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.
Team Michaelf7777777
My team will play a 4-4-2 midfield diamond formation with the front 2 being inside forwards cutting in from the wings. This formation is based on that used by the French national team in the 1980's for which Michel Platini was the star player.
We'll now consider the pedigree of my players in their selected countries. Four of my players played in the Soviet Union league. I have been able to find two measures of player quality in the Soviet Union. Firstly there is the Soviet Union footballer of the year which was awarded from 1964 onwards which was voted on by journalists. Secondly, there is the best 33 football players of the season in the USSR (link:
https://translate.google.com/transl...c.academic.ru/dic.nsf/ruwiki/685003&sandbox=1) which ranks the best 3 players of the season in each position in the Soviet Union. This was awarded each season by the Presidum of the Football Federation with the list being approved by the National Coaches Council. Dasayev had 1 first (1982), 2 seconds (1983, 1988) and 1 third (1987) in the Soviet Union footballer of the year award. In the best 33 players list he was number 1 in his position 9 times (1979-1983, 1985-1988) and 2nd once (1984). Anatoliy Demyanenko won the Soviet Footballer of the Year Award in 1985 and finished 2nd in 1982. In the best 33 players list, Demyanenko was ranked first in his position 7 times (1981-1986, 1988) second 1 time (1980) and third 1 time (1979). Valery Voronin won the Soviet Footballer of the Year award in both 1964 and 1965 which were the first two years of the awards existence. In the best 33 players list Voronin finished first in his position 4 times (1961, 1963-1965) and second twice (1960, 1966). Oleg Blokhin won the Soviet footballer of the year award 3 times (1973-1975), finished second 4 times (1977-1978, 1980-1981) and third 2 times (1976, 1986). In the best 33 players list he finished first in his position 13 times (1972-1982, 1985-1986) and second 2 times (1983-1984). Additionally Blokhin won the Ballon d'Or in 1975.
With regards to my other players. While playing in Spain, Dani Alves was in the FIFpro World XI, the UEFA team of the year and the ESM team of the year on 5 occassions. Gaetano Scirea won 7 Serie A titles and each of the three main European club trophies once with Juventus. Scirea was also chosen as a member of Juventus's greatest XI of all time in 2017. Elias Figueroa was the best foreign player in Brazil in the 20th century. During his five seasons in Brazil he was South American Footballer of the year 3 times (1974-1976) as well as being the best centreback in Brazil 4 times (1973-1976). Bozsik spent his entire club career in Hungary winning the Hungarian league 5 times and being Hungarian footballer of the year in 1952. Bernd Schuster won the Don Ballon award for best foreign player in La Liga twice (1985, 1991). Additionally, during his time in La Liga Schuster finished third in the Ballon d'Or 2 times (1981, 1985) as well as finishing 2nd in the 1980 Ballon d'Or although he spent some of that year in Germany. During his time in Italy, Michel Platini won the Ballon d'Or 3 times (1983-1985) while also finishing as the top scorer in Serie A three times in consecutive seasons (1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85). Jupp Heynckes, in his second spell at Borussia Monchengladbach scored 232 goals in 309 games (including consecutive seasons of 48 goals in 53 games, 40 goals in 43 games and 42 goals in 43 games). Heynckes was in Kicker's Bundesliga team of the season 3 times (1971-72, 1973-74 and 1974-75) as well as being the top scorer in the Bundesliga 2 times (1973-74 and 1974-75), European Cup once (1975-76), UEFA Cup twice (1972-73 and 1974-75) and the Cup Winners Cup once (1973-74).
Team 2mufc0/Theon
Tactically we have built the team around Lionel Messi inspired by his most devastating iteration as the the false #9 in a 4-3-3 formation. The system has been heavily inspired by Pep's dominant Barcelona team to get the best out of our talisman. Averaging a goal every game and winning four Ballon d'Ors in a row, Messi is arguably the most devastating club footballer of all time during this period. With a possession based set-up Messi will be granted full freedom to drop deep towards midfield where he can pick up the ball, create space for others and utilise his dribbling/passing ability to slice open the opposition back line. When approaching the goal Messi will be both creator and finisher, equally comfortable slipping in the inside forwards with a through ball as skipping through challenges to finish himself.
In another ode to Pep's Barcelona set up, we have partnered Messi with two goal-scoring inside forwards who are equally comfortable with technical wingplay on the flanks as they are penetrating the centre of the park to race through on goal. On the left we have Anderlecht legend Rob Rensenbrink, who rattled 173 goals in 304 games for Anderlecht, hitting 20+ goals in 6 out of 9 seasons there. The right side has been upgraded with Bayern & Germany legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, like Rensenbrink he was a quality creator and scorer, with 217 goals in 422 appearances for Bayern. His intelligent runs, creativity and goal scoring ability will be the perfect foil on the right hand side, also with his immense work rate he fits the system to a tee. Both of the wide men are technically brilliant footballers and comfortable playing possession football and intricate play in the final third and able to expose the space created by Messi with their movement.
