Gio
harms
Gio Tactics
RIJKAARD AGAINST INIESTA
Recognising the strengths of Team Harms in the Iniesta/Cristiano area of the park, we have pushed Rijkaard directly into this area to mitigate against their threat. Not to oversell him as he can't be in two places at once, but he's one of the best of all time at flexing between defence and midfield, so he can adjust to where the threat is. For Ajax and often for Holland, Rijkaard played this hybrid role to perfection. What was impressive about his Ajax stint (and as an aside his role at Euro '92) was the way he pushed into the heart of midfield when his team was on top, but dropped into defence when they were under the cosh or when up against an elite attacker. We feel his intelligence, positioning and tactical acumen makes him a great fit for negating Iniesta's outballs and impact on the game.
PIRLO DICTATING THE GAME
Our midfield is built around Andrea Pirlo who remains the gold-standard as a deep-lying playmaker orchestrating from deep. To maximise his influence we’ve prioritised the sort of midfield platform which allows him to dictate play and wrestle control of the game. This includes reuniting him with his midfield enforcer for Milan and Italy, Gennaro Gattuso, who compliments Pirlo’s strengths and weaknesses perfectly - relentless pressure and stamina, exceptional tackling and ball-winning, safe and simple use of the ball in possession.. there’s literally no one better for this role than Gattuso. As a partnership they’re up there as the most proven combinations of the last 30 years, winning Serie A, the Champions League and the 2006 World Cup - Gattuso the prototype aggressive ball-winner to support and enable Pirlo’s technique and intelligence in possession.
Along with maximising his influence through midfield, tactically our front three looks tailor made for Pirlo’s long-range passing, with Stoichkov / Robben offering dynamic outlets to launch counter attacks or switch play behind the opposing fullbacks. Even more dangerous than those raking balls out wide, the most devastating passes Pirlo could play were through the lines centrally (he’s probably the all time GOAT at these from deeper positions, which is no surprise given he’s played most his career in diamonds). It’s here that Romario provides the ultimate threat, naturally playing on the shoulder of the last defender thise sorts of penetrating runs on behind were his bread and butter - watch any compilation of Romario’s goals and you’ll see how many were long balls sliced through gaps in the defence or hit over the top with Romario inevitably rounding or lobbing the keeper, whilst the defence were scratching their heads trying to figure out what had happened. Tactically the variety and range of offensive movement looks impossible to defend consistently given the quality of Pirlo’s passing, he’ll be like a kid in a sweet shop deciding whether to pick out Romario on the last man, Robben cutting into the channels or slipping Stoichkov through as he breaks through the lines. It’s the sort attacking line-up which guarantee goals regardless of service, but when orchestrated by Pirlo the threat goes up exponentially.
TACTICAL CONUNDRUM: OUR FORWARD LINE
Stoichkov / Romario / Robben looks like a devastating attack with all three amongst the consensus best in the world over this period. Tactically the front three will cause all sorts of problems, with prototype electric inside forwards with the acceleration and top-line speed to burst past their fullbacks if harms pushes up and plays a high-line. Both Robben (in the deadliest goalscoring form of his career with 55 goals in 91 games over this period) and Stoichkov (‘94 Ballon d’Or winner and best player in Europe along with Baggio and Laudrup) were truly exceptional dribblers and have a distinct advantage over their fullbacks. When harms pushes forward a quick-ball out to the flanks should wreck havoc cut through that defence like a hot-knife. Which means tactically a deep-line is the way to go? Well, no, not against arguably the greatest penalty box player of all time in Romario (best player in the world, with one of the all time great tournaments in USA ‘94 when he led Brazil to their fourth World Cup). With his burst of pace, low-centre of gravity and ruthless finishing he’s second to none playing against a deep defensive line. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, which was one of the beautiful things about Cruyff’s Dream Team, who had the technical mastery to cut through deep defences but were just as liable to petrify a backline deeper and deeper to curb the threat on the counter.
