Criteria Draft Final - Pythagoras vs Enigma

With players at their peak, who would win?

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Fenômeno

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Dragon of Dojima
Team Pythagoras

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VS

Team Enigma

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Pythagoras Tactics

Tactical reinforcements:

We must respect Enigma's pace in attack and threat through counter attacks - thus, we have signed Paul McGrath to combat our opponent's quick transitions and direct pace. We already had Diego Godín and Sol Campbell in our squad, but I felt neither were suited for this particular match-up. Godín, for his lack of natural pace in a high line press, and Campbell, not possessing the strong ball distribution ability needed for our build-up play. However, Paul McGrath possesses the strengths of both Godín and Campbell: Godin's expert reading of the game, strong aerial and ball-playing ability, and Sol Campbell's natural athleticism and imposing physique. Former team-mate Kevin Moran, said McGrath was quicker than most strikers and wingers, with “the ability to be running at high pace with someone and, all of a sudden, it's like a fifth gear kicks in". Paul McGrath also possesses the versatility and composure to step into midfield and support Makélélé.

Enigma's shape and tactical set-up requires offensive full-back Facchetti to surge down his left flank to give them their width and attacking support. Facchetti was basically the winger for Grande Inter. The tough-tackling Passarella was also known for his aggressive runs into the attacking third, perfect range for his powerful shots or back post headers. I have chosen to play Arjen Robben as my right wing-forward to give Facchetti and Passarella the ultimate defensive test, by putting them against the Dutchman's sheer speed and unstoppable inverting dribbles. Robben and Dani Alves will look to overwhelm Facchetti and Passarella, curtailing their aforementioned style of play, which made them influential. On the opposite flank, Hristo Stoichkov reprises his secondary striker role from the left wing, cutting in and causing havoc in the space Cruyff creates. Stoichkov also offers a more natural box presence for Cruyff and Robben to play off, more than Blokhin could.

Enigma Tactics

Formation: 4-3-1-2 unorthodox
Tactics: Maradona running the show, direct side, quick transitions and vertical play, counter attacking when we win back possession and utilizing the pace of Henry, Benz and Boniek

Defence:
Zoff is on goal one of the greatest keepers in history. In front of him Passarella in his natural LCB role, paired with his teammate in the national team Oscar Ruggeri in stopper role. Facchetti will occupy the left channel and will surge forward when needed, but when Passarella goes on a run he will occupy the space left behind. His athleticism and also tactical nous would help us in transition and keep a solid back three when we're attacking. Thuram plays in balanced role with Boniek also providing support when we're off the ball. The upgrade here is Ruggeri who is not only one of the best stoppers but also has the understanding with Passarella at national level.


Midfield:
Valery Voronin is the biggest improvement compared to last game - anchoring the midfield in his natural role. He's paired with Keane who is b2b monster and facilitator between him and Maradona. Maradona naturally runs the game, looks for openings to set up out attacking duo (Henry/Benzema), use the space to finish himself. Boniek will primarily play a midfield role in this game. A very important role - he will stretch the opposition defenders out wide, help when we're off the ball and move between the lines. He has the stamina, tactical discipline and also the flair to pull that role and also with his help we will be a lot more compact when we're off the ball, whilst he can hassle and force the opponents to a mistake.



Valery Voronin courtesy to @harms


Voronin naturally will counter the space between the midfield and defence and is as good as it gets against Charlton. The idea is to clog the space in front of Zoff when we're defending to limit the space and passing lanes then hit them on the counter using the pace of our forwards and of course Maradona's X factor.

Attack:
Henry and Romario are a deadly duo as a tag team and on their own - they add to each other and would create all sorts of issues for the opposition defence. Supplied by Boniek and Maradona I really like our chances to score here. Henry plays in his natural left wideish role, whilst Romario will be the CF in this game occupying opposition CB's and creating space for others and provide work off the ball. He's one of the best finishers the game has ever seen and his pace and directness will be important for us to creating chances.

New Addition:

It's hard to upgrade Benzema as he's a class of his own but Romario is someone I reckon would fit in as a glove and especially on counter and running into space would offer even more deadly finishing ability.

