The Reality Draft - SF: antohan vs The Red Viper

[antohan]

What's the score here?

I'm winning, not sure by how much as it all depends on @Edgar Allan Pillow 's interpretation of TRVs teamsheet and all those arrows. Anyone not playing 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 gets two bonus votes. Mine is clearly a 4-4-1-1 but with my luck TRV will be deemed to be playing a 4-2-4

 

[Gio]

Don't think TRV's done a good enough job here of bumming up Scirea. Or should that be Anto's done a better job of tearing him up while simultaneously heralding Thiago Silva as Baresi v2.

Henry will be dangerous, but Amoros with Ferrara as cover shouldn't be too worried about him. Not at all actually.

Meh Ferrara and Amoros are no Rob Jones, Henry will have a field day.

 

[Balu]

I also kinda agree with antohan that Henry is a bit overrated and rarely hit his peak form in European competitions or for the nationalteam. He was a bit of a flattrack bully in the league, a damn great one though.

 

[PedroMendez]

antohan´s line-up is more exciting and he has slightly better players, but I have a couple of (minor) issues with it, while TRV´s lineup is straight forward and well executed. I was actually planning to not vote at all, but after reading parts of the discussion I decided to give antohan a marginal edge. Some of your comments are fairly questionable, but nobody called you out on or argued really against them.
I wasnt really arsed to do it myself, because it can be tedious to argue with antohan and I am not a manager in this draft, so I dont feel any obligation to do so.

 

[antohan]

I'm still struggling with your Baresi comment earlier and try to figure out if you really meant that Thiago Silva is as good as Baresi was. It's slightly confusing and kept me from making a decision

It really sounds like you believe both should be rated on a similar level.

Nah, personally I will always rate Baresi higher given how well he marshalled such memorable defensive lines for Milan and Italy. Thiago being at PSG probably doesn't do him any favours, he was on course to being one of the greats at Milan, and while he won't be remembered for a formidable Brazilian defence (excuse the oxymoron) he certainly deserves credit for making that bunch of gung-ho nutters look remotely competitive.

I do however think by the time Thiago retires he will have been consistently the best defender for a decade and that will put him in a much higher bracket than people seem to place him in right now. According to TRV he isn't up to the job of dealing with Sammy Eto'o, that's just wrong.

 

[Gio]

For all the talk of Henry's big-game record, I'm surprised not much has been made of Eto'o's impressive record in those sorts of games.

 

[antohan]

For all the talk of Henry's big-game record, I'm surprised not much has been made of Eto'o's impressive record in those sorts of games.

That's not my job , but I'll oblige. One of Real's biggest "galactico policy" mistakes, even before Barca, he regularly handed them their arse on a plate at Mallorca. A big part of it was Iván Helguera next to Bobby Carlos though. Anyone ever having to argue "Carlos will get caught out" should look up Mallorca-Madrid games

 

[Gio]

That's not my job , but I'll oblige. One of Real's biggest "galactico policy" mistakes, even before Barca, he regularly handed them their arse on a plate at Mallorca. A big part of it was Iván Helguera next to Bobby Carlos though. Anyone ever having to argue "Carlos will get caught out" should look up Mallorca-Madrid games

The 5-1 game is the one I remember. Eto'o made Carlos look like a pub team player.

 

[Balu]

I like TDV's team a lot. I don't understand why anyone would criticise his midfield, I think it's well balanced and perfectly capable of doing its job. I also think it's insane how some of the comments make it sound like Scirea is some sort of liability who runs forward and exposes his defense, even worse because he has so much protection from Desailly and Schweinsteiger. He knows when to pick his moments, that's no flaw to exploit but a strength in TDV's team. Boniek vs Sergi is the biggest mismatch on the pitch though and will cause problems, Schweinsteiger has his work cut out in this game and as much as I love Sagnol, shutting out Nedved is probably a bit too much to ask.

I'm not entirely sure I believe that antohan's team is as perfectly suited to his tactical approach as he thinks. It's like pedro mentioned above, some minor issues, but the overall individual quality is just too much to overcome and I think his team is way more suited to react if the original gameplan fails. There's not much between both teams, but I can see antohan coming back into the game if he concedes first, while I'd say, if he scores first, it's almost always game over for TDV.

 

[antohan]

The 5-1 game is the one I remember. Eto'o made Carlos look like a pub team player.

