Christmas Tree Draft - Group Stages - Raees vs Gio

With all players at their peak, which team do you think would win this game?

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Himannv

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Raees's Starting XI




vs

Gio's Starting XI

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Raees's Tactics

Tactical Outline

Christmas tree with a twist in that my CM is a box to box game controlling regista type in Netzer supported by two box to box players with greater defensive capabilities. I just wanted to see some beautiful football.

The aim with the AM's was 2 players who can score goals, create but comfortable in wide and central areas, not to mention capable of playing alongside other creative players and I think we have achieved this with Kubala and Rivelino.

Striker was key, in an ideal world wanted Shevchenko (and got him!) as I wanted an all round CF who can roam across the line, looking for spaces and can do it all. Perfect CF for a Xmas tree.

Bayern's full backs will be perfect for this formation, balanced and can hold the width easily...

The defence is a wonderfully balanced pairing of fire and ice backed by the magnificent massive hands and reactions of Jennings.

Gio's Tactics

TEAM
Our defence comprises one half of a potential all-time France XI in Manuel Bossis and Laurent Blanc. Pietro Vierchowod bolsters the defence and is a perfectly complementary partner for Blanc and both have substantial experience taming many of the great attackers of the 1980s and 1990s. On the right is Leandro who is arguably the most under-rated of all Brazilian full-backs, and who just gets better every time I watch him for Flamengo and the Selecao. Both Leandro and Bossis are well versed playing as width-providing full-backs in narrow systems, given their role for Brazil and France respectively. Indeed both were often the solitary sources of genuine width (with in-cutting Junior on the other flank; often the converted CB Battiston for France on the other side) in their distinctive national sides.

Our midfield trio blends craft, defensive steel and attacking thrust. Josef Masopust is a tidy fit for the formation, blending a Ballon D'Or winning all-round game with impressive flank defensive work and forward thrusts. Tito Goncalves won it all for Penarol in the 1960s and provides the necessary match-winning steal to shut down opposition midfields. He will enable Steven Gerrard to drive on to capitalise on his significant goal threat.

Ahead are the two 10s in Zinedine Zidane and Florian Albert. Both beautifully elegant but crucially contrasting in styles - Zidane floating and dancing around midfielders, Albert more vertical and direct. Both put Brazil to the sword in swashbuckling fashion in World Cups with three of the most famous individual performances the tournament has seen.

They will feed Luigi Riva who should be a smooth Serie A styled partner for Zidane. Riva is well suited to playing in this formation by working across the line, stretching play and holding it up. Often he had to all of that and more for Cagliari in the late 1960s.

KEY POINTS

- A strong back line. Good in the air particularly with Blanc and Vierchowod. Pietro's pace is the stuff of legend and Blanc's reading of the game ensured he boasted an impressive record against quick attackers such as Romario. The experience of Bossis playing centrally also helps to shut out space against this narrower formation.

- Attack-minded, high quality full-backs in Leandro and Bossis to make the formation sing. When Christmas Trees clash, having class on the ball in wide areas outside of the clustered centre can be vital.

- A midfield and attack that can shift wide on and off the ball. Gerrard and Masopust are custom designed for this set-up with their all-roundedness and experience of hybrid central/wide roles.
 
prefer the players of gio but something isnt right in that team, too many ball players.....
 
Šjor Bepo said:
prefer the players of gio but something isnt right in that team, too many ball players.....
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I don't really see any of Masopust, Goncalves or Gerrard as playmakers. They can all play football, but they're all well rounded and none demand that the game has to go through them. Most of the play-making in the team will take place through Zidane. Goncalves is primarily a holder, Gerrard was more in his element when he complemented and did the running for ball-players such as Xabi Alonso. Masopust is often described one for the purposes of all-time comparisons and lists. But his strengths are broader than that. He can certainly pass through the lines (see the delightfully weighted assist against West Germany), but he's probably more at home playing give-and-go football in midfield and down the left flank. He releases the ball early and doesn't dwell on it (being two-footed helps). And his off-the-ball game is impressive - working up and down the flank as well as in central areas - often helping out in the left-back area, recovering the ball and kick-starting moves down the wing.

