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Team 3
1 Jose Luis Chilavert GK
2 Javier Zanetti RWB
3 Paul Brietner LWB
4 Fabio Cannavaro SW
5 Alan Hansen CB
6 Marcel Desailly CB
7 Zvonimir Boban FR
8 Lothar Matthaus CM
9 Hugo Sanchez CF
10 Carlos Valderrama PL
11 Mario Kempes IF
Our goalkeeping choice we went with Jose Luis Chilavert. We chose Chilavert because he was voted by IFFHS Worlds Best Goalkeeper in 1995, 1997 and 1998 capping off with being selected in the World Cup 1998 Best Team selection. He also has the desire to lead the team from the back and has the desire to win. This was very apparent at the end of the 1998 2nd round game against France when he walked round and picked every Paraguayan player off the grass telling them to be proud of their accomplishments. That is exactly what I would expect my captain to do. He could also be deadly from Set Pieces which in todays day and age the majority of goals are scored from. He is still the only goalkeeper ever to score a Hat Trick in the World Cup when he did this in qualifying against Brazil.
Our 2 wingbacks were chosen as Javier Zannetti and Paul Brietner which gave us the width as Brietner was well known for being not only a world class Left Back but also one who could step into the midfield the same applies to the right sided Javier Zanetti meaning we could switch to 3-5-2 in games if we were losing or looking to kill the game off.
Brietner played for both Bayern Munich & Real Madrid with great success he was also part of the West German team that won both the 1972 European Championships and the 1974 World Cup defeating the great Holland Team of the 1970's which included world class players like Cruyff and Neeskens. He won everything as a player both Internationally and Domestically including a Double in Spain with Real Madrid along with all Domestic Trophies with Bayern Munich and the European Cup when Bayern won it for the 1st time in 1974.
Javier Zannetti was a marauding Right Back for Inter Milan and also could play in midfield. He played for Internazionale for nearly 20 years clocking up over 600 appearances along with 143 caps for the Argentinian national side. Zanetti was a quick, strong, and physically fit player in his prime, with outstanding physical attributes, excellent ball control, dribbling, technical ability, and acceleration. Defensively, he excelled at reading the game, and he was a good ball-winner and man-marker, although he was also effective at distributing the ball to team-mates, due to his passing range and vision.
We then move on to the 3 central defenders which were not the easiest to choose from so we decided to incorporate the sweeper system which despite not being used by many today it is by far my favourite system to play. We ended up selecting Alan Hansen, Marcel Desailly and Fabio Cannavarro.
We start with Alan Hansen who during the 1980's who led Liverpool to unparalleled success with the team winning all trophies available within the English domestic game. His ability both on the ball and off the ball allowed for him to be regarded by many Liverpool fans as their teams greatest ever CB. With great positional awareness and being able to create counter attacks with his passing and dribbling ability it left us little doubt in who pick. He also won the European cup on 3 occasions.
Pairing up with Hansen we went with the French legend Marcel Desailly who encapsulated the way we wanted our defence to function with brains rather than brawn and despite him not always being a CB but starting his career as an AM his days at Chelsea saw him transform into one of the leading defenders in the premiership era. He was a powerful defender, whose physicality and understanding of the game made him a fearsome opponent. Desailly was the rock behind several winning teams of the 1990s, most notably the French World Cup winning team of 1998.
As our Sweeper we went Fabio Cannavarro who is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time. He captained Italy to World Cup success in 2006 and also winning the Ballon d'Or the same year. Although he predominantly excelled as a CB and / or SW, due to his ability to read the game. He was also played on occasion as a Full Back, in particular under Héctor Cúper at Inter Milan. This was made possible due to Cannavaro's tactical versatility, technical ability, ball playing ability, stamina, and pace. Cannavaro was known for his concentration, strength, anticipation, positioning and aerial ability, which made him particularly adept at defending crosses, or scoring with his head from set-pieces. He was a dynamic, consistent, and tenacious defender throughout his career, and also excelled as a man marker and at making tackles.
