Decades Chain Draft: SF - BigDunk vs Beam/Synco

Who will win this game?

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

Šjor Bepo

Wout is love, Wout is life; all hail Wout!
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Team Dunk

- David Villa and Carlos Tevez dovetail and interchange in the left and central forward positions in a medley of menace and bite. A strike partnership that oozes tenacity, work-rate, creativity, killer instinct and technical brilliance. Villa and Tevez possess the versatility, pace, movement and team work to thrive in my classic 4-3-3. Their ability to press from the front, operate wide and drop deep allows the attack to be dynamic and fluid. Figo is my dribbling wizard, providing true width on the right flank. Figo is the perfect classic winger: crosses, assists and complete mastery running with the ball. All three attackers can score and create for eachother. Teamwork is valued over the big name GOATs.

- Falcao and Tigana represent my team's ideals perfectly: the marriage of technique, tenacity and football IQ. Both ballers, able to control the game from deep, break up play, bring the ball forward with grace and even contribute in the attacking third. The midfield has been further upgraded tactically to form a new dream triumvirate. To address the questions raised regarding i) the space between my defence and midfield, ii) the off-the-ball game of Falcao-Tigana, I welcome the perfect defensive midfielder, Valery Voronin. Voronin solidifies my defence: breaking up play, man-marking, covering and able to act as an auxiliary centreback for my advancing libero. His ability on the ball and passing skill further contribute to our control of the game.

- Ruud Krol, totaalvoetbal's most complete defender, is both adventurous going forward, and the consummate defender. His positional intelligence and ball-playing ability is further enhanced alongside my possession-confident unit. Bergomi, an elite defensive fullback holds the fort behind Figo, and stays back when Beckenbauer moves forward. Campbell is a formidable centreback: very strong, fast and dominant in the air. Navas' shot-stopping ability, reflexes and goalkeeper skills have made him a highly respected modern goalkeeper, forever a key player in the big games and pivotal moments.

- It is a fantasy to have Der Kaiser combine with the players in my team, now in a more familiar 4-3-3 shape. Beckenbauer will maximise i) the defensive ability of my back four, ii) the creative influence of my midfielders and iii) the offensive potential of my attackers. Beckenbauer will be the heartbeat, orchestrator and ringleader of the passing carousel: full of elite playmakers and dribblers, boasting fluid and intelligent movement. We can both stretch our opponent, get in behind them or pass through them.


Team Synco

Tactics:
Attacking football - flexible style between high-paced transitions and possession, phases of pressing and conventional defending in a 442

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The addition of Passarella and Vierchowod enables this team to play more on the front foot than before. Which makes even better use of the offensive capabilities in the side - especially the front four and Alisson, but really everyone.

Main advantage: the front four

Dunk has put up a great side around Beckenbauer, with lots of quality and without any weaknesses. We think our team can hold up in general terms, but the main advantage we see is our attacking department, which is on another level to the opposition's.

The Ballon d'Or version of Blokhin alone would be worthy to lead the attack, but here he is the partner of one of the greatest attacking players of all time: Marco van Basten in his mercurial 1980s incarnation. Before his ankle injury forced him to adapt (and eventually retire), he was the full package, including stellar pace and dribbling.

Sjor has summed it up nicely in one match compilation:




Peak strength Chislenko remains the perfect fit on the right, world class winger and scoring inside forward rolled in one. Laudrup remains the perfect fit as attacking playmaker, combining his all-time great passing with penetrating dribbling runs and his knack of getting into scoring positions.

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The whole front four can play off each other. Each one brings his own massive qualities to the mix, each one can create and score. This (in our eyes) perfect synergy is how we want to win the game.
 
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Did you both go to the same graphic designer.

Two beautiful teams, well done.
 
Initial impressions. Both sides look great but I'm not sold on Dunk's left side. Krol wasn't a touch line hugging LB and Falcao didn't drift much left IIRC so that side looks a bit narrow to me.
 
love both teams, hopefully Tevez Villa partnership gets some love as its fecking brilliant
 
Mystery solved, Passarella insisted Redondo get his haircut so they could some day both play for Team Beam
 
That Dunk team actually looks like a very good remake of the 1974 German team.

