vs 
......................................... Team Chester ............................................. ......................................... Team Marty/RT ........................................
TEAM CHESTER
General:
The formation is a pretty basic 5-3-2/3-5-2: Three central defenders, two wingbacks, three central midfielders (two more defensive, one more offensive), two strikers.
Approach/Game plan: I'm prepared to concede possession and do my main offensive damage in the form of counter attacks. However, the team is more than capable of building up attacks from scratch, so I won't be hoofing away desperately, waiting for my opponent to make a mistake. There are two obvious routes to goal here for me: A liberating pass out wide (to either wingback), most likely from Albertini, Charlton or Moore, followed by a cross, or a more intricate movement through the middle (with Charlton being the most likely one to carry the ball forward).
The three central defenders will maintain a fairly deep line. They will not press high up the pitch. I will take no special measures against any individual player on my opponent's team.
XI/roles:
David De Gea: GK. His main asset is his shot stopping ability. He is not a grand leader of men, so that part will be left in the hands of others. He is there to pull off saves.
Lilian Thuram: RCB. His brief is simple (but obviously not very simple to carry out): Protect the right side of the area and beyond. His role is essentially that of a stopper, but one who is very familiar with defending out wide.
Bobby Moore: CB. His role is that of a defence leader. He is the main man, controls the line, and ventures beyond it himself with the ball. He will carry the ball out of defence, looking for passing options – both short (centrally and also wide) and long (mainly wide). He is a free man of sorts, what you could call a libero if it weren't for the fact that this term carries with it certain connotations I don't want the readers to get caught up in. His role is easy to understand: He commands the line (and the middle) defensively – and when on the ball, he ventures forward, if necessary or opportune, to find the best possible alternatives for a pass (either long or short, either centrally or out wide). In that sense he is, indeed, the free man back there. But he does not function as either a classic “sweeper” or a Beckenbauer style “libero”.
Karl-Heinz Förster: LCB. His brief is a mirror image of Thuram's. Protect the left side of the area and beyond. Unlike Thuram, he isn't a specialist wide defender (in the same sense), but he is a specialist LCB, having performed this exact role before with some success.
Manfred Kaltz: RWB. His most conspicuous trait is his crossing ability, and his brief in this match very much reflects this: Offensively, he will mainly attempt to get into positions from where he can plant crosses in (and around) the box. He will play an important part in the team's attacking plan, bombing forward (as they say) whenever he gets the chance.
Hans-Peter Briegel: LWB. His role is similar to Kaltz' but it is worth noting that Briegel is more of a defender (generally) than his counterpart, and his brief in this game is more balanced (i.e. less specialized).
Thiago Motta: CM/defensive. His role is the most basic of the three designated central midfielders: He will play a fairly conservative holding game, keeping things simple when on the ball. Key (cliché but apt enough) phrase: “Keep it ticking over”.
Demetrio Albertini: CM/defensive. His role is similar to Motta's but with the significant difference that he will seek out much more adventurous passing options. Albertini will attempt to set up runners both centrally and – not least – out wide. His passing range, as they call it, is generally considered to be excellent. Rightly so, I'll be bold enough to add. His most important attribute, however, is his intelligence. He will know when to go for those adventurous plays I suggest – and when to simply kick it short, metronome style, to whoever happens to be the most logical target.
Bobby Charlton: CM/offensive. Ideally, the key player on the park for me, as you'd expect. Charlton will play a central midfield role, but one with a clear offensive brief: He will carry the ball forward, looking for passing options – and he will attempt to finish himself if or when the opportunity arises, whether it be inside the box or from range. His role is demanding and requires him to put in a proper shift, being the main connection between midfield and attack, working plenty off the ball in addition to carrying it – a hardworking, selfless playmaker, if ever there was one.
Dennis Law: Striker. Law will play deeper than his partner, seeking to link up with Charlton and the wide runners to a greater extent. This ought to suit him well.
Jimmy Greaves: Striker. His main task is finishing and that is what he will focus on. He is by nature not a stationary player, however, so he won't be standing around waiting to be served – but rather work the left channel as well as the box.
Team Marty/RT
The Lineup:
With Banks in goal we have as good a keeper as anyone else in the draft. We have in front of him three solid centre backs with Hierro controlling the back line and stepping up to act as defensive midfielder when we have the ball. His presence in this area will help to break up play and prevent through balls to Law. Schnellinger will benefit from having a very disciplined Lahm alongside him to help keep tabs on Chester’s right side, which will enable him to keep a close eye on Greaves who will be Chester’s main attacking threat along with Law and Charlton.
With Lahm and Di Livio we have two players who will look to attack when possible but will do so when it’s right to. Neither of them would be too gung-ho when attacking which might leave space behind. They are both experienced enough to know when to attack and when not to. Unlike some attacking wingbacks in this draft they both have excellent work-rate to track back.
The midfield is full of players who excel with the ball at their feet. Xavi, Overath and Effenberg are all able to play short, quick balls or long range passing for van Basten to hold up or run into the channels for. They all provide an attacking threat when given the chance. For Moore’s exceptional understanding of the game, he was not the quickest. Van Basten was sharp and with the awareness of Overath, Del Piero, Xavi and Effenberg, will be able to find space in the box.
Overath will be the main creator in midfield with Effenberg providing the strength and power. He was the main reason Gunter Netzer only won 37 caps for his country. Overath was a genius on the ball. Arguably the best player at the 1970 World Cup.
Xavi is an absolute genius on the pitch. His awareness, vision of all that happens around him and passing ability is a key reason for Barca and Spain's domination. Getting the ball off him and Overath will be a challenge in itself for Chester.
Effenberg and Hierro (stepping up) would provide the tough tackling in the middle of the park to match Chester's side. Effenberg's strength, work rate and awareness made him one of the hardest centre mids in Europe for a spell between the late 90's early 00's. His vision and distribution was also impeccable (see video clip below).
Tactics
We have a number of avenues to attack Chester’s team…either on the flanks with Lahm/Overath on the left and the pace and trickery of Di Livio on the right hand side. These will provide excellent service to van Basten who will prove a stern test for even the great Bobby Moore.
In midfield we have the players to constantly keep the ball moving and Del Piero behind van Basten will be able to find any gaps in front of the back four to exploit.
Defensively we have excellent defenders who are disciplined and will make it difficult for Law to find sufficient space. Our defenders are also great in the air and so will have the upper hand when defending set pieces. Similarly, they provide great aerial threat from attacking set pieces which Lahm and Del Piero would provide with deadly accuracy.
A couple of video clips just for entertainment..
The brilliance of van Basten
Incredible vision from Effenberg
Last edited:
