Two points here in the PIM - Trend match
1. Possession - Not convinced PIM has anyone in midfield (maybe Silva) that can hold the ball and keep it. Possession was much more important back then, than currently in the modern game. Litmanen is nice but is not going to do the dirty work in deep midfield and Cocu/Platt are good soldiers but not RAWK quality finalists in a 90's draft. Unless PIM is planning on banging balls up to Ronaldo in a whack-a-mole style, who in his midfield provides final the middle to the final third, as service his forward line requires threaded passes, exploiting space etc... Is this all Litmanen?
And Di Napolli is like a Mascherano lite in that he'll just sit in absorb central pressure, put a boot into Jari while Bergomi, RC, Nedved, Laudrup collapse the middle. And when we win the ball, we keep it and make PIM work. They tire by the second half and we'd get a comfortable 2-0 win, if Ronald is not sprung and if he is --- 2-1 maybe.
You have to have the ball to score.
2. Who has the better partnerships across the pitch
Attacking partnerships that work?
Forward line - Bebeto/Romario vs. Suker/Ronaldo
Attack/Holding Mid - Hassler/Di Napoli vs Litmanen/M Silva
Wide Middies - Nedved/B Laudrup vs Cocu/Platt
M Backs - Roberto Carlos/Bergomi vs. Pessotto/Jorginho
Centrebacks - Sanchis/Popescu vs. Mihailjovic/Kohler
In my mind, I go 2-1-2 (winning wide middies, marking backs -- losing the holding mid and its a draw for the attack/CB partnerships).
Goalkeeper? Chilavert did not win anything, even though he was quality and I like him, but Barthez was a winning Frenchy, Marseille Manc so vote as you will if GK is your kicker.
Either way, well out PIM!
1. GoalkeeperChilavert could win 'nothing' (he won Copa Libertadores), because he didn't play in Europe, but he was named the Best Goalkeeper in the World for 3 years by IFFHS, a distinction which many other great goalkeepers have not been able to achieve. Also, he played for Paraguay, there was no chance he was going to win anything with his country. Nobody criticizes George Best or King Kenny for winning nothing Internationally, for examples.
Clearly better than Barthez there, who was inconsistent and wasn't as good as Chilavert in his peak as well.
2. MidfieldAs for the midfield, Mauro Silva is a clearly superior version to Di Napoli in absorbing/anchoring the middle, while Cocu and Platt add more of the same while also being able to keep ticking the ball. If Fabinho, Hendo, and Wijnaldum are well capable of ticking the ball over with possession, I'm sure that Silva (similar to Fab), Platt (similar to Hendo) and Cocu (can be compared to Wijnaldum with slight differences) can do the same. You see I've just replaced fellow country men with similar styles of play. Also, this midfield goes all over your side's midfield in terms of physicality, so it's going to be really hard for your team to control anything in midfield. Your midfield is top heavy, mate.
Cocu, being a leader,
"Cocu played for Barcelona between 1998 and 2004. There, he would become club captain, win La Liga in 1999 and play two Champions League semi-finals. He left the club in 2004 as club record holder for the most league appearances by a foreign player. "
He is the 5th most capped Dutch player, and remember that Barcelona's possession game was modeled on Dutch ideas.
Platt is horribly under-rated.
https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/12/22/david-platt-an-englishman-in-italy/"England are squaring off against Belgium for a place in the quarter-final of Italia 90, it’s the 119th minute of a fairly even game when England are awarded a free-kick some 35 yards from goal. What happened next would go down as one of the most dramatic goals in England’s recent history.
The then Aston Villa midfielder David Platt rids himself of his marker in the box for split second as Paul Gascoigne’s ball descends towards him. Platt swivels and connects beautifully with a right-footed volley which arrows across Michel Preud’homme and into his right-hand corner. Platt peels away in celebration, euphoria overtaking him and sinking to his knees – a rare manner of celebrating a goal by his own admission – and is soon mobbed by teammates.
The goal was life changing for Platt; in the immediate aftermath of the strike and for the long-term effects. He had been a substitute in every game of the World Cup prior to the goal, following the Belgium game he subsequently became an automatic starter against Cameroon, West Germany and Italy. Scoring a further two goals in the quarter-final and the third-place play-off.
