Team Joga Bonito
I'm operating on the premise that he's going with a back 5. A back 4 with Passarella, Lizarazu and Cafu is just reckless imo.
Key Tactical Changes
Roles of Suárez Miramontes (SPA) & Schuster :
I used post injury Barca Schuster and Barca Suárez in the last game as I had the freedom in midfield and could afford to go with an attacking Suárez version who didn't contribute much defensively.
This game is crying out for a midfield with more defensive nous and that is exactly what Inter's Suárez will provide in addition to pre injury Schuster's work rate, dynamism and attacking drive. Their roles are reversed to add better resistance against the opponent's clogged midfield.
That is not to say Suárez becomes handicapped going forward and morphs into a Pirlo. He won't have the same goalscoring potential but can still play a supporting role (dribbling forward when the occasion calls for it) with added defensive nous whilst being the glorious ball 'pinger'. As this video of him at Inter will demonstrate.
Schuster has full license to roam and contribute to both phases of the game. He'll be the ubiquitous tornado here, pressing, probing, going on powerful mazy runs, pinging balls, scoring screamers and getting on the end of things
This game is crying out for a midfield with more defensive nous and that is exactly what Inter's Suárez will provide in addition to pre injury Schuster's work rate, dynamism and attacking drive. Their roles are reversed to add better resistance against the opponent's clogged midfield.
That is not to say Suárez becomes handicapped going forward and morphs into a Pirlo. He won't have the same goalscoring potential but can still play a supporting role (dribbling forward when the occasion calls for it) with added defensive nous whilst being the glorious ball 'pinger'. As this video of him at Inter will demonstrate.
Schuster has full license to roam and contribute to both phases of the game. He'll be the ubiquitous tornado here, pressing, probing, going on powerful mazy runs, pinging balls, scoring screamers and getting on the end of things
Seems overboard? Read more about the force of nature Schuster & Suárez to gain a better understanding of my midfield dynamics.
Addition of Brehme : Gives more balance whilst forming a formidable and complete left flank with Czibor. Vieri likes this.
Defensive Line : Normal
Style of Play : Off the ball, the defense and midfield will stay compact (not sitting back-overly defensive) and stifle his centrally oriented attack. Schuster will be in his pomp as the irrepressible and probing presence in midfield.
Burgnich being the defensive RB tucking in or going wide relative to Lizarazu's position. Brehme and Czibor will work in tandem to pin back Cafu here. Relatively straightforward flank battles without too much support out wide for him.
On the ball, Littbarski and Czibor/Brehme will look to stretch his defense, pulling his defenders out of position and with Schuster's powerful and mazy runs capitalising on a midfield which doesn't offer too much resistance bar Souness. The deadly Vieri would look to pounce on the resulant chaos.
Why I'd win this
1) Inability to stretch my defense
Serious lack of width and pace (bar Sheva) in the final third with too many midfielders who love to hog the middle. Expect Passarella to bomb forward, exacerbating the cluster in the middle and clogging it up even further.
Generally when you are up against a defense consisting of Mr Catenaccio Burgnich, the greatest ever Spanish defender in Hierro, arguably the greatest stopper ever in Kohler and a top 5 GOAT LB in Brehme, shielded by the reliable Mascherano, you'd ideally want to stretch them and pull them out of positions, to have a better chance of breaking through.
Granted, he does have 2 fantastic WBs who can provide width. However, they have the toughest jobs on his team and no two players can be solely relied upon to provide width, without any support out wide. Esp when they are up against the pacey and tricky Czibor-Littbarski on one end and two rock solid FBs in Burgnich and Brehme on the other.
Boris's set up was screaming for a Nedved/Boniek/Rivaldo like player. Not Zico tbh. Even teams which used a narrow midfield with WBs bombing forward, had players in the final third who can stretch play (Peters & Ball 66 Eng, Eder 82 Bra, Six & Rocheatau 82 Fra etc).
