................................................ TEAM SJOR/JOGA ........................................................................................... TEAM HARMS ............................................
TEAM SJOR / JOGA
Tactics
Possession, High Line, High Press
After our first 2 picks, we decided we live and die by our philosophy, no matter which formation we got. Bit of a cheat considering the theme, but thankfully we got a formation where we are also tactically spot on, so we don't have to argue how formations are irrelevant.
Back 3 is sensational considering the theme - Neuer the prototypical Sweeper ball playing goalie, who completely revolutionized the goalkeeper position and did it at highest level possible. In front of him we have Mozer and Stam a pairing which is almost a cheat code in a high line, two just insanely athletic defenders that were dominating most of their opponents with ease. We all know everything about the quality of Stam but Mozer was equally just as fantastic, but unfortunately had zero luck in international football. Sadly most of the football world has completely forgotten him and his stature in footballing history is much lower then it should rightfully be. At the fullback position, we have 2 Duracell bunnies that are capable of running their flanks, both Amoros and Benarrivo were very good defenders and even better attackers.
The midfield is the crown jewel of the team. Iniesta, who like Neuer, revolutionized the # 10 position where players (at least great ones) stopped playing a hit and miss game and started taking care of the ball more, trying to find the ideal balance between cycling possession and providing thrust & penetration, and Iniesta is one of the best ever at it. Playing next to him is the Man City GOAT - David Silva, partner in crime for the national team who will be on the same wavelength with the Spaniard and the rest of the band.
The more interesting part of the midfield is the partnership of Redondo and Fabinho who we see as a very similar partnership to Fabinho and Thiago at Lpool. Those two together are an absolute delight to watch and not only that, they are backing the eye test with a great record both domestically and in the CL. Here we upgraded Thiago with Redondo and we can see a very similar dynamic developing between the two of them. The midfield as a whole should play some thrilling fast paced but possession based football with the right blend of creativity and cohesiveness.
Up front two modern greats of the game - S&S. Both are absolutely lethal in the final third, and exceptional outside it as well with their penchant for the outrageous, ability to contribute in possession with their link up play and movement off the ball, and most importantly for Sjor - amazing in the defensive phase of the game.
TEAM HARMS
My team has the perfect combination of flair, work-rate and shithousery that you want from your side. Plenty of goalscorers, perfectly balanced midfield with 3 very different players with complimentary skill-sets & different sources of creativity that includes Marcelo and a near-unbeatable defense.
Mr. Iron Curtain himself stands the goal. Rinat Dasayev was one of the most complete keepers of all-time — agile as a cat but also incredibly dominant inside the box & in the air.
Franco Baresi and Paul McGrath form an unbeatable defensive block in the centre. McGrath’s athleticism and versatility make him a perfect partner for Baresi and his pace is going to be useful in order to cover for Marcelo on the left. I’m not sure if I need to comment on Baresi — he’s, in my opinion, the greatest defender of all-time (with Beckenbauer transcending that role and belonging in a tier of his own), as well as the greatest ever defensive leader/organiser.
On the left side of defense Sjor’s sweetheart Marcelo, probably the greatest attacking left-back of all-time, gets a free reign to bomb forward with Rensenbrink & Lerby providing him with plenty of interplay options and cover.
On the right it’s the greatest ever Ranger, John Greig, who is the perfect player for this draft — having played at a top level at RB, LB, CB and CM throughout his illustrious career. He really should feature way often in those drafts — when I was looking into the British (and Scottish specifically) football of the 60’s & 70’s he was the player who impressed me the most. Not because he was necessarily the best one but because of his ridiculous consistency and the variety of roles that he was able to perform in without it affecting his game at all.
Didier Deschamps completes the central triangle of death, covering the space in front of defense — the true embodiment of the role of a water-carrier, he had won everything everywhere he went: Euros & World Cup with France, league & CL title with Marseille and 3 league titles as well as 3 successive CL finals (winning 1) with Juve.
Søren Lerby is one of my favourite players of all-time who had the most literal interpretation of a box-to-box role imaginable. In defense, he’d drop behind centre backs to form a back 3 or cover for his left back on a regular basis; in possession, he’d take the ball from a keeper and move it forward — be it by an accurate diagonal ball across the pitch or through an incisive forward run; in attack he’d provide a smart one-two option for his forwards or score himself (he once finished as CL’s top-scorer despite playing in midfield) — that’s when he won’t peel out wide to provide a brilliantly-timed cross into the box. I can’t praise him enough, he was the player that I wanted to build my team around in this draft and I’m quite happy with how it ended up.
On the right I have the real Luis Suárez, the Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder, not the odd-looking hungry for human flesh imposter that we see on another side. His role here is from the very zenith of his career in mid-60’s — a masterful midfield maestro that’s going to control the tempo of the game while also providing a very notable threat attacking-wise. The performance that I have in mind to illustrate his role here is the one from the 1964 Euros final where he had outplayed a very strong Soviet team with peak Voronin trying to contain him — not only did he was the main facilitator of Spain’s attacking game, he had also provide a crucial assist with a well-times cross from the right side.
The attack is very straight-forward with all players assuming their natural roles: Rob Rensenbrink shines as the main man in a free role on the left (in which he had almost managed to win Netherlands its first World Cup in 1978 & lead Anderlecht into their golden era of the 70’s — reaching 3 CWC finals & winning 2, including the one where he had almost single-handedly dismantled Beckenbauer’s Bayern).
The impeccable Denis Law, the best striker on the pitch and that’s saying something, leads the line — he also has freedom to drop deeper or peel out wide if he sees fit with my wingmen, Lerby & Suárez all capable of providing significant goal threat & all being fit for this fluid interchangeable playing style.
Sir Tom Finney is the last piece of the puzzle — he’ll play in a more orthodox role on the right, the role that he had preferred the most, but this is still a player with a deceptively great left foot (he even took set pieces with both left & right foot depending on the angle) and an experience of playing in all 5 of attacking roles in W-M formation.