Edgar Allan Pillow
Ero-Sennin
.......................................... TEAM TUPPET ...................................................................................... TEAM 2MUFC0 ........................................
TEAM TUPPET
Brazilian flair and attack battles European grit and hard work, unstoppable force meets immovable object seem apt here.
We are set up in a lop sided 4-3-3
Last reinforcement round was interesting with the choices it offered for my team. I thought of improving Gerson to a Falcao/Didi but with only Brazilians to select from we can not really match the B2B midfielders or defenders that 2mufc0 has on his disposal. So instead of playing that game, we would just add more to our attack, which is clearly our strength and route to win this game. Improving the attack of Pele-Zico-Garrincha is not easy though, which is why this area has been left untouched during previous reinforcements. However one area where a world class attacker can make a difference is number 9 position. Getting a proper number 9 would allow Pele more freedom and field him in his best role of Second Striker. With arguably the greatest number 9 of all time available the choice become a no brainer. It worked out well for us because 2mufc0 sport a brilliant defense and Ronaldo's brand of attacking with searing pace, dribbling and physicality could be the key to unlock that defense.
So in attack we have the forward duo of Ronaldo & Pele. Now to save the arguments in the game thread, Pele is not playing in the wings, he is playing as a free role second striker or left inside forward. He played this role for both Santos & Brazil in early 60s where he had the free role that links midfield to attack and this is arguably his peak role as well. The width on the left side mostly come from Nilton Santos, and with all of Ronaldo/Pele/Zico being comfortable in wide areas. The right side is more straightforward with Garrincha taking the traditional right winger role. He is probably the greatest winger of all time and I don't really need to sell him.
Zico is my primary playmaker and is the brain behind this attack. One of the side effects of putting Ronaldo with Pele up front is we lose the hard working influence of Rivelino in midfield and to compensate the work rate we replace Gerson with Dunga. Dunga-Zito partnership would be the shield in front of our back 4 and provide a solid base for our creative players to build upon. Now this is interesting because they both have mostly defensive functions and while they are no Rijkaard-Matthaus they are perfectly capable of performing this role as their 3 combined world cups shows. I hope we would be able to look beyond the mythical midfield battle and see that our midfields are created for different purposes and both suit the task very well.
Finally defense is same as last round, Nilton & Djalma are arguably the greatest fullback pair international football has ever seen and I have no doubt that they would be able to handle whatever 2mufc0 wingers throw at them. Nilton is more attacking and as mentioned before is the primary source of width on left side, to balance it Djalma would play defensive and stay behind to cover Nilton's run. In center midfield we have the stopper-ball playing duo of Luis Pereira & Domingos Da Guia. Da Guia is considered one of the greatest CB to come from South America and on par with likes of Passarella & Figueroa. In Luis Pereira he has an ideal partner who is aggresive & dominant in air. They are covered by greatest Brazilian GK and two times world cup winner Gilmar.
Its obvious that our strength lies in our attack and while we lack big names in defense, our defensive setup is with two fantastic defensive midfielders shielding our defense is pretty credible. Still I don't believe we would be able to keep 2mufc0's great team from scoring. In true Brazilian fashion our team would be looking to dominate the proceedings, attack from the front and rely on the world class front four to outscore the opposition.
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TEAM 2MUFCO
For this game i will be going for a traditional 4-5-1 formation with the team built around our best player Platini, the team has plenty of runners around him letting him play his game and stretching the opposition through their tireless work rate allowing him more space to exploit. The opposition has a fantastic array of attacking players but i believe i have defensive GOATS in Kahn, Maldini, Scirea, Kohler and Gentile i also have brought in the greatest DM Rijkaard into the team to deal with their threat. Also i believe my team will outwork his esp down the wings and is stronger in midfield and defence which would imo win the game. Going forward i have the skill, pace, penetration to score with one of the best strikers of all time spearheading the attack.
There is no denying Brazil through their attacking brand of football have been irresistible at times and have given the football world plenty of great memories through this style. However, they have often come unstuck playing against physical, hard working and defensively organised teams and my team can certainly be described as such and would give the opposition a very tough game.
Team overview:
GK: Oliver Kahn at his peak level he is probably around the top of the pile when it comes to GK's, winning the golden ball in WC2002 over the likes of R9, Rivaldo etc.
CB: Gaetano Scirea one of the best ball playing CB's off all time and one of Italy's finest.
CB: Jurgen Kohler considered by some Germany's best central defender of all time.
RCB/RB: Claudio Gentile physical and tough defender, known to make life hell for some of the best offensive players of all time, Gentile is more defensive minded this will allow more freedom for Maldini to get forward. But he will also support Nedved when the opportunity arises.
LB: Paolo Maldini considered as one of the greatest left backs of all time and will make life difficult for Garrincha.
B2B CM: Lothar Matthaus arguably the greatest CM of all time and probably the most complete, he will link defence with attack.
DM: Rijkaard arguably the best DM of all time, known for his tenacity and high work rate providing screening for the defence allowing Matthaus to get forward. Also very capable on the ball and will help control the midfield from deep and burst forward when the opportunity arises.
RW: Pavel Nedved on the left known for his incredible work rate combined with dribbling, shooting and passing going forward, will be the workhorse going up and down the right side
LW/LF: Zbigniew Boniek pacey and tricky forward and is famous for the great link up play he had with Platini which is recreated in this side, he will also have Maldini making overlapping runs supporting him.
AM: Platini who needs no introduction.
ST: Upfront i have one of the best no. 9's in the history of the game Marco van Basten capable of scoring impossible goals and an allround CF. He will have world class service from the Platini/Boniek/Nedved