10 centre backs and a goalie vs 10 wingers and a goalie

[harms]

You can cheat and use a young Laurent Blanc who was mainly an attacking midfielder for Montpellier and a very good one too.

Yeah, I’ve tried to left those ones out (although Beckenbauer always feels like cheating). Put Maldini/Thuram on the wings, Blanc somewhere further up... if you’re going all in, use Gullit and Boniek, who played as sweepers... maybe John Charles up front as well

It’s still an overwhelming victory for center backs though.

 

[harms]

They won't have much of the ball to be getting any free kicks though. The much more skilful players will have the ball, and it'll be a classic attack v defence game, and the attack will obviously win out.

You mistake traditional wingers for midfielders though. Those are not Xavis and Iniesta’s, traditional winger takes the ball and runs forward with it, reaching dangerous areas and crossing the ball in.

In fact, center back do way more general passing than wingers and you’d expect them to have more possession. Even someone like Terry had a 90%+ pass success rate, doing mostly short/middle passing, more modern center backs are even better at it.

 

[Sandikan]

You mistake traditional wingers for midfielders though. Those are not Xavis and Iniesta’s, traditional winger takes the ball and runs forward with it, reaching dangerous areas and crossing the ball in.

In fact, center back do way more general passing than wingers and you’d expect them to have more possession. Even someone like Terry had a 90%+ pass success rate, doing mostly short/middle passing, more modern center backs are even better at it.

We definitely need someone to get this game rolling to test it.
The bit Team centre back people are forgetting is that very few centre backs make any sort of key passes, so they can pass nicely at the back, but will soon break down in the other half.

 

[devilish]

Buffon

Bergomi
Scirea
Baresi
Maldini

Sammer
Matthaus
Rijkaard
Alaba

Dublin
Sutton

 

[DOTA]

We definitely need someone to get this game rolling to test it.
The bit Team centre back people are forgetting is that very few centre backs make any sort of key passes, so they can pass nicely at the back, but will soon break down in the other half.

Why would they pass? Put your foot through it, son! The 5'5 winger playing centre back's not about to win any aerial duels.

 

[harms]

We definitely need someone to get this game rolling to test it.
The bit Team centre back people are forgetting is that very few centre backs make any sort of key passes, so they can pass nicely at the back, but will soon break down in the other half.

Terry wouldn’t be able to make them — Bonucci would... Just from this season — Lewis Dunk, Söyüncü & a few other CBs make 0,4 key passes per game, same as, say, Greenwood.

It's a completely one-way street unless you include wide-forwards into the wingers category (in which case, with Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard, Neymar etc. brought into the mix, they're going to absolutely dominate any opponent).

 

[harms]

Buffon

Bergomi
Scirea
Baresi
Maldini

Sammer
Matthaus
Rijkaard
Alaba

Dublin
Sutton

It's cheating a bit, surely — Matthäus only played there near retirement, peak Maldini's and Bergomi's positions were probably fullbacks first, centre backs second; Rijkaard played most of his career as a central midfielder. Most importantly, you don't even need any cheating to create an unbeatable juggernaut with the inclusion of Beckenbauer, Koeman, Passarella etc.

 

[DOTA]

This is the only good thread made in the football forums this year and people should take note.

 

[UpWithRivers]

The CB's would get hammered. Most wingers can defend especially against a CB. The only way they could score is through headers but then they need a winger to put a decent ball in the box. The whole game would be the wingers camped in the CB's box. It would be dull. But they would get through in the end. 1-0 to wingers if the CB's sit back. If the CB's try to win and push out they would loose by 5+ goals.

 

[devilish]

It's cheating a bit, surely — Matthäus only played there near retirement, peak Maldini's and Bergomi's positions were probably fullbacks first, centre backs second; Rijkaard played most of his career as a central midfielder. Most importantly, you don't even need any cheating to create an unbeatable juggernaut with the inclusion of Beckenbauer, Koeman, Passarella etc.

Players played equally well in different positions. What's wrong with that? The trouble with traditional wingers is that they were painfully one dimensional. Most couldn't play anywhere else or change their game. Which is why they are a dying breed. That isn't the case with CBs and CMs.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

10 wingers will have about 85% possession and lose 6-0...

 

[criticalanalysis]

It would be the battle of the 2nd balls.

Allardyce vs Pep/Klopp.

Knock downs vs pressing/counter pressing.

 

[GatoLoco]

Many wingers feel uncomfortable in positions upfront other than their best one. It's not that rare that some of the best CBs excell as midfielders or full backs though. Just think of guys such as Puyol, Maldini, Alaba, Mascherano, Ramos, Hierro, Koeman etc That's pretty much half the backbone in a team covered.

That means you can probably cover 6 positions with the CBs, as opposed to the team with classic wingers, who will feel very comfortable in 2 wide positions upfront but you cannot really guarantee they give the same level in other areas on the pitch.

Overall, CBs are going to feel much better in that situation.

 

[JakeC]

---Torres----Pique-----Ramos
--------Alaba---Luiz---VVD
Laporte----Dias--Varane-Koulibaly
----------------------GK

Would batter any team of wingers.

 

[Acheron]

I'll take a 10 Ramos team over 10 Messis or 10 Ronaldo's.

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

I think a team of genuine old-school outside right/left players would struggle massively defensively. a team of more 4-4-2'ish 70s/80s/90s/early 00s wide midfielders that did a lot of attacking and defending would win much more often than not. They would always be vulnerable to a route one or set pieces low scoring defeat if it's an all-time team of cb's though.

a team of very good/excellent side midfielders would beat the all-time great cb's 11 comfortably imo.

 

[RUCK4444]

I'll take a 10 Ramos team over 10 Messis or 10 Ronaldo's.

A 10 Ramos team

 

[Oranges038]

Thought about this for a while and the best/most equally matched teams I could come with were 10 Gary Doherty's against 10 Gary Doherty's with Andy Goram in either goal.

 

[Gio]

Centre backs are not the lumbering hoofballers they once were. In fact, being good on the ball seems to be a pre-requisite for centre backs at top teams these days.

Wingers are generally poor at defending and poor in the air, Maguire launching some balls in for Zouma, Van Dijk and Stones to attack would be tough for the wingers

I think the centre backs would comfortably win

Aye. 30 years ago it’s a different answer, but most of the top CBs are classy possession players now. While CBs have broadened their skillset, wingers are arguably the last remaining specialists on the park.

 

[rcoobc]

Looks like the consensus is that wingers would win. Case closed

 

[The Original]

Premier League

Salah
Son
Sterling
Mahrez
Rashford
Mane
Grealish
Barnes
Aubameyang (plays as a winger now)
Zaha

Van Dijk
Dias
Stones
Silva
Fofana
Gabriel
Mings
Rudiger
Christensen
Zouma (this team needs goals)

0-0

This team of CBs easily wins by some margin. There are some pretty competent footballers in that lineup, and they would score from every corner.

 

[Suspicious Swelling]

centre backs all day. Hoof it into the box and the team of midgets wouldnt be able to deal with it. For some reason it makes me think of teams like Burnley and Stoke V Arsenal in the late Wenger era when he only bought attacking midfielders with no backbones and would get kicked off the park

 

[Eli Zee]

No CB has ever scored a from a set pice or a corner ????

What center back is whipping in good crosses or shots on goal from set pieces?

The wingers would run circles around the CBS, playing keep away with each other.

 

[Oranges038]

What center back is whipping in good crosses or shots on goal from set pieces?

The wingers would run circles around the CBS, playing keep away with each other.

Siniša Mihajlović or Pasarella even Chivu could do it.

Plenty more of them could too