Il Fenomeno Draft - R1 - Raees vs Michael

[Šjor Bepo]

vs

Team Raees


Chilavert - 3x World Keeper of the Year during the 90's.. very complete keeper in addition to being superb set piece specialist
Djalma - GOAT defensive right back who could play abit too.
Campbell - Arguably England's greatest defender since Bobby Moore, a rock at the back who didn't let R9 score past him the two times they met (97 and 02)
Baresi - Fits in wonderfully in this backline, surrounded by muscle and defensive IQ.. platform is set for GOAT defender to rule the roost.
Marzolini - Balanced full back who was Argentina's GOAT left back and some argue the best of the 60's .. capable of keeping Matthews quiet.
Pluskal - Tremendous work rate and laballed the 'creator of the slide tackle'.. Masopust's side kick in the 1962 Czech side and was in World XI two times in a row during mid 60s.
Giles - The one who got away for Manchester United.. should have been Sir Bobby's successor, instead was the brain and heartbeat of the Leeds side which dominated english football and nearly conquered Europe only to fall to arguably the best Bayern side of all time.
Albert - Ballon D'or winner in 1967 ahead of Sir Bobby, one of the stars of the 1966 World Cup.. unlucky to come after the Magic Magyar period, otherwise would be rated just behind Puskas in terms of talent.
Figo - Another WPOTY who was one of the most complete wingers of all time.. The original Galactico.
Boniek - Platini's sidekick who was instrumental in their domination of the 1980's but stood out on his own in WC 1978 and WC 1982 (taking unfancied Poland to 3rd place)
Muller - The world's all time most effective striker at the elite level - period.

Tactics:

Counter attacking 4-4-2... nothing too crazy, that defence is so robust we will be happy to invite pressure and with Pluskal keeping tabs on Platini (with the help of the industrious Giles), it will prove very difficult to catch that defence exposed and off-guard. Then the team will seek to counter-attack and in Boniek (Platini called him the greatest counter attacker of his era), Albert (with his marvellous ability to carry the ball over the length of the pitch) and Figo... looking to feed Muller who will constantly be looking to make runs and get on the end of chances.. tactically this is one helluva cohesive side.




Team Michael


My team will play a 4-2-3-1 formation looking to take full advantage of the attacking skills of Platini and Ronaldo (2 of the 10 greatest players of all time in my opinion) as well as Matthews. Additionally Schweinsteiger and Goncalves form a very strong central midfield and my team is very good defensively particularly on the flanks. I ill now give some more details on the players I have selected particularly for the years I have chosen to use in this match:

Jose Angel Iribar (1968-71) - Won the Spanish Cup in 1969. During the 1970-71 season he didn’t concede a goal for more than 1,000 minutes in home games. In 2010, Iker Casillas included him in a list of the top 10 goalkeepers ever describing him as follows:

Iribar is one of the greatest keepers Spain has ever produced. He was a big presence in goal and had that ability to intimidate opponents. But it wasn't all about his size, which is useless on its own. He combined his physicality with terrific positioning.

Link: https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/newsid=949435.html?redirectFromOrg=true

Revaz Dzodzuashvili (1969-72) - Runner up at Euro 1972 and during this time was the best RB (as awarded by the Presidum of the USSR Football Federation with the approval of the National Coaches Council) in the USSR league in 1969, 1971 and 1972 (finishing 2nd in 1970). During this time he kept George Best quiet during 2 matches and Dragan Dzajic quiet for two whole games and for the last 70 minutes of the first game they met. Outside of this time period, he was also able to keep Jairzinho and Lubanski quiet.

Jan Popluhar (1964-67) - Won the Czechoslovak footballer of the year award in 1965 (which was the first year it was awarded ahead of Masopust among others). Additionally he was included in Eric Batty’s World Soccer World XI in both 1964 and 1967. In 2000 he was elected the best Slovak footballer of the 20th century.

Billy McNeill (1964-67) - Captain of the Lisbon Lions who won the European Cup in 1967 as well as the Scottish League in 1966 and 1967, the Scottish Cup in 1965 and 1967 and the Scottish League Cup in 1966 and 1967. On an individual level, he won the Scottish Football Writer’s Association player of the year award in 1964-65.

Ruud Krol (1971-74) - Won the European Cup and Dutch League in 1972 and 1973 as well as the Dutch cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1972. Additionally, he reached the World Cup final in 1974 being included in the team of the tournament.

