WC All-time All-stars Round 1: Balu vs ThisIsTheOne

[Polaroid]

This is a fantasy tournament SOLELY BASED ON PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES IN THEIR WORLD CUP PRIME (PERFORMANCES OUTSIDE OF THE WC DO NOT COUNT)
Anyone can vote
Managers and assistants can vote in their own matches but their votes will not count

Tactics:​

What total football did was turning the idea of free movement into strictly organised chaos, everyone needs to move, but to make it work, all the players need to complement each other perfectly. That's what we're trying to do, starting with a strikerless 4-3-3 that allows me to outnumber my opponent on the wing without loosing the midfield battle. The key parts are versatility of my attacking players, a central midfield that combines tactical awareness with physical strength, attacking fullbacks, a lot of movement and in Cruyff and Jairzinho two brilliant dribblers with the ability to go past any defender. The best way to attack against my opponent is through the wings to either use my numerical advantage out wide or force him to help out and drag his defenders out of position all the time.

How it works in possession:​

Cruyff often talks about how he loved to get into 1on1 situations, so here's an example how this idea of football isolates Cruyff on the wing and why it works so well with my team:

Spoiler

Forlan excelled with that movement in 2010, scoring from outside the box or getting that extra second of time to play dangerous passes, Ceulemans scored a crucial goal against the Soviet Union after one of those runs into the box. So Cruyff's movement not only allows himself to get into his beloved 1on1 on the wing, it also brings out the best of all my attacking players. If a second player joins to help out against Cruyff, it brings Marzolini into the game, who when moving forward acted as a wide playmaker. Then he can connect the wing quickly with the rest of the team, so I can play through the gap that opens up when defenders are dragged out of position or give one of my defensive midfielders the chance for another game winning long range goal. Davids and Haan love to score one of those in worldcup knockout games.

Here's more, if you like those formation graphs, the idea behind them is to show how natural it looks for all my players to take up the different positions on the pitch.

Spoiler

The following shows, why my amazing Brazilian right wing fits so perfectly into this idea for the team.

Similarities to Carlos Alberto's goal in the final '70 are purely coincidental.

How to open up space that allows Arie Haan to release one of his long-range rockets, while Cruyff covers the right wing defensively and my attacking players are in position for a rebound:

Everything starts with Cruyff and that's the brilliance of him in full power. No player ever had a comparable tactical understanding of the game and the individual ability to pull that off, influencing the game in so many different positions. And the most beautiful thing about him, all his teammates benefit from it during the game.

How it works without possession:​

So how do I survive in defense against two of the most prolific worldcup goalscorers of all time? The best way to keep Vavá and Rossi from scoring is to keep them out of the penalty box, because that's where their strength lies. A high defensive line suits my team best anyway and in midfield we add something you could call 'chaotic hunting for the ball'. Forlan will move further inside to put pressure on the centerbacks while Jairzinho gets the freedom to become the linchpin of every counterattack. My fullbacks can defend his wingbacks, which leaves all my central players free to press against his midfielders. De Boer will join them depending on the situation to intercept passes and Schulz will stay at the back and if necessary pull off some last second tackles and blocks which made him such a huge fan favorite in '66. If I'm lucky, it might force Cerezo into another horrific back pass or get de Boer to play an assist like he did in '98, so there's a good chance I can turn defense into offense a few times during the game.

You have doubts that all this could actually work, built around a player from the 70's? Have a look at this short compilation about the Netherlands' tactics at the worldcup in '74 and if you want to know more about my team, click herefor the player profiles.

 

[Polaroid]

Formation & Tactics
4-2-2-2 (World Cup examples: Brazil ’82, France ’82-‘86)



Breaking down the in-game battles:

Spoiler

# The lack of pace in de Boer and Schultz can be hurt by the raw speed & acceleration of Vavá. Rossi was also quick, especially over the first few yards where his response, reflexes were deadly.
(From a defensive view point, with Vavá’s pace and stamina, pressing de Boer will hopefully cut down or stop his distribution altogether.)

# Sir Bobby Charlton is placed to the centre-left of the magic square for a defensive reason as well as attacking. With Balu’s right flank being so strong, Charlton will put in a shift on the left to discourage Carlos Alberto attacking and give him food for thought before bombing forward and leaving a gap at right back. Going forward though is where Charlton really causes problems for Balu. Here, like in ’66, he plays with two forwards ahead of him to get the most out of his delicious passing range. He’ll also pose a huge goal threat, naturally. So he’s placed where he plays his best football and causes most damaged.

