La Liga/Serie A/BuLi Draft - 1st Rd MJJ/VivaJanuzaj vs Downcast/KirkDuyt

[Balu]

Clearly, while Muller can't find synergies with any player on the pitch. Probably because Angel di Maria is a much more intelligent player than Thomas Muller.


As someone who saw him non stop since arriving to Madrid, it's easy for me to say that the change he's done there is beyond maturing but it's build around it. He came as a rather young player and took him a while to understand the rhythm of the big boys and be able to find his control. Plus, until he moved to Arsenal he kept on being a player which, for most big games, disappear and come in and out of the games which was Real Madrid fan's biggest problem with him.

I'm not saying BuLi Ozil > BuLi Khedira, but their roles here are very different. Khedira is playing in the role he played since starting playing football, and is much more reliant on his physical attributes than his technical ones. In the same time Ozil is playing a role he could hypothetically play as CAM, although at Werder Bremen it was very very different from his role. Moreover, Ozil is being asked to do A LOT more defensively than he's used to do for any team and lacks the physical attributes to do.

So you see, I'm not saying BuLi Ozil wasn't good, but the fact is he's got this midfield trio:
Yaya out of the position and league he played his peak in.
Stankovic in a much more defensive role than he's used to and peaked in, in the club he did peak in.
Ozil in a much more withdrawn role, before his peak, and in a position he did not peak in.

while we have
Guardiola in the position he played since Cruyff first saw him in the reserve team and ordered him to move in in the club he peak in.
Khedira in the position and role he played for every team he represented, before his peak.
Sneijder one of the best midfielders in the world at his prime, in his peak club in his peak position*

*Regardless of what DK threw about Sneijder's role here - knowing Sneijder's movements he moves between receiving he ball deep, moving forward with it and drifting between the space at AM to LAM positions. He loves to roam a little to the left flank and he has all the room in the world to drift to here.

I actually disagree with most of that. Khedira at Stuttgart was more the central playmaker than a defensive powerhouse. In fact, I struggle to believe that any incarnation of Khedira is strong enough defensively to make your midfield work. I'm not a big fan of Yaya (which most probably know), but let's not kid ourselves. For most of his time at Barca, he was a quality defensive midfielder who simply offered more defensive protection than Khedira ever has. He has been a strong player, doesn't matter if he peaked in a more attacking role at a different club later.

So, I'd say both midfields are incredibly lightweight.

Regarding Özil. He simply needed time to adapt to Madrid at first. He struggled to show his form from his time at Bremen for half a season before he started to improve. That initial struggle doesn't reflect in any way his form at Bremen or for Germany prior to his move to Real Madrid. I still consider his performances at the World Cup in 2010 better than anything he has done ever since.

I also think that the attempts from both sides to question the tactical suitability of the attacking players are a bit silly. Both attacking units look fine and complementary to me.

 

[Ecstatic]

I also think that the attempts from both sides to question the tactical suitability of the attacking players are a bit silly. Both attacking units look fine and complementary to me.

I have to agree with that

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

I also think that the attempts from both sides to question the tactical suitability of the attacking players are a bit silly. Both attacking units look fine and complementary to me.

We actually never did it. I just said that Neymar-Falcao-di Maria are more suited for fast direct attacks, never said they didn't or that they won't well together besides when being sarcastic and used "you don't see me say.... yada yada yada". Do you really think he has any midfielder in the level of Sneijder or Guardiola to control the possession?
Plus, what do you think of the Muller vs Heinrich matchup? I find it as the biggest mismatch of the match. Muller is being portrayed here like a decent SS out of position when in fact he's in a position he played a lot for Bayern & Germany and was highly dangerous.

 

[Balu]

Plus, what do you think of the Muller vs Heinrich matchup?

I already commented on that .

We actually never did it. I just said that Neymar-Falcao-di Maria are more suited for fast direct attacks, never said they didn't or that they won't well together besides when being sarcastic and used "you don't see me say.... yada yada yada". Do you really think he has any midfielder in the level of Sneijder or Guardiola to control the possession?

I'm too lazy to go through the thread again, but didn't one of you question how Özil would struggle to play with Neymar because Neymar likes to cut inside with the ball or something like that? Thought that was a pretty mental argument. They'd work like a charme together. Both are happy to share the playmaking, neither hogs the ball. Özil prefers to drift to the right, which complements Neymar's movement perfectly and Neymar adds a significant thread with runs off the ball in behind the defense just like Özil's passes found Cristano time and again. That comparison actually made sense to me for this specific way to attack, even though Cristiano and Neymar are overall different players. They still share some similarities.

