............................................... TEAM ENIGMA .............................................
...........................................................vs........................................................
....................................... TEAM IDMANAGER .....................................
TEAM ENIGMA
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defensive line: normal
Style: direct, fast tempo. Team build around Zico as main playmaker, solid powerful midfield, watertight defence and top notch attacking unit.
Team card:
70's - PAVEL NEDVED (CZECH REPUBLIC)
60's - GABRIEL BATISTUTA (ARGENTINA) + COPA, MATTHIAS SAMMER (GERMANY) + CL
50's - ZICO (BRAZIL), KARL-HEINZ RUMMENIGGE (GERMANY) + CL
40's - SILVIO MARZOLINI (ARGENTINA), ALBERT SHESTERNYOV (RUSSIA)
30's - DUNCAN EDWARDS (ENGLAND), IGOR NETTO (RUSSIA)
20's - DJALMA SANTOS (BRAZIL) + WC
10's - OBDULIO VARELA (URUGUAY) + WC + COPA
00's - FRANTISEK PLANICKA (CZECH REPUBLIC)
Team Profiles:
GK: František Plánička - the Czech keeper always seems to make the top 10 lists of the best keeper of all time and it is to no surprise. He was widely considered the best keeper in the world in the 30's and a keeper well ahead of his time. His reflexes, shot stopping and command of his era was top notch and one of his main characteristics was his aerial ability and collecting crosses and picking loose balls.
LB: Silvio Marzolini - The only South American in the World Cup all-star team, Silvio Marzolini is arguably the best Argentinian left-back of all-time. At 26, he looked elegant even when he was tackling and loved to run with the ball – he rarely overran it either, instinctively sensing when the right pass was on. In 1966, he was slightly better than Inter and Italy legend Giacinto Facchetti and might be more highly rated if he hadn’t rejected lucrative offers to stay at his beloved Boca Juniors. He had a fantastic career with Boca Juniors, winning five league titles and one Copa Argentina, whilst being a solid pillar in the defensive unit.
RB: Djalma Santos - While primarily known for his defensive skills, he often ventured upfield and displayed some impressive attacking skills, excellent crossing ability and distribution of the ball whilst also a dead-ball specialist.He was never sent-off during his career. Djalma went to the midfield to distribute the ball in great way was one of the first overlapping full backs along with Nilton on the other flank. It was very hard find Djalma misplaced at any position, his skills in one on one situations, anticipation, vision, passing(both long and short), reading of the game were superb. No wonder he's considered by many the best right back of all time.
CB: Matthias Sammer - The modern day Beckenbauer was a fantastic player on its own. Sammer, at their peak was the heart of everything good, running the side from deep, and was pivotal in Dortmund's and Germany winning back to back Bundesliga titles, the 96' EURO and the CL in 97 on the back of some fantastic defensive displays. He was inspirational against Croatia in the quarter-finals at Wembley, proving the difference between a resolute Germany side and a tremendously gifted Croatian one. The game itself was physical, but Sammer rose above it all, demonstrating his ability at both ends of the pitch. Winning a penalty, which Klinsmann converted, and scoring the second as Die Mannschaft kept a clean sheet. It is rare for a defender to win individual awards today but was a little more common a couple of decades ago. Sammer had been crowned German Footballer of the Year in 1995 and 1996, but was now officially the best player at Euro 96, and added a Ballon d’Or later that year, beating off stiff competition from Ronaldo and Alan Shearer.
CB: Albert Shesternyov - One of the greatest outfield Russian footballer of all-time, Shesternyov's career lasted just 13 years, but spanned the entire 1960's, which he spent exclusively with CSKA Moscow. He won nominated for the Ballon d'Or four times. He was phenomenal athlete and 100 metres for around 11 seconds in his youth, was champion not just area, but also of Moscow and Moscow region, showing excellent results in the 200 metres long and triple jump. His outstanding features included also a great jump and heading ability and fantastic defensive skills.
