All-Time European Draft - Line Ups and Tactics

Strength: I have no big surprise on my selections. Everyone is a household name. The quality of players is very good.

Defensive Third of the field
František Plánicka plays in goal. I have three famous defenders from the 1980's playing along with John Charles. Physically, this team is among the strongest in the draft. They can easily dominate their attackers with their size and athletic abilities. Camacho and Claudio Gentile are the types of defenders or I should say characters that I liked on my defence. They are combative players who play with intensity. John Charles' physical prowess needs no introduction. Manuel Amoros processes an elegant style. Charles and Gentile, both of whom were Juventus' greats, were known to have never been sent off. Yes, Gentile never received a red card before. It is hard to believe. So my defence is high tempo, but yet cautious with their approach.

The Middle Third
The midfield is very simple. It consisted of a deep playing playmaker and a ball-winner. Duncan Edwards protects the midfield. Jozsef Bozsik starts the attack from the back. He connects the team from the back field to the front.

The Attacking Third
Michael Laudrup runs the attacking third of the fields. He is the playmaker. On the left, Francisco Gento plays a left winger. He dribbles, he passes, he crosses, he shoots. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the few target men in history who is strong and acrobatic in the air while processed great technique with his feet. He can do everything that a team requires a striker to do. His main job, of course, is to score goals, but he can hold the ball with his back against goal, playing one-two with the rest of the attackers.

In this video, you understand how Ibrahimovic could pass the ball with his back against the goal.


Roberto Baggio occupies the right forward position. I let the video to do the talk:

 

Like every team in the draft my team is full of legendary names. The difference between my team and the others is all my players fit together.



My team will play in the style of the great passing teams from Europe's past. We will use a withdrawn center forward who acts as playmaker and highly technical players with great passing skills all over the pitch. This style will be in the mold of the Vienna School/Wunderteam of the 1930s, the Dutch Total Football of the 70s, and Barcelona/Spain of the 2010s. We will simply play everyone off the pitch. Every player through the spine of the team is an all time great passer and master technician. The ball will move faster than any of the of the oppositions hard nosed combative midfielders can move. The wide forwards provide direct runs and goalscoring and any player in the team is capable of finding their runs from anywhere on the pitch. The wing backs provide width and energy.

Raymond Kopa is one of the greatest footballers of the 1950s. He was one of the greatest passers and dribblers in the world and renowned for his final ball. He holds the record for most assists in a World Cup in 1958 and won the Balon d'Or that season. Despite his modern categorization as a number ten or attacking midfielder his position for his entire career outside of three seasons with Real Madrid (where he had to play left wing because of Di Stefano's occupation of the center forward position) was center forward. He played a very creative style of center forward dropping deep and excelled at setting up his more direct teammates who played inside forward (Fontaine and Piantoni) to score goals. He would often drop deep to receive the ball between the defense and midfield and then dribble at defenders drawing them in before playing in his teammates with a variety of killer passes (through balls, lobs over the top etc). He will play this role for my team, with the direct wide forwards providing the same patterns of play he often saw from his direct inside forwards in the old pyramid system. He is the playmaker of the team in the mold of Sindelar, Cruyff or Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Hristov Stoichkov are the direct players in the team who are responsible for scoring goals. Ronaldo will play with the style of the goal scoring phenom at Real Madrid circa 2012. One of the most prolific scorers in football history he will cut in from the left to attack the box with his strong right foot. Kopa will be the perfect partner for him. Stoichkov will play a very similar role on the left cutting into the box and knifing through defenses shooting with his strong left foot. The wide forwards will be tasked with making runs in behind where Kopa and the fantastic passer in the midfield and defense can play them in from anywhere on the pitch.

