LV Monopoly D - R1: PNut vs Tuppet

With players at peaks, who will win the match?


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Edgar Allan Pillow

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vs


......................................... Team PNut ...................................................................................... Team Tuppet .................................................


Team P-Nut

THE PLAYERS

Messi - Football Legend - Free-Role Side Offensive player

Totti - Career Peak as a False 9 - Version 2006/07 - Best Serie A striker

Luciano Spalletti’s first spell at Roma was marked out by Francesco Totti’s position on the pitch. The Italian tactician deployed the legendary n.10 as a sole striker and not behind two main forwards. That allowed the Giallorossi to become more unpredictable in the final third and helped Francesco Totti to stretch his career.

Nedved - The Czech cannon
A complete, tenacious and consistent two-footed player, he frequently played as a left-sided, offensive wide midfielder or as a left-winger throughout his career, due to his crossing ability with his left foot, as well as due to his ability to cut inside and shoot with his right foot, although he was capable of playing anywhere in midfield due to his offensive and defensive work-rate. He was also deployed as a central midfielder on occasion, as well as in an attacking midfield and playmaking role, or as a supporting striker.

Laudrup - Barcelona Dream - World-Class Playmaker
Romário: "The best player I have ever played with and the 4th best in the history of the game."
Raúl: "The best I have ever played with."
Andrés Iniesta: "Who is the best player in history? Laudrup."
Lionel Messi: "I fully understand why he is considered one of the best players in Barcelona's history and even the world."
J. Cruyff "After Real Madrid with Laudrup had won 5–0 over Cruyff's Barcelona): "When Michael plays like a dream, a magic illusion, determined to show his new team his extreme abilities, no one in the world comes anywhere near his level."

Iniesta - Barcelona DNA - World-Class Playmaker who has won everything with Barcelona & Spain - WC Winner 2010


Xabi Alonso - World-Class Playmaker who has won everything with Real Madrid & Spain - WC Winner 2010

Lizarazu - Offensive LB who has won everything with Bayern & France - WC Winner 1998

Carlos Alberto - Legendary Brazilian Offensive RB - WC Winner 1970


Boateng - World-Class CB who has won everything with Bayern - WC Winner 2014
Excellent passer of the ball and is more than capable with the possession domination tactics I intend to use in this game.

Varane - World-Class CB
Not going to lie and say he is at the level of most other players on the pitch, however his attributes should allow him to be more than competent in the game and in my set up. A pacey cb that is comfortable on the ball and that has excelled in high profile games against top opposition.

Kahn - Keeper
The only keeper I watched growing up that I never thought would get beaten. A true rival to Schmeichel in those days. Excellent 1 on 1 shot stopper.

TACTICS

Call it what you want, but there's no defined term for this. Is it a 4-6-0, a 4-1-5-0 or a 4-3-3? I call it 'The Las Vegas Dream Team'.

The back four, at least, is normal, with familiar names such as Lizarazu, Boateng, Varane & Carlos Alberto. The midfield, on the other hand, is 'organised chaos'.

Francesco Totti mastered the false nine role that is so revered right now, starting in a forward position but dropping deep to take possession, ripping holes in the opposing formation and allowing his teammates to exploit them.

My false nine is a brilliant passer, and his colleagues make good, direct runs into the space he creates. The problems for the Tuppet occur when you try to man-mark the forward. He can drag you as far as halfway down the pitch before you realise you've made a fatal error. :devil:

HOW I WILL WIN


The idea is to play Francesco Totti upfront, but rather than remaining upfront alone and waiting for service, Totti effectively played his usual trequartista role, moving into the gap between opposition defence and midfield and receiving the ball to feet.

And this creates an entirely new problem for Tuppet (because Krol-Samuel are suddenly left without anyone to mark) and opposing midfielders (who found Roma effectively playing four players in the centre of midfield, and yet still using two wingers). It is almost impossible for my team not to dominate possession, and with the midfielders flying forward to exploit the space left by Totti, my side won't play exclusively on the counter-attack, regardless of where the side won the ball.

The 2 Ballon D'Ors are goal threats from the wings.But whilst Totti is perhaps not natural a ’striker’ per se, that does not mean he is not comfortable operating there. His 26 goals with Roma in 2006/07 were enough to win him the European Golden Boot, and his position on the all-time Serie A goalscoring table proves what a fine finisher he is.

