Post by Kieran on Jul 14, 2013 15:32:28 GMT
Hello, welcome to the 00s World Football Draft Game. Basically, 16 players have spent the last few weeks picking players to make a team (you can see how they did it in this thread pldraftgame.freeforums.net/thread/26/world-football-draft-game-round ) and they are now ready to go head-to-head against each other to win your vote - which do you think is the better team? The voter has both the squad-sheet and the bios/tactics to consider!
The key rule for this edition of the game is that players are to be judged on the basis of their performances in the 2000s - so what they did pre 2000 is not directly relevant here.
Additionally, voters are requested to please justify the votes you cast: an explanation of why you voted for the team you did would be much appreciated and would add to the game as a whole. If you vote but don't justify your selection, then that vote may be discarded when totting up the final results. Please vote and adhere to the rules on each match thread.
Scroobiusmac- Formation/bio/tactics
Applebonkers- Formation/bio/tactics
The key rule for this edition of the game is that players are to be judged on the basis of their performances in the 2000s - so what they did pre 2000 is not directly relevant here.
Additionally, voters are requested to please justify the votes you cast: an explanation of why you voted for the team you did would be much appreciated and would add to the game as a whole. If you vote but don't justify your selection, then that vote may be discarded when totting up the final results. Please vote and adhere to the rules on each match thread.
Scroobiusmac- Formation/bio/tactics
Team
Oliver Kahn
A behemoth between the sticks and a genuine match winner. Nicknamed ‘Titan’, Kahn’s greatest strengths lay as much with his presence and organisation as with his shot-stopping. His leadership lead him to being handed the German and Bayern captaincy. His shot-stopping saw Kahn awarded Man of the Match in the 2001 Champions League final. He was named at the 2002 World Cup he kept 5 clean sheets and was named Player of the Tournament - the only goalkeeper ever to achieve this feat. He was also named European Goalkeeper of the year 3 times from 2000-02. Kahn holds the Bundesliga record for most clean sheets in Bundesliga history with 197. Since 2000 he won 6 Bundesliga titles, 5 DFB-Pokals and 3 DFB-LigaPokals.
Dani Alves
One of the finest right-backs of the past decade and a key feature of arguably the greatest team of the era. Rising to prominence within Juande Ramos’ Sevilla side he won back-to-back UEFA Cups. Barcelona then made him the most expensive defender in the world. At Barcelona he’s won everything you could possibly win. He won a staggering SIX trophies in his first season and has added another Champions League and 3 La Liga wins in the 4 seasons that have followed. Individually he was named in the UEFA team of the season in 2007, 2009 and 2011. Internationally Alves won the 2007 Copa America, scoring in the final, and 2013 and 2009 Confederations Cup where he scored in the semi-final. As an attacking full-back there are none better he has amassed 93 goals and 26 goals for club and country since 2006/07. Defensively Alves is incredible athlete able to outpace even C. Ronaldo and an excellent tackler as well.
Carlos Marchena and Roberto Ayala
At the heart of the Valencia’s defence Marchena and Ayala formed the most formidable defence in La Liga. In the 7 seasons they were together Valencia conceded a meagre 237 goals in 266 games, kept 106 clean sheets and conceded the least goals in La Liga in 5 out of 7 seasons. Valencia experienced their most successful period with the pair together winning La Liga in 2001 and 2004, a UEFA Cup in 2004 and reaching the Champions League final in 2001. Like most great central defensive partnerships of this era they were a mix of brain and brawn. Marchena provided the muscle offering a highly imposing physical style, reactive tackling and excellent work-rate. Ayala was characterised by excellent positional ability, tactical discipline and reading of the game. He was able to combine excellent ability to know how to win the ball cleanly and to foul 'cleverly' as the occasion arose. Individually Ayala was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2001.
Internationally both also experienced success in this era. Marchena went on a record breaking Undertakeresque undefeated streak of 57 games for Spain from 2002 to 2010. During this period he won the European Championship in 2008 where Spain conceded only 2 goals in 5 games and Marchena was named in the team of the tournament. Ayala set the record of captaining Argentina more times than any other player. He won a Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics and was named in the Team of the Tournament at the 2006 World-Cup.
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zambrotta combined superb athleticism with discipline and first-rate tackling and positional sense. A rare breed of full-back who was as proficient in attack as he was in defence. He developed his game to the point where he could play at both left-back and right-back to equal aplomb. His near two-footedness allowed him to beat full-backs on both sides or cut in with a threatening shot. He also offered an option on the overlap from where he was able to deliver crosses into the box. With Italy he won the 2006 World Cup and was named in the Team of Tournament. During this run he played at left and right-back as well as a winger. Zambrotta scored and assisted in the quarter final against Ukraine. At club level Zambrotta played for Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan enjoying success mostly in Italy. He won 4 Serie A titles for Juventus and added a further one for Milan. He was named in the 2006 FIFA and UEFA team of the year.
Daniele De Rossi
The first of my bearded Italian duo De Rossi is a complete midfielder. He offers excellent technical ability with pin-point and well judged passing and a mean shot from distance. He also offers superb physical ability with tough tackling, strength and stamina. De Rossi can be deployed anywhere in the midfield offering defensive and offensive attributes from whichever position he is given. At club level he is a perennial runner up with Roma with the exception of a pair of Coppa Italia wins. He played a small role in the 2006 World Cup win – after a red card in the first game he put in a good display in the last hour of the final. At Euro 2012 he came away as a runner-up but put in numerous superb performances in the Italian midfield and was named in the team of the tournament.
Andrea Pirlo
Playing at the base of the midfield is il professore Pirlo. Pirlo’s skills on the ball are quite outstanding able to dictate tempo as easily as he can split a defence wide open. His control and dribbling on the ball is also outstanding whilst his positional sense is unrivalled seemingly knowing where teammates and opponents are even out the back of his head. In addition to this he is one of the best set-piece experts of both direct and indirect free-kicks. Enormously successful at club level he won the Serie A twice with AC Milan and the Champions League twice as well. Milan viewed him to be past his best during the 2011 season and allowed him to leave on a free to Juventus. This was a huge miscalculation as Pirlo inspired Juventus to back-to-back Scudettos. For Italy he won the 2006 World Cup and runner-up at 2012 European Championship – both times he was named in the team of the tournament. He has also been named in FIFA and UEFA team of the year as well as placing highly in Ballon d’Or rankings in 3 years.
