TEAM DOWNCAST
TEAM TUPPET
TEAM TUPPET
Reserves Draft | Downcast 6-7 Tuppet
- Thread starter Moby
- Start date
Team Downcast Tactics
THE ORANGE DREAM TEAM
INTRODUCTION
This game is a fantastic opportunity to pay tribute to Johan Cruyff and legendary teams that applied the principles of Total Football. So, I will add a touch of history to the draft and put into practice my philosophy.
TEAM INSTRUCTIONS
Formation : 4-3-3
Playing Style : Total Football
Defensive Line : High
PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS
ABIDAL - Left-Back - Career peak 2005-2009
BUZANSZKY - Right-Back - Career peak 1950-1956
DE BOER - Sweeper - Career peak 1992-2000
HULSHOFF - Centre-Back - Stopper - Career peak 1971-1974
PLUSKAL - Central Defensive Midfielder - Career peak 1958-1962
OSVALDO ARDILES - Central Midfielder - Box-to-Box - Career peak 1975-1978
GERRARD - Central Offensive Midfielder - Career peak 2003-2007
REP - Complete Right-Winger - Career peak 1971-78
RENSENBRINK - Complete Left-Winger - CaReer peak 1972-1978
LUIS SUAREZ - Complete Striker - Career peak 2012-16
TACTICAL LAYOUT
The term Total Football is often misused to describe any attacking football. In its purest form, Total Football is proactive, not counter-attacking, based on positional interchange and hard pressing.
The ability of Manuel NEUER to play as a sweeper allows my defenders to bomb forward when the team has possession of the ball.
Captain Frank DE BOER will command my defence as a sweeper. Barry HULSHOFF is a stopper who played a key role in the golden era of Ajax in their European Cup Victories in 1971,72,73. Eric ABIDAL was a famous reliable, quick and strong LB precious defensively and offensively. Jenő BUZANSZKY is another legendary RB, member of the Mighty Magyars that applied some ToTal Football principles.
Svatopluk PLUSKAL, one of the greatest DM to ever play in the CEIC, will be associated with the box-to-box Osvaldo César ARDILES - “The Python” who possess great passing abilities and dribbling skills. Steven GERRARD was - in his prime - a modern midfielder remarkable in movement in many midfield areas, organizing, work rates, leadership and superb long-shot. His work-rate, passing skills and ability to score in any circumstances are the welcome.
My line attack is comprised of two world-class Dutch wingers, 2 times FIFA WC Runner-Up in 1974 & 1978. El pistolero Luis Suarez is simply the best complete striker of the 2010s.
Please click below for a greater understanding of all my players.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/all-time-reserves-draft-round-of-16.416155/page-36#post-19075484
6 REASONS TO VOTE FOR THE ORANGE DREAM TEAM
I. PROVEN SUCCESSFUL TACTICAL SYSTEM 'TOTAL FOOTBALL'
II. PROVEN SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP REP-RENSENBRINK MAKE THE LINE ATTACK POWERFUL (sure, the opposing team has also excellent offensive players too)
III. DOWCAST READY TO WIN THE BATTLE MIDFIELD
IV. DEFENSIVE STRATEGY TO LIMIT THE INFLUENCE OF BICAN
VI. PARTNERSHIP SUAREZ with GERRARD AT HIS PRIME
IV. PLAYERS ABLE TO EXPLOIT THE IMPERFECTIONS OF THE OPPOSING STRATEGY
This post will be further detailed, explained and discussed in the following posts
Team Tuppet Tactics
Team Instructions
Formation : Fluid 4-3-3
Playing Style : Possession based control strategy.
Defensive Line : Slightly higher than normal
Player Instructions
Amadeo Carrizo - Sweeper Keeper
Leandro Ferriera - Attacking Right wing back
Morten Olsen - Ball playing center back
Roberto Perfumo - Centre Back - Stopper
Renzo De Vecchi - Defensive Left back
Danny Blanchflower - Central Midfielder - Deep lying playmaker
Rainer Bonhof - Central Midfielder - Defensive Box-to-Box Midfielder
Valentino Mazzola - Attacking Midfielder - Goalscoring attacking box to box midfielder.
Florian Albert - Second Striker - Creative Right Inside forward
Felix Loutsau - Left winger - Goalscoring left winger
Josef Bican - Striker - Primary goalscorer
Tactical Layout
Our team’s tactics could be summed up by these words of our primary playmaker Blanchflower -
The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.