# Haan, Davids & Ceulemans (all fine players) will have a hard time dealing with & being out-numbered by the magic square. Gascoigne alone will cause big problems for Davids with his energy and power. Both players are known for being hot-heads at times so this really will be an interesting tussle. Gazza will benefit from the neat and accurate distribution from Cerezo & Tardelli behind him.

# 4 v 3 in the middle of the park. The big advantage to having a magic square is the extra possession and control of the game. Haan will likely have to venture forward to help Ceuelmans. This will be interesting from my p.o.v since it poses a challenge to Cerezo & Tardelli yet leaves more room for Charlton. The four man midfield, along with Baresi distributing from the back, should allow for the lion’s share of possession & control.

# The big problem to be solved comes from Cruyff. A challenge Baresi would relish, testing himself against the best. If Cruyff is to drop into midfield to make it 4 v 4 then Baresi will have time and space to control things. If Cruyff pushes up as a forward, Perfumo and Baresi together can hopefully negotiate the threat. Perfumo, a mean man-marker and Baresi covering to put out any potential fires.

While control in the middle is expected, and is the obvious advantage for my side, the biggest disadvantage lies on the flanks.

# Balu is undeniably strong on both flanks. But especially the right. Jaizinho and C.Alberto are superstars of the WC. Fortunately my left side is solid. The threat of Charlton can deter C.Alberto, Tardelli while mainly focused on the centre, can cover if needed and Karl-Heinz Schnellinger is one of the great left backs. A battle between him and Jairzinho again will be a delight to watch. Schnellinger will be cautious when bombing forward due to the danger of the Brazilian, but it’ll be a good test of Jairzinho’s discipline and work-rate to match the brilliant German.

Schnellinger was a particularly pleasing pick in the respect that he suits Baresi so well. He could play centrally and played in Italy for 9 years with AC Milan. He has similar traits and experience to Maldini, who so often played alongside Baresi.

# The left flank of Balu concerns me less but is still a danger. Marzolini was a fine left back. He will cause problems. If Gazza escapes the attentions of Davids, he could get at the full back & has the engery to track. But Cerezo will certainly display awareness to the threat. Forlan, although he may not be a big name in many people’s eyes, had an excellent WC in 2010 and will definitely offer a danger. Zanetti, with the help of his fellow Argie Perfumo, should be able to keep Forlan at bay and stop him from letting off his superb long range shots at goal. Meanwhile Zanetti getting forward is something Forlan must consider.
All in all it’s a fine match up and Balu has constructed a great team. I hope the control & possession from the middle combined with shutting down the flanks as best as possible, can result in my team getting the win, maybe from some Charlton magic or the two deadly forwards.

link to player write ups - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/fan...l-time-all-stars.380682/page-51#post-14734533

 

[Balu]

Before we start the discussion, I found the following story, when I was researching Marzolini, thought it's worth sharing because both Charlton and Marzolini are facing each other in this game.

After the highly controversial quarterfinal between Argentina and England in 1966, which saw the Argentine captain Antonio Rattin sent off after 30 minutes and then England winning against 10 men, Sir Alf Ramsey forbid his players to swap shirts with the Argentine players because of their behavior throughout the game. He even ran on the pitch after the game and grabbed some of the shirts to prevent it from happening. Charlton still swapped his with Marzolini, who kept it safe at home for more than 40 years. Recently it was auctioned in England to raise money for Silvio's family and charity work, so after 43 years, it finally came home again.

More on this story:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/bobby-charltons-1966-world-cup-1372678

 

[crappycraperson]

Wow this is a tough one. Both write ups superb and spot on

 

[Polaroid]

Class analysis from both managers
This illustrates why I said this is the strongest pool of managers ever assembled for a fantasy tourney on redcafe

 

[crappycraperson]

Balu, I love your explanation about Cryuff's role in the game. But does your game plan fall through if someone from TITO's team is able to man mark Cryuff

 

[Balu]

Ffs, TITO is way too nice, I almost feel bad questioning anything he wrote

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

Really good analysis from both Managers, makes it a lot harder to choose on this one IMO

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Excellent write ups lads. Edging towards Balu in the early stages as he's articulated his plans so comprehensively, in particular how he intends to get the best out of Cruyff. Not going to vote until I see how the discussion pans out though.

