TEAM ENIGMA
GK: Julio Cesar - complete GK- excellent with ball at his feet, reflexes and agility in the box.
LB: Karl-Heinz Schnellinger - Balanced - defensive. Has played sweeper, center back and left back in his career. He can tuck in and carry the ball forward when in possession if needed.
CB: Marcel Desailly - Stopper - marker. "The rock" in his solid and dominant CB role.
CB: Hector Chumpitaz: Complete Defender - ball playing defender. Fast, great technique, organizational skills - compliments well Desailly.
Right Back: Dani Alves - Offensive. In his best Barca incarnation.
Holding Midfielder: Bernd Schuster - Complete Midfielder. In contrast to the last game we're using an older version of Schuster here. DavidG midfield will consist of Seedorf, Gullit and De Rossi centrally and most likely the physical key battle will be in the center of the pitch. Schuster will play in a deeper role where he can distribute the play and also look for openings and find Eusebio, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the final third. With his excellent positional skills and also covering skills (he played as a libero or midfield in Toshak's Real - a team that scored 107 goals in one season) he'll fit pretty well in this position for todays game.
Central Midfielder: Xavi - Playmaker. Probably the best playmaker in history. Kept the best Barca and Spain sides ticking for a decade
Central Midfielder: Graeme Souness. the best tackler in midfield. He would give us the edge in CM and along with Xavi and Schuster - all of whom dominated their opponents throughout their career bring the flair, passing range and defensive edge over DavidG's midfield.
Left Forward: Ronaldinho: Free role. In his best and ridiculously good peak form.
Inside Right: Eusebio: Inside forward. At his best Eusebio played inside right or inside left just off the main striker.He's in his natural position and with Ronaldo movement up front he'll get plenty of chances to add to his tally - which is staggering - 580 goals in 575 games or more than goal per game. He would stretch the opposition (just like he did against Di Stefano's Real - springing right past him), score the decisive goals or link with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho up front.
Complete forward: Luis Ronaldo: Goalscorer. The best #9 in the game. He combines the off the ball movement, clinical finishing and skill that are second to none.
Tactical layout
4-3-3 - lopsided
Normal defensive line, fast direct tempo, look for openings and set the stage for our attacking trio.
Solid and rugged defence, midfield three generals either one who can boss a game.
Pace, interchangeability in attack - unpredictable on the flanks and through the middle
Defence:
Our defence is consisted of Desailly - an absolute rock in his favorite and natural stopper role, Chumpitaz on the RCB to cover Joga/mazhar biggest goalscoring threat in Pele coming from his favorite left side position. Chumpitaz has tons of pace and is a great fit for Pele's natural game, as well as his excellent tackling ability. K-H Schnellinger will tuck in when we're attacking on the right and Dani Alves is bombing forward shoring up the defensive unit and not making us vulnerable on counter. Dani Alves himself will have more attacking role down the flank, along with Eusebio in the inside right position they will combine and look to expose the openings on that left flank with Roberto Carlos in more attacking role. Our defense is pretty well stacked up to come against both the aerial threat and the pace and trickery of Pele.
Midfield - Schuster will be playing a holding role like he did in his later years. Xavi and Souness will be tasked to give us the edge in midfield. All three of them have the ability to boss the game and win us the midfield battle against DavidG's hard working midfield.
Attack - Our task is to control the midfield and give service to our forward line which at their peak were ridiculously good. Ronaldo is a one man attack who at his best didn't have the support he's getting here from peak Eusebio and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo and Ronaldinho is a combination that won't raise any eyebrows whether it will work, while we have added Eusebio who is an upgrade to Kaka in almost every aspect. With great playmakers in the side capable of providing the killer pass we need runners in the team and Ronaldo and Eusebio are just that. We'll be looking to expose the central core of DavidG's team - De Rossi and Vidic.
Main advantages:
Midfield: Schuster, Xavi and Souness are well equipped to gain an edge against De Rossi, Seedorf and Gullit. We don't lack any playmaking ability both in advanced and deep positions which up against those three midfielders would be an issue for DavidG.
Eusebio and Ronaldo vs Vidic: Vidic is one of the top defenders of our era, but both Eusebio and Ronaldo are the types of forwards Vidic would not like to face. Baresi is probably the best CB in the game, and of course would help out, but with two attacking minded full backs and just De Rossi covering in front of them is a clear route to goal. Stopping Ronaldo itself is a monumental task, but having both Eusebio and him attacking the space with Ronaldinho pulling the strings on the left is too much to handle for DavidG's defence, especially given that he relies a lot on his flanks to provide in the attacking third.
Defence: our defence is well suited to cope with both aerial danger and Pele's ground game. On the flank we have a tucked in balanced defender in Schnellinger who excels defensively and Dani Alves who is a good fit for Bale in both agility and pace.