I do feel the team needs a genuine wing forward though. There is so much creative passing ability centrally, you'd want some magic from out wide both as a creator and scorer. Don't think Figo/Villa/Tevez tick both the boxes at the same time. Blokhin would have been awesome there.

I was going to call this a draw, but for above reason, I am giving this to the other team which I can't find any faults in.
 
Good luck @BIG DUNK
Massive team you've assembled there, and quite a spectacular RR you've had. Love the setup as a whole, as well as literally every player.

Only thing I can find on first sight is that imo the classic libero back four (which I think this is to a T, including Krol) ideally has a bit more wing presence in front. Only goes for LW here obviously, Figo is perfect. But it's a minor point. Behind a front three with inside forwards, I'd expect Krol to play somewhat Cancelo-like, which isn't a bad outlook at all. And I've also seen him doing great overlapping/crossing runs down the left, although in general I think he was more prone to move inside on his stronger right foot.

At least in my picture of him, can all be discussed. Maybe someone can shed a little more light on his positional interplay with Keizer and Rensenbrink, who certainly loved to move inside & score? Historical role and player ability are also not always the same, so I generally try not to mix them up too much.

(The roles of old school vs modern attacking LBs might be worth a thread some day.)
antohan said:
Mystery solved, Passarella insisted Redondo get his haircut so they could some day both play for Team Beam
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The only good thing that ever came out of him being a total knob!
 
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I was joking earlier but I love the midfields and a lot of the interplay/associations so this to me is quite probably -and realistically- boiling down to the relative form of the keepers throughout this period.
 
Synco said:
Love the setup as a whole, as well as literally every player.
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A correction triggered by recent posts: I should have said 'outfield player'. Embarassingly didn't pay attention to the keeper :nervous:

So Navas is the exception there, never been a big fan, not even during his peak days at Real Madrid. Not saying this because of his reception in this match, it's simply how it is.
 
Synco’s team was my favourite at the drafting stage, so great work!

Where I have the advantage to split two strong teams:
My creativity and playmaking can be seen in all three departments: defence, midfield and attack. While I feel my opponent’s main creativity comes through Laudrup (who Voronin will be assigned a man-marking job, who I have faith will slow down Laudrup’s effectiveness).

Few talking points raised:
- In my 4-3-3, I don’t think a left winger is required for that left attacker role. Figo is the true wide-man (who can operate on both wings and even loves cutting in). My left attacker in my 4-3-3 is a forward who can move to the wing and play centrally. Like the great German teams of the 70’s, left forwards of the similar mould to Heynckes/Hoeneß/Kremers, none of whom were natural wingers. Blokhin/Stoichkov would admittedly make great upgrades in an all-time ranking sense though. Neither Villa or Tevez are on Van Basten’s level, but their ability to do their job and the off-ball qualities they possess in my set-up make them more valuable.
- Krol was a force (defensive/attacking/playmaking) for both Ajax and Netherlands in a 4-3-3, I have no fear in him performing a solid job here. I don’t feel I need a line-hugging fullback/winger combo. Moreover, the German Breitner-Heynckes/Hoeneß left flank combo were elite.
- If we were to look at Falcao and Tigana’s heat maps from their respective era’s they would show multiple positioning (not just the ‘fixed’ left/right side as per my formation): e.g in front of the back four, on both wings, box to box centrally, late runs into the box, on the edge of the opponent’s box, crossing/passing from the wing. They would be very comfortable on the ball in each area.
- Even the great Lev Yashin would have been exposed with that Costa Rican team in front of him! But yes, not good timing.
 
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BIG DUNK said:
Synco’s team was my favourite at the drafting stage, so great work!
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Thanks, although I again feel the need to say that 90% of this team is down to Beam, who sadly can't participate.