 

[RoadTrip]

Wonderful read, thanks guys. I can't decide yet. Both your descriptions are near perfect; i'm waiting on someone to say something that throws something up in the air. I'll read in detail and try and think of some stuff myself in the next few hours =P.

 

[Balu]

Balu, I love your explanation about Cryuff's role in the game. But does your game plan fall through if someone from TITO's team is able to man mark Cryuff

Thank god, you started it, so I have to answer and don't need to feel bad . I hope TITO shows up soon, because there's a really interesting tactical discussion possible, especially about a 4vs3 midfield in general.

To answer your question, he's not man-marking Cruyff at all, that's the part about him in TITO's tactics:

The big problem to be solved comes from Cruyff. A challenge Baresi would relish, testing himself against the best. If Cruyff is to drop into midfield to make it 4 v 4 then Baresi will have time and space to control things. If Cruyff pushes up as a forward, Perfumo and Baresi together can hopefully negotiate the threat. Perfumo, a mean man-marker and Baresi covering to put out any potential fires.

So I don't really need to worry about Cruyff at all, he can do what he does best, move around and TITO doesn't have any specific tactic to counter it. He will drop into midfield and the team will then move collectively towards goal. If I read it correctly, he wants Zanetti to follow Forlan's move inside, so in the end Cruyff has free reign on the left wing, he loved the left wing. That's exactly what I tried to show with the first 4 picture tactic piece and that's clearly my best way to create danger. Zanetti dragged out of position, Cruyff 1on1 on the wing against Perfumo, who's really not comfortable there and 3 or 4 of my players moving towards goal. A nightmare to defend against, even when his midfielders are trying to follow the movement of my players.

The only player in his team who would be suited to a man-marking job on Cruyff is Schnellinger, but he's with Jairzinho and I don't want to be mean to Perfumo, but I doubt he's really good at defending against movement. He captained Argentina in '74 and Cruyff destroyed him and his defense. Here's a link to the highlights of the game. Baresi is brilliant in organising a defense, but he has already lost Schnellinger on Jairzinho, Zanetti on Forlan and Perfumo tries his best against Cruyff. He's basically alone in the box.

 

[Annahnomoss]

Very even match-up. For me I see Jairzinho/C.Alberto as the edging factor - considering they scored in every game they played and contributed with 8 goals alone in that 1970's World Cup. They are the best or second best wing in history only contested by Garrincha/Djalma Santos.

The rest I feel are very even and I can't draw any advantage between them. I feel like Forlan/Cruyff/Ceuleman has an equal chance of scoring as Rossi/Vava/Charlton - just can't see either team being more likely to score than the other - except for that right wing.

Both teams are great though.

 

[crappycraperson]

Thank god, you started it, so I have to answer and don't need to feel bad . I hope TITO shows up soon, because there's a really interesting tactical discussion possible, especially about a 4vs3 midfield in general

To answer your question, he's not man-marking Cruyff at all, that's the part about him in TITO's tactics:

So I don't really need to worry about Cruyff at all, he can do what he does best, move around and TITO doesn't have any specific tactic to counter it. He will drop into midfield and the team will then move collectively towards goal. If I read it correctly, he wants Zanetti to follow Forlan's move inside, so in the end Cruyff has free reign on the left wing, he loved the left wing. That's exactly what I tried to show with the first 4 picture tactic piece and that's clearly my best way to create danger. Zanetti dragged out of position, Cruyff 1on1 on the wing against Perfumo, who's really not comfortable there and 3 or 4 of my players moving towards goal. A nightmare to defend against, even when his midfielders are trying to follow the movement of my players.

The only player in his team who would be suited to a man-marking job on Cruyff is Schnellinger, but he's with Jairzinho and I don't want to be mean to Perfumo, but I doubt he's really good at defending against movement. He captained Argentina in '74 and Cruyff destroyed him and his defense. Here's a link to the highlights of the game. Baresi is brilliant in organising a defense, but he has already lost Schnellinger on Jairzinho, Zanetti on Forlan and Perfumo tries his best against Cruyff. He's basically alone in the box.