The midfield is full of highly technical players and great passers of the ball. Kazimierz Deyna is the midfielder with the most licence to get forward and score goals. He is an all time great passer and dribbler of the ball but he was far more than just a number ten and is a endless runner in the midfield, building up play and is willing to tackle. Nils Liedholm is another member of the midfield who stands as one of the greatest passers and technicians in football history. It is claimed he did not misplace a single pass in his first two years an Milan, and was given a standing applause by the home crowd after his first. Denya and Liedholm will be the Xavi and Iniesta of my team, retaining the ball through the short passing gaming and looking to play in diagonal runs from the wide forwards. Igor Netto is the pivot and metronome of the team. He links the great passers at the back with the more advanced midfielders, forming passing triangle with each group. He was renowned for his development of the short passing game that created pleasing attacking moves and ball retention in the USSR, where he is considered the countries greatest outfield player. The teams entire passing and possession style runs through him. He will also drop in deep to cover runs between the defenders when they get higher up the pitch to join the attack. Although he is capable of playing a more aggressive box to box style he will play a more limited role in this team, but one he is fully capable of. He will play in the style he showed in the 1960 Euro Final vs Yugoslavia where he made a large number of tackles of dropping into the defensive back line to pick up runners from the midfield, and then exchanging neat one touch passing moves to play the ball out through the midfield.



The central defenders, Bobby Moore and Fernando Hierro are possibly the two greatest passing center backs ever. Both are fully capable of playing the ball out through the back and were fantastic on the ball. Moore is capable of finding the wide forwards runs in behind from defense. Both may lack speed but have impeccable anticipation and reading of the game, especially Moore. Hierro also provides height and heading ability to cover for what was seen as Moore's one possible weakness. Netto will provide cover if one journeys further up the pitch to dictate attacks.

The fullbacks Paul Breitner and Fahrudin Jusufi are known for their ability as two of the greatest modern fullbacks who can get forward and provide width and support the attack, which will be their role in this team. They will exploit the open spaces on the outsides of the final third where the runs of the wide forwards will create great space for overlapping runs from the fullbacks, who are both capable of scoring and assisting from those positions.

Manuel Neuer is the goalkeeper. He excels on the ball and is comfortable with a style of playing out of the back. The also excels at the sweeper keeper role that will be valuable to nullify the space the teams will try to exploit behind the central defenders. He as also a fantastic shot stopper. His ability as a sweeper keeper with compliment and enhance the abilities of the ball playing center backs, as it did in the 2014 World Cup for Hummels.

In short this is the type of team with the type of tactics that is capable of replicating the best version of the attacking possession style of football that has been seem from Barcelona 2009-2011, Ajax 1970-1973, and Austria 1931-32.

 

Perú FC

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Goalkeeper

It starts with a commanding goalkeeper like Rinat Dasayev to order his defenders with excellent positioning, reaction and agility. His great anticipation in the aerial game was also very commendable to cut crossing passes and it's a great plus (especially for the team idea) his ability to start fast counterattacks.

Defense

I think Alan Hansen and Alessandro Nesta form a very solid pair in the back. The Scot was probably the most skilled British defender ever with a very good composure and great tactical sense. He was very comfortable on the ball and capable of coming forward and linking up with the midfield, so he could take the role of sweeper on occasions. Meanwhile, the Italian is well-known as a maestro of timing and anticipation with great marking skills.

On the other hand, Rafael Gordillo and Branko Stankovic will provide the wide game by the flanks. Apparently, the Yugoslav was the first and most legendary side-back (in modern terms) of his country with very solid marking skills and excellent positioning both in attack and defense. He also was very good on the ball to send accurate early crosses. The Spanish had a more offensive mentality with a terrific effort, so he will be the most offensive of them and take advantage of his projection to accompany the midfielders and feed the attackers. I expect to support defensively his attacks with Robson by his zone and don't neglect any space.

Midfield

Since the beginning I had the idea of forming a characteristic team around my first choice, Lothar Matthäus, and I'm very satisfied with the final product. The basic thing is to be a very vertical, fast and powerful team without major pauses (that's the reason why I decided to do without a classic playmaker) with many weapons in the attack, but also very capable to exert strong pressure on the rival possession. For that purpose it was key for me to form an incombustible midfield with at least 3 superb ball-winners who should also have to be very good technically to venture quickly into attack and I think that support was successful with Bryan Robson, Lothar Matthäus and Gerhard Hanappi, all of them combative players with never-say-die attitude, tireless runners and smart tacticians capable of marking, tackling, playmaking, dribbling and scoring equally. A plus would be the powerful and accurate shot of medium and long distance of all of them, especially about "Der Terminator".

