World Cup Draft Match Two: JohnnyRyan99 v LuckyLloyd

The Volt

Welcome to the first knockout phase of the Boards.ie World Cup Draft. This thread is for the competitors only so if you want to discuss the happenings of the game then please make use of the discussion thread.

I would like to call upon LuckyLloyd and JohnnyRyan99 (representing Archimedes) to post their team, formation and some in-depth analysis as to why their team would progress. Voting will remain open for 24 hours. In the unlikely event of a tie then a poll will be added and the Forum will be used as a tiebreaker.

Good luck to all participants and these matches should make for some good banter and interesting discussion.

Boskowski

Not my job really but I wonder should there be a subforum or so if this is going to produce match threads

The Volt

There'll be two of these a day at most so there wont be clogging up. Please refrain from posting in this thread again.

JohnnyRyan99

Interesting match-up here. I've decided to divide my tactics into two situations: with possession, and without possession.

With possession, my team will take up a formation similar to Marcelo Bielsa's Chile - 3-1-3-3 with the personnel slotting in as follows:



Where this differs from Bielsa's tactic, is up top. I plan on playing a staggered diamond between my four attacking players (Malouda, Huntelaar, Baggio and Robben) similar to what the Dutch have been using this summer. Both Chile and Holland take advantage of a trequartista/enganche player, and in Roberto Baggio I have one of the best of all time. His job will be to receive the ball from Pirlo and Affelay, and from his hole behind the striker, he has the option to thread it through to Huntelaar, or spread the play out wide to Robben and Malouda. It will be very hard for LuckyLloyd's team to cover Baggio too much. He's a very clever player, one of the all time experts at finding and creating space. Lloyd may get Mascherano to cover Baggio, but Mascherano failed to cover a Kaka who had a fantastic game in the 2007 Champions League final, and Baggio is a similar (and superior) type of player. Paying too much attention to Baggio will also leave Robben and Malouda with space out wide. We all know how dangerous Robben is, and he would eat the inexperienced Stephen Warnock alive on that side of the pitch. Malouda out left is up against Javier Zanetti, who has not played at right back for 4 years. Both wingers are also very adept at cutting in on their supposed weaker foot, and have been in sensational form for the past year. Not much is required of Huntelaar apart from finishing, and we all know how clinical a finisher he is. The weaker aspects of his game do not come in to play, he will hang around the box and will need constant attention.

Andrea Pirlo will pull the strings in the middle of the pitch as my playmaker. He will look to receive the ball from defence and distribute it to the front line. In Pirlo, I also have one of the best free kick takers and corner takers in the game. Affelay is a very clever player and is very tricky to play against. He has good, quick feet and will provide an outlet for Pirlo/Essien and support to the attack. As for Essien, there's not much that needs to be said. He's the best box to box midfielder in the world bar none. Another aspect of my team is their ability to shoot from distance - Pirlo, Essien, Robben, Agger and Baggio all have an eye for sensational goals. My back three of Marquez, Agger and Kjaer are also a huge threat from set pieces, especially with Pirlo delivering the ball.

When not in possession, my team will retreat to the following formation:



Essien and Pirlo provide a very strong defensive midfield to get through (similar to a Busquets-Alonso or Mascherano-Alonso partnership). Essien has the engine and bite, with Pirlo's knowledge and vision. Baggio drops back to partner Affelay in another line of two, forming a block in the centre of the field which will congest the midfield and prevent Kaka and Stankovic from passing the ball around like they prefer. Malouda and Robben will drop back to cover Park and Simao (or indeed Stankovic and Simao, depending on who LL plays). Malouda does this a lot for Chelsea as Ashley Cole likes to get forward. My back three are formiddable. They are big, strong lads who are very fast and will snuff out anything that comes Frei's way. It could well be that LL's team would resort to long distance shots (not surprising, given Stankovic and Kaka's presence), but in Ochoa I have one of the best shot stoppers in the world (see this video for proof).

Captain: Marquez
Free Kicks: Pirlo and/or Baggio
Corners: Pirlo
Penalties: Pirlo/Huntelaar

Overall, my team adopts the high-tempo tactics of Biela's Chile, but instead of a group of players who put their head down and run straight for goal, I have players who know how to use the ball, know how to pick a pass and have that killer instinct. I have pace where it matters out wide, and the combination of pace and vision will be too much for Lloyd's team.