I don't agree with all that but I would leave it for TITO to answer and defend his tactics

 

[Moby]

Excellent teams, both. Marginally leaning towards Balu mainly because of his wide threat. Jairzinho was phenomenal in that WC and while it would be close I think he can get past the German a couple of times. Zanetti for me isn't the same Zanetti who has made his name as one of the best RBs of all time, mainly as he was more of a wingback in 98 and rather a wide midfielder at times than a thorough fullback. Both these points combined means Balu can exploit the wide areas specially as he's also got the fluidity which means that Cruyff can easily swap with Forlan when needed and and find space behind Zanetti.

Very close margin, though.

 

[Balu]

I don't agree with all that but I would leave it for TITO to answer and defend his tactics

Well I agree, that most likely it won't be that easy, and it should be interesting to hear how his defensive midfielders will actually support the defenders. So yes, I agree, that we need to wait for TITO to respond.

I also didn't really answer your question about what I would do, if someone man-marks Cruyff throughout the game. Depends of course on the situation and on the player, but most likely Cruyff would drop deeper, probably mainly to the right in central midfield, so that Jairzinho can push in a more central role and Carlos Alberto can go into full attack mode. Haan might get more freedom to move forward. There are a lot of possibilities because both my fullbacks have great playmaking skills, Forlan can play as a striker, Ceulemans on the left wing.

 

[Thisistheone]

Sorry guys, been stuck in work. Will get on here to talk tactics as soon as I can. Cheers!

p.s Balu I voted already so I can see the score.

 

[Balu]

Sorry guys, been stuck in work. Will get on here to talk tactics as soon as I can. Cheers!

I'm off for the next 2.5 hours, so hopefully we'll find the time to have a good discussion later today. I don't really want to post too much without you being online to answer, pretty sure I sounded harsher than I wanted to be in the post above.

 

[Thisistheone]

I'm off for the next 2.5 hours, so hopefully we'll find the time to have a good discussion later today. I don't really want to post too much without you being online to answer, pretty sure I sounded harsher than I wanted to be in the post above.

Cool. I'm finishing work in a hour or so. We can discuss the match later, then.

Loving the little diagrams by the way. Excellent work!

 

[crappycraperson]

I find it interesting that the almost all the discussion so far is about Balu's attack vs TITO's defense and almost nothing about TITO's attack vs Balu's defense

 

[Balu]

Loving the little diagrams by the way. Excellent work!

Anto deserves some credit for that, not sure if it was entirely his idea or if something he wrote just pointed me in the right direction, but it really was the only way to show the movement of total football without confusing everyone (including myself ).

 

[Balu]

I find it interesting that the almost all the discussion so far is about Balu's attack vs TITO's defense and almost nothing about TITO's attack vs Balu's defense

Well, there wasn't that much discussion so far, pretty sure TITO and I will cover the other parts of the game as well later today . I'm off now.

 

[Thisistheone]

While Balu is away, I wrote this on my 4-2-2-2.

The side lines up akin to the famous Brazil side of 1982 which thrilled the world & the fabulous French side of the same WC & the following WC of ‘86. The common factors in these sides - they played exciting, open, attacking football. Both have gone down alongside the best WC teams but ultimately, both came up short. Brazil, the slick, joyous attacking outlet but much too frail at the back, eventually K.O’d by Paolo Rossi. France likewise, played some majestic stuff with their magic square but again were susceptible at the back (and to Harold Schumacher.) Both Sides also lacked world class forwards.​

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​

To be overly harsh and crude, both sides had the balance of a drunken, spur of the moment Joey Barton tweet.​

​

​

In this side, there’s a significantly stronger, healthier, balance. Instead of the somewhat frail Luizinho & Oscar, enter Franco Baresi and Roberto Perfumo. The wing backs are also of a higher calibre. Schnellinger & Zanetti are ideally suited to this set-up with their incredible energy & work rate.​

The midfield was the strength of Brazil & France so here the similarities are greatest. The criminally under-rated Cerezo obviously occupies the same role, but with less burden, given that in this side he isn’t the only holding midfielder. Cerezo now has one of the best next to him in Marco Tardelli. The Italian brings more tactical nous than Falcao did yet can still chip in with important goals. Both these midfielders primarily offer protection to the centre backs, squeezing any space in between the lines, but with the ability to help out or cover the full backs, if needed.​