Some good examples of this against Spain in the 1962 World Cup:

 
Gio said:
I don't really see any of Masopust, Goncalves or Gerrard as playmakers. They can all play football, but they're all well rounded and none demand that the game has to go through them. Most of the play-making in the team will take place through Zidane. Goncalves is primarily a holder, Gerrard was more in his element when he complemented and did the running for ball-players such as Xabi Alonso. Masopust is often described one for the purposes of all-time comparisons and lists. But his strengths are broader than that. He can certainly pass through the lines (see the delightfully weighted assist against West Germany), but he's probably more at home playing give-and-go football in midfield and down the left flank. He releases the ball early and doesn't dwell on it (being two-footed helps). And his off-the-ball game is impressive - working up and down the flank as well as in central areas - often helping out in the left-back area, recovering the ball and kick-starting moves down the wing.

Some good examples of this against Spain in the 1962 World Cup:

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Not necessarily playmakers but all 5 loved having the ball in their feet rather then playing without it. Team is one unselfish(not that other are selfish but you get what i mean hopefully) player away to being a great one IMO
Love you mentioned Xavi and Gerrard, IMO that whole trio is overrated as feck when it comes to chemistry, they were great individual players and had certain qualities that mashed well with others but they canceled each other and the biggest victim was Xabi who you always knew was class but he wasnt able to fully show it at Liverpool so it was no surprise when he reached new levels at Madrid. Mascherano could only play as the deepest one in that midfield because his awareness and technique was very, very limited(again, no surprises when Barca moved him even further back) which is the position you would want Xabi to be it, specially given the lack of quality on the ball in their defence at the time. Then you got Stevie Me who as brilliant as he was couldnt let go the fact he shouldnt be a main player on the ball so it only worked when he was moved either out wide on the right or almost up top with Torres which is basically a message from coaches, move the feck away.
 
Šjor Bepo said:
Not necessarily playmakers but all 5 loved having the ball in their feet rather then playing without it. Team is one unselfish(not that other are selfish but you get what i mean hopefully) player away to being a great one IMO
Love you mentioned Xavi and Gerrard, IMO that whole trio is overrated as feck when it comes to chemistry, they were great individual players and had certain qualities that mashed well with others but they canceled each other and the biggest victim was Xabi who you always knew was class but he wasnt able to fully show it at Liverpool so it was no surprise when he reached new levels at Madrid. Mascherano could only play as the deepest one in that midfield because his awareness and technique was very, very limited(again, no surprises when Barca moved him even further back) which is the position you would want Xabi to be it, specially given the lack of quality on the ball in their defence at the time. Then you got Stevie Me who as brilliant as he was couldnt let go the fact he shouldnt be a main player on the ball so it only worked when he was moved either out wide on the right or almost up top with Torres which is basically a message from coaches, move the feck away.
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Yeah I get that take, albeit I think it's symptomatic of the formation because there are a lot of central players, which is why you're not a fan of the Tree.

I would maintain that Liverpool midfield was an impressive unit and came very close to the title when the English league was arguably at its strongest. If anything held Alonso back, it was the general defensive approach across the team - whereas at Madrid there were more options - he had more ball-players to bounce off and far better full-backs to play with. Digressing a little, but pulling it back to Gerrard the set-up should enable him to stay out of that central playmaking zone and to press, push wide, power forward - all that off the ball stuff.
 
Šjor Bepo said:
Not necessarily playmakers but all 5 loved having the ball in their feet rather then playing without it. Team is one unselfish(not that other are selfish but you get what i mean hopefully) player away to being a great one IMO
Love you mentioned Xavi and Gerrard, IMO that whole trio is overrated as feck when it comes to chemistry, they were great individual players and had certain qualities that mashed well with others but they canceled each other and the biggest victim was Xabi who you always knew was class but he wasnt able to fully show it at Liverpool so it was no surprise when he reached new levels at Madrid. Mascherano could only play as the deepest one in that midfield because his awareness and technique was very, very limited(again, no surprises when Barca moved him even further back) which is the position you would want Xabi to be it, specially given the lack of quality on the ball in their defence at the time. Then you got Stevie Me who as brilliant as he was couldnt let go the fact he shouldnt be a main player on the ball so it only worked when he was moved either out wide on the right or almost up top with Torres which is basically a message from coaches, move the feck away.
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You don't see that happening with Masopust? He was a dude who like the ball at his feet too. I'm not saying he's selfish, but I see potential for same issue as Alonso.

