Our midfield is immense. Gullit, Laudrup, and Masopust would be a great midfield in an all-time draft let alone one with restrictions. Baggio would have a great time linking up with those 3.
Busquets suits this system perfectly, as in possession he can drop into defence whilst Alves and Branco make bursting runs forward.
Sticking with the possession theme for this game. Whilst not quite as good as Popescu on the ball, Bergomi offers great all round attributes, whilst also capable of playing in the build up.
TEAM Indnyc
Formation: 4-2-1-3
Tactics: Fluid counter attacking setup with interchangable front 4
Attack : Cristiano Ronaldo starts on the right but like Charlton, Ronaldinho, and Henry is given a free role to move wherever he wants.
This was Ronaldo at United starting nominally on the right but drifting all over. Ronaldinho, Charlton, and Henry are perfectly capable of drifting all over the pitch
Midfield :
Vieira is playing as a B2B and Ocwirk is the deepest defensive midfielder. They will get support from Charlton in the defensive phase of the game
Defence :
Bossis, and Ashley Cole are the fullbacks with Cole being more attacking one and Bossis being more balanced. Vidic, Carvalho, and Cech form a strong central core.
While Will definitely had the best reinforcements, it unfortunately still falls short in front of Indy's originally drafted team who himself had great reinforcements in Charlton and Cole.
I do like the possession theme and fits though and it's a team that would have had lots of compliments if it was against a team of equal quality.
@Indnyc has built a very good team, that doesn't have any obvious faults. I'd like to know more about Ocwirk though, my impression from previous drafts is that he was fairly slow? How would he match up against someone of Gullit's level.
And hence, I present the Captain of the team - Ernst Ocwirk - in more detail.
System he played in back then:
In the older days, players who took the field had on the jersey numbers from one to eleven.
Even if the "method" as it was referred to back in the day when Ocwirk was playing is long gone , it is easier to explain how it was played in the early post-war period using these numbers.
The so-called "method" consisted of the two medians (nos. 4 and 6), who marked the opposing wings, placed wide and higher than the backs (nos. 2 and 3), who were more narrow and backward.
It is easy to deduce that moving back the two medians on the line of the full-backs came the four-man defense in the years that came afterwards.
The number five, "centromediano metodista", term used by the old chroniclers, had the task of organizing the game both in defense and in attack.
In other words, he was the one who would then be called "director".
Ernst Ocwirk was perhaps the greatest "Central Methodist"
The great Austrian team of 50's was one of the few teams still playing in what was effectively still a pre war style. Two full backs (centre backs), a defensively minded centre-half, flanked by two half backs and five forwards
Positional and functional flexibility of Ocwirk:
Ocwirk played in his career in 2-3-5 and 3-2-5 formations, where both the distribution from the back, as well as containing the opposing storm had to be organized by one player, even though they were two very different roles, played by the same central anchor.
At the World Cup in 1954 Ocwirk was the central anchor in the 2-3-5, ahead of Hanappi and Happel as two very strong center-backs and alongside half-runners Koller on the left and Barschandt on the right.
Ocwirk intelligently secured the advances of his teammates, mostly occupying the center in front of the two defenders with the off-ball half-runners out wide on the same axis. He occasionally moved forward himself.
Interestingly, Ocwirk not only built and secured the game from the back, but was also a box-to-box player. Again and again there were long-range advances, with which he generated presence in the last third.
However, it is important to note that there were no solo runs, but more nudging moves from the depths when open spaces for rebounds, long range shots and the need for extra attackers when the opposition fell off presented themselves.
Ocwirk was considered not only a highly intelligent game designer, but also as an extremely strong header and strong-shooting midfielder.
Ocwirk's great strength was the recognition of various situation and acting upon them as needed.
In numerous combinations of the then Austrian team, it was especially Koller on the left, who advanced on the wide side, while Ocwirk gallantly moved into the resulting rooms left behind, secured the area and offered a route to fall back if the attackers were pressed off the ball.
This was followed by distance shots, individual dribbles with subsequent vertical passes and beautiful diagonal balls against the opposing defense line.
If Koller successfully made his runs and beat his man, for example, Ocwirk moved from the back with force in the direction of the penalty area.
He was not only able to open rooms for the strikers ahead, but profited from the enormous amount of attackers who already occupied the area and needed to be marked leaving him free.
In addition, when working against the ball it was common for Ocwirk to form a tight, flat triangle with the two defenders. Hanappi and Happel.
The triangle turned and blocked the opponent's options on the ball centrally. The two half-runners were allowed to act significantly more free due to this rigidness.
Hanappi especially had a great partnership with Ocwirk. Hanappi always had the option to bring the ball out out flexibly. Ocwirk blocked the middle and the ball-playing center-back was able to move forward.
Ocwirk today?
In the early fifties he was the best midfielder in the world, lost almost no ball thanks to his ball control and physique, distributed it strategically with intelligent long balls and thanks to his extreme game intelligence and physical nature, played both the offensive and defensive roles with almost no error.
It is always hard to guess about the suitability of previous players in today's world.
Of course, not a single one could keep up with today's sprint machines purely from the physical point of view, also the technical-tactical know-how has improved enormously.
On the assumption that Ocwirk had maintained his playing character and his relative technical and physical quality in the time comparison, he would have become a midfield great of the modern times.
