The All-time Auction Draft

Junior left wingback over Lizarazu? Don't like it. I'd argue that Lizarazu was the better player anyway, but as a left wingback it's not even close. Junior is another rightfooted midfielder pushed into the leftback position, who loved to drift inside. That's not what you need in that team at all.

Agree 100%. As I said before, nothing Junior will do which Rivelino won't do better. Lizarazu offers width and is also a better defender. No brainer.
 
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MARAZICO

He was “Core de Roma” or the Heart of Rome when Francesco Totti was still in elementary school, but Bruno Conti continues to be an idol in the minds of the giallorossi faithful.

Bruno Conti, the greatest Italian winger of all time, is one of the true legends of the Italian game. Having spent his whole career at the same club. he has a firm place in every Roma fan’s heart. A sublimely talented winger, he was an absolute nightmare for defenders, who had the displeasure of facing the electric trickster in his pomp, tearing up and down the flanks.

Conti formed an integral part of a Roma side that became legendary, consisting of players such as Agostino Di Bartolomei, Paulo Roberto Falcao, Toninho Cerezo and Roberto Pruzzo. Conti had a superb understanding with Pruzzo in particular, who he had played together with at Genoa. “Most of the time all we needed to do was look at each other”, Pruzzo recalls. Conti wore the number 7 shirt at Roma, but played on the left hand side of the pitch in order to use his powerful left foot. Rather than bludgeon the ball though, Conti caressed it as he dribbled and moved with the ball as skilfully and as agile as any Brazilian growing up on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. He was a gifted midfielder with an excellent shot, and was later nicknamed ‘Marazico’ because of his characteristics that resembled the iconic Diego Maradona and Zico.

Conti played a major part in the trophies that Roma won in the 80s, including successive Coppa Italias in 1980 and 1981 before winning Roma’s second ever scudetto in 1983. A tactical switch made by Liedholm at the start of the season proved crucial in the title win, as Di Bartolomei was moved back to protect the defence and use his passing ability to pick out Conti on the wing. From there, he was devastating. Falcao explains that Conti “had the technical skills of a South American player, and sometimes it was hard to convince him not to dribble more than he had to! He had the skill to hide the ball from the defenders”. Gianni Brera, the legendary Italian sports journalist, added that “he glides and creates things like a possessed dancer. Then he stops, you catch up with him, then he sets off again”.

Bruno played 26 times in the 82/83 title-winning season and was Roma’s key man in them winning their second ever scudetto. In a team brimming with talent, Conti shinned, creating numerous goals and was the link between attack and defence. A true Romanista, Conti claimed that winning the scudetto with Roma was an even better feeling than winning the World Cup with the Azzuri. “To win the World Cup is the best feeling that you can have doing this job, but the World Cup is seven games. To win ascudetto in the city you’ve grown up in, where you interact with the fans on a daily basis, is even better. I fulfilled a dream by winning the scudetto here in Rome when I made sacrifices for a whole year, compared to the World Cup which was seven games and where everything is decided in a month. But of course they’re both two wonderful victories”.

The World Cup itself was one of the crowning moments of Conti’s career. His performances for Roma had earned him a call up to Enzo Bearzot’s squad for the 1982 tournament, where he took the place of Franco Causio. His dribbling, passing and ability to create opportunities for his team-mates led him to be named as the player of the tournament by Pele, who also described him as “more Brazilian than the Brazilians”. It was in the final against West Germany where Conti really made his mark, winning a penalty (which was subsequently missed by Cabrini), playing a key role in the second and assisting the third goal which was scored by Alessandro Altobelli, as Italy won 3-1. Paolo Rossi, who ended up as the tournament’s top goalscorer, said that “all you had to do was tap the ball into the back of the net” because Conti would do the rest.

Further trophies followed as Bruno won the Coppa Italia in 1984, 1986 and 1991, but the European Cup was fatefully not to be added to his list of honours. The 1984 final against Liverpool was even played at the Stadio Olimpico in front of just under 70,000 fans, but after drawing 1-1 in normal time with Conti assisting for Pruzzo's equaliser, Conti missed the second penalty in the shootout and the Lupi went on to lose 4-2 on penalty kicks. He eventually retired from football in 1991, and to grasp the affection that Romanisti have for Conti and to understand what he represents to the club, perhaps it’s enough to say this. On 23rd May, 1991, Roma played a commemorative match to be Conti’s final game before he retired, and the game was attended by over 80,000 fans – around 9,000 more than the amount that were in the Stadio Olimpico the day before when Roma lost the second leg of the UEFA Cup final to Inter. In all, Conti made 402 appearances for Roma (304 in the league, 64 in the cup and 34 in Europe), scoring 47 goals - only six players have ever played more times for the Giallorossi.