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At the top end of the magic square is Gazza and Sir Bobby. Charlton occupies the role of Zico and Platini. Gascoigne of Socrates and Giresse. While Gazza will bring the dribbling, power, energy and enthusiasm, ultimately it is Charlton who will be the star, the main man, the goal scorer. Gascoigne peaked at Italia ’90 where he was a driving force and showed his incredible skill level by being more than a match for the great Lothar Matthaus in the semi-final. Sir Bobby Charlton is possibly, with the exception of Pele & Maradona, the most consistent attacking player the WC has seen.​

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Up front, instead of the blunt strikers of Eder, Serginho, Six and Rochetau, we have one of the all time great WC players in Paolo Rossi and one of the best Brazilian strikers & big game players in Vavá.​

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The hardest job in football ultimately, is putting the ball in the back of the net. It’s the business end of football, it’s why forwards always cost more than defenders. So to have two world class players up top, is very much the icing on a rather sexy looking cake. I especially hope Rossi gets the credit he deserves, given this is a WC draft.​

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The 4-2-2-2 is still used today to varying degree’s. Brazil, again , used it during the 2009 confederations cups, which they won.​

Brazil 82 line up​

http://footballsgreatest.weebly.com/uploads/4/9/9/8/4998002/7391447.jpg?395​

Brazil ‘09​

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/FIFACC_Brazil-South_Africa_line_up.svg​

I find it interesting that the almost all the discussion so far is about Balu's attack vs TITO's defense and almost nothing about TITO's attack vs Balu's defense

Its an aspect of the game I won't be overlooking. My strikers are stella, in this particular draft. Rossi is final worthy, imo.

Only three players have ever been voted the best player at a World Cup and the second best player at another World Cup - Pele, Ronaldo and Paolo Rossi.

 

[crappycraperson]

Well, there wasn't that much discussion so far, pretty sure TITO and I will cover the other parts of the game as well later today . I'm off now.

I was not talking about you. Just that some others have come in and just posted some stuff about your attack aagainst some of his defenders but nothing the other way.

 

[Thisistheone]

I don't agree with all that but I would leave it for TITO to answer and defend his tactics

Ok Balu should be back soon so,

My view on this is I 'should' have a spare man at the back to snuff out any danger. Cruyff won't be man marked. That would be too dangerous considering the following:

If Perfumo mm Cruyff, he's so intelligent he'd drop deep, pulling Perfumo out of position. This would leave an unwanted hole in my back four.
Baresi is so good at organizing the back four it's better to keep Perfumo in position, if Cruyff does drop deep.
The midfield is compact as it is. I'd rather Cruyff drop into a Tardelli-Cerezo war zone than pull my centre back out of position.
If Cruyff does push forward, Perfumo picks him up while Baresi covers.
Zanetti won't be following forlan at all. Merely pressing him if he does come into his zone.
And in defence of Perfumo, this is one of the best Argentine centre backs of all time. He was my 5th pick in the draft because he's excellent and his WC prime was '66 not '74.

I believe I have the better defence.

If Cruyff is dropping deep, it brings us nicely onto the intriguing midfield battle. Looking like a 4v4, Balu?

 

[Balu]

Ok Balu should be back soon so

I'm back, just need to eat something first, but go ahead, I'll should be ready for the midfield battle within an hour

 

[Thisistheone]

Very even match-up. For me I see Jairzinho/C.Alberto as the edging factor - considering they scored in every game they played and contributed with 8 goals alone in that 1970's World Cup. They are the best or second best wing in history only contested by Garrincha/Djalma Santos.

The rest I feel are very even and I can't draw any advantage between them. I feel like Forlan/Cruyff/Ceuleman has an equal chance of scoring as Rossi/Vava/Charlton - just can't see either team being more likely to score than the other - except for that right wing.

Both teams are great though.

I hope to get an advantage centrally, which shuts down his potential to use that right flank.

Normally when a team plays two up front, it's considered they're surrendering control of the midfield. Teams often play one up top to get a grip on midfield. Yet here, I have an advantage in midfield but still have two forwards. We've seen this year how deadly strike partnerships have been.

Part of the reason for their success is that when there are two centre-backs against one centre-forward, one marks and the other is cover: the mechanics of defending are easy. When it's two v two, there is no cover, or that cover has to come from a full-back, which kills Balu's advantage out wide.

Also de Boer is here, a kind of playmaker. While one centre-back gets on with the business of defending, the other sweeps up behind him and looks to distribute form the back; with another player who needs marking, he becomes restricted in that role and so a front two can be an effective defensive strategy as well.

