The Red Viper
NM
The Red Viper Tactics
We will play a 5-3-2 formation which can transition into a 3-4-3 during games when needed, with Rivaldo drifting out wide to the left as a left sided forward/second striker and Kalle as ther right wing forward/second striker. Sammer will have full license to make darting runs during the attacking phase and provide more nos in midfield.
The defense comprises of Zoff in goal with a back-5 of Alves, Cannavaro, Sammer, Förster and Brehme. Zoff who is usually considered a top-3/at worst Top-5 goalkeepers of all time, will be in goal. A fantastic all rounded goal-keeper with great leadership and organizing ability. Alves and Brehme will be the wing-backs in the team. Two of the best attacking full-backs ever with fantastic delivery and playmaking from the flanks. They will provide us with width and creativity down the flanks but at the same time were quite adept defensively as well. Sammer is one of the greatest sweepers ever. While he may not have had the longevity like a lot of great defenders, at his peak, in terms of impacting the game he was as good as any great defender. There's a reason he is one of the 3 defenders to have ever won Ballon D'or. Marshalled Germany to win UEFA Euros in 1996 and UEFA Champions League in 1997 with Dortmund. Partnering Sammer in the core of the central defense are Cannavaro and Förster. An all-time great, Cannavaro at his peak was such a complete defender. He was fast but at the same time extremely strong and despite his relatively shorter height, was excellent in the air thanks to his leap. Förster, one of the finest man-markers ever, could man-mark a top tier poacher like Hugo Sánchez as effectively as he could man-mark one of the greatest No 10s ever in Michel Platini, as he demonstrated during the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The two along with Sammer will form a defensive core that will be extremely hard to penetrate.
In midfield we are rolling with a double-pivot of Voronin and Luis Suárez. A proper midfield general, Valery Voronin is one of the Top-5 defensive midfielders ever. Voronin could stamp his authority on the game in a variety of ways. Technically gifted on the ball and a very smart passer who could break the lines and feed the attack with his passing. But make no mistake, while he was good at the attacking side of the game, where he made a name for himself was on the defensive side. His anticipation and positional awareness combined with excellent tackling and physicality made him a behemoth of a presence in midfield. Marking two Ballon D'or winners, Eusébio and Flórián Albert at their prime, out of the game and restricting their influence is no joke. Yet Voronin did it. Alongside Voronin in midfield is Luis Suárez Miramontes, "El Arquitecto". A deep-lying playmaker extraordinaire, Suárez was the architecht of "La Grande Inter" side under Helenio Herrera. Suárez was a master at controlling the game but at the same time possessed some of the best passing range and vision amongst the footballers to have laced 'em up. His ability to swiftly transition from defense to attack with his pinpoint and precise passing will be vital in us initiating swift counter attacks from the back and also find the attacking trio in the final third. Suárez's with his long range passing and vision can switch flanks at ease and also put in lofted balls over the defenses for the likes of Müller and Rummenigge to exploit when they run the channels.
In attack we have an attacking triumvirate of Gerd Müller, Rummenigge and Rivaldo. At No 10, we have the 1999 Ballon D'or winner, Rivaldo. One of the greatest players of the modern era, Rivaldo was a magician with the ball at his feet. Renowned for his technique, flair, sick close-control and a thunder-bolt of a left foot, Rivaldo would play between the lines. Along with dropping deep and providing through balls for Müller and Kalle, Rivaldo can also drift out wide and be a withdrawn left sided forward like he used to do in his prime with Barca, where he can link up with Brehme who will be stretching the game and providing the width down that flank. The two-time Ballon D'or winner in 1980 & 1981, Rummenigge would be playing in front of Rivaldo and off Gerd Müller in a second striker-ish/withdrawn forward role. Kalle was an athletic all-round forward, who could play across the front line be it as a wing-forward on both the sides, a second striker or upfront on his own, which made him as one of the most completed attackers the World has ever seen. His link-up play along with his incisive runs into the box from wide areas or deep will be a nightmare for opposition to defend. Rounding up the attack, up-front we have Gerd Müller, possibly the greatest goalscorer ever leading the line for us. With Alves and Brehme pumping in crosses from the flanks, Kalle, Rivaldo and Suárez creating and playmaking from centrally along with Sammer's runs from deep, there will be plenty of service to feed arguably the greatest No 9 ever.
NM Tactics
NM
The Red Viper Tactics
We will play a 5-3-2 formation which can transition into a 3-4-3 during games when needed, with Rivaldo drifting out wide to the left as a left sided forward/second striker and Kalle as ther right wing forward/second striker. Sammer will have full license to make darting runs during the attacking phase and provide more nos in midfield.