Moving into Midfield we again looked at creating a Unit of players who were not only good on the ball but had the ability to create chances and went with Carlos Valderrama as PL, Lothar Matthaus at CM with the extremely gifted Zvonimir Boban as a FR.
Starting with our first choice Lothar Matthaus we went for arguably the greatest German midfielder of all time. Matthäus was a ground-breaking midfielder, the most powerful presence in football's power age of the early Nineties. Italia '90 was his crowning glory as West Germany won the World Cup and he became European and World Footballer of the year. In all he played 150 times for Germany, a record 25 of them in World Cup finals. He also played in four European Championships and was part of the side that won the 1980 tournament. The one trophy missing is the European Cup; in 1999 he was substituted four minutes from the end of the final with Bayern leading Manchester United. We all know how that ended up.
For our FR we went Zvonimir Boban who was a talented and creative yet tenacious player, known for his use of feints to beat opponents. He was gifted with excellent vision, passing range, dribbling skills, technical ability, and an eye for the final ball; he mixed these attributes with a unique tactical versatility and intelligence, which enabled him to be deployed in several midfield and offensive positions throughout his career. In addition to his preferred role behind the forwards as an attacking midfielder, he was also capable of playing on the wing, as a central midfielder, or even as a supporting striker, due to his powerful and accurate bending shots from distance; he was also effective from set-pieces. Throughout his career, he also became known for his vocal presence, determination and aggression on the pitch, as well as his strong character.
Our Number 10 is Carlos Valderamma who despite having one of the wildest haircuts in football his playing style was equally if not even more impressive. He was often placed a deep lying Playmaker whose range of passing and ability to shield the ball from his opponents made him almost the complete midfielder. Most people tend to remember Valderrama mostly for his hair and then for his passing ability, but in reality his strongest attributes were his ball retention ability. Valderrama's passing was highly accurate and versatile to the point where he held a consistent rate of assists, and was often involved in plays that often related to goals. This also involved free kicks, whether supporting his teammates, or attempts on goal. His creativity made him very influential, to the point where he became a known legend throughout South America, and eventually throughout the world of football. Aside from his passing talents, Valderrama held very precise ball-control and dribbling abilities that were supported by quick reactions, and his disciplined mindset. A joy to watch he appeared in 3 World Cup Finals tournaments in 1990, 1994 and 1998.
Finally we move onto our frontline choosing the Mexican & Real Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez and going with Mario Kempes who was the leading goalscorer in the 1978 World Cup.
Starting with Hugo Sanchez he scored 400 goals in his career with the majority coming for Real Madrid. His ability to score goals from almost anywhere in the box defined him as player and he was well known for his bicycle kicks which he seemed to perform with ease. He played for both Atletico and Real in the Spanish capital scoring 218 goals in 318 games for both sides. He was also a key performer for the Mexican National side appearing 3 World Cup finals most notably in 1986 when he led Mexico to the quarter finals.
Our choice of strike partner goes to the Argentinian Mario Kempes who scored goals for fun throughout his career notably with both Rosario Central and most effectively Valencia. He was the leading scorer in the 1978 World Cup finals with 6 Goals including 2 in the final. He was not an out & out centre forward but was a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the penalty area with his surging runs towards goal and was not the traditional CF operating solely inside the box. Many defenders found difficulty handling his attacking style.
So when selecting our players we tried to incorporate a team rather than a collection of individuals. We also wanted to utilise Players from not only my era of football but that of The Don who was instrumental in assisting with selections of Mario Kempes and Paul Brietner. We believe our team should be selected as the best team in Group B due to the fact that our players have performed at both International and Club level. They are also flexible in terms of style of play and we could easily switch Formation from 5-3-2 (Wingbacks) to 3-5-2 as our Wing - Backs can also both operate as Wide Midfielders.
We feel that this team could function as a unit and whilst it may not have the EGO or FLAIR of many players chosen we have tried to ensure the teamwork within the side is incorporated into our selection.
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