Iniesta-Laudrup are given the ‘holding’ roles in midfield and enable me to play high up the pitch and press from the front. Nedved is a wonderful gift in tactical terms and can stay wide on the left or participating in the organized chaos, with Messi having more license to come in off the right wing, knowing that the energetic Carlos Alberto would be providing width. In midfield, Laudrup played furthest forward, Iniesta is the calm, methodical ‘link’, whilst Xabi Alonso sat deep infront of the centre-backs.

Of course, there are further subtleties to the system, both in defence and attack. Upfront, it would be possible for me to switch the positions during the game of Totti, Laudrup and Messi.

At the back, the most notable feature will be how willing the two centre-backs are to spread to the flank when my team is in possession (particularly when Kahn has the ball), making sure the pitch is as wide as possible. The gap in the centre of the defence will be covered by Xabi Alonso dropping into a centre-back role to create a temporary three-man defence, giving the full-backs license to go forward.

Team Tuppet


Formation: 4-3-3 with false number 9
Defensive line: Normal
Style: Fast paced attack based on quick transitions using pace on wings, not too concerned about possession.

Attack:
My team showcase 3 of the Europe's finest forwards in Cristiano, Hamrin and Johan Cruyff in a fluid interchanging forward line. Their roles are pretty straight forward - Cruyff would start as his favorite false 9ish role that he played at his peak for both Ajax and Netherlands. He would be dropping to midfield (all over the pitch really, this is where his interpretation of false 9 role differs from Messi's) to do his playmaking and use his creativity and dribbling ability to create chances. From Left Cristiano would provide direct runs to occupy the center forward position vacated by Cruyff and use his pace, power, dribbling, heading and finishing to be the main goalscoring threat for my team.

Hamrin provides a nice balance to the forward line, as fast, creative and technically proficient winger who can both stretch the defense by staying wide and creating chances or cut inside to score goals himself. He boasts a very impressive goal scoring record both for country and clubs (8th in all time serie A goal scorers) and was a man for big occasion as his performances in world cup 58 as well as his brilliant performances in Milan's CWC 68 & European cup 69 wins shows.

Together this forward line has a lot of goals to offer, along with electric dribbling, pace and creativity. It would take something special from any defense to stop this forward line.

Midfield:
Tardelli and Viera are in box to box roles providing ball winning capabilities and mobility to help Pirlo run the game from deep in his favorite deep lying playmaker role. While both of my b2b mids help in defense a lot, Viera would be slightly more attacking, while Tardelli would be more defensive esp providing cover for Suurbier as he is weaker defensively of my fullbacks. Pirlo gives a great outball to us from deep which would come handy to initiate a quick counter attack. As Cristiano, Krol, Suurbier & Hamrin all providing width and Cruyff being available to receive ball all over, Pirlo has a lot of targets to hit from deep using his excellent long passing. All 3 of my midfielders would help in the defensive phase, there is no one to play Makelele role. Pirlo is my holding midfielder but most of the ball winning would be done by Tardelli and Viera.

Defense:
Starting in goals is Lev Yashin who is widely regarded as the greatest goalkeeper of all time. Ruud Krol and Suurbier are in full back roles. In center I have a classic Stopper-ball playing defender duo of Walter Samuel and Maxime Bossis. Bossis is as class a defender as they come, with great technical ability, speed and positioning, able to play anywhere in the back line, he provides a perfect partner for the rugged, aerially dominant and aggressive Samuel.

Overall I think its P-nut's center defense which is slightly weak in this context and his somewhat unbalanced midfield (lack of ball winners and too many playmakers) could be the edge that propel my team to victory. P-nut's attack however is very good, but his best attacker in Messi is facing my best defender in Krol. Krol would have to stay a bit more disciplined, although he would still go forward on occasion. I don't really expect Krol (or anyone) to stop Messi completely, but he would blunt the attack somewhat. It would be however hard to stop Cruyff and co with P-nut's defense.
 

P-Nut

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Good luck @Tuppet

Couple of quick points before I nip out.

The interchanging of my front 5 is going to be lethal in this game.

