Vasovic is fast?? Did you watched him ever?
The Road Trip Draft R1: Jim Beam vs Gio
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Vasovic is fast?? Did you watched him ever?
See my post on the first page. He was flawless in 1998, keeping clean sheets against Spain and Bulgaria as Paraguay only finally succumbed to France with a couple of minutes of extra time remaining.
Not that he was just a one-tournament wonder. He was selected in the South American Best XI in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000 - that's four times in just six seasons!
I agree Gio. He is very good, but it's still suicidal to put him on that side without a proper right back.
A train...
A general comment on Matthaus, I've always thought he'd be at his peak as the most attacking of a midfield three in a 433.
Something like-
Falcao-Matthaus
-------Rikjaard------
Or
Davids-----Matthaus-
---------Scholes---------
He isn't the only creator but has the freedom to bomb forward and score.
Something like-
Falcao-Matthaus
-------Rikjaard------
Or
Davids-----Matthaus-
---------Scholes---------
He isn't the only creator but has the freedom to bomb forward and score.
Meh, he's playing the same role as he did for Paraguay.
I think it's suicidal that you've plonked Litmanen, a line-leader or second striker, into a midfield three up against Rijkaard and Matthaus. That's a mismatch, both in terms of quality (as much as I rate Litmanen in the right role), and in terms of fit for the job in hand.
He is. Defending all the time. Which is why I think he will even look solid.
As for Litmanen, there is nobody that can give me work-rate, playmaking, striker ability and at the same time complying that this is Cruyff team.
Yeah maybe, but there’s no real historical basis for that sort of set up. And as I mentioned before he actually did hit his peak in a West German team that often played Hassler and Littbarski alongside Matthaus - which is about as far away from your ‘ideal’ Matthaus team than you can get.
Quite clearly a Rijkaard / Matthaus / Zidane midfield is supremely balanced, and Rijkaard should provide him with the perfect platform to venture forward on the ball (not to mention the security of having Bobby Moore there) whilst he’d naturally bring his pressing / tackling ability in the defensive phase.
The opposition midfield has a false 9 in midfield, as well as being clearly a level or two below in terms of quality. I’m not sure why you’re trying to pick bones in a Rijkaard / Matthaus / Zidane midfield to be honest - there’s an argument for it being the best possible midfield you could create, certainly from the late 80’s onwards.
Regarding the WC 1990 Matthaus, on paper it might looks odd with Littbarski and Hassler in the midfield trio with him but the reality was that both of them worked for Matthaus and not the other way around, he was the central figure of that team and dictated everything. Putting him next to a number 10, specially a dominant one there is absolutely zero chance you get that version of Matthaus. Mind you, a classic b2b version is still great as is that Gio trio.
he is drunk so he doesnt mind.
Thanks for your diligence.
I haven’t been involved in this draft much and didn’t know AMs were restricted to three posts. I’ve deleted two of my posts for you.
They were all short, so hopefully hasn’t caused you too much of a problem.
Yeah I like those midfields that @Physiocrat posted - I wouldn't argue with any of those. Equally though as you say the set-up we have for him is pretty much optimal for him and the team. Such is the breadth of his skillset, he can easily be the most defensive or the most attacking member of the midfield. Next to Rijkaard I would imagine would be many people's perfect central midfield duo. You want to give him freedom to go forward and be the 20-goals-a-season man he was at his best. And similarly you want to give him enough defensive responsibility to showcase his ravenous hounding, man-marking and ball-winning game that have shackled the greatest of all time. The role we have for him nails both sides, in my book at least.
He'd have to be Usain Bolt to catch up with Baggio once he's pushed into midfield. Looks a bit clunky in the compilation below.
Main point is that Baggio is too nimble and nifty for him, too incisive in that inside-left channel, and too capable of bending one into the far corner as he did so regularly in his career.
Pushed in midfield? That's the plan, you know the difference between having a plan and yours "I have Zidane and all the royalty so I will dominate."
Now put the video of Santamaria or Gamarra ability on the ball when I pressed them.
That left channel is owned by Voronin in the zone.
This patronizing shit is even worse
Even worse than making an extra post by mistake?
Surely there is no such thing?!
In all seriousness chill out with the hyper-sensitivity levels. Extra post has been deleted so no harm done
.@Theon since you are Gio's AM would kindly request you to stop posting in this thread till the game is going on. You already have 7 posts and the rules apply to everyone.
If Voronin is covering Baggio, I assume he is leaving Zidane then?
Leaving this man?
45 degrees on the right. Going in Baggio and, yes, Zidane zone.
I don't buy Voronin's chances of picking up Baggio and Zidane, zonally or otherwise.
Mistake?
No one told me we were only allowed to post three times - didn’t read the OP as I wasn’t involved at the start and have never seen that rule before.
Do you think if I knew I’d waste those three posts sending two sentences to MJJ?
I have three posts in here related to the match. Didn’t know the limit and the extra few sentences have now been deleted since I found out.