He scored two in a 3-2 away win the season after that one. Early noughties Mallorca were to Real a bit like what Tenerife was in the 90s, and the funny thing was they typically won at the Bernabeu, not in Mallorca. That was in large part due to Eto'o playing out of his skin to show them how wrong they had been. That in itself is a bit poor in my eyes, it's not being a big game player but one that is spiteful and driven by ego. I doubt Mallorca fans gave two shits and will thank him for the memories, but they probably deserved him playing like that all the time, not just once a year.

 

[antohan]

I like TDV's team a lot. I don't understand why anyone would criticise his midfield, I think it's well balanced and perfectly capable of doing its job. I also think it's insane how some of the comments make it sound like Scirea is some sort of liability who runs forward and exposes his defense, even worse because he has so much protection from Desailly and Schweinsteiger. He knows when to pick his moments, that's no flaw to exploit but a strength in TDV's team.

Just to clarify, at no point did I say Scirea exposes his defence (just that it isn't his usual setting with a Sagnol instead of a Gentile next to him). I was just intrigued at how compatible this Desailly covering for Scirea mechanism was with man-marking Baggio. It's a can't have your cake and eat it question. Once TRV acknowledged he wasn't man-marking Baggio it all becomes clear.

Personally, I don't even think Scirea needs Desailly to drop back as cover. I don't get it TBH, it's a very different scenario to Passarella who just keeps charging forward. It's all well and good that Desailly can drop into defence but he probably won't here in the normal course of the game (given Baggio should be his main concern) and sure as hell doesn't need to be doing it every time Scirea comes forth as libero.

It actually sounds completely ridiculous and overengineered to me, but is also interesting in that TRV is supposedly trying to catch me unawares at the back yet when he recovers the ball he has the time to get it to Scirea, have him come forth, dwell on the ball long enough for that Desailly cover to be necessary... All the while I'm regrouping. That's where I meant to get with that line of inquiry, not to Scirea being any sort of liability that leaves the defence exposed but with the speed of his transition being questionable.

Vieri is destroying him aerially though, that is a given.

I'm not entirely sure I believe that antohan's team is as perfectly suited to his tactical approach as he thinks. It's like pedro mentioned above, some minor issues, but the overall individual quality is just too much to overcome and I think his team is way more suited to react if the original gameplan fails. There's not much between both teams, but I can see antohan coming back into the game if he concedes first, while I'd say, if he scores first, it's almost always game over for TDV.

Would love to hear where you disagree, same with @PedroMendez who gave me some very valid and useful feedback in my previous game (see how Amoros is now freeing up Boniek, he was absolutely right there about him being a bit hamstrung by the tactics in the last game).

 

[Balu]

I write more feedback later, busy day at work. But yeah, I kinda ignored the Desailly covering for Scirea thing. That never made sense and would simply never happen.

 

[antohan]

I can see antohan coming back into the game if he concedes first, while I'd say, if he scores first, it's almost always game over for TDV.

Have you renamed him The Dead Viper?

 

[antohan]

I write more feedback later, busy day at work. But yeah, I kinda ignored the Desailly covering for Scirea thing. That never made sense and would simply never happen.

Well yeah, but if his midfield got any criticism it was forthcoming for making a pig's ear of it with all these random assignments. Schweini disappearing down the black hole that is his left flank, Desailly man-marking Baggio, then not doing it, then covering Scirea, but never leaving any room for Nedved to get any attention... It's not really that they would be doing a bad job, it's simply what happens when you maroon four players upfront to exploit counter opportunities that aren't even forthcoming. Two chaps can't do everything, that's why I emphasised the 4vs2 midfield battle.

 

[Balu]

Have you renamed him The Dead Viper?

It's obviously the draft viper, ffs.

 

[Annahnomoss]

It's obviously the draft viper, ffs.

