Edgar Allan Pillow
Ero-Sennin
TEAM BEAM
Formation: 4-2-2-2 - Carre Magique or France's Magic Square that set the World alight
Playing style: Attacking, characterized by team's invention, industry, creativity and cohesion
We will live and die in the same theme...
You all know the team by now (well, most of you anyway). Structured to bring the best in Platini by two players with immense pace and goalscoring ability while allowing Platini to be the Don of the team and in his element. Every player absolutely comfortable in their position to bring the best out of them.
Upgrades
In the team steps Frank Rijkaard. Or you can call him the last piece of the puzzle. And probably the most complete midfielder of all time. Protection, immense physicality and ball playing ability all at the ridiculously high level. He makes the midfield unit as perfect as it can be. More on him in the debate that will follow.
On the right side enters Carlos Alberto, arguably the greatest right back of all time fixing the only relatively weak spot in the team instead of Gerets (no offence Eric). He had it all, defensive ability, reading of the game, playmaking, dribbling and one of the players to be in the World Team of the 20th Century.
Well, it's perfect now. Only player who can upgrade it a bit isn't even picked yet.Jim Beam said:Nobody is perfect, but a team can be. Well, maybe it ain't perfect, but looking at the pieces it is damn close to being one.
Conclusion
Shut the middle of the park, force them on the flanks all 90 minutes.
You will hear a lot about individual ability of the opponent through this debate. Stats, numbers, goals, assists, Ballon d'ors. They still aren't balanced as much as they believe so. And they will not win the midfield battle.
Wish: put Messi in no. 10 role
TEAM ENIGMA/THEON:
Formation: 4-3-3 (Fluid)
Defensive line: Balanced
Style: Fluid, Direct, Attacking
Tactics: Tactically we will look to stretch the pitch through world-class wing-play whilst Redondo, Davids and Messi dictate play in the middle. On the ball we will shift the ball quickly, probing for opportunities to release the explosive offensive abilities within the front four - in Messi, Figo, Romario and Ronaldo we have a lightening quick front line stacked with outstanding dribbling ability which should prove too hot to handle for any backline.
Defence:
- A fantastic unit led by the greatest defender of all time in Franco Baresi - unmatched in his combination of playmaking, ball-winning and defensive reading of the game. Opting for creating the best CB pairing in history, his partner Elias Figueroa compliments Baresi with his aggression, large frame, physicality and aerial ability. With Baresi and Figueroa together on the pitch we probably have the greatest pure defenders in the history of the game - and both compliment each other in their respective styles. If any defence is capable of shutting out a stacked opposition attack, it's this one.
- At right back we have arguably the greatest defensive right back of all time in Berti Vogts (two time Footballer of the Year in Germany, highest average rating by Kicker in ’73, ’75, ’76, ’77 ahead of the likes of Gerd Muller and Beckenbauer). Similar to Tassotti in style Vogts will tuck in and provide Baresi with the platform to influence the match.
- At left back we have one of the best attacking left backs in the game - Andreas Brehme, who provides physicality and energy which will be vital both in our attacking game but also be defensively solid to match up against Kalle. In possession Brehme will push forward to support Ronaldo (overlapping in a similar style to Marcelo at Real) to stretch the backline and utilise his devastating crossing ability - arguably the most effective of any offensive fullback.
- The pivot of our midfield is Fernando Redondo – the one-man midfield who led Real Madrid to Champions Leagues success in ’98 and ’00. Arguably the most compete midfielder since Matthaus, Redondo will orchestrate play from deep whilst providing defensive solidity and elite-level ball-winning.
- Bringing balance and unmatched physicality to the side, Edgar Davids compliments the technical style of Redondo/Figo/Messi as the team’s engine-room and ball-winner (who was also excellent in possession – which is often overlooked). His energy on the left of midfield will be vital in containing opposition right flank when Carlos Alberto goes up.
Linking midfield and attack we have Figo and Messi moving through the lines. Our best player and a genuine GOAT contender Messi would be drifting in and out in the area where he can find most space and be more dangerous. Figo with his work rate can also help the midfield and also stretch the outside channel, making space for Messi to slice the opposition defence open either with a final pass or scoring himself.
