TEAM SJOR
Sweeper keeper that is great on the ball in goal, possesses ability to pick long passes for fun which opens a lovely direct route to goal if and when opportunity comes. In front a classic combo of a sweeper Holcer and stopper Pereira. Lahm in his natural role on the right while Zhirkov has a lot of freedom on the left wing as Mackay will always stay back to cover. Netto as a intelligent DM that controls the game while Gazza has a lot of freedom in his movement, specially on the offensive phase.
The last front three i had lack a bit of creativity, they all possessed ability to play but if they faced a strong until it did lacked a bit of something extra and who better to provide that then Gianni Rivera. Enzo moves to a position he is more comfortable(at least from what i seen) and provides a great focal point of attack which allows Weah to roam a bit more and pull on the side which he liked to do.
TEAM MICHAEL
My team will play a Brazilian style 4-2-2-2 Magic Square formation with elements of both the 1990's Brazilian style magic square particularly the two solid defensive midfielders (Link) and 1982 where Eder provided additional width on the side of the fullback (Junior) that attacked down the flank less. In this team this additional width will be provided on occasions by both Sandro Mazzola and Kylian Mbappe. I will first outline some of the strengths/advantages that I think my team has before giving profiles of the players in my team.
Strengths/Advantages
- I expect Arce toget the better of Zhirkov in the 1-on-1 battle on my right flank which should provide opportunities for my front 4 from crosses
- In a packed and crowded midfield, I think that the high work rate of all 4 of my midfielders gives me an edge
- I think Campbell and Shesternyov have ideal attributes for defending against Francescoli and Weah.
Profiles
Toni Schumacher (Fenerbache): Spent 3 seasons at Fenerbache (88/89-90/91) when aged 34-37. In 1988 and 1989 he shared the Footballer of the Year Award in Turkey as well as winning the Most Successful Foreign Athlete of the Year in Turkey award. After originally retiring aftwe leaving Fenerbache, he was signed by Bayern Munich in October 1991 to play in goal when their top 2 goalkeepers were both injured.
Francisco Arce (Palmeiras): Arce was at Palmeiras for 5 seasons between 1998 and 2002. During those 5 seasons Arce was always included in the ideal team of the America's (finishing joint 2nd in the South American Footballer of the Year in 1999) and won the Bola de Prata as the best RB in the Brazilian top flight in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Arce's strengths were his crossing and free kicks.
Albert Shesternyov (CSKA Moscow): Shesternyov was at CSKA Moscow for 14 years between 1959 and 1972. In the Soviet Footballer of the Year award voted by journalists he finished 1st in 1970 and 3rd in 1966, 1968 and 1969. He was included 11 times in the List of 33 best football players of the season in the USSR which was voted on by position finishing 1st in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971; finishing 2nd in 161 and 1962; and finishing in the top 3 which were not ordered in 1967. Shesternyov was quick being the Moscow youth champion in the 100 metrees which he could run in 11 seconds and both coaches and data suggested he could have been a brilliant decathlete which also suggests agility and jumping ability (Link). He was also brilliant at anticipating opposition moves with his defending being described by journalist Leonid Repin as follows:
Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur): Campbell was at Tottenham between 1992 and 2001 being included in the PFA Team of the Year for 1998/99 and winning 40 England caps between 1996 and 2001 while at Spurs. When he left Tottenham, both Barcelona and AC Milan were interested in him before he signed for Arsenal. Campbell's strengths included pace, strength and aerial ability.
Tommy Gemmell (Celtic): In my opinion the greatest ever Scottish LB (with only Andy Robertson as a rival), Tommy Gemmell made 247 league appearances for Celtic in 10 years from 1961 to 1971 winning league titles in his last 6 seasons at the club in addition to 18 caps for Scotland and winning the 1967 European Cup (scoring in both that final and defeat in the 1970 final). Gemmell was 2 footed and capable of playing on either side was a good tackler and had a powerful shot. Gemmell finished 6th in the 1967 Ballon d'Or.
