TEAM 2MUFCO
World Cup player profiles
GK: Gigi Buffon: Italy's greatest goalkeeper won the world cup in 2006, in the all star team and winner of the golden glove, came second place in the Ballon d'or on the back his WC performance.
RB: Berti Vogts: World cup winning right back for Germany in 1974 and selected in the all star team, integral part in a team that stopped the great Dutch team of the 70's was instrumental in limiting Cruyff in the final
RCB: Jose Santamaria: One of the greatest defenders of all time, represented both Uruguay and Spain, i will be using his 1954 world cup where he was selected in the all star team, helping Uruguay reach the semi-finals losing to the great Hungarian team of the 50's.
LCB: Marcel Desailly: World cup winner in 1998 with France, and the best center back in that tournament, one of the most important parts of the French defence which was so difficult to break down.
LB: Silvio Marzolini: Argentina's greatest LB, will be using his 1966 version where he was selected in the all star team where Argentina reached the QF.
CM: Paul Breitner: One of the few players who have scored in two world cup finals. Will be using his 1982 version where he played in midfield and helped Germany reach the final which he scored in.
CM: Lothar Matthaus: Key player in Germany's 1990 win, selected in the team of the tournament and won the silver ball. Only lost out to the golden ball because of Schillaci's goal scoring exploits, but in terms of influence he was the best player of that world cup.
LAM: Teofilo Cubillas: Peru's best ever player, will be using his 1970 version where he took the tournament by storm finishing third in the scoring charts with 5 goals and winning the best young player award. Helped Peru to the QF scoring key goals, where they lost to the winners Brazil. Included in the team of the tournament.
RW: Garrincha: Put in one of the greatest individual world cup performances in 1962 winning the tournament and the golden ball and joint top scorer.
LW: Hristo Stoichkov: Winner of the golden boot in 1994 with 6 goals and winner of the Bronze ball helping Bulgaria finish 4th. Included in the team of the tournament.
CF: Vava: Winner of back to back world cups and scorer in two finals. I will be using his 1958 version where he scored 5 goals with 2 in the final.
Style of play/tactics
I will be playing a high tempo, physical and direct style which suits the powerful team lineup.
The back four all have a strong world cup pedigree with two winners and all 4 selected in the team of the tournament. Desailly and Santamaria is one of the toughest partnerships you could put together and i would back this partnership to keep the best strikers quiet. Vogts is the more conservative full back on the other side is the more balanced Marzolini. The last line of defence is Buffon who put in one of the best world cup goal keeping performances of all time in 06, he's worth a few saved goals.
In midfield Breitner will be the deepest midfielder dictating the tempo and with his passing range able to setup quick counters, he will also help screen the defense. Next to him is Matthaus who put in one of the greatest B2B performances in world cup history, the complete all round midfielder he will be the heartbeat of the team going forward and also doing the defensive work required. Infront of them will be Cubillas able to come deep and collect the ball and run at the opposition and also get into scoring positions, he is also in the perfect position to use his vision to setup chances for the forwards.
Garrincha will be the main man in my attack and we will look to get the ball to him as much as possible, no matter how good Sjor's defenders are they will not be able to fully stop on form Garrincha, he WILL create chances for himself and his team mates and has an established partnership with Vava. Stoichkov is our outlet on the left side, a world cup legend and able to score and create.
Thoughts on the game
Sjor has built an exceptional team with one hell of a defensive unit but i think we have the upper hand in the following areas:
- I have the superior midfield both Matthaus and Breitner not only in world cup form but overall are superior players to Coluna and Tigana. Adding Cubillas who will contribute in midfield i am set to dominate the midfield.
- Garrincha, Sjor doesn't have anybody in his team who performed to the level he did in 62.
- Garrincha & Vava is a proven world cup winning partnership.
- Meazza's record in the world cups are questionable because of the corruption in the 34 & 38 world cups. This isn't a personal attack or an attack on his abilities , but since we are in a WC draft this has to be taken into consideration and any awards he received in those tournaments have a question mark over them.
- His main threats in attack are central with Rivaldo, R9 and Meazza, With Breitner, Matthaus, Desailly, Santamaria and Vogts the team is more than capable of suffocating those central areas and also having the defensive abilities to sniff out threats. Whilst his wing backs can provide width, Desailly and Santamaria will nullify his attackers in the air. Also both my full backs are defensively solid.
