TEAM HARMS
I radically changed the system as I felt that it's a bit pointless to try to outplay Maradona & co in the middle. Instead, I went with containment tactics in the middle paired with doubled wings and mobile attackers. There's no better defensive scheme than 4-4-2, and it can be quite effective attacking-wise with the right personnel, which, I think, I have.
Alisson — a complete goalkeeper who combines great shot-stopping ability with great anticipation, decision-making and passing range
Laurent Blanc — albeit not quite on Baresi's level, he's still the best center back on the pitch, taking up his preferred covering role next to a physical stopper. Having a familiar face in Deschamps in front of him also helps
Carles Puyol — tough as nails, fast and quite adept with the ball, he's going to play as a stopper for me
Maxime Bossis — an incredible all-rounder — elegant and effective going forward, but also an exceptional defender on his own, be it at left back or centrally if there's a need to cover
César Azpilicueta — I'd say that he was a bit unlucky in terms of his club career, but he's a Chelsea legend already. Incredibly consistent, versatile, intelligent and brave — the case can be made for him to be the best right back of the PL era, certainly of the last decade
Didier Deschamps — the ultimate water-carrier that won everything, including Champions League with Marseille. I needed someone more mobile than Busquets for this scheme and there aren't many defensive midfielders that I'd pick ahead of the "boring" Frenchman
Johan Neeskens — the expansive box-to-box and one of the most complete players to ever step on a pitch. If Cruyff was the brain, he was the heart and the lungs of the Total Football. Here he's partnered with the other Johan, which should elevate his game on an insane level
Zbigniew Boniek — one of the trickiest forwards to play against, he was so good with his movement, dribbling and incisive passing. With Riva and Cruyff often occupying left channels, he will be roaming around the front line, looking for vulnerabilities
Bruno Conti — nicknamed MaraZico for his incredible skills on the ball, he combined Brazilian flair with Italian pragmatism and workrate. Like Boniek, he was capable of playing on either wing, but most of his threat would be coming from the right — I'd expect his crosses to find Riva (and Cruyff) quite often
Luigi Riva — one of the most complete strikers of all-time. Stupendously gifted goalscorer with a thunderous shot from both legs, dominant in the air, but also capable of peeling out wide and performing a dribbling run or sending a good cross centrally
Johan Cruyff — the smartest player of all-time that has a very suiting personnel all around him
TEAM PAT
Formation: 4-2-3-1
We change formation for this match from the much-maligned Christmas Tree to a 4-2-3-1 featuring a revamped right flank of Mani Kaltz and Gaizka Mendieta. The formation is lopsided in that new addition Mendieta will function more as a side midfielder, using his prodigious levels of graft and industry to support the midfield and cover his flank when necessary, while Neymar will operate further up the park as a wide attacker. I suspect that Harms might revert to a back four for this match as Neymar in particular looks tailor-made to exploit the vulnerabilities of the 3-4-3 diamond, but I still fancy our attack to be too hot to handle for that defence.
