No Flair Draft R1 - NM vs Mikey7

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

vs

............................................... TEAM NM ................................................................................................................................................... TEAM MIKEY7..........................................................


TEAM NM

Tactics:

Defense: Godin and Costacurta as CBs. Both capable on the ball (especially Billy) and great stoppers. Djalma Santos and Facchetti are amongst the GOATs at the full backs.

Midfield: Emerson will sit (though he is more than capable of playing a pass), while Keano and Robson as B2B midfielders is my dream. Bruno will be the AM - finally giving him a midfield that will allow him to do create!

Attack: Kocsis is amongst the greatest pure CFs and having Griezmann will float around like he usually does.

Defensive phase: The full back 4 plus the 3 central midfielders will fall back.. Keane / Robson / Emerson means there will be terrific work-rate and defensive nous. Bruno too, but here I'd keep him a little further up so that he / Griezmann / Kocsis will force some of the other team to stay back.

Offensive Phase: Emerson drops back to make it a back three, while the full backs bomb on. Keane and Robson will be B2B and go forward as needed, while Fernandes and Griezmann will find pockets. Djalma Santos and Facchetti will be responsible for crossing it in to Kocsis (one of the great headers of the ball) and any lay-offs will find willing team maters (Bruno, Griezmann, Keane/Robson)..

Overall, I think this is one of my better teams, but what do I know!


TEAM MIKEY7

My team will play a 4-3-3 formation with the more attacking fullback (Leandro) on the side of the more conservative CM (Andrade) and the more defensive fullback (Nilton Santos) on the side of the more attacking CM (Mazzola). The main advantage that I think I have in this match up is that I see 3 relatively weak by all time standards players in NM's squad (Emerson, Bruno and Nani) and depending on which one is played I should have different advantages. Firstly if the 11th player chosen is either Emerson or Bruno that will leave the more defensive fullback Djalma Santos as the only source of width on that flank. Secondly if Nani is chosen unless an asymmetric 4-2-4 formation is used then one of the other 2 will be chosen. Additionally, particularly if Nani is not chosen, the lower amount of quality crosses should lessen the effectiveness of my opponents top striker Sandor Kocsis who was nicknamed "Golden Head"

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@NM @Michaelf7777777 All the best!

 

[NM]

Looking at the sides, I think my diamond midfield and GOAT fullbacks make the difference here tbh. He has a strong midfield, but I have numbers + a team that is willing to fight in the trenches

 

[Šjor Bepo]

voting for nm as mikey has n footage turds, though i do like his team as well

 

[Gio]

What do we know about Valentino Mazzola @Michaelf7777777 ?

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Two good teams. I wouldn't usually buy Djalma in a diamond, but as cover for Godin vs Dzajic, he seems a perfect fit.

Don't know enough to rate Mikey's CB duo and Valentino, but Redondo-Andrade is a juicy partnership.

Overall, giving this to NM as he seems to counter Mikey's strenth through the flanks well.

 

[harms]

I like Michael's team more but 3 unknowns is a bit to much for me to vote for him. Even though Valentino especially is one of the most intriguing pre-footage players.

 

[prolifik]

Not even sure if I should vote here - I have no idea what to do with pre-footage players, and I've never heard of this Bashashkin character.

 

[Jim Beam]

Mikey7 is a badass name

 

[Michaelf7777777]

What do we know about Valentino Mazzola @Michaelf7777777 ?

Valentino Mazzola won 5 league titles with Torino, including 4 in 4 seasons before the run was ended by the Superga disaster finishing league top goalscorer with 29 goals in the 46-47 season and scored 25 goals the following season. Torino teammate Mario Rigamonti said that “He alone is half the squad. The other half is made by the rest of us together.” (Source) 1982 World Cup winning coach Enzo Bearzot considered him the greatest Italian player of all time (Source). Mazzola's abilities has been described as follows:

Rarely has a player combined such finesse, determination, spirit and magnificent footballing ability to the effect that the Torino captain did. He possessed a terrific ability to beat an opponent with his quick feet and pace as well as excellent aerial ability and an accurate, powerful strike with both feet.

Source

Mazzola's aerial ability was described as follows:

But his trademark were surely headers. In those times, no one made compliments when jumping, and defenses were tough. Well, despite not “towering” over 1.70, just see photographs of him jumping and marvel. Remember the balls of that time were very unpredictable: they burst, became heavy with rain, and had this knots on one side, and shoes were not what they are now: they were quite heavy and the pegs on the bottom were hammered from tiny circles of leather stuck together. Valentino himself tied his shoes around his ankle and the arch of his foot, to prevent them slipping off during the game.

On estimations, he could jump over 1mt. And sometimes, even over the goalkeeper... Note, too, that modern headers often place one folded arm over their chest, as to protect themselves when falling. Valentino jumped with his arms paralel to the body, only folding them when too near of a rival or to keep balance.

Source

Mazzola was also versatile and strong defensively with these abilities being described as follows:

He operated practically everywhere: being strong in tackles, he was useful in defense in the recovery phase; He set up actions, playing a large number of balls, looking for them all over the field and often finishing them. Apart from his experience as a winger, at the beginning of his career in the Alfa Romeo team, the roles in which he was used most are those of left half, inside and striker. Occasionally he also occupied the position of full-back, with respectable results, of right half-back, midfielder and goalkeeper. He also happened to be moved three times in the same game, starting as a midfielder and then playing as a midfielder, as a full-back and finally finishing the game in the centre of the attack, such was his versatility.

Source

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Not even sure if I should vote here - I have no idea what to do with pre-footage players, and I've never heard of this Bashashkin character.

Bashashkin won 5 Soviet League Titles, 3 Soviet Cups and the 1956 Olympics. In terms of the 33 best players of the season in the USSR where the best 3 players in each position were proposed by the National Coaches Council he finished 1st for his position in 1950, 1951, 1955 and 1956 and 2nd in 1953. The award was not held in 1954 and in 1952 when he did not place, the club he played for was disbanded and all the players at his club CSKA (the Soviet Army Club) demoted to privates as punishment after he captained the USSR team (which had another 5 CSKA players in the squad) to a Round of 16 exit in the Olympics after a replay to Yugoslavia. Bashashkin's club and national team teammate as well as future Soviet manager Valentin Nikolayev compared Bashashkin to Beckenbauer saying the following:

When I first saw the famous Franz Beckenbauer, I immediately remembered Tolya Bashashkin.

Source

Nikolayev continued the Bashashkin/Beckenbauer comparison:

In terms of complexion, manner of play and behavior on the field, reliability and technique games in defense, speed, game thinking, if you put them side by side, It would be indistinguishable from each other. Of course, this applied only to defensive actions, attacking raids with the completion of attacks, which he brilliantly practiced Beckenbauer was not encouraged in our times.

Source

Former Soviet Striker Valentin Babukin assessed Bashashkin as follows in a 2003 article:

It may sound pretentious, but I think that it was Bashashkin who began A new era in the history of football. I'm talking about the play of central defenders. After all, how played before Bashashkin? The central defender, having taken possession of the ball, did not elaborate and sent him away from his goal. And Bashashkin began to organize attacking your team. Instantly assessing the situation on the field, he gave an accurate Pass to a teammate in a better position... At the same time, it was one of those rare defenders who know how to play personally. Bashashkin never allowed liberties, playing for the public. Football of the middle of the last century and today, Of course, they differ in many ways. But I am firmly convinced that Anatoly Vasilyevich would still be one of the strongest central defenders in Europe today Football.

Source

 

[NM]

GG @Michaelf7777777