Forward

I think the offensive trio is very powerful and complete. László Kubala will be the first offensive/creative link and will have more freedom to move like a floating forward by the right side or behind the attackers. Obviously, he can also assist and/or penetrate with his fantastic dribbling to score by himself. Then, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Marco van Basten form the main attack combo. The German will be a little deeper to use his athletic all-round skills and technical abilities in favor of team vertigo, but basically he could exchange roles with van Basten or positioned by the wing if required. The Dutch is commonly regarded as the most complete striker ever from Europe, blessed with enormous skills not only to score, but also to associate, look for spaces and assist.

I think those 3 can form a very mobile and complementary attack that can take advantage of any type of opportunity: rebounds, volleys, long and short shots, air game, free-kicks, one-on-one definitions, acrobatic movements and even fantasy resolutions and impossible angles.

 

Formation 1

Formation 2

Formation 3

Formation 4


As you can see the idea is to merge the concepts of 'playing our own game' and 'setting up to overcome the opposition'! Each system is designed to utilise the players abilities well, put them in roles they would enjoy and excel in equally, and help cohesion going forwards while also having plenty of defensive ability and cover.

We'd be having a talk about how each would be played, and getting used to them in training, before picking and choosing (and sometimes switching during games if the manager thinks it's a good idea) the system to suit each game. Not to rule out sticking with a formation that has proved fruitful in the previous game, or springing a surprise to try to gain an advantage that way. To an extent we can also avoid the opposition making plans for us if they don't know how we will set up.

In each system the defenders will mainly stay back, and just progress far enough up the pitch to aid our possession play. As you can see Sarosi will have a bit more freedom to decide how to play in that respect though, and can help set the tempo and gameplan from his role as old-fashioned half-back and captain. When necessary he will definitely be completing a solid back 4, and this link has some info about his reputation as a defender:
http://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-uefa-euro-fantasy-draft.403052/page-23
“One match he’d be at the back, and the next he’d be in midfield or up front – that was impressive enough in itself," said Franco Basaglia, the legendary Italian who played against Sarosi for Lazio and Italy. “But what was more impressive was that he was probably the best defender in the world, the best midfielder and the best striker.
“I’d breathe a sigh of relief when I saw he wasn’t marking me. But then I’d think, 'I’m going to have to score two or three to give us a chance', as you knew that when he was in an attacking position, his team were likely to score a good number of goals. And sometimes even that wasn’t enough. In the 1937 [Mitropa] Cup final, I scored four goals, but Sarosi scored six and we lost!”
http://www.xtratime.org/forum/348-history-football/266542-dr-gy%F6rgy-s%E1rosi.html

The midfielders will be the heartbeat of the team, helping to get the ball and then using it skilfully and constructively.

The forward 2 or 3 (with the third being Zidane advancing from midfield or Ceulemans) will be encouraged to play with freedom and imagination, and while helping with closing down and filling holes when they can, would be free to roam and bring out the best of their attacking games. Shevchenko isn't required to be static but will still be down the middle a lot as the most advanced player, to provide a consistent outlet for through balls and other passes and crosses.

The Magic Square (formation 1) can be nominal first choice/default formation and might be the most used but would not be guaranteed to be turned to for crucial games if others suited better.

In the 3-4-3 it can be that the midfield roles can be interchanged. In any case there would be a Total Football element for the base and side players, with each having a view to cover the others (especially if the base player goes forward) as well as making themselves available for progressive passes. But as the rest of the team gets to know Sarosi properly his suitability to play on the sides of that diamond can be assessed, and also in attacking or game chasing mode he could be played at the tip, ready to get into the attack whenever possible, while Zidane plays more from the left midfield position and depending on form/fitness or just how the game is going either Tigana (in dribbling mode down the outside or through the centre) or Neeskens (looking to penetrate through the central and inside right areas) from the right - still with an eye on helping and covering the anchor player (Neeskens as ball winner, or Tigana as energetic midfield sweeper). Ceulemans will play more from the wing, but can switch sides and that might mean Dalglish played more from the other inside forward channel too, but he is to function like a support striker mostly anyway, and a link player and goalscorer combined as he excelled at - he would not be hugging the touchline wheras Ceulemans at least at times would do so - neither is really expected to get back down the wing to defend in that system in a reliable manner anyway although Ceulemans might do it where necessary/feasible to add an extra player retreating into a helpful defensive position and allowing midfielders to cover other holes (again using the Total Football cocept).

