Bloodbath of a match thread.
I get what you're saying now. You are just a DM and right-winger short of an exceptional team
We knew our right wing wouldn't be loved when we picked Tassotti, but the options weren't great and TAA would have been massacred in the voting with Finney as his direct opponent. Tassotti has quite a few pluses in our system though:
- excellent defender and along with Boli a counter-balance to Koeman and Marcelo who are historically noteworthy for their insane abilities on the ball. Serendipitous decision really given that he's up against the great Finney.
- we aim to win the game by establishing a level of control in midfield, so we wanted someone with pedigree in a high-line system as that's generally a natural by-product of dominating the ball.
- he wasn't actually a purely defensive RB. He's no Leandro or TAA on the ball, but he did motor forward to support the attack and had a decent if unspectacular right peg. Video overload now:
Nice cross to assist Massaro at 0:58 and another assist right from the byline for van Basten at 3:02 in an insane match vs Fiorentina:
Peach of a cross to assist Maldini at 0:30:
2 assists in that famous 5-0 win vs Real Madrid, the first an excellent cross for Rijkaard at 1:20, the second an entirely unnoteworthy 5 yard pass to Donadoni at 4:00
We;re not trying to sell him as some relentless overlapper and one-man flank who was racking up assists week in week out, but he was a capable width-provider.
Kubala seemed to pop up literally everywhere from the available footage and I'd certainly classify him overall as a predominantly as a central/inside channel presence, but he was comfortable taking on his man on the outside. Moreover, as befits his gigantic reputation as quite possibly the greatest player on the pitch, he seemed an intelligent player who will gravitate to the areas where he can get on the ball and do maximum damage, which is clearly Marinho's zone here.
Larsson was a tireless and selfess runner who was capable of attacking and providing assists from either wing (most famously for Barca's winner in the 2006 CL final) but also here at 0:29:
and, from the wrong wing for our argument but the right foot, two lovely assists here:
Schuster is the real clincher as regards that wing being not only functional but a clear threat, with his De Bruyne-esque passing from the inside-right and outside-right channels. It's obviously anathema to Utd supporters after years of suffering through a horribly stunted right wing, but it's worth pointing out that it's hardly unusual for the wider wing-play to be orientated towards one flank as long as the other isn't positively anaemic - Milan 2004 diamond with Cafu on one flank and ancient Maldini on the other, Barca with the defensive Abidal and predominantly out-to-in off the ball runner Pedro on the left wing, Everaldo/Rivelino forming a fairly narrow left wing for Brazil in 1970 with Jairzinho/Carlos Alberto providing the final third penetration on the other wing.
Surprised at the Cambiasso criticism though, as I assumed he'd have been good to take all the way to a final in this pool in this role. A very different tactical framework of course, but he was the one who primarily stymied Messi vs Barca in 2010 when he cut inside, and in general he was a brilliant player tactically as well as being highly competent on the ball. I could understand requiring some titan like Desailly in a different midfield configuation, but with two industrious and fairly athletic #8s like Liedholm and Schuster in support I really didn't expect him to be questioned here in terms of tactical fit.