Luis Figo
Starting the millennium with one of the most controversial transfers in football history Figo enjoyed an enormous amount of success at Madrid and later Inter. Figo relied on superb ball control and movement to beat players rather than pure pace (though he was no sloth). Very hard to dispossess when on the ball Figo relied on a treasure chest of tricks to beat opponents. Once past he was able to deliver crosses, through balls and shots all to a high level of technical proficiency. At Real Madrid he won the Champions League and 2 La Ligas as a key part of the Galacticos. Arriving at Inter late in his career Figo is nonetheless credited with reinstating a winning mentality which saw Inter win 4 straight Serie A titles whilst he was at the club. For Portugal he guided them to the final of Euro 2004 and was named in the Team of The Tournament for Euro 2000 and 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. Individually he won Ballon d’Or in 2000 and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001.
Andres Iniesta
A wonderful technician and one of the finest exponents of the passing game in Europe, Iniesta also has an admirable willingness to work ceaselessly for his team. His dribbling, vision and poise all catch the eye while his versatility also marks him out as the complete midfielder. He is adept at passing and moving into space in dangerous areas in order to pick the opposition apart. Whilst being on the smaller side Iniesta is able to use guile and experience to disrupt the opposition’s attacking play. His glittering career has seen him score some hugely important goals including winners in both the World Cup final and Champions League semi-finals. Enormously successful with both club and country: 3 Champions Leagues, 2 European Championships and 1 World Cup are the highlights of his CV.
Diego Forlan
A lethal finisher with either foot, Forlan was also capable of the spectacular as well as poaching. His excellent work-rate and movement marks him out as a rare striker, who is both a ruthless predator and a team player. He is one of only four players to win the European Golden Boot twice in this period with Villareal and Atletico Madrid. After reaching the semi-finals he was named player of the tournament at World Cup 2010 as well as sharing the Golden Ball. In 2011 he won the Copa America with Uruguay. Forlan has played both as an out-and-out striker and as a trequartista off of Suarez, Cavani and Aguero where he was able to drop deep and create as well as keeping up his impressive strike rate.
Didier Drogba
Drogba was strong, quick and a composed finisher. Ideally suited to play as a lone striker displaying superb hold-up play allowing other players to be brought into play. This is demonstrated by Drogba’s excellent assist record of 79 recorded assists in addition to 302 goals for club and country. A robust, bustling centre forward who harassed his markers but was also excellent with the ball on the deck. He was a strong finisher with the ability to use both feet and heading which rewarded him with 2 Premier League Golden Boots. Drogba was another big match player earning Man of the Match awards in League cup, FA Cup and Champions League finals. With Chelsea he won 3 Premier League titles as well as 4 FA Cups and 2 League Cups. For Ivory Coast he was named in AFCON team of the tournament three times in 2012, 2008 and 2006.
Oliver Kahn
A behemoth between the sticks and a genuine match winner. Nicknamed ‘Titan’, Kahn’s greatest strengths lay as much with his presence and organisation as with his shot-stopping. His leadership lead him to being handed the German and Bayern captaincy. His shot-stopping saw Kahn awarded Man of the Match in the 2001 Champions League final. He was named at the 2002 World Cup he kept 5 clean sheets and was named Player of the Tournament - the only goalkeeper ever to achieve this feat. He was also named European Goalkeeper of the year 3 times from 2000-02. Kahn holds the Bundesliga record for most clean sheets in Bundesliga history with 197. Since 2000 he won 6 Bundesliga titles, 5 DFB-Pokals and 3 DFB-LigaPokals.
Dani Alves
One of the finest right-backs of the past decade and a key feature of arguably the greatest team of the era. Rising to prominence within Juande Ramos’ Sevilla side he won back-to-back UEFA Cups. Barcelona then made him the most expensive defender in the world. At Barcelona he’s won everything you could possibly win. He won a staggering SIX trophies in his first season and has added another Champions League and 3 La Liga wins in the 4 seasons that have followed. Individually he was named in the UEFA team of the season in 2007, 2009 and 2011. Internationally Alves won the 2007 Copa America, scoring in the final, and 2013 and 2009 Confederations Cup where he scored in the semi-final. As an attacking full-back there are none better he has amassed 93 goals and 26 goals for club and country since 2006/07. Defensively Alves is incredible athlete able to outpace even C. Ronaldo and an excellent tackler as well.
Carlos Marchena and Roberto Ayala
At the heart of the Valencia’s defence Marchena and Ayala formed the most formidable defence in La Liga. In the 7 seasons they were together Valencia conceded a meagre 237 goals in 266 games, kept 106 clean sheets and conceded the least goals in La Liga in 5 out of 7 seasons. Valencia experienced their most successful period with the pair together winning La Liga in 2001 and 2004, a UEFA Cup in 2004 and reaching the Champions League final in 2001. Like most great central defensive partnerships of this era they were a mix of brain and brawn. Marchena provided the muscle offering a highly imposing physical style, reactive tackling and excellent work-rate. Ayala was characterised by excellent positional ability, tactical discipline and reading of the game. He was able to combine excellent ability to know how to win the ball cleanly and to foul 'cleverly' as the occasion arose. Individually Ayala was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2001.
Internationally both also experienced success in this era. Marchena went on a record breaking Undertakeresque undefeated streak of 57 games for Spain from 2002 to 2010. During this period he won the European Championship in 2008 where Spain conceded only 2 goals in 5 games and Marchena was named in the team of the tournament. Ayala set the record of captaining Argentina more times than any other player. He won a Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics and was named in the Team of the Tournament at the 2006 World-Cup.
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zambrotta combined superb athleticism with discipline and first-rate tackling and positional sense. A rare breed of full-back who was as proficient in attack as he was in defence. He developed his game to the point where he could play at both left-back and right-back to equal aplomb. His near two-footedness allowed him to beat full-backs on both sides or cut in with a threatening shot. He also offered an option on the overlap from where he was able to deliver crosses into the box. With Italy he won the 2006 World Cup and was named in the Team of Tournament. During this run he played at left and right-back as well as a winger. Zambrotta scored and assisted in the quarter final against Ukraine. At club level Zambrotta played for Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan enjoying success mostly in Italy. He won 4 Serie A titles for Juventus and added a further one for Milan. He was named in the 2006 FIFA and UEFA team of the year.
Daniele De Rossi
The first of my bearded Italian duo De Rossi is a complete midfielder. He offers excellent technical ability with pin-point and well judged passing and a mean shot from distance. He also offers superb physical ability with tough tackling, strength and stamina. De Rossi can be deployed anywhere in the midfield offering defensive and offensive attributes from whichever position he is given. At club level he is a perennial runner up with Roma with the exception of a pair of Coppa Italia wins. He played a small role in the 2006 World Cup win – after a red card in the first game he put in a good display in the last hour of the final. At Euro 2012 he came away as a runner-up but put in numerous superb performances in the Italian midfield and was named in the team of the tournament.