If that didn't come from you or MJJ, then I apologise and accept that you actually never did it.

 

[Gio]

Sorry I'm gonna have to challenge a lot of this Toure stuff. As a central pivot who isn't expected to do the box-to-box stuff, as he is here, he is proven. As Aldo recently said, do we forget just how incredible Barcelona were in 2008/09? Toure was magnificent for them in that same role - slick and classy on the ball, physically imposing, and a useful aerial threat in an otherwise tiny team. Often he played with the handbrake on, but he was disciplined enough to do the job he was assigned to do by Guardiola.

It was at City where his weakenesses as a more conventional central midfielder with a pressing and running expectation were exposed, but that is mostly irrelevant here because it's a different role in a different league.

 

[Gio]

I also think that the attempts from both sides to question the tactical suitability of the attacking players are a bit silly. Both attacking units look fine and complementary to me.

Yes. I'm not buying that - both sets of attackers are in the right teams.

 

[MJJ]

I already commented on that .


I'm too lazy to go through the thread again, but didn't one of you question how Özil would struggle to play with Neymar because Neymar likes to cut inside with the ball or something like that? Thought that was a pretty mental argument. They'd work like a charme together. Both are happy to share the playmaking, neither hogs the ball. Özil prefers to drift to the right, which complements Neymar's movement perfectly and Neymar adds a significant thread with runs off the ball in behind the defense just like Özil's passes found Cristano time and again. That comparison actually made sense to me for this specific way to attack, even though Cristiano and Neymar are overall different players. They still share some similarities.

If that didn't come from you or MJJ, then I apologise and accept that you actually never did it.

At first glance I'm not sure Ozil and Neymar will work too well. For me Ozil is a proper 10 at his best and could well be operating in space that Neymar would want to cut into. That said if Ozil played deeper at Bremen I'm all ears. Also Di Maria is so much better in his wide CM role and is wasted out right.

Thinking about it I think this setup would have been better:

---------------Falcao-------
Neymar-----------------Ozil
-----Di Maria-----Stankovic---
--------------Toure-------------

Ozil can cut in from the right with Maicon bombing on. A much better version of Mata and Darmian.

This post? I dont think either of us have said anything silly about his attack(other than neymar being the brazilian ronaldo). We even acknowledged in our OP that he has a pretty good attack.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Yes. I'm not buying that - both sets of attackers are in the right teams.

This post? I dont think either of us have said anything silly about his attack(other than neymar being the brazilian ronaldo). We even acknowledged in our OP that he has a pretty good attack.

As MJJ said, neither of us said anything bad about his attack, while he has constantly said Muller won't have good synergy with any of our players, Eto'o can't score properly without Messi Henry Xavi Iniesta & Ronaldinho to feed him balls, and Robinho will basically be a spectator while Sneijder will pump balls to the box because he can't retain possession properly. And I can give you quotes.

 

[Gio]

As MJJ said, neither of us said anything bad about his attack, while he has constantly said Muller won't have good synergy with any of our players, Eto'o can't score properly without Messi Henry Xavi Iniesta & Ronaldinho to feed him balls, and Robinho will basically be a spectator while Sneijder will pump balls to the box because he can't retain possession properly. And I can give you quotes.

I was more getting on about the Ozil/Toure stuff in midfield.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

I was more getting on about the Ozil/Toure stuff in midfield.

I disagree with you on Toure in midfield though, he does have the technical abilities for this role like you said, but he lacks the work rate to keep track with Sneijder here and assist Heinrich at the same time, against a team that will most likely hold more possession. Ozil is not playing in a position he played in the BuLi as far as I see it, he never played so retracted and for Werder he played more as a #10 in a 4-2-3-1 or a RW, here he's playing a CAM of some sort and I'm not saying he doesn't have the technical skills he does now(maybe to a bit lesser extent but still has them), he just doesn't have the physical strength to play a more defensive role like he's being asked here, and being the guy in charge of stopping Guardiola from dictating the pace of this match is a big defensive duty, one Ozil is just not up to.

 

[Balu]

This post? I dont think either of us have said anything silly about his attack(other than neymar being the brazilian ronaldo). We even acknowledged in our OP that he has a pretty good attack.

