....................................... Team Isotope .................................................................................................. Team Boris ........................................................
Team Isotope
4-3-1-2 Aggressive midfield diamond.
My team has players with high degree of flexibility. Suarez and Eto’o are an extremely dynamic striker duo, providing runs in behind the defence between the center-backs and the fullbacks, or move to the wings. Both also have the abilities to work in tight situations.
Mata, the free role playmaker, will roam to the front or to the wing as necessary. The dynamic movements of his teammates, creates good platform for him on finding space to score, or providing quick layoffs to the runs of Suarez, Eto’o, or Koke.
To support the aggressive pressing from the front duo, Mascherano in defensive midfield allows Koke and Marchisio to make aggressive forward pressing runs. Experienced in different roles for their clubs, Koke and Marchisio can also attack from the wing when needed.
In defence, the experienced back four provide a wall of protecting the goal. The fullbacks of Balzaretti and Sagna are capable of pushing forwards as well as defending. And Pepe and Chivu are proven centerbacks who have won Champions League and many league titles.
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Team Boris
This is my team, as you can see, it is a slightly deep narrow back four with two defensive midfielders playing in front of them. The attacking midfield line of three will look to track back every now and then depending on the situation, but their primary focus will be on getting themselves into positions where they can punish the opposition on the break. In general the team will look to soak up pressure and look to play directly to the feet of the wingers or off of the target up front.
Another important factor is that with the players I have through the centre of the park, if the opportunity to press arises, the likes of De Rossi, Hamsik, and Cavani will look to capitalise on any errors. Walcott too, although he may not be renowned for his work rate, has the speed to capitalise on any loose balls that may come his way.
First off let me mention the goalscoring prowess of my attack. Over three year periods;
Cavani: 104 goals in 138 games for Napoli (10/11 - 12/13)
Hamsik: 36 goals in 144 games for Napoli (10/11 - 12/13)
Vicente: 17 goals in 120 games for Valencia (01/02 - 03/04)
Walcott: 45 goals in 127 games for Arsenal (10/11 - 12/13)
That is pretty formidable as a unit, and shows that my team would not need a huge amount of chances to score goals.
A couple of posters have raised concerns over my defence, more specifically how Kompany and Vidic would work together. Both are aggressive players who like to attack the ball, however they aren't so completely lacking in intelligence that they are both going to go charging at the same things. Kompany has had a lot of rare errors over the past couple of seasons but for the purposes of this draft I would like to highlight his performances over the three years between 10/11 and 12/13. In 10/11 he was named City's player of the season as he captained them to the league title. He was named in the PFA team of the year in both 10/11 and 11/12. Now these teams usually don't mean much but you cannot argue against the fact that Kompany was a machine at times over that period and was widely considered as a world class centre half.
Arbeloa will not move from left back. He will get the ball, give it to Vicente, and stand beside Vidic. Richards on the other side would have more freedom to get forward, but his primary focus will be on defence. The opposition team does not have any wingers to speak of, and thus his wide players will look to cut in. With Richards also being a centre back and being comfortable tucking inside, and Arbeloa being right footed, this gives me a very solid foundation to combat the opposition threat.
From an attacking point of view, Hamsik is a player who excels at switching the play. During the period when Napoli played with wing backs a key feature of his game was spreading the game open with balls out wide, and in my team he will perform the same role, quickly getting the ball out to the feet of my wingers or perhaps in behind for Walcott. He and Cavani are a proven combination from their Napoli days where both peaked at around the same period, playing alongside each other.
Vicente was a player capable of running a game from out wide. He was Valencia's best player when they won La Liga and the UEFA cup in 03/04. He was at his best when he was allowed to dominate the wing on his own with a defensive full back behind him, and I am allowing him to do that in this formation.
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