Nestor Goncalves (1959-62) - Won the Uruguayan league 4 times straight between 1959 and 1962 as well as the Copa Libertadores in 1960 and 1961 (as well as finishing 2nd controversially in 1962) and the Intercontinental Cup in 1962.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (2010-13) - Was the German national team player of the year in 2010, a year in which he was also chosen in the World Cup team of the tournament. He was also included in the ESM team of the year for 2013-13, won the footballer of the year in Germany award in 2013 as well as finishing 7th in the UEFA best player in Europe award for that year. During this time frame he was tied for first for the most assists at the 2010 world cup and won the Bundesliga, German Cup and the Champions League in 2013.

Stanley Matthews (1946-49) - He won the first Football Writers Association player of the year award in 1948 as well as reaching the FA Cup final in that year. In 1946-47 he played a major role in 30 of the 41 goals Stoke scored in the 23 league games he played as Stoke finished 4th and would of won the title if they won away at Sheffield United on the final day of the season. Internationally, he set up all 5 goals in a 5-2 win over Belgium in September 1947 and in 1948 he played in England’s 4-0 win over an Italian side featuring 7 players from the Grande Torino team.

Michel Platini (1982-85) - Won the Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984 and 1985 as well as being in the 1982 World Cup team of the tournament and being the player of the tournamnet at Euro 1984 scoring 9 goals in 5 games as France won the trophy. Additionally he won the Onze d’Or as the Best player in Europe in 1983, 1984 and 1985 and was the IOC European Footballer of the Year for the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985. During these 3 seasons at Juventus, he was the top scorer in Serie A scoring 28 goals in 48 games, 25 goals in 43 games and 29 goals in 48 games in all competitions during those seasons. With Juventus he won the Coppa Italia and reached the European Cup final in 1982-83, won Serie A and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983-84 and the European Cup in 1984-85.

Sadio Mane (2017-20) - He was the African Footballer of the year in 2019 as well as the winner of the Onze d’Or and the Premier League Golden Boot in 2018-19. Additionally he was in the UEFA team of the year in 2019. During these seasons he has scored 20 goals in 44 games, 26 goals in 50 games, and 18 goals in 38 games in all competitions as Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League and were runners up in the 2018 Champions League as well as finishing with the highest points total of any runner up in Premier League history in the 2018-19 season and having nearly mathmatically guaranteed the 2019-20 premier league title before the season was delayed due to coronavirus.

Luis Ronaldo (1995-98) - He won the FIFA player of the year award in 1996 and the FIFA player of the year, the Onze d’Or and Ballon d’Or awards in 1997. In major tournaments during this time he was the player of the tournament at both the 1997 Copa America and the 1998 World Cup as well as being in the team of the tournament at the 1997 Confederations Cup. During these three seasons, he scored 19 goals in 21 games for PSV in 1995-96 winning the Dutch Cup; 47 goals in 49 games for Barcelona in 1996-97 winning the Spanish Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup; and 34 goals in 47 games for Inter Milan in 1997-98 winning the UEFA Cup. Additionally, between 1995 and 1998 he scored 28 goals in 40 games for the Brazilian National Team winning the Confederations Cup and the Copa America in 1997 as well as finishing 2nd in both the 1995 Copa America and the 1998 World Cup.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Raees @Michaelf7777777 good luck

 

[Raees]

Good luck @Michaelf7777777

 

[Fortitude]

Such an intriguing contest.

Very curious to see the takes on it from the forum.

Nice bit of statto'ing @Raees with the Campbell vs Ronaldo comment.

 

[harms]

It's really hard to decide here. Raees has a better defense & Michael has a better midfield unit, while their attacks are pretty much equal. And there are so many tasteful combos on either side!

 

[Synco]

On @Michaelf7777777's team:
The whole front six look tremendous (all of it really, but I especially like the midfield base of Goncalves and Schweinsteiger). Can't get much better than Platini/Ronaldo in terms of individual quality & (imo) synergy.

Who I know little about is the CB pair & GK. This time I've read the writeups properly before posting (unlike the other game ), so basics & credentials are clear. The questions that remain for me are:

- what kind of partnership do Pop & McNeill form?
- how do people see the quality of central defense plus Iribar - enough to keep Müller & Albert in check? Especially when keeping in mind that @Raees sets his sights on quick counter attacks.

