Team Enigma ....................................... Team Mustard
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Enigma Tactics
Formation: 4-4-2 / 4-3-3 hybrid
Defence:
Krol is in attacking role, overlapping Cruyff, a much familiar one at both national and club level. Don Elias is bossing the central midfield with Oscar Ruggeri as the rugged stopper next to him. On the right we have Vogts in his natural balanced role.
Midfield:
Bryan Robson comes to the fore offering a nice upgrade on Souness and a one man engine Davids form the solid base of the central midfield. Robson basically will replicate passing ability and will initiate the play from deep whilst taking up the more creative role whilst Davids motor will not leave much time on the ball for the opposition creative force. Beckham is in his natural right flank role whilst Cruyff is our creative outlet in the attacking third, playing in free role.
Attack:
Eusebio and Seeler form a dynamic duo that is able to pull defenders wide as either of them is able to also operate on the flanks and leave space for onrushing Cruyff. The pair of them are very mobile and pacy strikers that will give the opposition back line nightmares especially on the back foot. Seeler also gives Becks a great target in the box and being able to get to the end of one of the best crossers and passers the game has seen.
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Pat Mustard Tactics
Formation/Tactical Approach: Possession-based 4-3-3
We shift away from the Manchester United 2008 theme of the last match, to the more familiar terrain for our great metronome Xavi of a possession-based 4-3-3 with a high defensive line and an aggressive high press. The basic defensive structure from the last match remains: two highly mobile CBs flanked by an aggressive attacking LB in Evra on one side, and the more reserved Bergomi on the other wing. The big change is the defensive line pushing up in support of the high press, and to that end there's a plenitude of recovery pace across the board. Another feature of the previous match was the interchanging of the attackers, and this will be ramped up in this match. New signing Stoichkov was lethal off both wings and will be encouraged to work off both flanks. Rummenigge, similarly, was effective across the entire frontline, and in Tostao we have the selfless glue player who will not only provide silky approach play but will be happy to drag defenders away with his off-the-ball movement.
The Don drops back into an attacking #8 role alongside Xavi, to better reflect the box-to-box nature of his game. Rewatching the famous EC final vs Eintracht Frankfurt, one of the more amusingly striking aspects was his visible exasperation at his teammates lack of movement. No such worries here for the great man, as he'll have Xavi and the underrated ball-player Stielike to bounce passes off in the build up, and a kaleidoscope of movement in the attacking line ahead of him.
Enigma Tactics
Formation: 4-4-2 / 4-3-3 hybrid
Defence:
Krol is in attacking role, overlapping Cruyff, a much familiar one at both national and club level. Don Elias is bossing the central midfield with Oscar Ruggeri as the rugged stopper next to him. On the right we have Vogts in his natural balanced role.
Midfield:
Bryan Robson comes to the fore offering a nice upgrade on Souness and a one man engine Davids form the solid base of the central midfield. Robson basically will replicate passing ability and will initiate the play from deep whilst taking up the more creative role whilst Davids motor will not leave much time on the ball for the opposition creative force. Beckham is in his natural right flank role whilst Cruyff is our creative outlet in the attacking third, playing in free role.
Attack:
Eusebio and Seeler form a dynamic duo that is able to pull defenders wide as either of them is able to also operate on the flanks and leave space for onrushing Cruyff. The pair of them are very mobile and pacy strikers that will give the opposition back line nightmares especially on the back foot. Seeler also gives Becks a great target in the box and being able to get to the end of one of the best crossers and passers the game has seen.
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Pat Mustard Tactics
Formation/Tactical Approach: Possession-based 4-3-3
We shift away from the Manchester United 2008 theme of the last match, to the more familiar terrain for our great metronome Xavi of a possession-based 4-3-3 with a high defensive line and an aggressive high press. The basic defensive structure from the last match remains: two highly mobile CBs flanked by an aggressive attacking LB in Evra on one side, and the more reserved Bergomi on the other wing. The big change is the defensive line pushing up in support of the high press, and to that end there's a plenitude of recovery pace across the board. Another feature of the previous match was the interchanging of the attackers, and this will be ramped up in this match. New signing Stoichkov was lethal off both wings and will be encouraged to work off both flanks. Rummenigge, similarly, was effective across the entire frontline, and in Tostao we have the selfless glue player who will not only provide silky approach play but will be happy to drag defenders away with his off-the-ball movement.
The Don drops back into an attacking #8 role alongside Xavi, to better reflect the box-to-box nature of his game. Rewatching the famous EC final vs Eintracht Frankfurt, one of the more amusingly striking aspects was his visible exasperation at his teammates lack of movement. No such worries here for the great man, as he'll have Xavi and the underrated ball-player Stielike to bounce passes off in the build up, and a kaleidoscope of movement in the attacking line ahead of him.
. There's four minutes of footage missing but by my count he attempted only 23 passes, completing 17 of them - clearly he was the main conduit in that Real team, but transplanting him into a modern possession team and away from that more chaotic era, I think there's room for a metronome alongside him.