Which leads to the final point not mentioned yet - that in Stoichkov / Romário we have one of the all time great strike partnerships, two players who complimented each other perfectly in the speed and directness with which they attacked: “The pair enjoyed something of a telepathic relationship and seemed to inspire each other to perform better... United had no answer to the skill, speed and imagination of Stoichkov and Romario, at times moving through their defence with an ease as impudent as it was embarrassing. Pallister and Bruce were both auditioning for the role of Juliet: Romario, Romario, wherefore art thou Romario? And nobody had a clue about Stoichkov’s whereabouts.”
harms Tactics
Tactics & Thoughts on the match up
It's not an overly-complicated set up. As I prefer, my central midfielders (Iniesta & Mendieta) are also very much comfortable out wide which gives my wide players for freedom (especially Cristiano, who will obviously cut inside very often). Tevez is chosen for his mobility, aggressiveness & versatility (alongside, well, goalscoring), Brian Laudrup is also comfortable playing in every forward role, so they'll be adapting to Cristiano's runs.
My team is full of proven partnerships, which gives me an additional advantage — from legendary ones (Vidić - Ferdinand & Cristiano - Tevez) to simply well-functioning (Gio - Iniesta, Tassotti - Laudrup).
For Gio/Theon's team I want to highlight that a couple of his key players, while still outstanding, were already past his best post-1992. Rijkaard's last all-time great season was the 1991/92 and after that he was "merely" world-class, including his later performances at van Gaal's Ajax. Vierchowod's peak for me was also in the late 80's, even though he managed to keep performing at an impressive level for the entire decade after it! And, personally, I think that Ivanović performed better closer to 2014, although he was a good player for Chelsea from 2009/10 and on.
harms
Gio Tactics
RIJKAARD AGAINST INIESTA
Recognising the strengths of Team Harms in the Iniesta/Cristiano area of the park, we have pushed Rijkaard directly into this area to mitigate against their threat. Not to oversell him as he can't be in two places at once, but he's one of the best of all time at flexing between defence and midfield, so he can adjust to where the threat is. For Ajax and often for Holland, Rijkaard played this hybrid role to perfection. What was impressive about his Ajax stint (and as an aside his role at Euro '92) was the way he pushed into the heart of midfield when his team was on top, but dropped into defence when they were under the cosh or when up against an elite attacker. We feel his intelligence, positioning and tactical acumen makes him a great fit for negating Iniesta's outballs and impact on the game.
PIRLO DICTATING THE GAME
Our midfield is built around Andrea Pirlo who remains the gold-standard as a deep-lying playmaker orchestrating from deep. To maximise his influence we’ve prioritised the sort of midfield platform which allows him to dictate play and wrestle control of the game. This includes reuniting him with his midfield enforcer for Milan and Italy, Gennaro Gattuso, who compliments Pirlo’s strengths and weaknesses perfectly - relentless pressure and stamina, exceptional tackling and ball-winning, safe and simple use of the ball in possession.. there’s literally no one better for this role than Gattuso. As a partnership they’re up there as the most proven combinations of the last 30 years, winning Serie A, the Champions League and the 2006 World Cup - Gattuso the prototype aggressive ball-winner to support and enable Pirlo’s technique and intelligence in possession.
Along with maximising his influence through midfield, tactically our front three looks tailor made for Pirlo’s long-range passing, with Stoichkov / Robben offering dynamic outlets to launch counter attacks or switch play behind the opposing fullbacks. Even more dangerous than those raking balls out wide, the most devastating passes Pirlo could play were through the lines centrally (he’s probably the all time GOAT at these from deeper positions, which is no surprise given he’s played most his career in diamonds). It’s here that Romario provides the ultimate threat, naturally playing on the shoulder of the last defender thise sorts of penetrating runs on behind were his bread and butter - watch any compilation of Romario’s goals and you’ll see how many were long balls sliced through gaps in the defence or hit over the top with Romario inevitably rounding or lobbing the keeper, whilst the defence were scratching their heads trying to figure out what had happened. Tactically the variety and range of offensive movement looks impossible to defend consistently given the quality of Pirlo’s passing, he’ll be like a kid in a sweet shop deciding whether to pick out Romario on the last man, Robben cutting into the channels or slipping Stoichkov through as he breaks through the lines. It’s the sort attacking line-up which guarantee goals regardless of service, but when orchestrated by Pirlo the threat goes up exponentially.