We have a team where every player is comfortable with ball and our midfield should be able to dominate possession but we do not prioritize it, our main aim is to move the ball vertically quickly and use the blistering pace in our attack to create lots of chances.
Carrizo is widely known as the first sweeper keeper, rated the greatest south american goalkeeper by IFFHS, his presence lends confidence to our backline to push higher.
Roberto Perfumo is the best defender on the pitch. “The Martial” is rated as one of Argentina’s top 3 defenders and has a highly successful club and International career. His partnership with Passarella is replicated here with Olsen. Morten Olsen is regarded as the best libero since Backenbauer and Perfumo is perfect partner for covering his marauding runs.
On left I have Il Figlio di Dio" (The Son of God) , One of Italy’s greatest ever player and one of the finest defenders of all time Renzo De Vecchi. He would be more conservative of my fullbacks, allowing Leandro on the other end to play as attacking wing back and provide width on the right. A role he has played to perfection in Brazil 1982 and his club career. Leandro might get underrated here, but his honor list speaks for itself. 2 times Bola da Prata winner, he also won everything at club level including Copa Libertadoros. As a typical Brazilian attacking wing back there are very few better in the whole draft pool.
Midfield is comprised of Valentino Mazzola, Danny Blanchflower and Bonhof, 2 of these players are regarded legends in their respective positions. Blanchflower would be my primary playmaker, while also providing defensive nous. A supremely intelligent and gifted playmaker Blanchflower should be able to run this game. Bonhof would provide the work rate and legs in the midfield. A World cup and multiple euro cup winner, while also winning the league on many occasions at club level, Bonhof has the credentials to go with his fearsome reputation. He is also widely recognized as game’s hardest free kick taker.
Finally the crown jewel of my midfield is Valentino Mazola, one of the greatest Italian player of all time. I found it difficult to put down a modern role and position for him as his role simply does not exist anymore and the only other player I know who played like him with similar result is Di Stefano. As a player he was everywhere, combining brilliant defensive engine with fantastic goal scoring, probably the best way to describe him was -
“He alone is half the squad. The other half is made by the rest of us together.” (team-mate Mario Rigamonti).
He is regarded as first modern all round footballer, and was simply awesome at every phase of the game, from tackling to heading to scoring. And as an inspirational captain his record is probably unmatched, taking Torino to 5 league titles before he was cruelly take away from footballing world, There are many pretenders of inspirational captains role (Looking at a certain midfielder in my opposition) but Mazzola is the gold standard of inspiring teams to snatch improbable victories, his rolled up sleeves would definitely inspire my team to perform to next level.
My Attack is spearheaded by officially the most prolific goal scorer of all time Josef Bican. Now I anticipate there would be a lot of discussion regarding his era and opposition but no one can deny the numbers he put up. 800+ goals, with 600+ league goals in 537 games !! and 34 goals in 29 international games. Again without footage etc, its easy to argue that he faced easier opposition but Just look at the company he is with, Romario, Pele, Puskas and Muller. One of the fastest player of all time (100 meters in 10.8 sec), he would punish any defense in any era. In his own words -
“I heard so many times that it was easier to score in my day,” he said.
“But the chances were the same a hundred years ago and will be the same a hundred years from now.”
And there is no doubt that he would get chances in this game.
On left I have Felix Loustau, a key member of arguably the greatest attacking force La Maquina. Loustau was a fast, goalscoring winger with great crossing ability. He won 3 consecutive Copa America and scored more than 100 goals.
Finally to bring it all together I have one of the greatest second striker in Florian Albert. A Ballon D’or winner, he would be playing off Bican in a free role, operating mostly on the right side, but interchanging freely with Mazzola, when he drops deep.
Some fantastic posts about him are made in this thread - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/florian-albert-passed-away.342730/
I’ll make more points about the game in the thread itself, but overall I believe that my attack and midfield is just too much to handle by any defense, and there are far too many goals in my team for us to be outscored. I have the best striker, the best defender and the best midfielder on the pitch in my team.
0. HISTORY OF TOTAL FOOTBALL
TotaalVoetbal is the label given to an influential tactical theory of football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was best known by the Netherlands National Football Team in the 1974 FIFA WC.
The foundations for Total Football were laid by Jack Reynolds, who was the manager of AJAX from 1915–1925, 1928–1940, and 1945–1947.
Early exponents of Total Football were Real Madrid, Brazilian side Santos F.C., the Golden Team of Hungary and English side Burnley F.C. in the 1950s.
