the 442 Draft - SF: EAP vs Boris

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

vs
.................................................... TEAM EAP .................................................................................................................. TEAM BORIS .....................................................


Team EAP:

Tactics: classic 4-4-2 with expansive wing play.

Dino Zoff - GOAT GK

Alan Hansen / Jaap Stam - Top notch ball player/stopper combo. pace, strength, arial ability, reading of the game, they have it all.
Bixente Lizarazu / Manuel Amoros - Solid two way players. defensively stout and will provide overlapping width all game.

Duncan Edwards / Luisito Suarez - Blend of defensive ability and ability to contribute to attack. High workrate, good vision, passing and ability to contribute creatively. Very similar to the Keane/Scholes combo.
Ryan Giggs / David Beckham - Proven partnership providing pace on ground, ability to beat defenders + accurate passing and crossing and ability. High workrate both ways.

Raul/Sandor Kocsis - Left foot / Right Foot combo. Raul's silky movement on ground with Kocsis brilliant headers make for a lethal attack. Both well rounded forwards who can score and create for other.


Team Boris

Strategy:

Narrow wide players, overlapping full backs, split strikers. Overload the middle of the park to dominate possession and release the ball out wide. High speed counter attacks when possible.

Alisson is a complete keeper, both off and on his line, and can play from the back, he is behind a world class sweeper/stopper duo of Carvalho and Campbell.

The central midfield duo is pure class, Redondo will hold the middle and look to control the game, Keane will be released to maraud all over the pitch and dominate the game.

Henry and Jairzinho will naturally look to drift left/right respectively, with Pires and Nedved moving inside in tandem with that. Carlos will provide a constant overlap on the left, whilst Gerets will look to be a bit more cautious, leaving Jairzinho with space to take players on 1v1.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@BorisDeLeFora all the best!

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

Good luck @Edgar Allan Pillow

Voted for myself.

Guess the main contrast here is how the wide midfielders operate, with yours hugging the touchline and mine going towards central pockets between your midfield and defence and beyond, and how the strikers function with them.

 

[Physiocrat]

@BorisDeLeFora What was the reasoning behind Nedved for Mendieta rather than Nedved for Pires?

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Guess the main contrast here is how the wide midfielders operate, with yours hugging the touchline and mine going towards central pockets between your midfield and defence and beyond, and how the strikers function with them.

Yeah, contrasting tactics with same formation!

Great team.

I was baffled on why you didn't pick Bergkamp to reunite with Henry and Pires. Perhaps because of Nedved or did you just want something new?

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Beautifully transformed @BorisDeLeFora , I love it. As I have been saying since R1, you are making absolutely brilliant use of Carlos and Gerets by your choice of wide midfielders. And while Jairzinho is stylistically and tactically spot on, maybe he is not semifinal quality. I cant think of someone immediately as a better choice though.

For @Edgar Allan Pillow , the midfield finally looks a thing of a beauty. That has Man United 1999 written all over it. Lucky he got to live another day after that horrendous decision of fielding Edwards/Dunga.

Not easy to call this one.

@BorisDeLeFora What was the reasoning behind Nedved for Mendieta rather than Nedved for Pires?

I think this one opens up more channels and permutations build up wise.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

And while Jairzinho is stylistically and tactically spot on, maybe he is not semifinal quality.

Certainly a intriguing choice. I don't think he's a tactical spot on. His signature move was pacy runs on outside, quick pass to the middle, continue the run beat the defender and cut in to receive the pass back to score. He does that so many time in '70 WC matches! But with Nedved and Gerets, his running isn't really necessary. Certainly is flexible, but more central forward who can occupy the defence and work his magic in tight spaces.

Plus he's more likely to go for the goal himself, which doesn't benefit Henry as much as Bergkamp/Cantona type player.

Definitely not a mismatch, but not just optimal.

I cant think of someone immediately as a better choice though.

Bergkamp?

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

I don't think he's a tactical spot on. His signature move was pacy runs on outside, quick pass to the middle, continue the run beat the defender and cut in to receive the pass back to score. He does that so many time in '70 WC matches!

I don't think Boris is playing him in his WC '70 role. Its his club role which seemed spot on to me.

Yeah. To be fair, he did play as a right winger in the 60’s for Brazil but it wasn’t the most impressive version of him. For Botafogo he was mostly a free-roaming forward that would’ve looked great in Rep’s place.

Bergkamp?

Nah, probably Hamrin is a great choice but still not rated that high over here.