TEAM SJOR BEPO
Formation: Staggered 3-4-3
Tactical Overview: The addition of Ruud Krol adds a great sense of variability to the team. Throughout the drafting process, the ultimate plan was to build a very robust and perhaps equally importantly, very proactive and flexible, defense - to form the real basis of the setup. Because Krol was a brilliantly multi-faceted defender in '74 in the Oranje's overall multi-faceted team, he grants Baresi the freedom to operate like a proper two-way sweeper/libero - impacting the game in a myriad ways, and for the defense to operate in a mixed zone-man marking setup considering the wealth of extreme defensive nous on show. And the forward forays of Krol, and to a greater degree, Cafú, should provide a cutting edge in attack - in tandem with the build-up prowess of Baresi. Maldini and Gentile bring covering and marking expertise to the fold. Ahead of them, Ardiles and Tigana are placed in fairly disciplined and functional roles, forming a back-of-two - Ardiles as a bit of a holder, and Tigana as the box-to-box - which aligns perfectly with their remit in 1978 and 1986, respectively. Then you have the duo of Meazza and Ronaldo in attack behind the inaugural World Cup's top scorer, Stábile. I think both Meazza and Ronaldo should thrive in the sort of free roles they have - not only wreck havoc on the defense themselves from central and slightly wider regions, but drag any potential markers around to create cracks for Stábile to exploit with his killer production levels.
Manuel Neuer
World Cup - 2014
Team Accomplishment - Winners
Individual Accomplishment - Golden Glove and Team of the Tournament
Summary - Neuer's sweeper-keeper playing style distinguished him from other starting goalkeepers in the tournament - aside from his great skill set as a shot stopper. After keeping clean sheets in group matches against Portugal and the united States, Neuer recorded his third clean sheet of the World Cup in the 1–0 QF defeat of France. This was his 22nd clean sheet overall in his 50th appearance for die Nationalmannschaft. In the SF, Neuer conceded a late goal as his team routed hosts Brazil 7-1. In the Final against Argentina, Neuer was not heavily tested but he nonetheless commanded his penalty area well. Germany ultimately defeated Argentina 1–0 thanks to a Mario Götze goal in extra time. Neuer won the Golden Glove award for the tournament's best goalkeeper.
Tactical Role - Sweeper keeper. He is by no means the first one to play it as there are the likes of Yashin and Grosics that played a similar role in World Cups, but he really took the role on another level- setting a new standard for the position in 2014.
Franco Baresi
World Cup - 1990
Team Accomplishment - Bronze
Individual Accomplishment - Team of the Tournament
Summary - Franco Baresi was at the peak of his powers in the tournament as regards his defensive attributes and ability to read the game - leading what is considered by many the greatest defense of all time, and also contributed massively in possession where he was crucial in timely transitions from defense to attack via his great passing range, vision and intelligent decision making. All in all, they kept five consecutive clean sheets, only conceding two goals, and going unbeaten for a World Cup record of 518 minutes, until they were beaten by an Argentinian equalizer in the semi-final. A travesty that he didn't win the tournament because his dominant individual performance, and in fact the performance of that entire defense merited that, but unfortunately for him that was a period where the Azzurri lacked quality in other areas, specially in midfield - so his heroics were in vain.
Tactical Role - Playing in a sweeper role, Baresi has the freedom to bomb up with Maldini in a covering role and Gentile in a man-marking/covering role - in addition to Neuer as a sweeper keeper - who can build possession even when Baresi advances. Here, can be very methodical and judicious, and won't need to take as many risks as he did in '90 as a compensatory feature, considering the quality around him and players that are able to transition the play from more offensive positions - including the likes of Zagallo, Cafu, Coluna, Tigana in more advanced positions.
Claudio Gentile
World Cup - 1982
Team Accomplishment - Winners
Individual Accomplishment - Team of the Tournament
Summary - The Master of the Dark Arts is arguably the greatest marker in World Cup history and well as one of the hardest players of the tournament. He gained notoriety for his relentless man-marking of Diego Maradona in a second-round match against Argentina at the 1982 World Cup: where he fouled the Argentine star 11 times in the first half and famously quipped, "Football is not for ballerinas!" Italy ended up defeating the defending champions Argentina, and scored 10 goals in their final four games in the 1982 World Cup — dispatching the favourites, the holders and the reigning European champions. Gentile’s ability to stifle and dominate the opposition had allowed the rest of the Italian team to grow in confidence and play with a freedom rarely seen by the Azzurri.