The best representation I've seen around here is from @Fortitude so I'll use his detailed description of our new addition:

Fortitude said:
I think there are some distinctions to be made about Romario that typically get glossed over or lost with the passage of time:

- I'd put him down as the most accurate finisher there has been. By that, I mean he left keepers with no chance of saving his shots more frequently than any striker I've seen. He was famed for his ability to hit the inside of the uprights and have the ball end up as far away from the keeper's clutches as it was possible to be. The finesse with his finishing - not just the fact he was scoring a lot - always separated him from the pack. He didn't just score, he put the dot on the i or the cross through the t to make it definitive.

- he had signature shots that no other striker has replicated to the point it was intrinsic to their game. If you were making a video game, you can do a layer of one skin and set of moves over a host of strikers because most strikers have a similar technique that has been taught to them since childhood. Romario broke all the rules of what you're supposed to do, or what is taught out of children to hone "proper" technique, and would need his own 3D model to really be replicated in a game. His infamous toe-poke shooting as well as stab-shot were a fabric of his game. The toe poke meant he gave no "tell" to his shot because he had it as part of his shot-selection repertoire. What this actually means is that whilst in full flow, Romario took shots without even breaking stride, so no chambering of the foot (drawing back); no shaping or telegraphing of the foot (wrap around etc.), and no adjustment to his stance whatsoever. This gave keepers no time to set themselves to even make an attempt to save, so combined with the first point of him finishing as far away from the keeper as humanly possible, he also left them flat-footed and often unable to even feign an attempt to save. His stab-shot also completely ruined CB's because, similar to the keepers with the toe poke finish, Romario would stab at the ball with the leg that was already off the ground and take shots in a manner that CB's could barely process, let alone truly react to. It's in these nuances, that he has a bespoke artistry to his finishing that genuinely sets him apart from everyone else. If other strikers did these things, it might be a few in a career, not a given on any play they felt like it.

- in line with the above, once Romario had CB's and GK's conditioned to his unpredictability, he would add even more party tricks to his approach play. The problem with someone who can shoot without any tells whatsoever is you've got to be on red alert the whole time they are on the ball. There doesn't come a 'this is my moment' nor a point where you're settled and comfortable. Romario knew and thrived in the fear his shooting created and added dribbling twists and turns as well as a penchant for slowing the play, only to burst away from markers with what I think is universally agreed upon top percentile acceleration in the history of the recorded game. Over the first 5-10 yards, Romario is the barometer for fastest amongst strikers, if not football itself. He was only 5'6" tall; CB's, more often than not where north of 6'; they had no chance whatsoever of matching him step for step, and both parties knew it, which led to some very comical and humiliating goals - Romario was famous for making CB's look silly - not often by going on ridiculous full-pitch runs, ala Ronaldo, but by sleight of foot, acceleration, ridiculous close control and the aforementioned shot accuracy as well as the array of unpredictable finishes.



- Height is supposed to be problematic once a player is supposedly too short, but Romario is one of those players who weaponised how short he was. He made mannequins out of tall markers - on set pieces, he could look disinterested in a play and totally non-threatening, but in the blink of an eye, he'd have cut across his marker to the point of taking him out of the game, and connected perfectly with any kind of ball into him, be it aerially at head height, mid-height or along the floor. I mention height here, because Romario often 'stole' yards on others with his low centre of gravity, tiny stride pattern and the way he would devour ground before taller players could even get their feet set.

- Technical excellence. Romario is never talked about as one of the foremost technicians in the history of Brazil or the sport. For some strange reason, his brilliance has been erased from the timeline, yet he is pound-for-pound probably the most technically excellent striker there has been. Others beat him at specific things, but for full and complete skillset, Romario has everything. In abundance: Dribbling, pace, acceleration, heading, combination play, endless amount of finishing techniques - there is nothing he comes up short in, no need for hyperbole; his level of technical excellence is no less than a Zico, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo or anyone else. To that end, a compilation can't even do him justice, but it can give a snapshot of a huge array of skills, tricks, finishes and competences in every aspect of forward play. Romario and Baggio were the sorcerer supremes of the 90's before Ronaldo and Zidane came along. The baton didn't improve with the latter two; it just got handed over.



