Variable Formation Draft - Big Dunk vs General Elegancia

Who will win the match?

  • Total voters
    6
  • Poll closed .

Edgar Allan Pillow

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VS

TEAM BIG DUNK

DEFENDING (a solid tenacious platform to break up play and deny space, able to win the ball higher up the pitch):

Excellent pressing from the front from my front three. Stoichkov, Van Basten and Conti all possessing a high workrate on and off the ball. We are able to win the ball higher up the pitch in dangerous positions. Kante’s interceptions, match engine and coverage of the whole pitch is very advantageous. De Bruyne too is a complete footballer, also known not to shy away from his defensive duties. Mauro Silva is my holding man, an elite defensive anchor who will break up play and shield my back four. Demyanenko and Kaltz are solid fullbacks, who will stay compact when defending, can cover centrally and ask for additional support from our wingers or defensive midfielders. Blanc and Costacurta are both complete centrebacks (Blanc given more of a covering/ball-playing role, while Costacurta more of a stopper/man-marking role). Van Der Sar is the sweeper keeper.

PLAYMAKING (a team brimming with vision and creative outlets, deadly wing play with expert crossing from the flanks) & GOALSCORING (lethal clutch attackers, intelligent movement, pace and space penetration):

Stoichkov and Conti are attackers known to offer great teamwork (crossing, cut backs, through balls, off ball running, dribbling and clever movement). Both Stoichkov and Conti are very effective on either wing too or drifting centrally. Both lethal on counter attacks. The pace of our front three mean we can get in behind too. Van Basten is also a great link-up striker. He is one of the great finishers and will love the supply he receives from De Bruyne, Kaltz, Conti etc. De Bruyne is the key creative hub. No player can match his passing, crossing, through-balls and vision. He will control the tempo in possession phases, and be lethal on the counter attack with his direct forward passes to my attack (into space/into feet). We can change from high tempo to controlled ball recycling. Kaltz and Demyanenko offer more distribution and crossing from the wings. I can envision great overlapping/underlapping runs from the fullbacks with the two wingforwards too. We are compact when defending but wide when attacking. We can shift the ball from one flank to the other in fast transitions. Both Kante and Mauro Silva are masters at winning back the ball, driving forward, and passing the ball to the attackers with accuracy. Blanc is our playmaker from deep able to initiate counter attacks, Mauro Silva can fill in the space at the back if Blanc ventures forward.
 
TEAM GENERAL

Basic

Tbh, I don't know which formations Edgar sent to you(Big Dunk). So, I will talk about basic principles of my team only. Edgar sent me 3-5-2 formation. It's very hard to guess which formations Edgar sent to you and every formations have different ways of playing . We will discuss during the game.

Goalkeeper

Oliver Kahn- One of the best goalkeepers in the world during 2000s. He's the only goalkeeper in history of world-cup to win "Golden Ball" award. He is famously known for his aggression, commanding backline and concentration during the game.

Oliver Kahn's accolades
Club[edit]
Karlsruher SC II

Bayern Munich

Source:[2]

International[edit]
Source:[24]

Individual[edit]
Source:[107]

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Defenders

Two wing-backs: It's a key component in this system. This position is very fluid and could change from attacking phase 3-5-2 to 5-3-2. Briegel and Zambrotta are my wing-backs in this game, both of them have a good amount of athleticism, pace and stamina to bursting up and down the flanks 90 minutes comfortably. They can create overload in wide areas making 3 vs 1 or 2 plus they are major threat in counter-attacking game.

Center-backs: First, I would say that my team will base on zonal-marking not man-marking. Forster and Nilton Santos are comfortable defending in wide areas. Forster had played in 3-5-2 systems a lot of occasions during his playing days especially in National-Team ( Euro 80 and 84 and World Cup 82 and 86). Nilton Santos also had experienced in playing left-center back in his playing days, he was a very versatile defender and could play both center-back and left-back. His reading the game, calmness and defending skills make him suit well in this role. He will cover Briegel and defend in his left zone.

