TEAM ENIGMA_87
Formation: 5-3-2 blending into 4-2-2-2
Style: counter attacking mixture of Piksi's Red star at it's heyday and Conte's Juve to play to Pogba's strengths.
Defence:
Two attacking full backs in Cabrini and Dani Alves who are capable of manning their flanks and stretching the field. In the heart of defence we have Pietro Vierchowod who will be tasked with handling Weah on the opposition side. A fantastic man marker who is also fast on the deck and great in the air will give no breathing space for the fast forward that opposition has. Alongside him is Real's legend Santamaria, who will act as a CB next to him. McGrath will be in sort of a libero role occupying the space between the midfield and defence and also providing backup and cover for Santamaria.
Midfield:
McGrath as said will be holding in the zone between midfield and defence, whilst Tigana will be in his natural B2B role. Pogba will be similar to what his role was in the last games stretching up play on the left and linking with his midfield partners. Stojkovic as main conductor and running the play in the final third.
Attack
Riva is playing as a second striker whilst Inzaghi is leading the line. We have plenty of good crossers on each flank so his presence in the box would be a danger for the opposition defensive line. Inzaghi, although a liability can still finish chances in the box and given the distribution we have both from the flanks and from the middle he should be able to complete a chance or two.
Some words for the new faces:
A game worth seeing - a colossal performance against no other than Maradona himself:
As football fans, we will no doubt have read many articles and heard many stories about players such as Pele, Maradona, Georgie Best, etc. These are players that are world renowned and rightly so.
This series of articles will not focus on players like that.
Instead, I will bring you players that aren't written about too often. Some will be great players, some will be good players, and some will be players that should probably be left un-remembered. But either way, they have a story to be told.
I am going to start my article with a player who could have been the greatest centre half the world has ever seen. These are the words of Sir Alex Fergsuon, not mine.
Paul McGrath was a tough and yet classy centre half. His ability to read a game was second to none, and he was an excellent ball player who often started his teams attacks from his own half.
After a series of impressive displays in the Irish league. McGrath earned a dream move across the water to England, and to Manchester United. His early career showed huge promise and fantastic potential, both as a centre half and a midfielder.
This potential was somewhat realized with a man of the match performance in the 1985 FA cup final.
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for McGrath at United. Under new manager Alex Ferguson, the two things that would plague his entire career came to the fore.
McGrath's injury problems were so bad, that prior to selling him to Aston Villa, Ferguson offered McGrath a substantial financial package and testimonial to retire. Mcgrath refused.
McGrath's other demon, and certainly the most damaging to McGrath the man, was alcohol. He suffered with heavy drinking problems his entire life, something that had near fatal results on multiple occasions.
It is something that he regrets most of all, and something that he faces a constant battle with to this day.
The combination of a lack of fitness and damaging personal problems left Ferguson with no choice but to offload McGrath. Ferguson has said on numerous occasions that this was anything but a footballing decision.
If McGrath's career was expected to end with a move away from Old Trafford, people were very much mistaken.
Mcgrath is known as one the greatest players in Aston Villa's history. His series of impressive displays earned him plaudits from media, fans, management and experts alike, culminating in two second place finishes for the Villains, and a PFA player of the year award in 1993, unbelievable for a player considered "on the scrapheap" only four years earlier.
This story is perhaps even more remarkable for the fact that throughout his Villa career he was unable to train with the team because of his injuries. This is similar to the situation with Ledley King today, only McGrath never missed games.
McGrath was also voted one of the top three Irish footballers of all time, alongside Roy Keane and Johnny Giles. The Irish fans worshipped McGrath and rightly so.
His most famous performance came in the 1994 world cup. Defending a 1-0 lead against favourites Italy, McGrath produced a virtuoso performance to ensure victory. He kept Roberto Baggio, the worlds best player at the time, almost invisible throughout.
This performance included a passage of play considered by Jack Charlton, a world cup winning defender himself, to be the best piece of defending seen on the world stagie. Bobby Moore included.
McGrath slid in on Roberto Baggio to nick a ball away that was played into the Italians feet. The ball fell loose to an Italian attacker on the edge of the area, and he instantly chipped the ball back in to the head of Baggio.
Baggio had the advantage as he was standing, but McGrath managed to rise from a lying down position, to not only challenge Baggio, but beat him to the ball in the air.
The defending was not over yet. McGrath again landed on the floor, with the ball again landing at the feet of an Italian attacker. The ball was struck hard and straight towards goal. McGrath dived, again from the floor to take the ball square in the face.
