MPFG Draft: R1 - Sjor vs Zlatan7

[Physiocrat]

Sjor

Zlatan 7


Sjor Tactics

Money ruined football, game is played by spoiled kids not by men. Clubs and managers have zero power over players, well.....here we got our game back!
Team over individuals, its all about sacrifice and team work.

Little bit of a homage to Atletico with heart bit of their great team - Gabi. Such an underrated footballer, played at world class level but because he wasnt attractive and he was pretty much the opposite of what the national team played at the time he always went under the spotlight. Partnering him its another similar example though he did finally get his 5 minute at central stage in that one Euro. Them two together is an absolute wall in front of the back 4 and leading that defence is the great Tony Adams, how he wasnt listed is beyond me. One of the greatest PL defenders of all time, top top tier. Fantastic footballer, natural leader and a perfect foil for aggressive Norman Hunter. Juanfran, Filipe Luis and Oblak another mini homage to one of the greatest defensive teams ever and certainly the greatest modern one. All played in a fantastically drilled defensive lines at highest possible level of football.

Offensive four will all contribute in the defensive phase(its a Sjor team after all) but what a lovely set of footballers in possession. Bernd Schneider, nicknamed White Brazilian for a reason. Fantastic footballer that shined brightly on highest stage but dragging smaller/weaker teams over their limits got him to pay the price so he always left a bit short in the end even though him individually always performed well. On the opposite flank is probably the best player of that famous Leeds side with Bremner and Giles, magician.

Of course up front is probably the best striker partnership of all time, they were just on another level....

Zlatan 7 Tactics

442
Raul supporting romario uptop
Flying wingers
Solid meidfield with Gattuso and creativity from Veron finding the channels and playing off Raul
Full backs will support the wingers when opportunity arises.

will be playing on the floor and not rellying on too many balls high into the box for adams to sweep up, vale and Overmars both capable of cutting in and shooting or playing off Raul and finding Romario

 

[Physiocrat]

@Šjor Bepo @Zlatan 7

Game on!

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Nice 442 @Zlatan 7
Few little minor issues.....both Overmars and Bale are better from the left in this system and i dont like the midfield two. The reason Veron failed at United is because he was a bad fit for the 442 system as he wanted to float around and dictate where he will make impact on the game and you cant do that in a 442 which is why he struggled here even with Keane having his back. Here you will have italian dumbo barking all over the place behind him and once Gray gets going dribbling wise, its gonna be a mess as dribblers ruin defensive shapes and you dont really have a shape with that midfield.

Can see Yorke and Cole having all sorts of fun against Puyol and Ramos but thats another thing, thats me not rating the duo as highly as most rather then being a tactical issue.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Thanks for setting it up physio, I’ll check back in a hour once I’m home.

all the best sjor, at first glance, it’s nice to see two 442’s

 

[Physiocrat]

@Zlatan 7 What's Veron's role here? Is he a sort of floaty 8 as Sjor suggests or is he the older DLP in front of the back four, or something else?

 

[Zlatan 7]

Veron would be more of a dlp and not wander too much as Raul would be more than happy and capable to drop off and play in the hole behind Romário

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Zlatan 7 What's Veron's role here? Is he a sort of floaty 8 as Sjor suggests or is he the older DLP in front of the back four, or something else?

when was that? Estudi? Seems bizarre to pay for Veron(one of if not the best player in the world at his peak) and then use a version thats easily the worst midfielder on the pitch.

 

[Synco]

@Šjor Bepo
I remember Overmars as being very two-footed, why do you reckon he should play LW in a 442? (Meaning Bale at LW, Overmars at RW, not that it's like this here anyway.)

And a few words on the Adams/Hunter partnership beyond the OP - how were they as players?

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Šjor Bepo
I remember Overmars as being very two-footed, why do you reckon he should play LW in a 442? (Meaning Bale at LW, Overmars at RW, not that it's like this here anyway.)

And a few words on the Adams/Hunter partnership beyond the OP - how where they as players?

Yeah he was two footed but from memory he was much better from the left, maybe @oneniltothearsenal can help us out on that.