I've rarely, if ever, seen a set up with just the WBs solely providing width and pace, even in a back 5 set up (which typically has a pacey AM or two who are comfortable pulling wide ala Rivaldo/Ronaldinho). Pires could do it to a certain extent but he does seem a bit 'meh' given the context.
In his current set up, Boris is more or less heavily reliant on pieces of magic through the middle (passing/dribbling/one-twos through a GOAT defense wall or long shots against 2 time Ballon d'Or Bronze Ball winner Kahn) against a comfortable and compact GOAT defense which isn't going to be stretched much. Esp considering his 2 WBs aren't going to get too much joy against 2 brilliant FBs, without much support out wide, whilst having to deal with Litti and Czibor as well.
2) Lack of solidity & balance in midfield
Playing as one of the CM duo in a 5-2-3 is an tactically exacting and a physically demanding job. Shielding the defense, being dynamic, covering for the WBs, putting in a great shift etc. Souness could most certainly fulfil this role but Gerson? Definitely not. He was a static and a fairly cumbersome player off the ball and is extremely ill suited to this role.
Socrates and Zico won't be contributing much defensively either, esp the former who's a passenger in this regard.
It just leaves Souness alone to carry that midfield defensively, leaving him heavily over burdened against Schuster and Suárez.
Obviously Passarella will push into the midfield to add that graft, which it is so sorely lacking in. However, he has a dilemma here. Does he prioritise pushing into midfield, knowing that it deprives his WBs of the full freedom to push forward to provide width? Another department he's sorely lacking in. Or does he prioritise staying back, maintaining the shape and giving his WBs full freedom whilst leaving the midfield weaker? Yes, he can balance both jobs but not to the extent that either of them require in this particular context.
3) Brehme-Czibor axis
This is an area I believe I'll get a lot of joy. Simply put, you just do not give this much room to Brehme, a proven match winner and a Ballon d'Or Bronze Ball winner (only 4 other FBs have managed a Ballon top 3 finish). Schnellinger, Maldini, Facchetti and R.Carlos, if you are interested (Breitner was a CM and Krol a sweeper during their top 3 finishes).
Brehme will be given full license here to dominante the left flank alongside Czibor and pin back Cafu (depriving them of a crucial width outlet). This doesn't mean we'll be caught on the counter, with Czibor more than capable of covering, as he did for the Mighty Magyars, singlehandedly manning their left flank. Besides they are intelligent players who know how to time their runs.
This'll probably mean Souness will be frequently helping out Cafu to stem my left flank dominance, which seriously deprives his midfield of the only midfielder with steel and graft. You could also potentially see Lucio being overly pulled out of position and disrupting his team's shape which my forwards and Schuster wouldn't mind.
How this will play out
His band of conductors would be easy on the eye on the ball and link up well centrally. However, without the necessary dynamism, decoy runners and width in the final third, he'll struggle to break my defense down. My defense will be in their comfort zone against a predictable and centrally oriented attack with my FBs stifling his sole flank threat WBs in a fairly straightforward wing battle.
This here is the gamebreaker imo. Off the ball you'd expect my midfield to function flawlessly. The intense and ubiquitous pre injury Schuster probing and making a nuisance of himself without the ball and then driving forward at pace and playmaking/linking up with the forwards. La Grande's Suárez with his positioning, tactical intelligence and defensive nous without the ball and his technique, dribbling and 50 yard pinged balls on the ball. Mascherano being the pesky ball winner off the ball and a decent recycler on the ball.
You just can't say the same for his midfield off the ball. This is where I'll have the significant edge (and the left flank), winning the tactical battle despite possessing the less illustrious names. I expect Schuster (assisted by Suárez) to run the show here against a midfield with only the over burdened Souness offering any kind of resistance.
Apologies if I came across a bit too harsh there. Obviously, a lot of disputable (and biased) points here which we can debate upon. I really think you have a team brimming with great players but it is 1 or 2 tactical/personnel tweaks away (esp in midfield) from being a great team tbh.
Anyway good luck Boris
. You must be wondering after that tongue in cheek overrated post I made about my team in the main thread.