The ill-fated Austrian "Wunderteam" of the 1930s is also credited in some circles as being the first national team to play Total Football. It is no coincidence that Ernst Happel managed some Dutch clubs in the late 60s and early 70 and then the Netherlands national team in the 1978 World Cup, where they again finished as runners-up.
Hungary also had a big role in laying down the tactical fundaments of Total Football in the 1950s, dominating international football with the remarkable Golden Team which included legends like captain Ferenc Puskás.
During this era Ajax played some of their finest football ever, achieving home wins (46–0–0) for two full seasons (1971–72 and 1972–73), just one defeat in the whole of the 1971–72 season, and celebrating four titles in 1972 (the Netherlands national league, KNVB Cup, European Cup and Intercontinental Cup).
Cruyff summed up his Total Football philosophy:
We will see later why it is a hard thing and why my team is a beautiful incarnation of this philosophy.Now, you are in a position to understand some choices:
AJAX: Rep, Rensenbrik, Hulshoff, De Boer, Suarez
F.C.Barcelona: De Boer, Suarez, Abidal
Holland: Rep, Rensenbrik, Hulshoff, De Boer
Golden Team of Hungary: Buzánszky
TotaalVoetbal is the label given to an influential tactical theory of football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was best known by the Netherlands National Football Team in the 1974 FIFA WC.
The foundations for Total Football were laid by Jack Reynolds, who was the manager of AJAX from 1915–1925, 1928–1940, and 1945–1947.
Early exponents of Total Football were Real Madrid, Brazilian side Santos F.C., the Golden Team of Hungary and English side Burnley F.C. in the 1950s.
The ill-fated Austrian "Wunderteam" of the 1930s is also credited in some circles as being the first national team to play Total Football. It is no coincidence that Ernst Happel managed some Dutch clubs in the late 60s and early 70 and then the Netherlands national team in the 1978 World Cup, where they again finished as runners-up.
Hungary also had a big role in laying down the tactical fundaments of Total Football in the 1950s, dominating international football with the remarkable Golden Team which included legends like captain Ferenc Puskás.
During this era Ajax played some of their finest football ever, achieving home wins (46–0–0) for two full seasons (1971–72 and 1972–73), just one defeat in the whole of the 1971–72 season, and celebrating four titles in 1972 (the Netherlands national league, KNVB Cup, European Cup and Intercontinental Cup).
Cruyff summed up his Total Football philosophy:
FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team play a style of football known as "tiki-taka" that has roots in the philosophy of Total Football's greatest icon Johan Cruyff, who was manager of Barcelona from 1988 to 1996.
We will see later why it is a hard thing and why my team is a beautiful incarnation of this philosophy.Now, you are in a position to understand some choices:
AJAX: Rep, Rensenbrik, Hulshoff, De Boer, Suarez
F.C.Barcelona: De Boer, Suarez, Abidal
Holland: Rep, Rensenbrik, Hulshoff, De Boer
Golden Team of Hungary: Buzánszky
Another Mondrian wannabe, this time with the arrows 
I. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MODERN TOTAL FOOTBALL
In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure.
Traditional Total Football: In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.
Modern Total Football: the idea is to have very limited exchanges of roles over a very short period of time. So, I don't want Luis Suarez as a Sweeper
BUT I know he is authorized to exhange his role with Rep or Rensenbrink for instance as he did with Barcelona
The only player who must stay in a specified position is Manuel Neuer.
However, Neuer is important given his technical skills and read of the game. His ability to play as a sweeper allows my defenders to bomb forward when the team has possession of the ball. He thus stays higher up the field, and does the job of a sweeper by clearing long balls or defence splitting balls which could cause damage. So, my back four playing a high line, my extra defender will stifle the opposition forwards, if they beat the offside trap.
His distribution will make happy my wingers.
Space and the creation of it were central to the concept of Total Football. Ajax defender Barry Hulshoff explained how the team that won the European Cup in 1971, 1972, and 1973 worked it to their advantage:
That is why, we have
- Luis Suarez: successful in diverse tactical systems with Uruguay, Liverpool, Barcelona or Ajax
- Rep: Right-winger (1974 WC Final) and Central Forward (1978 WC Final)
- Rensenbrik: Left-Winger (1974 & 78 WC Final), Forward (Anderlecht)
- Pluskal: DM or CB positions (3 WC participations)
- Abidal: Left-Back (2006 WC Final), Sweeper with Monaco
- Frank De Boer: Sweeper (1998 WC Semi-Finalist), Left-Back
- Manuel Neuer: Goalkeeper-Sweeper
--> PROVEN SUCCESSFUL TACTICAL SYSTEM IN WHICH
1. All my players play in their natural position and possess the experience or attributes/skills required.
2. Rensenbrik, Rep, Hulshoff, De Boer and Busanszky enjoyed massive success in a pure total football configuration.
In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure.
