Team Tuppet
This squad is build around the genius of Di Stefano. I don’t think I need to sell him as one of the greatest of all time, but if you need convincing head over to this fantastic thread where some really knowledgeable posters have shared their thoughts. I would be posting some excerpt here from it later.
In front of Di Stefano is a front line full of goals, with Gerd Muller as one of the greatest striker flanked by Jairzinho and Boniek frees up Di Stefano from goal scoring duties. Di Stefano does of course provide an insane goal threat himself, but here he can drop safely deeper knowing he can rely on his front men to score anytime he provide them an opportunity.
The defense is marshaled by 2 of the finest defenders in this draft. The class and elegance of Maldini met with the fire and spirit of Passarella. They are backed by an excellent shot stopper in Cech. With a supporting cast of 2 brilliant full backs in Junior and Andrade with a deep lying Hierro this defense is capable of shutting out the best of attacks.
In the midfield we sport one of the greatest midfielder Matthaus in his favorite box to box role, free to do his thing with Hierro playing an anchor deep lying playmaker role behind him. In front of them sits one of the finest football player to ever set foot on a ground Alfredo Di Stefano. Factor in Junior’s penchant for playmaking from deep this is a midfield which should be able to dominate most midfields in this draft.
My defense vs Balu/Crappy attack -
Maldini and Passarella are widely regarded as 2 of the greatest defenders of all time and I hope they live up to the billing because by god they have a job at their hands. There is no foolproof way to completely shut down a prime Eusebio and Ronaldo, but these 2 with the support of Hierro is as good as I can hope for to reduce their threat.
Midfield Battle -
Its a classic 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1. I believe my team would enjoy greater share of possession and having more of the ball with a finisher as deadly as Muller and a genius scorer like Di Stefano would help me outscore my rivals. Factor in wide goal scoring threats from Jairzinho and Boniek and you can see how having more of the ball would be devastating for the opponents.
Now I am aware that Nedved probably would tuck in and get his hands dirty in the midfield, but then so would Junior. It should also be noted that both of my defenders are most comfortable on the ball and the midfield is filled with players of great technical and passing ability, which further allows us to keep control of the ball. I would like to acknowledge that opposition midfield is also pretty energetic with technical abilities, so unless they tactically cede the possession and play on counter, we would not have a crazy amount of possession but still should enjoy more of it.
The Flanks -
Czibor would be directly opposite to Andrade, now Andrade might be a bit of unknown quantity for some voters here, but suffice is to say that he is up to the task. They played opposite each other in the 1954 which led to Puskas remarking that Andrade was the best he has seen anyone handling Czibor. Andrade would be instructed to stay tight and cut the crosses to a minimum.
On the other side, Jairzinho is up against Lizarazu. With respect to the frenchman who is a good fullback, Jairzinho gave troubles to even great Facchetti. With his explosiveness and dribbling “The Hurricane” should be able to beat Lizarazu a fair few times, crossing or cutting in providing chances to Muller who doesn’t need many to get the ball in the net. A deadly mix of winger and goalscorer, of dribbling and scoring, of stretching play out wide and overloading the centre, of nimble feet and powerful presence: Jairzinho brought together the full package. The only player to score in every match of a World Cup finals tournament.
On the opposite flank, Boniek has a remit of pulling out Burgnich from his comfort zone. Boniek is a tricky player, who was equally comfortable with both foot and could cut in and go for goals or cross / pass to Muller, Jairzinho or Di Stefano. He would not allow Burgnich to tuck in, which then limits great Scirea’s ability to step out of the defense. Also Burgnich is more of a man marker and Boniek is the kind of player who is just incredibly hard to mark, he would pull out Burgnich out of defense on wing and beat him with raw pace or trickery.
Junior is pretty much the perfect full back to handle Nedved as he could follow him to the midfield and could also provide overlaps to Boniek. A fine defender in his own self, he was a key player in the artistic 1982 WC Brazil vintage, manning the left flank pretty much by himself.
My attack vs Balu/Crappy’s defense -
At this level its really hard to pick any faults from any teams, but if I have to pick a chink in our opponent’s armor it would be that my defense is better than theirs. Scirea is no doubt a great defender but with Burgnich occupied wide and not able to tuck in, it would hard for him to play his favored libero role. Now I acknowledge that Costacurta is a decent defender but here he along with Scirea is facing the deadliest finisher the game has ever seen along with Di Stefano who for a player playing in deeper positions raked up insane amount of goals, scoring in 5 consecutive champions league finals. Since there is no designated holding midfielder I would assume its Scirea’s remit to keep tabs on Di Stefano, which would have Muller facing Costacurta a fair few times.
Muller has pretty much never failed in scoring when his team needed it, a man for highest occasions, he scored goals in the 1974 and 1975 European Cup Finals, in both of the 1976 semi-finals, winner in the 1970 World Cup quarters, two in the semi-finals, and further goals in the finals of Euro '72 and World Cup '74. With the service and midfield around him its hard to see him not scoring.
Final thoughts:
I don’t believe that either team would fail to score here, I have decided to fight Balu/crappy’s attack with my own incredible attack. With better defense and more control in midfield I see us winning 3-2.