Tactical Role - Not marking anyone specific this team so he will be in a more balanced role then in the last game although we expect to focus mostly on Stoichkov. The reason for a more balanced act this time is to allow Baresi the freedom to support the midfield when needed and to juggle between 2 roles as only he could do.
Paolo Maldini
World Cup - 1994
Team Accomplishment - Silver
Individual Accomplishment - Team of the Tournament
Summary - Maldini played in all seven of Italy's matches, and deputised for the injured Franco Baresi in the matches against Mexico, Nigeria, Spain and Bulgaria, keeping a clean sheet in the group match against Norway. Maldini led the Italian defence to the final, playing both as a centre-back and as a full-back, due to the absences of his Milan and Italy defensive teammates Baresi, due to injury, Mauro Tassotti, due to suspension after the quarter-finals, and Alessandro Costacurta, who was suspended for the final. Maldini helped Italy keep a clean sheet in the final against favourites Brazil as the team eventually lost on penalties.
Tactical Role - While this is Baresi's defense and he is the best defender in there - which by the way, says a lot considering Paolo immaculate World Cup credentials - Maldini is the player that makes this defense truly special in tandem with Baresi and Gentile. Perfect fit for Zagallo in that you'd have no one else to cover the space over Maldini, and perfect partner for Baresi for obvious reasons, perfect fit for a back 3 as they originally form. And if Zagallo goes up or for some reason cannot recover in time, the rest can form a back 4 with Maldini as leftback. If Baresi ventures up or Gentile gets drawn out of position they can form a back 4 with him at centerback and even if the team gets caught on the counter which is pretty much impossible task considering the staff you cant hardly pick a better fit to defend the open pitch on the counter.
World Cup - 2002
Team Accomplishment - Winners
Summary - For some reason my first thought when I think about the World Cup is Cafú — played in 4 (3 times in the final!) different ones and this is where he properly won one, lead his team as a captain to the WC glory. Main strengths of that team were the "3 Rs" ip front and a very good defence lead by their captain. Conceded only 4 goals in the whole tournament of which 2 came in a meaningless third game in the group. They also conceded in the first game of the tournament and against England in QF, other games they kept a clean sheet.
Tactical Role - The same role he had on that tournament, for most time would have the freedom to bomb up and down as he wants but on the rare occasion he will have to drop back to form a back 4 - is tactically astute and intelligent enough to pull it of without to much effort.
Ruud Krol
World Cup - 1974
Team Accomplishment - Silver
Individual Accomplishment - Team of the Tournament
Summary - Netherlands 1974 are quite comfortably the best team that didn't won the World Cup, and Krol was a major piece of the puzzle contributing on both ends of the pitch. They blew up everyone en route to the final - whilst delivering some of the greatest performances in the history of the tournament - led by Cruyff and Krol and Neeskens. Even while moving around like carousel, they conceded only 1 goal in the group stages - with Krol being the leader in defense. Second group stages they exuded even more in control: wining against East Germany, Argentina and Brazil without conceding a goal, though in the final, they faced a stumbling block in the shape of Beckenbauer and Müller's West Germany on home turf.
Tactical Role - As every player in that 74' team, Krol was everywhere. Bombing non stop via that left wing, then dropping into defense, or assisting the midfield. We expect the same here, faces a great opponent in Garrincha, but with Maldini alongside him, you couldn't ask for a better containment zone, and he should get plenty of oppurtunities to contribute in attack as well.
Osvaldo Ardiles
World Cup - 1978
Team Accomplishment - Winners
Summary - Slightly overshadowed by the individual performances of Passarella and Kempes considering he perfected a highly efficient and discrete style, but Ardiles was brilliant in that tournament for the Albiceleste. Slightly built but fearless both on and of the ball, and excellent in terms of distribution. From a defensive standpoint, he was everywhere: very disciplined as regards his positioning, pressured the opposition when needed, strong in the tackle, and on the ball he was the glue wrt. ball retention and bringing his team-mates into the game. The type of player that makes other better with his calmness on the ball and selflessness in the play as a consummate team player and strategist.
Tactical Role - Stay disciplined defensive wise and keep it simple in an offensive sense to ensure timely and quick transition towards Meazza and O Fenômeno.
