MOTD and SKY analysis on All-Time Fantasy Draft Final
Our panel of experts comments on the game and explain their picks for the All-Time Final XI:
Alan Hansen: You could see how the game would shape up in the early exchanges. Look at Eyzaguirre, what is he doing there? That is poor defending. Team Antohan just exploited that over and over again. It also helped them across the frontline. Baresi and Charles must have been furious. They've been crying out for a replacement fully expecting him to get shown up sooner or later. We mentioned it last week, but the manager did nothing about it. It just makes it very difficult to defend effectively and keep things tight.
Alan Shearer: It lost them Charles in the centre of the box. Erm. He is a big fella and Pelé must have been delighted. I certainly would.
Gary Lineker: Paul McGrath could have done a job there. I heard he once marked you out of a game while under the influence, didn't he Alan? :winkwinknudgenudge:
Gary Neville: The problem for them was Hierro had to constantly support and keep a close watch on that flank. That meant Di Stéfano also had to keep coming deeper and deeper to perform some of Hierro's defensive duties. That somewhat limited his ability to impact the game.
Graeme Souness: Maradona certainly could focus more on the attacking phases, but it wasn't that bad for Di Stéfano. Edwards, what a player. He is strong, powerful, gets stuck in, never say die spirit... he was doing the work of two men out there. Look at his runs as well, the one for the goal...
Jamie Redknapp: Yes, Di Stéfano kept screaming at him "Todo el camino Duncan, todo el camino". I have no idea what that means, don't think Duncan does either, does he speak Italian? But it worked. Literally.
Mark Lawrenson: Rijkaard was a very lucky man out there. They scored in the first 20 minutes and that allowed them to start controlling the game and be a bit more conservative. He wouldn't have lasted the game otherwise, he was on a yellow already and a red card waiting to happen.
Lee Dixon: Stoichkov did a better job than Ronaldo though. It was an exceptionally selfless display in contrast to that Ronaldo incident with Best. As a fullback you want to have great wingers, but if you have two who won't track back in front of you... you know it will be a long day at the office.
FANTASY FINAL BEST XI ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS
ANTOHAN 3 (Pelé 18', Maradona 40', Facchetti 80')
CUTCH 2 (Edwards 58', van Basten 70')
Sepp Maier: Sure, he was just collecting splinters. Yet, like a player undergoing a long injury lay-off, the shadow he cast on Kahn grew larger as the game wore on. Rating: N/A
José Leandro Andrade: Much had been said in the run up to the game about the Uruguayan's credentials as an Olympic Double and World Cup winner and the first player to combine attack and defence to perfection. Fans were dismayed they would not see "The Black Marvel"s attacking side, but the tactical ploy worked. Best was constantly shackled, won some, lost some, but his impact on the game was kept to a minimum and that's all that could be asked of him. Rating: 7
Elías Figueroa: "The Red Wall" was immense. He dominated aerially and broke down rival moves time again. Also broke Cristiano Ronaldo's spirit, as what few opportunities he had to escape his markers where dilligently and firmly dealt with. Rating: 7
Franco Baresi: He was never going to be at his impenetrable best. A gaping hole at RB, Santos' runs to cover on his left, Charles regularly dragged wide and leaving him to deal with Pelé's aerial threat... and that's before you consider Pelé and Maradona running at his defence! And yet, the Italian was magnificent, marshalling his defence superbly and single-handedly keeping the scoreline respectable. Rating: 9
Giacinto Facchetti: He set out to do what he did countless times for Inter and Italy with tireless discipline and panache. He absolutely owned that flank end to end and had Eyzaguirre completely demoralised and walking about like a zombie within 30 minutes. His crosses for Pelé caused all sorts of trouble and delivered the opening goal. Scoring the third and final goal was the cherry on the cake. Rating: 10
Duncan Edwards: Immense, he ran himself into the ground marking Maradona as best as anyone could and never gave up despite being occasionally left with egg all over his face. His bullocking runs gave Beckenbauer a few headaches and, a testament to his character, he scored a stunning goal when things were starting to look hopeless at 2-0. An outstanding performance by the 21-year-old left half. Rating: 8
Franz Beckenbauer: A vintage display straight from the all-time top drawer. Kept the defence tight and organised, Di Stéfano uncharacteristically quiet and pulled the strings from deep when Maradona was too heavily marked. Rating: 8
Diego Maradona: Took some time getting into the game. He looked like a kid in a candy store with his wide-eyed delight to be playing on the same pitch as Di Stéfano. After a bollocking from his manager, he slowly started to get into his groove, made the lead safer with one of his trademark pile-ups and by the second half he was just taking the piss. No one could get anywhere near him. His esteem for La Saeta Rubia probably conspired to make him focus more on an orgasmic football exhibition than adding to the scoreline. That may have proved costly. Rating: 8
George Best: The setup and directives on the winning team's right flank are a testament to his outrageous ability. Based on what we saw, they were the right call as Best unshackled would have turned this into a goalfest. His occasional breakthroughs caused chaos in the rival defence and he could have given his team a vital goal. Unfortunately, Maradona had just scored a stunning goal after a breathtaking mazy run. His troubled genius had the better of him as he turned around, ran his way to the halfway line to nutmeg Maradona, and started an equally breathtaking run dribbling past Beckenbauer and Rijkaard. As he was working his way past Figueroa, a desperate for attention Ronaldo latched on to the loose ball and whacked it hard and up in the stands. Later made up for it providing the assist for van Basten's equaliser. Rating: 7.5
Hristo Stoichkov: The Bulgarian had his work cut out after being asked to sacrifice himself in a tactical role. He dutifully applied himself to it to great effect and with the same passion that has been a hallmark of his career. Santos had no impact on the game and he still found the energy to give him and Baresi trouble, as if there wasn't enough already elsewhere. His reward surely has to be to reinstate him on the left and enjoy the linkup with Facchetti which he longed for all game. Rating: 7
Pelé: Awesome, simply awesome. A complete centre-forward performance, battering Baresi in the air, executing one-twos and unlucky to hit the post twice with his finishes. Scored the opener with a stunning header only Gordon Banks could have saved, and people still don't know how he managed to in the first place. Pelé was none too happy about Maradona's unwillingness to humiliate the opposition. He could see himself scoring a few more if the left flank was exploited more regularly. We agree, it could have been murder out there due to Eyzaguirre, but ended up being very close. Rating: 8
MOTM: Giacinto Facchetti