TACTICAL CONUNDRUM: OUR FORWARD LINE
Stoichkov / Romario / Robben looks like a devastating attack with all three amongst the consensus best in the world over this period. Tactically the front three will cause all sorts of problems, with prototype electric inside forwards with the acceleration and top-line speed to burst past their fullbacks if harms pushes up and plays a high-line. Both Robben (in the deadliest goalscoring form of his career with 55 goals in 91 games over this period) and Stoichkov (‘94 Ballon d’Or winner and best player in Europe along with Baggio and Laudrup) were truly exceptional dribblers and have a distinct advantage over their fullbacks. When harms pushes forward a quick-ball out to the flanks should wreck havoc cut through that defence like a hot-knife. Which means tactically a deep-line is the way to go? Well, no, not against arguably the greatest penalty box player of all time in Romario (best player in the world, with one of the all time great tournaments in USA ‘94 when he led Brazil to their fourth World Cup). With his burst of pace, low-centre of gravity and ruthless finishing he’s second to none playing against a deep defensive line. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, which was one of the beautiful things about Cruyff’s Dream Team, who had the technical mastery to cut through deep defences but were just as liable to petrify a backline deeper and deeper to curb the threat on the counter.
Which leads to the final point not mentioned yet - that in Stoichkov / Romário we have one of the all time great strike partnerships, two players who complimented each other perfectly in the speed and directness with which they attacked: “The pair enjoyed something of a telepathic relationship and seemed to inspire each other to perform better... United had no answer to the skill, speed and imagination of Stoichkov and Romario, at times moving through their defence with an ease as impudent as it was embarrassing. Pallister and Bruce were both auditioning for the role of Juliet: Romario, Romario, wherefore art thou Romario? And nobody had a clue about Stoichkov’s whereabouts.”
harms Tactics
Tactics & Thoughts on the match up
It's not an overly-complicated set up. As I prefer, my central midfielders (Iniesta & Mendieta) are also very much comfortable out wide which gives my wide players for freedom (especially Cristiano, who will obviously cut inside very often). Tevez is chosen for his mobility, aggressiveness & versatility (alongside, well, goalscoring), Brian Laudrup is also comfortable playing in every forward role, so they'll be adapting to Cristiano's runs.
My team is full of proven partnerships, which gives me an additional advantage — from legendary ones (Vidić - Ferdinand & Cristiano - Tevez) to simply well-functioning (Gio - Iniesta, Tassotti - Laudrup).
For Gio/Theon's team I want to highlight that a couple of his key players, while still outstanding, were already past his best post-1992. Rijkaard's last all-time great season was the 1991/92 and after that he was "merely" world-class, including his later performances at van Gaal's Ajax. Vierchowod's peak for me was also in the late 80's, even though he managed to keep performing at an impressive level for the entire decade after it! And, personally, I think that Ivanović performed better closer to 2014, although he was a good player for Chelsea from 2009/10 and on.
Petr Čech (2004-2007)
Simply incredible goalkeeper. Not the flashiest one, but his control of the box was simply unparalleled. Schmeichel will always be my choice if only for a sentimental value, but Čech has a very strong claim on being the greatest PL goalkeeper ever if we combine the level of his performances with his incredible longevity.
One of my personal favourites, such a smart and versatile player. At this point he finalised his transition from midfield to left-back position, winning Champions League with Barcelona alongside Andrés Iniesta.
Nemanja Vidić (2008-2011)
I doubt that I need to talk much about him. Integral part of our greatest ever defensive unit, fire to Ferdinand’s ice, fearless and fearsome captain, he’ll fecking murder you (I’m legally obliged to specify that he actually won’t).
Rio Ferdinand (2006-2009)
Rolls-Royce of a defender, he really had it all — pace, power, composure & leadership ability. Sometimes it felt simply unfair to the opposition when Rio would gracefully and visibly effortlessly break their attack & stride forward with the ball at his feet.
Mauro Tassotti (1992-1995)
Tassotti was a part of the greatest club defense that ever were — Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta & Tassotti. He was an excellent defender with decent attacking contribution (something that is often overlooked when people talk about him). During this period he had reached three consecutive Champions League finals, captaining his team in the famous 4:0 demolition of Barca’s Dream Team (with Stoichkov & Romario) — where he and Maldini had to compensate for the absence of both Baresi & Costacurta. That 1993/94 season was outstanding in many ways — in the league Tassotti’s Milan won the league by scoring just 36 goals in 34 games, all because of their defense that conceded mere 15 goals throughout the entire season!