Nice save.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

I'm winning, not sure by how much as it all depends on @Edgar Allan Pillow 's interpretation of TRVs teamsheet and all those arrows. Anyone not playing 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 gets two bonus votes. Mine is clearly a 4-4-1-1 but with my luck TRV will be deemed to be playing a 4-2-4

Current Score: antohan 21 - 12 The Red Viper

I'm not getting into the formation argument unless the scores are close.


antohan - 21
.
crappycraperson
Jayvin
Raees
Annahnomoss
harms
.
Gio
TheGame
sajeev
manikandan nair
Thisistheone
Balu
Edgar Allan Pillow
Isotope
rpitroda
PedroMendez
Invictus


The Red Viper - 12
.
VivaJanuzaj
.
ha_rooney
Paolo Di Canio
sun_tzu
NM
montpelier
|Neo|x
The Man Himself
MTR
Water Melon
RedMilo

 

[PedroMendez]

I am totally fine with not having a classic defensive destroyer/anchor, but it can become a problem when the #10 isnt arsed to defend. Vieri doesnt really help either. Effenberg + Neeskens have to play fairly deep/cautious and Boniek/Nedved would have to play as classic wide MFs (= they dont have the freedom to play as winger).

Nedved is perfectly fine with that, but boniek would struggle to impact the game. That lineup is forcing him to play too deep, which will mitigate his offensive threat. Furthermore Baggio and Boniek are very different players, but I still think that its difficult to get the best out of both. I think Boniek would have a hard time and wouldnt be a big factor at all.
The upside is, that I love Nedved in this role. He would be the best player on the pitch. Its up to him to fill the space that Vieri and Baggio create behind them and glue everything together. I can hardly think of a player who could do a better job in that role. Willy+Robben wont be able to contain him. He´ll have enough space to operate and run the show.
Baggio will also have a great game. Playing off Vieri, while getting service from Nedved/effenberg/Neeskens, will allow him to have a great match. Nedved+Baggio will win the match for you, because I havnt read anything from TRV, that will stop them.

just a couple of random remarks:
- Abidal is the right type of player, but I dont really rate him (considering that many all time greats are on the pitch)
- Eto is terribly underrated. He was the best forward in the world for a few years. One of the most complete forwards ever. At his peak, his workrate was also pretty amazing.
- Having two players (Schweinsteiger + Scirea), that are able to play the ball out of the defence is more than most teams have. The only way you can press both efficiently is with a high line + a very aggressive defence. Understandably, you dont play this kind of tactics, but I highly disagree that TRV would struggle to get the ball to his forwards. Robben usually also drops deep enough to give him the ball.
- Rui Costa seems to be slightly underrated.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Water Melon & Red Milo

 

[Gio]

Well yeah, but if his midfield got any criticism it was forthcoming for making a pig's ear of it with all these random assignments. Schweini disappearing down the black hole that is his left flank, Desailly man-marking Baggio, then not doing it, then covering Scirea, but never leaving any room for Nedved to get any attention... It's not really that they would be doing a bad job, it's simply what happens when you maroon four players upfront to exploit counter opportunities that aren't even forthcoming. Two chaps can't do everything, that's why I emphasised the 4vs2 midfield battle.

I'd liked to have seen a clearer three there of Desailly, Schweinsteiger and Rui Costa. I'm not a massive fan of Costa in this company, but the other two are mint and wouldn't have much trouble competing.

 

[antohan]

Current Score: antohan 21 - 12 The Red Viper

I'm not getting into the formation argument unless the scores are close.

It's quite probably the shittiest rule in drafting history It's either three midfielders and three forwards (4-3-3) or two CMs and three AMs (4-2-3-1). I struggle to see how you could argue Henry's and Robben's role being counted differently, so unless Rui Costa is a forward in a 4-2-4...

It's been a great draft, well executed, with some great new things thrown in, including the double votes, but that rule is better lost in the dustbin if it isn't going to be actioned properly. I get the idea, I think it introduces a good challenge for the managers, but it's a travesty that the one time it factored into a game it had to be me bringing it up as if it weren't there. I drafted as flexible a squad as possible to ensure I could navigate the combined threat of Rio-Hargo-formations, but feel a bit bummed that I clearly should have ignored it altogether.

BTW, it's 10, Viva's vote doesn't count as he is a semifinalist. In other rounds the next team you face isn't clear but in a semi you are effectively choosing your next opponent. Not saying that's what he intends to do, but we've always done things that way to spare everyone the aggro. Whoever loses here can vote in the other semi though, obviously.

 

[antohan]

Water Melon & Red Milo

Montepelier

Actually, @ha_rooney, I don't think you ever voted for a team of mine regardless of players and setup (mind, I like to think there's some consistency in the rationale behind players and setups). Care to elaborate? There must be something I'm doing wrong, consistently.

