Team Skizzo
Style - direct
Central Player - Gianni Rivera
In that final, Milan were set up in the same manner we have here, with a sweeper stopper combination (Tresor-Vidic to Malatrasi-Rosato), a midfield two behind Rivera who are able to allow him to concentrate on the offensive side of the game by doing the "dirty work" for him, and also offer outlets for his passing (Clodoaldo-Jansen to Lodetti-Trapattoni), flanked by two wingers who would offer a balance of stretch the play with genuine wing threat, and also cutting inside to offer a direct goalscoring threat (Gadocha-Lato to Hamrin-Pratti) and a striker who could lead the line with his physical play, but also his capability to take part in the build up play with his passing (Van Persie to Sormani).
Defence - Stopper with a covering defender. With the ball, Tresor will look to play it out from the back, or use Tassotti/Bossis to bring it forward when available. Vidic comes in for Adams in a like-for-like swap.
Midfield - Jansen and Clodoaldo will look to win the ball back quickly, doing their usual defensive job in front of the defense. When they have the ball, they will look to quickly play it into Rivera who will dictate the play and use the space available created by the movement around him. Clodoaldo will tend to hold his position a little more, Jansen will look to drift when in possession to open space and offer another outlet for Rivera.
Attack - Gadocha will look to offer more of a genuine wide threat, stretching play, and looking to deliver balls into the box. Lato offers the more direct threat, cutting in and making runs in behind for Rivera to pick out. Van Persie will look to get involved in the build up, linking up with Rivera, but offering another runner in behind, playing off the shoulder of the defender at times and using his movement to find space for the vision of Rivera to pick out.
Rivera is obviously the player intended to build around, and we've set him up here in a very similar style which led to him winning the Balon D'or. Everyone around him is tasked with freeing him up, and offering him the best possibly platform to shine and thrive, pulling the strings as he did at his very best.
KEY POINT: As i made mention of in the first round..all key players around Rivera thrived in a set up where they played with a similar central figure. Lato and Gadocha with Deyna, Jansen with Cruyff, Clodoaldo with Pele, Bossis/Tresor with Platini, and to lesser extent, RVP with Sneijder. All of them were part of very successful teams and part of a bigger unit which was led by a top-tier central playmaker/figure.
Team Tuppet
Philosophy/Ideology of Tactical set-up:
Our set up is inspired from LVG's Champions league winning Ajax, in which Litmanen reached his peak. It could be seen as a 3-4-3 though its more fluid and could take different shapes in different phases of game. Despite of its attacking appearance it is a quite pragmatic tactic where possession is used as both a mean of defending and attacking.
Defensive line - High
Playing style - Possession and ball circulation is a very high priority. Still its different than barca tiki-taka style in that our team is more willing to play long passes up the wings or across the field.
Closing down - More closing down from the front, when losing the ball we'll try to get it back as soon as possible.
Central Player: JARI LITMANEN
He was a special breed of playmaker, a player born out of Johan Cruyff’s counter-intuitive liberal theories. He was not the artist playmaker – Jari was the antithesis of modern art – but he was functional and brilliant. He was an everyman.
Litmanen is at best as a creative second striker / Attacking midfielder and flourish with both playmaking and goal scoring responsibilities. By 1995 Litmanen was the best attacking midfielder in the world. There is an anonymity to his brilliance: He seldom dribbles or flies in with a tackle or fires home from 30 yards. Typically he sends a precise ball to wings and then surges stiffly into the box to finish off. Passing and scoring, passing & scoring. That was also his gripe with classic playmaking number 10s.
He said - "Zidane is fantastic on the ball, he also defends well, but he scores too little. Veron passes with feeling, is an outstanding playmaker, scores too little."
Jari Litmanen is the beating heart of this team, playing one - twos and creating triangles with Littbarski / Ribery / Voller / Schweini / Lerby. We have made sure to surround him with highly technical players who can match his speed of thought, yet would not try to take the limelight for themselves. Jari is not playing a classic number 10 role here, he would often find himself as the furtherest man on the field putting his great shooting technique to good use. He is given complete freedom to run the show here.
Striker - Complete striker/Targetman - Voller
Voller is one of the top strikers in the pool anyway but its his all rounded-ness that makes him a perfect fit for our squad. Voller was good in air, had great pace, a ruthless finisher, can hold the ball, work well with another striker (e.g. his Klinsmann partnership), a decent dribbler who can participate in moves outside the box and is creative enough to fashion his own chances. His partnership with Jari has the same feel as Jari/Kanu/Kluivert partnership. Like Kluivert/Kanu, Voller is fast, skillful, has a powerful shot, is an instinctive finisher and can drop a bit deep or float to wings to provide overload.
Wingers - Ribery / Littbarski
Littbarski is the new acquisition for our team. He comes in as a skillful, hardworking and versatile attacking player. All 3 of these qualities were hallmarks of that Ajax side. He can provide width on the right side but could also cut in and use his tremendous dribbling & pace to get passed his defender score goals.