- Because of his technique, the speed the ball was coming at him would be recompensed toward goal - if the ball needed cushioning or a deft redirection, he was on that, if needed blasting; he was on that. Similar to Law, Van Basten and Muller, Romario had such a vast array of finishes that he can only be categorised in the elite tier of strikers to have played football. There was no type of finish that was foreign to him or that he was incapable of.



- Strength and centre of gravity. Romario was as strong as an ox (a baby one, but an ox nonetheless) and had the kind of balance typified in a Maradona or Messi i.e. he could not be knocked off the ball or dispossessed by fair means 99% of the time. From most of what has been written, a simple solution to negate most of it would be to get touch-tight and just manhandle the player, but that was suicidal against Romario, as he would roll a man with ease, and with his low centre of gravity allied to such strength, over-committal to the tackle or body check would just leave the CB looking like a fool. Unless the CB had a similar low centre of gravity, it was folly to engage in this manner. Romario's cunning also meant he'd use the body on him to blindside the keeper.

- Positioning. Underneath all the skill, trickery and brilliance, there was a raw, fundamentally exceptional centre-forward who had, again, some of the most exceptional positioning you can expect to see in a striker. The younger iterations of such a player are so resplendent with bedazzling talent, that the raw predator can get put to the wayside, but at his core, Romario was an immaculate centre-forward in terms of finding space and being ready to pounce with the most minimal of fuss. When athleticism is so tilted, the more droll stuff can be swept up and washed away, but as he aged - and I mean hitting his late 30's - and his athletic advantages became more normalised, Romario's pure striking instincts and positioning kept the goals flowing and ensured he remained highly potent. I think Messi again becomes a good comparison in terms of how both were so languid in and towards the box, but constantly found themselves in positions to score with, what seems like, minimal effort. Romario was nearly always in the right place to score and it was very clear it wasn't just him being athletically gifted that got him to the top of the striking game. It's usually between he and Gerd Muller for best 6-yard striker, and for very good reason. Gerd is the foremost, for my money, but to even be in that discussion, on top of being such a skilful player, gives a clear framing of how brilliant a player Romario was.

- Intelligence and link-up play. Again, there's nowhere to put him but in the tier of most intelligent strikers that have played. Romario was sharp as a tack. His deceptive and casual nonchalance betrayed the supercomputer in his head that meant only all-time great CB's could actually match his guile and cunning. Romario's art of deception was Machiavellian he would get reads on opponents and situations quicker than everyone else, which meant he exploited situations before others realised they were actually in a situation. This meant he could score a tap-in that nobody else saw coming, or breakaway from play into 'dead space,' which was non-threatening just a moment or two before. By the time CB's had switched on, the ball was already either in the back of the net, or played on to whoever Romario wished to incorporate in the chain. This speed of thought and ability to be the nail or the hammer in an attack had always been there, but really got international attention when Ronaldo was paired up with him for the seleção, which is what made for what could have been the greatest strike partnership of all-time as both players were peerless strikers of this time in terms of technique and outright skill. Two supercomputer minds running quantum computations without any break in the flow of play. There had always been displays of Romario's intelligence, most famously with Stoichkov at Barcelona and Bebeto for the national team, but this was different; this wasn't Romario the finisher, this was Romario the provider, or Romario the conduit as and when needed. Romario was extremely cocky, arrogant and fully aware of his own brilliance, but he seemed to genuinely adore Ronaldo and would be selfless with him, rather than making a rival out of someone who he could have seen as the biggest threat to a longstanding claim to being the best striker on the planet.

- Ambipedal(?)/Ambidextrosity. Romario could go both ways as he saw fit. Adding yet another string to his bow was his ability to twist and turn and always be in the position to take a shot. Once again, someone so short, so quick, so technically proficient, we're taking minimal time for defenders to try and make the right call on what to do. Not only could he finish without setting himself, he'd have opponents bang to rights with his acceleration and dribbling and his ability to shoot accurately with both feet... there's no such thing as 'showing' him or shepherding him into a safer or easier position - he remained lethal at all times in and around the box on both sides of his body.