Andrea Pirlo
Playing at the base of the midfield is il professore Pirlo. Pirlo’s skills on the ball are quite outstanding able to dictate tempo as easily as he can split a defence wide open. His control and dribbling on the ball is also outstanding whilst his positional sense is unrivalled seemingly knowing where teammates and opponents are even out the back of his head. In addition to this he is one of the best set-piece experts of both direct and indirect free-kicks. Enormously successful at club level he won the Serie A twice with AC Milan and the Champions League twice as well. Milan viewed him to be past his best during the 2011 season and allowed him to leave on a free to Juventus. This was a huge miscalculation as Pirlo inspired Juventus to back-to-back Scudettos. For Italy he won the 2006 World Cup and runner-up at 2012 European Championship – both times he was named in the team of the tournament. He has also been named in FIFA and UEFA team of the year as well as placing highly in Ballon d’Or rankings in 3 years.
Luis Figo
Starting the millennium with one of the most controversial transfers in football history Figo enjoyed an enormous amount of success at Madrid and later Inter. Figo relied on superb ball control and movement to beat players rather than pure pace (though he was no sloth). Very hard to dispossess when on the ball Figo relied on a treasure chest of tricks to beat opponents. Once past he was able to deliver crosses, through balls and shots all to a high level of technical proficiency. At Real Madrid he won the Champions League and 2 La Ligas as a key part of the Galacticos. Arriving at Inter late in his career Figo is nonetheless credited with reinstating a winning mentality which saw Inter win 4 straight Serie A titles whilst he was at the club. For Portugal he guided them to the final of Euro 2004 and was named in the Team of The Tournament for Euro 2000 and 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. Individually he won Ballon d’Or in 2000 and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001.
Andres Iniesta
A wonderful technician and one of the finest exponents of the passing game in Europe, Iniesta also has an admirable willingness to work ceaselessly for his team. His dribbling, vision and poise all catch the eye while his versatility also marks him out as the complete midfielder. He is adept at passing and moving into space in dangerous areas in order to pick the opposition apart. Whilst being on the smaller side Iniesta is able to use guile and experience to disrupt the opposition’s attacking play. His glittering career has seen him score some hugely important goals including winners in both the World Cup final and Champions League semi-finals. Enormously successful with both club and country: 3 Champions Leagues, 2 European Championships and 1 World Cup are the highlights of his CV.
Diego Forlan
A lethal finisher with either foot, Forlan was also capable of the spectacular as well as poaching. His excellent work-rate and movement marks him out as a rare striker, who is both a ruthless predator and a team player. He is one of only four players to win the European Golden Boot twice in this period with Villareal and Atletico Madrid. After reaching the semi-finals he was named player of the tournament at World Cup 2010 as well as sharing the Golden Ball. In 2011 he won the Copa America with Uruguay. Forlan has played both as an out-and-out striker and as a trequartista off of Suarez, Cavani and Aguero where he was able to drop deep and create as well as keeping up his impressive strike rate.
Didier Drogba
Drogba was strong, quick and a composed finisher. Ideally suited to play as a lone striker displaying superb hold-up play allowing other players to be brought into play. This is demonstrated by Drogba’s excellent assist record of 79 recorded assists in addition to 302 goals for club and country. A robust, bustling centre forward who harassed his markers but was also excellent with the ball on the deck. He was a strong finisher with the ability to use both feet and heading which rewarded him with 2 Premier League Golden Boots. Drogba was another big match player earning Man of the Match awards in League cup, FA Cup and Champions League finals. With Chelsea he won 3 Premier League titles as well as 4 FA Cups and 2 League Cups. For Ivory Coast he was named in AFCON team of the tournament three times in 2012, 2008 and 2006.
Tactics
I will be playing a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation.
. Drogba is the ideal lone-striker. He is too strong and quick to be simply man-marked out the game – he wins too many aerial battles, is able to turn his marker and be in on goal far too often to make this a viable counter-strategy.*
Down the right flank Figo and Alves will look to give Coentrao nightmares. I see this as one of my strongest assets and having two world class wide right players who are equally confident going wide or cutting in to shoot vs. one of AB’s weakest points should give me some joy. The knock-on effects of this should draw Ribery deeper and limit some potency and creativity from AB’s attack. It should also drag his Schweinsteiger/Martinez pivot rightwards – this in turn will allow Iniesta more time and space to work his magic on the left hand side when he receives the ball.
Iniesta will be given his ideal role advanced and to the left of a midfield three. Iniesta’s creativity is a test for any defence and his movement and will be a nightmare for AB’s defence and midfield as they look to cope with him popping up all over the place. De Rossi will play a relatively deeper role on the left hand side using his athleticism and tackling to stifle the creativity of Ozil and Messi. Pirlo will play deep in midfield alongside De Rossi. When in possession Pirlo will look to either short passes into Iniesta, De Rossi and Figo. Alternatively he can look for the speed of Drogba and Forlan looking to make runs beyond AB’s centrebacks. I hope to have the majority of possession – AB’s midfielders are no mugs but in Iniesta and Pirlo I have two of the finest passers of this era and for a defensive midfielder De Rossi offers creative passing and short, simple choices.
A key link-up move will be Pirlo seeking Alves and Zambrotta. This is a style of pass which Pirlo is particularly adept at and he has experience linking up with Zambrotta for the national side. These passes can be used both to start slower moves where the width can stretch AB’s midfield which may have a tendency to become slightly condensed. Most devastatingly however this can be used on the counter-attack – when the opportunity comes both full-backs will be told to fly forward and Pirlo will look for them (as well as Figo, Forlan and Drogba) making this run. Once the pass has been delivered the other full-back will check their run. When Alves picks up the ball on the counter his ferocious pace vs. Coentrao should present some clear goal scoring opportunities. In this instance Forlan and Drogba will both get into the penalty area and look to pick up on any crosses delivered. With Zambrotta a right-footed left-back he will be able to cut inside and pulls Cafu in with him. Forlan will look to slip into this space and Zambrotta will be able to find him or find Iniesta if he has joined the attack at this point. A final defensive note during counter-attacks will be De Rossi who will remain back and will drop into central defence if hit with a counter-counter-attack.