Adams was a very much a complete "modern" CB, great on the ball, great defender, leader, good defensive organization skills and all of that while he was hangover. Hunter was also pretty complete but he was a stopper. Hard no nonsense defender, decent on the ball, if you remember we watched him against Gerd Muller and Germany in Dead Drafters.
But Adams really stands out in quality, better then half of the listed centerbacks, IMO best centerback on the pitch. How Fergie would say, "he was a Manchester United player in the Arsenal shirt"

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Yeah he was two footed but from memory he was much better from the left, maybe @oneniltothearsenal can help us out on that.

Adams was a very much a complete "modern" CB, great on the ball, great defender, leader, good defensive organization skills and all of that while he was hangover. Hunter was also pretty complete but he was a stopper. Hard no nonsense defender, decent on the ball, if you remember we watched him against Gerd Muller and Germany in Dead Drafters.
But Adams really stands out in quality, better then half of the listed centerbacks, IMO best centerback on the pitch. How Fergie would say, "he was a Manchester United player in the Arsenal shirt"

He played more on the left for sure but I can't recall it mattering much for Tony. Keown clearly preferred the right so Tony was on left. He was a complete CB, he could play the stopper role as well or cover for Cole equally well. He also had impressive mental fortitude playing better matches while hungover in his early days than almost every other CB could play sober. He has the overall skill set to stifle either Raul or Romario, he wouldn't be caught off-guard by Romario's technical skills or Raul's movement. I'd definitely agree he's the best pure defender on the pitch and he's on the ball skills were ahead of his time.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

He played more on the left for sure but I can't recall it mattering much for Tony. Keown clearly preferred the right so Tony was on left. He was a complete CB, he could play the stopper role as well or cover for Cole equally well. He also had impressive mental fortitude playing better matches while hungover in his early days than almost every other CB could play sober. He has the overall skill set to stifle either Raul or Romario, he wouldn't be caught off-guard by Romario's technical skills or Raul's movement. I'd definitely agree he's the best pure defender on the pitch and he's on the ball skills were ahead of his time.

nice of you to hype up Adams but the question was about Overmars

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

On Adams, i was rewatching some highlights of late 90s CL Kyiv games recently and the tackle against Shevchenko as last man after a well weighted Belkevich through pass at just after 7:00 was a play that really stood out. The sort of thing that would be all over a dozen highlights if it was from Nesta or Baresi.

 

[Synco]

Monster tackle. But the offside call just after that...

 

[harms]

On Adams, i was rewatching some highlights of late 90s CL Kyiv games recently and the tackle against Shevchenko as last man after a well weighted Belkevich through pass at just after 7:00 was a play that really stood out. The sort of thing that would be all over a dozen highlights if it was from Nesta or Baresi.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

nice of you to hype up Adams but the question was about Overmars

Oh jeez, blame the scotch (channeling my inner 80s Adams or 2021 @Jim Beam ), I read that wrong

Yeah, Overmars almost always played on the left. IIRC he might have played on the right a few times (maybe more with Holland though don't hold me to that) but he was definitely better on the left and that's really his niche at Arsenal as strictly a left-winger. Loved Overmars, such a fun player to watch back in that era and great chemistry with Bergy. But I wouldn't play him on the right in drafts

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Sjor has this. Gattuso-Veron is very underwhelming in a 4-4-2.

 

[Gio]

Nice 442 @Zlatan 7
Few little minor issues.....both Overmars and Bale are better from the left in this system and i dont like the midfield two. The reason Veron failed at United is because he was a bad fit for the 442 system as he wanted to float around and dictate where he will make impact on the game and you cant do that in a 442 which is why he struggled here even with Keane having his back. Here you will have italian dumbo barking all over the place behind him and once Gray gets going dribbling wise, its gonna be a mess as dribblers ruin defensive shapes and you dont really have a shape with that midfield.

Can see Yorke and Cole having all sorts of fun against Puyol and Ramos but thats another thing, thats me not rating the duo as highly as most rather then being a tactical issue.

