------------------------------------------ TEAM HARMS/EAP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEAM GSTQ --------------------------------------------------------
Formation: 4-3-3
Tactics:
Flexible front 3 with interchanging positions.
Solid defence with good blend of solidity and ball playing ability.
Deschamps as the defensive pivot with two all round B2B CMs in Masopust and Modric. Both are top notch creators from the deep with high workrate and ability to bridge defence and offence.
3 top notch forwards who are flexible and all scoring and creating for each other.
TEAM GSTQ
MAIN FORMATION
Tactical approach - Defend narrowly, hit hard on the counters (especially through the wings). Dominate possession but with aggressive quick transitions from back to front when in possession rather than lingering on the ball for ages.
Special task - Germano starts as a destroyer and is expected to man mark Messi like a shadow wherever he goes. Although he was primarily a CB, he played as a DM often too due to the complete nature of his game, versatility and good passing skills with both feet. A few historians have referred to him as the first Beckenbauer. His versatility of being capable of performing both as a CB and DM made me go this route. He can drop back in defense if one of Maldini and Djalma has to drift significantly wide. That still leaves the midfield with a base of Matthaus and Neeskens which is still pretty great off the ball.
Why was the formation chosen ?
1. In false 9 based formations, the attack is quite centrally oriented, so making the team defend narrowly made a lot of sense to me.
2. It also gives me the opportunity to make sure there is never a numbers disadvantage in midfield. The false 9 diamond is well countered by my own midfield diamond.
3. This also gives Matthaus and Neeskens a lot of freedom to harrass the opponents when in possession without worrying about counters and tracking Messi. Can Deschamps/Modric/Masopust realistically handle Zidane/Matthaus/Neeskens ?
4. Even against a goat attack, Maldini-Figueroa-Djalma is as good a back 3 as it gets.
5. Also, the opponent has only one fullback who can really be classified as a proper width providing wingback. Junior is hardly ideal for this setup.
6. A narrow defense should also force the opponents fullbacks to push high which is something we would want to happen so that we can drag them out and hit them hard on the counters with Dzajic and Finney. The fullbacks' runs forward are expected to be tracked by Neeskens and Matthaus.
What if Edgar doesn't go with Messi as a false 9 and rather plays him on the right wing in a 4-3-3?
The team would then start in a 4-2-3-1 formation as in the below image (kindly update the OP in case Edgar starts Messi on the right)
Style of play - Free flowing attacking foot]
