Yes, but it is not said by definition those will clog up what they do. For Neymar we have seen how he fills in the supporting role, and 'Robbery' were facilitating players as well (as shown/argued previously with the tackling stats etc. and why I classified them as wingers and not forwards). We cannot exclusively rely on a "eye test" and neither did you in the other thread (unless it are your favorites..). Players like Quaresma, Adel Taarabt, Ben Arfa and Lee Trundle shows this convincingly. In the other thread you don't use the eye test either as something that trumps everything so you're disingenuous here. The eye test will also show Thiago Silva his own fouling made him suspended at various moments during the business end, and the 2011, 2014 and 2015 exits by Brazil can be traced to his own dumb actions (handballs, getting suspended etc.). Context matters as well, and the context here is PSG has a wage bill that is four times as high as the #2 of their league. The average salary is three times as high. Despite this enormous advantage, in two of the seven Ligue 1 seasons Thiago Silva had not the best defensive record in the league. The past 10 seasons he had 6 times the best defensive record of his league, and 4 times not. Furthermore, you made the claim of outperforming the level of the team, but there is nothing in support of that. Not by ESM selections, not by DBScalcio (see above), not by GoalImpact or whatever (and with his team-mates reaching semi finals for club or country). It is clearly not like Van Dijk at Southampton (40% win percentage with him and the 7th best team of the league, 20% win percentage without him in 36 missed league games for the entire 2015-2018 period), or Seedorf giving a spark and improvement to Inter. If we look at the Champions League matches (the real test for PSG) we see Thiago Silva has a 47% win percentage. In the 19 games he missed it is 53%. Furthermore, in his 73 CL games he conceded 89 goals. I think it is ludicrous to have him as the highest peak of the decade. Zero Champions League and World Cup semi finals is a powerful statistic in this respect. In the Copa America he won the thing on home soil yes, but was part of two dismal exits too (and for 2016 not even called up! because of his horror show and handballs in 2015)
Well, that's very simplistic and factfree by you again. Dani Alves was absolutely unbelievable his first season at Barcelona. He was in the top 5% in nearly every stat that matters, including 5.77 adjusted tackles per90 and 10.2 deep progressions from fullback.He did all the dirty work AND was a great creative force to boot. pic.twitter.com/krsFIR5YVK— StatsBomb (@StatsBomb) July 22, 2019 532845347618689024 is not a valid tweet id I placed Lahm as the #2 full-back and Alves as the #1, and I'll go into more detail later on this.
From tactical point of view a have few musts: - Messi and Ronaldo - striker that will unlock Ronaldo's potential as a goalscorer. He has never been able to perform as a lone striker. - a ball and runners for Messi - Dani Alves and Marcelo can not play in the same team. Either one of them with the other pair, a more defensive fullback. This is my first attempt (i guess it is very late 2010s based because it is fresh in my mind. I am definitely forgetting some): Neuer Dani- Godin- Van Dijk- ? Rodri Xavi- Vidal Messi- Suarez- Ronaldo I didnt put Busquets because i think it is important to have some physically dominant player in this position given Ronaldos and Messis lack of tracking back. Was thinking of Xabi Alonso and he is valid option. Pirlo wasnt dominant in the air nor tireless runner. Rodri gives the intensity and hes has 2 great seasons already whichs level he produced in this squad, it would have been perfect. It is not longevity based XI, but rather peak plus tactically sensible XI. Suarez- Ronaldo would be a direct upgrade on Ronaldo- Benz and that duo worked extremely well. Messi would cut inside and operate in those areas whilist Dani would operate as a quasi right winger. For that reason solid left back with limited offensive output would be ideal. I cant think of any at the moment.i mena i cna but i am sure i am missing someone. Someone can fill it up for me Vidal can score and likes to play between the lines. He is obviously there for the intensity and work rate, but he is good enough in everything else to not slow things down offensively. I feel like another playmaker is not needed among them especially because Messi likes the possesion so much, but i am having doubts about that position. Silva, Iniesta might do the trick. My only issue is defending. It would be costly to have both Ronaldo and Messi not defending and add Suarez there as well. MSN was essentially that and it just didnt work. For that reason i am thinking of alternative where Messi is false nine and then having right winger that is very defensively aware. *i was going 433 because someone mentioned it to be the dominant formation.
I just though of Yaya Toure. He is serious consideration of mine now. He has a lot of qualities i think this team would like.