As to Liverpool era, Alonso was the most important player in that time for them...but the Gerrard got the plaudits and publicity. They sucked when he left. I rate Liverpool Alonso as high as rest of his career... just that he had no honors to show for it because of Gerrard.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
You don't see that happening with Masopust? He was a dude who like the ball at his feet too. I'm not saying he's selfish, but I see potential for same issue as Alonso.
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thats exactly what i said yet you quote me...
 
Best of luck @Gio - the main criticism I would have of your side is that it seems to be filled with guys who were the undisputed stars of their respective sides. I can’t imagine someone like Gerrard just to use as one example thriving in such a set up as if reminds me of his woes with England where he was diminished playing in a team full of egos.

I also think we have better balance in the midfield in terms of defence and attack, yours seems a bit gung ho. Masopust and Gerrard can definitely track back of course but their style of play is very box to box (more focused on the attacking aspect though) so on the transition Goncalves might have a lot of heavy lifting to do.

Coluna is also box to box but he has a more considered style, not necessarily a better player but because he doesn’t fly forward- he’s less likely to be caught with pants down on the counter.
 
Netzer in the middle is an interesting decision, but I really feel that in this set up he is somehow underused — mainly because of the front trio personnel. Sheva is perfect and their link-up would've been amazing, but overall that front trio doesn't really provide that much option for Netzer's long passing into free space from deeper areas. Netzer always had multiple runners in attacking phase — Heynckes, Hoeneß, Müller, Kulik, Rupp etc., even Wimmer, who often played as a part-time winger — Rivelino is going to be moving to the middle for those one-twos and more on-the-ball action, Kubala is still a bit of a mystery to me as he had performed in such different roles, but I still don't find him a 100% natural fit.

Having someone like Wimmer/Neeskens in midfield would've helped a lot, but you don't have one. I also tend to underrate Coluna a bit, but I don't really consider him as a box-to-box midfielder, for me he was more of an attacking playmaker moved slightly deeper because of his physicality (not mobility!). For Benfica he often played as one of the inside forwards with another being Eusebio — Coluna obviously provided more playmaking and Eusebio concentrated on goalscoring/attacking runs, but still.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Masopust-Zidane doesn't sound optimal. With Masopust moving up, a 9.5 would have been better than Zidane. I like Masopust there more than Gerson tbh, so that's a good upgrade for me.

Raees' lineup is pretty much perfect imo.
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I don't really want to criticise Raees' team here because I like it a lot too. My only quibble though is that compared to Coluna - a right-footed central playmaker - Masopust looks a much more natural fit in that LCM role, as a left-footed left-sided central midfielder who has clear evidence of operating well on and off the ball in wide areas. It’s a simple thing but in such a narrow formation I like having a left/footed player on the left of the trio and a right-footed player on the right.

Going forward I like how Masopust can dribble down the flank on his left side. That should open up the park and I don't see any real clash with Zidane who is more inclined to cut inside onto his right foot and, as such, will mostly be operating in that no10 role between the width of the penalty box.
 
Gio said:
My only quibble though is that compared to Coluna - a right-footed central playmaker - Masopust looks a much more natural fit in that LCM role, as a left-footed left-sided central midfielder who has clear evidence of operating well on and off the ball in wide areas. It’s a simple thing but in such a narrow formation I like having a left/footed player on the left of the trio and a right-footed player on the right.
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Valid point. My personal expectation is that in a perfect midfield, both CMs should be able to drift wide, but it's not a must have in general. And yes, Masopust is a better fit than Coluna in that role. With Lizarazu there, this issue would be mitigated mostly.
 
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