Stopping AB’s attack is no mean feat. In the opening passages of the game I mean to impose my physical presence on AB’s attacking players just to put them off their game slightly as we begin. From here when AB is in sustained periods of possession, I will look to drop deeper and crowd out AB’s creative players and limit the space within which Ronaldo can run into. AB’s periods of sustained pressure shouldn’t be too long or frequent due to the technical ability of my midfield and the slight trepidation AB will have to play with knowing what can hit him on the counter. Kahn will be a big factor in my defence also – not only because I’d back him to stop any shot coming his way but also because he will organise the defence so that it contains all threats thrown at it. He will also be able to smother any incoming attacks that do break the line. Ayala and Marchena’s proven partnership as the meanest in La Liga over a number of years gives them the right blend of brains and brawn to snuff out threats from AB’s attackers. Zambrotta and Alves are two superb full-backs – athletically gifted and with a strong tackle. Whilst offering a threat in the counter-attack neither will be encouraged to over indulge in their attacking and neglect defensive duties.
Another of my teams biggest strengths are set-pieces – both direct and indirect. Delivering indirect free-kicks Pirlo will have the formidable presence of Drogba to aim towards not to mention De Rossi, Ayala, Marchena with Forlan sniffing around the box capitalising on any loose balls. Pirlo’s direct free-kicks are also capable of the unsaveable efforts – with Ceni another weak link in AB’s line-up I fancy putting him under a lot of pressure. As AB has Ceni in goal I will allow Alves the occasional long-range thunderbolt free-kick to test him. I also anticipate receiving a fair number of set-pieces to make this count. My possession based style and the excellent close control of Pirlo, Iniesta and Figo in particular should frustrate AB’s players. Figo and Drogba were also adept at “drawing fouls” in dangerous areas which should give particularly dangerous positions to shoot or deliver crosses from.
I anticipate this being an incredibly tough and close match but I believe I would come out on top. First, I have no weak links. Whilst I may perhaps lack the superstar genius quite the level of Messi I am also confident I have no areas as weak as Coentrao or Ceni. I hope to exploit these weaknesses and think I have the players to do so. In contrast my team’s strength throughout and blend of technical and physical ability should give me an edge. Second, in Drogba, Figo, Iniesta, Kahn and Pirlo I have excellent players who are Big Match Players. All find a way to up their game during the late stages of competitions and offer key contributions. Drogba got this down to such an art-form that in his last season at Chelsea he only played well in 3 games but won the FA Cup and Champions League on the back of it.
*I’m sure AB will bring up Drogba’s poor record vs. Vidic and Ferdinand. I’d like to pre-emptively counter by adding that the team surrounding him has significantly more creativity than the Chelsea team ever did so the chances created for him should be of an even higher quality which should give him more of a chance. Also, supporting my ‘Drogba is a big match player’ argument his 3 goals against Vidic/Ferdinand won the FA Cup in 2007, the winning goal as a substitute in April 2010 without which Chelsea wouldn’t have won the league and in the Champions League Quarter Finals (that being a losing effort).
May the best team win
I will be playing a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation.
. Drogba is the ideal lone-striker. He is too strong and quick to be simply man-marked out the game – he wins too many aerial battles, is able to turn his marker and be in on goal far too often to make this a viable counter-strategy.*
Down the right flank Figo and Alves will look to give Coentrao nightmares. I see this as one of my strongest assets and having two world class wide right players who are equally confident going wide or cutting in to shoot vs. one of AB’s weakest points should give me some joy. The knock-on effects of this should draw Ribery deeper and limit some potency and creativity from AB’s attack. It should also drag his Schweinsteiger/Martinez pivot rightwards – this in turn will allow Iniesta more time and space to work his magic on the left hand side when he receives the ball.
Iniesta will be given his ideal role advanced and to the left of a midfield three. Iniesta’s creativity is a test for any defence and his movement and will be a nightmare for AB’s defence and midfield as they look to cope with him popping up all over the place. De Rossi will play a relatively deeper role on the left hand side using his athleticism and tackling to stifle the creativity of Ozil and Messi. Pirlo will play deep in midfield alongside De Rossi. When in possession Pirlo will look to either short passes into Iniesta, De Rossi and Figo. Alternatively he can look for the speed of Drogba and Forlan looking to make runs beyond AB’s centrebacks. I hope to have the majority of possession – AB’s midfielders are no mugs but in Iniesta and Pirlo I have two of the finest passers of this era and for a defensive midfielder De Rossi offers creative passing and short, simple choices.
A key link-up move will be Pirlo seeking Alves and Zambrotta. This is a style of pass which Pirlo is particularly adept at and he has experience linking up with Zambrotta for the national side. These passes can be used both to start slower moves where the width can stretch AB’s midfield which may have a tendency to become slightly condensed. Most devastatingly however this can be used on the counter-attack – when the opportunity comes both full-backs will be told to fly forward and Pirlo will look for them (as well as Figo, Forlan and Drogba) making this run. Once the pass has been delivered the other full-back will check their run. When Alves picks up the ball on the counter his ferocious pace vs. Coentrao should present some clear goal scoring opportunities. In this instance Forlan and Drogba will both get into the penalty area and look to pick up on any crosses delivered. With Zambrotta a right-footed left-back he will be able to cut inside and pulls Cafu in with him. Forlan will look to slip into this space and Zambrotta will be able to find him or find Iniesta if he has joined the attack at this point. A final defensive note during counter-attacks will be De Rossi who will remain back and will drop into central defence if hit with a counter-counter-attack.
Stopping AB’s attack is no mean feat. In the opening passages of the game I mean to impose my physical presence on AB’s attacking players just to put them off their game slightly as we begin. From here when AB is in sustained periods of possession, I will look to drop deeper and crowd out AB’s creative players and limit the space within which Ronaldo can run into. AB’s periods of sustained pressure shouldn’t be too long or frequent due to the technical ability of my midfield and the slight trepidation AB will have to play with knowing what can hit him on the counter. Kahn will be a big factor in my defence also – not only because I’d back him to stop any shot coming his way but also because he will organise the defence so that it contains all threats thrown at it. He will also be able to smother any incoming attacks that do break the line. Ayala and Marchena’s proven partnership as the meanest in La Liga over a number of years gives them the right blend of brains and brawn to snuff out threats from AB’s attackers. Zambrotta and Alves are two superb full-backs – athletically gifted and with a strong tackle. Whilst offering a threat in the counter-attack neither will be encouraged to over indulge in their attacking and neglect defensive duties.
Another of my teams biggest strengths are set-pieces – both direct and indirect. Delivering indirect free-kicks Pirlo will have the formidable presence of Drogba to aim towards not to mention De Rossi, Ayala, Marchena with Forlan sniffing around the box capitalising on any loose balls. Pirlo’s direct free-kicks are also capable of the unsaveable efforts – with Ceni another weak link in AB’s line-up I fancy putting him under a lot of pressure. As AB has Ceni in goal I will allow Alves the occasional long-range thunderbolt free-kick to test him. I also anticipate receiving a fair number of set-pieces to make this count. My possession based style and the excellent close control of Pirlo, Iniesta and Figo in particular should frustrate AB’s players. Figo and Drogba were also adept at “drawing fouls” in dangerous areas which should give particularly dangerous positions to shoot or deliver crosses from.
