vs
Team Mustard
Formation/Style of Play: Direct 3-4-3, dropping back into a 5-4-1 in organised, sustained defensive phases.
A Conte-influenced formation, with a group of ferociously competitive and energetic players that the Italian would love to manage. The team is well capable of pressing higher in phases but for the most part we expect to defend in a deeper block and counter at pace. Kempes and Best provide our main creative thrust and will be difficult for the opposition to pick up in those half-spaces, and in Passarella, Stielike, Robson and Luis Enrique, we have an impressive range of runners from deeper areas who pack a huge collective goal threat.
- I opted for two proper CBs to flank Passarella rather than FBs in those positions for a few reasons. Firstly, with the opposition probably set to field a physically imposing, penalty box expert duo of Seeler and RVN, Aldair and Godin look like better fits than Angloma and Sergi. Secondly, I wanted to give Passarella plenty of licence to gallop upfield in his libero role, so Aldair and Godin will frequently be playing quite close together. Finally, Aldair has good pedigree in this role, impressing as the RCB for Lazaroni's Brazil in a 3-5-2 during their victorious 1989 Copa America and subsequent 1990 WC qualifying campaign.
- Luis Enrique has racked up plenty of appearances as both a FB and a wide midfielder so I have no concerns at all about his suitability for this role. Aside from his sheer quality and influence as a player, the main rationale for playing him there over a more orthodox WB like Angloma or Benarrivo was his potential combination play with Best. While he's more than capable of providing orthodox width on the outside, he'll offer a unique threat breaking into dangerous positions on the underlap when Best carries the ball into wider areas.
Pat Jennings (England)
Aldair (Italy)
Daniel Passarella (Italy)
Diego Godin (Spain)
Luis Enrique (Spain)
Antonio Benarrivo (Italy)
Uli Stielike (Spain)
Bryan Robson (England)
George Best (England)
Mario Kempes (Spain)
Andriy Shevchenko (Italy)
Team EAP
Injured: Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck
Bench: Xavi, M Reus, E Cavani, R. Weidenfeller
Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond
Tactics:
Strong D-line with two 'one-man flank' fullbacks. Tireless motor and solid at both ends. Scirea marshals the D with Helmer's support.
Sousa's sublime passing flanked with two hard working box to box midfielders makes for a highly robust and creative midfield unit.
Cruyff is the perfect man to bring the midfield and attack and ensure that the super-leathal Seeler and RvN have abundance of opportunities to score.
Note: Though Hassler often played as RM, he is two footed and has scored some cracking goals with his left foot. He's also played as LCM is Euro'96 successfully!
Thomas Helmer: (Thanks to Enigma!)
Helmer was one of the very best central defenders Germany has ever had(and that's some competition) and one highlight was that long ball by Helmer during the 1996 final which resulted in Germany lifting the EURO for third time. One of the top stoppers for Bayern Munich he won the Bundesliga 3 times, 2 DFB Pokal's as well as 1 UEFA cup and 1 CL final(lost to us) and of course that EURO title with Germany. He was tough, very strong tackling world class defender in his peak who was also excellent in the air and went on to captain Bayern Munich side in the late 90's. He's also a natural left footed CB who's capable of playing as LCB flexible to drifting wide if needed.
Personal accolades and Kicker rating:
Best Libero - 1990-2
Best Marker - 1995 , 1996, 1997
Playing XI:
U. Seeler (GER)
R. Van Nistelrooy (ENG)
.
J. Cruyff (SPA)
S. Gerrard (ENG)
T. Hassler (GER)
P. Sousa (ITA)
.
G. Scirea (ITA)
A. Cabrini (ITA)
J Zanetti (ITA)
T. Helmer (GER)
.
T. Schumacher (GER)
Last edited:
