Indnyc -------------------------VS--------------------------harms
Indnyc Tactics
Formation: 4-3-3/4-5-1
Tactics: Attack, Attack, Attack!!! Play the United way with fast paced wingers and stretch the pitch
Midfield
Keane and Edwards form a great double pivot in the defensive phase of the game. Additionally, Charlton will drop in deep and is expected to play a significant role in the midfield battle. Of course Maradona is the biggest threat to my team and we will stop him with a combination of Keane, and Edwards
Defence :
McGrath, Nasazzi and Fillol form a strong core. Nilton Santos is one of the all time greats and in Cafu we have a massive upgrade who will stretch the pitch and provide width and be a strong presence in the defensive phase of the game. He allows Best to play a more free role and roam around the final 3rd
Why we will win
1) Great attack - Best, Charlton, Law, Giggs is a breath taking front 4 who will score against the best of defenses.
harms Tactics
The team is built to bring out the best in, well, the best. Diego Maradona is in his element, being at the heart of a very energetic, aggressive and yet immensely talented team. The others will be carrying water for him so that he can walk on it.
My first priority after securing Maradona was to build an infallible defence. Figueroa and Maldini both have a genuine claim on the defensive GOAT status and their partner in crime Shesternyov has a history of handling Denis Law, the opposition's lead striker (to be discussed). He was a true physical specimen — tall, strong and with a monstrous leap, but also able to run 100 meters in just 11 seconds! Legendary Yashin forms the last line of my defence with his intimidating presence — his name alone was often enough to force a mistake out of the opposing forwards. My tireless wingbacks will be actively participating in both parts of the game. Brehme, for me, is the first choice for this exact role, and Amoros have proven himself at the highest possible level.
My midfielders are well-known and they all play in the roles they historically excelled in. Edgar Davids is a box-to-box midfield dynamo who combined aggressive closing in and tackling with street footballer's tricks, while Bernd Schuster is responsible for creativity from the back. This is not a 20 y.o. enigma that shined at the 1980 Euros but a mature Schuster, a true midfield general that formed a telepathic understanding with Maradona at Barcelona and finished 3rd in 1985 Ballon d'Or vote. And then there's Maradona.
From the very beginning I planned to get Blokhin and Elkjær as Maradona's aids. It's hard to imagine a more tenacious front three and they'll be my first line of defence, I will comment on this point in the thread if needed. But first and foremost, they were genius footballers — while Elkjær's peak was not very long, he was undoubtedly the greatest striker in the world for a few years; Blokhin won Ballon d'Or ahead of Cruyff and Beckenbauer and did it in astonishing fashion. They consistently performed against the greatest defenders, not only of that era, but of all-time — Elkjær haunted Scirea both for Verona and for Denmark and Blokhin ran the show in the clashes between Dynamo and Beckenbauer's Bayern in the 70's. Again, if anyone's interested, I can comment on this in the thread. Their sheer pace and fantastic off the ball movement will be a devastating mix with Maradona's vision and playmaking — and both are very comfortable out wide, which allows Diego to make his trademark runs forward.
Thoughts on the game:
It's hard to argue against a team full of United legends, including the Holy Trinity itself, but I'll raise a few of points.
- George Best, Indnyc's most talented player, faces a left side as formidable as it comes — Andreas Brehme and Paolo Maldini with the support (if needed) of Edgar Davids. Like it's not enough, Elías Figueroa himself is patrolling the space behind them and Lev Yashin, the greatest keeper that football had ever seen, is ready to stop anything that comes his way.
- The best player on the pitch is in ideal position to provide a match-winning performance — all the players around him were picked because of how well they suit his game.
- The pace of Blokhin (one of the fastest players ever) and Elkjær, as well as their relentless pressing, will probably be a tough challenge to Nasazzi, who'd never played against such players.
- It's won't be the first time when Lev Yashin shines the brightest on the field full of all-time greats. The performance that secured him Ballon d'Or in 1963 saw him playing against the likes of Charlton, Moore and Greaves and outperforming his teammates — Law, Di Stefano, Eusebio, Puskas, Kopa etc.
- The inclusion of Shesternyov, who has experience in neutralising Law and a proven partnership with Lev Yashin, will help me in this one. For the context — Scotland had just beaten England, the World Cup holders, at Wembley, and a few weeks later Celtic will win their first European Cup.