I anticipate this being an incredibly tough and close match but I believe I would come out on top. First, I have no weak links. Whilst I may perhaps lack the superstar genius quite the level of Messi I am also confident I have no areas as weak as Coentrao or Ceni. I hope to exploit these weaknesses and think I have the players to do so. In contrast my team’s strength throughout and blend of technical and physical ability should give me an edge. Second, in Drogba, Figo, Iniesta, Kahn and Pirlo I have excellent players who are Big Match Players. All find a way to up their game during the late stages of competitions and offer key contributions. Drogba got this down to such an art-form that in his last season at Chelsea he only played well in 3 games but won the FA Cup and Champions League on the back of it.
*I’m sure AB will bring up Drogba’s poor record vs. Vidic and Ferdinand. I’d like to pre-emptively counter by adding that the team surrounding him has significantly more creativity than the Chelsea team ever did so the chances created for him should be of an even higher quality which should give him more of a chance. Also, supporting my ‘Drogba is a big match player’ argument his 3 goals against Vidic/Ferdinand won the FA Cup in 2007, the winning goal as a substitute in April 2010 without which Chelsea wouldn’t have won the league and in the Champions League Quarter Finals (that being a losing effort).
May the best team win
Applebonkers- Formation/bio/tactics
Bios:
Rogério Ceni
Since 2000 he has won 3 League titles, a Copa Libertadores, a Copa Sudamericana and a Club World Cup as Sao Paulo’s long time captain. Individually he was voted best keeper in Série A 6 times, best player of the 2005 Copa Libertadores, best player of the 2005 Club World Cup, the Brasileirão Best Player Award in 2006 & 2007, and the Golden Ball for the best player in Série A in 2008.
A bit of unknown outside of South America due to his entire 1043 game career being spent at Sao Paulo, as well as only being a sub keeper in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup campaign and then again in 2006. His peak years were around 06-08 but Júlio César was preferred, no shame in that really.
This video shows 8mins of his day job, then 4mins of his party-tricks www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDIH06NdXQc
Stat: After 22 clean sheets in 35 games in 06/07 Ceni was nominated for the 2007 Ballon D’or where Buffon and Cech were the only keepers to receive more votes.
Preferred judging period: 2004-2008.
Cafu
2000/2001 won Serie A with Roma, their only title in the last 20 years, and was nominated for the Ballon D’or.
2002 lifted the World Cup as Brazil’s captain and was again nominated for the Ballon D’or.
2003 moved to AC Milan and won Serie A in his first season there.
2004 he was named in the UEFA Team of the Year and was shortlisted for the World Player of the Year award.
2005 named in the UEFA Team of the Year again as well as being named in the inaugural FIFPro World XI. Again shortlisted for the World Player of the Year award.
2006/2007 won the Champions League appearing in 8 of the matches.
2007/2008 won the FIFA Club World Cup then retired at the end of the season.
One of first 11 players elected into the Roma Hall of Fame last year www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBPJXbPd2Ts
Stat: In Roma’s title winning season Cafu’s crossing resulted in 10 assists.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2005.
Rio Ferdinand
A Rolls Royce CB who until a few years ago had real pace when needed too. Holds the record for a CB with 6 PFA Team of the Years appearances. Back with Leeds he helped them to a Champions League semi-final, getting nominated for the Ballon D’or both years he was there.
Stat: In 10 World Cup appearances Ferdinand has 7 clean sheets.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2010.
Vidić
His 2008 and 2009 were just silly: Won the Premier League for the 2nd and 3rd time in row making the PFA Team of the Year for the 2nd and 3rd time in a row, won the Champions League in 08, got in the FIFPro World XI for 08/09, was named Premier League Player of the Season for 08/09 (not the PFA award which Giggs controversially won that season) and no defender got more votes than him in the 2008 Ballon D’or or the 2009 Ballon D’or.
After a stop-start 09/10 season he got another PFA Team of the Year, FIFPro World XI and Premier Legaue Player of the Season in 10/11.
In the 4 seasons between 07/08 and 10/11 Man Utd won 3 league titles and made 3 Champions League finals. The season they failed to do either was in 09/10 where Vidić and Ferdinand only started 16 of the 48 games together (38 league and 10 CL), by far the lowest of the 4 seasons.
Stat: In his first 3 full seasons at Man Utd Vidic conceded just 46 goals in the 91 games he played in (0.51 goals per game) (check his FPL history page) .
Preferred judging period: 2006-2011.
Frank de Boer
His biggest strengths were his intelligence (positioning, reading intentions) and his technique (excellent distribution & some dreamy free kicks www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAR2BPUKNIc ). At Barcelona multiple managers (which included Van Gaal) meant CB, LCB in a back 3, sweeper in a back 3 or LB. The only constant was his place in the starting line-up while Abelardo, Christanval, Reiziger, Andersson and a young Puyol were shuffling around him.
He may be best remembered in this time period for his semi-final penalty miss against Italy in Euro 2000, but the fact he made the UEFA Team of the Tournament despite this choke is testament to his defensive performances. He got injured in the Euro 2004 quarter-final win in what turned out to be the last of his 112 caps, a record for a Dutch outfield player.
These Euro near misses reflected his time at Barcelona post 2000 too. CL semi in 2000, UEFA Cup semi in 2001, CL semi in 2002 and lost in extra-time to Nedved’s Juventus in the CL quarter-final in 2003.
Barring a line about Maldini at the end I think this little article is pretty spot on about the man thefootballspace.com/2013/03/26/football-memories-frank-de-boer/ you can substitute his part in Rivaldo’s 2001 Valencia bicycle kick in for the 98 Bergkamp goal to bring it up to date.
Stat: de Boer started 7 matches in Euro 2000 and 2004 in which the Netherlands conceded just 3 times, whilst he notched 2 from set-pieces at the other end.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2003.
Schweinsteiger
Van Gaal switched a temperamental wide player to the centre of the pitch in 09/10 and the rest is history. He won the double that season, reached the CL final and made the World Cup Team of the Tournament that summer. Last season he went one better at the core of a Bayern team who won all 4 trophies available to them. Attribute wise he’s a real all-rounder in the middle.
Stat: Schweinsteiger’s 9.3 accurate long balls per game was the highest in the Bundesliga last season.
