vs
Team Caretaker
Formation: 3-3-1-3 Bielsa style-eee
Kamikaze, turbo-paced attacking football.
- Nesta will clearly need to play out of his skin here, but there's few CBs in history that you'd rather have in such a pivotal role.
- Bielsa often preferred FBs or midfielders in those side defender roles to CBs. Brehme actually played frequently in his later career as a sweeper, as well as being deployed as a DM at times when he was younger, so he's no stranger to a more central role. Assuming Messi plays off the right wing, Lizarazu actually looks a better option to face him than a more cumbersome and lumbering CB.
- Dunga should enjoy pinging passes from that DM role, as well as tackling anything that moves. Nedved and Mendieta in the side midfielder/inverted WB roles both boast a proper two-way game and the immense stamina and workrate required to excel in that role.
- All of the front four have at some time played under a rigorous high-press orientated coach - Stoichkov and Laudrup under Cruyff, Henry under Guardiola, and MVB under Sacchi. Henry would probably prefer to be deployed centrally with licence to drift wide, but he should still be effective in that role and will warm to the task of exploiting the space behind Maicon or running at him directly.
Team P-nut
Classical WM tactics with Batistuta as a focal point allowing Messi and Kaka to cause chaos in the half spaces with defenders occupied by the front 3.
Conti and Rivaldo man the flanks providing width to keep the defence stretched.
Self explanatory defensive midfield and back line.