Sorry but the limit applies to all posts - related, unrelated, deleted. If you wish to continue discussing this you can do so in the main thread, but please do not post any further in this thread as you are well past the 3 post limit from an AM.
That's fair as I don't buy Baggio and Zidane chances of picking anyone in defense leaving the game to dominate.
Sound. Baggio and Zidane can leave Vasovic and Voronin to pass the ball to each other 70 yards from our goal, while the critical defensive axis of your team can leave Baggio and Zidane to run amock at the scattered remains of your back line.
Sound? They never pressed anyone in their life. Cheers.
They're both products of Serie A at its grizzly best. Zidane played for arguably the most hard-working club side I can remember in that mid-1990s Juve outfit who hounded and outran everyone they came up against. And he played his part.
It's nonsense to suggest neither Zidane or Baggio will contribute off the ball. They're perfectly capable of taking up the right defensive positions, whilst placing themselves in the right space to expose you on the counter.
I remember being amazed at how rarely Facchetti was able to get forward in that match, and I'm not sure Jairzinho really had to track him beyond the halfway line at all. He did his job incredibly in that match, dragging poor Facchetti all over the place and giving the Italians fits when he had the ball, but I don't think that match illustrates his aptitude for dropping back and supporting Gamarra as a Conti/Giggs sort of winger does, and it does look like it could create a gap that'll need covered. Whether it'll be crucial or not is another matter entirely. You do have elite-level cover for your right side from that Matthaus/Rijkaard duo anyway, and the rest of your team is just overwhelmingly strong.
To be fair though, Baggio wasn't a number 10. He was a classic 9.5
Here's the (same) role he played in when he won the Ballon D'Or - ahead of a 10 in Moller and alongside a hard-working all-round striker in Vialli (read Suarez).
As for Zidane, he's shone alongside other 10s or 9.5s in Del Piero, Djorkaeff, Raul, Figo, etc. Ultimately I see there is quite a clear distinction between his role in midfield and Baggio's in the front two.
In contrast I couldn't agree any more with this. One of the more annoying things about Baggio's under-appreciation in drafts has been that the evidence strongly indicates that he can actually thrive alongside another playmaker/AM - not just Moller but Giannini for example at WC 90. I also don't agree that Matthaus is under-utilised in attack here either. Plenty of scope for him to burst forward beyond Zidane here at times, or arrive late to the edge of the penalty area to unleash a long-range piledriver.
It's also nonsense that my midfield is level or two below but here we are.
As I said, as a unit they are the perfect blend of work-rate, playmaking and being positionally sound.
It's a lovely unit I agree. But it's unarguable that they are a level below. Man for man, they are each a level or two below their opposite number.
That's like me saying Suarez have nothing to do in the game as I have Cruyff
The two midfields are playing against each other though, whereas Suarez and Cruyff aren't.
Introducing weapon number 3
But who will influence more? Suarez or Cruyff? The team that has more on the ball...
Cruyff ain't getting a lot of the ball with an inferior midfield behind him. The only way he gets on the ball with any regularity is if he drops deep beyond the Rijkaard / Matthaus axis. Which is fine in keeping him away from our box.
Gio:
- you will not stop my defense from building
- you have a week right side where Cruyff likes to drift in
- you don't have a right side at all
We've got Gamarra reprising his flawless 1998 World Cup role for Paraguay (where he also shut out Stoichkov/Henry/Raul). Ahead of him we have Jairzinho reprising his flawless 1970 World Cup role for Brazil.
Your left side is pretty stunted let's be honest. Junior is right-footed for starters, and he is a central midfielder who was famous for coming inside from left-back into the middle of the park. So he offers no genuine width. You have three right footed midfielders, neither of whom can come out left. And then you have Stoichkov up against Gamarra as above. Looks like it's all in hand from my perspective, whilst you struggle to get to grips with Jairzinho's threat in behind.
i don't see Schweinsteiger and Voronin as a level below Rijkaard as centre midfielders. Rijkaard might be a better pick for a CB or pure DM(though Voronin has strong performances at international level there so it's arguable), but he's not as good on the ball as either.
I probably rate Rijkaard a bit lower than most though, to me Milan was about the monster defensive unit plus Van Basten and Gullit for individual brilliance and deciding games regularly, the midfield was a complimentary part that benefited a lot from Sacchi's adaptation of Lobanovsky's pressing ideas. I watch footage of Milan these days and find that part of the side quite boring. For Netherlands i find quite a few of his best performances to be as a defender.
I probably rate Rijkaard a bit lower than most though, to me Milan was about the monster defensive unit plus Van Basten and Gullit for individual brilliance and deciding games regularly, the midfield was a complimentary part that benefited a lot from Sacchi's adaptation of Lobanovsky's pressing ideas. I watch footage of Milan these days and find that part of the side quite boring. For Netherlands i find quite a few of his best performances to be as a defender.