 

[harms]

What’s wrong with Sheva?
I like the use of Jairzinho by the way, but I’m a bit hurt for Sheva who is getting ignored for the 2nd time in a row for players who aren’t better than him even in general, let alone in his natural role.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

What’s wrong with Sheva?

Yea, that would have been the perfect pick.

 

[harms]

Yea, that would have been the perfect pick.

Considering that he’s already in his team!)

 

[TheReligion]

Alisson is the weakness here. Always has a clanger in him

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

I seem to have a completely different (or just wrong) memory of Sheva, I always associated him kinda moving toward the left, similar to Henry, which is why I picked him, but now I'm seeing he preferred the right. Probably need to rewatch some of his bits

Pires was one of my favourite players growing up and is this undroppable.

Point taken on Alisson, in hindsight that was the area that needed a priority upgrade.

I liked the idea of split strikers working in threes with the wide mids and full backs, striker goes out, midfielder moves into that space, full back provides the support. This in theory means the opposite wingers are distracted by my full backs, and the opposition defenders need to either follow their men or have supreme communication and organisation in tracking runners. In the former I've got Henry and Jairzinho who can get by players 1v1, the latter I'm not sure is possible for any team to keep me out for the whole game.

So I maintain the width but constantly overload the middle. More than happy to play 2v2 at the back, which is the advantage of Alisson here as he can sweep.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Considering that he’s already in his team!)

Damn

Gave this to Boris, didnt expect any more experimentation and only straight forward 4-4-2's at this stage of the draft, but that ballsy (yet well executed) move deserves at least my vote

 

[General_Elegancia]

I like Jairzinho in this role, it’s his natural role in Boftago. Both Henry and Jairzinho have such a great ability to drift right and left and can operate game really well. It’s very close game.

 

[Theon]

This was close but I’ve done for EAP. Love the midfield, think it’s pretty much perfect.

And Beckham to Kocsis is such a pure route to goal tactically.

 

[Isotope]

@BorisDeLeFora What was the reasoning behind Nedved for Mendieta rather than Nedved for Pires?

My first thought also. But French connection on that left side is pretty sexy.

 

[Isotope]

Can't point my finger on, but EAP's just reminds me of Fergie's 4-4-2.

 

[Isotope]

Picking up United players is like cheating our feeling. I couldn't say any bad thing about Scholes on last game.
We should ban them on future Drafts.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Can't point my finger on, but EAP's just reminds me of Fergie's 4-4-2.

Pretty much that blueprint.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Picking up United players is like cheating our feeling. I couldn't say any bad thing about Scholes on last game.
We should ban them on future Drafts.

Agree that United players have been like cheat cards (especially in the last few drafts where way too many United players reach the finals) but this is probably the only draft where Scholes is getting his due credit. And to be completely honest, even we were planning to get Redondo if Boris had not screwed us. Scholes was pretty much chosen as we had no other option. Exact words from our convo, left @Šjor Bepo orgasmic though

lets go scholes mate, i dont think we are winning this draft anyways, lets give the good old guy a run out. Its the least he deserves in a 4-4-2 draft

Lovely! Heads, shoulders, knees and Scholes!

 

[Isotope]

Agree that United players have been like cheat cards (especially in the last few drafts where way too many United players reach the finals) but this is probably the only draft where Scholes is getting his due credit. And to be completely honest, even we were planning to get Redondo if Boris had not screwed us. Scholes was pretty much chosen as we had no other option. Exact words from our convo, left @Šjor Bepo orgasmic though

True. I was j/k, mate. Even if you pick United players, voters still see how they fit in also.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

On topic of Scholes...What surprised me was the lack of DLPs. Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Didi, Falcao....all went u picked!

It felt like the popular version was to pack 2 B2Bs rather than have playmakers!

 

[TheReligion]

On topic of Scholes...What surprised me was the lack of DLPs. Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Didi, Falcao....all went u picked!

It felt like the popular version was to pack 2 B2Bs rather than have playmakers!

Pirlo gets odd hate here though so can see why he doesn’t get picked much

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

My last contribution as I make my way toward alcohol absolution.

I dream of Redondo getting the ball and Nedved bombing toward the goal, Evra follows and Jairzinho fills the hole, he's one on one vs Hansen and he has the ball, Pavels free but he ignores the call, he jinks a bit and skins the jock, there's no one left to make a block, but wait a second he has another trick yet, he squares to Pires who finds the net.