The defense comprises of Zoff in goal with a back-5 of Alves, Cannavaro, Sammer, Förster and Brehme. Zoff who is usually considered a top-3/at worst Top-5 goalkeepers of all time, will be in goal. A fantastic all rounded goal-keeper with great leadership and organizing ability. Alves and Brehme will be the wing-backs in the team. Two of the best attacking full-backs ever with fantastic delivery and playmaking from the flanks. They will provide us with width and creativity down the flanks but at the same time were quite adept defensively as well. Sammer is one of the greatest sweepers ever. While he may not have had the longevity like a lot of great defenders, at his peak, in terms of impacting the game he was as good as any great defender. There's a reason he is one of the 3 defenders to have ever won Ballon D'or. Marshalled Germany to win UEFA Euros in 1996 and UEFA Champions League in 1997 with Dortmund. Partnering Sammer in the core of the central defense are Cannavaro and Förster. An all-time great, Cannavaro at his peak was such a complete defender. He was fast but at the same time extremely strong and despite his relatively shorter height, was excellent in the air thanks to his leap. Förster, one of the finest man-markers ever, could man-mark a top tier poacher like Hugo Sánchez as effectively as he could man-mark one of the greatest No 10s ever in Michel Platini, as he demonstrated during the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The two along with Sammer will form a defensive core that will be extremely hard to penetrate.
In midfield we are rolling with a double-pivot of Voronin and Luis Suárez. A proper midfield general, Valery Voronin is one of the Top-5 defensive midfielders ever. Voronin could stamp his authority on the game in a variety of ways. Technically gifted on the ball and a very smart passer who could break the lines and feed the attack with his passing. But make no mistake, while he was good at the attacking side of the game, where he made a name for himself was on the defensive side. His anticipation and positional awareness combined with excellent tackling and physicality made him a behemoth of a presence in midfield. Marking two Ballon D'or winners, Eusébio and Flórián Albert at their prime, out of the game and restricting their influence is no joke. Yet Voronin did it. Alongside Voronin in midfield is Luis Suárez Miramontes, "El Arquitecto". A deep-lying playmaker extraordinaire, Suárez was the architecht of "La Grande Inter" side under Helenio Herrera. Suárez was a master at controlling the game but at the same time possessed some of the best passing range and vision amongst the footballers to have laced 'em up. His ability to swiftly transition from defense to attack with his pinpoint and precise passing will be vital in us initiating swift counter attacks from the back and also find the attacking trio in the final third. Suárez's with his long range passing and vision can switch flanks at ease and also put in lofted balls over the defenses for the likes of Müller and Rummenigge to exploit when they run the channels.
In attack we have an attacking triumvirate of Gerd Müller, Rummenigge and Rivaldo. At No 10, we have the 1999 Ballon D'or winner, Rivaldo. One of the greatest players of the modern era, Rivaldo was a magician with the ball at his feet. Renowned for his technique, flair, sick close-control and a thunder-bolt of a left foot, Rivaldo would play between the lines. Along with dropping deep and providing through balls for Müller and Kalle, Rivaldo can also drift out wide and be a withdrawn left sided forward like he used to do in his prime with Barca, where he can link up with Brehme who will be stretching the game and providing the width down that flank. The two-time Ballon D'or winner in 1980 & 1981, Rummenigge would be playing in front of Rivaldo and off Gerd Müller in a second striker-ish/withdrawn forward role. Kalle was an athletic all-round forward, who could play across the front line be it as a wing-forward on both the sides, a second striker or upfront on his own, which made him as one of the most completed attackers the World has ever seen. His link-up play along with his incisive runs into the box from wide areas or deep will be a nightmare for opposition to defend. Rounding up the attack, up-front we have Gerd Müller, possibly the greatest goalscorer ever leading the line for us. With Alves and Brehme pumping in crosses from the flanks, Kalle, Rivaldo and Suárez creating and playmaking from centrally along with Sammer's runs from deep, there will be plenty of service to feed arguably the greatest No 9 ever.
NM Tactics
- Every single player is extremely comfortable on the ball (with the exception of Makelele but we all know what his role is).
- The defense honestly has no gaps. Probably amongst the best sweeper/ ball playing defender and stopper combinations that can be had. Both full backs are exceptionally defensively sound + competent at going forward (C.Alberto more than Cole of course)
- The midfield reverts to a natural 3. Makelele as a pure DM, Neeskens as a B2B creative, and Charlton with a more attacking remit. The idea is to control the game
- The attacking threat comes from the creative midfield and the creative wingers to provide opportunities for Kocsis (one of the best ever in the air). Czibor, Hamrin and Charlton are all goal threats in their own right, and Neeskens is fantastic as box-to-box and a great playmaker in his own right as well. We also have the tried and trusted Czibor -> Kocsis axis.