DM: Obdulio Varela - inspirational World Cup winning captain, he's probably the best DM in the pool with the absence of Desailly and Rijkaard. He was the archetype of the rioplatense No. 5, or deep-lying midfielder; able to handle himself physically, superb at shielding his defence and linking play to the midfield, Varela also had a ferocious shot from outside the penalty area, which England learned in Switzerland during the 1954 World Cup. In the quarterfinals, with the score at 1-1 and six minutes before half-time, Varela hit a fine drive from outside the box that England goalkeeper Gil Merrick couldn't reach - it was one of any number of long-rangers he scored during his career.
Great article on him for those interested - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-impossible-draft.439309/page-35#post-22784539
CM(box to box): Duncan Edwards - one of United's all time greats, held by Sir Bobby and many others from that time in the highest regard possible:
"He was the best player I've ever seen and the best footballer I ever played with," says Sir Bobby Charlton. "I always felt I could compare well with any player - except Duncan. He was such a talent, I always felt inferior to him."
Even Matt Busby, who was vehement in his refusal to acknowledge that one 'Babe' might be regarded as more important than the others, could not camouflage the tone of awe that entered his voice whenever Edwards' name was raised. "Duncan had everything. He was so big, so strong, so confident and still so young. Right from the start we gave up trying to spot flaws in his game. John Charles was another giant of a player, a giant with great, great skill. But as a player, even John didn't have as much as Duncan. He used to move upfield brushing people aside to lash in late goals when we needed them."
According to Busby, ". . . the bigger the occasion the better he liked it".
On the day of his funeral, more than 5,000 people lined the streets of Dudley, following which Jimmy Murphy offered the following valediction: "If I shut my eyes now I can see him; the pants hitched up, the wild leaps of boyish enthusiasm as he came running out of the tunnel, the tremendous power of his tackling, always fair but fearsome, his immense power on the ball. The greatest? There was only one and that was Duncan Edwards."
AMC(Playmaker): Zico - To me the best player in the draft and on the park. He’s the greatest Brazilian to never win a World Cup. Pele once said: “The one player that came closest to me in playing style was Zico.” He had it all - vision, passing, one of the best dribblers and close control, whilst having the goalscoring ability of any forward in history - scoring more than 500 goals for club and country, not playing as a striker.
AML/LW: Pavel Nedvěd - One of the best midfielders in the last 30 years and one of the best ever to wear the black and white stripes of Juve. You always know what you get with him; goals, assists, great play-making, and hardwork. All while playing with high energy and infectious passion. He was very good defensively as well. A truly complete player and a Ballon D'or winner to boot.
RWF: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - a quote from El Mundo Deportivo back in 82 describes him best - "It hasn’t been a coincidence that he’s been voted two consecutive seasons in a row as the best European player. He has been the undisputable best player in Europe and for his country. The WC won’t be a deciding factor to his reputation, because he is already an accomplished player at the age of 26, and regarded as one of the major stars in the world. Success at the WC will just confirm for Germany that they have one of the greatest players in their history."
CF: Gabriel Batistuta - One of the best and complete #9's in history. He was an agile, evasive and inventive forward. He’d drop deep, link play, run in behind. Bully, harass, out-smart. There is a reason Diego Maradona once said he was the best centre forward of all time. He passed it into the net, powered headers, dinked, chipped and clipped it past hapless custodians. And of course, from time to time, he simply smashed it.
Great article on him for those interested - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-impossible-draft.439309/page-29#post-22723285
Defence: Every great attacking team needs a solid foundation at the back and we have that with 2 of the greatest CB's of all time and certainly in their respective era's - Shesternyov and Sammer. Both are defensive walls equally adapt to handle the danger in the air and on the deck. Then we have the most complete full back in Djalma Santos on the right and one of the best left backs in Marzolini who also had a good taste for the attack and carrying the ball forward.
Midfield: Our midfield unit is constructed of solid defensively so that it can shield the back four, but also move the ball to Zico and Nedved, which would be Duncan's role and win the ball back quickly to start prompt counter attacks. Edwards and Varela are great in the defensive phase, which will allow Zico to run the game, whilst Nedved's presence would add up to the midfield battle and give us another body in midfield.
In terms of pool and quite possibly all time, a midfield base of Duncan Edwards and Varela is as good as it gets and we would definitely have an edge there.