I think it's an interesting experiment, splitting the team into thirds vertically, with the strikers on the outside, idk if it works, but overload one wing, in an advanced position, and get bodies into the box from the other side, see what happens.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

My last contribution as I make my way toward alcohol absolution.

I'm already there.

 

[Jim Beam]

Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Didi, Falcao....all went u picked!

Yeah, no Matthäus and Rijkaard either. Crazy!

 

[General_Elegancia]

If you want to watch some great Jairzinho's performance at free-roaming forward, this match will answer you.

"With Botafago, Jairzingo had reverted to centre-forward, with Rogerio on the right wing."

 

[General_Elegancia]

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

I blame thebo

On topic of Scholes...What surprised me was the lack of DLPs. Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Didi, Falcao....all went u picked!

It felt like the popular version was to pack 2 B2Bs rather than have playmakers!

Yeah tbf originally I had Tardellli and Keane, probably should have stuck with it in hindsight, but the idea of two b2b or in general two who could do it all was probably the best way forward, especially if you purely look at it as a 2v2 midfield battle, unless the technical CM has bodies around to play passes to and cover defensive issues, they are lost in this system.

 

[antohan]

Crikey, this is a tough one.

Edgar's team looks fantastic. Everything makes sense (surprisingly) and there's no obvious weakness. Should be winning this.

But then, Boris' midfield is definitely appealing to long-suffering McFred viewers. You can get picky on a couple of things, but the unconventional approach is well suited for the game at hand. Doesn't get head on into a flank battle bound to be lost, while dealing with it well. I'm also quite positive that Hansen and Stam would much rather face a more conventional strike partnership than that one.

I don't think this game turns into a draw much, but I do think if you play it 10 times they probably split them 50-50.

 

[harms]

If you want to watch some great Jairzinho's performance at free-roaming forward, this match will answer you.

"With Botafago, Jairzingo had reverted to centre-forward, with Rogerio on the right wing."

He also got his number changed from 7 to 10 at some point in mid-60's which very much followed his transformation on the pitch.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

On topic of Scholes...What surprised me was the lack of DLPs. Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Didi, Falcao....all went u picked!

It felt like the popular version was to pack 2 B2Bs rather than have playmakers!

Well Didi and Falcao were blocked. Pirlo did get picked by @Earvin Johnson . Was enthusiastic about picking him as well considering the rest of our team was mostly Italians but was too late.

Xabi probably should have been picked though. The CMs pool is the deepest of course, so might have got lost there.

 

[General_Elegancia]

He also got his number changed from 7 to 10 at some point in mid-60's which very much followed his transformation on the pitch.

Yeah, you’re right.


Probably the best highlight of “the hurricane” from his Botafogo’s days.

This guy made a great video, do you know him?

 

[Physiocrat]

I think it's an interesting experiment, splitting the team into thirds vertically, with the strikers on the outside, idk if it works, but overload one wing, in an advanced position, and get bodies into the box from the other side, see what happens.

In definitely like the idea. I think though Shevchenko would have worked in the Jairzinho role. Also I was never the biggest fan of Pires although that might have been coloured by his diving antics and of course because of his time at Arsenal.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

GG Boris!

Yeah tbf originally I had Tardellli and Keane, probably should have stuck with it in hindsight, but the idea of two b2b or in general two who could do it all was probably the best way forward, especially if you purely look at it as a 2v2 midfield battle, unless the technical CM has bodies around to play passes to and cover defensive issues, they are lost in this system.

Tardelli is awesome, but Keane-Redondo is my favourite midfield of this draft.

It rarely becomes a 2 vs 2 match, esp players at hand. Nedved and Becks regularly drift to the middle. And we'd probably rarely see a head to head battle between our midfielders all game.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

I watched two Italy games from the 1982 WC last week mostly looking at Conti and Cabrini. Was most impressed with Tardelli, I know he is highly rated around here but I think he can be rated even higher. Just phenomenal B2B play. I get the lure of Redondo but I don't think Keane Tardelli needed upgradation even till the final. Great campaign nevertheless @BorisDeLeFora , along with Iso/Himannv, yours has been my favorite team of the draft.

The semifinal game between Italy and Brazil if you have watched the full game with English commentary is just a ride from the perspective of Paolo Rossi. First 20 mins is all about his scarcity of goals since 1979 and how he probably has to be dropped from the Italy team to him scoring a hat trick. Lots of love for Brazil's magic square in here but absolutely horrendous performances off the ball from Cerezo and Falcao.