Preferred judging period: 2008-today.
Javi Martínez
€40m raised a lot of eyebrows last summer but his impact has been instant as part of a ludicrous Bayern season. How often does a team win their league by 25 points, with no away losses, with just 7 away goals conceded, win both domestic cups, and win the Champions League with a 7-0 semi-final win over Barcelona and a 4-0 quarter-final win over Juventus? This is why I chose Martínez to go with Schweinsteiger, a proven partnership in an incredible season. A powerful player, yet extremely intelligent and positionally astute.
Stat: Martínez made the most interceptions in last season’s Champions League.
Preferred judging period: 2010-today.
Ribéry
Ribéry has just won the Bundesliga Player of the Year, the German equivalent of PFA Players' Player of the Year. He also won the award in 2008 meaning he joins Ballack and Kahn as the only multiple winners in the 2000s, this year an especially prestigeous year to win it given the status of German football.
His wing play got him into the UEFA Team of the Year in 2008 and votes in every World Player of the Year & Ballon D’or from 2006-2009 (injury restricted him to 10 starts in 09/10 ending any hope of carrying on the streak). Nomination is guaranteed for 2013, with Bayern’s dominance and no major international tournament he could gate-crash the Xavi & Iniesta’s hold on 3rd place.
A prolific assister who gets his fair share of goals too. For example some would consider Lampard one of the great midfield goalscorers of all time…
Stat: If penalties are ignored for both players then Ribéry’s 12 league goals in 11/12 is the same as Lampard’s record total of 12 in 05/06 and 09/10.
Preferred judging period: 2006-today.
Özil
The main playmaker in Real’s record breaking La Liga season in 11/12 where he was the top assister in Europe’s big 5 leagues and made the UEFA Team of the Year. For Germany he made the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament and surely would have made the 2010 Team of the Tournament if it remained as the old squad format rather than just a Spain dominated XI.
No player in Europe’s top 5 leagues has created more goals than Özil over the last 5 seasons, which includes his 2 seasons at Werder Bremen. Has an eye for goal too… big eyes.
Stat: Finished 7th in the 2011 Ballon D’or.
Preferred judging period: 2010-today.
Messi
The mental stats: 4 straight Ballon D’ors. 73 Barcelona goals in one season. 91 goals in a calendar year. Scored against all 19 teams in a row last season.
Has reached double figures for assists in the last 6 La Liga seasons. For Argentina he equalled Batistuta’s record of 12 goals in a calendar year in 2012, doing so from a relatively deep position. When you now include 2013 internationals it reads as 16 goals and 4 assists in his last 14 caps.
Stat: Over the last 2 La Liga seasons Messi has scored or assisted 124 goals in 69 games. LOL.
Preferred judging period: 2008-today.
Luis Ronaldo
I’d estimate 2000s Ronaldo was about 80% of the phenomenon he was in 96-99 yet was still the World Player of the Year in 2002, 3rd in 2003, then 7th in 2004 which says it all really.
Injured for all of 2000 and 2001 he returned to score 75 goals in 107 league games over the next 4 seasons. Of these 75 goals just 2 were penalties. He scored 11 in 12 World Cup games in the 2000s.
He was a wiser striker in the 2000s, more rounded and even more two-footed. If a defender was weak in any area he exposed it, or even keepers like in his Old Trafford hattrick where he put an end to Barthez’s Man Utd career.
Stat: In a World Cup qualifier against Argentina in 2004 Ronaldo scored a hattrick in a 3-1 win. The hattrick was unique as it was 3 penalties which he won himself www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXXoethbI9I .
Preferred judging period: 2002-2005.
Bench: Coentrão.
(All assist stats from whoscored.com who use OPTA data, goal and appearance data from transfermarkt.co.uk)
Rogério Ceni
Since 2000 he has won 3 League titles, a Copa Libertadores, a Copa Sudamericana and a Club World Cup as Sao Paulo’s long time captain. Individually he was voted best keeper in Série A 6 times, best player of the 2005 Copa Libertadores, best player of the 2005 Club World Cup, the Brasileirão Best Player Award in 2006 & 2007, and the Golden Ball for the best player in Série A in 2008.
A bit of unknown outside of South America due to his entire 1043 game career being spent at Sao Paulo, as well as only being a sub keeper in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup campaign and then again in 2006. His peak years were around 06-08 but Júlio César was preferred, no shame in that really.
This video shows 8mins of his day job, then 4mins of his party-tricks www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDIH06NdXQc
Stat: After 22 clean sheets in 35 games in 06/07 Ceni was nominated for the 2007 Ballon D’or where Buffon and Cech were the only keepers to receive more votes.
Preferred judging period: 2004-2008.
Cafu
2000/2001 won Serie A with Roma, their only title in the last 20 years, and was nominated for the Ballon D’or.
2002 lifted the World Cup as Brazil’s captain and was again nominated for the Ballon D’or.
2003 moved to AC Milan and won Serie A in his first season there.
2004 he was named in the UEFA Team of the Year and was shortlisted for the World Player of the Year award.
2005 named in the UEFA Team of the Year again as well as being named in the inaugural FIFPro World XI. Again shortlisted for the World Player of the Year award.
2006/2007 won the Champions League appearing in 8 of the matches.
2007/2008 won the FIFA Club World Cup then retired at the end of the season.
One of first 11 players elected into the Roma Hall of Fame last year www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBPJXbPd2Ts
Stat: In Roma’s title winning season Cafu’s crossing resulted in 10 assists.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2005.
Rio Ferdinand
A Rolls Royce CB who until a few years ago had real pace when needed too. Holds the record for a CB with 6 PFA Team of the Years appearances. Back with Leeds he helped them to a Champions League semi-final, getting nominated for the Ballon D’or both years he was there.
Stat: In 10 World Cup appearances Ferdinand has 7 clean sheets.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2010.
Vidić
His 2008 and 2009 were just silly: Won the Premier League for the 2nd and 3rd time in row making the PFA Team of the Year for the 2nd and 3rd time in a row, won the Champions League in 08, got in the FIFPro World XI for 08/09, was named Premier League Player of the Season for 08/09 (not the PFA award which Giggs controversially won that season) and no defender got more votes than him in the 2008 Ballon D’or or the 2009 Ballon D’or.
After a stop-start 09/10 season he got another PFA Team of the Year, FIFPro World XI and Premier Legaue Player of the Season in 10/11.
In the 4 seasons between 07/08 and 10/11 Man Utd won 3 league titles and made 3 Champions League finals. The season they failed to do either was in 09/10 where Vidić and Ferdinand only started 16 of the 48 games together (38 league and 10 CL), by far the lowest of the 4 seasons.