As Totti drops back into midfield, Messi will come inside and Laudrup can push out to the wing.

On the other side Iniesta and Nedved will be constantly exchanging positions causing even more headaches.

Every time I think of the best attacking performances I've seen its been lots of players interchanging positions and giving the defenders a headache as to who they're supposed to be marking.

As for the lack of ball winners in midfield. It's a 3 based off the Barcelona side of a few years ago, ramped up to attack even more.

Alonso will obviously take on the Busquets role.
Iniesta will be a more attack minded Xavi.
Laudrup takes the iniesta role, and with him being a legend of Barcelona he knows all about the style and how to play it.
 

VivaJanuzaj

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Too many players will look to lead the line for PNut and not as many will look for the goal. I reckon PNut's side would be a real joy to watch but won't be able to pick up the win against Tuppet. I also fancy Tuppet's defenders and defensive work from midfield higher than PNut's.
Very hard to vote against Laudrup & Nedved(especially after that new quote about regreting not playing for United), but I have to..
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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PNut seems to have accumulated a lot of passers in his team. Not really convinced on his midfield and think it may be a bit too light on the physical side. Also those CBs may not be upto the task considering the quality of attack they are facing.
 

harms

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Interesting. P-Nut's side would be either an all-conquering machine or a complete clusterfeck, can't yet decide which one is more likely.
Tuppet's system looks similar, but he adds steel with Vieira and Tardelli and directness with Cristiano and Hamrin - a well-thought and engineered side.

Varane and Suurbier starting in an all-time draft is a little disappointing though
 

Deleted member 101472

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I like almost all the players in P-nuts team but it's a bit hard to see it working. Carlos Alberto is probably thinking to himself " what the feck am I doing in this side?!"

Where tuppet takes this is the pretty weak defence of p-nut considering who they are up against. Varane has been shown up over the last year as a bit over-rated and Boateng has had a few noticeable nightmares against tough opposition, And I really don't see them working as a pair. With Xabi Alonso offering protection, it's not the strongest and i'd expect Cruyff to put on a good showing in his role.
 

P-Nut

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Just a quick answer to a couple of things that have been pointed out.

Totti will add more defensive work to the midfield than Cruyff will. He will happily sit in the opposition dm where as Cruyff will be trying to drop in to find his own space.

@DavidG of all people to question Alberto is crazy. Last draft you argued that Dani Alves was so much more deadly once linked with Messi. Alberto is an upgrade on Alves in pretty much every sense and is linking up with Messi down that flank.

As for the too many passers we've got the same if not slightly less than the greatest side in modern times. And that is the side that the midfield is based upon.
 

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Just a quick answer to a couple of things that have been pointed out.

Totti will add more defensive work to the midfield than Cruyff will. He will happily sit in the opposition dm where as Cruyff will be trying to drop in to find his own space.

@DavidG of all people to question Alberto is crazy. Last draft you argued that Dani Alves was so much more deadly once linked with Messi. Alberto is an upgrade on Alves in pretty much every sense and is linking up with Messi down that flank.

As for the too many passers we've got the same if not slightly less than the greatest side in modern times. And that is the side that the midfield is based upon.
I don't mean it in a quality way , and he would link well with Messi it's more the rest of the team and how he wouldn't identify with it compared to what he's used to. It wasn't a comment meant to have a pop at his capabilities in this game.

I think that side is where you will have the most joy but it is up against tuppets strongest defende in krol and he has vieira on that side. What it comes down to is his attack looking more likely to grab goals than yours. You touch on nedveds crossing in your profile of him but in this set up with all the interchange will he actually be required to cross the ball once?
 

Gio

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On one hand, I can see the likes of Suurbier, Samuel and Pirlo getting bamboozled by the interplay and silk of Pnut's collection of worldies. On the other hand, I can see Vieira and Tardelli killing the likes of Iniesta and Laudrup in transitions, and Cruyff scampering around Alonso time after time.
 