Varela vs Rivelino would be a great battle and the former is someone who stacks up pretty well to him, whilst no stranger to taking care of Brazilian elite playmakers as shown in the 50 WC final against Zizinho. A midfield of Edwards, Varela and with the help of Nedved and Zico would cut the supply to ID forward line and limit the opportunities they will get in front of goal. Edwards enormous presence in midfield would only add up to our advantage there and overload the middle of the park.
Attack: A team that is definitely build around a fantastic attack, this is our focal point. Nedved, Kalle, Zico and Batistuta is an attacking unit that has it all and one of the best in their positions individually. Our attack has it all - the grit and determination of Nedved, Kalle and Batistuta, complimented by the incredible vision, pure flair and Dribbling ability of Zico. Zico, Batistuta and Kalle are phenomenal goalscorers and we have a lot of different routes for goal. Kalle would excel alongside physical and complete forward in Batistuta, to play off him and come from the right, whilst also Batigol creates space for him and Zico to make late runs in the box. Nedved with his endless stamina will buzz around the pitch add to the midfield battle as well as provide our forward line with creativity.
Advantages:
Our team is well set up very well to counter ID's main strengths. We have a top CB pairing who are both excellent in the positional, pure tackling, in the air and athletic department with Sammer and Shesternyov stacking pretty well to the aerial threat of Spencer. Varela would also limit the effect of Rivelino, thus cutting off the supply to the forwards and the creativity in ID's side.
The biggest assets in IDmanager set up are his flanks and they are well taken care. There isn't really a better full back pair to counter Gento/Matthews than Marzolini and Djalma - who are both excellent defensively and their all time credentials stack up pretty well to the opposition pair.
On the other end we feel we have a great advantage in Zico targeting Ocwirk who was more of a deep lying playmaker than a destroyer or DM and Zico with his talent and skill would prove to be a pivotal figure in the game, also being the best player on the park. Kalle vs Zebec is another advantage we have in this matchup as Zebec was more of a left midfielder, attacking left back that was later in his career converted into CB and not really the best fit stylistically to Kalle who would roam all over the place and find gaps left by him in the defensive unit.
Worth mentioning as well is Kalle's and Batigol teamwork and pressing ability forward, which will be our first line of defence.
We feel we have more individual quality in all lines and especially Zico proving to be the difference in a setup that gets the best of him. Our midfield pair in Edwards and Varela would be a bit too hot to handle for the opposition whilst also Sammer surging forward would bring plenty of surprises for ID's defensive line.
On Sammer himself - here he has a brilliant setup to get the best of him - two defensively great midfielders in Edwards and Varela and a RB who is tactically and defensively complimentary Djalma Santos.
Sammer would surge forward when we're with the ball whilst Edwards, Varela and Djalma protect the gaps left by him and when we're off it Sammer would again be the true leader of the back like he did for Germany and Dortmund at his peak.
TEAM IDMANAGER:
TACTICS:
Our team is full of attacking talent and hence that is the way we are going to play.
We will look to play direct attacking football.
The main star of the team is its midfield. It doesn't have the shiny names which Enigma does in Varela, Edwards and Zico. But it does have one common character across the midfield three. All of them were all round midfielders who contributed greatly during both the attacking and defensive phases of the game.
Davids' all round game doesn't need any selling. Rivellino helped out tremendously in the 1970 WC Brazil team which had a passenger in Gerson in a 2 man midfield. More on Ocwirk and his role further in the post.
Football is a team game and so, the idea is very simple. The midfield 3 defend together closing down and trying to win the ball when out of possession and attack as a unit with a tricky and quick Number 10 in Rivellino, an all energy B2B in Davids and a great orchestrator in Ocwirk (DM-cum-playmaker) forming the perfect balanced setup.
Only one full back will attack at one time. Considering both Carlos Alberto and Zebec were comfortable playing at CB as well, when one attacks, the other would tuck in to form a 3 man shield at the back to not leave gaps for counters.
To understand how the setup is supposed to work, it is important to understand the role of perhaps the most unique but the least known midfield player on the pitch on both sides.
And hence, I present the Captain of the team - Ernst Ocwirk - in more detail.
System he played in back then:
In the older days, players who took the field had on the jersey numbers from one to eleven.