1 - Gordon Banks
2 - Ciro Ferrara
3 - David Alaba
4 - Johan Neeskens
5 - Gyorgy Sarosi
6 - Ricardo Carvalho
7 - Jean Tigana
8 - Kenny Dalglish
9 - Andriy Shevchenko
10 - Zinedine Zidane
11 - Jan Ceulemans

Captain - Sarosi
Penalties and most set-pieces - Zidane

 

Sorry about the format but I'm on my I phone

The top 2 are the primary offensive formations the team can implement and the bottom picture is our defensive shape when we are looking to counter attack with the only outlet is the flanks (a la inter 2010 stifling Barca and Bayern in the cl and hitting them on the counter)

We have one of the best keepers of all time in yashin, we are looking to distribute the ball short from goal kicks with our technical defensive players all able to play a pass

Cannavaro, is one of the best stoppers ever and regardless of his height, is an excellent aerial threat

When sammer plays as a sweeper he will obviously cover the ground behind cannavaro as the team will play more if a pressing game

When we play a more possession orientated diamond, mgrath will be able to sweep up if the little guy is beaten over head

Mgrath read the game like very few cbs, he made the game look so easy and his judgement was consistently great

Sammer as well, not the quickest players but they see the game ahead of others and sammer is more than capable of finding our teams primary playmaker in dejan as well as his closer counterparts

Both fullbacks are converted wingers, they are excellent going forward and provide the width to our side in both formations. Suurbier is one of the finest fullbacks of all time and a famous member of the Ajax wonder team. Heintz is also a fellow European cup winner from the Dutch league. My team is full of winners at all levels and the majority won the European cup

In midfield I have the finest English deep lying playmaker of all time and one of the modern great b2b central mids. Vieira is a supreme ball winner capable of driving the ball forward and finding the marauding fullbacks, scholes is there to dictate the pace of the game and look for those diagonal balls out wide. Scholes will dictate the tempo of the game

At the top of the pitch, dejan savicevic will be our enganche

He has no defensive duties and is purely there to facilitate my strikers, especially one of the greatest of all time eusabio. Dejan will have the freedom to move wide and roam, especially from the left pushing heintz inside when required (he played cm in his later career) looking to play in the half space (an area I want my fullbacks to run into occasionally to move the opposition about)

Krankl is a capable dribbler of the ball with a brilliant left peg capable of playing one twos and working off the speedy and powerful eusabio. I am looking for triangles at the top of the pitch with quick movement overloading the space between defenders and specifically the half space

Eusabio is one of the most complete strikers ever and is capable of finishing with his head and feet

Our crosses will be aimed at his head and outlet passes to his chest to work that triangle with krankl and dejan with vieira also arriving late into the box to overload the attack (still have scholes and sammer helping to defend)

We will change the formation based on the opposition, if a side is narrow we can play the 3412 to exploit the space and vice Versa the diamond to move players out of their comfort zone

My free kicks and corners will be taken by dejan with scholes waiting for a cheeky volley on the edge of the box a la vs villa

Eusabio will take my pens

Thanks for reading

 

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GK - Pat Jennings
DL - Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
DR - Eric Gerets
DC - Ronald Koeman
DC - Murtaz Khurtsilava
DM - Luis Monti
MC - Josef Masopust
AM - Alfredo Di Stefano
LW - Dragan Dzajic
RW - Stanley Matthews
SC - Gerd Muller

Captain : Alfredo Di Stefano
Penalty kicks: Ronald Koeman
Free kicks: Ronald Koeman , Dragan Dzajic
Corners: Dragan Dzajic, Stanley Matthews

Tactics

Defense:

Defense starts from the goalkeeper, and we have, we will not argue one of the best goalkeepers of all time, but definitely the best goalkeeper of the pot D, Pat Jennings [video]. On the sides are Schnellinger and Gerets [video], wing backs who play well in both directions, so that they can overlapping on the wings, but they are also capable of delaying the opponent's attack. Koeman’s famous long balls [video] can feed fast wings and push them in a dangerous situation at an early stage of the possession. If he goes forward he will be covered by Schnellinger. We will play defense zone, Khurtsilava will be denied going forward.


Middle:

Luis Monti will help Koeman in transferring balls from the defense to midfield. Another technically strong midfielder Masopust will allow Di Stefano to be concentrating on the game closer to the opponent’s goal. Considering the quality wings that will stand wide, he will have plenty of space in the middle.