Ribery is one of the best pure wingers in the pool and at his peak was best player in the world. His pace, dribbling, vision & passing are fantastic and complement the tactic well. He is very good at holding possession and his classic wingplay would stretch the opposition defense from left side providing space for Jari & Voller.
Together I think the trio of Ribery-Litmanen-Littbarski complements each other well and would play some brilliant football together.
Midfield duo - Schweinsteiger / Lerby
For the two b2b roles we need midfielders who are both technically proficient and physically dominating, with good defensive nous and great engine. Both also needs to be good passers and someone who can both win and then hold the possession. Schweini - Lerby partnership represents a terrifying cocktail of an impressive psyche, footballing ability and a will to win bordering on the brink of insanity. Lerby would be more midfield enforcer and Schweini slightly more attacking although both are afforded considerable freedom due to the presence of a DM behind them.
Defensive Midfielder/ Deep lying playmaker / Extra CB - Valary Voronin
With only three defenders behind, our defensive midfielder is going to need to be someone as comfortable working in the backline as he is just in front of it. Voronin is perfect for this role, he is technically proficient yet defensively impeccable and is capable of slotting in the defense making it a back 4.
Defense - Abidal / Hansen / Sagnol
Abidal & Sagnol makes perfect side backs, being very good defenders who are comfortable in wide areas and can track the wingers when needed. They are both fast & strong and crucially very good with ball at their feet and can play the possession game.
Hansen is also pretty much perfect fit for the central sweeper role. He has commanded a stingy Liverpool defense which was key for them winning all those trophies. He got all the right tools to excel in this role, great anticipation, decent speed, very good with ball at feet and brilliant in commanding a high line.
Finally Walter Zenga is an awesome shot stopper. An old fashioned defense first goalkeeper he was brilliant in Italy winning all sort of awards like IFFHS goalkeeper of the year 3 times and Serie A footballer of the year.
Overall I think we replicate the tactic where Litmanen showed his peak pretty faithfully and surround him with great supporting cast, which can play the game at his frequency and in accordance with the tactic. While we want to get the best out of him and have set the team accordingly, its also important to note that he is the tactical center piece who is crucial to get the best out of the squad as well. He has a lot of responsibility in the squad as primary playmaker and one of most important goal threat. His finishing, passing and creativity all would be needed for this team to shine and thats the kind of responsibility I believe Jari Litmanen would thrive on.
Style - direct
Central Player - Gianni Rivera
Nero Rocco said:
The 1969 Balon D'or was awarded to Rivera after his outstanding performances in the European Cup, in which he led Milan to the final, and a dominant win over Cruyff's Ajax team. His performance in that final is considered one of his greatest, most dominant performances, playing in the number 10 role, and assisting in 2 of his team's goals in that final.
In that final, Milan were set up in the same manner we have here, with a sweeper stopper combination (Tresor-Vidic to Malatrasi-Rosato), a midfield two behind Rivera who are able to allow him to concentrate on the offensive side of the game by doing the "dirty work" for him, and also offer outlets for his passing (Clodoaldo-Jansen to Lodetti-Trapattoni), flanked by two wingers who would offer a balance of stretch the play with genuine wing threat, and also cutting inside to offer a direct goalscoring threat (Gadocha-Lato to Hamrin-Pratti) and a striker who could lead the line with his physical play, but also his capability to take part in the build up play with his passing (Van Persie to Sormani).
Defence - Stopper with a covering defender. With the ball, Tresor will look to play it out from the back, or use Tassotti/Bossis to bring it forward when available. Vidic comes in for Adams in a like-for-like swap.
Midfield - Jansen and Clodoaldo will look to win the ball back quickly, doing their usual defensive job in front of the defense. When they have the ball, they will look to quickly play it into Rivera who will dictate the play and use the space available created by the movement around him. Clodoaldo will tend to hold his position a little more, Jansen will look to drift when in possession to open space and offer another outlet for Rivera.
Attack - Gadocha will look to offer more of a genuine wide threat, stretching play, and looking to deliver balls into the box. Lato offers the more direct threat, cutting in and making runs in behind for Rivera to pick out. Van Persie will look to get involved in the build up, linking up with Rivera, but offering another runner in behind, playing off the shoulder of the defender at times and using his movement to find space for the vision of Rivera to pick out.
Rivera is obviously the player intended to build around, and we've set him up here in a very similar style which led to him winning the Balon D'or. Everyone around him is tasked with freeing him up, and offering him the best possibly platform to shine and thrive, pulling the strings as he did at his very best.
KEY POINT: As i made mention of in the first round..all key players around Rivera thrived in a set up where they played with a similar central figure. Lato and Gadocha with Deyna, Jansen with Cruyff, Clodoaldo with Pele, Bossis/Tresor with Platini, and to lesser extent, RVP with Sneijder. All of them were part of very successful teams and part of a bigger unit which was led by a top-tier central playmaker/figure.