Yeah, probably. I did say I apologise if it wasn't you who started the weird discussion about Özil and Neymar

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Yeah, probably. I did say I apologise if it wasn't you who started the weird discussion about Özil and Neymar

I know my tone might appear angry here in text, but it's really not and I'm not trying to diss anyone or any player, I just don't see his midfield dominating the game here. I really expected him to go on the quick counters with the pace & dribble of Neymar-di Maria and the strength and explosiveness of Falcao, but he said that won't be the way and they will fight for possession and we're happy to come against that.
Kind of hard fighting sources like blogs and wikipedia's "style of play" though when facts are ignored and statements about our attacking trio is being thrown to the air constantly.

 

[harms]

Has MJJ hacked Viva's account or have they switched the roles in their good cop, bad cap game today?

Jörg Heinreich mostly played as a left wingback. He got the workrate and stamina to cover the whole wing, but he wasn't really a great defender. And he's probably not suited at all to deal with a free romaing wide forward, like Müller is, when played on the wing. It's certainly a mis-match.

On the other hand, picking Carvajal on his only Bundesliga season and playing him against Neymar sounds very dangerous to me. Carvajal started sensational at Leverkusen and was brilliant going forward, especially in the first half of the season but dropped off a bit in the second half and wasn't anywhere near an elite defender. Not sure if he's now either from a purely defensive point of view, Neymar played some cracking games against Real after all. It's difficult to judge him fairly on just the one season, which was his first season at senior level after all.

I rate Julio Cesar, he was quality in his first 3 years at Dortmund and was a key piece in their first title winning season (before Kohler joined Dortmund). For what it's worth (and I know these ratings are always somewhat flawed but might still give an indication), Kicker rated him as the 4th best player in the league that season, 2nd in the team only to Sammer:

Spoiler

@harms

Thanks! After some research yesterday I came to the same conclusions but it's great to hear from someone with superior knowledge

 

[Physiocrat]

Yeah, probably. I did say I apologise if it wasn't you who started the weird discussion about Özil and Neymar

My point was more about getting the best out of Di Maria. Anyway, since Ozil likes to drift right I think my setup makes more sense and gives Neymar, Ozil and Di Maria more freedom.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I have been so busy these last few days that I've not been able to make any contribution to our last picks and indeed our write up. All the work has been done by Downcast and I deserve maybe 1% of credit for our team and tactics. I'm a bad assistent coach

 

[harms]

Haven't heard the word "facts" used so often since that Rafa's press conference @VivaJanuzaj

 

[Balu]

My point was more about getting the best out of Di Maria. Anyway, since Ozil likes to drift right I think my setup makes more sense and gives Neymar, Ozil and Di Maria more freedom.

I probably just mixed a few different posts with each other, I don't even disagree with what you wrote .

 

[harms]

Decided not to vote here - awful job from both managers made me dislike both teams Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

 

[KirkDuyt]

Just a few quick things about the tactics.

Calling Carvajal world class in the write up is a bit over the top. He had a good year in the BuLi and Real decided to buy him back. Props to him, but he can't stop Neymar to save his life. He was a fine attacking back, but nothing brilliant defensively, at all. Facing Neymar that's a very worrying prospect since Neymar is a winger who like to beat his man constantly and humiliate him every chance he gets. Carvajal will leave the pitch crying and will hang up his boots after this game.

Far be it from me to critisize my beloved midget Wesley Sneijder, but saying we would've won the world cup if Robben would've been more accurate is a bit of a stretch. Sneijder was good and that pass was great, but as Downcast said, Sneijder thrived in that role, because he had two villains behind him in Van Bommel en Nigel de Jong. Just ask Xabi Alonso. That Dutch team just dropped back, kicked the opposition to shreds and hoofed it forward to Arjen Robben. Sneijder himself contributes absolutely nothing defensively. He needs people to do that for him and I'm not sure Khedira is enough to do that. That might just be me not really rating Khedira though.

I do agree that some of our players do not play in the position they had their absolute peak in, but it's not as bad as it would seem reading through some of these comments. As I said, Downcast did almost all the work and my he has to verbally face two experienced drafters here, so I wanted to atleast drop my 2 cents into the mix.

Oh and both teams look great, I just decided to post in the same tone this thread is in. Just a bit of banter right?

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Decided not to vote here - awful job from both managers made me dislike both teams Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

Excuse me? Quote me!