Midfield & FBs should provide good defensive cover at any rate.

 

[Fortitude]

I guess the glaring question for me is, @Raees, how do you intend to reduce Platini's influence in this game?

Containing Ronaldo is a full-time job for both of your CB's; what then happens with regard to Platini, and his drifting allied to his goal threat?

 

[Raees]

@Fortitude Pluskal made world XI twice in a star studded 60s due to his defensive prowess as a CDM in a 424 set up. He was reknowned for his boundless stamina and defensive reading of the game and in particular his interception skills..

So he’s the perfect guy to keep tabs on a Platini in terms of his characteristics.

Now obviously it is Michel Platini we are talking about and as good as Pluskal was - this isn’t Rijkaard so I think by pairing him with Giles who is as defensively sound as it gets for a Central Midfield Playmaker outside of a Van Hanegam - we have someone who isn’t going to leave Pluskal on his own.

This allied with the tactical set up is what makes me confident we can make a fist of trying to limit his effectiveness.. our midfield will be sitting deep and not giving Platini pockets of space to reign supreme in front of our CBs- there will be a double pivot shield in that key area.

Also let’s not forget the role Albert will have in keeping his own midfield pinned back.. he’s more of a physical powerhouse of an attacking mid/support striker and won’t be contained with just Goncalves so in theory that will mean he can’t just allow his midfield bomb on in support of Platini. Boniek also will cause chaos with his inverted runs into central areas.

So whilst name wise his midfield is a lot more shiny and it’s chemistry is strong as well - tactically my side is well suited to ensure this isn’t a slam dunk in his favour, we can keep it stable and give a platform for our stronger areas to succeed.

 

[Fortitude]

Fair play, @Raees. Just wanted to know how you saw that particular task.

This is a tough one!

 

[DVG7]

@Michaelf7777777 its hard to vote for you when you’re most definitely Just a sophisticated piece of AI.

I’ve decided that you must be the last remaining account of Tuppet and you are flying under the radar but feck me, at least engage in some chat.

 

[Synco]

@Raees' team looking really good as well.

Nothing to complain about really, so just a thought on the FBs: this seems an area with still untapped offensive potential. Boniek and Figo won't be tied to the touchline, so overlapping fullbacks would add options to the offense. Neither FB seems explicitly instructed to do so, and I have both down as defense-first types in any case. But I think at least Marzolini could do so to an extent, he looks mobile and quite neat on the ball, even if he doesn't venture into attacking positions at all there.

Main question for the match remains Michael's central defense, which I can't judge.

Edit: What's up with me today, have mixed up Djalma & Nilton on youtube

 

[Raees]

@Raees' team looking really good as well.

Nothing to complain about really, so just a thought on the FBs: this seems an area with still untapped offensive potential. Boniek and Figo won't be tied to the touchline, so overlapping fullbacks would add options to the offense. Neither FB seems explicitly instructed to do so, and I have both down as defense-first types in any case. But I think at least Marzolini could do so to an extent, he looks mobile and quite neat on the ball, even if he doesn't venture into attacking positions at all there.

Main question for the match remains Michael's central defense, which I can't judge.

Edit: What's up with me today, have mixed up Djalma & Nilton on youtube

No point instructing those full backs to bomb on because they're facing top tier wing threats and the front 4 has enough about it to counter attack without needing full back support.

Giles used to play as a winger so him and Boniek can between them keep that left flank occupied and Albert will be roaming into pockets of space too, and he's positioned to the left of Muller to ensure that flank has enough personnel to keep the width to a degree.

 

[Synco]

No point instructing those full backs to bomb on because they're facing top tier wing threats and the front 4 has enough about it to counter attack without needing full back support.

Giles used to play as a winger so him and Boniek can between them keep that left flank occupied and Albert will be roaming into pockets of space too, and he's positioned to the left of Muller to ensure that flank has enough personnel to keep the width to a degree.

That choice is absolutely reasonable of course, both in terms of using Marzolini & Djalma properly and winning a draft game.

I just think that sometimes in draft discussions attacking fullbacks are made out to be more of a stability problem than they actually are in real football. Imo, that tactical element would work well in your setup, and the upsides would justify a less conservative approach. Not wanting to say this has to be done or anything, especially since Marz & Djalma are top end options already.