Passarella will be leader of my defensive line. He's one of the best of all times with great leadership skills and mentality, all of his attributes are fit to be a leader of any defensive lines in this planet. He is known for his heading ability, organization prowess and reading the game. As an opponent's striker is Van Basten, I doubt that Passarella's intelligence of the game, positioning and aerial ability will make Van Basten in trouble.

Midfielders

Double Pivot- Bozsik and Robson

Robson is known for tireless stamina, mentality and motor which is suited in this role. He will contribute both offensive phase and defensive phase. Although I know that he was more of an offensive b2b but in double pivot with extra defender to cover I see no problem in this set up. Josef Bozsik his partner was one of the best midfielders in 50s and all time. He was known for his long passing, flawless technique and flair. Another department that people are underrated him is his defensive game, he never shy to make some rough tackles and was a very discipline positional player. The most important reason I choose him is he is excellent at press-resistant midfielder which is very important in any formations and any tactics.


Our lovely mate(Harms) made a great video about Bozsik.

Rivera

Arguably one of the best Italian players of all time and probably the best Italian pure 10 in the history of football. He is very handsome, good looking and great charisma guy but the msot important thing he's a superb footballer. Rivera is known by both new and old football fans as a creative genius. He could do any types of passes that you want. Short passing, long passing, through ball, metronome passing and final ball passing. This guy could do it all. He isn't a typical 10 who is immerse in final-third actions but still received Copa Italia top scorer 2 times and Sirie A top scorer 1 time in a very defensive era of Calcio(70s Calcio).

My strategies to use him: He could be drop deep making it 3 in midfield to gain an advantage in possessions and numbers and then he will use his ball-carrying and dribbling abilities to expose opponent's midfielders and defenders and he could make a lot of decisions in final-third area both passing and shooting.

His defensive game is often underrated, he wasn't a lazy worker like post 2017 Messi, Juan Roman Riquelme or a lot of number 10. In fact, he contributed in this phase a lot due to Rocco's very defensive oriented tactics. He could tackle and fight for the ball for sure. The Best example of Rivera's defensive game is United vs Milan, I've watched this game for 5 times( the reason I'm diehard Scouser and Milan fan) and I always impressive his performance especially his underrated fighting spirit.



Striker Pairing

Puskas and Lewandowski..... according to IFFHS= 1271 goals

I'm pretty sure one thing that they would give a trouble to any pair of center-back in this draft including Blanc and Billy. Puskas long ranger shooting, middle shooting , accurate finishing with left foot, powerful shot and the ability to drop deep especially in left side of the pitch will dovetail perfectly with the ability to score in any types of goals in Lewandowski( header, left foot, right foot, tap in, volley and accrobatics finishing). It's a classic pair of second striker and target striker. Lewandowski will be more of target striker and Puskas will have a freedom and space to drift wide and get the ball in that space. I expect some great one-two from both too ahaha.



Lewandowski's accolades

Individual

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It's 4 am in Thailand and I'm still not sleeping( due to watching Liverpool ahaha). I think I should go to bed now. Today, I have some works at my own company.
Will answer everyone questions in several hours.
 
Two great teams. I'm slightly leaning towards the General due to the offensive impact Passarella might have in such a setup, but I'm on the fence really.

How do both teams see this playing out?
 
Tactical advantages:

  • more dangerous on the wings (combinations between Demyanenko-Stoichkov and Kaltz-Conti, complemented by De Bruyne (if Conti/Kaltz drifts inside). Can’t see more width/wide support being supplied other than Briegel/Zambrotta.
  • Most of our opponent’s attacks will be forced centrally where our defensive masters hold fort (Costacurta-Blanc-Mauro Silva-Kante).
  • Superior defensive workrate from my attackers/playmakers.
  • If Mauro Silva (with Kante’s support defence) can slow down/nullify’s Rivera effect, my opponent’s creativity will be more dependent on Bozsik’s long balls and Puskas dropping deep which our team shape / defense line will be happy about. Our creativity comes from so many areas and players (fullbacks/wingforwards and De Bruyne)
 
Physiocrat said:
@General_Elegancia

How do you see Rivera and Bozsik working together? IIRC Rivera dropped rather deep for a 10 and further back than Hideguti.
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Just finish from difficult works now

Great question, mate

Yes, you're absolutely right. Rivera dropped rather deep for a 10 than Hideguti. People have seen a lot of combo between deep-lying playmaker and number 10 like Kaka/Pirlo, Falcao/Zico or even Xavi/Messi but this case is a bit different from previous names that I've mentioned before.