Romario is the definition of the non-conformist Brazilian striker, the same as Garrincha is for wingers. A playful Malandro with no interest in behaving how he's told to. He took the game more seriously in his 30's when he became hellbent on beating Pele's record, but during his peak years, he coasted a lot of the time. He wasn't some goal-scoring obsessive then, so much as a player who wanted to let everyone know he was the best. Making opponents look silly whilst getting the job done was more satisfying than tallying a 3rd, 4th or 5th goal. He's the antihero in many ways, which is why he is so adored as he always gave the game more edge and personality. Like an amalgamation of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in that the former got the job done, and by proxy, made opponents look stupid, and the latter made the opponent look daft as a means to getting the job done - if those two players are on two ends of 'a humiliation with intent spectrum', then Romario is right in the middle of them as the player who sometimes played with laser-like focus and other times did as much as he could to drill home the point he was better than his opponent and a showman entertaining the audience. There really isn't anyone else like him and there'll probably never be another of his ilk and absurd level of talent again.

From the modern game angle, unlike any of Muller, Van Basten or Ronaldo, you have to wonder what position and what compromises Romario would have to make to be serviceable in the game now. Not because of a lack of excellence, but in his approach to the game and his Messi-like trait of coming alive whenever he felt like it, and not before. Plus Romario being told/made to run, and track and press and all those things associated with the modern forward, I dunno how he'd slot in, or if he'd even be arsed to.

I haven't watched this vid, but I guess it tries to give a snapshot of the player for the generations that didn't see him play:



I don't know if Horsey was just messing around making this thread, but Romario's legend should be told because he is not one of many; he is truly a unique player who, after Pele, has as much claim as anyone as the #2 of Brazil and is easily one of the best strikers of all time in his own right.
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I was surprised by the Romario reinforcement pick. While Romario is no doubt an upgrade to Benzema in isolation, I believe it doesn't tactically reinforce Enigma's team.

For me, Benzema was tactically the right foil for both Henry and Maradona. Benzema is a selfless striker, whose movement, clever hold up play, high off-ball workrate and creativity is a complementary partner to the more ball dominant and goalscoring attackers, while still being a reliable goalscorer himself. If you look at peak Henry for Arsenal who was the focal point of Arsenal's attack, his influence was maximised by partnering him alongside a shadow striker, Dennis Bergkamp, whose playmaking, team-play and deep movement created both space and chances for Henry. Maradona's best partners in attack included the tall, hard-working, hold-up type of striker, able to complement Maradona's runs. Henry was already an excellent strike-partner for Maradona with his mix of speed, skill and physique too. Romario, on the other hand, due to his poor temperament, selfishness and lower off-ball workrate, it decreases the synergy of Enigma's attack, not possessing the complementary skillset.

Moreover, Elías Figueroa is also the perfect defender to manage Romario through the game. The Chilean's elite combination of world-class anticipation, clean interceptions, intelligent reading of the game and man-marking ability is a great match for Romario's clever movement and tricks. Romario will also be infuriated when Elías Figueroa marshals the backline and catches the Brazilian with our off-side trap.
 
I regard Ashley Cole as one of the most consistent and complete fullbacks of the modern era. His exceptional defensive skills, athleticism, positional discipline and awareness are also great qualities to defend against Boniek’s raw acceleration and clever movement.



Paul McGrath's athleticism, football IQ and ball-playing ability in action:





 
Facchetti's natural game is to get forward as much as he can, leaving space for Robben to exploit. You could say Facchetti's Kryptonite opponent was the pacy, agile and skilful winger and creative overlapping fullback. Facchetti will struggle with my wing-duo of Robben and Dani Alves, whose combined directness, dribbling ability and pace will be hard to stop.

Passarella, passion plentiful, but the hard-tackling sweeper committed reckless fouls consistently. Robben's inverted dribbles and Cruyff's slalom runs will play on Passarella's poor temperament, inviting an aggressive slide tackle. We will also look to exploit Ruggeri’s lack of pace through our quick counter-attacks. I believe the explosive power of Stoichkov and the top speed on the ball of Cruyff and Robben will prove decisive in our quick transitions. The Argentine stopper would have preferred a more physical battle against a classic centreforward.
 


Diego Maradona said of Lothar Matthäus: "He is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him."
 