Jean Tigana
World Cup - 1986
Team Accomplishment - Bronze
Individual Accomplishment - Team of the Tournament
Summary - A perfect amalgam of technique and stamina, Tigana was in sumptuous form in the 1986 World Cup - by now fully established as the engine of the French national team with his heroics in 1984, and rated as one of the best performers of the tournament as a heavy duty and tactically advanced central midfielder:
Tactical Role - Definition of a box-to-box midfielder. Immense in defensive terms and very good on the ball, he should be in his elements with the disciplined Ardiles alongside him. Can easily run the game for you if you allow him to or if you need it - but had the heart of a lion and could run all day in trademark 3-Lungs style. Funnily enough his only international goal came at this tournament - and what a goal it was! So this is probably the only draft where you can count on him as a viable goal threat.
Giuseppe Meazza
World Cup - 1934
Team Accomplishment - Winners
Individual Accomplishment - Golden Ball and Team of the Tournament
Summary - Meazza appeared in every game for the Azzurri and he started that run with scoring the final goal in their World Cup opener. Towards the business end of the competition, he faced the Wunderteam with Josef Bican of Rapid Vienna and Mathias Sindelar of FK Austria, two of the world's finest players. Austria was widely considered the strongest continental side and had already beaten the Italians 4–2 in Turin only four months earlier. But in treacherous conditions, and combating fatigue, Meazza was an inspiration: out-played an Austrian forward, dribbled past him, then collided into the grounded Austrian goalkeeper, Peter Platzer, who had pounced on the ball to quell the attack. The ball came loose, hit the post and bounced to Guaita, to score the only goal of the match. In the final Italy suffered badly after Meazza was injured in a tackle. He soldiered on though. After ninety minutes the two teams were 1–1. Italy, though, was in far more trouble as the game went into extra time, until Meazza became the inspirer again - left alone on the wing to drift in and out of the match, he recovered sufficiently enough to send a slicing pass to Guaita that unlocked the Czech defense, and then went about setting a series of blocks to free up his strikers for the winner five minutes into the extra period. Talismanic!
Tactical Role - Free role attacker. Meazza was a superb dribbler who despite his speed, never had a single brylcreemed hair out of place, and although he was not tall, was remarkably good in the air. Throughout the tournament, he created many chances for his teammates, and, his bending goals "a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", in particular from free-kicks, were also feared by goalkeepers. As a playmaker, he was a brilliant passer, two-footed, had remarkable field vision, and was noted for his balance and agility on the ball, as well as his control, turns and spins. The complete package for the position in this format.
Ronaldo
World Cup - 1998
Team Accomplishment - Silver
Individual Accomplishment - Golden Ball and Team of the Tournament
Summary - At peak of his powers - one of the most frightening players in World Cup history - especially on counter-attacks where he unleashed the brunt of his athleticism, power and dazzling skill set - scoring 4 goals and setting up 3 others. His individual performances really deserved the Gold medal and a Jules Rimet trophy, but it wasn't meant to be....well, at least he won the Golden Ball after suffering a convulsive fit on the eve of the match. O Fenômeno was everywhere in this edition, doing a bit of everything in attack - dropping deep and then running at the opposition lines, burst through supposedly ironclad defenses through the middle, and so forth - as a sort of tactically free forward who roamed right, left and center. One man attack at times where he didn't really need any support from teammates - would kill teams either individually, or by combining with others
Tactical Role - Free role behind Stábile: who will maintain a high offensive line. Should create a lot of room for Ronaldo to run into - at full pelt.
Guillermo Stábile
World Cup - 1930
Team Accomplishment - Silver
Individual Accomplishment - Golden Boot, Silver Ball and Team of the Tournament,
Summary - Made his debut for the national team at the age of 25, in his team's second match in the first ever World Cup held in Uruguay - game finished 6–3 to Argentina, with Stábile scoring a hat-trick on his debut. The final game of the group stages saw Argentina facing South American rivals Chile. They won the game 3–1 with Stábile scoring twice, meaning that Argentina had qualified for the SF. The South Americans breezed through, with a 6–1 victory; Stábile added two more goals to his account and securing Argentina a place in the finals. On 30 July 1930, the first ever World Cup final took place, between Argentina and Uruguay. At half time Argentina led 2–1, Stábile having scored the second goal. However, they went on to lose 4–2. Despite that, Stábile etched his name as one of the deadliest strikers in World Cup history - finishing the tournament with 8 goals in 4 games for a GPG of 2.0!
Tactical Role - Center forward. fondly known as the ‘Infiltrator’ for his goal-scoring ability and gives his frightening form through the tournament for La Albiceleste, he's ideally suited to a finisher role - ahead of Meazza and Ronaldo. The first ever Golden Boot winner should get plenty of chances to threaten the opposition defense with the offensive threat behind him.
