.......................................... TEAM PAT ................................................................................................................ TEAM SKIZZAHNOMOSS ......................................................
TEAM PAT
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Style of Play: Counter-attacking.
Same formation as last time, but a change in tactics. We shift from a high defensive line to a fairly deep line to mitigate against the threat of Maradona, and we look to break swiftly on the counter when we regain possession.
Rinat Dasayev and Paolo Maldini bolster the defence, with Dasayev/Maldini/Figueroa/Matthaus forming a rock solid central axis. Patrice Evra gets the nod over Alaba at left back. A key player in Utd’s greatest ever defence, Evra has excelled in this sort of counter-attacking set up in countless CL away games for us. His strength in one on one situations and his brilliant ball-carrying in transition makes him the right man for the job here. Matthaus’ ball-winning and barnstorming surges forward will be crucial to the success of our counter-attacking strategy, and in Falcao he has an ideal partner.
Uwe Seeler has attracted some discussion in the main thread courtesy of his inclusion in Anto’s shadow-wanking XI, and I’m one of the small but devoted band of acolytes who view him as one of the all-time great centre forwards. A first-rate goalscorer and supreme aerial threat with great link-up play, he has an excellent real-life record against Beckenbauer and Schwarzenbeck, scoring 4 times in 7 matches against the pair between 1965/66 and 1968/69 near the tail-end of his career. Flanked by two of the great wingers in Dzajic and Johnstone, and with an abundance of creativity behind him, he’s well-placed to do damage here. A final point worth mentioning is our threat from distance – Dzajic, Matthaus, Falcao and Rivaldo are all lethal from middle to long range, and they’ll look to put Courtois, probably the least-credentialed and weakest player on the pitch, to the test frequently.
TEAM SKIZZAHNOMOSS
Defense
---------------------------------------------------------
The defense and spine of the team is inspired by Beckenbaurs and Schwarzenbecks iconic West Germany side The steel of Schwarzenbeck and Vogts provided the defensive cover which let Breitner operate as a free roaming playmaking left back which suits the way Lahm would play the position as well. Alternating between making overlapping runs and drifting inside to provide a passing option while causing confusion for the defending team.
-------------------Lahm-------------------------------------------Breitner
Beckenbauer and Schwarzenbeck won everything together and they formed one of the best centre back partnerships in history. It is difficult to find the right defensive setup and player to partner Beckenbauer but Schwarzenbeck did so perfectly. One of the players who impressed me the most from that vintage German side was Schwarzenbeck who was an all time great in his own rights and managed to sweep up after both Beckenbauer and Breitner thanks to his geniune defensive greatness. He was more composed than Vogts(who isn't at his best there) in the role and he provided everything your typical stopper would. Great aerial ability, strength and a no nonsense mentality to complement the artists around him.
German football in the 1970s stood for straight-forward, well-organised, disciplined football. The one player who embodied this more than anyone was Schwarzenbeck. Deployed as a centre-half, Schwarzenbeck acted as a vacuum cleaner for Beckenbauer, taking care of the dirty work while others shone in the limelight. Labelled by Kicker magazine as "the most modest international Germany ever had", his work ethic gave balance to a team that otherwise leaned towards technical quality.
The Battle of Münich, the treacherous Matthäus left Bayern in the middle of his prime and is back for his first match at his old home soil. Awaiting him is his old team, his mentor and now worst enemy, Beckenbauer. Who had the following to say during the interview when asked what he thought of Matthäus joining Patnazionale:
While the team lost Matthäus they used the winter transfer window to pick up Diego Maradona. Who will spearhead this central midfield as a number 10. Neeskens and Netto are an incredible pairing - both comfortable in whatever position Beckenbauer decides to take whether it is to form a flat 4-3-3 where Neeskens and Netto are at home with their experience or if one or both have to play conservative as Beckenbauer is making a marauding run to the box.
There will always be one of the three making a direct explosive run towards the box when opportunity arises.
With such an even midfield three in Neeskens, Netto, Maradona against Matthäus, Falcao and Rivaldo - Beckenbauer will have the match winning impact that has him rated the third best player in history.
Offense
With Maradona in the team we're guaranteed creativity, playmaking and goals as long as we can stretch the pitch and provide the runs he needs. Therefore we're not using the hybrid playmaker/winger version of Giggs - and instead sport the electric welsh Wizard of the early 90's where he was also a goalscoring threat scoring up to 17 goals in one season.
Giggs With Lahm working together in tandem, cutting in when Giggs needs him there, overlapping when Giggs wants to cut in himself.
On the other wing we have Julinho, the third best Brazilian right winger of all time and one of the best right wingers overall. The man made it a job to dominate a flank on his own and provide width and even created a lot of goals from that side with 101 goals in 191 games for Palmeiras and 13 in 31 for Brazil.
After playing fine in English best of all time and become a holy being wearing the shirt of Fiorentina-ITA, that impish, technical and sublime tip-right was back to Brazil missed its land and its people. But in 1959, that same people decided booing him before a game against the Brazilian National Team England squad at the Maracana, months after the canary team have won their first World Cup title. The more than 130,000 people wanted to see Garrincha, the tip-right champion Sweden and absolute owner. No one wanted to see that citizen thin mustache, fine features and slender. But on the way up to the lawn, Mané substitute decided to end that audacity against his football in a few minutes.