Dunga (1992-1995)
A player that got a whole era named after him! «Dunga Era» was a bit of a misrepresentation of him to be honest, he was not just a thug, but a very technically refined player with an outstanding passing range — even with an outside of his boot. Still, I can’t ask for a better player to patrol the zone in front of my defense. Scarily consistent, physical, with methodically accurate passing — with his performance in the World Cup final of 1994 being the highlight of that era.
Gaizka Mendieta (1998-2001)
Becoming UEFA Club Midfielder of the Season is no mean feat — let alone doing it twice in a row while competing with peak Redondo, Keane and Davids. Before his inexplicable failure at Lazio Mendieta was on his way to becoming a modern version of Johan Neeskens — starting out as a right back he developed in a fantastic all-rounded midfielder with endless energy, great passing range & dribbling and, of course, a special knack for scoring all sorts of goals. His performances from that peak period were borderline genius — winning multiple trophies with Valencia & leading them to two consecutive Champions League finals. Maybe I’ll do a gif of a moment from the game against Real Madrid that explains him the best — first he makes a last-ditch tackle on Raúl, who is already getting ready to shoot & a minute later he finds himself on the other side of the pitch, scoring the first goal of the game. Mendieta in a nutshell.
Andrés Iniesta (2009-2012)
Don Andrès is football. He doesn’t pull rabbits out of his hat, he pulls out big, beautiful peacocks.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2009-2012)
Weirdly enough, it’s somehow easy to forget just how good he was during his first years in Madrid, especially when you look at him now. He still had that flair & creativity, he was able to beat players for fun & even scored free kicks on a regular basis — all while scoring 50-60 goals per season. Best player in the draft.
Brian Laudrup (1994-1997)
Brian was always somewhat an enigma, but in his younger days he failed to consistently perform according to his talent, even though he had some wonderful moments at Bayern and Fiorentina and, obviously, there were the 1992 Euros. The move to Scotland worked wonders though as he finally matured and started providing outstanding performances week in week out. It’s not a coincidence that our resident Rangers fan (and my opponent today) put him ahead of the likes of Finney, Matthews, Rensenbrink & Beckham on his all-time wingers list, he was majestic. So elegant, so elusive with his dribbling (probably even more so than his older brother) — and so wonderfully unselfish. His former manager, John Greig, summed him up quite well — and this is why I’ve picked him next to a goal-hungry monster like Cristiano: «Apart from applying the ammunition, Brian Laudrup was also capable of scoring his share of goals, but I genuinely believe that he was embarrassed about scoring. He seemed to derive much more pleasure from making goals».
Carlos Tevez (2007-2010)
I needed someone hard-working, versatile and, well, still talented up front and Tevez seemed like a fantastic option, specially given his proven chemistry with Cristiano. The list of his honours speaks for itself — he won stuff everywhere he went. He may have not been as naturally talented as, say, Benzema, but his insatiable hunger for winning more than made up for that.
Simply incredible goalkeeper. Not the flashiest one, but his control of the box was simply unparalleled. Schmeichel will always be my choice if only for a sentimental value, but Čech has a very strong claim on being the greatest PL goalkeeper ever if we combine the level of his performances with his incredible longevity.
- Most clean sheets in a season for Chelsea: 28 clean sheets in 2004–05.
- Most consecutive clean sheets for Chelsea in all competitions: 7 in 2005–06 (shared record)
- Most Premier League clean sheets in a season: 24 in 2004–05.
- Best European Goalkeeper: 2005, 2007
- UEFA Club Football Awards Best Goalkeeper: 2005, 2007
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2004
- Premier League Golden Glove: 2004–05
- PL record of 1,025 minutes without letting in a goal (later beaten by VDS)
One of my personal favourites, such a smart and versatile player. At this point he finalised his transition from midfield to left-back position, winning Champions League with Barcelona alongside Andrés Iniesta.