I wouldn't say either team is worse, Enigma made more of a sideways move with Romario as Benzy fitted the system better, same could be said for Stoichkov for Blokhin for Pythagoras (I don't mind this move as much) . However, Mcgrath is a big upgrade for Pythagoras and does improve his team in defence.
 
Despite the Romario pick, I think I’ll go with Enigma because apart from that, it’s a perfect side although not as good as the previous round. I’m not convinced Robben is the ideal player alongside Cruyff and I liked the synergy of the setup in the previous round more.
 
Himannv said:
I’m not convinced Robben is the ideal player alongside Cruyff and I liked the synergy of the setup in the previous round more.
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Cruyff played with many wingers and inverting wingforwards. Two of his most productive partners were Sjaak Swart on the right wing, and Piet Keizer on the left. Robben shares some key qualities to Swart: a more natural winger, than a secondary striker, who possessed raw pace and agility to beat left backs, solid crossing and creativity, drives to the centre of the pitch to take a shot, or get on the end of Cruyff’s amazing through-balls. Stoichkov is arguably an upgrade to Keizer too, superior technically, quicker, a more consistent and dynamic goalscorer and even more flexible positionally.

I did say in my last game, my personal favourite front three was Blokhin-Cruyff-Stoichkov, but McGrath and Robben were chosen particularly for this match-up, as necessary tactical tweaks.
 
In a deep-block, I regard Godín as a top 10 stopper of all time, while in some high-line pressing systems I have seen him being exposed - Van Dijk is the ideal high line defender in the modern era. We are set up to have more space in behind our backline in certain transitions, especially in our initial high press before setting up our mid-block. Looking at the pace of Enigma’s attack (Henry, Romario, Maradona and Boniek) I certainly feel more confident with Paul McGrath in my back four. McGrath’s recovery speed, power, ability to stay close to fast dribbling attackers and composure to play out from the back under pressure are all vital qualities.
 
Pythagoras said:
Cruyff played with many wingers and inverting wingforwards. Two of his most productive partners were Sjaak Swart on the right wing, and Piet Keizer on the left. Robben shares some key qualities to Swart: a more natural winger, than a secondary striker, who possessed raw pace and agility to beat left backs, solid crossing and creativity, drives to the centre of the pitch to take a shot, or get on the end of Cruyff’s amazing through-balls. Stoichkov is arguably an upgrade to Keizer too, superior technically, quicker, a more consistent and dynamic goalscorer and even more flexible positionally.

I did say in my last game, my personal favourite front three was Blokhin-Cruyff-Stoichkov, but McGrath and Robben were chosen particularly for this match-up, as necessary tactical tweaks.
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Yeah, I agree with what you said in the last game. I think Blokhin-Cruyff-Stoichkov works well as a front 3. I feel Facchetti might actually prefer Robben since he's a right footer and Robben is at his best when he's cutting in. Similarly, I think Robben is at his best alongside a different sort of forward to Cruyff. Just my opinion anyway. Not a lot of things wrong with teams at this level so it's minor things like suitability that we end up talking about; like Romario in Enigma's team or Cruyff-Robben in yours.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Romario does seem a relatively odd fit in there. Henry exploting the space behind Alves would be dangerous.

Overall, gone for Py as his team seems have more overall cohesiveness.
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It's a shame that Romario never gets much plaudits around here or at least that's my impression. He's one of the very best strikers in the game and especially on counter he's a better option than Benzema due to his sheer pace in his prime and the better finishing. Yes Benz has other positives in his game, but in the current matchup and as a fit IMO although not a huge upgrade it's still an upgrade.
 
If you’re going to focus on disrupting Facchetti—Passarella, then yes, I see Robben as the better choice on the right flank. As for Stoichkov, I would say that if there’s anyone who could truly limit Facchetti’s influence, I would rather put my faith in Robben than Stoichkov on the right.


Comparatively, I find Robben slightly quicker, more unpredictable, and possessing finer footwork than Stoichkov when played on the right. Stoichkov’s best dribbling performances tend to come from the left, where he’s far more elusive—able to cut inside more naturally and operate in those tight pockets of space that suit his movement.


