Quaranteam draft - R1: Enigma vs Boris

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

vs
........................................................... TEAM ENIGMA ............................................................................................................................. TEAM BORIS ........................................................


Team Enigma

Formation: 4-3-3
Style: direct, press in the middle, don't give opposition much time on the ball.

Defence:
Oliver Kahn is our last line of defence - one of Bayern and Germany all time greats is a complete keeper who had an enormous presence in the box and one of the greatest commanding his area. Alongside him is his partner in crime - Bixente Lizarazu who won it all at every level and was instrumental in both phases in the game. His overlapping runs will come in handy with Villa cutting in and attacking the box. Eric Gerets is another full back famous for his engine and stamina levels, that can allow him man the whole flank. He will be supporting Robben but also his physical stature and defensive acumen will come in handy minding Gento on the left. Ciro Ferrara and Bergomi are familiar couple, each one of them pretty complete defenders being able to play in multiple positions and comfortable on the ball. Bergomi will mind Lewa most of the time and his man marking acumen is proven on all levels.

Midfield:
Xabi Alonso at the base is in his familiar role screening the defense and also start attacks from deep. Having Villa, Robben and Greaves running behind the defence gives him a multiple targets to start quick and lethal counters when the opposition is on the backfoot. Alongside him we have our very own United legend and midfield general in Bryan Robson who provides us withe the engine and presence in the middle of the pitch, but has also the fluid passing game to get things ticking in the middle of the park. He plays with a lot of intensity that would put pressure on the opposition and force mistakes. Iniesta will be in his best and familiar role - break and move between the lines, drive the ball forward and link with the attack. His dribbling ability will give us numerical advantage in the final third an the ability to see the pass and release a team mate is appreciated, especially when we have a fluid front three with great off the ball movement.

Attack:
Fluid and interchangeable front three is a mix of goalscoring ability, off the ball presence, pace and technique can give any opposition a torrid time. Robben vs Evra is a familiar battle and Robben always gave Paddy a headache on the flank, scoring in 4 out of their 6 games in between (4 in last 4). Villa and Greaves are both prolific strikers being able to operate all across the attack and their pace, trickery and goalscoring nous will give any defender a nightmare.


Team Boris

The back five somewhat resemble the defence United had in the late 00s, with Ferdinand and Godin providing a very well balanced CB partnership, Evra on the left in cautious role and Jorginho on the right given the freedom to push up the flank and provide width.

In the centre of midfield I have again gone for the balance with the hardwork and tackling capabilities of Syzmaniak paired with the playmaking brilliance of Gerson. Figo will have almost a free role when we have the ball, drifting infield and linking up with Schiaffino, playing as a 10/inside left hybrid. Gento will stand on the touchline and look to get crosses in or use his speed to make diagonal runs on to passes depending on the situation. Lewangoalski.

What I would be looking for from this team are a coule of routes to goal, Gento stretches the play which in theory opens up space between the lines for some GOAT level link up play and creativity from Schiaffino and Figo, feeding off and into Lewandowski. Figo also has the capability to stay wide, and alongside Gento would provide a good level of crosses into the box, as well as the dribbling capabilities to take players out of the game and potentially create overloads.

2mufc0 did a very good profile on Syzmaniak;
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/p-g-draft-r1-isotope-vs-2mufc0.440647/#post-22909335

Antohan likewise on Schiaffino
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/chain-draft-main-thread.408307/post-18083232

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Enigma_87 @BorisDeLeFora All the best!

 

[harms]

I’m usually all for creative use & adaptability of both Iniesta and Robson, but something feels off about that partnership.

 

[Enigma_87]

Thanks for setting it up @Edgar Allan Pillow and best of luck @BorisDeLeFora !

I’m usually all for creative use & adaptability of both Iniesta and Robson, but something feels off about that partnership.

With Iniesta I was sure that it would be harder for some to envision him outside tiki taka, but considering his strengths and adaptability I feel that he shouldn't be viewed as one trick pony.

It's a direct side that is Robbo's forte, so your concerns are directed probably of Iniesta fitting in rather than Robbo. Either way it's not a unit like Xaviesta or just the two of them meshing together, but rather them fitting in their roles and inside the team mechanics as a whole.

Now in terms of roles they don't overlap in their responsibilities and with Alonso at the base all three of them compliment and dovetail nicely in what they are tasked to do - Xabi holding, shielding the back four, Robbo in his favorite B2B role and Iniesta in the attacking midfield role breaking the lines and linking up play.

It's true that the side as a whole fits Robbo to a tee and gives him the stage to put an influential performance on both ends. In a sense the side isn't build around particular player (be it Robbor or Iniesta, despite being top two picks) but rather playing in an unit that suits their strengths.

Outside tiki taka Iniesta shined at international level and was key in all campaigns they entered during their dominance, where Iniesta proved himself to be extremely versatile and occupying auxiliary roles on both wings and either as a winger (left/right) or attacking midfielder. In 08/10 Spain didn't enjoy 70%+ possession but they were much more direct and whilst they did dominate most of their games(especially later in 2012) their style was different compared to the total control of tiki taka, and Iniesta played in 3-4 roles showcasing his versatility when call upon.

Of course if we would play a tiki taka naturally every player should fit in the team mechanics and requires a specific cast to pull it off, but in this case we are not looking to replicate Iniesta's role in Barca rather than use his strengths to dominate the midfield (rather than put a classic #10).

