The Americas Draft, R1: Mounchester vs M.Goodman 2-9

[Chesterlestreet]

TEAM MOUNCHESTER

The Players

Jose Luis Chilavert
3 time IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper
1996 South American Footballer of the Year
1998 World Cup Team of the Tournament
Only GK to score a hattrick

Luis Perea
2012 Europa League
Foreign player with most caps for Atletico Madrid

Walter Samuel
2010 Treble
6 time Serie A Winner

Joao Miranda
2014 La Liga
2013 Copa Del Rey
2012 Europa League

Pablo Bengoechea
2 time Copa America Winner

Americo Gallego
1978 World Cup Winner
1986 Copa Libertarodes Winner

Arturo Vidal
2 time Copa America Winner
2 time Copa America Team of the Tournament
4 Time Serie A Winner
2 time Serie A Team of the Tournament
2016 Bundesliga Winner

Ricardo Kaka
2007 Ballon d'Or
2007 Champions League Winner
2002 World Cup Winner
2007 FIFA World Player of the Tear
3 time UEFA Team of the Year
AC Milan Hall of Fame

Roberto Rivelino
1970 World Cup Winner
World Soccer - 38th Greatest Player of the 20th Century
IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (12th place)

Jose Macia Pepe
2 time World Cup Winner
10 time Campeonato Paulista Winner

Ivan Zamorano
1995 Pichichi Trophy Winner
1995 La Liga Best Foreign Player
34 Goals for Chile

Responsibilities

Jose Luis Chilavert - Goalkeeper/Sweeper keeper
Aside from the self explanatory goal keeping, he will pitch in on the set piece and penalty kick duties

Luis Perea - Centre Back
Walter Samuel - Centre Back
Joao Miranda - Centre Back
With a great blend of strength, speed, technique and fearlessness, the defensive unit will be tasked with stopping all attacks first and foremost

Pablo Bengoechea - CDM
Americo Gallego - B2B / CDM hybrid
Shield the defense, pound opposing players, win back the ball, build up play and provide support to Vidal when he joins the attack

Arturo Vidal - Box to box CM
The complete B2B CM, covers every blade of grass in the field, starts the counter with powerful runs from midfield and will man mark the opponent's best player on defense

Ricardo Kaka - Right Wing
Free role

Roberto Rivelino - Support Striker
Classic string pulling #10, can swap places to either side of him and finish moves himself

Jose Macia Pepe - Left Wing
Free role

Ivan Zamorano - Center Forward
Classic striker


The Tactics

Think Simeone's Atletico meets 93/94 United, but with more freedom offensively. No wasted motions.

Attack. The three behind the striker compliment each other well and are all capable of producing moments of brilliance to decide close games. Zamorano can concentrate on what he does best: putting the ball in the net.

Deep defensive line. The back three becomes a back five on defense with the Bengoechea and Gallego capable of imposing their physicality on the opponents. If anyone does get past, then they have to deal with The Bulldog.

Midfield. When not in possession, the CMs are to win back the ball at all costs. Highly physical but skilled trio can grind out all opposing CMs who enter their space. Counter as frequently, and as soon, as possible.

Set pieces. Vidal, Miranda and Samuel will take turns bullying opposing defenses in the air, with Chilavert, Bengoechea and Rivelino supplying them from set pieces.


X Factor - Never Say Die Mentality

Chilavert, Vidal, Samuel, Kaka, Gallego and Bengoechea are all inspirational characters who won't accept anything less than a win. In a close, gritty game, with high stakes, I believe my team has the heart that it takes to win.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

TEAM M. GOODMAN

There are three players in my team who might be somewhat unknown to people. So:

Ortiz is one of the greatest Colombian players in history. Some say the greatest – but it's all personal opinion and preference. He's a natural at right wing, but could also play in midfield.

Maspoli won the Golden Glove (and World Cup) with Uruguay in 1950.

Mascheroni is a World Cup winning left back. He played in a side that relied upon counter attacking football – a side that deployed the 2-3-5 formation. This means that he played almost as an attacking centre half – he has far less responsibility in this set up, limited to solely the modern full back role.