Finally best of luck to Balu and Crappy.
Tuppet
Tactical change at 2345
subs - Edgar Davids, Jose Nassazi, Mario Coluna
Balu/Crappy
This squad is build around the genius of Di Stefano. I don’t think I need to sell him as one of the greatest of all time, but if you need convincing head over to this fantastic thread where some really knowledgeable posters have shared their thoughts. I would be posting some excerpt here from it later.
In front of Di Stefano is a front line full of goals, with Gerd Muller as one of the greatest striker flanked by Jairzinho and Boniek frees up Di Stefano from goal scoring duties. Di Stefano does of course provide an insane goal threat himself, but here he can drop safely deeper knowing he can rely on his front men to score anytime he provide them an opportunity.
The defense is marshaled by 2 of the finest defenders in this draft. The class and elegance of Maldini met with the fire and spirit of Passarella. They are backed by an excellent shot stopper in Cech. With a supporting cast of 2 brilliant full backs in Junior and Andrade with a deep lying Hierro this defense is capable of shutting out the best of attacks.
In the midfield we sport one of the greatest midfielder Matthaus in his favorite box to box role, free to do his thing with Hierro playing an anchor deep lying playmaker role behind him. In front of them sits one of the finest football player to ever set foot on a ground Alfredo Di Stefano. Factor in Junior’s penchant for playmaking from deep this is a midfield which should be able to dominate most midfields in this draft.
My defense vs Balu/Crappy attack -
Maldini and Passarella are widely regarded as 2 of the greatest defenders of all time and I hope they live up to the billing because by god they have a job at their hands. There is no foolproof way to completely shut down a prime Eusebio and Ronaldo, but these 2 with the support of Hierro is as good as I can hope for to reduce their threat.
Midfield Battle -
Its a classic 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1. I believe my team would enjoy greater share of possession and having more of the ball with a finisher as deadly as Muller and a genius scorer like Di Stefano would help me outscore my rivals. Factor in wide goal scoring threats from Jairzinho and Boniek and you can see how having more of the ball would be devastating for the opponents.
Now I am aware that Nedved probably would tuck in and get his hands dirty in the midfield, but then so would Junior. It should also be noted that both of my defenders are most comfortable on the ball and the midfield is filled with players of great technical and passing ability, which further allows us to keep control of the ball. I would like to acknowledge that opposition midfield is also pretty energetic with technical abilities, so unless they tactically cede the possession and play on counter, we would not have a crazy amount of possession but still should enjoy more of it.
The Flanks -
Czibor would be directly opposite to Andrade, now Andrade might be a bit of unknown quantity for some voters here, but suffice is to say that he is up to the task. They played opposite each other in the 1954 which led to Puskas remarking that Andrade was the best he has seen anyone handling Czibor. Andrade would be instructed to stay tight and cut the crosses to a minimum.
Some excerpts on 1954 semi final Uruguay vs Hungary -
Hungary went on to play reigning champions Uruguay in the semi. The much fancied Hungarians, purported to be by some distance the best team in the world, stroked the ball around in a confident manner for fully 15 seconds. Jeno Buzanszky rolled the ball down the inside-right channel for Hidegkuti, who looked to turn cleverly. Victor Rodriguez Andrade came straight through the back of him, a no-nonsense early softener which makes Roy Kean's demolition of Overmars in a 2001 world cup qualifier and Vinnie jones's reducer on Steve McMahon at the 1988 FA cup final look like exchanging of handshakes, pennants and air kisses. Fancy footabll ? Not on Victor's watch, Nandor ! And yet the mach was subsequently played out in the most sporting of fashions and is commonly regarded as one of the most entertaining and dramatic in World Cup history. "They were really great" said Puskar later. So well done to Mr. Rodriguez Andrade for establish that there'd be no playing of silly bugger early doors.
Here is another one -
In reply the Magyars were inventive and measured in their play. The speed of Budai down the right was a regular threat while the interplay between Czibor, Hidegkuti and Palotás was intricate and precise. One man who really impressed in the Uruguayan defence was Víctor Rodríguez Andrade. His physical and technical abilities made him a constant thorn for the superb Czibor and many went away regarding him as the best right-back in the world despite the fact he nominally a right-half. The best chance the Europeans could create in the remainder of the half fell to Kocsis, unmarked about 10 yards from goal, but his powerful header had to be clawed over by Máspoli.
Read more at http://www.worldsoccer.com/blogs/uruguay-v-hungary-1954-352539#DGprJHHQtRCJEZFJ.99
This is the team that Puskas chose as his dream XI (In 1977 hence you would not find some obvious names) -
------Gento----------Pelé---------di Stéfano-------Garrincha
-------------------Charlton-------Bozsik
----N.Santos-----Santamaria-----Beckenbauer-----Andrade II
---------------------------Banks
A world cup winner in 1950 where Andrade marked out Zizinho and was selected in team of the tournament, his injury during the semifinal was sighted as a big reason for Hungary's win, as Czibor became rampant and served Kocsis with chances to finish the game.