Traditional Total Football: In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.
Modern Total Football: the idea is to have very limited exchanges of roles over a very short period of time. So, I don't want Luis Suarez as a Sweeper
BUT I know he is authorized to exhange his role with Rep or Rensenbrink for instance as he did with Barcelona The only player who must stay in a specified position is Manuel Neuer
.However, Neuer is important given his technical skills and read of the game. His ability to play as a sweeper allows my defenders to bomb forward when the team has possession of the ball. He thus stays higher up the field, and does the job of a sweeper by clearing long balls or defence splitting balls which could cause damage. So, my back four playing a high line, my extra defender will stifle the opposition forwards, if they beat the offside trap.
His distribution will make happy my wingers.
Space and the creation of it were central to the concept of Total Football. Ajax defender Barry Hulshoff explained how the team that won the European Cup in 1971, 1972, and 1973 worked it to their advantage:
My tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of any of my players, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.
That is why, we have
- Luis Suarez: successful in diverse tactical systems with Uruguay, Liverpool, Barcelona or Ajax
- Rep: Right-winger (1974 WC Final) and Central Forward (1978 WC Final)
- Rensenbrik: Left-Winger (1974 & 78 WC Final), Forward (Anderlecht)
- Pluskal: DM or CB positions (3 WC participations)
- Abidal: Left-Back (2006 WC Final), Sweeper with Monaco
- Frank De Boer: Sweeper (1998 WC Semi-Finalist), Left-Back
- Manuel Neuer: Goalkeeper-Sweeper
--> PROVEN SUCCESSFUL TACTICAL SYSTEM IN WHICH
1. All my players play in their natural position and possess the experience or attributes/skills required.
2. Rensenbrik, Rep, Hulshoff, De Boer and Busanszky enjoyed massive success in a pure total football configuration.
You should be aware of the 'process' :-DAnother Mondrian wannabe, this time with the arrows
II. PROVEN SUCCESSFUL COHESIVE LINE ATTACK - Please open the spoilers
1. My offensive STYLE OF PLAY from a TACTICAL perspective
2. My 2 wingers played together a key role in the successes of Holland: FIFA WC Runners-up in 1974 + in 1978 without Johan Cruyff.
1974 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL
1978 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL
3. Luis Suarez played for Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona and Uruguay: pure killer in any circumstances. In 2015/16, he has scored 45 goals so far.
2015/16:
4. Rep & Rensenbink were successful against Perfumo in the past
NETHERLANDS 4-1 ARGENTINA - Rensenbrink scored - International friendly in May 1974
http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.coupe.pays-bas.argentine.51377.fr.html
NETHERLANDS 4-0 ARGENTINA - Rep scored - WC in June 1974
http://www.goal.com/en-za/match/netherlands-vs-argentina/156807/stats
1. My offensive STYLE OF PLAY from a TACTICAL perspective
2. My 2 wingers played together a key role in the successes of Holland: FIFA WC Runners-up in 1974 + in 1978 without Johan Cruyff.
1974 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL
2015/16:
4. Rep & Rensenbink were successful against Perfumo in the past
NETHERLANDS 4-1 ARGENTINA - Rensenbrink scored - International friendly in May 1974
http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.coupe.pays-bas.argentine.51377.fr.html
NETHERLANDS 4-0 ARGENTINA - Rep scored - WC in June 1974
http://www.goal.com/en-za/match/netherlands-vs-argentina/156807/stats
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I know but I thought the issue was high-resolution pictures and medias.
Sure, I will implement spoilers for my previous posts.
@Downcast have to say it was literally a WTF moment for me when I scrolled below the formations post. Will have to look into it before I comprehend it
Otherwise Tuppet's team looks solid as always. From first glance downcast attacking trio tho looks awesome.
Otherwise Tuppet's team looks solid as always. From first glance downcast attacking trio tho looks awesome.