Now most footballers at this point would stay down, knowing full well the referee would stop the game for a head injury.
Not McGrath. Instead, he rose of his feet to chase down the loose ball.
This kind of determination and heart was what gave him the nickname "God", and spurned the legendary "Ooh ahh Paul McGrath" chant, long before Cantona had ever flicked his collar at Old Trafford.
As McGrath got older he had spells at Derby and Sheffield United, but for two years at least, McGrath was possibly the greatest defender in the world.
It is equally shocking and saddening to think about how good McGrath could have actually been, but ask any Villa fan about him and you will be guaranteed a smile and a story, be it of his player of the year winning performances in 93, or the time he man marked Alan Shearer whilst drunk, a story confirmed by both parties.
McGrath was without doubt one of the finest defenders the premiership has ever seen, and a worthy entry into the Great, good and God damn awful series.
McGrath was undoubtedly one of the greats.
This series of articles will not focus on players like that.
Instead, I will bring you players that aren't written about too often. Some will be great players, some will be good players, and some will be players that should probably be left un-remembered. But either way, they have a story to be told.
I am going to start my article with a player who could have been the greatest centre half the world has ever seen. These are the words of Sir Alex Fergsuon, not mine.
Paul McGrath was a tough and yet classy centre half. His ability to read a game was second to none, and he was an excellent ball player who often started his teams attacks from his own half.
After a series of impressive displays in the Irish league. McGrath earned a dream move across the water to England, and to Manchester United. His early career showed huge promise and fantastic potential, both as a centre half and a midfielder.
This potential was somewhat realized with a man of the match performance in the 1985 FA cup final.
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for McGrath at United. Under new manager Alex Ferguson, the two things that would plague his entire career came to the fore.
McGrath's injury problems were so bad, that prior to selling him to Aston Villa, Ferguson offered McGrath a substantial financial package and testimonial to retire. Mcgrath refused.
McGrath's other demon, and certainly the most damaging to McGrath the man, was alcohol. He suffered with heavy drinking problems his entire life, something that had near fatal results on multiple occasions.
It is something that he regrets most of all, and something that he faces a constant battle with to this day.
The combination of a lack of fitness and damaging personal problems left Ferguson with no choice but to offload McGrath. Ferguson has said on numerous occasions that this was anything but a footballing decision.
If McGrath's career was expected to end with a move away from Old Trafford, people were very much mistaken.
Mcgrath is known as one the greatest players in Aston Villa's history. His series of impressive displays earned him plaudits from media, fans, management and experts alike, culminating in two second place finishes for the Villains, and a PFA player of the year award in 1993, unbelievable for a player considered "on the scrapheap" only four years earlier.
This story is perhaps even more remarkable for the fact that throughout his Villa career he was unable to train with the team because of his injuries. This is similar to the situation with Ledley King today, only McGrath never missed games.
McGrath was also voted one of the top three Irish footballers of all time, alongside Roy Keane and Johnny Giles. The Irish fans worshipped McGrath and rightly so.
His most famous performance came in the 1994 world cup. Defending a 1-0 lead against favourites Italy, McGrath produced a virtuoso performance to ensure victory. He kept Roberto Baggio, the worlds best player at the time, almost invisible throughout.
This performance included a passage of play considered by Jack Charlton, a world cup winning defender himself, to be the best piece of defending seen on the world stagie. Bobby Moore included.
McGrath slid in on Roberto Baggio to nick a ball away that was played into the Italians feet. The ball fell loose to an Italian attacker on the edge of the area, and he instantly chipped the ball back in to the head of Baggio.
Baggio had the advantage as he was standing, but McGrath managed to rise from a lying down position, to not only challenge Baggio, but beat him to the ball in the air.
The defending was not over yet. McGrath again landed on the floor, with the ball again landing at the feet of an Italian attacker. The ball was struck hard and straight towards goal. McGrath dived, again from the floor to take the ball square in the face.
Now most footballers at this point would stay down, knowing full well the referee would stop the game for a head injury.
Not McGrath. Instead, he rose of his feet to chase down the loose ball.
This kind of determination and heart was what gave him the nickname "God", and spurned the legendary "Ooh ahh Paul McGrath" chant, long before Cantona had ever flicked his collar at Old Trafford.
As McGrath got older he had spells at Derby and Sheffield United, but for two years at least, McGrath was possibly the greatest defender in the world.
