Where to play Pelé strikes again.
In context, 1958. 1970 was a fecking ridiculous side which had been winning stuff for years. 1958 was a side with the weight of expectation, a chip on their shoulder, not doing particularly well and Pelé and Mané turned it around. He was a more accomplished player in 1970 of course, that goes without saying, but 1958 was as good a fairy tale as you will ever come across.
Where to play Pelé strikes again.
Get over it guys, almost every player until the last few World Cups did NOT play in a 4-2-3-1. I'd say at No.10 you have Pelé 70 and as a 9 you have Pelé 58, although he wasn't a pure 9 or 10 in either, more a free-roaming support striker. I wouldn't play him wide but either central attacking role should be fine.
He pulled the strings but the attack was going to shit without those two. Pointless to pull the strings well behind Heskey and Ashley Young.Didi un poco tambien por favor.
I disagree that's the only valid formation but that was my point, most players did not play 4-2-3-1 so some latitude is obviously to be expected. Like Pelé, Puskas played inside forward in a five man frontline, do I think that translates into either striker or #10? of course I do, otherwise the entire thing is flawed by design.
I knew telling Aldo to shut up would invariably create an expectation around Cruyff. Wanted Puskas all along
Mmmmhhhh, far too many times he has been wasted as the DM/holding midfielder in these drafts, so disagree there. Also disagree in that the only thing he set alight in a WC was the internal politics in the Irish camp. Shit player in this context (and, conversely, I rate Cruyff more highly in this context, in others I tend to consider his entire body of work and arrogance far more).
I've actually been very tempted to try a homage WM thing but run into the opposite problem, the modern players would be all over the shop
If both were still available, would you really have taken Puskas? I really thought about it, never expected Cruyff to last till me and already had a few plans for a team around Puskas, but in the end Cruyff is imo the better player and had the better world cup. After all Puskas only played 3 games and didn't take part in the important wins in the quarter and semi finals.I knew telling Aldo to shut up would invariably create an expectation around Cruyff. Wanted Puskas all along
Yeah that's the only issue with Puskas, as far as I know he wasn't at his 100% in that WC.
No, wasn't belittling him. It's just a fact Didi was a nailed on starter since way before the WC. Once it started they weren't doing well and it was the manager bending over to some senior players that got Pelé and Garrincha on the pitch. That was the turning point, nothing to do with Didi. Would they have won it without Didi? Maybe not. If anything what two kids needed was someone else orchestrating and unleashing them to devastating effect. They had the raw skill, endeavour and carefree approach the team needed. Organising, dictating the tempo, running the game, that's exactly what they wouldn't have been able to produce (yet) and that's where Didi was crucial.
Vote-wise Cruyff was a far better pick, and I mean no slight with that. He is also more flexible, people expect some sort of Superman who will do whatever it takes to make the team run smoothly. Personally, I've always been a huge fan of that Hungarian team, everything I know about them is mindblowing. Unplayable. Just going with what players I really want to have in my team really.
Yet he still got the Golden Ball. You know why he wasn't 100% towards the end? Because teams kicked the living daylights out of him in the group stage (9-0 against South Korea, 8-3 against Germany). I'm not going to go into Puskas or Cruyff as both are right up there and worthy of the first turn, pointless debate. It's the teams around them that will make the difference.
Was it that hard? You can't go wrong with it really.
Of course, he was that great and surely one of the WC greats. I won't have him ahead of Cruyff strictly based on WC performances.
I don't want to go into examples or all hell will break loose, but some positions are more "defined" than others. Differentiating between AM/Inside forward/9.5, etc. is a bit of a mugs game. I wouldn't however be so flexible with an inside forward being depicted as a winger if they always played with an actual winger next to them. They didn't play the position, simple. If they did it at some stage in their career at club level I don't really care. I would stick with World Cups, otherwise it is a re-run of the All-Time draft.
Context: you will never again see a 16-year-old make such an impact. No chance. Pelé 70 was a fully developed GOAT, it is 58 that boggles.
IMO a lot of that goes to the fact that Pele, physically and athletically was ahead of his time. That helped him throughout his career but from the very start the defender didn't know what hit them because they had hardly encountered such a physical presence. Something like that is highly unlikely in this age. That sort of shock can only be delivered when something is in a stage of evolution, like football was back then.
I suppose not, just saying I hardly thought about it. Noticed that Cruyff and Matthaus both hadn't been picked and quickly decided to take Lothar, one of those players whose presence tends to complete a midfield.
I love Puskas, no doubt about that he was easily the best player at that tournament. He just didn't get the chance to prove it in the crucial games. It wasn't really his fault but his attitude was also part of the problem why teams kicked him like no one before. In a time when referees allow defenders to get away with assault, you don't tell your opponent that you're going to ridicule and torment him throughout the game, that's just a bad idea, especially against a cynical German reserve team that didn't really come to play football in that game.
You could argue at his best, he was a complete midfield on his own, he doesn't need to complete it
.That's actually what I meant! As close to an one man midfield as you can get which is always handy, particularly regarding future picks.You could argue at his best, he was a complete midfield on his own, he doesn't need to complete it
Aye, same flaw the Dutch confessed to, being so focused on humilliating the Germans they forgot the point was to win the game. Germans and keeping the focus on the right things, eh?
Yeah, just make sure he doesn't loose his shoe at halftime, if you need him to score a penalty later on
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