.
Player Roles and League Credentials:
Lev Yashin: Goalkeeper (USSR): A one-club man for Dynamo Moscow, 5 time Soviet Top League winner, and the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or. Quite possibly the greatest ever in his position, and his credentials are unimpeachable.
Leandro: Attacking Right-Back (Brazil): Another one-club man with an impressive trophy haul – he won 5 Rio State championships, 3 Brazilian national championships, a Copa Libertadores and an Intercontinental Cup for Flamengo , achieving 2 Bola De Prata awards for himself along the way. He plays as a modern attacking full-back here, providing width on our right wing , utilising his excellent dribbling and long-passing, and defending against Gento (he was good enough to retain his place in the Brazil squad as a centre-back towards the end of his career after a serious injury).
Gaetano Scirea: Libero (Italy): One of the vanishingly few players who can seriously rival his opposite number Baresi as the best defender on the pitch. A 7 time Serie A winner, he’s the command centre of our defence, and he’ll step into midfield when we’re in possession to initiate our attacks.
Jose Santamaria: Centre-Back/Stopper (Uruguay): The rugged, physical foil to Scirea, he’ll closely monitor his former teammate Puskas when he’s in his zone. He won 5 Uruguayan championships for Nacional and forged an illustrious reputation before departing for Real Madrid at the age of 28.
Roberto Carlos: Attacking Left-Back (Spain): Arguably the greatest attacking left-back ever, he spent 11 seasons in La Liga for Real Madrid rampaging up and down that left wing. His role mirrors that of his compatriot Leandro – a one-man flank.
Guido Buchwald: Midfield Destroyer/Auxiliary Centre Back (Germany): A Bundesliga stalwart who scored the goal that won the championship for Stuttgart on the final day of the 1991-92 season, he plays a tactically crucial role for us here. Patrolling the zone in front of our defence against the threat of Netzer and Puskas, he can seamlessly drop back to switch our formation to 3-5-2/5-3-2 if the match situation calls for it, and when we’re in possession he can drop back to CB to cover for any forays forward that Scirea makes. More commonly used in drafts as a pure CB, Kicker magazine awarded him their highest ranking of ‘world class’ as a defensive midfielder in 1990, and ranked him as the best defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga on three occasions in addition to his accolades at centre back.
Graeme Souness: Defensive B2B Midfielder (England): In seven seasons with Liverpool he won an astonishing 5 league titles and 3 European Cups, the bastard. Hard as granite and silky on the ball, he’ll play a conservative role here in our counter-attacking set-up.
Josef Masopust: B2B Midfielder (Czechoslovakia): Winner of 8 league titles during his 18 year career in the Czechoslovakian top-flight, the Ballon d’Or winning Masopust was a rare meld of industry and world class creativity. His natural game, particularly his famous dribbling, dictates that he’ll be more offensive than Souness, but he’s a midfielder first and foremost here who will get behind the ball when we lose possession and contribute to the defensive effort.
Michael Laudrup: Attacking Midfielder (Spain): For a time during the first half of the 1990s, Laudrup appeared to guarantee his club a La Liga title, winning four on the bounce with Barcelona, before joining Real Madrid and immediately wresting the title from the Nou Camp to the Bernabeu. Off the ball, we want him to press Goncalves and block off passing lanes to him. On the ball, he’ll provide sumptuous service for Eusebio and Riva.
Luigi Riva: Centre-Forward (Italy): Riva’s heroics in dragging Cagliari to the Serie A title in 1969-70 has to rank as one of the all-time great individual contributions to a title campaign, with the three-time Capocannoniere scoring exactly 50% of his team’s league goals that season. Out of possession, he’s tasked with using his impressive work-rate to press the opposition defence and in particular to limit Baresi’s time on the ball. In possession, this mobile, skilful battering ram provides both an immense goal threat and the back to goal play required to make our counter-attacking game tick.
Eusebio: Free-Role Second Striker (Portugal): The crown jewel of the team. Utterly prolific for Benfica both domestically and in Europe, he has complete freedom in our counter-attacking set-up, able to either drop deep to embark on one of those thrillingly direct runs at goal, or use his searing pace to run in behind. With two top-notch attacking FBs providing the width, a powerful CF to play off, and excellent creativity behind him, we think we’ve provided him with a great opportunity to shine here.
I completely forgot about that — those, who prioritised attack, are in the winning position here.