But as I said, love your team too, and I won't try to find any weak points where there aren't. Rather go by highlighting the strengths of our own team.
BIG DUNK said:
Where I have the advantage to split two strong teams:
My creativity and playmaking can be seen in all three departments: defence, midfield and attack. While I feel my opponent’s main creativity comes through Laudrup (who Voronin will assigned a marking assignment, who I have faith will slow down Laudrup’s effectiveness).
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No doubt Voronin is a main defensive factor in your team, just a great player. But (along the lines of what I said in the first match), this side is not dependent on Laudrup. Even if he was replaced by a generic CM, there'd be no lack of individual and collective creativity:
  • If you watch the Van Basten comp in the OP, this guy was everywhere in that phase of his career. Clearly a main creative force.
  • Blokhin and Chislenko could create chances all on their own, as well as in interplay with their teammates.
  • Redondo is of course an all-time great playmaker too. He is in his late 90s DM/DLP role here, so mostly directing the flow of the possession game. But back then he also had great timing for stepping up with pinpoint offensive actions.
  • Kanté has a great knack for high speed runs into the danger zone, both with and without the ball. He used create like this quite a bit for Chelsea.
  • Lahm is a proper buildup playmaker/final third enabler from the right side.
  • Then there's Passarella, who - like Redondo - had great a situational sense when to initiate or join attacking moves.
So this team can easily run the game as a collective, both in buildup and the final third. It has the collective flow and the individual difference makers. Laudrup is at the same time the best playmaker and the cherry on top. Beyond that, he was a very mobile attacker who could come through the center and over the wings, which doesn't make it easier to contain him.
 
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It's extremely close but I went with @Synco in the end. Even Beckenbauer's influence is more or less mirrored by Passarella.

Fantastic team @BIG DUNK, you really can't find any flaws in it, synergy, players, everything is on point.
 
two brilliant teams, final worthy id say and id vote dunk if not for Keylor in this period(Madrid era would be fine). Always bitching around how goalkeepers dont have value so cant go over that and while id vote for him its an even tie so the vote would be purely on the tactical basis as i dislike 4231 and think 433 is much better.
 
harms said:
It's extremely close but I went with @Synco in the end. Even Beckenbauer's influence is more or less mirrored by Passarella.

Fantastic team @BIG DUNK, you really can't find any flaws in it, synergy, players, everything is on point.
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I disagreed that Pasarella could even close influencing the game like Beckenbauer could. Not as a player, and especially with this Dunk's setup.
 
Well played @BIG DUNK
The result is not a fair reflection of the matchup, as so often. These teams were even (maybe GK aside), and purely on personal preference, your semi side has been one of my favourites in drafts.
 
Two finest teams, I fall in love with Dunks' midfield. It works better in 4-3-3 than 4-4-2. Since Voronin provides more defensive solidness and can make two of them( Falcao and Tigana) don't concern too much about defense and can play their best games as B2B ( although both weren't liabilities, especially Tigana who was famously known for this department).
 
General_Elegancia said:
Two finest teams, I fall in love with Dunks' midfield. It works better in 4-3-3 than 4-4-2. Since Voronin provides more defensive solidness and can make two of them( Falcao and Tigana) don't concern too much about defense and can play their best games as B2B ( although both weren't liabilities, especially Tigana who was famously known for this department).
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Yeah, this brought the whole team to a new level. Including the knock-on effects, like the new front three setup.
 
I dont know, I didn't comment this but was in my mind throughout the game. It really is a nice Beckenbauer side but I felt rather than a 4-3-3/4-4-2, it would have been awesome with a 4 man midfield and a goat No.10 instead of Beckenbauer. Tigana and Falcao (and of course Voronin) are great but a Zico or Platini in the hole there takes the team to as good as the opposition levels. Tigana and Falcao both excelled in such setups obviously (not trying to say they wouldnt be great here as well). I felt even though as good as the midfield is, the attacking phase still wouldn't scare the shit out of me if I were to be the opposing manager. And of course wouldn't entice the voters as much as the opposing team would.

Now if this was a 4-3-3 with proper wide men who could contribute as both creators and scorers, I wouldn't stop wanking on it. Probably would have won my vote.
 
Synco said:
Well played @BIG DUNK
The result is not a fair reflection of the matchup, as so often. These teams were even (maybe GK aside), and purely on personal preference, your semi side has been one of my favourites in drafts.
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Yes, superb drafting from the Beam-Synco team and subsequent tactics/upgrades to follow.
Great to see Chislenko being respected too.
 
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