 

[Enigma_87]

Decided not to vote here - awful job from both managers made me dislike both teams Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

Is there anywhere said from which leagues the players are? Didn't see it in the op.

 

[crappycraperson]

Decided not to vote here - awful job from both managers made me dislike both teams Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

Gonna read the thread now.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Is there anywhere said from which leagues the players are? Didn't see it in the op.

Gonna read the thread now.

It's an absurd claim. Neither lied, he just backed his comments with half arsed sources while we called him out on it. I've asked @harms to please show me where I lied or MJJ lied.

As for the leagues from which they came, we mistakenly forgot to add to OP and once asked MJJ gave it:

Bundesliga

Muller (GER)
Khedira (GER)
Carvajal (ESP)
Klos(GER)

Serie A

Cassano(ITA)
Sneijder(NED)
Samuel(ARG)
Silva(BRA)

La Liga

Eto'o(CMR)
Guardiola(ESP)
Abidal(FRA)
Robinho(BRA)

Please add this to the OP @Marty1968

 

[Enigma_87]

It's an absurd claim. Neither lied, he just backed his comments with half arsed sources while we called him out on it. I've asked @harms to please show me where I lied or MJJ lied.

As for the leagues from which they came, we mistakenly forgot to add to OP and once asked MJJ gave it:

Thanks. I think we should have this in the OP as it is draft specific even put them below the players names in the tactics.

I'll go through the thread to see what's going on

 

[harms]

It's an absurd claim. Neither lied, he just backed his comments with half arsed sources while we called him out on it. I've asked @harms to please show me where I lied or MJJ lied.

Can't be arsed to reread the thread now - but no, it's not an absurd claim, you and your opponent regularly belittled opposition's players with a little to none evidence to those claims and ridiculously overhyped your own (for example when you stated numerous times how great is CL-winning Carvajal when he hasn't won the CL yet and so on)

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Decided not to vote here - awful job from both managers made me dislike both teams Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. Don't know about blatant lies, but certainly lots of sub-par and downright odd arguments.

Not crazy about either team, to be frank.

Some minor observations:

Julio Cesar was a very good player back in the day – don't see a problem with him at this stage at all.

Viva clearly has a point regarding Heinrich, who looks out of his depth given what he's supposed to do here.

Agree with Gio on Yaya.

Agree with Balu's comments on the general state of both teams' midfields.

That's about it.

 

[Enigma_87]

Can't be arsed to reread the thread now - but no, it's not an absurd claim, you and your opponent regularly belittled opposition's players with a little to none evidence to those claims and ridiculously overhyped your own (for example when you stated numerous times how great is CL-winning Carvajal when he hasn't won the CL yet and so on)

Carvajal has won it with Real or you are referring to Bundesliga Carvajal?

 

[harms]

Carvajal has won it with Real or you are referring to Bundesliga Carvajal?

Viva is playing a BL Carvajal, who hasn't won it yet

Calling Heidrich exclusively an LM is also a lie, for example, he played as a left-back and as a left wing-back a lot (even if it's one of the two most obvious mismatches of the game)

 

[Theon]

Lots of questionable comments from both sides, though I think there have been some valid points mentioned amongst it all.

For me the midfields are equally lightweight and the balance looks slightly off for both sides, with both teams sporting an attacking midfielder next to a box-to-box midfielder with limited defensive ability. I don't think either anchor is the man to secure things, with Pep being better positionally, Toure better physically but neither quite well rounded enough in that role to bring the requisite balance. I think its probably less of an issue for Viva as Sneijder was capable of playing as more of #8 and IMO will contribute more than Ozil.

I think both attacks would work well and don't see any issue with Neymar and Falcao which seems a bizzare criticism earlier on in the thread.

Ultimately whilst I see both teams getting conceding the better defense of Viva makes the difference for me so I'm going for him.

Haven't seen a game with so much blatant lies and exaggerations from both sides

You're certainly one to talk.

 

[harms]

You're certainly one to talk.

All my criticism of your players, be it Kocsis or Matthäus in last game, for example, was justified, even if it was a little over the top because I needed to prove that they weren't GOATs in that draft (and they weren't).

 

[Enigma_87]

Viva is playing a BL Carvajal, who hasn't won it yet

yeah that makes sense. It's a bit of a risky choice given Carvajal best football IMO was during that CL winning campaign.

Couple of points off the bat.