- On the flanks we have two Portugese Ballon D'or winners, beginning with Luis Figo - in his absolute zone here with a defensive right back behind him, providing him the opportunity to stretch the pitch and target the space left by Facchetti when he goes up his dribbling, trickery and opportunistic nature of using the space left behind.
- On the left we have Cristiano Ronaldo - given complete freedom to drive infield centrally to impact the game as a goalscorer. With 450 goals in 438 games at Real, including six straight seasons of 50+ goals each year, Ronaldo is arguably the most effective goalscorer in the draft - a physical colossus, with devastating movement, technical skill and finishing ability.
- Through the middle we have Messi who will occupy the area between the lines, looking for spaces as the heat of our attacking play. Having Figo and Ronaldo in the team will stretch the backline and create pockets of space for Messi to utilise his creativity and passing in possession (none better to receive those passes than Ronaldo / Romario) or drive at the defence on one of his trademark runs. Outside the dribbling, passing and creativity Messi is at the core another outstanding goal threat who has hit 523 goals in 526 games over the last ten years - one of only a few who is comparable to Ronaldo in terms of effectiveness.
- Leading the line is Romario – the absolute gold-standard when it comes to clinical #9’s whilst also offering majestic technical link of play and dribbling ability. His burst of pace and movement should cause problems for Jim Beam’s backline, particularly with the quality of service he will receive from Messi, Cristiano, Figo and Redondo.
1. Balanced unit all over the pitch – We've managed to reinforce even further without compromising balance or sacrificing any of the harmony in the team. Cristiano would bring what Rivaldo did and more, whilst Figueroa is a fantastic upgrade on Ruggeri - defensively even more solid, fantastic in the air and also has that extra reading of the game that all great defenders do. We have a nice mixture of ball carriers in Figo and Messi, fantastic movement off the ball in Ronaldo and Romario, top notch finishing ability in the trio Romario, Ronaldo, Messi, creativity and passing ability in Messi, Figo and Redondo all sewn up together with grit, determination and lungs to cover an awful amount of space in Davids.
2. Attack - Both teams have fantastic attacks on show, but I think it's an area we definitely have the edge. A point worth mentioning is Cristiano's ability to jump ridiculously high and his timed runs into the box attacking the ball with his head is second to none. Maybe only Pele can rival him in that category and is one point where he definitely has the edge over Scirea on that side (great defender - but at a definite disadvantage vs Ronaldo aerially). We also have two brilliant crossers of the ball from both sides - Brehme and especially Figo, which makes it a viable route to goal:
Apart from that our attack is mouthwatering both in terms of quality and ruthlessness. In a tight margin game we definitely have the edge there with Cristiano, Messi and Romario scoring more than 2000 goals alone in their careers - indeed we see Romario causing all sorts of problems for Desailly with his low centre of gravity and agility, particularly in his ability to exploit the space created by Messi/Ronaldo and co.
3. Star quality – We have 2 potential GOAT's in our side and the best CB's in the game. When it comes to quality we certainly have the edge to pull it through. Buffon also is probably the best keeper to play the game(according to the CAF too!) and whilst Jim will definitely sport some top notch midfield quality ours isn't that far off in comparison. We have a lot of routes to goal and generally the more ruthless players to capitalize and outscore the opposition, whilst we also shade it in the central defence and goalkeeper, which essentially is the most dangerous area in front of the goal.
4. Taking care of opposition forwards - Vogts is one of the very best to go against a tricky and fast wing players. He is probably one of the best defensive full backs in the game and his record is probably one of the finest around. Vogts and Blokhin squared off 3 times in their careers with Vogts coming on top in all occasions:
Apart from Blokhin we have Kalle and Platini as JB primary goalscoring threats. Platini comes in a very saturated area where we have one of the best holders in Redondo and the best CB pair in Figueroa and Baresi. Kalle is also well covered by Brehme and Davids helping out. Generally our defensive unit is well prepared and tested for the task on hand.