Functionality is the key to my team. Crespo has been overlooked in my selection as I value balance above all. With this in mind, I can foresee people questioning Valdivia's role. He starts as a wide player in this system – he's often deployed as a false nine, so perhaps people have doubts as to his competence. This is a fair grievance, however, when attacking my system alters ever so slightly, allowing Valdivia a more familiar role. This will be explained later.

Essentially, my spine lives or dies with the partnership of Dunga and Ardiles in central midfield. Dunga is playing his defensive anchorman role – he'll sit in front of the defence and look to get the ball forward at every opportunity. Ardiles is box-to-box, deployed slightly more advanced than Dunga and will get up and down the pitch – offering support to both the attack and defence. Both are essentially playing their respective '94 and '78 World Cup winning roles. Riquelme is playing as an attacking midfielder – essentially a 10 – behind Batistuta.

I repeat myself, but I like my chances because of my team's spine. Hurtado – one of the most capped internationals in the history of the game – compliments Lucio in central defence. Ahead of them, I have Dunga offering protection. Dunga is one of the best players at breaking up play (and perhaps the epitome of functionality over flair), however, his passing ability and in-game intelligence has always been supremely underrated. He reminds me of a less adventurous, more restricted, Keane in many ways. This team has leaders in abundance – Alberto, Lucio, Dunga, Ardiles, Batistuta, Hurtado. As such, I think I have the edge when it comes to mentality.

As for game plan, I’m keeping it simple. The entire team is set up to be competent in defence and devastating in attack. It’s a simple balancing act; and with Riquelme feeding Batistuta, I don’t consider this to be a limited tactic. Batistuta can win games by himself, scoring all manner of goals (left foot, right foot, head, free kick, inside the box, outside, etc). I have the best CB on the pitch, perhaps the best RB of all time, the better midfield partnership, and the better striker. Kaka is undoubtedly better than Riquelme, but they performed different roles. Riquleme operates as a pure 10, Kaka doesn’t. And, as far as 10s go, Riquelme is one of the best in this draft.

Whilst defending, my team will take up the shape you see above. However, during attacking phases, Alberto and Mascheroni move forward, Lucio and Hurtado push out to their respective sides, Dunga slots in between them, creating a three man defence, with Ardiles ahead, two full backs occupying advanced positions, Riquelme slotting in beside (and interchanging) with Valdivida and Ortiz, with Batistuta spearheading the attack. I will include a picture highlighting this attacking shape.

I'll answer any questions relating to players or player roles. Finally, good luck.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

@MounchesterUtd @Mciahel Goodman

Best of luck, gentlemen.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

No arrows for Batigol? He feels left out.

The arrows on the CBs and Dunga are not really correct.

And can't really understand Team Mounchester. What formation is that? Rivellino on the right? There's no real width and players seem to overlap.

 

[Ecstatic]

No arrows for Batigol? He feels left out.

The arrows on the CBs and Dunga are not really correct.

And can't really understand Team Mounchester. What formation is that? Rivellino on the right? There's no real width and players seem to overlap.

Batistuta doesn't need to run to score

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

No arrows for Batigol? He feels left out.

The arrows on the CBs and Dunga are not really correct.

And can't really understand Team Mounchester. What formation is that? Rivellino on the right? There's no real width and players seem to overlap.

The arrows at CB are only to demonstrate the movement between phases. I'll upload the other tactical picture to show you what I mean.

 

[Moby]

At the first glance Goodman's side looks pretty solid across the board. A fine backline commanded by the genius of Alberto and an excellent midfield trio in front of them. Ortiz and Batigol are elite in this pool as well. Very little weakness if any.

Mou's setup resembles a 3-3-1-3 if I have understood it correctly, and the Rivelino -> Kaka highway should be pretty tasty here. Bengoechea looks a bit out of place in this company to be honest.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Mou's setup resembles a 3-3-1-3 if I have understood it correctly

Now that you say it, it'll reverse of the 1-3-3-3 that Netherlands used, a 3-3-3-1. Makes more sense now.

 

[Jayvin]

Interesting matchup, gonna have to research Pepe because I know nothing about him and it seems like he's the only player for Mou providing any width which may be crucial. I like Mou's back 3, Perea was a player I was considering picking and is perfect for the right sided defender role. There's certainly goals in his team but overall I'm not quite sold how it's all going to work, particularly defensively.