@Downcast have to say it was literally a WTF moment for me when I scrolled below the formations post. Will have to look into it before I comprehend it
Otherwise Tuppet's team looks solid as always. From first glance downcast attacking trio tho looks awesome.
You will understand my strategy if you read the post "II. PROVEN SUCCESSFUL COHESIVE LINE ATTACK - Please open the spoilers" with examples of team compositions.Feels like pilot advanced flying courses instructions - turn to page #434 and look at Appendix 2 - starting the engine.
Feels like pilot advanced flying courses instructions - turn to page #434 and look at Appendix 2 - starting the engine.
Yeah don't be surprised to see 'almost hidden clauses in small letters" because the evil is always in the details
Best of luck @Downcast , voting for myself to see the scores easily (Damn thing takes 5 minutes to show after clicking view score), you should probably do that as well.
I have to wait @Tuppet
1-1 very tight game
Nice attacking forces from both sides. I want to know how the managers think they can stop their opponent from scoring.
The orange theme sounds good to me.
The orange theme sounds good to me.
Very hard to sing this song in a stadium!
But you're absolutely right: I need a hymn! I have to find it.
A regular tune in my younger, partying days.THE ORANGE SONG
Votes of musician lovers: ACCOMPLISHED MISSION
Votes of musician lovers: ACCOMPLISHED MISSION
I have to prepare some posts in order to explain:
- why I am confident in my ability to win the Midfield battle
- the 'imperfections' of the opposing strategy
- my defensive strategy
I will explain my understanding of the Midfield Battle in the next 30 minutes.
@harms
Rep is considered as a legend at Saint-Etienne.
Positively surprised that you heard this song, not at all famous in France!
Rep is considered as a legend at Saint-Etienne.
Positively surprised that you heard this song, not at all famous in France!
III. DOWCAST READY TO WIN THE BATTLE MIDFIELD - Please open the spoilers
1. No traditional playmaker like Mazzola (Tuppet) so I have 3 warriors in the middle of the park: high work-rate
Gerrard has better defensive skills than Mazzola
2. HARD PRESSING but not as hard as below in 1974 because my Total Football has to be MODERN !!
Should I repeat that my 2 Dutch wingers and Perfumo were on the pitch ? And that Netherlands won?
3. Florian Albert knows that Pluskal is brilliant
Czechoslovakia 1-0 Hungary - 1962 WC
Pluskal (Czechoslovakia) & Albert (Hungary) were on the pitch
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=232/match=1525/index.html#nosticky
1. No traditional playmaker like Mazzola (Tuppet) so I have 3 warriors in the middle of the park: high work-rate
Gerrard has better defensive skills than Mazzola
2. HARD PRESSING but not as hard as below in 1974 because my Total Football has to be MODERN !!
Should I repeat that my 2 Dutch wingers and Perfumo were on the pitch ? And that Netherlands won?
3. Florian Albert knows that Pluskal is brilliant
Czechoslovakia 1-0 Hungary - 1962 WC
Pluskal (Czechoslovakia) & Albert (Hungary) were on the pitch
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=232/match=1525/index.html#nosticky
IV. PARTNERSHIP SUAREZ WITH GERRARD AT HIS PRIME: THE LOVE STORY - Please open the spoilers
1. Gerrard admires Suarez
2. The perfect positioning of Gerrard who will enjoy a lot of freedom behind Suarez as he did at his prime behind Torres
3. Gerrard: one the greatest English Midfielders of All-Time
What did Sir Alex Ferguson think about Gerrard ?
1. Gerrard admires Suarez
2. The perfect positioning of Gerrard who will enjoy a lot of freedom behind Suarez as he did at his prime behind Torres
ECL FINAL 2007
ECL FINAL 2005
ECL FINAL 2005
3. Gerrard: one the greatest English Midfielders of All-Time
What did Sir Alex Ferguson think about Gerrard ?
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/2299150/fergies-gerrard-admiration
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My feelings now in this thread:
The only right thing about this quote is that you do not have a playmaker. Mazzola is hardly the playmaker of my team anyway, he is more of a goalscoring box to box midfielder. The classic playmaker of my team is Blanchflower. I see a lack of creativity in your midfield.
On the basis of what again ? Mazzola is widely known as a complete player. A neutral third party site like pes (Forgive me lord for I have sinned !!) rates Mazzola's defensive contribution higher than Gerrard. Mazzola is also widely regarded as one of the greatest player of all time, capable of playing literally anywhere on the pitch including goalkeeping.