Ecstatic

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As usual, Tuppet has engineered a strong team so I can't find a weakness. His team is perfect to make Cruyjff & Pirlo shine. I see:

- Pirlo a deep-lying playmaker able to operate thanks to the warriors Tardelli & Vieira.
- Cruyff everywhere on the pitch with Cr7 cutting inside while Hamrin will try to outflank Lizarazu
- a strong defence

In the last draft, I was not fan of the offensive strategy of P-Nut (Tevez-Forlan-Sanchez + Cerezo+Danilo Alvim + 5 defenders). This time, I will buy his story-telling. I see:

- a decent CB pairing good with the ball
- Lizarazu & Carlos Alberto known for their offensive contribution
- A Barcelona DNA: Iniesta-Laudrup-Messi
- A proven partnership: Iniesta & Xabi Alonso who ruled the World with Spain
- 2 Serie A players extremely versatile whose tactical awareness & work-rate make the whole thing work

Once again, Pnut doesn't offer a traditional striker but something more unpredictable: Messi can move upfront, Laudrup on the right and Totti playing between the lines.

He could have played with Schevchenko or Rvn but I'm fine with the rationale 'You don't necessarily need a pure #9 when you have 5 players capable to score and create together'.

Such a strategy wouldn't work with divas but can work with collective players, which is the case here with guys like Iniesta, Laudrup...

It would be simplistic to say they are only passers: Totti, Nedved, Laudrup & Messi have certainly good stats.
 

harms

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Totti will add more defensive work to the midfield than Cruyff will
Not sure that I see any basis of that claim. It will definitely be the other way as far as I'm concerned
 

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You'd have to take into consideration who the DM is and I think Pirlo-even if totti was adept at defensive duties- will have a lot of joy with a relatively slow player trying to close him down. Pirlo could find space with tevez vardy and Suarez chasing after him.
 

P-Nut

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http://www.football365.com/news/portrait-of-an-icon-francesco-totti

A decent read on the man leading the line for me here. Totti would undoubtedly bring the rest if my players into the game better than a lot of the alternative options.

As for this notion that the midfield wouldn't function it is quite literally a ramped up attacking version of the Barcelona set up everyone adores.

On Tuppets team he has Pirlo in the defensive midfield position. A player known for his work with the ball not without it. Yet in his tactics section he says he isn't too bothered about possession whilst my team will try to dominate that side of things.

A solid conclusion to make then would be that Pirlo will spend most of his time without the ball and this isn't where he excels. He needs to be the metronome running the game from deep and he just isn't going to be that player in this game.
 

harms

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As for this notion that the midfield wouldn't function it is quite literally a ramped up attacking version of the Barcelona set up everyone adores.
Which one? Iniesta - Busquets - Xavi?
Laudrup can rival Xavi in terms of a passing range and vision but I don't think that he has a work rate to replace him. Or is it older Iniesta in Xavi's role and Laudrup in Iniesta's (albeit on the other flank)?
 

P-Nut

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Which one? Iniesta - Busquets - Xavi?
Laudrup can rival Xavi in terms of a passing range and vision but I don't think that he has a work rate to replace him. Or is it older Iniesta in Xavi's role and Laudrup in Iniesta's (albeit on the other flank)?
Yeah the 2nd one is the version I'm going for. I have posted it somewhere above but can understand it being missed due to the numerous posts.
 

Tuppet

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Even though I've known that Hamrin was a pretty great little player as he kept popping up in Draft sides and in various rankings, I've never really appreciated how good he was until I started researching for this draft. so presenting what I found -

First some stats and records -

1. As a goal scoring winger/forward he has stupendously good numbers. He is the record goal scorer in all competition for Fiorentina with 208 goals, to put this in context second on the list is the goal machine known as Batigol with 207 and the third is on 84 goals. Also considering that quite a big chunk of his career coincided with Herrera's Catenaccio revolution in Italy, and he himself played in Rocco's Catenaccio interpretation for Milan these number become even more impressive.

2. In his first season Hamrin scored 26 goals helping Viola to score 95 goals, only the Grande Tornio team of 40s have scored more goals in a season. In the 1963-64 season Kurt's knack for putting the ball in the back of the net won him another record. As Fiorentina visited Bergamo to face Atalanta in an away fixture in the league. Fiorentina ran out 7-1 victors with Hamrin notching 5 of the 7 goals scored. To this day this remains a record as no other player has scored 5 goals in an away fixture in Serie A.