Stat: In his first 3 full seasons at Man Utd Vidic conceded just 46 goals in the 91 games he played in (0.51 goals per game) (check his FPL history page) .
Preferred judging period: 2006-2011.
Frank de Boer
His biggest strengths were his intelligence (positioning, reading intentions) and his technique (excellent distribution & some dreamy free kicks www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAR2BPUKNIc ). At Barcelona multiple managers (which included Van Gaal) meant CB, LCB in a back 3, sweeper in a back 3 or LB. The only constant was his place in the starting line-up while Abelardo, Christanval, Reiziger, Andersson and a young Puyol were shuffling around him.
He may be best remembered in this time period for his semi-final penalty miss against Italy in Euro 2000, but the fact he made the UEFA Team of the Tournament despite this choke is testament to his defensive performances. He got injured in the Euro 2004 quarter-final win in what turned out to be the last of his 112 caps, a record for a Dutch outfield player.
These Euro near misses reflected his time at Barcelona post 2000 too. CL semi in 2000, UEFA Cup semi in 2001, CL semi in 2002 and lost in extra-time to Nedved’s Juventus in the CL quarter-final in 2003.
Barring a line about Maldini at the end I think this little article is pretty spot on about the man thefootballspace.com/2013/03/26/football-memories-frank-de-boer/ you can substitute his part in Rivaldo’s 2001 Valencia bicycle kick in for the 98 Bergkamp goal to bring it up to date.
Stat: de Boer started 7 matches in Euro 2000 and 2004 in which the Netherlands conceded just 3 times, whilst he notched 2 from set-pieces at the other end.
Preferred judging period: 2000-2003.
Schweinsteiger
Van Gaal switched a temperamental wide player to the centre of the pitch in 09/10 and the rest is history. He won the double that season, reached the CL final and made the World Cup Team of the Tournament that summer. Last season he went one better at the core of a Bayern team who won all 4 trophies available to them. Attribute wise he’s a real all-rounder in the middle.
Stat: Schweinsteiger’s 9.3 accurate long balls per game was the highest in the Bundesliga last season.
Preferred judging period: 2008-today.
Javi Martínez
€40m raised a lot of eyebrows last summer but his impact has been instant as part of a ludicrous Bayern season. How often does a team win their league by 25 points, with no away losses, with just 7 away goals conceded, win both domestic cups, and win the Champions League with a 7-0 semi-final win over Barcelona and a 4-0 quarter-final win over Juventus? This is why I chose Martínez to go with Schweinsteiger, a proven partnership in an incredible season. A powerful player, yet extremely intelligent and positionally astute.
Stat: Martínez made the most interceptions in last season’s Champions League.
Preferred judging period: 2010-today.
Ribéry
Ribéry has just won the Bundesliga Player of the Year, the German equivalent of PFA Players' Player of the Year. He also won the award in 2008 meaning he joins Ballack and Kahn as the only multiple winners in the 2000s, this year an especially prestigeous year to win it given the status of German football.
His wing play got him into the UEFA Team of the Year in 2008 and votes in every World Player of the Year & Ballon D’or from 2006-2009 (injury restricted him to 10 starts in 09/10 ending any hope of carrying on the streak). Nomination is guaranteed for 2013, with Bayern’s dominance and no major international tournament he could gate-crash the Xavi & Iniesta’s hold on 3rd place.
A prolific assister who gets his fair share of goals too. For example some would consider Lampard one of the great midfield goalscorers of all time…
Stat: If penalties are ignored for both players then Ribéry’s 12 league goals in 11/12 is the same as Lampard’s record total of 12 in 05/06 and 09/10.
Preferred judging period: 2006-today.
Özil
The main playmaker in Real’s record breaking La Liga season in 11/12 where he was the top assister in Europe’s big 5 leagues and made the UEFA Team of the Year. For Germany he made the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament and surely would have made the 2010 Team of the Tournament if it remained as the old squad format rather than just a Spain dominated XI.
No player in Europe’s top 5 leagues has created more goals than Özil over the last 5 seasons, which includes his 2 seasons at Werder Bremen. Has an eye for goal too… big eyes.
Stat: Finished 7th in the 2011 Ballon D’or.
Preferred judging period: 2010-today.
Messi
The mental stats: 4 straight Ballon D’ors. 73 Barcelona goals in one season. 91 goals in a calendar year. Scored against all 19 teams in a row last season.
Has reached double figures for assists in the last 6 La Liga seasons. For Argentina he equalled Batistuta’s record of 12 goals in a calendar year in 2012, doing so from a relatively deep position. When you now include 2013 internationals it reads as 16 goals and 4 assists in his last 14 caps.
Stat: Over the last 2 La Liga seasons Messi has scored or assisted 124 goals in 69 games. LOL.
Preferred judging period: 2008-today.
Luis Ronaldo
I’d estimate 2000s Ronaldo was about 80% of the phenomenon he was in 96-99 yet was still the World Player of the Year in 2002, 3rd in 2003, then 7th in 2004 which says it all really.
Injured for all of 2000 and 2001 he returned to score 75 goals in 107 league games over the next 4 seasons. Of these 75 goals just 2 were penalties. He scored 11 in 12 World Cup games in the 2000s.
He was a wiser striker in the 2000s, more rounded and even more two-footed. If a defender was weak in any area he exposed it, or even keepers like in his Old Trafford hattrick where he put an end to Barthez’s Man Utd career.
Stat: In a World Cup qualifier against Argentina in 2004 Ronaldo scored a hattrick in a 3-1 win. The hattrick was unique as it was 3 penalties which he won himself www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXXoethbI9I .
Preferred judging period: 2002-2005.
Bench: Coentrão.
(All assist stats from whoscored.com who use OPTA data, goal and appearance data from transfermarkt.co.uk)
tactics:
First to try and add some context/logic to my choice of steal as there were some serious players on offer:
With 3 Brazilians already Kaka and Lucio were off the menu unless I was willing to sacrifice Ronaldo or Cafu.
Henry I think I would have jumped at if I had any other striker but Ronaldo already, in which case it becomes a bit like the David Villa situation where it’s left wing Henry v specialist winger Ribéry + a swap elsewhere. For example I’m sure most would say the pinnacle of Henry’s wing career was Barcelona’s treble season in 08/09, this is the World Player of the Year voting from that year en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year and Ribéry has had a couple of better years than his own there, last season specifically (on the subject of that link, that’s right wing Messi there). Additionally you have to really respect Mac’s right side going forward (assuming Alves slots in behind Figo) so Ribéry is the much harder worker off the ball than Henry, his defensive discipline last season especially a real improvement from his younger self.