More precisely three, until the moment when José Ribamar de Oliveira dominated on the left, he played for Henry and this left the man jeered dominate and send the ball into the goal. Minutes later, he built the play of the second goal. Following, dribbled English with the ease that only he had and turned the faces of anger and envy in smiles. At the end of the match two minutes of applause to bury the two hoots. The Maracana was apologizing for the crime. And the man who made the day May 13, 1959 the foundation stone of his legend, thanked him and smiled. Júlio Botelho, known as Julinho Botelho wrote this and many other fantastic stories with an absolute beauty football and had always been the purest essence of the victorious Brazilian football once: fed up dribbling, speed, insinuating plays, devastating kicks and passes tasteful
He'll stretch the pitch perfectly for us while he is more than dangerous enough in his free defensive role to punish offensive plays from the opponents full backs. Julinho is a great player to face Maldini, his crossing is excellent and he doesn't have to cut his way in to the box if Maldini is in position but can rather curl a cross in or just find Leonidas/Maradona running in to space inside or around the box.
More precisely three, until the moment when José Ribamar de Oliveira dominated on the left, he played for Henry and this left the man jeered dominate and send the ball into the goal. Minutes later, he built the play of the second goal. Following, dribbled English with the ease that only he had and turned the faces of anger and envy in smiles. At the end of the match two minutes of applause to bury the two hoots. The Maracana was apologizing for the crime. And the man who made the day May 13, 1959 the foundation stone of his legend, thanked him and smiled. Júlio Botelho, known as Julinho Botelho wrote this and many other fantastic stories with an absolute beauty football and had always been the purest essence of the victorious Brazilian football once: fed up dribbling, speed, insinuating plays, devastating kicks and passes tasteful
He'll stretch the pitch perfectly for us while he is more than dangerous enough in his free defensive role to punish offensive plays from the opponents full backs. Julinho is a great player to face Maldini, his crossing is excellent and he doesn't have to cut his way in to the box if Maldini is in position but can rather curl a cross in or just find Leonidas/Maradona running in to space inside or around the box.
Playing at inside- or centre-forward, Leonidas was a magician who possessed all of the great virtues. He had speed, excellent technique and an incomparable elasticity. "He was as fast as a greyhound, as agile as a cat, and seemed not to be made of flesh and bones at all, but entirely of rubber. He was tireless in pursuit of the ball, fearless, and constantly on the move. He never conceded defeat. He shot from any angle and any position, and compensated for his small height with exceptionally supple, unbelievable contortions, and impossible acrobatics." In 1938, the French media compared Leonidas to a circus freak, a rubber man with 6 legs.
The second son of Samba, after a certain Friedenreich, the Black Diamond/The Rubber man was voted as the 8th best Brazilian player of the 20th century by IFFHS - a point ahead of both Nilton Santos and Ronaldo. An odd inclusion some would say but when the Brazilans themselves choose their legends he is common sense. Both Folha de São Paolo and Placar Magazine[1997] included him in their first eleven when they collected an all-time Brazil team. His phenomenal goalscoring of a goal per game over a 13 year period, both for the National team and for his different club sides highlight his efficiency.
He won 8 times the stated championship was named Best player in the 1938 , 1940 , 1943 , 1945 , 1946 , 1948 and the 1949 Championships. His most memorable moments came at the 1938 World Cup where Leonidas showed phenomenal class being the top scorer with 7 goals and until 2010 the only MVP not being in one of the finalist teams, where the legends Sarosi and Meazza clashed together.
His most memorable moments came at the 1938 World Cup where Leonidas showed phenomenal class being the top scorer with 7 goals and until 2010 the only MVP not being in one of the finalist teams.
In Placar's "100 Craques do Século", rating the 100 greatest players in the history, Leonidas is ranked as a mighty respectable number 28.
When the Guerin Sportivo[Italy] published their list "I 50 Grandi del Secolo by Adalberto Bortolotti" Leonidas was placed even further up at place 26.
The words of Diego Lucero, an eye-witness, give portrait of Da Silvas character and breakthrough performance that is more precise than any. "As a player he was simply phenomenal. A classy yet effective dribbler, he cut through the enemy defense like lightning, and he shot at the enemy goal with the precision and power of a born goal-scorer. Leonidas, according to Nelson Rodriquez, epitomized the Brazilian player "He had imagination, mischievousness and the sensuality of a crack(star player).
The things Leonidas did in that first half of that historic game against Poland on July 5 in Strasbourg can be ranked among the most beautiful and brilliant plays in soccer history - artistic, rhythmic plays that carry the secret of soccer magic, and a grace that make the ball speak. Leonidas was a flash of joy and glory that easily danced through the entrenched Polish defense.
In that first half he made three goals, but then a deluge of rain set in, and the Polish managed to transform Brazils lead to a 4-3 lead into their favor. Then, Leonidas, living up to his name became a lion in battle, wreaking havoc in the mud on the players from the sunless land. At one point his foot got stuck in the mud. "The black Diamond" took his foot out of the shoe and kicked the ball with all his might to tie the game. In the end, Brazil won 6-5."
You should share some of his quotes!