I don't think so. Mainly because of three reasons: - He never played as the single pivot, because he was not an interceptor or tackler - His main weakness was that he was not press-resistant at all - In many seasons he was the player who was most often dribbled past, of the entire league Xabi Alonso had his strengths and a good career, but he had some distinct trademark skills and trademark weaknesses. In the Clasicos he was most of the times among the weakest performers on the field. "There was a theory around Spain's capital that when playing in El Clasico, Xabi Alonso was a luxury Real Madrid couldn't afford. His ability on the ball was restricted due to Barca's high pressing and he was often found wanting defensively. Alonso didn't do a lot to diminish those theories. It seemed that Messi and Iniesta relished the thought of coming up against him, judging by the myriad of times they effortlessly dribbled past him. After Barca negated Alonso's primary skill of long range passing, they realised he didn't offer much else."
Arguably the greatest performance of his champions league career(160+ matches)came as a lone centre forward/striker with park and Rooney consigned to the wings. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...s-league-arsenal-manchester-united-chalkboard Neither suarez,ibrahimovic or any other CF of the last 10 years reached this level in a game of such magnitude
What exactly this highlight video is supposed to prove? Scoring 30+ meters free kick is a showcase of Ronaldo being able to play as a lone striker? A counter attack is showcase of him being able to play as a lone strike? The fact this was a legendary night has nothing to do with Ronaldo's skillset as a lone striker or at least this video doesnt begin to prove it. Ronaldo has never been the guy who can consistently be successful at playing with his back towards goal. He doesnt get physical with central defenders and when he does, he easily gets down. He excells when he has another player distracting central defenders. Plus this is just one game (vs what kind of defense). Give me 20 more examples and in doing that, give me examples from 2010s because thats the discussion here. All i know that every manager that tried to experiment with ronaldo at number 9 in 2010s, quickly returned to previous set up, including Allegri last season. Show me otherwise.
20 more examples How about 35? He played as a number 9 for the duration of 2009/10 and at least according to WS it was his greatest ever season No number 9/centre forward was as devastating as he was in 2009/10 33 goals 12 assists 17 MOTM awards In 35 games 7 solo goals 6 direct free kicks 4 penalties( all directly won) 2nd most key passes in la liga (after xavi) Most fouled player Most distance covered by any player in la liga Top 5 dribblers of the league you are doubling down when all this (above) is easily verifiable edit For performance (with touches) check osasuna home Villarreal home and away mallorca away And others I can't recall at this exact moment
Ripping of Liverpool scheme, this could ba valid team (improving upon every Liverpools individual without changing the essence much): Neuer Kimmich- Godin- Van Dijk- Alba Kante De Bruyne- Vidal Ronaldo- Messi-Neymar 2015 Neymar, the one that defended. High work rate midfield with dash of playmaking in de bruyne (modric, xavi are up there) and individually solid defense that can attack. You are hiding behind vaguity of positions and roles in football just to claim Ronaldo could play everything. No he couldnt. What he was on the paper is irrelevant. You are yet to explain or hypothesize how could Ronaldo possibly overcome his weaknesses and fulfill #9 role or how he did that with actual examples of a single game. In Manchester United he wasnt doing anything different than Salah is currently doing, which is attacking space in behind the lines with pace. He can do that from the right wing or centrally in some games when Firmino is absent (aka what you would call #9, which is not it). Ronaldo still had Rooney, physically strong attacker, next to him vs Arsenal. I can imagine he freed him a lot. Sorry to be the one to say it, but 2009/10 is still not this decade..
Plus you are just straight up lying. I just checked and who scored registered Ronaldo playing as a striker in 2010 season 10 times (8 in la liga and 2 in ucl)
Nowhere did I say he could do or play everything He could play any and every position along the forward line Centre forward Second striker Right wing forward Left wing forward Left wide midfielder Right wide midfielder Even Attacking midfielder "As he hit his early 20s at Old Trafford and acquired technical and physical maturity, he developed into a goal scoring, ‘total’ footballer who could operate anywhere across the forward line." https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.te...oins-illustrious-list-players-reinvented/amp/ He played every single one of these positions to a world class standard Sometimes alternating between 3 to 4 positions in a single match When salah can play half the positions I've just listed then we can talk He is a one footed player and technically restricted with regards to his impact on the field Non existent aerial threat Seldom shoots with his weaker foot (which is a major weakness for any striker) Completely Redundant from set piece situations 2009/10 is not part of the 2010s? Half of it is Unless you're suggesting its part of the 1910s Ronaldo (his prime) Was a free role with a creative license to do what he wanted and from a purely offensive perspective he could do everything and had no weaknesses you and Hugo sanchez are the only two people on planet earth who have suggested he couldn't/or struggles to play with his back to goal Or needs a decoy/runner striker(benzema,Rooney....hugo almeida) Who was his 'peasant' striker in 2009/10? Gonzalo higuain with 29 league goals?