Rivera drops deep could create 3 number in midfields and it can gain advantages in term of possessions, it's pretty important when you face Kante and De Bryune, who are hard-workers and have the ability to take the ball back. Both are press-resistance midfielders with superb techniques and can easily beat the press on their own.

On the other hand, Rivera loved to carry the ball by his amazing dribbling skills and pull out wide to create a lot of things for my team. Bozsik was a different beast, he will help my team in term of build up, making some long-balls and beating the press from monster like Kante or even KDB. Rivera plays higher, so he will get responsible more for final-third area and I think he actually had done great enough, since he scored 20 goals 1 time and 10+goals 7 times in very defensive-era of Calcio.



Rivera vs young Cryuff in 1969
Great dribbling runs, passing in final third area and superb techniques

Individual

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Pele said
"I was worried that Rivera would come on, I thought that with Rivera Italy would be more dangerous."
(A lot of Brazilian players feared and admired him, since they believed that he could do a lot of damages to Brazilian's backline)
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Not talking only about tactics, I feel like my team has very important advantages and it's called "mentality". I literally have a lot of players with excellent fighting spirit, mentality and leadership in my team and it can gain crucial advantages especially in the game like this. Passarella, Robson and Kahn are famously known at this department, not to count players like Rivera who was AC Milan captain at a very young age. Other players like Bozsik, Briegel,Forster, Nilton Santos and Puskas had superb mentality too.

oliver-kahn.jpg
undated-argentina-captain-daniel-passarella-in-action-during-a-match-picture-id1268575
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My team is standout in term of mentality, competitive mindset, concentration, winning mentality and immense drive.

Playing with the winning mentality means going one hundred percent with the understanding that they will win the ball, they will possess the ball, and they will make the play. This does not mean every challenge will go their way, it means they think it will go their way.
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http://www.leagueathletics.com/Page...th the winning mentality,it will go their way.
 
Too hard to call without scrutinizing it more - and I don't have the time for that (and I won't do what I did in the other match thread, i.e. casting a potentially crucial vote).
 
Himannv said:
Two great teams. I'm slightly leaning towards the General due to the offensive impact Passarella might have in such a setup, but I'm on the fence really.

How do both teams see this playing out?
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Sorry for being reply late @Himannv

As I see Big Dunk team, I have some plans for him

Defensive and Offensive

It will pattern in middle-block 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 for making opponents create harder opportunities due to lesser space. I know that Big Dunk has scary duos between Kaltz/Conti and Demyanenko/Stoichkov, so I decide to reduce space as much as I could do. My 3 center-backs have wide covering abilities both Nilton and Forster and Passarella has heading or leaping ability to match-up against Van Basten in aerial-ball or anticipate cross.

I will use man oriented pressing in midfield since I think Big Dunk midfielders aren't that great in press-resistance especially Kante. On the other hand, my midfielders are great at this department and when my midfielders beat Big Dunk high press, it could be an effective counter-attacks lead by Gianni Rivera who was the master at leading counter-attacks. Briegel and Zambrotta have a freedom to overlapping in counter-attacking phase by their athleticism, timing and stamina to run up and down. Zambrotta was a former rw, he will do fine in this regard.

When Zambrotta and Briegel bomb forward, my team will change to back 4 formation for defensive solidity. The important beauty of 3-5-2 is versatility to change into other formations especially in defensive phase. Passarella will have some freedom to join midfield battle or offensive contribution and then my team still arrange defensive shape in back4 due to my one-side full-back will stay at the back(maybe Briegel) to cover him.