Busquets has been getting rave reviews in this draft and was very tempting. In the end I thought by getting Busquets I break my one big partnership up, whilst by getting Vidić I make a second (in addition to mini partnerships of Schweinsteiger & Özil and Schweinsteiger & Ribéry). Whilst Busquets would have probably helped out defensively in his own way, the area I was looking to solidify more than my attack, Vidić does it more directly I feel while also arguably elevating the status of Ferdinand in the process.
OK tactically I’ve gone back to more of my first round set-up, so less need for extra diagrams to explain myself (I was a bit paranoid of how the 3-5-2 would be viewed last round, sue me).
The opposition specific tweak is Frank de Boer coming in at left back as a purely defensive full back. The reason for this is Figo’s ability coupled with a concern of how Coentrão is viewed from a purely defensive point of view. Figo’s crossing especially is a real weapon so I have to try and do something to dampen that, even if it’s only 1 or 2 extra crosses stopped per match it could be significant to the result. With Drogba waiting in the middle for these crosses it was another reason I decided on Vidić too. On the other side I have Cafu who I really want to attack as well as defend, stopping the crosses at source I don’t feel is as necessary on his wing as I presume it’ll be either Forlan there or a more centrally minded Iniesta. I was almost tempted to go the whole hog and play Coentrão left midfield in front of de Boer but I felt Ribéry in himself is a deterrent to Alves flying forward too much, or at least if he does add more risk to it, especially with de Boer’s distribution over any distance.
Defensively and offensively I’m stronger on set-pieces with de Boer in instead of Coentrão too, again referring back to the new Vidić addition as well here.
Other than that and Messi no other arrows on the diagram means I just want what I’d consider ‘normal’ roles in a 4-2-3-1 type formation. Hoping I’ve struck some nice balance, 3 heavyweight assisters to feed Ronaldo, 3 heavyweight assisters to feed Messi when he drifts inside if you then include Cafu too. These will clearly be my go to men for goals but don’t forget Özil and Ribéry usually flirt with doubles figures for goals at their clubs too, they may even benefit from simply not being L.Ronaldo or Messi here. The Bayern pair more as holders in the middle in front of the Man Utd duo at CB. One thing I’d urge to consider is whilst Iniesta, Pirlo and De Rossi are clearly good passers barring Iniesta I don’t think it’s in the sense that will completely choke possession from my midfield. Iniesta can do it far more easily alongside Xavi & Busquets (and Alonso for Spain). Finally whilst me asking Özil and Messi to try and hustle Pirlo high up the pitch won’t suddenly turn them into Makélélé and Mascherano I’m looking for them both to try their best at it, they both have pace and agility at the very least.
i.imgur.com/ni3eBHT.jpg
Set pieces:
Corners and crossed free-kicks: Özil right Ribéry left.
Direct free-kicks: Messi close range both sides, de Boer long range both sides.
Penalties: Ceni.
First to try and add some context/logic to my choice of steal as there were some serious players on offer:
With 3 Brazilians already Kaka and Lucio were off the menu unless I was willing to sacrifice Ronaldo or Cafu.
Henry I think I would have jumped at if I had any other striker but Ronaldo already, in which case it becomes a bit like the David Villa situation where it’s left wing Henry v specialist winger Ribéry + a swap elsewhere. For example I’m sure most would say the pinnacle of Henry’s wing career was Barcelona’s treble season in 08/09, this is the World Player of the Year voting from that year en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year and Ribéry has had a couple of better years than his own there, last season specifically (on the subject of that link, that’s right wing Messi there). Additionally you have to really respect Mac’s right side going forward (assuming Alves slots in behind Figo) so Ribéry is the much harder worker off the ball than Henry, his defensive discipline last season especially a real improvement from his younger self.
Busquets has been getting rave reviews in this draft and was very tempting. In the end I thought by getting Busquets I break my one big partnership up, whilst by getting Vidić I make a second (in addition to mini partnerships of Schweinsteiger & Özil and Schweinsteiger & Ribéry). Whilst Busquets would have probably helped out defensively in his own way, the area I was looking to solidify more than my attack, Vidić does it more directly I feel while also arguably elevating the status of Ferdinand in the process.
OK tactically I’ve gone back to more of my first round set-up, so less need for extra diagrams to explain myself (I was a bit paranoid of how the 3-5-2 would be viewed last round, sue me).
The opposition specific tweak is Frank de Boer coming in at left back as a purely defensive full back. The reason for this is Figo’s ability coupled with a concern of how Coentrão is viewed from a purely defensive point of view. Figo’s crossing especially is a real weapon so I have to try and do something to dampen that, even if it’s only 1 or 2 extra crosses stopped per match it could be significant to the result. With Drogba waiting in the middle for these crosses it was another reason I decided on Vidić too. On the other side I have Cafu who I really want to attack as well as defend, stopping the crosses at source I don’t feel is as necessary on his wing as I presume it’ll be either Forlan there or a more centrally minded Iniesta. I was almost tempted to go the whole hog and play Coentrão left midfield in front of de Boer but I felt Ribéry in himself is a deterrent to Alves flying forward too much, or at least if he does add more risk to it, especially with de Boer’s distribution over any distance.
Defensively and offensively I’m stronger on set-pieces with de Boer in instead of Coentrão too, again referring back to the new Vidić addition as well here.
Other than that and Messi no other arrows on the diagram means I just want what I’d consider ‘normal’ roles in a 4-2-3-1 type formation. Hoping I’ve struck some nice balance, 3 heavyweight assisters to feed Ronaldo, 3 heavyweight assisters to feed Messi when he drifts inside if you then include Cafu too. These will clearly be my go to men for goals but don’t forget Özil and Ribéry usually flirt with doubles figures for goals at their clubs too, they may even benefit from simply not being L.Ronaldo or Messi here. The Bayern pair more as holders in the middle in front of the Man Utd duo at CB. One thing I’d urge to consider is whilst Iniesta, Pirlo and De Rossi are clearly good passers barring Iniesta I don’t think it’s in the sense that will completely choke possession from my midfield. Iniesta can do it far more easily alongside Xavi & Busquets (and Alonso for Spain). Finally whilst me asking Özil and Messi to try and hustle Pirlo high up the pitch won’t suddenly turn them into Makélélé and Mascherano I’m looking for them both to try their best at it, they both have pace and agility at the very least.
i.imgur.com/ni3eBHT.jpg
Set pieces:
Corners and crossed free-kicks: Özil right Ribéry left.
Direct free-kicks: Messi close range both sides, de Boer long range both sides.
Penalties: Ceni.
