................. Team @harms (Giovanni Trapattoni) ............................................... Team @Annahnomoss (Vanderlei Luxemburgo) ...............
Team harms (Giovanni Trapattoni):
Tactics
My team is based on an all-conquering Juventus side of the late 70's – early 80's that won literally everything (and you can include the World Cup here). Gentile said that Trapattoni introduced totall football to catenaccio – his approach was most definitely revolutionary.
This is Zona-Mista - counter-attacking tactics, where the defence is a mix between a classic man-marking catenaccio and a zonal defending. I have no problem with the distribution from the back - Scirea is ideal for that role and the others are pretty good in that aspect too.
Defence.
It is based on one of the best defensive lines in history, with the inclusion of Bergomi. Zoff-Cabrini-Scirea-Gentile-Cuccureddu conceded average 0,67 goals per game and had a clean sheet ratio of 0,52 (78 in 150). What is great about my personnel is that I can be incredibly adaptive. Cuccureddu played everywhere, Gentile played on the right, on the left and as a stopper (and, actually, by his own admission his best season was 1976/77 on a left back position), Bergomi played as a right back, as a center back and as a sweeper. In this game I have Bergomi as a semi-right back, Cuccuredu as a left fullback, Gentile as a stopper and Scirea as a sweeper. The back four of Cuccureddu, Gentile, Scirea and Bergomi with Furino in front of them and Zoff behind them - this feels like cheating, I cannot wish for a better defence to face Romario. Gentile also isn't the type of the defender that Romario's famous turn would work against, he is very agile and well-coordinated.
Midfield.
Furino, who has a great understanding with Scirea and is comfortable covering for him if necessary, shields the defense. Benetti is helping him and also brings the ball forward, sort of a Tardelli's defensive box-to-box role. Platini is playing in the role that he excelled in, orchestrating the game and consistently scoring. Without a doubt the best №10 in the draft. Causio is playing on the right flank, he will be a very tough opponent for R. Carlos to deal with - and also tracking back if needed. He reminds me of Figo - same smooth technique, outstanding dribbling and crossing ability (though Causio's outside foot crosses are something unique) - maybe a little less of a goalthreat himself, but better defensively (maybe it's just due to the time though, his role required it). And I remember R. Carlos having problems dealing with Figo.
Attack.
My midfield and attack are hard to separate, they are acting as one unit, with Platini, Boniek and a little less so Causio in a hybrid positions. Boniek is playing in a more advanced free-roaming left forward role, but he’s going to interchange with Causio during the game, as they both did during their careers. On top there is Paolo Rossi, who has a claim to be the most important man in this particular game – Annah has 9 Brazilians in his squad all of whom were heartbroken when the Executioner ended the Brazilian fairy-tail of 1982. Ronaldao would be just standing there, reliving the memories of his childhood while Paolo Rossi is free to score another hat-trick. Jokes aside, he is going to be a pain in the arse for Annah’s defenders with his constant movement – and Boniek with Platini would attack the space that he is opening for them.
Why would I win?
For starters, I have an incredible team. The best defence in the draft, hardworking midfield and fluid attack. Brilliant balance: rashness of Gentile and coolness of Scirea; physicality of Benetti and elegance of Platini; directness of Boniek and ball-loving style of Causio. An enormous amount of leadership in this squad – Bergomi, Furino, Scirea, Zoff, Platini all captained their club and/or national sides for a long time.
Second, all of my players peaked under Trapattoni – and most of them even peaked at the same period of time. Sadly, the same can not be said about Annah’s team, which looks frightening on paper, but isn’t that scary if you look closely – Ronaldinho is way past it, Cafu and Mauro Silva are brilliant, but yet to prove that they are world-class and even Zidane and Raul are not at their very best. The only players that are clearly playing as they should have if you judge them by their name are Romario, Roberto Carlos, Gamarra, Ze Roberto and Mazinho – a scary bunch, but I believe that my bunch is scarier. Annah's team would be much stronger in the next round even without the reinforcements though, if he will win this, when the international form in taken in consideration.