Michaelf7777777............................................................................................................Joga Bonito & Theon
..........VS............
Team Michaelf7777777
My team will play a 4-2-3-1 formation with 5 players whom I would strongly consider for a first round pick in this draft in Bochini, Goncalves, Leandro, van Dijk and Charles (with Bulgarelli being good enough for this status in terms of quality but he is not as well known).
My Goalkeeper is Andoni Zubizarreta who was efficient and great at positioning and one of the best keepers in the history of both Spain and Barcelona. Zubizarreta won the Don Balon award in 1987 as the best Spanish player in La Liga (for context 1987 was the year in which Ruud Gullit claimed that Rafael Gordillo, a Spainard who played for Real Madrid should have won the Ballon d'Or instead of him).
My Rightback is Leandro who was a great allround rightback being a great allround attacking player and running as much if not more than anyone else in the 1982 Brazil team while defensively being good enough later in his career to make the Brazil national team as a centreback and was one of the best 2 centrebacks in the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1985. My first centreback is Murtaz Khurtsilava who finished second in the Soviet Footballer of the Year award (voted on by journalists) in both 1967 and 1968 and in his position in the Soviet league he was judged (by the Presidum of the Football Federation with the approval of the National Coaches Council) the best player in 5 seasons (68, 69, 71, 72, 73), the second best twice (65, 66) and third best twice (63, 70) with an additional top 3 finish in 67 when the top 3 were not ordered although he was the best placed defender in the Soviet Footballer of the Year award that year. My second centreback is the 1.93m tall Virgil van Dijk who was the PFA Players Player of the year in 2018-19 and a member of the Champions League team of the season in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.My leftback is Tommy Gemmellwho was two footed, quick, good going forward (being one of only 3 British players to have scored in two European cup finals along with Neal and Bale) and a good tackler.
My defensive midfielder is Nestor Goncalves who was very similar to his predecessor, for both club and country, Obdulio Varela, Goncalves was great defensively, was very tactically aware, extremely tough and also had a superb passing range to help start attacks from deep. My box to box midfielder is Giacomo Bulgarelli who according to Fabio Capello in 2009 was the greatest Italian midfielder ever and according to Sergio Campana (a teammate at Bologna and President of the Italian Footballers Association for more than 40 years) had the skills of both Gianni Rivera and Sandro Mazzola. My attacking midfielder is Ricardo Bochini who won the Footballer of the Year for Argentina in 1983 and finished third in the South American Footballer of the Year award in 1984 as well as being included in the South American Team of the Year in 1989 and being Maradona's idol. Bochini was a great passer and dribbler as well as being an expert at timing passes to leave forwards one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
On the right hand side of my front three is Mohamed Salah who has scored 94 goals in 152 games in his 3 years at Liverpool being premier league golden boot twice as well as being voted the best player in England in the 2017-18 season by fans, journalists and players. My striker is John Charles who was the top scorer in the first division in England and Serie A in Italy in successive seasons as well as finishing third in the 1959 Ballon d'Or. In 1997, Juventus fans voted him the greatest foreign player in their history and Jack Charlton also considered him the most effective player that he had ever seen. On the left hand side of my front 3 is Eden Hazard who was the PFA players' player of the year in 2014-15 and the winner of the silver ball (2nd best player) at the 2018 world cup.
Team Joga Bonito & Theon
DEFENSE
Dino Zoff ('82 WC winning captain, 2nd in the Ballon d'Or) will prove to be a formidable last line of defence with his calming presence, organisational abilities and stupendous shot stopping expertise - playing in a classic Italian defence set up should elevate his game further and in a tight game his superiority to Zubi could make the difference. From the outset the defence has been built with Armando Picchi in mind whose organisational and defensive prowess is pivotal to the set-up. Leading the team from the heart of the defence the Grande Inter captain is one of the finest proponents of 'sweeping' ever - as a player we rank Picchi as the purest defender in the entire draft and his reading of the game and ability to sniff out danger will be critical.
Uruguayan and Juventus legend Paolo Montero, slots in seamlessly as the left sided stopper adding physicality and grit to the backline. Branded by Giggs as one of his toughest opponents, Montero was a mainstay in Juventus's defense when it was the meanest in Serie A and arguably world football. Dutch dynamo Van Bronckhorst was a force to be reckoned with on the left, manning the left flank single handedly and was a potent threat to the opposition's goal (as his goal against Uruguay in the '10 WC will testify). Finally captaining the defence as he did for Germany and Gladbach, 'the terrier' Berti Vogts needs no introduction - serial winner in all formats (World Cup, European Championship, five Bundesligas) who set the gold-standard in his role for over a decade (nine times Team of the Season, and two time Footballer of the Year in Germany in an era with Beckenbauer, Muller, Netzer and Breitner) - without question the best defender in this draft who should nullify Hazard whilst forming a great right flank with Haßler.
