harms
Jim Beam
harms
A good old-fashioned 5-3-2 spruced up by the addition of 2 of the most influential fullbacks of modern times — Marcelo, the ultimate attacking left-back & Philipp Lahm, whose versatility and intelligence heavily inspired Pep's idea of false fullbacks.
The midfield has a distinct 90's feel about it with Edgar Davids joining Didier Deschamps to recreate their partnership for Lippi's Juve.
Behind them is a wonderful back three lead by none other than Franco Baresi himself. Paul McGrath plays closer to the right side to keep an eye on Blokhin's runs while John Greig moves to the left (his experience as a left back & as a centre back makes him perfect for the job). All three of my central defenders are brilliant with the ball, which will help out massively against Jim's pressing — Greig & McGrath even spent huge spells of their careers in midfield while Baresi is... Baresi.
I don't think that I need to sell Denis Law's role here but I thought that I'd specify what I expect from Suárez & Rensenbrink here (and why I have chosen to bench Finney, who would fit pretty well in any of those roles). You can probably argue that the set of roles that they're playing at are quite similar to United's Holy Trinity with young Suárez as Charlton & Rensenbrink as Best.
This is the earlier version of Luis Suárez — a slightly underrated one due to the relative lack of footage despite him winning Ballon d’Or in 1960 (his brace at Santiago Bernabeu signified Real Madrid’s first ever European Cup elimination) and finishing 2nd in 1961. I genuinely struggle to decide which version of him was better — a devastating inside-forward at Barça (with a perfect 1 to 2 ratio of 61 goals in 122 games) or a more reserved midfield general at Inter, so I’m glad to be able to use in this draft. For Barça he excelled alongside Kubala, Czibor & Kocsis. For Spain he was playing alongside the likes of Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala & Gento as one of the inside forwards — probably more playmaking than any of his other peers yet still surprisingly prolific (14 goals in 21 appearances during his peak).
Rob Rensenbrink — but wasn’t he a winger? For Anderlecht he’s had 6 seasons in a row with more than 20 goals during the time when Anderlecht was a proper European heavyweight — 2 European Supercups, 2 Cup Winner’s Cups (and another final), all with Rensenbrink shining as their brightest star and main goalscorer. He still remains CWC’s all-time top-scorer with 25 goals (8 goals in 9 games in 75/76 & 7 goals in 9 games in 76/77) — and he was centimetres away from finishing the 1978 as its winner, top goalscorer & best player (Kempes went on to steal all three). It’s hard to find a direct comparison as Rensenbrink was quite unique — certainly not Cristiano-esque wing-forward but probably something similar to how George Best played in early 70’s, still a devastating dribbler, creative and unpredictable, but with more focus on goals than in the more winger-esque stage of his career.
Jim Beam
Tactics: 4-3-3, high press, high possession with emphasis on dominating the game, players interchanging position during the attack
Style of play: Emphasis not only on possession for the sake of it but on hurting the other team while being in possession through the gaps that open up. The team must act as a collective in both phases of the game.
Conclusion or confusion:
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Jim Beam
harms
A good old-fashioned 5-3-2 spruced up by the addition of 2 of the most influential fullbacks of modern times — Marcelo, the ultimate attacking left-back & Philipp Lahm, whose versatility and intelligence heavily inspired Pep's idea of false fullbacks.
The midfield has a distinct 90's feel about it with Edgar Davids joining Didier Deschamps to recreate their partnership for Lippi's Juve.
Behind them is a wonderful back three lead by none other than Franco Baresi himself. Paul McGrath plays closer to the right side to keep an eye on Blokhin's runs while John Greig moves to the left (his experience as a left back & as a centre back makes him perfect for the job). All three of my central defenders are brilliant with the ball, which will help out massively against Jim's pressing — Greig & McGrath even spent huge spells of their careers in midfield while Baresi is... Baresi.
I don't think that I need to sell Denis Law's role here but I thought that I'd specify what I expect from Suárez & Rensenbrink here (and why I have chosen to bench Finney, who would fit pretty well in any of those roles). You can probably argue that the set of roles that they're playing at are quite similar to United's Holy Trinity with young Suárez as Charlton & Rensenbrink as Best.
This is the earlier version of Luis Suárez — a slightly underrated one due to the relative lack of footage despite him winning Ballon d’Or in 1960 (his brace at Santiago Bernabeu signified Real Madrid’s first ever European Cup elimination) and finishing 2nd in 1961. I genuinely struggle to decide which version of him was better — a devastating inside-forward at Barça (with a perfect 1 to 2 ratio of 61 goals in 122 games) or a more reserved midfield general at Inter, so I’m glad to be able to use in this draft. For Barça he excelled alongside Kubala, Czibor & Kocsis. For Spain he was playing alongside the likes of Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala & Gento as one of the inside forwards — probably more playmaking than any of his other peers yet still surprisingly prolific (14 goals in 21 appearances during his peak).
Rob Rensenbrink — but wasn’t he a winger? For Anderlecht he’s had 6 seasons in a row with more than 20 goals during the time when Anderlecht was a proper European heavyweight — 2 European Supercups, 2 Cup Winner’s Cups (and another final), all with Rensenbrink shining as their brightest star and main goalscorer. He still remains CWC’s all-time top-scorer with 25 goals (8 goals in 9 games in 75/76 & 7 goals in 9 games in 76/77) — and he was centimetres away from finishing the 1978 as its winner, top goalscorer & best player (Kempes went on to steal all three). It’s hard to find a direct comparison as Rensenbrink was quite unique — certainly not Cristiano-esque wing-forward but probably something similar to how George Best played in early 70’s, still a devastating dribbler, creative and unpredictable, but with more focus on goals than in the more winger-esque stage of his career.
Jim Beam
Tactics: 4-3-3, high press, high possession with emphasis on dominating the game, players interchanging position during the attack
Style of play: Emphasis not only on possession for the sake of it but on hurting the other team while being in possession through the gaps that open up. The team must act as a collective in both phases of the game.
Conclusion or confusion:
Cheers!