In the central, Puskas and Lewandowski is a perfect duo. They could make problems to any pair of center-back and their services will come from 2 wing-backs, Bozsik and Zambrotta. Puskas could drift to the left side, create one-two with Briegel. Robson also has a freedom to join attack and he could expose the chanel between his right full-back and midfielder by his runs.
 
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General_Elegancia said:
Robson also has a freedom to join attack and he could expose the chanel between his right full-back and midfielder by his runs.
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Exactly what he would do, I'd say.

In fact, I'd have liked to see an arrow on Robbo in your formation pic - as he'd definitely bomb forward in this setup.

(Or a double arrow, perhaps - box-to-box arrow).
 
I'd switch Briegel and Santos.

Briegel is a very plausible LCB *. Santos is too, granted - but given his offensive qualities and allround reputation, I think he'd shine more as a wing back here.

(Meaning both in terms of the hypothetical game - and, not least, in terms of draft cosmetics).

* He was on my list - came very close to landing him too. Can sell him in all the formations - LB, LWB and LCB. And more - you could play him as a side midfielder or a DM of sorts too. Highly versatile player.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
I'd switch Briegel and Santos.

Briegel is a very plausible LCB *. Santos is too, granted - but given his offensive qualities and allround reputation, I think he'd shine more as a wing back here.

(Meaning both in terms of the hypothetical game - and, not least, in terms of draft cosmetics).

* He was on my list - came very close to landing him too. Can sell him in all the formations - LB, LWB and LCB. And more - you could play him as a side midfielder or a DM of sorts too. Highly versatile player.
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@Gio and myself had Briegel as an option for the LCB position in last draft, apparently his best seasons according to some ratings(kicker probably but not sure, im shit with those ratings as i pay zero attention to that) were from the CB position where he played as a stopper.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
I'd switch Briegel and Santos.

Briegel is a very plausible LCB *. Santos is too, granted - but given his offensive qualities and allround reputation, I think he'd shine more as a wing back here.

(Meaning both in terms of the hypothetical game - and, not least, in terms of draft cosmetics).

* He was on my list - came very close to landing him too. Can sell him in all the formations - LB, LWB and LCB. And more - you could play him as a side midfielder or a DM of sorts too. Highly versatile player.
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Briegel was an excellent stopper for sure, probably world-class. Kicker rated him as 0.5 seasons world-class as stopper roles. He mainly played that role in WC1986 due to his age and Brehme took his former role(lwb).

Nilton also had an offensive qualities like you said, probably the most balanced full-backs of all time.

The reason I choose Briegel as lwb is his characteristics of his game like more overlapping run, run up and down for 90 minutes, athleticism and bursting down the flank. Santos was a different beast, he fit in every formations in back4 for sure but back5 I don't think he will bring out of his best since his offensive game since he tended to drift to central area a lot with great long-passing skill and technique, he wasn't an overlapper like Facchetti, Robertson, Carlos, Marcelo or even Krol. I also think Carlos Alberto had a similar game to him but Alberto went to forward a bit more.

On the other hand, Breigel offensive game as lwb was more of an overlapping and you maybe surprise that he was top5 German dribblers in World Cup. He had similar amount of dribbles to Litti but played only 2 WC(82,86), Litti played 3 WC(82,86 and 90). Nilton also played great as cb too, I rate his reading the game and positioning very high.


top5 German dribblers in World Cup comes from Opta stats( I will show you later).
 
I agree with the General's use of Nilton and Breigel. You really want an overlapper at LWB and Nilton never really did that. He was a playmaking left-back more than anything else - remember he played behind an orthodox outside left in Zagallo.
 
Both teams really well built, but a no brainer in my eyes, Big Dunk's team is just a notch higher chemistry wise.
 
Have time to comment after fecking hard works

Congratulations to you @BIG DUNK , you have a superb team. It's a great combination of great chemistry and fire power.
Good luck to you, mate. You deserve it.
 
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