......................................... TEAM DON ALFREDO ................................................................................. TEAM TUPPET ..........................................
TEAM DON ALFREDO:
ZONA MISTA DIAMOND SPECIAL
How do you win against a 4231?
1) Shut out attacks on the flanks: Bergomi and Jair on the right, Cabrini and Edwards (if needed) on the left
2) Limit the opposing number 10: 3 hard-working and skilful midfielders on All-Time Level, plus Passarella stepping out of defence if needed
3) Take control of the centre: always 4 vs 3 advantage in midfield; little work rate expected from Zidane means only 2 of Tuppet’s midfielders have to defend against 4 of my players who are all very capable on the ball and great in transitions
4) Hurt them where they are weak - down the middle: little protection for the CBs because of no designated holding midfielder, Blanc way too slow for Kaka, too little workrate in the middle compared to my attacking potential
5) Take advantage of overly defensive fullbacks: Tuppet has slower build-up, needs to build-up through the centre where I am very strong in quality and quantity
6) Use the numerical advantage in the right areas: Always 7 of my players defending against a maximum of 6 players attacking from Tuppet and if he does attack with 6, Keane has to leave his spot in front of the CBs and gives Kaka and Totti acres of space in case of a counter
That is the manual for winning against a 4231. I hope it became clear that I am employing a counter-attacking tactic, perfectly suited to limit the attacking opportunities of Tuppet’s undermanned attack.
The Ballon D’Or winning midfielder Luis Suarez Miramontes comes in and is the ultimate fit for what I want him to do. He is my DLP to start the counters from the back, he excelled both in counter attacking and possession phases of the game and he is one of the few great playmakers to have serious work rate to boot. He also has a proven track record in a similar formation, he elevates Jair to another level and he formed an unforgettable partnership with Sandro Mazzola, who is similar to Kaka. The stage is perfectly set for him to dominate the game and the opponent and since this is his DLP-version, he is great without limiting the influence of Totti or Kaka in the last third. Both Totti and Kaka have big achievements with Pirlo, another DLP who spreads the play from deep.
Why Jair da Costa is not a liability/weakness, but a very useful asset:
1) Little attacking responsibility, just has to provide width to stretch the pitch
2) Elevated by 2x CL winning partnership with Suarez, Jair scored the CL winning goal in 1965 vs Benfica in the final
3) Perfect role for him, part of a 2x CL-winning right side with Burgnich; Bergomi is a huge upgrade
4) Great stamina, used to deal with opposing wingers, can pay all the attention in defensive phase on Dzajic because Bossis will provide little attacking input
5) 2 vs 1 against Tuppet’s best attacker wins me the game on a tactical level
Why Jairzinho vs Cabrini is not the same as Jairzinho vs Facchetti (just in case anyone might believe that)
1) Jairzinho had Pele, Carlos, Alberto, Tostao etc while Facchetti had Cera and Domenghini on his side
2) Cabrini has Edwards, Varane, and Passarella next to him: much better team mates
3) Jairzinho never had the same success without Pele, Alberto etc.: Zidane is worse than Pele, Riva is more selfish and less play-making than Tostao, Djalma is less supporting in attack than Carlos Alberto
The biggest reason why I will win:
Daniel Passarella, by far the best CB on the pitch, is in his All-Time-Level-World-Cup winning environment and will decide the match through his heroic defensive performance and crucial goals from set pieces. He has a perfect fit with Varane (see Varane-Ramos and my posts in the last match) and a proven partnership with Bergomi.
TLDR:
1) I have excellent quality and quantity in the right places to counter Tuppet’s strengths
2) Jair is great because he gives width, 2vs1 defending vs Dzajic and proven partnership with Suarez
3) Totti and Kaka are too dangerous on the counter for Blanc and McGrath
TEAM TUPPET:
Tactics -
Formation - 4-3-3
Defensive line - Normal
Playing style - Direct, with a focus on wing play and counter attack.
Reinforcements:
Ghiggia is now replaced with another winger who scored in every world cup match. Right back position is now occupied by Djalma Santos, arguably the greatest defensive right back in the game.
Defense:
I'll start with Defense where there are coupld of specific changes for this game. Looking at DA's last game strategy and pace in his Kaka/Boniek/Jair triplet I have dropped Blanc and replaced him with Bossis at center. Bossis has tons of experience playing as CB in his club career and he was as complete as they come in defending. He was fast, intelligent and good with ball on his feet and should be able to keep pace with most of the fast attackers. Especially with the support of Mcgrath who at his peak was quite fast himself.
The other change is moving Andrade to the left to mark whoever starts at right wing whether Boniek or Jair. Andrade has the physicality, pace and marking nous to take on top players as he did against Czibor and Zizinho. As a marker he didn't really mind what side he started on and played as left back in WC 50 final to handle Zizinho.
Djalma is playing his natural game of a balanced fullback, providing overlaps to Jairzinho. However if DA plays with no left winger Djalma would tuck in as 3rd defender in defensive phase.
Midfield:
I have built a side to provide a solid platform to my best player (and IMO the best player in the draft) Zinedine Zidane. The setup is straightforwad - Zidane is the number 10 and main playmaker in the team. He is supported by a monstrous midfield of Robson & Keane. Robson would be more box 2 box while Keane play his usual defensive game, breaking up opposition play everywhere. As a trio I believe its one of the best in the draft full of technical ability as well graft.
Attack:
Up front Riva is the best number 9 to come from Italy. A very prolific and complete forward he was very good in air and at the same time quite fast. He would thrive on through balls from Zidane as well as crossed from my wingers. Dzajic is the best left winger in the draft and he'll be playing in a wing forward role, use his dribbling to go in or out of a defender. With his dribbling he tormented some of the great defenders like Vogts, Camacho & Burgnich. His crossing was great and he was able to go on and score for himself as well. Jairzinho would start as the right wing forward providing an injection of pace and goalscoring on right side.
Why would we win -
Wings - Dzajic and Jairzinho are the two best wing forwards in the draft. Together with Riva they create an unstoppable attacking force which could makes perfect use of Zidane's playmaking by putting the ball in the net but could also create for themselves (esp Dzajic). While DA's team has very good fullbacks my wingers are still too hot to handle. Cabrini in particular would have issues dealing with Jairzinho who gave Facchetti a hard time and scored in WC final. While Bergomi also doesn't have it easy against Dzajic who gave a torrid time to Bergomi's predecessor Burgnich.
Big characters in my team - In any all time draft there would be great big game players. But I feel I have accumulated quite a few players who were specialist in stepping up when it mattered and dragging their teams to success. Think of Zidane's brilliant performance in WC 98 final or his volley in CL final. Keane's historic performance against Juventus toward our CL victory, Robson against Barcelona or Mcgrath against Italy. Riva got an unfancied Cagliari to a historic serie a title and Dzajic got a poor Yugoslavia to Euro final.
All of these players are capable of winning the game by themselves and I think they would give me an edge in the game.