Salah does play in every offensive position. It is not just me who says it, football manager game does. Ronaldo just like Salah, plays a very limited variation of a striker that relies mostly on pace and flair. He can not do everything. Amongst other things, he definitely can not play a target man which ends debate about that very quickly. The last time he played a lone striker in a serious match that i can think of was Bayern away in ucl 2018: Navas Carvajal Varane Ramos Marcelo Casemiro Vasquez Modrić Kroos Isco Ronaldo Those highlights do not show all duels, but you can clearly see my point. Ronaldo was struggling to make the difference for majority of match. When Ronaldo is a lone striker his skillset is not good enough to make the difference. He can not do something like this: Costa's first goal: Central defenders have only one player to take an eye on, and world class defenders are good enough to deal with him for most part. It is too predictable. First goal of this game is pretty good example:
This is what it comes down to: To score goals Ronaldo doesnt outmuscle defenders but he outsmarts them. To outsmart them he needs some sort of distraction, else it becomes too predictable that he is the danger and defenders shut him down.
I don't think so. Allison has WhoScored ratings 6.79, 6.93 and 6.88 for the league, Champions League and Copa America last season. Neuer had ratings of 7.05 (+ 0.26), 6.91 (- 0.02) and 7.23 (+ 0.35) in the league, Champions League and World Cup of 2013-14. This suggests he was busier overall, while setting a 53 games undefeated run in the league. His Champions League rating is suppressed by conceding four against Manchester City, five against Real Madrid, and even then he is still on equal footing. That World Cup performance and the lobbying brought him on the podium of the Ballon d'Or. There were people who thought Keylor Navas had a better World Cup and a better performance. His rating was 7.45 (0.22 higher than Neuer). Neuer had the higher peak, and was overall more active while setting an unbeaten run with his team and conceding 23 goals in the league.
The most logical alternatives for Marcelo are Jordi Alba and Alaba in my opinion. As for Dani Alves, I think he had the longer career and also the higher peak. Will go into that the next post.
Whoscored ratings apart, we know now that Alisson was the best GK in the Premier League (the top league in Europe) in terms of saving shots on target (that is perhaps the most important stats for a GK) and we know too that he had a serie of decisive clean sheets too, being crucial in both titles last year, the UCL and Copa América. Bundesliga wasn't as competitive as today's Premier League and like you said Neuer conceded a lot against Madrid and City. Fast search: https://www.transfermarkt.com/jumplist/weisseweste/wettbewerb/L1/saison_id/2013 Neuer 31 Matches, 20 Goals Conceded, 15 Clean sheets. https://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/weisseweste/pokalwettbewerb/GB1/plus/0?saison_id=2018 Alisson... 38 Matches, 22 Goals Conceded, 21 Clean sheets.
Do you know the quality of shots he faced in that weak Bundesliga league or in the CL? And in the CL he wasn't nearly as influential as Alisson, neither he was the best GK of that WC (the own German Kicker rated Navas higher than him). If you replaced Neuer with some average GK, Bayern still would be the Bundesliga champion and Germany the World Cup winner that season. Alisson last year was the Golden Glove in all tournaments he played (Copa América, Premier League and UEFA Champions League) being crucial in all titles his teams won and by advanced metrics the top player in his position... it is fair to say that Alisson 18-19 is the highest peak reached this decade for a GK, point. Someone that denies the season Alisson had is just a highly manipulative person spreading propagandas. Recognizing this fact is not diminishing Van Djik's merits either. Some may have this impression.
Yes we saw that in the 2010-11 season before Neuer joined... Or when Neuer lost form for the national side... We saw this scenario playing out with keepers as Rensing, an old Butt and Kraft. Meanwhile, Liverpool had the most clean sheets in the CL campaign before Allison and are now also leading the league table (with fewest goals conceded of everyone) without Allison. So we can't say those claims with certainty. Both keepers had their international games where they conceded a lot. Bundesliga wasn't weak around 2014. They were #2 in Europe behind La Liga at the time, in continental results. Thus you can't diminish the low goals conceded that way. One thing I'm sure about is Neuer was a whole lot busier in 2014 for both his club and country. Resulting in markedly higher WhoScored and SofaScore ratings. That's just how it is. Obviously you can say Navas was better at the 2014 World Cup, I mentioned that, but the competition was also infinitely stronger as at the 2019 Copa America. Reminder: what I disagree with is the claim "higher peak", thus a category above Neuer. There is no real argument for that.