Hamrin was certainly a man for big occasions, some of his best goals have come at some of the biggest games he played in. Everybody has probably seen this beauty against Germany -


But there are plenty more, check out this performance against Rangers for Fiorentina in Cup Winners cup final in 1960/61 giving Italy its first European trophy. In the second leg Fiorentina won by 2-1, with Hamrin providing the assist for first and scoring the second, showing why he is one of the most complete wingers, who can either cross from wide or cut inside and score himself.

Or this performance when playing for Milan he scored both goals against hamburg in another Cup Winners cup final, winning the trophy again with Milan beating Hamburg 2-0. Check out especially his second goal which is probably my favorite Hamrin goal -

He also played a very important part in Milan's second European cup win in 1969, with his goal being the winner against the reigning champions Manchester United (of Law Charlton Best) in semi final.

Hamrin's career was a long and storied one, loved by the fans his elegant quick footed style combined with his prolific goal scoring ability understandably endeared him to Fiorentina's legion of supporters. The love in was mutual as to this day Kurt Hamrin still resides in Tuscany and calls Florence his home. Finally here's a selection of his best goals for Viola, showing his skills and finishing -

 

Enigma_87

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I can see p-nut's stack working - all are on the same wavelength and quality players that can make it work. Totti played in a 4-6-0 as a false nine and arguably that was his best role. Messi cutting in from the right with Nedved work rate and cutting in from the left is also very nice fit for a system with no out and out striker.

As for Laudrup/Iniesta/Xabi - obviously they are excellent players and additional goalscoring threat but it does lack a bit of work rate. Iniesta would be better here in his former incarnation rather than his later playmaker version, especially with Laudrup next to him. Iniesta has an excellent work rate, but he's no Xavi, whose work rate and effectiveness in the defensive phase often gets underrated.

After picking Xavi I got the same problem as P-nut in surrounding him with players that are on the same wavelength and also give him passing options but keep him the conductor of the team. Here Iniesta would be a nice fit in terms of playmaking but he won't match him in the defensive phase and I'd probably go for a different ball winner as a holding midfielder, compared to Xabi. In the past I've picked Tigana this time round Souness and obviously Busquets, Redondo, Masch would be great fits - players with excellent short passing game, intelligent, but also have the ability to stuck in.

Varane/Boateng is a bit of underwhelming CB pair in terms of all time draft, but Lizarazu/Carlos Alberto on the other hand are top level on the wings and Carlos Alberto especially would combine pretty well with Messi.

On Tuppet's team - C.Ronaldo in his left forward role with Cruyff in a false 9 is obviously drool worthy and also effective in front of goal. Ronaldo can work well in between the space between C.Alberto and Varane which is a good route for goal.

Not a big fan of Suurbier, but Bossis and Samuel is a solid CB pair, especially with Krol on the left. Would probably preferred a more overlapping left back in Marcelo mold to get the best of Ronaldo but with Cruyff in a free role would also work however as he can roam around and leave space for Ronaldo to move into the box.

Generally I'm a bit inclined with going for Tuppet at this stage, albeit the obvious star quality in P-nut's team - Laudrup, Messi, Iniesta, Totti and the likes. Tuppet's advantage for me is in the better CB pair which is more likely to concede less than the opponent.
 

antohan

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On one hand, I can see the likes of Suurbier, Samuel and Pirlo getting bamboozled by the interplay and silk of Pnut's collection of worldies. On the other hand, I can see Vieira and Tardelli killing the likes of Iniesta and Laudrup in transitions, and Cruyff scampering around Alonso time after time.
You can't shake the feeling Tuppet's defence will concede, but that midfield diamond (Cruyff makes it one) will crush the peanuts I need for my Phad Thai.

It is rather unfortunate that P-Nut is trying to cobble together a wannabe Dream Team to beat the Grand Master. I can see Johann probing, finding everything wrong with it and brutally exposing it.
 

P-Nut

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Another thing I've just picked up on.

People are assuming Cruyff will drop into the #10 position and pressure Alonso therefore reducing my dominance of the ball. It was for this exact scenario that Boateng has been picked. He is world class with the ball at his feet from a cb perspective. I've attached a video that shows a selection of the passes he picks out from deep. If Cruyff does indeed drop onto Alonso Boateng will have the space and freedom to dictate the game from the back.