Don’t agree with the Veron point. He played well for Lazio in a 4-4-2. For example, here are the line ups when Veron’s Lazio controlled United in the 99 Super Cup, even despite playing one fewer central midfielder.

Veron was always good next to a water carrier type, be it Almeyda for club and country, or saving some of his better United performances next to Phil Neville in midfield. Not that he couldn’t play next to sexier players as he showed for Parma and Argentina, but the dynamic with a Gattuso type is a proven one.

And I’m pretty sure Lazio played that 4-4-2 during his two years when he was in Rome, and he was still in his physical prime then (unlike at Utd), and he bossed it for the most part.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Don’t agree with the Veron point. He played well for Lazio in a 4-4-2. For example, here are the line ups when Veron’s Lazio controlled United in the 99 Super Cup, even despite playing one fewer central midfielder.

Veron was always good next to a water carrier type, be it Almeyda for club and country, or saving some of his better United performances next to Phil Neville in midfield. Not that he couldn’t play next to sexier players as he showed for Parma and Argentina, but the dynamic with a Gattuso type is a proven one.

And I’m pretty sure Lazio played that 4-4-2 during his two years when he was in Rome, and he was still in his physical prime then (unlike at Utd), and he bossed it for the most part.

Yeah we had that Veron debate before
Its pretty much the Pirlo thing "he won the WC playing in a 442" when in reality it was a 442 just on paper as he had midfielders on the wing that were doing the running for him, just like this Lazio team where Stankovic is a clear hardworking b2b midfielder and we all know how Nedved played so Veron had a lot of freedom to roam around. Also, Almeyda was more of a holding midfielder rather then a barking dog like Gattuso.

Anyways, its a pointless debate for this game specifically as Zlatan is using Estuidantes version of Veron

 

[Physiocrat]

I really like the Raul-Romario front two - that would be electric. I really think a proper DM alongside Veron would have made a big difference, it would allow him to play more of his peak game (I do have sympathy with Sjor's argument with the wingers). I reckon if you had someone like Nedved or Beckham on one wing, you could have Overmars or Bale on the other with Veron at peak CM role.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Can't look past Raul-Romario. Good teams but the quality in one triumphs the other for me

 

[General_Elegancia]

And I’m pretty sure Lazio played that 4-4-2 during his two years when he was in Rome, and he was still in his physical prime then (unlike at Utd), and he bossed it for the most part.

Yeah, Lazio under Swen always played in 4-4-2 system with Almeyda being more of a water-carrier, but sometimes they played in the 4-5-1 formation with Veron, Almeyda, and Stankovic. Erikson always played 3 man midfield against strong opponents like Juventus, Inter Milan, and Roma( and some games against Verona and Bologna) to gain advantages in the midfield area.

The scenarios changed a lot in 2000-2001, when Erikson changed some of his approaches and played in different formations like the 4-1-4-1 formation when he played in duo midfield with Nedved, 4-2-3-1 when he played as number 10, and Nedved as a right-wing. Before Erikson was sacked due to mediocre performances in that season, he almost didn't use 4-4-2, instead of that he used 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1. When Zoff came as a new manager for Lazio, he still used 4-4-2 as the main formation but he also loved the 4-5-1 formation too. So, he used 4-5-1 as the second formation and 4-4-2 as main formation for Lazio. Oh, I've already checked, he also used 4-1-3-2 against Inter Milan. And that season (2000-2001) Veron was injured and missed a lot of matches in Calcio and that affected Lazio's results in League games( or even Erikson's life as Lazio coach).


In the UCL 1999-2000, it was a bit different since sometimes Lazio played in back5 like 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 against Maribor and Marseille.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

 

[Šjor Bepo]

good game @Zlatan 7 , almost in the end.....makings of a nice team, shame about midfield duo.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Good win sjor, was close but you deserved it.

I didn’t want to say before the match, This team was put together by my little boy, he’s only 12, he’s football mad and always wants involved in these drafts but usually there’s too much research involved for him. I let him have free reign with this budget and crack on with how he wanted to put the team together, quite proud with how well he done. He done better than what I have done in the past

thanks everyone for your input on it, he loved it.

good luck in the next round

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Good win sjor, was close but you deserved it.

