.....................................Team Cal?.....................................................................................Team diarm.........................................
Team Cal?
Starting XI:Van der Sar (70s) - one of the best goalkeepers ever at United, always reliable, needs no introduction.
Zambrotta (70s) - one of the key players in Italy's WC win in 2006, selected in the team of the tournament in both WC06 and Euro04.
Aldair (60s) - Brazil's first choice CB for most of the 90s, winning the WC in 94 and making the final in 98.
Cannavaro (70s) - Italy's most capped player, captained Italy to the WCin 2006 and only the 3rd defender to win the Ballon d'Or. One of the best CBs ever.
Evra (80s) - needs no introduction, part of United's most dominant defence during those glory years in the late 00s.
Pirlo (70s) - 3 times man of the match (inc the final) en route to Italy's WC in 2006, one of the best regista ever.
Leonardo (60s) - Member of Brazil WC94 winning squad, won the Serie A with Milan in 98-99.
Djorkaeff (60s) - 82 caps for France, winning both the WC98 and Euro00.
Robben (80s) - the best Dutch player since Van Basten? Key part in Bayern's Treble and probably the 3rd best player in the world for a few years.
Ribbery (80s) - the other key player in Bayern's Treble and another contender of 3rd best player in the world during those years.
Weah (60s) - the best African player, the only African to ever win the Ballon d'Or and the Fifa World Player of the Year.
Tactics:
A standard 4-2-3-1, a solid defence led by Cannavaro with 2 great attacking full backs who can provide the width when Ribery & Robben cut in against Diarm's rather wingless formation (no idea who he's playing but looks like he has no wingers).
In midfield, Pirlo will orchestrate the game from his deep lying position whilst Leonardo will provide the energy behind Djorkaeff who will provide the through balls for my very speedy forwards.
Robben, Ribery and Weah all very fast players and should easily outpace his defenders.
Pls note, G. Baresi is a decent enough player, not Franco he's not! Also I suspect Cantona and Baggio will only get in each other's way as I can't imagine either of them playing wide.
Team diarm
Decades Criteria50's (x3): Tacconi, Tardelli, Baresi
60's (x4): Baggio, Klinsmann, Cantona, Amoros
70's (x5): Campbell, Scholes, Bokšić, Veron, Neville
Team Info & Philosophy
Team Diarm will not line out in imitation of an historic side of yesteryear, but in a bespoke setup designed to make the most of the wealth of talent in our side.
A traditional looking 4–3-3 is brought to life by the multifaceted abilities of our superb midfield. The one-man army that is Marco Tardelli provides the heartbeat to our side with his wonderful tackling, passing and positional play powered by a seemingly inexhaustible engine. Along with providing the shield to our defence, we will also benefit from his trademark driving runs and effective attacking plays.
Tardelli is brilliantly complimented by the tenacity, vision and technical ability of Juan Sebastian Veron and Paul Scholes. These two will alternate to keep the opposing midfield guessing; one holding as the deeper lying playmaker while the other advances as the attacking midfielder and link man to the attack. The versatility of the Argentine in particular, will also allow him to cover the forward drives of Tardelli resulting in a fluid, balanced and unpredictable midfield 3.
The energy, passing ability and vision of this midfield will prove the winning of the match against an opposition that lacks the protection their star man Pirlo needs to be truly effective. Without a dominant central midfielder in their setup, we will look to dominate possession with our unpredictable movement, accurate passing and a team full of players who are comfortable on the ball.
Behind this exciting midfield is our rock solid defence - 5 leaders, winners and national heroes who boast an impressive array of awards, trophies and broken records. Two defensively excellent fullbacks will pose a real challenge to our opponents star wide men, while Baresi with his intelligent reading of the game and Campbell, with his aggression and aerial ability, will relish the challenge of dealing with the danger that does get through from wide areas. Behind this well balanced and powerful backline, we have one of the finest keepers in Serie A history in Stefan Tacconi, a man who has literally won it all.
Up top, our front 3 is made up of a mobile, industrious and prolific striker supported by left and right inside forwards of the very highest quality. Klinsmann will provide the movement and hustle to pull the defenders out of position, creating the space for our two geniuses behind to impose their style and magic. Baggio receiving the ball in withdrawn or wider areas and running at defenders with pace, trickery and world class dribbling while Cantona supplies the long range goal threat, disguised passing and magic moments to unlock any defence. Without a defensive midfield presence in our opponents team, the varied talents of these two gifted technicians will dovetail to great effect.
The width of our attacking play will be provided by our fullbacks, Neville on the right offering smart and efficient use of the ball as well as accurate crossing from deeper areas. His energy and stamina allowing him to provide the occasional option on the overlap although his focus will admittedly be on defence. The more effective and exciting attacking width will come down the left hand flank where Amoros provides real class, speed and ability in attack. Faced with the dribbling pace and guile of both the Frenchman and Roberto Baggio attacking in tandem, our opponents defence will have their work cut out. Tardelli will be tasked with covering Amoros’s attacking forays, focusing on the threat of Robben on the counter.
Why Team Diarm will win
World class players across the board
An airtight defence, a brilliant midfield and 3 of the finest attackers to play the game. There are simply no weak links in the side and in Amoros, Tardelli, Veron, Scholes, Baggio, Cantona and Klinsmann we boast 7 matchwinners, capable of creating something from nothing in a heartbeat.
Balance and versatility
Our midfield has it all. Pace, energy and tenacity coupled with intelligence, vision and astounding technical ability. The dominant Marco Tardelli provides the platform for the brilliance of Scholes and Veron while our opponent’s squad contains two attacking midfielders in Leonardo and Djorkaeff, neither of whom will provide the sort of midfield support the superb Andrea Pirlo requires to stamp his authority on a game.
Attacking unpredictability
Our opponents defence is tasked with managing the movement and threat of Klinsmann as well as the mercurial talents of Baggio and Cantona behind him. Without an effective defensive midfielder operating in the spaces between defence and midfield that those two like to occupy, the back 4 will be torn between coming out to close them down (running the risk of being punished by Klinsmann in behind) or standing off and allowing them space. Not an enviable position to be in. If this wasn’t enough, there is also the threat of Scholes, Veron or even Tardelli arriving late to the box and Amoros penetrating from wide left.
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