As widely recognised, Facchetti often struggles against quick, agile, and tricky wingers—particularly those with a low centre of gravity. In that sense, Robben fits the profile far better than right-sided Stoichkov, who is less intricate and leans more toward being a direct, pace-driven dribbler. Despite being taller, they are fundamentally different player types, and in this particular match-up, Robben would likely be the more effective disruptor.He’s a bit better in short-burst than Hristo too.

And yes, I believe Robben is the one with the higher likelihood—albeit still a difficult task—of forcing Passarella(and Facchetti) into mistimed or overly aggressive challenges, potentially drawing a yellow or red card, or even winning a penalty(ahaha). The wide combination of Robben and Alves looks scary too.
 
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Both great teams, but I've been very high on Pythagoras's side from the start. It looks equally dangerous through the middle and in wide areas which is hard to pull off.
 
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Pythagoras 5-2 Enigma – The Beautiful Game Meets a Soap Opera

A match featuring Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, and Roy Keane was never going to be short on drama, but even the wildest pre-match predictions couldn’t have foreseen the chaos that unfolded. In a thrilling 5-2 victory for Pythagoras, we witnessed tactical brilliance, defensive meltdowns, and an explosive bust-up between Maradona and Passarella that made the football look like a mere sideshow.


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First Half: Pythagoras in Total Football Mode

Pythagoras started the game like a team possessed, immediately putting Enigma on the back foot. With Cruyff orchestrating things as the false nine, Robben and Stoichkov wreaked havoc on the wings, and it took just 8 minutes for the deadlock to be broken.

A slick passing move saw Lothar Matthäus unleash a rocket from 25 yards. The ball swerved past the despairing Dino Zoff, who gave his defenders a death stare that roughly translated to: "One of you could have at least tried to stop that, right?"

Enigma’s response? Maradona took matters into his own hands—literally. In the 15th minute, he attempted to flick the ball over Claude Makélélé but accidentally slapped the Frenchman in the face instead. The referee gave him a stern warning, which Diego completely ignored.

Pythagoras doubled their lead in the 27th minute, and it was a goal of pure beauty. Johan Cruyff, moving as if controlled by an AI programmed for football perfection, played a delightful one-two with Van Hanegem before chipping Zoff with the kind of arrogance only Cruyff could pull off. 2-0, and Enigma were in trouble.

Their lifeline arrived in the 35th minute, when a moment of Henry-Romário sorcery cut through the Pythagoras defense. Henry backheeled the ball into Romário's path, and the Brazilian slotted home with his trademark coolness. 2-1, game on.

Except it wasn’t.

Because just before halftime, Robben decided it was time for his signature move. Cutting inside from the right, he curled one into the top corner. Everyone knew he was going to do it. Even the ball probably knew. But no one could stop it. 3-1 at the break, and Enigma’s dressing room was about to become a very hostile place.


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Second Half: Football Meets Fisticuffs

Enigma came out fighting. Literally.

Maradona, increasingly frustrated, was demanding more from his teammates, particularly Daniel Passarella, who was having a torrid time trying to contain Cruyff. After a poor clearance from Passarella led to Stoichkov making it 4-1 in the 54th minute, the two Argentine icons exchanged words.

Then shoves.

Then what can only be described as a South American remake of WrestleMania.

Passarella accused Maradona of "talking more than playing." Maradona fired back that Passarella was "defending like a pensioner." The referee had no choice but to send them both off.

With Enigma in complete disarray, Pythagoras added a fifth in the 81st minute, as Dani Alves surged forward and played a perfect cutback for Wim van Hanegem, who slotted home.

To their credit, Enigma did manage a consolation goal through Zbigniew Boniek, who ghosted into the box and finished well in the 87th minute, but by then, it was all over.


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Final Score: Pythagoras 5-2 Enigma

Man of the Match: Johan Cruyff – Pure class, pure genius. Most Entertaining Moment: Maradona vs. Passarella – The heavyweight bout we never knew we needed.

Post-Match Scenes: Reports suggest Maradona was last seen storming off, still hurling insults at Passarella, while Cruyff and Matthäus casually discussed triangles in the Pythagoras dressing room.

A legendary game, a legendary bust-up, and a legendary team crowned winners.

Congratulations @Pythagoras
 
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