Draft Knockout match 6: Morzadec vs eugenious

Bounty Hunter

First off those two will get to reply showing us their teams and tactics for this fixture. Only after that will a poll be added for voting purposes. Please if you aren't competing here don't post until they have done their write ups too

You are to vote on which team you think would win in a straight Vs match up. What constitutes a team more likely to win is totaly up to each voters own discretion but perhaps you can be swayed by either posters write ups especially if you are not 100% familiar with a player in their team because after all any player from any era was eligible to be drafted in this draft so nobody is expected to recognize nor rate every single name.

In previous drafts only those taking part had their votes counted when cast...This is not the case this time (nor was it then my mistake), all votes from boards.ie posters will be counted once the polls are added. However in the case of a tied vote only those votes from people who explained why they voted in such a way on thread will count.

people dont have to agree with each others opinions and the draftee's are bound to defend their teams chances but lets try and not go round in circles arguing people and try and keep it civil. Once the two draftees have posted their sides and the write ups to go with them I (or another mod)will add the Polls and 48hrs for voting will begin.

Good luck fellas and have at it!

Morzadec

First off, sorry for the delay in getting my write-up in.

Secondly, good luck to Eugenious.

Now to my team. Here's how we'll line up:



A bit about my players:

Buffon: A lot of players think they have the best GK in the draw and I guess I'll just have to add my name to that list! Imo I have never seen anyone like Buffon. Incredibly solid and consistent, capable of pulling off unbelievable saves, and maybe most importantly a strong voice and leader to marshall my back-line.

Costacurta: You don't play 20 years at the top level at a club renown for it's great defences without being a top player. Playing until he did, Costacurta showed he was an incredibly intelligent defender, and an expert in reading the game. 7 Serie As, 5 Champions Leagues and very experienced at International level too.

Thuram: My 2nd centre back - athletic, composed, strong, fast, he will combine well with Costacurta. In the team of the WC in both 98 and 06, one of the 20 most capped International's ever, Thuram was a fantastic defender.

Cafu: Amybe the greatest right-back of all time. Fast, with incessan overlapping runs, Cafu never seemed to tire. He had such a strong engine that he could get forward and get back round to defend with ease. Won the WC twice, once as the captain.

Lizarazu: What Cafu does on the right, Lizarazu can do almost as well on the left. Solid defensively but with the speed and stamina to work well at both ends of the pitch. Lizarazu won everything important to win in the game, a mainstay of the best International and club side at one point.

Alonso: Has already won it all. Astute defensively and capable of picking out almost any pass you could wish for. Alonso will playmake from deep, picking out either fullback of playing it short through the middle.

Schweinsteiger: The complete midfielder and the best centre-mid in the world at the moment. Schweinsteiger can do it all - tackle, pass, shoot, get up and down the pitch. The central cog to the best club side in the world right now.

Michael Laudrup: If you don't know much about this guy, I suggest watching some Youtube videos because there are few players more enjoyable to watch than this genius. Laudrup went to Barca, won everything, switched to Madrid and then Madrid became dominant. No coincidence. Every striker who played with Laudrup said it was a dream. Amazing dribbling ability and ability to beat a man, and quite simply the greatest through-ball ability I've seen from any player. Incredible vision, creativity and execution.

Pires: Scored a huge amount of goals from midfield, and has the versatility to drift central, play wide as a traditional winger or come left, which is important for my team. He's got a lot of pace, ability to finish and also creativity. World Cup and European Cup winner and a really important part of Arsenal's greatest ever side.

Maradona (C): For many the greatest ever player. Don't need to write much here - they guy was a genius and impossible to stop in full flow. An easy choice as my captain - he will inspire everyone with his ability and attitude.

Van Nistelrooy: An absolute goal machine. Only Messi can boast a better scoring rate in the Champions League. Easily exceeded a goal every 2 games for United and Madrid. Amazing positioning, timing of runs, and finishing.. He will thrive in this team.


Game Plan and Strengths

I think my team are all really comfortable on the ball so I think I should dominate possession. Both full-backs will push on to create width. Alonso will predominantly sit, with Shweinsteiger allowed to be a box-to-box midfielder.

Laudrup will have the freedom to drift infield and join up with Alonso and Shweinsteiger. He can play deadly throughballs from this area, or otherwise go wide and take on his man one on one, or look for Lizarazu's overlapping runs.

Maradona will be given freedom to do what he wants as this is what he does best. I imagine he will drift right quite a lot as he likes to do. Pires can make runs beyond the defence or drift central or eventually left if needs be. I want Laudrup, Maradona and Pires to be really fluid and all of them should be able to interchange positions without problems.

Van Nistelrooy has so many ways to score - Laudrup will be setting him up with numerous chances in behind (not to mention Schweinsteiger and Alonso), Maradona will attract so much attention that things should really open up for him. Cafu and Lizarazu should be putting plenty of balls in for him around the 6 yard-box where he is lethal.

At the back I believe both fullbacks are really solid and can get back round. ALonso will sit as insurance and SChweinsteiger has a great engine as well.

I'll reply shortly in more detail about the opposition I'm up against.

Morzadec

Looking at my opposition and maybe where I can hurt eugenious:

I believe his main weakness are his fullbacks. At this high level I think they are a cut below and I could potentially have a lot of joy out wide, especially when you look at the quality I have in this area.

Van Bronkhorst won't be remembered as a great in my opinion. He was a good attacking fullback, but certainly not without his flaws.

Armfield achieved very little at club level - he played his whole career at Blackpool, not a great team. Of course he was part of the 1966 WC winning team, but that is just one tournament and for most of his career he didn't win much.

Tardelli and Ballack is a good midfield combination, but I believe my 2 are far superior when it comes to using the ball.