In the middle of the park we have opted for a trio who are comfortable on the ball and capable of both maintaining possession and penetrating more directly. In the hybrid-attacking #8/#10 role Iniesta can again link up with Messi to re-create one of the most proven and dominant combinations in domestic football. Sitting slightly deeper in midfield is Paul Scholes (in his '06-'09 playmaker iteration) who has the technical ability to keep the ball and set up attacks with his devastating passing range (his cross-field passes to Kalle and Rensenbrink should work wonders here). With his striking ability Scholes also has a knack of getting a few goals himself and in a fluid possession team he will find himself in these forward positions. Acting as the holding midfielder we have the Brazilian Cerezo, a member of the legendary Brazil '82 international side who should slot seamlessly into the technical set up we have implemented. At over 6ft with an excellent engine, Cerezo is capable of dictating play from deeper positions whist also being defensively sound and providing protection for the defence - at his best he was the highest rated footballer in Brazil ahead of Falcao and Zico which is testament to his quality.
In defence we have significantly upgraded the weakest area of Pep's Barcelona. In the centre of the defence Nesta & Vidic provide a rock solid defensive core, with both being part of two of the best defensive units in the history of club football (definitely the case for the 00's onwards). As a partnership the sweeping/covering style of Nesta is well complimented by the physical dominance and aerial presence of Vidic - indeed there are clear similarities to Rio/Vidic and with all the hallmarks of a dominant partnership. The left back position is significantly upgraded with one of the all-time GOATs Giacinto Facchetti providing defensive solidity and unrivalled attacking threat down the wing - we all know how Messi loves the switch of play to the Alba on the left who has proved devastating for Barcelona and should be equally effective here (if not more so). The right back position has been greatly improved by bringing in Cafu, who in Peps system would be a big upgrade defensively on Alves whilst not compromising on the attacking output. He was also brilliant in his early days in Brazil (Sao Paulo, 89-95) where he won the Copa Libertadores back to back (92 & 93), was the South American footballer of the year in 1994 and selected in the South American Team of the Year in 92, 93, 94 and 95. On the back of this form he was also selected for Brazil in the 94 world cup. In goal is Jose Chilavert a goal keeper that was great on the ball and carried a goal threat on top of his superb goal keeping skills. During his time in Argentina he won both the Argentinian and South American footballer of the year in 1996.
Good luck @Michaelf7777777 @2mufc0 @Theon
Only the club career for the clubs mentioned against player names will be considered for evaluation. No national teams performances count whatsoever.
Team Michaelf7777777 --------------------------------- Team 2mufc0/Theon ---------------------------
Team Michaelf7777777
My team will play a 4-4-2 midfield diamond formation with the front 2 being inside forwards cutting in from the wings. This formation is based on that used by the French national team in the 1980's for which Michel Platini was the star player.
We'll now consider the pedigree of my players in their selected countries. Four of my players played in the Soviet Union league. I have been able to find two measures of player quality in the Soviet Union. Firstly there is the Soviet Union footballer of the year which was awarded from 1964 onwards which was voted on by journalists. Secondly, there is the best 33 football players of the season in the USSR (link:
https://translate.google.com/transl...c.academic.ru/dic.nsf/ruwiki/685003&sandbox=1) which ranks the best 3 players of the season in each position in the Soviet Union. This was awarded each season by the Presidum of the Football Federation with the list being approved by the National Coaches Council. Dasayev had 1 first (1982), 2 seconds (1983, 1988) and 1 third (1987) in the Soviet Union footballer of the year award. In the best 33 players list he was number 1 in his position 9 times (1979-1983, 1985-1988) and 2nd once (1984). Anatoliy Demyanenko won the Soviet Footballer of the Year Award in 1985 and finished 2nd in 1982. In the best 33 players list, Demyanenko was ranked first in his position 7 times (1981-1986, 1988) second 1 time (1980) and third 1 time (1979). Valery Voronin won the Soviet Footballer of the Year award in both 1964 and 1965 which were the first two years of the awards existence. In the best 33 players list Voronin finished first in his position 4 times (1961, 1963-1965) and second twice (1960, 1966). Oleg Blokhin won the Soviet footballer of the year award 3 times (1973-1975), finished second 4 times (1977-1978, 1980-1981) and third 2 times (1976, 1986). In the best 33 players list he finished first in his position 13 times (1972-1982, 1985-1986) and second 2 times (1983-1984). Additionally Blokhin won the Ballon d'Or in 1975.
