TEAM MICHAELF
My team will play a 4-2-3-1 formation. I will now provide some details of what I consider to be my teams strengths and/or advantages in this match up. Further details on the players at these particular clubs will be provided in the match thread.
- My teams attack down the right hand flank particularly given I do not notice any specialist LB's in my opponent's team. In his 5 seasons at Palmeiras, Arce was always included in the ideal team of the America's (finishing joint 2nd in the South American Footballer of the Year in 1999) and won the Bola de Prata as the best RB in the Braziian top flight in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Arce was a brilliant crosser from both set pieces and open play with this post describing him as the best he'd seen. Arce is complimented by Mbappe who during his time at PSG has always been in the Ligue 1 team of the season (excluding 19-20 where this team wasn't selected), has been the Ligue 1 Player of the Year every time bar 1 (excluding 19-20 where this award was not given) and has been Ligue 1 top goalscorer 5 times (out of 6).
- Goals win matches and I feel like my team has many goalscoring threats. In addition to Mbappe mentioned earlier Jose Manuel Moreno, who in 1980 was given the Konex Platinum Award as the best player in the history of Argentine Football, between 1936 and 1939 in the Argentine league scored 24 in 33, 32 in 31, 24 in 31, and 20 in 24. Striker Ove Kindvall in his 5 years at Feyenoord finished as the top goalscorer in the Dutch league 3 times (67/68, 68/69 and 70/71) finishing 4= (with Cruyff) in the 1969 Ballon d'Or
- I feel like the abilities of my central defensive pairing mesh well with the pace, strength and aerial ability of Sol Campbell being partnered by Anatoli Bashashkin who during his 2 spells at CSKA was chosen by the National Coaches Council as the best player in his position 4 times (50, 51, 55 and 56). When former teammate and future CSKA and USSR manager Valentin Nikolayev said that Beckenbauer reminded him of Bashashkin "In terms of physique, style of play and behavior on the field, reliability and technique of playing on defense, speed, game thinking, if they were put side by side, it would be indistinguishable from each other. Of course, this only applied to defensive actions, attacking raids with the completion of attacks, which Beckenbauer brilliantly practiced, were not encouraged in our times." (Source) In 2003 former Lokomotiv Moscow and USSR striker Valentin Bubukin described Bashashkin's ball playing abilities as follows "Bashashkin began to organize the attack of his team. Instantly assessing the situation on the field, he gave an accurate pass to a partner in a better position" (Source). Bubukin concluded that "I am firmly convinced that Anatoly Vasilyevich would still be one of the strongest central defenders in European football today." (Source)
TEAM HARMS
The inspiration for this team is, hopefully, clear – it’s a traditional W-M formation that was reinvigorated by Guardiola this season by moving Stones (Marquinhos in this case) in midfield. It fits my oldies quite well – inside-left Vukas and inside-right Bobek slot into their roles perfectly (both were quite all-rounded attackers – creative, outstanding dribblers and goalscorers) and Julinho taking up his usual role as an outside right (Brazil only switched to front 4 with his successor, Garrincha). Before City did it this season I didn’t think that it was possible to recreate with so many defenders (who are good but not truly outstanding with the ball) but now I wanted to try it for myself – and there’s no doubt that the technical ability of my front 6 (excluding Marquinhos) is simply outstanding.
At the back I have the cool head of René Henriksen (Danish player of the year in 2000, during his stint at Panathinaikos), a defender who relied more on his reading on the game than on physique, surrounded by physical monsters in Ruggeri and Fernandes. The latter played in every defensive role on the right – from centre back to wing back – and with his height and athleticism he would be a great Walker replacement; Ruggeri was usually deployed centrally even though he had spent a lot of his peak in a back three and his pace and experience would help me a lot on the left. Marquinhos is obviously there in a hybrid role, dropping deeper in the defensive phase – I wanted to have a defender with a significant experience of playing in midfield at the highest level and he’s certainly the one for the job. Ardiles is partnering him in midfield engine and he’s going to help my team a lot under pressure with his dribbling skills and endless stamina.
I’ve already spoke about Vukas & Bobek – two of Yugoslavia’s all-time greats – who slot in nicely in their natural roles and up front they’re partnered with Henrik Larsson: a very complete striker who will serve as a point of reference in the opposing box. While on the right we have the original right wing wizard from Brazil, Julinho, on the right it’s Paulo Futre, one of the greatest wingers of the 80’s who at his peak finished 2nd in a Ballon d’Or vote (on the back of his last season at Porto).
Bernard Vukas:
In 2000, he was voted by the Croatian Football Federation as the best Croatian player of all Time, and in a poll by Večernji List, he was voted the best Croatian athlete of the 20th century.
He came to Hajduk Split in 1947 and stayed there until 1957, playing 202 games and scoring 89 goals. With Hajduk, Vukas won the Yugoslav First League title on three occasions, in 1950, 1952 and 1955, and he was the league's top scorer in the 1954–55 season with 20 goals. In 1950, Vukas helped Hajduk win the Yugoslav First League undefeated, a record which has never been broken.
Stjepan Bobek:
Usually a forward or attacking midfielder, Bobek was renowned for his technique, vision and goalscoring ability and is commonly regarded as one of Yugoslavia's greatest players.
During his time in Partizan, he played 468 games and scored 403 goals, still holding the club record. Bobek won two Yugoslav League titles and the Yugoslav Cup four times. He was the top scorer of the Yugoslav First League twice, in 1945 (25 goals) and 1954 (21 goals).
Julinho:
Best right winger that Brazil had before Garrincha came along. At 1960, during his stint at Palmeiras, he was included in World Soccer's World XI. A highly creative, talented, and dynamic player, with a slender build, Julinho usually played as a right winger, where he operated as a playmaker, and was known for his speed, vision, tactical sense, powerful shooting ability, and dribbling skills, which enabled him to cut into the centre and shoot on goal or create chances for other players. He was also known for his ability to build attacking plays, or get to the touchline and deliver accurate curling crosses to his teammates.
Eddy Graafland:
3rd best Dutch keeper of the XXth century behind van der Sar and van Breukelen according to IFFHS and Feyenoord's greatest ever keeper.
René Henriksen:
A classy libero-ish centre back, Dutch Footballer of the Year during his time at Panathinaikos.
Mario Fernandes:
An undoubted positional GOAT of Russian football – it doesn't say much but if not for religious reasons (he found God in Russia and was very reluctant to leave the country despite having options) he would've became a really great player, I do genuinely believe so. He had all necessary tools to do so – pace, athleticism, outstanding one-on-one and pretty great technically. Hopefully people remember his performance from the 2018 World Cup where he had shown his true level to a wider audience than he was able to at CSKA Moscow.