Didier Deschamps (Marseille): In 4 seasons at Marseille between 1989 and 1994 (He spent the 1990/91 season on loan at Bordeaux), Deschamps made 188 appearances for Marseille winning two French league titles and captaining them to victory in the 1993 Champions League on the only occasion that the European Cup/Champions League has been won by a French club. In 2010, he was chosen by more than 1.3 million voters in an All Time Marseille XI (Source). Deschamps strengths were his tactical intelligence, leadership and stamina while being skilled enough on the ball to get the ball forward to more creative players.
Zlatko Čajkovski (Partizan Belgrade): Cajkovski spent 10 years at Partizan between 1945 and 1955 during which time he won 2 league titles (never finishing lower than 6th) and 3 cup titles while winning 55 Yugoslavia caps. Cajkovski had high levels of stamina and tenacity as well as great marking skills and metronomic passing. His zigzag dribbling style also made him difficult to predict when he chose to run with the ball. Here are some quotes from this @Enigma_87 post with more details on Cajkovski:
José Manuel Moreno (River Plate): Moreno played for 13 seasons in 2 spells at River 1935-1944 and 1946-1948 winning 6 league titles (interesting trivia: Moreno was the first player to win top flight league titles in 4 different countries). In 1999 IFFHS chose him as one of the 25 best footballers of the 20th century and in 1980 was given the Konex Platinum Award as the best player in the history of Argentine Football. In 4 seasons, between 1936 and 1939 in the Argentine league scored 24 in 33, 32 in 31, 24 in 31, and 20 in 24. In this post from 2005 at bigsoccer argentine soccer fan describes Moreno as follows:
In this post @Pat_Mustard posted a profile which described Moreno as follows:
Moreno had the permanent magnetic presence of a rotating star for the fans. Very few came so close to such a unanimous admiration of the general public, and the attraction of multitudes of people to witness his masterful goals, his combinations, his dribbling, his vigorous headers (each cross from Peucelle that Moreno headed was generally a goal, especially in the NT) and elasticity, his conduction of attacks, his job as a hard worker for the ball in the back-line to build up progress going forward, his unsurpassed resistance, and his Apollo-like athletic figure that was admired by the people. He was the leader for his clubs and the NT. He had it all: speed, skill, mischief, and a panoramic view of the entire field which was a repertoire that made him as complete as anyone. He was a winner that gave his all and demanded all from his teammates. No one was more valiant than him – capable of playing injured with blood dripping or his tooth’s knocked out. His total personality brought the stands to their feet with the magnetism that’s reserved for the true idols – that was Moreno, an irreplaceable figure, which left a trail of unforgettable memories.
Sandro Mazzola (Inter Milan): Sandro Mazzola spent 17 seasons at Inter Milan between 1960 and 1977 finishing 2nd in the 1971 Ballon d'Or and being included in both the Inter Milan and Italian Hall of Fame. Mazzola's strengths were his versatility, stamina, pace and dribbling although he was also good at both creating and finishing with him being the top goal scorer in the 1964-65 Serie A.
Erling Haaland (Dortmund): In 2 and a half seasons at Borussia Dortmund, Haaland got 86 goals and 23 assists in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund. He was included in the German Professional Footballers Union team of the season in all 3 seasons being included in both the Bundesliga's and Kicker's Team of the Season for both of his full seasons at Dortmund and being the Bundesliga's Player of the Season in 2020/21.
Kylian Mbappe (PSG): Kylian Mbappe has spent 6 seasons so far at PSG scoring 148 league goals in 176 league appearances. Mbappe has been the Ligue 1 top goalscorer for each of the last 5 seasons. Excluding the 19/20 season where awards weren't given, during his time at PSG Mbappe has always been in the Ligue 1 team of the season and has been the Ligue 1 Player of the Year 4 out of 5 times.
