Im considering to vote for enigma only on the basis of anto saying how Villa will do FA in the defensive phase. Been a while since i read bigger load of nonsense.
I'm taking his word for it. I supposedly can't have Sammer pushing up or else all of Ronaldinho, Suker and Villa are ready to pounce on long balls in a 3v2 against my CBs. Now I see he is returning from the box, to the flank, and tracking back Carlos, while Schneider is moving from the flank to a central position and chasing back to help Davids and Schweinsteiger. I expect to get to the other end of the pitch a lot quicker than this can be of any use.
Schweini without best 2 years and we can even tie him a blindfold he would still be class above fecking De Rossi but there is s theme there with anto, he loves a barking dog.
Oh, I'd love peak Schweinsteiger as a pivot behind the other two. He wasn't and won't be available though. The key thing with De Rossi was I needed a midfielder that could join the other two (more dangerous ones) in transition, but also stay back as DM and even dropping into defence as Sammer cover (seeing as if Matthias is well placed to join the other two, or even starts the move himself, I'd much rather have him free to have a go).
How many midfielders can fulfill both roles to that standard? Not many.
The thing is - with 5-3-2 in drafts is usually like a cheat code when it comes to 'hiding' your weaknesses and I often reverted to it in the past as it looks like impenetrable unit whilst you can snatch a winning goal on counter.
Read my OP then. I never talked about sitting back and hitting you on the break. If that were the case I wouldn't have passed on Verón or Guardiola as glorious ball pingers. On the counter, I'm carrying the ball forward for the most part, pass and move. The ball over the top is more a threat/option for Crespo to pin back your CBs and provide the space between the lines.
It's 3-5-2 by the way, not 5-3-2. Potato-potatoe maybe, but it's not some random pair of fullbacks who will ocasionally venture forward. I own those flanks.
Agreed on 532(same can be said for 4231 tbf, not that it hides weaknesses but thats overrated as feck) but i take that into account, because on paper it looks like anto has this in the bag easily, great 532 with no particular weakness and tactically very apt but in reality is that this team would be lacking going forwards which is why im yet to pull the trigger.
I know, there's a danger the front two get isolated. That's precisely why I started Crespo and Zola, both are very familiar with that setup and were top scorers for their sides many seasons in a row playing in that exact setup. They know it inside out. I'm not sticking Ruud van Nistelrooy up there and saying "Oi, he screams goals" while hoping he works it out somehow.
Goes without saying the entire setup is the natural evolution of picking Carlos and Zanetti first.
That setup calls for a sweeper/libero, and I have the GOAT one at delivering in exactly the same 3-5-2 setup (not, say, Beckenbauer being libero in a back four, that's a different cup of tea).
Which brings you to the midfielders, and the entire point was NOT to pick a Mauro Silva for his defensive attributes but to get both Balakov and Luis Enrique as midfielders that will put the necessary shift in, but primarily geared towards the incisiveness and damage they can make at the other end. E.g. Davids is the best CM on the pitch, yes, but I wouldn't swap him for Balakov. I need Balakov and not Davids there.
", then Nigeria score and they go "Wait, so now Nigeria plays Italy, Bulgaria plays Mexico, who the feck are we playing then?" 