The 100 Greatest Footballers of All-time
44. Giacinto Facchetti (Italy)
45. Nils Liedholm (Sweden)
46. Valentino Mazzola (Italy)
47. Rivaldo (Brazil)
Greatest Italian players rating (Gazetta)
7: Francesco Totti
6: Valentino Mazzola
5: Paolo Maldini
4: Gigi Riva
The 100 Greatest Footballers of All-time (Pantethon)
51 Michael Laudrup
50 Raymond Kopa
49 Luis Monti
48 Mattias Sindelar
47 Valentino Mazzola
46 Sepp Maier
45 Bobby Charlton
Frankly Gerrard is outclassed in pretty much every department compared to Mazzola. To be even more frank I think your midfield as a whole is outclassed man to man against mine. Blanchflower-Bonhof-Mazzola are simply better at technical and playmaking skills.
More on Mazzola - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-third-redcafe-sheep-draft.411575/page-53#post-18494350
Thats a weird argument really, and I am sure is tounge in cheek. I am also sure you don't want me to repeat when your 2 dutch wingers and Bonhof were on the pitch in a world cup final, Bonhof assisted the winning goal and the Netherlands lost.
Yet another same pitch argument. Are you really using a world cup tournament as an example against Albert where he was awarded the best young player and won the golden boot?
I dont really have a special tactical plan to stop opponent attack, nor do I think I need one. I don't honestly see either team not scoring in this game. My plan is simply to rely upon my defense which is superior. Perfumo is the best defender on the pitch and has great support in the form of Olsen and De Vecchi. While Bonhof - Blanchflower is a great shield in front.
My attack is also superior, Albert-Bican is an absolutely smashing partnership which offers everything from incredible goalscoring stats to creativity, blistering pace and mazy dribbling.
Albert -
256 goals in 351 appearance (Club)
31 goals in 75 appearance (International)
And he was not even the primary striker !! The ballon d'or winner creative forward along with officially the most prolific striker in the history of game. I see no way Downcast's defense can deal with this. Factor in the incredible goal scoring threat from midfield by Mazzola (Serie A top scorer in a season) and I fail to see how my team would not outscore the opponents.
THE CASE OF MAZZOLA - PART I
Let's be clear: Valentino Mazzola is a fantastic player BUT I understand he is a traditional playmaker, a #10 and not a #8 (box-to-box).
A box-to-box can't score 118 goals in 195 games with Torino.
Let's be clear: Valentino Mazzola is a fantastic player BUT I understand he is a traditional playmaker, a #10 and not a #8 (box-to-box).
A box-to-box can't score 118 goals in 195 games with Torino.
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THE CASE OF MAZZOLA - PART II
The name of this guy is Mazzola and you say "he is not a playmaker"
Very strange
You have a guy between 2 very defensive midfielders and 3 very offensive players (Bican + Albert + Loustau).
The name of this guy is Mazzola and you say "he is not a playmaker"
Very strange
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THE CASE OF BONHOF - PART I
I compare players evolving in the same area on a pitch:
- strikers against defenders
- defenders against strikers
- midfielders against midfielders
So, you can't really & directly compare the performance of the defensive midfielder Bonhof VERSUS a winger.
I compare players evolving in the same area on a pitch:
- strikers against defenders
- defenders against strikers
- midfielders against midfielders
So, you can't really & directly compare the performance of the defensive midfielder Bonhof VERSUS a winger.
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As I mentioned before, the Mazzola's and Di Stefano's of the world could not be put in a static position like #10 or #8, I am only trying to approximate his position here. But he was a player who can and did used to play at every part of the pitch. His defensive contribution was absolutely top notch, and its the reason of his legendry status that he score so many goals while doing all that defensive work.
Dunno why its very strange, when you just said the exact same thing about Gerrard (who is between 2 defensive midfielders and 3 offrensive players and is not playmaker as per you)
Not comparing performance but impact, anyway I did not believe that the our draft game would be decided on a one off game.
Went for @Tuppet - nice team!
THE CASE OF MAZZOLA - PART III
Please feel free to say he was also an an excellent Sweeper.
Sure, Mazzola is a fantastic player but you unnecessarily oversell him: "box-to-box" with "top defensive skills" while he is described by Wikipedia as a #10 and we all know he has the stats of a forward.
Please feel free to say he was also an an excellent Sweeper.
I agree.
From my perspective, the most important key factor of success is the consistency of a strategy.