Jim Beam ----------------------VS----------------------------- Skizzo/Pat
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Jim Beam Tactics
Formation: 4-3-3
Playing style: fluid, high-tempo, attacking
We will stay true to our approach and playing style from the previous rounds and play the game that suits this team and it's set of players the most. Make the game as fast and open while going for the opponent throat and for the kill.
As before, we will stay true to the basic principles of total football giving not just Cruyff, but all the others around him the best possible platform to perform.
Attacking phase: make the pitch as big as you can while attacking and with the ball, stretch the opposition by providing numerous options each time our player is in possession.
Defensive phase: when we lose the ball, press the opposition, at times fanatically. Don't allow them time and space on the ball and constantly harass them. Make them into mistakes or into using long balls.
To make everything above work you need fantastically technically-gifted players who are comfortable to play in multiple positions. In short, you need defenders who can attack and attackers who can defend. This team has exactly that in its personnel. Defending starts from the front by constantly pressing the back-line and the player who has the ball and attacking starts with building from the back with flying fullbacks who will stretch the opposition and be a valuable asset to the team, both offensively and defenssively.
"When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball 3 minutes on average … So, the most important thing is: what do you do during those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball."
Thoughts on the game
Brilliant team with GOAT presence in Gerd Muller and Beckenbauer with wonderful additions all around. We think, as fantastic Muller is, that he will have hard times dealing with not one, but two fantastic defenders and markers in Nesta and Kohler.
Opposition midfield is brilliant, but talking about work-rate, grit, technical ability think we just edge it as a unit and will run the game. Der Kaiser going into the midfield battle is negated by Cruyff on the other side and we feel this is not the perfect set-up and opposition for Beckenbauer to have his best game.
Overall, a game of fine margins which will go down to personal perferences. Think we have a bit more in our personnel to run/dictate the game, create more chances and win it in the end.
Skizzo/Pat Tactics
Formation: 4-3-3
We line up in a 4-3-3 formation featuring our new recruits, Dutch colossus Jaap Stam and evergreen dribbling legend Stanley Matthews. Franz Beckenbauer remains our star turn. Playing in a familiar setup and reunited with his greatest partner in crime Gerd Muller, we hope Beckenbauer will prove to be the decisive influence in this match.
Defence:
One of the very greatest goalkeepers ever in Peter Schmeichel is our last line of defence. Ahead of him, Beckenbauer marshals the defence, and the team as a whole, from his favoured RCB/libero position. Beckenbauer was simply the master of providing the ‘plus one’ in every area of the pitch as he strode forward, whilst maintaining a near sixth-sense in terms of fulfilling his defensive responsibilities. Jaap Stam slots in for Desailly as Der Kaiser's CB partner. Fast and supremely strong, Stam would figure highly in a list of ideal Beckenbauer foils, and he'll be invaluable in defending against Gullit's aerial threat. Flanking Beckenbauer at right back is one of the great defensive FBs in Victor Andrade. For anyone hoping to get a handle on Andrade Jr, this match vs Hungary is required viewing. He looks a player ahead of his time, both an athletic phenom and a wonderfully composed footballer. Tellingly, that superb Hungary team only edged past Andrade’s Uruguay after Andrade went off injured and the shackles were finally released from the great Zoltan Czibor. This is a familiar defensive structure for Beckenbauer, who once again finds himself flanked on the right by a defensive full back and partnered in central defence by an athletically-privileged and resolute stopper, with a buccaneering left back completing the defence. In this latter role Roberto Carlos provides a dynamic two-way flank presence, and he'll reprise his successful link-up for Brazil with Rivaldo and free up his countryman to wreak havoc in the inside channels.
Central Midfield:
The addition of Stam finally allows us to restore Marcel Desailly to his peak position. As great a CB as he was, he spent most of his monstrous peak at DM and is arguably the greatest ball-winner and pure defensive shield of all-time in that position. Partnering him is box to box hurricane Johan Neeskens. It’s the Beckenbauer/Neeskens link up that excites us most about our team, with their shared ability to defend to all-time great levels, before transitioning with dizzying technical ability and dynamism. After missing out on him during the initial drafting, we've finally landed Michael Laudrup, and with him the top-notch creativity and playmaking presence that we wanted to knit together our offence.
Attack:
The greatest big-match goalscorer of all-time spearheads our attack, and Muller will relish reuniting with his general Beckenbauer. He scarcely needed more than a half-chance to decide a match, but serviced by Rivaldo, Laudrup and Matthews he looks good value to score at least once. Rivaldo is restored to our lineup as a left-sided forward. He'll be in his element here playing off Muller, with Roberto Carlos providing the width in the outside left channel, and adds considerable reserves of flair, big match steel and goalscoring presence to the attack here. On the right wing, Stanley Matthews provides first-rate orthodox wing play. Capable of leaving even Nilton Santos with twisted blood when he was 41 years old, we're confident that he can get the better of Ashley Cole here, and provide us with a productive stream of crosses and cut-backs for the likes of Muller and Rivaldo.
Poor Jari...