The England squad returned home as heroes for their unexpected run to the last four, restoring pride to the national game after a decade of darkness. It could be argued that with the exception of Gascoigne, nobody’s value rose higher after the tournament than Platt’s. He had been named PFA Player of the Year in the season leading into Italia 90 as he rattled in 19 goals in the league from midfield, yet his performances in Italy garnered international recognition and speculation was mounting that he wouldn’t be playing in the Midlands for much longer."
Since his move to Bari,
"On an individual level, Platt shined in his maiden season on the peninsula. He would end the season with 11 goals from 29 games, an astounding tally given that Bari only scored 26 goals in the entire season and he was a midfielder playing for a struggling side in a league where goals came at a premium."
Although it didn't work out at Juve, since his move to Sampdoria,
"For the next two seasons, under the tutelage of future England manager and Swedish Lothario Sven-Göran Eriksson, Platt excelled at the heart of the Sampdoria midfield. His marauding runs from midfield complimented the guile of Gullit – who was brought in on loan from Milan – and the combative nature of Vladimir Jugović and all-action style of Attilio Lombardo. All led, of course, by the irresistible Mancini.
Platt once more continued his propensity for scoring on his debut, this time a header away to Napoli in a 2-1 win. He would net a further eight goals in the league – including an equaliser in the Derby della Lanterna – and two in the Coppa Italia, including a crucial penalty in the round of 16 against Roma.
The death of Mantovani, the orchestrator of the club’s resurgence, months after signing Platt left a dark cloud over the club. However, they battled on to enjoy a fine season playing in swashbuckling fashion, scoring more goals than anyone in the division. They eventually finished third in the league and won the Coppa Italia. They haven’t won anything since."
"Platt became a more technically accomplished and tactically astute footballer in Italy".
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/oct/28/david-platt"No discussion of the best England midfielders of modern times will even mention Platt, yet he flourished overseas, has an England goal record (27 in 62) on a par with Alan Shearer and also "did it" in the late stages of a World Cup."
"Part of the problem perhaps lies in Platt's strangely unengaging style of play: an energetic all-rounder, he still gave the impression of having learned to play football from a 1970s textbook. With England Platt's game was based around his "trademark late runs", a form of highly specialised haring about the place, and a version of playing that tends for long periods not to involve the ball at all."
This also shows that this team and midfield is well capable of playing with or without possession, this team can play on the counter as well as play with the ball, it's much more complete than you're making it out to be, mate.
3. Attacking Trio and DefenseWith this midfield, Litmanen does not have to do any of the dirty work. He has a free role, supplying two of the best strikers of this era in Ronaldo and Suker. The front trio have Ballon d'Or 1st, 2nd and 3rd within them in this period alone.
Your FB's are good, but my threat is coming from the middle, and I'm not sure your CBs and GK is going to handle the trio of Litmanen, Ronaldo and Suker. They're capable of creating panic across your defense and they're pretty complete as well. They have presence, pace, vision and had extremely good finishing abilities overall as a trio.
As for your attacking threat, my midfield is going to absorb it mostly, and if anything goes through - you have to get past World Cup and European Cup winners in defense before you face 3 Times Best Goalkeeper of the Year.
"Mihajlović was moved to the centre of the team's defensive line, and remained in this position for the rest of his career. He later excelled in this newfound centre back role, where he functioned as a sweeper, due to his consistent defensive displays, physique, intelligence, leadership, and tenacity, as well as his good technique, touch on the ball, and long passing ability, which enabled him to play the ball out from the back; he drew praise from manager Carlo Mazzone, in particular, who described him as one of the best players in the world in his position."
Him with Kohler is a daunting task to try and test Chilavert.
4. Free-Kicks/PenaltiesAlso, Mihajlovic and Chilavert were absolute monsters in free-kicks. Mihajlovic holds the record for most free-kicks in Serie-A. Any fouls and you're going to be nervy. And then you have Litmanen and Ronaldo too. I think they're going to be very comfortable in penalties as well if needed.
5. Leaders in the TeamCocu captained Barca to their League Title in 1998. He captained his National Team as well.
Litmanen captained his National Team.
Kohler led the line at the back.
6. BalanceApart from having a Top Heavy Midfield, you have what you have mentioned as Wide Middies in the Center. I have central midfielders in the center.
All, in all I find your team to be really good mate, but it's unbalanced and it doesn't seem to be able to handle the threat from the opposition.
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