Attack:

As already mentioned, we have more opportunities to develop action. Dzajic [video] and Matthews [video] in cooperation with the wing backs can break the strongest defense from the flanks.). Di Stefano has trequartista role, and I expect lots of assist and goals from him. Koeman is threatening from a distance. Gerd Muller will score lots of goals, of course, but also is expected to do the following:

 

Excuse me by advance for not using those beautiful maps but I'm too lazy to use them right now so I' ll use the old fashioned way :


--------------Bican------------
-Czibor----Cruyff----Rahn-
-------Coluna---Keane-------
Krol--Trésor--Popluhar--Thuram
----------Schmeichel--------------


In brief :

I'll use a 4-2-3-1 formation in order to control the flanks, both in attack and defense.
I've got a good combination of skills, physical power, speed and vision. I've got players who'll be able to maintain possession and to build attacks in midfield but also whose individual brilliance will allow to play fast, direct attacks and counter-attacks. In defense i' ll play as high as possible on the pitch, putting as much pressure as possible on the opposite attackers. I' ve got the players to do that.

Tactics :
My defense relies on a pair of complementary CB's : Jan Popluhar and Marius Trésor. Popluhar's job will mostly be to man-mark the opposite striker. Trésor will do it too but he will also fequently move forward as an extra-midfielder in his well-known libero style. Both are dominant in the aerial game. My backfour is protected by the great, highly reliable GK Peter Schmeichel.

My pair of fullbacks -Ruud Krol and Lilian Thuram- is perhaps the best of the draft. Both are strong, physical players. They will protect their respective flanks by shutting down the opposite wingers. Krol will move up frequently, but don't expect Thuram to stay behind : his fast, powerful runs on his right flank will be more than useful.

My midfield is the engine of my team. I've got a pair of complete central-midfielders with enourmous consistency and team-work ethic, Mario Coluna and Roy Keane. Both are born leaders and are equally good at breaking attacks and at starting attacks from deep. They're linkmen between defense and attack. Their passing game will be a constant threat in attack, and their agressiveness will be a key element of my strategy to push back the opposite team when in defense. Coluna will have a slightly more offensive role than Keane as he has a rare ability to carry the ball : he won't be afraid of moving forward to bring an-extra man and shoot to the goal when he can.

With the two of them playing behind him, Johan Cruyff won't have much defensive duties. His role will be to lead the offense of my team. He' ll focus on creating chances for himself and for the offensive trio. Naturally he's the most important player in my team. He'll be free to roam wherever he wants on the field.

Up-front, my two wingers -Czibor and Rahn- have the ability to beat any player. Both will seek to cross for my centre-forward or to cut inside to shoot themselves. As said earlier, they'll connect with my two overlapping fullbacks.
Lastly, Bican will be a constant threat for any defenses. His skills and goalscoring abilities are well-known. He' ll score tons of goals with so many goal-creators surrounding him.


Mario Coluna will captain my team.

Czibor and Rahn will take corners.

Bican or Cruyff will take penalties.

Cruyff of Coluna or Rahn will take free-kicks.

 

442/424 Counter Attacking

With Baresi, Maldini and Gullit my first three picks modeling my side around Saachi’s AC Milan seemed an obvious choice. However I wanted to add my own touches and not just try to emulate such a legendary side but tactically we would play with similar tenacity mixed with panache.

With Baresi we have the greatest sweeper of all time. His reading of the game is massive and second to none defensively. Baresi’s anticipation and tactical intelligence makes him more than a match for any forward in this draft. Consider also, he has his classic partner next to him on the left in Maldini. Maldini and Baresi provide an impenetrable defensive foundation. Tony Adams was playing blinders still drunk. In the 1990s.l Not the 60s or 70s or even 80s. But the 1990s. Perhaps the last of the hard drinking world class players, Adams has the heart and will to partner Baresi in center. Croatian legend Darijo Srna completes the defense. Versatile, tough, wily and capable in attack and defense Srna provides the support of a modern full back with a touch of class.

Edgar Davids and Danny Blanchflower anchor the midfield. Davids is the tireless, tenacious ball winner capable of dominating midfield battles. Blanchflower is the deep lying playmaker sitting in front of the defense and cover the space to allow Davids freedom to patrol.