 

[Balu]

Ok Balu should be back soon so,

My view on this is I 'should' have a spare man at the back to snuff out any danger. Cruyff won't be man marked. That would be too dangerous considering the following:

If Perfumo mm Cruyff, he's so intelligent he'd drop deep, pulling Perfumo out of position. This would leave an unwanted hole in my back four.
Baresi is so good at organizing the back four it's better to keep Perfumo in position, if Cruyff does drop deep.
The midfield is compact as it is. I'd rather Cruyff drop into a Tardelli-Cerezo war zone than pull my centre back out of position.
If Cruyff does push forward, Perfumo picks him up while Baresi covers.
Zanetti won't be following forlan at all. Merely pressing him if he does come into his zone.
And in defence of Perfumo, this is one of the best Argentine centre backs of all time. He was my 5th pick in the draft because he's excellent and his WC prime was '66 not '74.

It was a bit mean to target Perfumo, I actually like him and respect that Argentine defense in '66 a lot, but he really looked out of his depth in '74, so I had to point towards that game. I'd say his peak was somewhere inbetween both tournaments. I doubt his understanding of the game was at his peak in '66, when he was only 23 years old and even with all his experience he had no clue what was going on 8 years later. Argentina was nowhere near as strong in '74 which invited a lot of pressure on the defense, that certainly didn't help. I'm happy to let the voters decide, if he is a weak link or not, he was a quality defender in '66, I won't argue against that.

I don't think you have a spare man at the back though, unless you're happy to let Cruyff and Jairzinho go 1on1 against Zanetti and Schnellinger on the wing throughout the game. They'll get through often enough, then you're in the same position again, your centerbacks need to take over, while my other attacking players make themselves available around and inside the box.

I agree that it's very difficult for me to play through the middle, your central area looks incredibly tough to play through and Baresi will keep everyone in place to deny me anything there.

 

[Balu]

Normally when a team plays two up front, it's considered they're surrendering control of the midfield. Teams often play one up top to get a grip on midfield. Yet here, I have an advantage in midfield but still have two forwards. We've seen this year how deadly strike partnerships have been.

I'm good to go for the midfield battle, but I warn you, I have pictures prepared .

 

[RoadTrip]

Tito your midfield is excellent. Cerezo, Tardelli, Gascoigne, and Charlton. Very strong indeed. My only concern is how will your MF cope with players attacking from deeper positions and the extra width that Balu has. Jairzinho is a great pick and he could really cause damage there. This could dislodge your central defence and allow Cruyff to excel. Having said that, I think Forlan won't cause quite as many problems from the left.

Problem is Balu has a hard working centre combined with technical abilities and with width he has a real outlet. Also, when you do have the ball, you don't really have players who can move wide to a great degree and stretch the play. How will you stop your attacks getting into cul de sacs? Also I with little to no wide threat, Balus wing backs have a license not only to go forward but also tuck in when defending. He will be hard to break down.

They are my key concerns on your part - would love to hear how you'd take them and render them false =]

 

[Thisistheone]

I'm good to go for the midfield battle, but I warn you, I have pictures prepared .

Ah shit...

 

[RoadTrip]

And you douchers, comment on my game too! Feel
Left out =[ =P

 

[Balu]

And you douchers, comment on my game too! Feel
Left out =[ =P

It's just so much too read

I will in a bit, of course. Just needed to prepare the 'midfield battle'.

 

[RoadTrip]

As for you Balu, my key concern is if you really have the potency to take advantage of the lack of width. Down the right I'm sure you will, but on the left you have Forlan who cuts inside which significantly nullifies a great asset you have here.

Also Cruyff excels in a team where he has options. I wonder if your team has enough for him, and if you push to high, will this play into Titos strengths where he is extremely solid in midfield? Also will it not expose you to the counter?

Would be nice to hear from you too!

 

[Fergus' son]

Quality write ups, making it really difficult to choose!

 

[Thisistheone]

Tito your midfield is excellent. Cerezo, Tardelli, Gascoigne, and Charlton. Very strong indeed. My only concern is how will your MF cope with players attacking from deeper positions and the extra width that Balu has. Jairzinho is a great pick and he could really cause damage there. This could dislodge your central defence and allow Cruyff to excel. Having said that, I think Forlan won't cause quite as many problems from the left.