Even if the "method" as it was referred to back in the day when Ocwirk was playing is long gone , it is easier to explain how it was played in the early post-war period using these numbers.
The so-called "method" consisted of the two medians (nos. 4 and 6), who marked the opposing wings, placed wide and higher than the backs (nos. 2 and 3), who were more narrow and backward.
It is easy to deduce that moving back the two medians on the line of the full-backs came the four-man defense in the years that came afterwards.
The number five, "centromediano metodista", term used by the old chroniclers, had the task of organizing the game both in defense and in attack.
In other words, he was the one who would then be called "director".
Ernst Ocwirk was perhaps the greatest "Central Methodist"
The great Austrian team of 50's was one of the few teams still playing in what was effectively still a pre war style. Two full backs (centre backs), a defensively minded centre-half, flanked by two half backs and five forwards
Positional and functional flexibility of Ocwirk:
Ocwirk played in his career in 2-3-5 and 3-2-5 formations, where both the distribution from the back, as well as containing the opposing storm had to be organized by one player, even though they were two very different roles, played by the same central anchor.
At the World Cup in 1954 Ocwirk was the central anchor in the 2-3-5, ahead of Hanappi and Happel as two very strong center-backs and alongside half-runners Koller on the left and Barschandt on the right.
Ocwirk intelligently secured the advances of his teammates, mostly occupying the center in front of the two defenders with the off-ball half-runners out wide on the same axis. He occasionally moved forward himself.
Interestingly, Ocwirk not only built and secured the game from the back, but was also a box-to-box player. Again and again there were long-range advances, with which he generated presence in the last third.
However, it is important to note that there were no solo runs, but more nudging moves from the depths when open spaces for rebounds, long range shots and the need for extra attackers when the opposition fell off presented themselves.
Ocwirk was considered not only a highly intelligent game designer, but also as an extremely strong header and strong-shooting midfielder.
Ocwirk's great strength was the recognition of various situation and acting upon them as needed.
In numerous combinations of the then Austrian team, it was especially Koller on the left, who advanced on the wide side, while Ocwirk gallantly moved into the resulting rooms left behind, secured the area and offered a route to fall back if the attackers were pressed off the ball.
This was followed by distance shots, individual dribbles with subsequent vertical passes and beautiful diagonal balls against the opposing defense line.
If Koller successfully made his runs and beat his man, for example, Ocwirk moved from the back with force in the direction of the penalty area.
He was not only able to open rooms for the strikers ahead, but profited from the enormous amount of attackers who already occupied the area and needed to be marked leaving him free.
In addition, when working against the ball it was common for Ocwirk to form a tight, flat triangle with the two defenders. Hanappi and Happel.
The triangle turned and blocked the opponent's options on the ball centrally. The two half-runners were allowed to act significantly more free due to this rigidness.
Hanappi especially had a great partnership with Ocwirk. Hanappi always had the option to bring the ball out out flexibly. Ocwirk blocked the middle and the ball-playing center-back was able to move forward.
Ocwirk today?
In the early fifties he was the best midfielder in the world, lost almost no ball thanks to his ball control and physique, distributed it strategically with intelligent long balls and thanks to his extreme game intelligence and physical nature, played both the offensive and defensive roles with almost no error.
It is always hard to guess about the suitability of previous players in today's world.
Of course, not a single one could keep up with today's sprint machines purely from the physical point of view, also the technical-tactical know-how has improved enormously.
On the assumption that Ocwirk had maintained his playing character and his relative technical and physical quality in the time comparison, he would have become a midfield great of the modern times.
Most likely you could call it a mix of Michael Carrick, Sergio Busquets and Yaya Touré, if you want to choose 21st century modern footballers for comparison.
His passing game and his pressing resistance in today's football are more suitable for the deeper zones, where he would also have fit in well with his defensive style of play.
Even in those years Ocwirk embodied an ideal that is still sought today (and now more than ever), which was put well by a great Austrian writer back then:
"He is the soul of the team, combines the highest game intelligence and grace with precision and economy of power. His game represents the only practicable application of the collective principle, the only successful balance between individual and community, in which the whole idea of the team game accumulates. " - Friedrich Torberg in the Viennese Kurier, 1954