Grzegorz Lato and Robert Pires operate on the flanks. They both offer danger from width and also the ability to come inside to assist the midfield and play make. Both are consummate professionals and wonderful team players.

Ruud Gullit and Sandor Kocsis lead the line. With the greatest goals per game ratio among goal scorers with more than 45 caps, Kocsis has long been the epitome of clinical consistency in front of goal. A smooth finisher, Sandor is used to playing with the Might Magyars which makes him perfectly suited to lead the line here with Gullit as the no.10. Gullit will dominate matches as here he is provided with the perfect platform for him to perform his finest as a free role attacker contributing to all phases of the game.

This team is built of be comfortable in all phases of the game. With the basic Saatchi ethos, we ruthlessly attack but still use an organized, zonal team defense. We shall control the tempo of matches. If the opponents likes fast, we play slow. If they like slow we raise the tempo. Either way we hit them on the counter using the immense variety of skills.

 

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When I first drafted, I thought about playing 4-3-3 with Sindelar, Best, and Hamrin. However, I was able to pick up Thierry Henry in my team, so I've decided to play the Arsenal Invincibles tactics, which I think fits my team perfectly. It's a hybrid 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 that relies on a very mobile front four spread across.

Overall Tactic (open) Overall Tactic (close)

Overall Tactic
As I said, the overall tactic will be based on the Arsenal Invincibles tactic. The style is fast direct football, and highly mobile attackers with a lot of interchanging movements.

The team will be lop-sided down the left. The idea is to recreate the famous left flank of Cole-Pires-Vieira-Henry, which was without a doubt the most devastating "flank" of the 2000s. Obviously, I already have 2 of the 4 players. On this flank, I have the marauding wingback in Cole, the GOAT winger in Best, the box-to-box Hanegem, and of course, Henry will enjoyed drifting wide.

On the right, I've recreated the Lauren-Ljungberg flank with far superior players. Lauren was the more defensive of the fullbacks, and so will Lahm. Lahm is of course both a much better player. Ljungberg was basically a wide-forward who would attack the space vacated by Bergkamp and Henry. Hamrin will be able to do the same. Bonus is, he was even better than Ljungberg. He made similar runs but was a better finisher and, unbelievably, even faster than Ljungberg, Unlike the Lauren-Ljungberg flank, which was called "the Bermuda Triangle" due to how many build-ups go to die down that flank, both Lahm and Hamrin were very good on the ball, which makes them such upgrades, and provide the team with a different dimension.

Up front, to recreate the Henry-Bergkamp partnership, I needed a forward who must be very comfortable dropping deep, roaming around looking for space, and a creative force. Sindelar is the perfect man for that. It's hard to upgrade on Bergkamp, but Sindelar can claim such a highworthy praise since he was slightly faster, which made him a more devastating dribbler.

When Sindelar drops deep, and Henry drift left, the central area will be vacated. This is the Invincibles trademark. It opens up the most dangerous area for the team to attack from multiple angles. Best and Henry can strike from the left, and Hamrin can strike from the right. With Hanegem and Alonso feeding them, they should have chances aplenty. My entire front four are also magicians who can create a goal out of nothing on their own.

GK & Central Defense (open) GK & Central Defense (close)

GK
In goal, I have in Buffon a top 3 all-time GK. At worst, you can rate him top 5 all time. Not much need to be said here.

Central Defense
Nemanja Vidic:
- 5x EPL. 3x League Cup, 1x UCL (1x runner-up)
- Highest win-rate of any EPL player with over 200+ apps at a staggering 70%!, 2nd highest clean-sheet rate at 45% just 0.1% less than Tony Adams, One of three players to win the PotY award twice, along with CR7 and TH14
- Undoubtedly the greatest stopper of the 21st century

Albert Shesternyov:
- 1x USSR Championship and CSKA Moscow's greatest player of all time.
- Voted Soviet PotY once, and top 3 three times, and nominated for Ballon D'or 4 times.
- A unique sweeper in that instead of the graceful style many sweepers had, Sherternyov was rough, tenacious, and an ultra-athlete (member of USSR athletics program)

At the central of my defense is a classic stopper/cover combo made up of the two finest East Europe has ever produced. I put a lot of emphasis on having a complimentary partnership, and I think these two fit together perfectly. Both are also very athletic, packing both pace and power, which was a major reason for their physical dominance over the many forwards they faced.