EDIT: Whilst on the subject of Boateng I believe he is being given a overly hard time here. He is rated as the best cb in the world at the moment and although the quality at the moment isn't outstanding that's still a top achievement.

On top of this Samuel is being heralded as a good cb in this company. Whilst I have no doubts about him being a top player he was never anywhere near being regarded as the best of his time like Boateng is.

Sure I can understand the criticism of Varane but having to pick a millennial he was the best of the bunch for a team playing an extremely high line. He is lightening quick and with a partner like Boateng next to him won't be as isolated as is being made out.
 

P-Nut

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In an all time setting its ridiculous, sorry. Godin is miles ahead of boateng IMO and I'd take any one of the juventus back 3 before him aswell.
Maybe as an out and out defender yes. As someone in a possession based system? No chance
 

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I don't think totti and nedved are going to compliment messi too much either. I have always thought of both as more playmaking than goalscoring, particularly nedved and messis best performances starting from the right have saw Ronaldinho/ villa/ Henry / Neymar on that left side all of whom have more of a killer instinct and likelihood of getting in behind, to make the most of messis GOAT through balls. Similarly with totti , who is a world class false 9, hes no Suarez/ E'too. I know there lots of positional interchange but I don't think any of the players gets messi anywhere near what he's capable of in that formation.
 

antohan

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Another thing I've just picked up on.

People are assuming Cruyff will drop into the #10 position and pressure Alonso therefore reducing my dominance of the ball. It was for this exact scenario that Boateng has been picked. He is world class with the ball at his feet from a cb perspective. I've attached a video that shows a selection of the passes he picks out from deep. If Cruyff does indeed drop onto Alonso Boateng will have the space and freedom to dictate the game from the back.
I appreciate the thought given to distribution and having appropriate sources (particularly in a possession setup!). I often look at defences and can't find a single player who can do any more than hoof it or play a crab pass.

That said, I don't buy Boateng "dictating the game". Decent option, but if you gave me the choice as a rival I'd rather Boateng on the ball and not Alonso.
 

Tuppet

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On Tuppets team he has Pirlo in the defensive midfield position. A player known for his work with the ball not without it. Yet in his tactics section he says he isn't too bothered about possession whilst my team will try to dominate that side of things.

A solid conclusion to make then would be that Pirlo will spend most of his time without the ball and this isn't where he excels. He needs to be the metronome running the game from deep and he just isn't going to be that player in this game.
Pirlo has never been a player to be too concerned about possession. He has played in the deep sitting, counter attacking Italy team and won a world cup while being one of the best performer in exactly this role. Even in his prime in Milan that team was hardly about possession (they used to have more simply because of the quality of team but were not overly concerned with it) and more about quick fast paced attacks and counters utilizing Pirlo's fantastic long passing.

On your team itself p-nut, no doubt it has some really fantastic players, probably more big names than I have, but here are the problems that I see -

1. I don't really like role of Totti and Laudrup here. Both have played as false number 9 (Totti in Roma, Laudrup in Barca dream team) and while playing those role they were the primary playmaker of the team. Part of the reason of Totti's success in the false 9 role in Roma was that he drop deep and become the primary playmaker of the team. Here they are largely going to be operating in the same areas and trying to do the same things, and I don't think the combination is optimal for either player. Throw in Iniesta in that equation (although he is less problematic) and situation becomes even more muddier.

2. Nedved is probably not the best player for that role. Nedved was more of a wide midfielder/playmaker than a goal scoring wing forward. Ideally you'd want someone with more directness and goalscoring than him. Although its not that big a deal but its hardly ideal.

I think both of these could have been avoided by just starting RVN over Totti. He would have thrived with the service of Nedved & Laudrup and could make good use of Lizarazu and Alberto's crossing.
Then there are minor nit picks, like Iniesta is no xavi and won't provide his ball retention or work rate and midfield is a bit porous.
 

Ecstatic

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The games lack pictures.

Regardind PNUT, I guess the starting point was that team



In terms of stats, career peak of Totti with the following team 2006/07: 32 goals in 50 games



Nedved career peak in 2003/04: 14 goals in 44 games






 

oneniltothearsenal

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Yet another fascinating match-up.

Tuppet's midfield is just mouth watering. Vieira-Tardelli ahead of Pirlo is about as perfect a 4-3-3 midfield as you can get. Its really sublime and I love all three of those players.

But for me I just can't see past Pnut's front five. I don't think this defense even with the sublime 3 midfielders can handle that tactic. Too much movement up front with Totti, Nedved and Messi even if its a bit unconventional. Even with Krol mostly on Messi I just can't see Messi not playing a blinder here especially supported by Carlos Alberto and playing off Laudrup. Nedved was always one of my favorite players just loved watching his versatile skill set at work. He has a favorable match up here.
 

Annahnomoss

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Two great teams and I really wanted to love pnuts side after I saw the central midfield he was creating and I do like it. But with such an offensive tactic where the central midfield and the full backs both having their strength in the offensive part of the game you'd really want two world class centre backs. If it wasn't for the fact that Tuppet has such a good front line himself with Ronaldo-Cruyff-Hamrin which really possesses it all then I could accept a Varane-Boateng duo at the back but here it just seems really difficult.

It couldn't put more pressure on the centre backs than the intelligence of Cruyff, the movement of him and Ronaldo and the sheer artisitry of Cruyff and Hamrin. Sometimes you could argue that the opponent sort of plays to Varanes strength and therefore he'll have a good game but here any defender has to be as complete as they come.

Like I said though I thought the tactic was well inspired and I want to see you strike a perfect balance with a pnut team because I love the way you put together teams. I was more excited seeing those central midfield picks unveil themselves as I was picking for us.
 

P-Nut

fan of well-known French footballer Fabinho
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Two great teams and I really wanted to love pnuts side after I saw the central midfield he was creating and I do like it. But with such an offensive tactic where the central midfield and the full backs both having their strength in the offensive part of the game you'd really want two world class centre backs. If it wasn't for the fact that Tuppet has such a good front line himself with Ronaldo-Cruyff-Hamrin which really possesses it all then I could accept a Varane-Boateng duo at the back but here it just seems really difficult.

It couldn't put more pressure on the centre backs than the intelligence of Cruyff, the movement of him and Ronaldo and the sheer artisitry of Cruyff and Hamrin. Sometimes you could argue that the opponent sort of plays to Varanes strength and therefore he'll have a good game but here any defender has to be as complete as they come.

Like I said though I thought the tactic was well inspired and I want to see you strike a perfect balance with a pnut team because I love the way you put together teams. I was more excited seeing those central midfield picks unveil themselves as I was picking for us.
That's good to hear. To be honest I should have gambled with my last pick and gone for a re roll and tried to get a cb as I haven't even used Ruud here.

Two times in a row I've struggled to get the final pieces of my team in place due to bad luck more than anything.

A world class stopper next to Boateng turns this game on its head as Varane is the obvious weak link and is in a vital position with pretty much all out attacking going on.

I'll get it right soon though I just need a bit of luck with how the picks fall.
 

Pat_Mustard

I'm so gorgeous they want to put me under arrest!
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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
Pnut's team would play some champagne football in possession, but I just don't see the requisite ball-winning abilities out of possession, or the GOAT defence to compensate, that's required to stop that Cruyff/Ronaldo/Hamrin juggernaut at the other end.
 

Moby

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While Cruyff's addition to midfield from time to time will definitely be a big task to handle for Alonso I'm looking at Patrick Vieira here who for me will be the real difference maker. The steel he provides in that midfield especially next to another midfield general like Tardelli can really cripple P-Nut's build up and creativity even with those players at the heart of it. As a reference here's the WC 2006 round of 16 game between Spain and France where Vieira absolute demolished a midfield three of Alonso, Xavi and Fabregas which mirrors the situation here quite well.

 

Ecstatic

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Villa-Raul-Torres is a rush job:)

Let's add new pictures

Euro 2012 Final



WC 2010 Final




Euro 2008 Final


 

Gio

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I thought that was more of a 4-3-2-1 at the time with Perrotta playing deeper to allow Totti to drop.

All of the formation pics online of Juventus seem to be arse-over-tit. That Juventus team is inverted bar Camorenesi and Nedved. Camorenesi also played deeper and tighter to support the midfield, while Del Piero dropped off as a second striker and into the inside-left pocket.