-----------------------------------Team Tuppet--------------------------------------------------------------------------Team Skizzanah-------------------------------
TEAM TUPPET
Formation: 4-3-3 with false 9
Defensive line: Deep
Philosophy: Counterattacking.
With the Injury to Cruyff, Hamrin would take right side, while Messi moves to center in his favored false 9 role. In Cruyff's absence Pirlo takes the center stage as primary playmaker and with support from Messi would dictate the game for my team. We would line up in 4-3-3 with Crisitano Ronaldo as Left inside forward and Hamrin as right forward. We would be staying disciplined and compact in defense and try to catch the opposition in a counter attack. The defensive strategy (not formation) is based on all conquering France 98 & 2000 sides, where 7 players would stay solid in defense, while most of the attacking and the onus to score goal falls on the front 3. This does not mean that one of Tardelli, Vieira, Krol or Blanc can not come with a winning goal, it just mean that they are more disciplined in defensive phase. Following attributes of my team would help in executing this plan -
1. Great back line backed by best goalkeeper of all time. Shesternyov and Blanc is great partnership at the center. Shesternyov brings searing pace as one of the fastest defender in history, while Blanc was imperious in air and a had fantastic passing. Both were very good at reading game. Both of my fullbacks are very balanced and were defense first, attack second players. Krol and Bossis were fast and had good ball playing skills, especially Krol who was a playmaker from left.
2. Two physical box to box midfielder in Tardelli & Vieira, who can cover every blade of grass on pitch and provide defensive solidity in midfield. Both would play defensively.
3. A brilliant deep lying playmaker in Pirlo, who can quickly kick start a counter with his brilliant passing. Blanc is also fantastic in that aspect and Krol & Bossis more than competent in passing. This would help my team to launch counter attacks from deep.
4. A lightning fast attack, full of pace, dribbling, creativity and finishing. All 3 of Messi, Cristiano and Hamrin have fantastic goal scoring numbers. All of them are great dribblers and complement each others perfectly.
Thoughts on opposition:
1. Courtouis at this stage is a weakness, he is the weakest player on pitch and playing against a ruthless attack.
2. Pele - Maradona, compatibility issues? - probably not. They do like to operate in similar areas though.
TEAM SKIZZANNAH SANS MUSTARD
Defense
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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.
Midfield
Diego Maradona 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.
I feel Netto and Neeskens have shown their worth already against the monstrous midfield of Matthaus and Falcao in the previous round, and here it's unlikely they'd face as much of a challenge against a possible Vieira/Tardelli pairing.
Not taking into account the movement of Beckenbauer and Maradona around the same areas...which is safe to say should swing the midfield battle our way on a consistent basis.
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. While our Welsh Wizard picked up his annual hamstring injury, we have Alexis Sanchez on the left side to keep the full back honest. While Sanchez obviously doesn't quite hold the same weight as his attacking counterparts in this game (on both teams, not just ours), he's a player accustomed to letting his teammates shine, having played second fiddle to Messi at Barca. Here, he'll be tasked with spreading the play, linking up with our other attacking players, and taking advantage of the space afforded to him when other players get the attention and marking.
With Lahm working together in tandem, cutting in when Sanchez needs him there, overlapping when Sanchez 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
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.
Oh, and Pele.
Why we'll win:
Pele. Maradona. Beckenbauer. Not shoe-horned into a team to try and make it work, but all playing in positions where they would thrive. Beckenbauer marshaling a defensive unit that is based on the one he led to glory, and with the very same defensive partner who was there alongside him. Maradona covered by two all round, top tier midfielders who can link up with him, and put in the hard work to free him up. Pele leading the line at his goal scoring best, supplied by the only other player who has been compared to him as the best ever (until Messi came along
) All of them would need the attention of the opposition to try and stop them from wreaking havoc. In this case, there's just not enough to stop them. Stopping one would be hard enough. Stopping two would be damn near impossible.In terms of opposition, the front 3 of Tuppet is quite a collection. Although its a shame that Cruyff is missing out, Messi steps into that role perfectly, and I assume Hamrin will come in on the right. Messi in his False 9 role with two scoring wing forwards cutting in is very well set up. That being said, it does play into our defensive set up rather well for us. Lahm would be moving onto his stronger right foot when Hamrin moves in. Bergomi the tucked in defensive wall when Ronaldo moves towards goal. Beckenbauer stepping out of the defense to pick up the runs of Messi. It would need more support from elsewhere, and I don't see where it would come from if those three become somewhat stifled. Not to say they aren't capable of a moment of magic, because with the two greatest players of our generation playing, it's certainly possible, but they would also need help from somewhere.
All that being said, I would also question whether the style of Messi/Barca with their possession, build up, pressing all over the field, may not mesh perfectly with Ronaldo's style of direct, attacking at pace, pure offense/no defense style. I know this has been discussed at length when they were in a draft team before, and I don't want to rehash old arguments, so i'll leave that to voters to decide through the upcoming discussions.
very true.