Fullbacks (open) Fullbacks (close)

Fullbacks
Ashley Cole:
- 3x EPL, 1x UCL (2 runner-up,) 1x UEFA Cup, and a record 7x FA Cups
- 4 times EPL TotY, and was both public and panel choice for EPL Team of 20 Seasons 1992-2012.
- A key member of the Arsenal Invincibles, combined with Thierry Henry to devastating effect

Lahm:
- 8x Bundesliga, 7x DFB-Pokal, 1x UCL (2x runners-up), and of course, 1x World Cup
- Was picked in Team of the Tournament for every EURO and World Cup between 2006-2014! Also picked in the all time EURO tournament team.
- Captain for both his club and country and highly praised for his intelligence.

I have the two of the best modern leftbacks. Ashley Cole is contender for best LB of the 21st century, while Lahm is contender for GOAT RB. Ashley Cole will the wingback that pushes forward to combine with Best and Henry, while Lahm will play a more supportive intelligent style he's so good at.

Central Midfield (open) Central Midfield (close)

Central Midfield
Xabi Alonso:
- Proved himself in three different countries, having won League, Cup, and/or UCL with Liverpool, Bayern, and Madrid.
- A key member of Spain golden generation that won 2x EURO and 1x World Cup
- Voted Best Spanish player in the La Liga in 2003, best midfielder in La Liga in 2012, FIFPro Xi in 2011 and 2012, EURO 2012 TotT, and UCL TotT 2014.
- Combines the protection of a holding defensive midfielder with the creativity and passing range of a Spanish playmaker.

Williem van Hanegem:
- Despite having to face Cruyff's Ajax domestically and the likes of 1970s Bayern Munich in Europe, he led Feyenoord to 3x Dutch League, 2x Dutch Cup, 1x UEFA Cup, 1x European Cup. Also a key member of the 1974 World Cup runner up Dutch NT.
- 1971 Dutch Footballer of the Year, and Feyenoord's greatest ever player
- A unique blend of ball-winner defensively, and world-class dribbling and passing abilities.

In central midfield, I have my favourite combination of runner and holder. Xabi Alonso will sit in front of the back-4, which he does so well with his intelligence, positioning, and anticipation. Hanegem was an enforcer. Both however, are two of the best passers of their generation, and in Hanegem, a world-class dribbler as well. The two will control the midfield, and supply the front 4 with endless quality passes.

Wingers (open) Wingers (close)

Wingers
George Best:
- 2x First Division, 1x European Cup
- 1x Ballon D'or, 1x FWA PotY, PFA Team of the Century, FIFA Player of the century (20th internet vote, 5th Grand Jury,) 8th World Soccer Player of the 20th century
- The greatest left-winger of all time will provide the penetration and end products down the left flank for me.

Kurt Hamrin:
- 1x Serie A, 2x Copa Italia, 2x Cup Winners Cup, 1x European Cup
- Fiorentina's all time top goal-scorer, 8th All time Serie top goalscorer, and all time Fiorentina XI
- Bags and bags of pace, world-class technique, natural goal-scorer instinct, and ice-cold finishing.

Once again, I've chosen for balance out wide. I have the greatest left-winger who was absolutely legendary on the ball, while Kurt Hamrin did his best work off the ball. This of course fits perfectly with my overall tactic of building up down the left, and opening up space for Kurt Hamrain to abuse the space and move in for the killing blow.

Front Two (open) Front Two (close)

Front Two
Thierry Henry:
- 2x EPL, 2x FA Cup, 2x La Liga, 1x Copa Del Rey, 1x UCL (1x UCL runner-up)
- So many individual awards, so highlight: PFA Team of the Century, 6x PFA TotY, 3X FWA PotY, 2X PFA PotY, Arsenal's all-time top goal-scorer and greatest ever player,
- His selection is the reason I've opted for this tactic, so the team is built around him. His pace, power, and all-round capabilities is one of the all-time greats.