 

[antohan]

I'd liked to have seen a clearer three there of Desailly, Schweinsteiger and Rui Costa. I'm not a massive fan of Costa in this company, but the other two are mint and wouldn't have much trouble competing.

Absolutely, the problem isn't them but the task at hand. Desailly has Pavel Nedved and Roberto Baggio either side of him, never mind having to run around covering Scirea, while Schweini is hampered by a non-existent leftback being taken advantage of by Boniek and Amoros. That's why I don't need Neeskens and Effenberg to get particularly aggressive.

BTW, that's what I meant by "screw scan voters, Amoros is the right man here" during the upgrades. I needed someone to attack that weak spot and, with Boniek already there, Amoros was the best option to dominate the flank. Zanetti would have been stronger defensively and a surefire vote-winner, but when only one of the four defenders is going forward you can relax things a bit and invest on someone with a better attacking contribution. I did give Kaltz a miss though, as his crosses to Vieri would be, because when under pressure Amoros would still prove a good defender and man-marker, which Kaltz really isn't. I could have probably just picked him and gone on a "bananenflanken" litany and make it count far more but I really couldn't stomach arguing he would be effective in an entrenched defence if needed. Fine if it were a back five though I suppose (@Balu, thoughts?).

I suppose this would have been an equally interesting dilemma for you, so here it goes. Bossis-Amoros-Kaltz was the spread from defensive strength to attacking strength and I think Amoros was the sweet spot there. It was harder to choose between Bossis and Amoros, but ultimately I wanted to ensure a clear and credible threat going forward and Amoros on the overlap was the clincher there. Took me ages, probably all irrelevant given the importance the average voter would give to it.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Good game to both of you guys.

 

[devilish]

Antohan's teams are rock solid and well balanced. I'd like to challenge him one day. Feck he probably trash me but who cares.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

It's quite probably the shittiest rule in drafting history It's either three midfielders and three forwards (4-3-3) or two CMs and three AMs (4-2-3-1). I struggle to see how you could argue Henry's and Robben's role being counted differently, so unless Rui Costa is a forward in a 4-2-4...

It's been a great draft, well executed, with some great new things thrown in, including the double votes, but that rule is better lost in the dustbin if it isn't going to be actioned properly. I get the idea, I think it introduces a good challenge for the managers, but it's a travesty that the one time it factored into a game it had to be me bringing it up as if it weren't there. I drafted as flexible a squad as possible to ensure I could navigate the combined threat of Rio-Hargo-formations, but feel a bit bummed that I clearly should have ignored it altogether.

BTW, it's 10, Viva's vote doesn't count as he is a semifinalist. In other rounds the next team you face isn't clear but in a semi you are effectively choosing your next opponent. Not saying that's what he intends to do, but we've always done things that way to spare everyone the aggro. Whoever loses here can vote in the other semi though, obviously.

well, that rule is now erased from history. I just wanted to push managers towards exotic formations (WM), but took it a bit too far.

mmm, did not know about the semifinalist vote rule. Is it a draft norm?

 

[antohan]

Yeah, TRV gave me a good run for my money here, even if the scoreline doesn't reflect it. Losing Scholes was a massive blow, clearly. Scholes-Schweini with Desailly behind them would have been an entirely different proposition and Scholes' kudos would have made it much closer, even if it lost him two bonus votes (if at all). Sergi would have probably still cost him the game IRL, IMO.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Antohan's teams are rock solid and well balanced. I'd like to challenge him one day. Feck he probably trash me but who cares.

Then get off your ass and participate in one

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Congrats @antohan

Super game @The Red Viper !

 

[antohan]

Antohan's teams are rock solid and well balanced. I'd like to challenge him one day. Feck he probably trash me but who cares.

You are welcome to join any time you want. I figured you would be a fan of that Serie A theme running across the front four

 

[devilish]

Then get off your ass and participate in one

Would I look ridiculous if I tell you I dont have a bloody idea of how this works? I checked the rules and it look like Nuclear science for me.

However I like the ideas behind some of the teams. Some of the posters here know their stuff.

 

[antohan]

mmm, did not know about the semifinalist vote rule. Is it a draft norm?