Nemanja Vidić (2008-2011)
I doubt that I need to talk much about him. Integral part of our greatest ever defensive unit, fire to Ferdinand’s ice, fearless and fearsome captain, he’ll fecking murder you (I’m legally obliged to specify that he actually won’t).
Rio Ferdinand (2006-2009)
Rolls-Royce of a defender, he really had it all — pace, power, composure & leadership ability. Sometimes it felt simply unfair to the opposition when Rio would gracefully and visibly effortlessly break their attack & stride forward with the ball at his feet.
Mauro Tassotti (1992-1995)
Tassotti was a part of the greatest club defense that ever were — Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta & Tassotti. He was an excellent defender with decent attacking contribution (something that is often overlooked when people talk about him). During this period he had reached three consecutive Champions League finals, captaining his team in the famous 4:0 demolition of Barca’s Dream Team (with Stoichkov & Romario) — where he and Maldini had to compensate for the absence of both Baresi & Costacurta. That 1993/94 season was outstanding in many ways — in the league Tassotti’s Milan won the league by scoring just 36 goals in 34 games, all because of their defense that conceded mere 15 goals throughout the entire season!
Dunga (1992-1995)
A player that got a whole era named after him! «Dunga Era» was a bit of a misrepresentation of him to be honest, he was not just a thug, but a very technically refined player with an outstanding passing range — even with an outside of his boot. Still, I can’t ask for a better player to patrol the zone in front of my defense. Scarily consistent, physical, with methodically accurate passing — with his performance in the World Cup final of 1994 being the highlight of that era.
Gaizka Mendieta (1998-2001)
Becoming UEFA Club Midfielder of the Season is no mean feat — let alone doing it twice in a row while competing with peak Redondo, Keane and Davids. Before his inexplicable failure at Lazio Mendieta was on his way to becoming a modern version of Johan Neeskens — starting out as a right back he developed in a fantastic all-rounded midfielder with endless energy, great passing range & dribbling and, of course, a special knack for scoring all sorts of goals. His performances from that peak period were borderline genius — winning multiple trophies with Valencia & leading them to two consecutive Champions League finals. Maybe I’ll do a gif of a moment from the game against Real Madrid that explains him the best — first he makes a last-ditch tackle on Raúl, who is already getting ready to shoot & a minute later he finds himself on the other side of the pitch, scoring the first goal of the game. Mendieta in a nutshell.
Andrés Iniesta (2009-2012)
Don Andrès is football. He doesn’t pull rabbits out of his hat, he pulls out big, beautiful peacocks.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2009-2012)
Weirdly enough, it’s somehow easy to forget just how good he was during his first years in Madrid, especially when you look at him now. He still had that flair & creativity, he was able to beat players for fun & even scored free kicks on a regular basis — all while scoring 50-60 goals per season. Best player in the draft.
Brian Laudrup (1994-1997)
Brian was always somewhat an enigma, but in his younger days he failed to consistently perform according to his talent, even though he had some wonderful moments at Bayern and Fiorentina and, obviously, there were the 1992 Euros. The move to Scotland worked wonders though as he finally matured and started providing outstanding performances week in week out. It’s not a coincidence that our resident Rangers fan (and my opponent today) put him ahead of the likes of Finney, Matthews, Rensenbrink & Beckham on his all-time wingers list, he was majestic. So elegant, so elusive with his dribbling (probably even more so than his older brother) — and so wonderfully unselfish. His former manager, John Greig, summed him up quite well — and this is why I’ve picked him next to a goal-hungry monster like Cristiano: «Apart from applying the ammunition, Brian Laudrup was also capable of scoring his share of goals, but I genuinely believe that he was embarrassed about scoring. He seemed to derive much more pleasure from making goals».
Carlos Tevez (2007-2010)
I needed someone hard-working, versatile and, well, still talented up front and Tevez seemed like a fantastic option, specially given his proven chemistry with Cristiano. The list of his honours speaks for itself — he won stuff everywhere he went. He may have not been as naturally talented as, say, Benzema, but his insatiable hunger for winning more than made up for that.
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3 for Romario, 2 for Stoichkov (not red cards this time). Typical Dream Team fare - end-to-end and we'll score one more than you. Look at the ball Guardiola funnels through for Romario's opener, the type of central defence-splitter that Pirlo mastered.