Matthias Sindelar
- 1x Austrian Championship, 5x Austrian Cup, 2x Mitropa Cup, 1x Central European International Cup
- Austria Vienna, and Austrian League's greatest ever player, and IFFHS Austria's Player of the Century
- Few can replace Bergkamp and be an improvement. He was one such man. As one of the original False-9, his movement was similar, but he was faster and therefore, a more dangerous dribbler.

It's hard to improve on the Henry + Bergkamp duo, but I just did. Henry will still be able to do his thing, with a creative partner, but Sindelar was also one of the greatest dribbler's of all time.

 

Ronnie Hellstrom would be the goalie here and his renowned shot-stopping skills should secure what is a tight defense. It's a fairly straightforward set-up with a back four being marshalled by one of the greatest defenders ever in Gaetano Scirea. The Italian would set the tempo for the entire side with his fantastic build-up play and his inter-play with the likes of Charlton and Suarez would be a delight to watch. Jaap Stam and Berti Vogts would be the stoppers and provide some steel and physicality at the back, with Vogts in particular being imperious at manning the right flank and channels defensively. Giacinto Facchetti would be given full freedom to rampage forward in the chaotic, match-winning manner that he did best. An impeccable defender, he was also a force to be reckoned with the opposition's half with his sheer explosiveness and clutch goalscoring ability being a key feature for La Grande Inter.

Soren Lerby reprises the defensive enforcer role. Not necessarily a holder as such, Lerby was a dynamic cog capable of leaving his mark on the the engine room. An excellent player on the ball who had a sweet left foot - an ideal complement to the Spanish wizard Luisito Suarez Miramontes. One of the 5 ballon d'Or winners (coincidental btw), in the side, Suarez, the man whom di Stefano labelled 'El Architechto', was one of the key figures for both Herrera's Barcelona and La Grande Inter. For the free flowing Barca, he was a one-in-two goalscoring, incisive playmaker who was the talisman of the side (alongside Kubala) which went toe to toe with di Stefano's Madrid domestically with 2 la ligas, 2 Copa del Reys and 2 UEFA Fairs Cups. For the latter he was the player who was integral to Inter's counter-attacking strategy and the player whom the midfield was built around (and it showed against Celtic). Somewhere in the middle, he played a starring role for Spain, leading them to the Euros for good measure.

Sir Bobby Charlton is the ideal complement to connect the midfield and offense with his dynamic all-round game. His tactical nous (marking out a young Beckenbauer in a WC final) and industry were immense for an attacking player of his stature. Not much needs to be said about his famed attacking game with that cultured left peg (and right for that matter) capable of delivering some sumptuous passes or thundering one in from 30 yards. A complete package who was tactically astute, technically gifted and a selfless player to boot. Sir Bobby would be tasked with supporting the forwards on the ball, venturing out to his favoured left flank when Blokhin cuts in and link up with the likes of Nedved, Law and Suarez on the ball.

Pavel Nedved was a real force of nature at his peak, with his explosiveness and sheer dynamism. His industry, trickery and varied all-round threat should work rightly on the right flank. With Vogts holding the fort, Nedved would be given a free roaming role and his dynamism should come right to the fore here. Blokhin was one of the forwards of his era, with his explosiveness (2nd player in the side who could do 100m in 11-12 seconds after his left flank partner Facchetti) and sheer goalscoring threat being a thorn in defenses. With selfless players such as Nedved, Sir Bobby, Suarez and Law to link-up with Blokhin, there's every chance that an incisive ball could find the Russian on one of his trademark searing runs.

Denis Law is arguably one of the most underrated forwards of all time. Unfairly pigeon-holed as a 'pure'/limited poacher, Law was an exceptional all-round player and an extremely selfless player to boot. Technically gifted, with a keen eye for a pass and a really versatile player to boot, Law combined both the creative qualities of a selfless foil and the ruthlessness of a deadly predator inside the box. With fellow all-rounders and dynamic players in Nedved, Blokhin, Charlton and Fachhetti, Law would thrive with the movement and service that his teammates offer. Whilst Law's hold up and link-up play and impeccable movement off the ball should make him quite a treat to play with.

 

I know this is a formations thread, but thought it wasn't a bad place to do some marketing of Poetgooner's Football Manager draft (basically an All-Time draft with results decided by Football Manager gameplay rather than voting):
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/football-manager-draft-signup.2082734/

Tagging @Karloski too as La-Maquina posted his team for him.