Neuer was good, but in the same way others were https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/world-cup-expected-goals-by-keeper He had no crucial impact in the CL and Bundesliga was an easy title for his team, with no real competence. But Alisson reached higher peak last season imo, positive impact in all competitions he played and the best GK in the best and more competitive league in the world (PL) https://totalfootballanalysis.com/p...iverpool-analysis-statistics-champions-league Copa América: 1 Goal Conceded (from PK) and 5 Clean sheets: https://www.fantasyfootballreports.com/copa-america/ that must be a record.
Neuer's peak was higher IMO and examples of Bayern's performances when he was out are there for all to see. Allison is great but I'm not sure he has seen a higher peak than Oblak for example.
No one of Oblak seasons are as accomplished as 18/19 Alisson season tho, Alisson won more things (UCL and Copa America including individual trophies and also being the best GK in the PL) that is a perfect season for a GK, and that matters in these types of list. For me both Alisson and Oblak reached higher peak than Neuer as a GKs (specially Alisson), but that is close and in the 5-years period, I rate Neuer and Oblak ahead of Alisson (need to add more WC seasons). Going by statistics, Oblak was the best in La Liga and Alisson in the PL last year, https://topgoalkeeping.com/best-goalkeepers-right-now-top-keepers/ but in the CL, Alisson did the work in the decisive matches (vs Napoli, vs Barcelona and vs Tottenham) where Oblak did not (vs Juventus 2º round) plus Alisson had a perfect/almost perfect Copa América.
I was the one who said 433 was the dominant formation of this decade, so I agree with it being the default formation of this XI. I like that you try to balance the fullbacks. It's something I do quite often in drafts as well. However, I don't think it is true that we can't have two marauding wingbacks, especially if you're going to play three-lungs-Kante. Barcelona played with both Alba and Alves for 4 years. I don't think VVD is a real contender for this XI. He's currently a favourite for the 2015-2025 XI, but given he only played in the Dutch and Scottish league in the first half of the decade, he doesn't have the same body of work as the Chiellini, Pique, and Ramos of this world. Fair enough that you're going with just peak, I personally prefer longevity so that explains our difference. Same goes for Rodri who only made his debut in like 2015. Xabi Alonso inadequacy for the role has already been explained. I think you're severely underestimating Busquet's ability to play the role. Not only is he, to me, by far, the best player in this role of this decade, but he has also done so in a system that at first glance, wouldn't fit him at all. Where was the physical necessity in Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta midfield? As explained above, Busquets also played in a system with 2 marauding wingbacks. It's not the athleticism that counts here, imo. It's the tactical fit, and sheer running power. Xavi had the fitness to cover for Alves, for example. Also, Busquets have Rodri beat at both longevity and peak, in this decade. I have similar concerns for Xavi. I don't think he had enough high-quality years in this decade. I think Modric edges him here. While I can sort of buy Vidal's peak being higher than Iniesta (I personally don't agree, but I can see the argument for it), I don't think Vidal's peak fits better into this system than Iniesta's. I like the idea of Messi as the false-9. I've been so obsessed with Messi and Ronaldo playing in their natural positions that I forget that Messi was just as good down the middle as wide right. I guess the question now is, is Neymar-Ronaldo better than Ronaldo-Robben? Between Robben and Neymar, who would be the better fit for Ronaldo and Messi? It's really a matter of whose skillset between the two bring the best out of Ronaldo and Messi. I don't have time to think about it yet. Although, Ronaldo has been playing on the left side all of this decade, so maybe that's an edge for Robben, even if we know he's perfectly capable of playing on the right as well.
Oblak is also slightly busier and the WhoScored ratings again show it, it is higher in the league and Champions League. Tropeiro his own link claims Oblak is twice as good a shot stopper. Meanwhile, Allison his WhoScored ratings in the league and Champions League are even lower as the ratings of a 40 years old Van der Sar (for another effective defense). No lie. Sigh, now trophies are suddenly important but for Thiago Silva they aren't. Now winning the CL and Copa America is suddenly a differentiator. Trophies are not irrelevant, but only in combination with a player having an impact on this. Thus Dani Alves won many more trophies than Lahm, but he can also show his own influence on this and has MOTM level displays at the advanced stages (2017CL semi final, scoring a goal in the 2007 Copa America final vs Argentina, andsoforth). Or vice versa: never playing a CL final is not a dealbreaker, but only if you are indeed above the level of the team or performed (scored goals etc.) in the matches you are eliminated. Handballs and suspensions don't fall into that bracket. This link claims Oblak is twice as good in preventing goals, and Oblak has his achievements as well. He is only 26 years old but has already played a CL final and two Europa League finals.