Most likely you could call it a mix of Michael Carrick, Sergio Busquets and Yaya Touré, if you want to choose 21st century modern footballers for comparison.
His passing game and his pressing resistance in today's football are more suitable for the deeper zones, where he would also have fit in well with his defensive style of play.
Even in those years Ocwirk embodied an ideal that is still sought today (and now more than ever), which was put well by a great Austrian writer back then:
"He is the soul of the team, combines the highest game intelligence and grace with precision and economy of power. His game represents the only practicable application of the collective principle, the only successful balance between individual and community, in which the whole idea of the team game accumulates. " - Friedrich Torberg in the Viennese Kurier, 1954
It's an interesting read, but does say that he would struggle to keep up with the pace of players in the modern game, which I think would be a problem here.
A point that I'd mention is that Ronaldo on the right is not peak Ronaldo. He has always had his best games either playing as one of the strikers in a diamond, or as a left inside forward. He was good on the right hand side but it takes aways a lot of his goal threat.
I have a feeling voters will see his name and automatically think of the goal machine, so that is something to consider.
It's an interesting read, but does say that he would struggle to keep up with the pace of players in the modern game, which I think would be a problem here.
Hmm.. I don't think pace of the modern game is going to be an issue.. Carrick/Busquets for example weren't the quickest but their positional sense is what made them great
A point that I'd mention is that Ronaldo on the right is not peak Ronaldo. He has always had his best games either playing as one of the strikers in a diamond, or as a left inside forward. He was good on the right hand side but it takes aways a lot of his goal threat.
I have a feeling voters will see his name and automatically think of the goal machine, so that is something to consider.
Ronaldo is pretty much in a free role to move where he wants.. His starting position doesn't mean he is static on the right.. When he played for United, he marginally started on the right but was pretty much all over the pitch
I’d like to see more tactics or an idea of how the game would go from op.
I don’t mean to be rude @willhse456 but your 3 bullet points could apply to any team in the draft.
- Indy has great midfield I’m sure Ronaldinho would enjoy linking with.
- why does busquets suit it perfectly? It doesn’t look tiki taky and he could well be left exposed.
It just seems kinda vague and not very team specific.
Both lineups are fairly similar from the formation graphic but I’m not sure if they are meant to play the same way?
"Völler was a typical goalgetter kind of player. He rarely scored spectacular goals, but was great with the ball at his feet and could beat a man or two before scoring. He was also a master inside the penalty-area."
West Germany's main striker throughout the 80's and scored 257 goals in 542 appearances through his career. Whilst he's not top tier, he's definitely very capable, and being a finisher suits this team very well, especially with Laudrup behind him.
There is also Baggio as an additional goal threat.
I’d like to see more tactics or an idea of how the game would go from op.
I don’t mean to be rude @willhse456 but your 3 bullet points could apply to any team in the draft.
- Indy has great midfield I’m sure Ronaldinho would enjoy linking with.
- why does busquets suit it perfectly? It doesn’t look tiki taky and he could well be left exposed.
It just seems kinda vague and not very team specific.
Both lineups are fairly similar from the formation graphic but I’m not sure if they are meant to play the same way?
The whole defence is perfectly capable of playing in a possession based set up. Bergomi was comfortable playing in any position throughout the back 4, and Ferrara was great at building up play. In addition to this, Alves has experience playing in a possession based team and is one of the best right backs for going forward.
When Alves goes forward, Gullit will have the opportunity to drift inside or join Voller, whilst Baggio will also obviously join Voller fairly often throughout the match as a secondary striker, whilst Branco makes runs going forward.
It's an interesting read, but does say that he would struggle to keep up with the pace of players in the modern game, which I think would be a problem here.
Anyone from 50's would struggle to keep up with current pace. Pretty sure that was what that meant.
I think this is the best Ocwirk midfield I have seen in a long while.
A good B2B to complement him and a hard-working No 10.
While Ocwirk was not defensively incompetent he did his fair bit in build up. Fortunately some clips are available when I watched bits of him long ago.
And the hard working No 10 should provide not just great balance but enough freedom for Ocwirk to express himself. Absolutely love that midfield.
Well done @Indnyc, clearly the better team, which is why I didn't contribute that much. Didn't realise it was that good until I saw the formation graphic!
Got a bit screwed by the amount of 60's managers, and then also having the first 3 picks blocked for reinforcements. Annoying too because Enigma was floating the 40's idea but I assumed that would be the popular option instead!
Well done @Indnyc, clearly the better team, which is why I didn't contribute that much. Didn't realise it was that good until I saw the formation graphic!
Got a bit screwed by the amount of 60's managers, and then also having the first 3 picks blocked for reinforcements. Annoying too because Enigma was floating the 40's idea but I assumed that would be the popular option instead!
Congrats @Indnyc ! You drafted a great team and as soon as we saw the formation sheets we knew we didn't have much chance and would be an uphill battle.
Good luck going forward into the finals, wouldn't count against your team winning it all!
Congrats @Indnyc ! You drafted a great team and as soon as we saw the formation sheets we knew we didn't have much chance and would be an uphill battle.
Good luck going forward into the finals, wouldn't count against your team winning it all!
VS