MIDFIELD
Dave Mackay, the man branded by Best to be "his toughest and bravest opponent" was the cornerstone of Nicholson's historic double winning Spurs vintage and ranked by Brian Clough as Spur's greatest ever player (ahead of Hoddle, Blanchflower, Linekar and Greaves). In many ways similar to Keano, Mackay combined his status as a midfield hard-man with supreme ability on the ball and natural leadership ability, with Greaves once remarking that Mackay was "the most complete professional footballer I have ever known". Partnering Mackay is the classic complete package in Clarence Seedorf, with the Dutchman being the amalgam of flair and physicality. A key tactical cog for several top notch sides and the only player to win the Champions League with three clubs (Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan) Seedorf was the ultimate professional who always knew how to put his versatility and malleable skill set to perfect use, often tailoring his gameplay to elevate his side. Mackay and Seedorf will be an imposing duo with their dynamic two way games bridging and supplementing our rock solid rearguard and the fluid and creative attacking cast.
The little magician Alain Giresse was one of France's best players in '84 as he dovetailed beautifully with Platini in the carré magique, but at club level for Bordeaux he was a legendary figure in a more advanced #10 role where he would utilise his passing, technical quality and goal-scoring hitting 55 in 131 games at his peak. With his low-centre of gravity and inclination to drift into wide-areas Giresse has some similarities with Andres Iniesta and outside the carré magique should be considered a talismanic playmaker in his own right (as his 2nd place in the '82 Balon D'Or demonstrates). Thomas Haßler, a pivotal figure in the 80s and 90s German vintage, was a dyamic playmaker with his versatility and industry always coming to the fore. Blessed with a lovely touch and a low centre of gravity, the German along with Littbarski provided the flair to the German machine of the 80s & 90s. It is only testament to his quality that his performances in the 92 Euros, invited comparisons with Maradona's 86 WC displays.
OFFENSE
The spearhead Alberto Spencer was THE complete centre forward with searing pace, devastating aerial prowess, jinxing dribbling, dynamism and unerring finishing. Be it dropping deep and going on a may run, drifting out to the flanks before cutting in with his devastating pace or his explosive finishing in the box, Spencer was a fearsome forward with quite the array of weapons in his arsenal - simply put, Spencer is one of the greatest centre forwards ever. With Tostao in tandem and the creative cast behind him, he'll be in his element and raring to hit the back of the net again.
In the second striker role we have upgraded to the ideal player in Tostão, one of the all-time great Brazilian players who married intelligent playmaking with ruthless finishing. Not only was the forward capable of playing the facilitative foil as Pele would testify, his ruthless goalscoring prowess meant that he scored 249 goals in 378 matches for Cruzeirio and 32 goals in 54 caps for the Selecao. In this role there isn't a player in the draft we would choose ahead of Tostão, his supreme left-foot and natural inclination to drift out wide exactly what the team needs tactically, and his intricate technical quality on the ball well-set to optimise Alberto Spencer and pose significant problems for the opposition backline.
Key Points
- Tostao looks set to play a starring role in this battle with the Brazilian capable of taking full advantage of the explosive and physical Spencer's leading the drift line (in many ways similar to his partnership with Pele) and his ease on the left flanks and channels is critical to our set up. The Khurtsilava-Leandro axis could find it tough to get a handle on the nifty Brazilian. Khurtsilava was a fine centre back but Tostao isn't the type of a forward he'll relish facing and if Leandro is too adventurous, Tostao will exploit those gaps on the left flank to deadly effects.
- The side is bolstered by several inspirational leaders, especially at the back - 82 WC winning captain D.Zoff, La Grande Inter's captain Picchi and skipper of the great 70s Gladbach side Vogts and Dutch icon Van Bronchorst. The side will offer sturdy resistance at the back with the resolute and the inspirational rearguard .
- Michael has an excellent side which is easy to visualize. Saying that, perhaps his forward trio could have used a more dynamic selfless foil to elevate the other duo. Both Hazard and Salah were individualistic inside forwards who loved cutting in and weren't too dynamic when not in possession. Whilst he admittedly does have two wingbacks, Charles's gameplay could have been better utilized with a dedicated wide forward with a good delivery.
Good luck @Michaelf7777777 @Joga Bonito @Theon!
). That addition of Tostao was key imo. He was more or less the only player in the pool whom we really wanted for that SS spot, esp with his natural tendency to venture onto the left.