A genuine man, Conti still has a special relationship with Romanisti. His success and fame have not changed him and he is known for never refusing to sign an autograph or exchange pleasantries. In 2012, he entered the club’s Hall of Fame in its inaugural year and garnered the most votes from the supporters along with Falcao, proof – as if it were needed – that his exploits and legacy has not been forgotten by the Giallorossi faithful. As the Curva Sud sing, “Di Bruno c’è n’è uno e viene da Nettuno” (“There’s only one Bruno and he comes from Nettuno”).



Miljan Miljanic
: “All the Italians were great, Bruno Conti maybe a little more than the others”.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “Italy were deserved winners. The tournament’s best player? For me it’s Bruno Conti; it was an honour for me to swap shirts with him after the final. I’ll keep it as a memory of a fantastic champion”
Michel Hidalgo: “Do you know who I’d long to have? Bruno Conti”
Bobby Charlton: “If I was the national coach of any team in the world, I would want Bruno Conti with me”
Hansi Muller: “Who is the player who I’m most worried about as a future opponent? Bruno Conti, no question”
Pele: “Bruno Conti was the true Brazilian at the World Cup. He was the best of any player I saw in Spain. I don’t think players like him are born any more”
Oscar: “For me, Conti was the best player of the World Cup”
Diego Maradona: “Conti was the real revelation of this World Cup, he’s a player of real international class. Argentina or Brazil would be delighted to have him in their team”
Daniel Bertoni: “Bruno Conti is decisive in the Azzurri’s play, he’s a true world class player. Thanks to him, Bearzot was able to solve no small amount of problems”
Jean Vincent: “Before Italy-Cameroon, I said that Conti was the only player who truly made me fearful, because he’s unpredictable and gifted with great quality. His performances during the entire World Cup showed that I was right”
Zbgniew Boniek: “I’ve seen Conti from on the pitch, on the television and from the stands – it’s almost impossible to stop him. Among other things, he has a very precise and powerful shot”
 
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You rate him higher than Donadoni? Thought Conti is more attacking, but Donadoni has better overall (defensive) impact.

I would say Conti is better tbh, although the margins are fairly slim. Conti had phenomenal work rate and was even better than Donadoni from a defensive perspective. Will be uploading his WC final performance soon enough and you can take a peek at his defensive performance yourself.
 
You rate him higher than Donadoni? Thought Conti is more attacking, but Donadoni has better overall (defensive) impact.

Did Donadoni really play much as a winger? I've exclusively seen him as a wide midfielder rather and they are a bit hard to compare in many cases.
 
Johan Cruyff

Time to raise the gif-stakes, me thinks.

Goals
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Creativity
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Dribbling
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Forbes money List:

Name - Funds used in R1 - Funds carried over

Managers won:

Skizzo - 236 - 64
Aldo - 300 - 0
Sjor Bepo - 299 - 1
GreenSmiley - 295 - 5
EAP - 277 - 23

Managers Out:

ChrisG11 - 289 - 11
Marty - 295 - 5
crappy - 283 - 17
berbasloth - 267 - 33
Raees - 300 - 0

Managers yet to play:

Stobzilla - 225 - 75
MDFC - 297 - 3
Cal? - 297 - 3
Rpitroda - 300 - 0
Joga - 294 - 6
Theon - 264 - 36

Skizzo is ready for the splurge. Stobzilla and Theon if they get through will also be in the luxury spenders category!

Annah/managers to recheck!
 
Forbes money List:

Name - Funds used in R1 - Funds carried over

Managers won:

Skizzo - 236 - 64
Aldo - 300 - 0
Sjor Bepo - 299 - 1
GreenSmiley - 295 - 5
EAP - 277 - 23

Managers Out:

ChrisG11 - 289 - 11
Marty - 295 - 5
crappy - 283 - 17
berbasloth - 267 - 33
Raees - 300 - 0

Managers yet to play:

Stobzilla - 225 - 75
MDFC - 297 - 3
Cal? - 297 - 3
Rpitroda - 300 - 0
Joga - 294 - 6
Theon - 264 - 36

Skizzo is ready for the splurge. Stobzilla and Theon if they get through will also be in the luxury spenders category!

Annah/managers to recheck!

There's still 5 hours left in my match :lol:
 
Waiting for MDFC to send his write-up in. He was too kind and just sent a PM asking me for permission to send his write up in but then probably logged off before I had replied.
 
Sorry guys something came up yesterday and couldn't send over my stuff. @Theon I'll try and send over my tactics today at some point and following that can start whenever.
 
Sorry guys something came up yesterday and couldn't send over my stuff. @Theon I'll try and send over my tactics today at some point and following that can start whenever.

No worries man - as long as we can start today at some point that's fine, not fussed when.
 
I thought EAP had it spot on in the reality draft: no show = lose the game. Simple.