Goodmans team is a bit easier to get my head around, with the work-rate of Dunga and Ardiles providing a good platform for Riquelme. But I'm not sure about Valdivia and Riquelme in the same side, especially Valdivia on the left wing. I haven't seen a lot of him (shitting on Australia in 2014 aside) so correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure he was even lazier and languid than Riquelme. You can carry one player like that, but two is maybe stretching it.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

But I'm not sure about Valdivia and Riquelme in the same side, especially Valdivia on the left wing. I haven't seen a lot of him (shitting on Australia in 2014 aside) so correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure he was even lazier and languid than Riquelme. You can carry one player like that, but two is maybe stretching it.

Yes - this needs elaborating on, I reckon.

Valdivia strikes me as a player in the mould of precisely Riquelme: Slow, technically brilliant, mainly a top notch passer. And - yes - pretty lazy as such.

I'm not saying they absolutely won't work in the same set-up, but at first glance their ideal position would be very similar - and what they mainly bring to the table seems very similar too. And both have speed and off-the-ball issues - to put it like that.

 

[Physiocrat]

Deep defensive line. The back three becomes a back five on defense with the Bengoechea and Gallego capable of imposing their physicality on the opponents. If anyone does get past, then they have to deal with The Bulldog.

@MounchesterUtd

Just trying to understand your system- do both Bengoechea and Gallego drop in to the LCB and RCB roles respectively?

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

I do get what people are saying about Valdivia. I'll be making a very detailed post in a bit, just to highlight what my thoughts are. However, I'll admit freely that him being on the left is the only thing which I really had to think hard about -- it's definitely the noticeable weak point.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Sorry @MounchesterUtd but in hindsight your first round pick of chilavert looks to have cost you here as even one more big name could have helped you out. Miranda and Perea just aren't at a level enough to deal with a peak Batistuta and even Samuel will struggle to contain him. The Ortiz v miranda duel only has one winner i'm afraid.

Only problem with MG's side has been touched on, Valdivias position. Hard to imagine him anywhere else than in riquelmes role ( with the latter being the far superior player) but with a win here and reinforcements MG's is a formidable side for a first timer.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Spoiler: Attacking Phase, option 1 - Valdivia occupying Riqulem's central berth

This is just one (rough) variation of what my team could look like in attack. You see the back three with Mascheroni and Alberto in advanced positions and Ardiles just ahead of Dunga. What I like about it most, though, is that it allows for interchange between Riquelme and Valdivia. This position is familiar to both Valdivia (more central) and Riquelme (he often started wide left in a 4-3-2-1 formation).


In this video you'll notice Valdivia starting from roughly the position that he occupies in this formation, but he often drifts wide, interchanging with other attacking players, popping up on the left and the right during key attacking phases. He's more than capable of doing this job, as far as I'm concerned. I think most are right in asserting that starting central is more recognizable to Valdivia, but he has the ability to play wide as part of a front four -- I ask no more than that of him. As for laziness, well, I'm not sure I'd agree, but if we assume that he is lazy (though he certainly isn't when on form), I figure the left side of attack isn't the worst place to have him. It's also a team in which Batistuta will display incredible work rate (as he often did for Fiorentina). All in all, I'm banking on my team being well rounded enough to accommodate Valdivia starting wide left, rather than centrally. As I've said though, I can definitely understand if people disagree with my assessment here.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

As I've said though, I can definitely understand if people disagree with my assessment here.

It's mainly a question of type - for me, at least. Positionally - sure, I can buy what you say to some extent, you can instruct them to interchange positions without this being wildly unlikely based on what positions they normally occupied/occopy. But the question remains why it would make actual sense to field the pair of them - rather than one of them (has to be Riquelme) and a player who mainly plays on different strings, and thus adds more variety to the attacking mix.

That said, I don't think the above is a criticial flaw in this particular match. Having "lazy" times two affect you drastically would be a worst case scenario, as I see it. A likelier (negative) outcome would be that one of them (Valdivia most likely) will be somewhat superfluous (but still capable of producing something) and perhaps overly quiet.

It's not a combo anyone will buy beyond round 1, though - I think that's fair to say.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

@Chesterlestreet good points regarding type. Jayvin makes a similar point, too, I think. I do agree with you that both are similar and an out and out wide player in place of Valdivia would make more sense. For the first round though, without any reinforcements, there wasn't a lot I could do (I think I was pipped to about 5 picks in a row at one stage), and so I just tried to make the best of it in a functional sense.

 

[MounchesterUtd]

@MounchesterUtd

Just trying to understand your system- do both Bengoechea and Gallego drop in to the LCB and RCB roles respectively?

Correct. This is how I envision my defense to look like:

 

[MounchesterUtd]

Sorry @MounchesterUtd but in hindsight your first round pick of chilavert looks to have cost you here as even one more big name could have helped you out. Miranda and Perea just aren't at a level enough to deal with a peak Batistuta and even Samuel will struggle to contain him. The Ortiz v miranda duel only has one winner i'm afraid.

Only problem with MG's side has been touched on, Valdivias position. Hard to imagine him anywhere else than in riquelmes role ( with the latter being the far superior player) but with a win here and reinforcements MG's is a formidable side for a first timer.

In this case, I'm gonna have El Rey man mark the shit out of Batigol

Arturo Vidal - Box to box CM
The complete B2B CM, covers every blade of grass in the field, starts the counter with powerful runs from midfield and will man mark the opponent's best player on defense

I'd have to disagree with Miranda. In his prime, he was the third best CB in the world just behind Godin and Silva and was pretty much the complete package as a modern day CB. Atleti's defense from 12-13 and 13-14 was insane, and Miranda was just as big a part of it as Godin IMO.

That said, I do think that Perea, while probably underrated in this forum, sticks out from my team. Should've gone for a CB as my first pick.

 

[Physiocrat]

Correct. This is how I envision my defense to look like:

Thanks for clearing it up

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Correct. This is how I envision my defense to look like:

Miranda looks like a left back here. Ortiz is tearing him apart all game as Miranda never once played in a similar role IIRC

 

[MounchesterUtd]

Miranda looks like a left back here. Ortiz is tearing him apart all game as Miranda never once played in a similar role IIRC

He never did, but I'll be relying on Miranda's man marking in this instance

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Valdivia. Some love him and some hate him. I believe if Magico was marked down in an all time draft for not having a sustained peak like most of these stars, then that applies to Valdivia as well. In Chile, he certainly benefits from being in a team that was trained by Bielsa/Sampaoli. They play as a unit extremely well becoming much greater together than they are as individuals.

I am a big fan of Chile's current generation because for me they are similar to a lot of classic teams in that they have this distinct character and style, thanks to Bielsa. So I think that platform very much benefits Valdivia but I am not sure Valdivia contributes more than a number of other playmakers could. In some sense that 3-3-1-3 Bielsa liked was like a WM in that it really needs graft and grit all over the pitch to work correctly. I do think its more inherently stable than the WM though. Personally I always liked Gylfi in Valdivia's role for Chile. I wonder if Gylfi was Chilean and Valdivia was Icelandic how different both careers would be.

 

[mazhar13]

Two teams with awkward setups here, for me. Kaka on the right side and Valdivia on the left don't really sit well with me. Plus, Ardiles was always a left-sided central midfielder as he naturally tended to drift towards the left channels, so seeing him on the right side doesn't sit well with me. Also, when I looked up Bengoechea, none of the sources proclaim him to primarily be a defensive midfielder (he's naturally an attacking midfielder/playmaking central midfielder), so I don't get why he's being played in such a defensive role. Finally, whilst Perea works well as right full back, Miranda doesn't look like a good fit mainly because he's more of an in-the-box type of a defender rather than an outside defender. His main attributes involve being strong at aerial battles, dispossessing attacking players with his strong tackling, putting pressure on attacking players when they first receive the ball, and recovering from dangerous situations. Him as an old-school left full back looks out of sorts here. Plus, Valdivia and Riquelme together doesn't sit well with me. Both love to get on the ball and dictate the game from the midfield, and I don't know how they can work well together.

In the end, I went with Goodman's team just because it seems less awkward, but both teams look really weird here.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

@mazhar13 Ardiles did play on the left often, but he started many big games playing on the right. I do agree with you Re Valdivia/Riquelme though.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

In the end, I went with Goodman's team just because it seems less awkward, but both teams look really weird here.

It's just Valdivia for MG's team, everyone else is in pretty much the position you'd expect them to be, and an attacking midfielder occupying an attacking position isnt the worst.