As for Robson himself, as I said he's used to play at lightning speed, but also he has the technique and touch to blend in nicely in a dominating team. He's not a Makelele type of midfielder but an all action midfielder with a great vision for a pass and touch to keep the ball under pressure.

 

[General_Elegancia]

Honestly,@Enigma_87 team is a perfect team.
My ideal mf would be 1am+1box to box+1dm and this team has it all (I count Alonso as dm,you can check his yellow cards).
Enigma another good points is full-backs.Both of his full-backs are balance-minded so both can defense and attack.
Villa and Robben are inside-fowards that have great goalscoring records,There front 3 is gonna be scary.

On @BorisDeLeFora team,a great team as well.
but in my only opinion(I don't know who think same as me),your team lack another goalscoring-threads.
So,when Lewan is well marked by Bergomi despite you have a lot of creative forces like Figo,Gerson,Schaffino,I still think they need another goalscoring thread.
You should replace Gento with another great-goalscoring ss.Gento was great sure fast as hell,great dribbler,not a bad passer but he's not the most fit in your team.

@BorisDeLeFora @Enigma_87

 

[Isotope]

Honestly,@Enigma_87 team is a perfect team.
My ideal mf would be 1am+1box to box+1dm and this team has it all (I count Alonso as dm,you can check his yellow cards).
Enigma another good points is full-backs.Both of his full-backs are balance-minded so both can defense and attack.
Villa and Robben are inside-fowards that have great goalscoring records,There front 3 is gonna be scary.

On @BorisDeLeFora team,a great team as well.
but in my only opinion(I don't know who think same as me),your team lack another goalscoring-threads.
So,when Lewan is well marked by Bergomi despite you have a lot of creative forces like Figo,Gerson,Schaffino,I still think they need another goalscoring thread.
You should replace Gento with another great-goalscoring ss.Gento was great sure fast as hell,great dribbler,not a bad passer but he's not the most fit in your team.

@BorisDeLeFora @Enigma_87

Good call on needed more firepower in Boris'. I'm not familiar with Schiaffino, but his goal/game stats shows he's more of playmaker. Otherwise, it's a very balanced team. I like that Gento (pure winger) and Figo (winger/AM) combo.

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

Point taken on goal threat, the idea when building the team was to force teams to drop deeper and create the space for a number of playmakers to operate, but yeah they're then in a way only creating chances for only one player. Granted Schiaffino and Gento were roughly a goal every 3.5 games so it's not awful, but probably need a higher rate on this level of quality.

 

[Enigma_87]

Honestly,@Enigma_87 team is a perfect team.
My ideal mf would be 1am+1box to box+1dm and this team has it all (I count Alonso as dm,you can check his yellow cards).
Enigma another good points is full-backs.Both of his full-backs are balance-minded so both can defense and attack.
Villa and Robben are inside-fowards that have great goalscoring records,There front 3 is gonna be scary.

On @BorisDeLeFora team,a great team as well.
but in my only opinion(I don't know who think same as me),your team lack another goalscoring-threads.
So,when Lewan is well marked by Bergomi despite you have a lot of creative forces like Figo,Gerson,Schaffino,I still think they need another goalscoring thread.
You should replace Gento with another great-goalscoring ss.Gento was great sure fast as hell,great dribbler,not a bad passer but he's not the most fit in your team.

@BorisDeLeFora @Enigma_87

Cheers, mate!

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

I'm not sure on Syzmaniak. Is he a holder or a attacking left half?

Enigma's midfield looks a bit light defensively, but see no problems in this match. Gerrard is a (very) poor man's Robson so that works. I like the dynamic as having Iniesta kinda highlights Robson's b2b abilities. A more stout DM than Xabi might be considered.

 

[harms]

Went with Enigma but I feel like this one is very close. Not sure if his incredibly loopsided graphic helped Boris on this one.

 

[Gio]

Tight one.

Presentationally I think a clear front 3 with Gento and Figo flanking Lewandowski would look more compelling.

Would love to see more of Schiaffino. That's the problem with the full-match rule, these guys on the fringes are just dropping off the radar.

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

Good game @Enigma_87 , I was too far behind too quickly so kind of made the motivation to fight back more difficult.

Is the graphic that lopsided idk. Gento is instructed to stay high and wide, and Figo as a narrow side player coming infield allowing Jorginho overlap. Fair enough it doesn't look like a standard template formation graphic, but this is how I set up my manual formations on Pro Evo 5 and if it was good enough for me then it's good enough for me now.

 

[Enigma_87]

Good game @Enigma_87 , I was too far behind too quickly so kind of made the motivation to fight back more difficult.

Is the graphic that lopsided idk. Gento is instructed to stay high and wide, and Figo as a narrow side player coming infield allowing Jorginho overlap. Fair enough it doesn't look like a standard template formation graphic, but this is how I set up my manual formations on Pro Evo 5 and if it was good enough for me then it's good enough for me now.

Thanks, mate! Great team yourself and not much in it. Quality all across and not much to say as a weakness of your team.

 

[Isotope]

... Fair enough it doesn't look like a standard template formation graphic, but this is how I set up my manual formations on Pro Evo 5 and if it was good enough for me then it's good enough for me now.