Philosophy/Ideology of Tactical set-up:
Our set up is inspired from LVG's Champions league winning Ajax, in which Litmanen reached his peak. It could be seen as a 3-4-3 though its more fluid and could take different shapes in different phases of game. Despite of its attacking appearance it is a quite pragmatic tactic where possession is used as both a mean of defending and attacking.
Defensive line - High
Playing style - Possession and ball circulation is a very high priority. Still its different than barca tiki-taka style in that our team is more willing to play long passes up the wings or across the field.
Closing down - More closing down from the front, when losing the ball we'll try to get it back as soon as possible.
Central Player: JARI LITMANEN
He was a special breed of playmaker, a player born out of Johan Cruyff’s counter-intuitive liberal theories. He was not the artist playmaker – Jari was the antithesis of modern art – but he was functional and brilliant. He was an everyman.
Litmanen is at best as a creative second striker / Attacking midfielder and flourish with both playmaking and goal scoring responsibilities. By 1995 Litmanen was the best attacking midfielder in the world. There is an anonymity to his brilliance: He seldom dribbles or flies in with a tackle or fires home from 30 yards. Typically he sends a precise ball to wings and then surges stiffly into the box to finish off. Passing and scoring, passing & scoring. That was also his gripe with classic playmaking number 10s.
He said - "Zidane is fantastic on the ball, he also defends well, but he scores too little. Veron passes with feeling, is an outstanding playmaker, scores too little."
Jari Litmanen is the beating heart of this team, playing one - twos and creating triangles with Littbarski / Ribery / Voller / Schweini / Lerby. We have made sure to surround him with highly technical players who can match his speed of thought, yet would not try to take the limelight for themselves. Jari is not playing a classic number 10 role here, he would often find himself as the furtherest man on the field putting his great shooting technique to good use. He is given complete freedom to run the show here.
Striker - Complete striker/Targetman - Voller
Voller is one of the top strikers in the pool anyway but its his all rounded-ness that makes him a perfect fit for our squad. Voller was good in air, had great pace, a ruthless finisher, can hold the ball, work well with another striker (e.g. his Klinsmann partnership), a decent dribbler who can participate in moves outside the box and is creative enough to fashion his own chances. His partnership with Jari has the same feel as Jari/Kanu/Kluivert partnership. Like Kluivert/Kanu, Voller is fast, skillful, has a powerful shot, is an instinctive finisher and can drop a bit deep or float to wings to provide overload.
Wingers - Ribery / Littbarski
Littbarski is the new acquisition for our team. He comes in as a skillful, hardworking and versatile attacking player. All 3 of these qualities were hallmarks of that Ajax side. He can provide width on the right side but could also cut in and use his tremendous dribbling & pace to get passed his defender score goals.
Ribery is one of the best pure wingers in the pool and at his peak was best player in the world. His pace, dribbling, vision & passing are fantastic and complement the tactic well. He is very good at holding possession and his classic wingplay would stretch the opposition defense from left side providing space for Jari & Voller.
Together I think the trio of Ribery-Litmanen-Littbarski complements each other well and would play some brilliant football together.
Midfield duo - Schweinsteiger / Lerby
For the two b2b roles we need midfielders who are both technically proficient and physically dominating, with good defensive nous and great engine. Both also needs to be good passers and someone who can both win and then hold the possession. Schweini - Lerby partnership represents a terrifying cocktail of an impressive psyche, footballing ability and a will to win bordering on the brink of insanity. Lerby would be more midfield enforcer and Schweini slightly more attacking although both are afforded considerable freedom due to the presence of a DM behind them.
Defensive Midfielder/ Deep lying playmaker / Extra CB - Valary Voronin
With only three defenders behind, our defensive midfielder is going to need to be someone as comfortable working in the backline as he is just in front of it. Voronin is perfect for this role, he is technically proficient yet defensively impeccable and is capable of slotting in the defense making it a back 4.
Defense - Abidal / Hansen / Sagnol
Abidal & Sagnol makes perfect side backs, being very good defenders who are comfortable in wide areas and can track the wingers when needed. They are both fast & strong and crucially very good with ball at their feet and can play the possession game.
Hansen is also pretty much perfect fit for the central sweeper role. He has commanded a stingy Liverpool defense which was key for them winning all those trophies. He got all the right tools to excel in this role, great anticipation, decent speed, very good with ball at feet and brilliant in commanding a high line.
Finally Walter Zenga is an awesome shot stopper. An old fashioned defense first goalkeeper he was brilliant in Italy winning all sort of awards like IFFHS goalkeeper of the year 3 times and Serie A footballer of the year.
Overall I think we replicate the tactic where Litmanen showed his peak pretty faithfully and surround him with great supporting cast, which can play the game at his frequency and in accordance with the tactic. While we want to get the best out of him and have set the team accordingly, its also important to note that he is the tactical center piece who is crucial to get the best out of the squad as well. He has a lot of responsibility in the squad as primary playmaker and one of most important goal threat. His finishing, passing and creativity all would be needed for this team to shine and thats the kind of responsibility I believe Jari Litmanen would thrive on.
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