It is equally shocking and saddening to think about how good McGrath could have actually been, but ask any Villa fan about him and you will be guaranteed a smile and a story, be it of his player of the year winning performances in 93, or the time he man marked Alan Shearer whilst drunk, a story confirmed by both parties.
McGrath was without doubt one of the finest defenders the premiership has ever seen, and a worthy entry into the Great, good and God damn awful series.
McGrath was undoubtedly one of the greats.
Whilst Dani Alves needs no introduction he will be remembered as one of the greatest right backs to ever grace the game and couple of highlights are always worth seeing:
TEAM PAT_MUSTARD
Formation/Style of Play: Counter-attacking 4-3-3/4-5-1. Defend deep, press aggressively in midfield, and counter at speed.
We're fortunate that both our maverick and our original liability reached their respective zeniths in counter-attacking systems: Terry as the bedrock of Chelsea's historically miserly defence of the mid-to-late 2000s, Prosinecki as the young midfield maestro in the Red Star Belgrade team that conquered Europe in 1991. There was differences in the two setups of course, notably that Red Star played with a libero rather than the zonal defence we're fielding here, but it's a boon that both players find themselves in familiar terrain. With the scrupulous, meticulous Lahm in midfield, we'll be less loose on the ball when moving it through the central areas than previously, but this remains a counter-attacking team at heart.
Liability One: John Terry
He's possibly second only to Sergio Ramos in terms of his dismal draft forum status being so utterly at odds with his wider reputation, but for me Terry is one of if not the most generous allocations from the liability list. His strength and imperious aerial game will come in handy against the bruising Riva. To partner him, we've upgraded Carvalho with Thiago Silva, whose pace and covering instincts mesh nicely with Terry's skill set. Behind them is a GOAT GK in Buffon, and ahead of them the powerhouse Yaya Toure, deployed here in the holding midfield role he excelled in for Barca.
Liability Two: Wim Suurbier
While I'm happy to wax lyrical about Terry, I'm more reticent about Suurbier, although I've never been entirely sure why his draft forum reputation is quite so tarnished. My impression of him is that he's a quick, powerful athlete with a great engine and a nasty streak, whose attitude went a fair way towards compensating for his technical mediocrity. As far as his overall defensive game goes, I'm simply not sure how it stacks up, and I'm interested in getting into the nitty-gritty in the match thread.
I've retained Lahm in his hybrid right midfield role, a manoeuvre I had in mind from the outset if I found myself with a liability RB. I'm not sure how much defensive support Suurbier really needs, particularly if Littbarski doesn't play, but Lahm looks well-suited to providing it in any case. Offensively, I feel it boosts the right wing from functional to something with a fair bit more verve and menace. I'm watching a Netherlands vs Poland match at the minute, where Suurbier alternates between overlapping and hanging back in the inside right midfield zone, with Neeskens then often attacking down the wing, and I see a similar dynamic forming here with Lahm.
Liability 3: Yaya Toure
An anomaly, in more ways than one. There's been few players who have combined such a massive, powerful frame with such deftness of touch. And while he only unfurled his full reportoire of talents when he was unleashed further up the park, Yaya was probably never more effective at the very highest level than when he was deployed in a more constrained holding role for Barca. That's where we're deploying him here, where his positional nous, strength in 1v1 duels and telescopic reach will help shield the defence and mitigate against the creativity of the opposition AMs. While he probably changed tack after his stupendous attacking output in 2013-14, early on at his time at City he stated himself that the holding midfield role was his best one:
"I prefer playing as a holding midfielder because it is my natural position, but I play for the team, and wherever the boss asks me to play is where I play. I enjoy playing in front of the defence because it’s where I feel most comfortable and play my best football, but I am happy to change if asked."
Elsewhere:
The big change is Wayne Rooney replacing Neymar as the left-sided forward. There's no doubt in my mind that Neymar is final-worthy in this draft, but I took this decision for three reasons. Firstly, Dani Alves has a good record against Neymar in their limited encounters as opponents, and from memory performed well against him for Juve vs Barca in 2017. Secondly, that right wing of Alves and Stojkovic looks like the opposition's best avenue for chance creation, and Rooney's ferocious workrate in support of the robust Lizarazu will go a long way towards quelling that threat. Lastly, just a plain old desire to freshen things up, particularly with a counter-attacker as potent as Rooney who meshes well with the system. You'll struggle to find a pair of wide attackers who will sacrifice themselves more for the team than him and Muller.