Problem is Balu has a hard working centre combined with technical abilities and with width he has a real outlet. Also, when you do have the ball, you don't really have players who can move wide to a great degree and stretch the play. How will you stop your attacks getting into cul de sacs? Also I with little to no wide threat, Balus wing backs have a license not only to go forward but also tuck in when defending. He will be hard to break down.

They are my key concerns on your part - would love to hear how you'd take them and render them false =]

I believe his full backs can't, or rather won't be able to attack as much as expected. As I posted above:

I hope to get an advantage centrally, which shuts down his potential to use that right flank.

Normally when a team plays two up front, it's considered they're surrendering control of the midfield. Teams often play one up top to get a grip on midfield. Yet here, I have an advantage in midfield but still have two forwards. We've seen this year how deadly strike partnerships have been.

Part of the reason for their success is that when there are two centre-backs against one centre-forward, one marks and the other is cover: the mechanics of defending are easy. When it's two v two, there is no cover, or that cover has to come from a full-back, which kills Balu's advantage out wide.

In regards to cul de sacs, Charlton is very capable of moving left, like Zidane can in your team. But yeah, your concerns are fair ones. The tactic worked well though for Brazil with their inferior defenders and forwards and also France in both world cups.

I consider my back four to be stronger than Balu.
Midfield is going to be interesting.
My two strikers are also top draw. They can get goals here. Charlton could split his off side trap with his superb passing ability.

 

[Thisistheone]

Bracing myself for what Balu is preparing to post here!

There's gonna be pictures. Lots of pictures, with more lines. Bloody lines.

 

[Balu]

As for you Balu, my key concern is if you really have the potency to take advantage of the lack of width. Down the right I'm sure you will, but on the left you have Forlan who cuts inside which significantly nullifies a great asset you have here.

Also Cruyff excels in a team where he has options. I wonder if your team has enough for him, and if you push to high, will this play into Titos strengths where he is extremely solid in midfield? Also will it not expose you to the counter?

Would be nice to hear from you too!

I already talked a lot about that left flank. I've chosen Forlan there, because he cuts inside so much, the idea is to give Cruyff space in which he can go 1on1. I posted a link to a video in the op in which he explains a few tactical things and where he talked about how 'helping out' meant different things to different people. While most meant a 2nd player should get closer to become available, he wanted everyone else to move away, so that he could go in dribblings as much as possible. So I really think the left flank is a big strength of mine. Forlan moving inside while Cruyff going outside means that defenders are either dragged out of position or need to change their target, both makes it even more difficult and could mean a few mistakes to exploit, but even if not, it still ends in Cruyff being in his favorite position to go 1on1.

I'll answer the 'if I push too high' question soon, I think the idea behind it makes a lot of sense after the midfield battle, at least in my brain it does. Regardings the danger of counters, you're right, but every highline has to work to avoid dangerous counterattacks and to be honest, I much rather defend against Vava and Rossi on the counter than against them in the box with Charlton and Gascoigne around them, that would be suicide. Neither Vava nor Rossi were brilliant counterattacking strikers though. If you watch Rossi's goal compilation that TITO posted, you'll see that he scored basically all his goals as a poacher or after service from wide, the only exception is Cerezo's bad backpass, I'm fine if Cerezo does that again in this game .

 

[Balu]

Bracing myself for what Balu is preparing to post here!

There's gonna be pictures. Lots of pictures, with more lines. Bloody lines.

Do I have to start? I'm a bit nervous now .

 

[Thisistheone]

Do I have to start? I'm a bit nervous now .

No, I just assumed you were busy typing away some epic reason on how you'll cope with my magic square. I could see arrows coming out of my eyes

I'll kick things off then. Lets start with the loose cannon battle. Gascoigne and Davids. A possibly key battle since if one gets an advantage over the other, its a red card waiting to happen. I'd like to see Gazza bring his energy and run at your midfield and defence.

 

[Balu]

No, I just assumed you were busy typing away some epic reason on how you'll cope with my magic square. I could see arrows coming out of my eyes

I'll kick things off then. Lets start with the loose cannon battle. Gascoigne and Davids. A possibly key battle since if one gets an advantage over the other, its a red card waiting to happen. I'd like to see Gazza bring his energy and run at your midfield and defence.

My post isn't that much text, I was just replying to rpitroda first .

I'm really glad I picked Davids, he's just so perfect to play against Gazza. I can see Gascoigne stealing Davids glasses at half time though, might be a bit of a problem . I hope he has a 2nd pair available.