With regards to my other players. While playing in Spain, Dani Alves was in the FIFpro World XI, the UEFA team of the year and the ESM team of the year on 5 occassions. Gaetano Scirea won 7 Serie A titles and each of the three main European club trophies once with Juventus. Scirea was also chosen as a member of Juventus's greatest XI of all time in 2017. Elias Figueroa was the best foreign player in Brazil in the 20th century. During his five seasons in Brazil he was South American Footballer of the year 3 times (1974-1976) as well as being the best centreback in Brazil 4 times (1973-1976). Bozsik spent his entire club career in Hungary winning the Hungarian league 5 times and being Hungarian footballer of the year in 1952. Bernd Schuster won the Don Ballon award for best foreign player in La Liga twice (1985, 1991). Additionally, during his time in La Liga Schuster finished third in the Ballon d'Or 2 times (1981, 1985) as well as finishing 2nd in the 1980 Ballon d'Or although he spent some of that year in Germany. During his time in Italy, Michel Platini won the Ballon d'Or 3 times (1983-1985) while also finishing as the top scorer in Serie A three times in consecutive seasons (1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85). Jupp Heynckes, in his second spell at Borussia Monchengladbach scored 232 goals in 309 games (including consecutive seasons of 48 goals in 53 games, 40 goals in 43 games and 42 goals in 43 games). Heynckes was in Kicker's Bundesliga team of the season 3 times (1971-72, 1973-74 and 1974-75) as well as being the top scorer in the Bundesliga 2 times (1973-74 and 1974-75), European Cup once (1975-76), UEFA Cup twice (1972-73 and 1974-75) and the Cup Winners Cup once (1973-74).
Team 2mufc0/Theon
Tactically we have built the team around Lionel Messi inspired by his most devastating iteration as the the false #9 in a 4-3-3 formation. The system has been heavily inspired by Pep's dominant Barcelona team to get the best out of our talisman. Averaging a goal every game and winning four Ballon d'Ors in a row, Messi is arguably the most devastating club footballer of all time during this period. With a possession based set-up Messi will be granted full freedom to drop deep towards midfield where he can pick up the ball, create space for others and utilise his dribbling/passing ability to slice open the opposition back line. When approaching the goal Messi will be both creator and finisher, equally comfortable slipping in the inside forwards with a through ball as skipping through challenges to finish himself.
In another ode to Pep's Barcelona set up, we have partnered Messi with two goal-scoring inside forwards who are equally comfortable with technical wingplay on the flanks as they are penetrating the centre of the park to race through on goal. On the left we have Anderlecht legend Rob Rensenbrink, who rattled 173 goals in 304 games for Anderlecht, hitting 20+ goals in 6 out of 9 seasons there. The right side has been upgraded with Bayern & Germany legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, like Rensenbrink he was a quality creator and scorer, with 217 goals in 422 appearances for Bayern. His intelligent runs, creativity and goal scoring ability will be the perfect foil on the right hand side, also with his immense work rate he fits the system to a tee. Both of the wide men are technically brilliant footballers and comfortable playing possession football and intricate play in the final third and able to expose the space created by Messi with their movement.
In the middle of the park we have opted for a trio who are comfortable on the ball and capable of both maintaining possession and penetrating more directly. In the hybrid-attacking #8/#10 role Iniesta can again link up with Messi to re-create one of the most proven and dominant combinations in domestic football. Sitting slightly deeper in midfield is Paul Scholes (in his '06-'09 playmaker iteration) who has the technical ability to keep the ball and set up attacks with his devastating passing range (his cross-field passes to Kalle and Rensenbrink should work wonders here). With his striking ability Scholes also has a knack of getting a few goals himself and in a fluid possession team he will find himself in these forward positions. Acting as the holding midfielder we have the Brazilian Cerezo, a member of the legendary Brazil '82 international side who should slot seamlessly into the technical set up we have implemented. At over 6ft with an excellent engine, Cerezo is capable of dictating play from deeper positions whist also being defensively sound and providing protection for the defence - at his best he was the highest rated footballer in Brazil ahead of Falcao and Zico which is testament to his quality.
In defence we have significantly upgraded the weakest area of Pep's Barcelona. In the centre of the defence Nesta & Vidic provide a rock solid defensive core, with both being part of two of the best defensive units in the history of club football (definitely the case for the 00's onwards). As a partnership the sweeping/covering style of Nesta is well complimented by the physical dominance and aerial presence of Vidic - indeed there are clear similarities to Rio/Vidic and with all the hallmarks of a dominant partnership. The left back position is significantly upgraded with one of the all-time GOATs Giacinto Facchetti providing defensive solidity and unrivalled attacking threat down the wing - we all know how Messi loves the switch of play to the Alba on the left who has proved devastating for Barcelona and should be equally effective here (if not more so). The right back position has been greatly improved by bringing in Cafu, who in Peps system would be a big upgrade defensively on Alves whilst not compromising on the attacking output. He was also brilliant in his early days in Brazil (Sao Paulo, 89-95) where he won the Copa Libertadores back to back (92 & 93), was the South American footballer of the year in 1994 and selected in the South American Team of the Year in 92, 93, 94 and 95. On the back of this form he was also selected for Brazil in the 94 world cup. In goal is Jose Chilavert a goal keeper that was great on the ball and carried a goal threat on top of his superb goal keeping skills. During his time in Argentina he won both the Argentinian and South American footballer of the year in 1996.
Good luck @Michaelf7777777 @2mufc0 @Theon