Having Del Piero wide left means I don't have to worry too much about a natural left-sided player supplying the deadly Muller.

Stam and Ferdinand (with Casillas behind them) is a good defence, although again I believe mine would probably edge them, and I'm not sure if these 3 could keep out the variation of attacks my team is capable of.

Muller is a deadly player and I will have to keep a close eye on him. I just hope that he will be starved of much service and that I have a really solid defence to deal with him when he does get decent ball.

eugeneious

Sorry lads about the delay in getting a write up done. Best of luck to you too Morzadec!



Casillas- For me this guy is the best goalkeeper I've ever seen. To get into the Real Madrid side at 17 when you're a goalkeeper you have to be something special and think Iker is. No surprise he has a long list of medals to his name and to top it off being the first captain to deliver the World Cup for his country is something he's very much deserving of.

Armfield- While his list of medals may be quite bare, Armfield is widely regarded as one of English football's greatest ever full backs and is seen by many as only second to Matthews as Blackpool's greatest ever player. One-time runner up to the Footballer-of-the-year award and of course World Cup winner, Armfield will provide a solid presence on the right side of my defence.

Van Bronkhorst Have to disagree with Morzadec here. For me Gio will go down as an all time great. A Champions League winner and the third most capped player in the Netherlands' history whom he almost captained to the World Cup of course speaks for itself.

Ferdinand For me the best centre-half of the Premier League era and was the best defender in the world in 2008. Part of a defence that kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League, a record, Rio also has great ability on the ball and imo he will compliment Jaap Stam perfectly.

Stam An incredible defender. An absolute rock at the back and imo as important as any pother player in the treble winning year for Manchester United and part of the best defence at a club team I've ever seen with AC Milan. As I say I think his style will work in tandem very well with Rio.

Ballack I would say Ballack is the best German player over the last 20 years and one of, if not the best midfielder of his generation. Incredibly powerful midfielder who's record of 42 goals in 98 caps for his country shows what a goalscoring threat he was as well. Almost single-handely dragged Germany to a World Cup final in 2002 as well.

Tardelli I think if one word sums up my midfield duo it's 'power'. One of the best defensive midfielders to play the game, this guy was top class but also had a knack for chipping in with vital big-game goals, none more so than against Germany in the World Cup final.

Zico Called the "White Pele" for good reason. The best player in the world at one point without question. Hs passing was second to nobody who's ever played the game and will be the key playmaker in my team.

Matthews Often regarded as the best English player ever and one of the best wingers to grace the game, Matthews will provide the width needed in the team and the chief supplier to Gerd Muller.

Del Piero Juve's record appearance holder and goalscorer. Gary Neville described him as toughest opponent he came up against which is high praise indeed. Coming in from the left, there are few who would present more of a threat than Del Piero. Also a master at set pieces.

Muller The ultimate poacher. 68 golas in 62 caps says everything. He won everything. A World Cup, a European Championship and 3 European Cups. Until Messi came along he also held the record for the number of goals scored in a calendar year. Absolutely incredible goalscorer who would be a perfect fit in any team and would trouble any defence.

Morzadec

Can we get a poll for this BH or other mod when you can?

Oranage2

Voted for morzadec, very good match up but van bronkhurst was the deciding factor, a disaster of a mistake that.

Also I doubt there is a better back 5 in the competition that's better than modzadec

jem

morzadec for me, excellent balanced team.
Strong in defence, good in midfield and IMHO the greatest ever player in Maradonna with old horse face to put the ball in the net.

Eugeneious also has an amazing attack, Zico was one of my favourite players growing up . Muller was the total 6 yard goal machine. he would have loved to have Stan the man puting the ball into him.
My problem as said above is Armfield & Van Bronkhorst, and I could be killed her but I always thought Casillas was slightly over rated. An excellent goalkeeper yes up to the standard of Buffon, Shiltom , Banks Zoff etc I personally dont think so.

Jax Teller

Thuram was a right back at his peak no ? Moved to cb when he lost a yard of pace ?

Morzadec

Thuram was awesome in both positions, and played a good few years at the top level as a centre-back with both Juve and France, including the 06 World Cup where he was in the team of the tournament

Morzadec

Actually from doing a bit of research, it looks like Thuram was always predominantly a CB and that France decided to use him as a RB in 98 and 00.

Basically he was always both, he could always play both, he always had that versatility and it wasn't a case of being moved central as the years took their toll.

He apparently played CB at Parma for example, which would have been at the same time he was playing RB for France

Donnielighto

Morzadec. His team is just amazing all through, will be very hard to stop.

Gvb is not the disaster it could be as he matches up against morzadecs weakspot in pires

bucketybuck

Another vote for Morzadec.

Eugenious certainly hasn't got a bad team together but he is unlucky in his opponent who has an excellent line up. As others have mentioned he has a weakness at full back, and I suspect Del Piero's effectiveness will be blunted a little out on the left.

Morzadec has a very solid lineup, he will be hard to beat.

Winston Payne

I've gone for Morzadec. It's a close match but his level of individual quality is just that wee bit higher, at full back and in the central attacking midfielder. Pires and Cafu on the right against van Bronckhorst spells trouble, and Maradona having the options around him that he does is frightening. Del Piero may make a bit of hay himself from inside left, particularly with no dedicated ballwinning DM but the possession Morzadec will have and the damage he'll will do with it should carry the day.

super_furry

Morzadec by some distance. That midfield would control any game.

G.K.

Both teams have their weaknesses, but I think on balance Morzadec will take this. I expect he'll have enough possession to score the goals he needs, and of course when he has the ball, eugenious can't score.

Bounty Hunter

Eugenious has a quality team and def not one of the worst in the draft but with a landslide in the voting Morzadec progresses

Morzadec

Good game eugenious. As BH said it certainly wasn't a bad team at all