I think Khedira and Guardiola are inverted. Khedira is a destroyer type and never too creative midfielder. I think he has a limited attacking contribution. I'd have him at DM or the defensive one of 2 holding midfielders with Guardiola as DLP.

I think both sets of wingers will have their chances against the full backs especially Neymar vs Carvajal and Muller vs Heinrich. I tend to give the edge to VJ/MJJ as Di Maria used to play a tucked in role for RM in a midfield 3(not saying he won't excel in a wider position).

VJ/MJJ have clear advantage on top with Eto'o compared to Falcao. Midfield/defence would probably be even with advantages here and there.

 

[Theon]

All my criticism of your players, be it Kocsis or Matthäus in last game, for example, was justified, even if it was a little over the top because I needed to prove that they weren't GOATs in that draft (and they weren't).

I'm not talking about any particular game - just the general tone of the arguments which have started infecting these drafts recently.

And obviously some criticisms that you've leveled have been valid, but criticisms proffered by the managers in this thread have been valid as well so its an irrelevant point. I remember you posting some quite bizzare views on Passarella for instance which in my view doesnt fit the main purpose of the drafts, which should be to learn and talk about the players.

It's irrelevant to this game anyway so lets leave it there. I just found your comment quite ironic.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Can't be arsed to reread the thread now - but no, it's not an absurd claim, you and your opponent regularly belittled opposition's players with a little to none evidence to those claims and ridiculously overhyped your own (for example when you stated numerous times how great is CL-winning Carvajal when he hasn't won the CL yet and so on)

You are absolutely right about the Carvajal part, but I took it back and said I went over the top with it. I definitely oversold him there and should have shown better that it's the Cravajal from Bundesliga. Fair enough. But I really think that's it, and I also took it back in the first page if I'm not mistaken.

Viva is playing a BL Carvajal, who hasn't won it yet

Calling Heidrich exclusively an LM is also a lie, for example, he played as a left-back and as a left wing-back a lot (even if it's one of the two most obvious mismatches of the game)

But I never said he was only a LM, I said he was mostly a LM and according to transfermarkt he played the vast majority of his games as a LM, a small portion as Left inside back and very few as LWB or LB. Actually about a few dozen together in his entire Dortmund career. And it's a point that needs to be made because I doubt most voters know a lot about Heinrich, and when the opponent's way of proving it is showing a quote from wikipedia's "style of play" that is just the author's thought against us bringing our proof is using transfermarkt's stats, I think it's fair to keep on banging on it as it's clearly one of the two biggest mismatches in the match, with the other being Neymar vs Carvajal. The main difference between the two mismatches? When Neymar beats Carvajal he find himself against Thiago Silva while Samuel is marking Falcao, while on the other side it'll be Materazzi to go out to Muller and Julio Cesar to stay 1v1 on Eto'o which is a lot more dangerous imo.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

I think Khedira and Guardiola are inverted. Khedira is a destroyer type and never too creative midfielder. I think he has a limited attacking contribution. I'd have him at DM or the defensive one of 2 holding midfielders with Guardiola as DLP.

Khedira is playing box to box in a more defensive point of view, we thought we wouldn't need to add his arrows to show it as the box 2 box role is the role he played throughout his career, just like we didn't needed arrows to show Guardiola is in the pivot role.

yeah that makes sense. It's a bit of a risky choice given Carvajal best football IMO was during that CL winning campaign.

Agreed. It's no primed Carvajal but it's just a season before that and the season that earned him the ticket back to Madrid. We want a pacy athletic RB that can match Neymar's pace as there's only a few who can actually deal with him, but with the rest of our defensive line much better than Carvajal or our opponent's, we thought we could use some young enthusiasm and flair.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

We've discussed Khedira before (particularly in one draft, can't remember which at the moment). I think the problem with him is that he tends to be regarded as a good choice for a designated DM role – whereas his actual skill set isn't really suited for this. He isn't particularly sound defensively, in short.

For me, he is close to what Theon described above: Some sort of box-to-boxer with limited defensive capabilities. Look at his performances for Germany in the WC. It was Schweinsteiger who provided the crucial steel (and most of the nous) in that midfield, not Khedira.

Anyway, for me he's in the right position/role here – that's fine. The problem lies in the overall balance. It's lightweight on the whole, as Balu pointed out above. And that goes for both midfields.

 

[Ecstatic]

Carvajal & Vieira

The initial plan was to have the duo Vieira/Touré to support Ozil.

