Final game of the competition, good luck to both contestants. A big thank you to everyone again for participating.

 

PloKoon:

 

 

Subs:

Ballack

Henry

Sammer

Garrincha

 

As I'm sure you can guess my team is based around a fast-paced possession game, dripping with enough flair to make Ronaldinho blush. Beckenbauer will act as an anchor, while Xavi dictates the pace of the game and also feeds the attacking four with lofted through balls. Nedved and Laudrup will generally cut inside (with Thuram and Maldini providing width), leaving the centre backs to deal with a near-unstoppable attacking trifecta of Nedved, Messi and Michael Laudrup, with Ronaldo, arguably the most lethal finisher in history (apart from Kerry Dixon), ready to pounce on any chances which come his way, and also waiting for the through ball so he can decimate the opposition back four with his unbelievable pace.

While Thuram and Maldini obviously have some attacking responsibilities, and while all four (and Beckenbauer) are cultured footballers who are more than capable of contributing to the possesion game, the back four are relatively conservative. Van der Sar's paradigm-smashing distribution (not to mention the command of his area and his world class reflexes) will be the perfect complement to our calm albeit lethal passing football. The formation is based on Spain's 4-2-3-1.

Off the ball, we will use the energy of our midfield (as well as the experience Messi and Xavi have in doing this at Barca) to press relatively high up the pitch, denying the opponents time and space on the ball, and also increasing our monopoly on possession. And if this doesn't work, we have two incredibly powerful players on the bench in Henry and Ballack, both versatile to play a number of roles while still changing the
setup of the team enough to improve performance.

 

 

 

That Boy Brandinho:

 

 

Subs:

Neeskens

Zizinho

 

 

Another move for PloKoon was to move Messi as striker, Laudrup as the number 10 and Garrincha on the right wing.

Very close for me though. TBB's forward two are marginally better, Ploks' midfield is stronger, the wings are fairly even with TBB given the edge. At the back it's also extremely close. I still think Carvalho is the weak link but Bobby Moore is also the best individual CB there. Could go either way really.

Edited May 8, 201313 yr by Teritus

Oh this could be very interesting. Need to have  a think

This one is close for me... Think I've made my decision though and it's by a squeaker.

This is a tough one. Have to cogitate

Definitely, all have a good long think about it before you make up your mind.

Anyone know where TBB's been by the way? I haven't seen him on here for at least a month.

This is stupidly tight.

This is stupidly tight.

 

It has to be Ploks, just because of Beckenbauer.

 

I've contributed!

I dont understand how Garrincha is on the bench..

I dont understand how Garrincha is on the bench..

 

Only one Brazilian on the team, how many times do I have to explain this? Other option was to put Messi as striker with Laudrup in behind.

Two cracking team to be fair.

Another move for PloKoon was to move Messi as striker, Laudrup as the number 10 and Garrincha on the right wing.

I'd just sub Garrincha on for one of Nedved or Laudrup in the first 5 mins - that's allowed right?

 

 

Both very, very good teams (still shocked that you guys let TBB have both Pele and Maradona) but I think PloKoon's is better rounded. Carvalho is the weak link in defence as someone mentioned but the defence as a unit looks great, with a fantastic midfield. If concerned about the defence, Ballack could be switched with Carvalho and swapped with Beckenbauer which would result in one of the most fearsome CB pairings possible in this game.

I'm currently reading 'Inverting The Pyramid' book. Brilliant read .

 

I should have read it before I picked my team/tactics.

I'm currently reading 'Inverting The Pyramid' book. Brilliant read .

 

I should have read it before I picked my team/tactics.

 

That's a fantastic read. Talks about the WM formation and how the Hungarians inverted the front three, creating the very first 'number 10' (Hidegkuti). The best book by far for me, if you're interested in how the game has developed over the years, both tactically and technically.

That's a fantastic read. Talks about the WM formation and how the Hungarians inverted the front three, creating the very first 'number 10' (Hidegkuti). The best book by far for me, if you're interested in how the game has developed over the years, both tactically and technically.

I'm just at the chapter about Hungary and how they revolutionised the 'No 10 role' (Hidegkuit) as you say.

 

Fantastic insight into the evolution of tactics and football in general.

Surprised the gap of 10 votes in this game at moment !

Congratulations to PloKoon then, winner of this competition. Been a great deal of fun picking the players, but I was a trifle let down when it came to the games themselves. I thought there would be more interest in them, at least among the older members and given the fact that we had it here in the general forum.

 

Nonetheless, it did give me something to do and I'm glad everyone went to the trouble of posting tactics and so on.

So is there anyone at all, with any last thoughts before we end this whole thing for good?

It's been emotional!

 

That it has, Lofty. Especially for those of us knocked out in the first round!

I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did constructing their teams, though.

Wicked - thanks for setting it all up Teritus. Admittedly the actual team building is always the most entertaining part of these - as far as picking between them goes, it feels like splitting hairs as they are all of such high quality. No team could ever be the greatest of all time without Dan Petrescu though...