.................................. TEAM HARMS ............................................................................... TEAM CAL ............................................
TEAM HARMS
A classic 4-3-3 which suites my players best. My team will have energetic, positive approach on the ball, we have a obvious star player and an impressive supporting cast in the likes of Suarez, Seeler and Cafu who are one of the greatest ever themselves but who are happy to allow Messi the absolute freedom he deserves.
Unlike some teams in this draft we have a keeper that belongs in the very best tier - and, what’s also important to me, Sepp Maier was an interesting character with the same calculated craziness as Neuer and Schmeichel had.
For this game Roberto Perfumo takes Koeman’s place to deal with Cal’s big man up front, be it Ibra or Drogba. One of the greatest defenders ever, Hector Chumpitaz will be the captain of that team, responsible for organizing and commanding the defensive unit. Patrice Evra at his peak was an amazing defender, a crucial part of the best backline in United history, who also contributed a lot to the attacking game and Cafu is an undisputed all-time great in his position, probably the most balanced fullback in the history of the game. His stamina levels were absolutely insane, he ran the whole flank for the AC Milan even as a 38-years old.
My midfield is perfectly balanced - N'Golo Kante, who is coming off one of the best individual seasons by a defensive player in Premier league history (he was, in my opinion, the most important player in that title-winning Leicester team), provides legs, covers an insane amount of ground (70% of the planet is covered by water, the rest is by N'Golo Kante) and his defensive stats are simply unbelievable (4,7 tackles and 4,2 interceptions per game). He is partnered by two Ballon D’Or winning midfielders.
Josef Masopust, the 1962 European Footballer of the Year, was one of the world's most complete all-round performers during his imperious prime with Dukla Prague and the former Czechoslovakia. A sublimely gifted creative midfielder – or wing-half, as the role was described at the time – he occupied an equivalent niche in his nation's sporting consciousness to Bobby Charlton in England, fêted as an idol while receiving praise with an engaging modesty which never faltered. Immensely skilful, beautifully balanced and incisively intelligent, the Dukla playmaker was prodigiously industrious in his box-to-box role, and although he was no bruiser, he was adept at breaking up opposition attacks with crisply-timed tackles and shrewd interceptions. His passing was a delight, invariably accurate and often penetrative, but it was his jinking forays, frequently beginning in his own half and ending deep inside enemy territory, that became his trademark. He had a characteristic knack of switching the ball from foot to foot as he danced past opponents as if they were training cones, his bewildering high-speed sidesteps being tagged as "Masopust's Slalom", prompting Pele to joke that his ball-work was so wonderful that he must have been born in Brazil.
Luis Suarez Miramontes won the Ballon D’Or in 1960 as an attacking midfielder for Barca and two times came second and once third as a more of a deep-lying playmaker for Inter Milan. His playing style actually reminds me of P.R.Falcao, both compiled their creative side with tactical awareness and off-the-ball workrate that you don’t usually expect from geniuses like them. I believe that he is well-known at this board, especially after Joga’s brilliant work introducing him earlier. He is very different from Masopust though, which is why I believe they will work together - the latter preferred to carry the ball forward, although very well capable of a defence-splitting pass, while Suarez was a genuine playmaker who preferred the ball to do the running for him - although he showed enough Masopust-esque runs ending with the goal or the assist in his lengthy career.
My front three consists of Eder, Seeler and Messi. Leo Messi needs no introduction and he plays where I prefer him, on the right as a free-roaming forward/playmaker (with Cafu, Suarez and Seeler being the perfect supporting cast for him).
On the left I have my legacy player who I am incredibly happy to have - everyone who saw that Brazil side of 1982 knows who it is. A versatile forward who played on the left for the national team had silky touch and, what separates him from most, his shooting technique was impecable. He has arguable the strongest shot in history of football and I’ve never seen anyone to curl the ball as precise as him. Unlike most of the legacy players, who need to be good enough to just not look out of place, Eder should be one of the most exiting players on the pitch today.
Leading the line I have the great Uwe Seeler. If not for G. Müller he would’ve been regarded as the best German forward of all time. Despite average hight his unbelievable leap allowed him to score a fair amount of his goals with his head (he was one of the few «short» players who absolutely dominated the aerial battles because of their leap and positioning, like Passarella and Chumpitaz), and his fantastic overall play makes him pretty much the perfect focal point for the likes of Messi and Eder to play off. Not to forget his incredible goalscoring output - he scored 575 official goals over the course of his career and is currently the 7th most prolific football player in the history of the game according to rsssf.
TEAL CAL
The Set Up
The modern 4-3-3, with the key being that the team will be completely solid defensively with Schmeichel behind 2 all time greats in Cannavaro & Desailly. On either side, D Alves and N Santos are both more than capable of defending whilst providing width.
Mascherano will be deployed as the DM who drops back when ever the fullbacks go forward, and also provide the strength and tenacity in midfield to hopefully starve Messi of the ball.
Kroos and M Scholl are both midfielders who can provide a pass as well as having the energy required in what will turn out to be a midfielder battle.
Further upfield, Giggs is capable of playing on the wing and at the same time drop into midfield to support the others. Cruyff will be given a relatively free role to work his magic and Drogba is one of the best strikers at holding up the ball and linking with his team mates in the last decade or so.
Why we'll win?
Frankly, there shouldn't be a great deal of difference up front, but my team has significantly the better defence.