All this is not to emphasize that Andrade would definitely take Czibor out of the game, but to show that he belongs here and should not be seen as a weak link.
Hungary went on to play reigning champions Uruguay in the semi. The much fancied Hungarians, purported to be by some distance the best team in the world, stroked the ball around in a confident manner for fully 15 seconds. Jeno Buzanszky rolled the ball down the inside-right channel for Hidegkuti, who looked to turn cleverly. Victor Rodriguez Andrade came straight through the back of him, a no-nonsense early softener which makes Roy Kean's demolition of Overmars in a 2001 world cup qualifier and Vinnie jones's reducer on Steve McMahon at the 1988 FA cup final look like exchanging of handshakes, pennants and air kisses. Fancy footabll ? Not on Victor's watch, Nandor ! And yet the mach was subsequently played out in the most sporting of fashions and is commonly regarded as one of the most entertaining and dramatic in World Cup history. "They were really great" said Puskar later. So well done to Mr. Rodriguez Andrade for establish that there'd be no playing of silly bugger early doors.
Here is another one -
In reply the Magyars were inventive and measured in their play. The speed of Budai down the right was a regular threat while the interplay between Czibor, Hidegkuti and Palotás was intricate and precise. One man who really impressed in the Uruguayan defence was Víctor Rodríguez Andrade. His physical and technical abilities made him a constant thorn for the superb Czibor and many went away regarding him as the best right-back in the world despite the fact he nominally a right-half. The best chance the Europeans could create in the remainder of the half fell to Kocsis, unmarked about 10 yards from goal, but his powerful header had to be clawed over by Máspoli.
Read more at http://www.worldsoccer.com/blogs/uruguay-v-hungary-1954-352539#DGprJHHQtRCJEZFJ.99
This is the team that Puskas chose as his dream XI (In 1977 hence you would not find some obvious names) -
------Gento----------Pelé---------di Stéfano-------Garrincha
-------------------Charlton-------Bozsik
----N.Santos-----Santamaria-----Beckenbauer-----Andrade II
---------------------------Banks
A world cup winner in 1950 where Andrade marked out Zizinho and was selected in team of the tournament, his injury during the semifinal was sighted as a big reason for Hungary's win, as Czibor became rampant and served Kocsis with chances to finish the game.
All this is not to emphasize that Andrade would definitely take Czibor out of the game, but to show that he belongs here and should not be seen as a weak link.
On the other side, Jairzinho is up against Lizarazu. With respect to the frenchman who is a good fullback, Jairzinho gave troubles to even great Facchetti. With his explosiveness and dribbling “The Hurricane” should be able to beat Lizarazu a fair few times, crossing or cutting in providing chances to Muller who doesn’t need many to get the ball in the net. A deadly mix of winger and goalscorer, of dribbling and scoring, of stretching play out wide and overloading the centre, of nimble feet and powerful presence: Jairzinho brought together the full package. The only player to score in every match of a World Cup finals tournament.
On the opposite flank, Boniek has a remit of pulling out Burgnich from his comfort zone. Boniek is a tricky player, who was equally comfortable with both foot and could cut in and go for goals or cross / pass to Muller, Jairzinho or Di Stefano. He would not allow Burgnich to tuck in, which then limits great Scirea’s ability to step out of the defense. Also Burgnich is more of a man marker and Boniek is the kind of player who is just incredibly hard to mark, he would pull out Burgnich out of defense on wing and beat him with raw pace or trickery.
Junior is pretty much the perfect full back to handle Nedved as he could follow him to the midfield and could also provide overlaps to Boniek. A fine defender in his own self, he was a key player in the artistic 1982 WC Brazil vintage, manning the left flank pretty much by himself.
My attack vs Balu/Crappy’s defense -
At this level its really hard to pick any faults from any teams, but if I have to pick a chink in our opponent’s armor it would be that my defense is better than theirs. Scirea is no doubt a great defender but with Burgnich occupied wide and not able to tuck in, it would hard for him to play his favored libero role. Now I acknowledge that Costacurta is a decent defender but here he along with Scirea is facing the deadliest finisher the game has ever seen along with Di Stefano who for a player playing in deeper positions raked up insane amount of goals, scoring in 5 consecutive champions league finals. Since there is no designated holding midfielder I would assume its Scirea’s remit to keep tabs on Di Stefano, which would have Muller facing Costacurta a fair few times.
Muller has pretty much never failed in scoring when his team needed it, a man for highest occasions, he scored goals in the 1974 and 1975 European Cup Finals, in both of the 1976 semi-finals, winner in the 1970 World Cup quarters, two in the semi-finals, and further goals in the finals of Euro '72 and World Cup '74. With the service and midfield around him its hard to see him not scoring.
Final thoughts:
I don’t believe that either team would fail to score here, I have decided to fight Balu/crappy’s attack with my own incredible attack. With better defense and more control in midfield I see us winning 3-2.
Finally best of luck to Balu and Crappy.
Tuppet
Tactical change at 2345
subs - Edgar Davids, Jose Nassazi, Mario Coluna
Balu/Crappy
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