I didn’t want to say before the match, This team was put together by my little boy, he’s only 12, he’s football mad and always wants involved in these drafts but usually there’s too much research involved for him. I let him have free reign with this budget and crack on with how he wanted to put the team together, quite proud with how well he done. He done better than what I have done in the past

thanks everyone for your input on it, he loved it.

good luck in the next round

suspected something tbh as the team was better then usual

 

[Šjor Bepo]

 

[Zlatan 7]

suspected something tbh as the team was better then usual

 

[Zlatan 7]

I did think of putting a pic of nev in my reply

 

[Himannv]

Good win sjor, was close but you deserved it.

I didn’t want to say before the match, This team was put together by my little boy, he’s only 12, he’s football mad and always wants involved in these drafts but usually there’s too much research involved for him. I let him have free reign with this budget and crack on with how he wanted to put the team together, quite proud with how well he done. He done better than what I have done in the past

thanks everyone for your input on it, he loved it.

good luck in the next round

He’s done better than both you and Sjor tbh.

 

[Physiocrat]

Good win sjor, was close but you deserved it.

I didn’t want to say before the match, This team was put together by my little boy, he’s only 12, he’s football mad and always wants involved in these drafts but usually there’s too much research involved for him. I let him have free reign with this budget and crack on with how he wanted to put the team together, quite proud with how well he done. He done better than what I have done in the past

thanks everyone for your input on it, he loved it.

good luck in the next round

That's a way better side than my 12 year old self would have put together. Fair play.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

You'd have had my vote if I'd made it back online in time, although I'm glad I didn't vote against Zlatan Jr. Yorke and Cole was a great move to navigate through the first round, particularly now that you'll probably segue straight to fecking Pele and Tostao.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Good win sjor, was close but you deserved it.

I didn’t want to say before the match, This team was put together by my little boy, he’s only 12, he’s football mad and always wants involved in these drafts but usually there’s too much research involved for him. I let him have free reign with this budget and crack on with how he wanted to put the team together, quite proud with how well he done. He done better than what I have done in the past

thanks everyone for your input on it, he loved it.

good luck in the next round

He's played a blinder! And also deeply depressed me, as I worked out that him picking Romario is the equivalent of me picking Burgnich or Schnellinger. I'm old

 

[Šjor Bepo]

You'd have had my vote if I'd made it back online in time, although I'm glad I didn't vote against Zlatan Jr. Yorke and Cole was a great move to navigate through the first round, particularly now that you'll probably segue straight to fecking Pele and Tostao.

tbh i screwed myself with picking Pele as i would be happy to play Cole and Yorke all till the end, not that i will get there but IMO both are more then good enough to play in a winning 442 team of any draft, not just this.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

tbh i screwed myself with picking Pele as i would be happy to play Cole and Yorke all till the end, not that i will get there but IMO both are more then good enough to play in a winning 442 team of any draft, not just this.

As a partnership they hit insane heights. If only Yorke had stayed focused for another few years. He was genuinely one of the best attackers in the world in 1998-99.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

As a partnership they hit insane heights. If only Yorke had stayed focused for another few years. He was genuinely one of the best attackers in the world in 1998-99.

Yeah, I remember being so jealous of you all when I'd watch Yorke play that year. I'd think damn why can't we get a striker like him to partner with Bergkamp. Then we got Henry.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

He's played a blinder! And also deeply depressed me, as I worked out that him picking Romario is the equivalent of me picking Burgnich or Schnellinger. I'm old

Yea, not just pretty impressive a 4-4-2 structurally but the fact that he envisioned Raul-Romario both who played before he was born is impressive. He might become the more successful Paolo Maldini to @Zlatan 7 's Cesare Maldini in the future drafts.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Thanks guys, he’s definitely the Paulo to me haha.

hes always on YouTube watching compilation and all touches videos of ‘legends’ and just enjoys making dream teams in general, I may let him take over in the next draft too

 

[General_Elegancia]

@Zlatan 7 Your son made a superb job, I appreciate it.

Maybe he will register up for redcafe.net and then one day he will compete against you.