Not sure if in the newbies, but in the mains you've never been allowed to vote in a game that decides your next opponent. At one point managers still in it couldn't vote in other knockouts even if there was still a draw to go through, but we relaxed it for the same reason you introduced double points: quality (and quantity). Semis are out of bounds though as you could potentially decide your easier final opponent. I think it's fair to keep it, and it only affects me now anyway.

Think about it, even without a vote either of the other semifinalists will think I'm being biased. At the very least I should lose the voting power, don't you think?

 

[antohan]

Would I look ridiculous if I tell you I dont have a bloody idea of how this works? I checked the rules and it look like Nuclear science for me.

However I like the ideas behind some of the teams. Some of the posters here know their stuff.

That's really the point, don't worry too much about rules, you'll work it out as you go along, but it's the discussions on players and how they could work together that makes it worthwhile.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Would I look ridiculous if I tell you I dont have a bloody idea of how this works? I checked the rules and it look like Nuclear science for me.

However I like the ideas behind some of the teams. Some of the posters here know their stuff.

Nah, once you jump it it is easy. Requires a bit of time to do your research though. You get to know super facts about players, funny incidents and occasional draft manager meltdowns. Even in this, think harms, Joga etc are quite new. This is my 3rd or 4th draft I'm participating. So not that difficult and if you could spent a bit of time, you'll be back for more. In the first draft you get to know how others think, who are rated, underrated and outright ridiculed...it gets to be more fun!

Join up for the next one!

 

[antohan]

Nah, once you jump it it is easy. Requires a bit of time to do your research though. You get to know super facts about players, funny incidents and occasional draft manager meltdowns. Even in this, think harms, Joga etc are quite new. This is my 3rd or 4th draft I'm participating. So not that difficult and if you could spent a bit of time, you'll be back for more. In the first draft you get to know how others think, who are rated, underrated and outright ridiculed...it gets to be more fun!

Join up for the next one!

Yeah, the sour taste from this game is Abidal moving from underrated to ridiculed. I actually played back that game yesterday and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as laid out. He made several interceptions, dispossessed Robben a few times, played some great passes (one resulting in an Eto'o goal questionably ruled offside). It's quite simply a handful of occasions where he gets beaten, the two most damning ones in the first five minutes when still getting into the game, and for one of those he gets beaten but still effectively shepherds Robben into a cul-de-sac. He actually did that pretty well throughout. I wouldn't say he had a great game, but it wasn't a mare either. He was unfortunate a foul of his resulted in a goal, but he wasn't being a spacker and free kicks do happen in games, particularly against players like Robben.

The point with a player like Robben isn't to try tackle him because if you miss it he is either fouled or off and your backline is mightily exposed, what you need to do is try delay him long enough that the defence regroups and someone else can pick him up if he gets past you, or at least there aren't utterly loose players in the box he can connect with. Once they regroup you can try tackle him if you want or, better, just shepherd him to a dead end. That's what Barca needed from him given the way they went about things and very much what was required here.

In the meantime, the other team had a leftback that didn't do any of those things and was a complete liability. I really don't get how anyone can play Sergi if it isn't to bang on about his attacking contribution and providing width upfront. If you need someone to defend you really should stay clear, it's as simple as that.

 

[antohan]

I write more feedback later, busy day at work. But yeah, I kinda ignored the Desailly covering for Scirea thing. That never made sense and would simply never happen.

@Balu whenever you are up for it mate

 

[antohan]

I am totally fine with not having a classic defensive destroyer/anchor, but it can become a problem when the #10 isnt arsed to defend. Vieri doesnt really help either. Effenberg + Neeskens have to play fairly deep/cautious and Boniek/Nedved would have to play as classic wide MFs (= they dont have the freedom to play as winger).

Not sure I understand, it was never the idea they would play as classic wingers. Nedved would operate left-to-centre in a wide midfield role (which you got spot on in the description below), while the whole point of Amoros was that Boniek wouldn't need to act as a traditional winger.

Nedved is perfectly fine with that, but boniek would struggle to impact the game. That lineup is forcing him to play too deep, which will mitigate his offensive threat. Furthermore Baggio and Boniek are very different players, but I still think that its difficult to get the best out of both. I think Boniek would have a hard time and wouldnt be a big factor at all.