Opponent's lack of playmaking options: I think this could be an issue for DavidG. Baresi offers passing range from the back but he is probably the only one who can distribute the ball from deep. De Rossi is a pure DM, while Seedorf(I'd imagine DavidG will opt for the younger version) developed his playmaking game later when he lost a step or two and was pushed a bit forward. He always had an excellent passing range, but didn't run games until his later years. Gullit is an option in the attacking third but he was more of an free roaming AM, who especially against our midfield would struggle to boss the game.
TEAM DAVIDG
TACTICS
Formation: 4-4-1-1 / 4-5-1
Style of Play: Multi-dimensional, overlapping, short passing, dribbling, counter-attack, switch of play, crossing. I intend to fully utilize the diverse skill set of all of my players
Defensive Instructions: All 5 midfielders given defensive responsibilities, with Bale and Beckham trusted with covering the overlaps and Gullit to be all over the oppositions defensive midfielder. Dependent on opposition set-up, the centre halves may switch around to have Baresi dealing with Ronaldo for the majority of the game.
Set pieces: Beckham takes everything. Aiming for Vidic, Gullit and Pele.
STARTING XI PROFILES
1. Sepp Maier- Named as the 4th greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century, there really isn't too much to discuss here. One of the best available options between the sticks for any All time draft.
2. Cafu- Arguably the greatest right back of all time and world cup winning captain. Will be playing his usual game of owning the right flank, contributing to attacking play and using his immense stamina and recovery to ensure he is rarely caught out defensively. One of the most durable players in history.
15. Vidic- One of Manchester United's greatest ever centre halves, he will be his usual combatant self, winning everything in the air and providing a real threat from set pieces. The perfect foil for his partner, Baresi.
6. Baresi-Captain- Without a doubt, one of the top 3 defenders of all time and for many, out on his own as the best. There is nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said, he has put in some all time great performances against GOAT attacker's and will be expected to do the same here.
3. Roberto Carlos- One of the games greatest attacking Left back's, Carlos will be expected to play his normal game here and give the opposition major headaches on the left wing. With no obvious right winger to deal with, He should be free to have a major effect on this game and has enough defensive abilities to deal with a slightly diminished Dani Alves ( i.e. no obvious right winger to link up with)
16. De Rossi- Probably the weakest player on the field, but no push-over, the one club man is the perfect example of a modern defensive midfielder and will be focussing on winning the ball back and using his excellent distribution to get the ball to the more creative players on the team. Has the tactical discipline to perform his role at a high level for 90 mins.
8. Seedorf- An absolute machine. Comfortable in attack as he is in defence, he will play somewhat of a box to box role, but with much more importance placed on the defensive side. Should get plenty of time on the ball when he has it, and when close enough to goal is more than capable of playing a killer pass or testing the keeper from range.
7. Beckham- The greatest crosser of all time and one of the greatest passers of all time. The Manchester United legend will play exactly as he did at the peak of his United days, only with one of the greatest right backs of all time overlapping him. A truly devastating combination, Beckham will be switching wings, playing Cafu in behind the defence, Finding Gullit and Pele in the box and generally causing the opposition nightmare by mixing it up so much. Huge demands placed on him defensively as well, however being known as one of the games fittest players, he will have no issues at all helping out, be it defending against the oppositions left back or tucking in to deal with the more attack minded midfielders.
11. Bale- He did it to Maicon, he can do it to Alves. With no true right midfielder/winger on the opposition side, Bale can pick and choose when to go at Alves or look for Carlos on the overlap. He will have Alves pinned back for most of the game, and will be hitting the byline as often as possible and looking for the runs of Gullit and Pele in the box, which he is capable of finding 9 times out of 10. Also extremely capable defensively having begun his career at left back. Bale is the perfect player to get the best out of Carlos in this game.
9. Gullit- One of the greatest players of all time and an all-round midfielder, Gullit will give the oppositions defensive midfielder the run around, and when he's not dribbling and creating he will be peeling off to whichever side Chumpitaz is on and dominating him in the air from crosses. Will play similar to the way he did during he and van Basten's peaks late 80s.
10. Pele- Officially named the greatest player of the 20th century in the IFHHS poll, There's not really anything left to say. He has a free role and can do as he pleases, so expect him operating as a number 9 just as often as a number 10 starting from the left but operating all over the final third of the pitch. He is surrounded by players who will get the best from him, and is simply the best player on the pitch.
WINNING MENTALITY
In the previous round, I touched on the collective trophy haul of my side. The defensive line has 4 world cups between them and each has won the champions league at least once. De Rossi is a world cup winner and Seedorf is the only man to win the champions league with 3 different teams. Beckham and Bale have 3 champions league's between them, and as well as the european cup, Ruud gullit has 2 european championships with The Netherlands to his name. The only player in the previous round without such a glittering trophy cabinet was John Charles, who has now been replaced by a man with 3 world cups to his name. It is a squad of winners, full of grit and determination and with all the different ways they can come at the opposition, I expect them to gel instantly.
contd...
