The Daredevil Draft | Winner - Enigma

Piet Keizer

David Winner said:
“In Brilliant Orange - One key debate at the time was whether Piet Keizer or Johan Cruyff was the greater artist. Cruyff was electrifying and the most dramatic presence on the field; Keizer better fitted the bill as the moody, elusive and almost dilettante creative genius on the field. The oddly upright, long-striding Keizer had a precise, accurate, near-visionary style. He had a unique scissoring run, could dribble past several defenders at once and delighted in deceptive curling crosses and passes.”
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Velibor Vasovic said:
"I was very surprised. Johan Cruyff played on the left wing but this Yugoslav woman told me I didn’t need to watch this young boy because left wing was the position of the club’s best player, Piet Keizer. After the game I said to her: “You can tell the president that if they have anyone better than this player, they don’t need me”."
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Barry Hulshoff said:
"Keizer was more about the team. Johan put himself in a more exceptional position; so when things had to be done for the team, Piet Keizer was better."
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Nico Scheepmaker said:
“Cruyff is the best, but Keizer is the better one.”
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Cruyff before Cruyff', a one club man, one of Ajax's finest ever players who in his prime was on the same level as his more famous teammate Johan Cruyff, and one of Holland's finest ever players, Piet Keizer is often shrouded in mystery due to his enigmatic nature. A strained relationship with manager Rinus Michels saw Keizer feature very little in the famous Dutch side of 1974 that made it to the World Cup final, which is somewhat emblematic of his career - this is after all, the same guy who announced his immediate retirement on a Dutch talk show, and refused to kick a ball for decades after (even walking away from a stray ball, rather than kicking it back into play when watching a youth game years later). He retired with 146 goals in 365 games for the club, but his creating for others was where he really excelled:
Breaking through into the senior Ajax team in 1960, when the Dutch professional game was in it's very infancy, Keizer was one of their star young players and had made the Dutch national team by 1962, having helped his club win the Dutch Cup the season previous. However, an horrific injury fractured his skull, caused blood clots, and nearly killed Piet in 1964 nearly ended Keizer's career, and in his absence the club had their worst ever season, flirting with relegation until a change in management to Rinus Michels, who was a big fan of another youngster at the team who he would make a regular alongside Keizer - Johan Cruyff.

The following season with Keizer back, he and Cruyff - 'The Royal Pair' - combined for 54 goals and were the spark behind Ajax winning the Eriedivise. They would repeat this feat the next season, but their biggest accomplishment that year was a taste of what was to come as they eliminated Bill Shankley's Liverpool from Europe 7-3 on aggregate (winning 5-1 in Amsterdam), putting their country on the map in this regard. Their third consecutive Dutch title would come in 1968, and in 1969 they made it the whole way to the final, but were outdone by the experience of AC Milan.

It was in the early 1970s though, that Ajax were to make their stamp on the history of the game, with three European Cups in a row from 1971-73. Keizer was one of the key players in this run, the ying to Cruyff's yang, and the more respected of the two amongst teammates who voted him as captain over Johan (resulting him Cruyff's ego forcing him to leave for Barcelona). In this same time they had won their fourth, fifth and sixth Eriedivise titles, and third, fourth and fifth Dutch Cups of Keizer's time there. His ability to run rings around defences and play a defense-splitting pass, or to scorch down the touchline and put in a perfect cross for a teammate made him a vital member of the team, and his intelligence to fill holes left by others and pick up the ball in a number of positions were pre-eminent features of the 'total football' system that came to the fore in his time at Ajax.

Those who saw both play, or indeed even played with them, often debate over the question of how Cruyff and Keizer compare, with Keizer's supporters making claim that Michels liked to pick favourites, particularly with Cruyff, and as such relegated Keizer to the shadows. Michels was known for dropping or selling players off the back of just the shortest periods of poor form, or deviance from his plans, but Keizer was too valuable to do so with. The two reportedly went years without speaking to each other, and Keizer famously danced on the tables of his father-in-law's pub, the Oesterbar, upon the news that the manager had left Ajax in 1971. Cruyff also had the 'look' to make him the star/face of the team while also playing a slightly more electrifying style of play compared to Keizer's creative precision and preference to slow down, then speed up, the pace of the game, which would have played into his favour in terms of public perception. Whether true or not, the fact that there was so much debate over who was the better of the two speaks volumes of Keizer's abilities on the pitch.

1971 Balon d'Or 9th place
1972 Balon d'Or 5th place.
 
Was there an overview of the final squads? Couldn't find any.
 
Pat, gstq I am sorry. I can only find 10 minutes this afternoon to send a short text tonight.

Then pat will decide if the game starts this afternoon or tomorrow.

In any case I can't be very involved in the discussions.

Sorry again
 
Will raise both in a while.

@SirScholes , yet to hear from you. You have till 23:59 PM BST to please let us know your plans.

If not, the tie will be changed to @Enigma_87 vs @Šjor Bepo .

If Sjor is not interested, Enigma progresses.
 
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Trying to find players for the reinforcements round is a nightmare. We've had that many niche drafts that every player of worth seems to have been picked at some point.
 
P-Nut said:
Trying to find players for the reinforcements round is a nightmare. We've had that many niche drafts that every player of worth seems to have been picked at some point.
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It took me several hours over several days to find two that I like. So probably they'll get blocked or something.
 
Himannv said:
It took me several hours over several days to find two that I like. So probably they'll get blocked or something.
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I've not found 1 yet and that's made even worse by only wanting to change 1 position, I've no idea where I can go for the 2nd position.
 
P-Nut said:
I've not found 1 yet and that's made even worse by only wanting to change 1 position, I've no idea where I can go for the 2nd position.
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I think fitting them into a position was the hardest thing to do. I first find the player based on the position and think "ah, there's no way this guy was ever picked" and then start reading up on him to see if he'd actually be a good fit. I dig around for compilations and highlights or even go as far as watching matches when no other info is forthcoming. Finally I decide he'd be a good fit for my team. Then I think, "hmm, I should probably check on the off chance he's been picked in some obscure draft, y'know just in case", and woe betide he's been picked in some ancient draft that had squads of 50 players, and never featured in any matches. That's when I start swearing at the laptop screen and giving dirty looks to the dog when it comes looking for biscuits. Rinse and repeat.
 
Himannv said:
I think fitting them into a position was the hardest thing to do. I first find the player based on the position and think "ah, there's no way this guy was ever picked" and then start reading up on him to see if he'd actually be a good fit. I dig around for compilations and highlights or even go as far as watching matches when no other info is forthcoming. Finally I decide he'd be a good fit for my team. Then I think, "hmm, I should probably check on the off chance he's been picked in some obscure draft, y'know just in case", and woe betide he's been picked in some ancient draft that had squads of 50 players, and never featured in any matches. That's when I start swearing at the laptop screen and giving dirty looks to the dog when it comes looking for biscuits. Rinse and repeat.
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:lol: I've got a gigantic shortlist of three names so far in case I actually make it to the next round. Also, give the dog a biscuit.
 
P-Nut said:
Trying to find players for the reinforcements round is a nightmare. We've had that many niche drafts that every player of worth seems to have been picked at some point.
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:lol:

100%. Things like the Eastern European Draft or the South American draft unearthed a lot of these hidden gems.

There are still a few out there but yeah, it’s not easy pickings.
 
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