I'm not sure I agree about the lineup forcing him deep or making him ineffective although I get the overall idea. It was very similar to the difference between Juve in Serie A and in Europe. In Europe they set up a deeper formation but gave Boniek an advanced role where he was immense for them. In Serie A they set up to dominate games so it was all quite crammed and is role was primarily to unsettle defences and drag defenders. It was like watching someone in a parallel Universe, playing his own completely separate game. It wasn't flashy, certainly not as flashy as his European exploits, but very effective. That's were I get your Baggio reference, it's not necessarily incompatible, but hard to see how it "works". The role here and how I'm set up is probably more along the lines of how Poland set up (with far inferior players, obviously) and he was brilliant for them and certainly not restrained by it.

The upside is, that I love Nedved in this role. He would be the best player on the pitch. Its up to him to fill the space that Vieri and Baggio create behind them and glue everything together. I can hardly think of a player who could do a better job in that role. Willy+Robben wont be able to contain him. He´ll have enough space to operate and run the show.
Baggio will also have a great game. Playing off Vieri, while getting service from Nedved/effenberg/Neeskens, will allow him to have a great match. Nedved+Baggio will win the match for you, because I havnt read anything from TRV, that will stop them.

Agreed, I posted that Nedved clip because I was baffled no one mentioned him at all. As I said, clear as daylight candidate for MotM.

- Having two players (Schweinsteiger + Scirea), that are able to play the ball out of the defence is more than most teams have. The only way you can press both efficiently is with a high line + a very aggressive defence. Understandably, you dont play this kind of tactics, but I highly disagree that TRV would struggle to get the ball to his forwards. Robben usually also drops deep enough to give him the ball.

Not struggle, it was more a case that it wasn't as quick as the ball being teleported upfront. I was confident I had ample time to regroup and think I did.

 

[Annahnomoss]

Not sure I understand, it was never the idea they would play as classic wingers. Nedved would operate left-to-centre in a wide midfield role (which you got spot on in the description below), while the whole point of Amoros was that Boniek wouldn't need to act as a traditional winger.



I'm not sure I agree about the lineup forcing him deep or making him ineffective although I get the overall idea. It was very similar to the difference between Juve in Serie A and in Europe. In Europe they set up a deeper formation but gave Boniek an advanced role where he was immense for them. In Serie A they set up to dominate games so it was all quite crammed and is role was primarily to unsettle defences and drag defenders. It was like watching someone in a parallel Universe, playing his own completely separate game. It wasn't flashy, certainly not as flashy as his European exploits, but very effective.

I find Boniek quite flashy actually but in his own quite original way. He wasn't the type to move his legs like a whirlwind with step-overs but he was flashy in the sense that he was very aware of his abilities and inabilities. I've seen him dribble past three players in a game, on his own half, then passing it back to the defender and it lead to nothing except that it relieved the pressure.

To do that in an even and important game is flashy in my eyes, really flashy. Had my eyes wide open and my mind going "WHAAT" at least.

Boniek wouldn't be bothered about being deep to be frank - maybe the team would if it wasn't what his team needed - but it was within his range to do so. Both Platini and Boniek often dropped very deep to try and lose a marker with a quick turn with great control - or a pass and move in to space. It was quite the theme in that team as Tardelli was exceptional as a dribbler for a central midfielder too and often started his own runs by beating his marker and then bursting forward.

Considering man marking was so common, beating your man was something for every attacking player not just for the wingers and a key part of achieving that was being comfortable pulling away from your marker in any direction.

 

[The Red Viper]

Just came online now. Well played, @antohan . Congrats.

 

[The Red Viper]

Don't think TRV's done a good enough job here of bumming up Scirea. Or should that be Anto's done a better job of tearing him up while simultaneously heralding Thiago Silva as Baresi v2.

Meh Ferrara and Amoros are no Rob Jones, Henry will have a field day.

What do you expect me to do?

He started with a front two of Raul - Baggio and without a holding midfielder a fine number ten like Rui Costa. Two major flaws which I clearly highlighted. His point about how they would press crazy is hilarious to say the least because their pressing would only come into the picture when Rui Costa has the ball. Initially he mentions about how they would play not a high backline but then they would push up when needed, which effectively means it will end up being a high backline against Henry, Eto'o and Robben. So, all it would require is one through-ball from Rui Costa or Bastian and his defence would be chasing shadows.

As for Scirea, I don't understand the point of selling players like Scirea, Henry, Scholes etc. They are all time great players. How much more can you sell them?