I was told by some of you - especially Viva - it was against the spirit of the draft despite his trophies and his FIVE years spent in Italy and an excellent WC2006 that shows Vieira was not dead simply because he left Arsenal.

So, I put him on the bench in order not to go in circles once again in the thread.

That is why, it was hard not to be ironical about the Carvajal made in Germany, the "next CL Winner".

In reality, Bundesliga Carvajal or not, the recent Classicos have demonstrated that Neymar beats him. On the other hand, if you have Bergomi, then I would say Neymar would suffer.

Julio Cesar

I knew it would have been hard to sell him because he played football 30 years ago in the Bundesliga league in the shadow of players like Sammer, Matthaus and Kohler.
Full matches in the 90s are available but almost impossible to find short compilations
The other option considered was Nowotny. I knew it was an easier option but but I did want to highlight forgotten players

Heinrich

The rationale was different. All the greatest teams had some humble & faithful soldiers who compensate their lack of technical skills by an outstanding winning mentality.
Pessotto, Di Livio, Helguera were the welcome in Torino or Madrid.
Regarding his positioning, I consider him as a Lizarazu: able to play in a 3-5-2 system or a 4-4-2 system.

Possession or not

Not a relevant issue because both teams are inclined to play quickly. Robinho & Etoo need to use their pace & Sneijder is a pragmatic offensive player. Di Maria & Ozil played for Real.

Neymar - captain

He is my Captain because he was both excellent and the leader of the Brazilian team on the pitch during the WC 2014

IMHO, Germany 7-1 Brazil mainly because of the absence of Neymar. I know Thiago Silva was not available for this game

Lightweight for both midfields

Agree

Lies? Lack of respect?

As far as I'm concerned, no lies. On the other hand, Viva & myself wanted a wrestling match-up

Overselling? A little bit part of the game partly because we are talking of "PEAK performances".

The quality of the players on the pitch is globally extremely high so I can't discuss the quality of the players but I can speculate on the strategy of my opponent. Nothing shocking.

The idea was not to say "Etoo/Sneijder is very bad" but rather to ask some basic questions such as:

- Are all the conditions met to have a fantastic Etoo or Sneijder?
- Is the quatuor Etoo/Sneijder/Muller/Robinho harmonious?

I have been so busy these last few days that I've not been able to make any contribution to our last picks and indeed our write up. All the work has been done by Downcast and I deserve maybe 1% of credit for our team and tactics. I'm a bad assistent coach

Don't worry mate

I will come-back in 3-4 hours.

 

[crappycraperson]

Khedira is that he is just an average B2B midfielder, that's all there is to it. It is one of the hardest role to play, especially in a 2 man midfield. Someone like Gerrard, as talented as he was, played it as being a headless chicken in midfield, losing all sense of positional discipline. Now days, Toure, can strike the balance between requisite defensive participation and attacking play either. Khedira's just that good to play such a role with any degree of effectiveness unless paired with much better midfielders.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Heinrich

Regarding his positioning, I consider him as a Lizarazu: able to play in a 3-5-2 system or a 4-4-2 system.

I think comparing him to Lizarazu is great overrating him, and I think the biggest difference is the ability to defend and best position, for Lizarazu it's LB/LWB for Heinrich is LM/LWB and that says it all. He's not a bad player in any way but he's over his head facing Muller here.

Neymar - captain

He is my Captain because he was both excellent and the leader of the Brazilian team on the pitch during the WC 2014

IMHO, Germany 7-1 Brazil mainly because of the absence of Neymar. I know Thiago Silva was not available for this game

That's debatable, but I'd be inclined to agree that their absence was equally important. Neymar was definitely the main leader of the team and they just didn't look lively without him and in my opinion they never had a chance to win even if Thiago Silva was playing when Neymar was out, but the reason for the match to have ended 7:1 and not 2:1 is Thiago Silva, and his own leadership and ability to keep that Brazilian line intact. So yes, Neymar was more important to that national team, that undeniable imo, but Thiago Silva's absence made it a 7-1 loss and not just a loss.

 

[VivaJanuzaj]

Lies? Lack of respect?

As far as I'm concerned, no lies. On the other hand, Viva & myself wanted a wrestling match-up

This. I don't feel it's gone out of lines or something, just a very strong and a little aggressive but friendly debate

 

[Isotope]

It's against the spirit of the game, picking up player and hoping scan voters to vote based on his peak; regardless how good actually the player on his qualified league.