++ [ originally posted by Ali
] ++
Welcome to the forum edmund. Questions:
- Player(s) to watch?
- Is your formation mainly defensive or offensive?
- What is the combined age of your defense?
- Is your team physical?
Thanks mate,
Players to watch:
I'd have to say Balaban and Portillo. These are the biggest names in the squad.
- Balaban is our Croatian striker. In 4-3-3 he plays on the leftwing. Can be egoistic and try too much on his own. He will lose his ball four times, the fifth time he'll do something amazing and score. Gives great free kicks and scores often out of one. He has scored a lot lately.
- Portillo, our second striker comes from Real Madrid on loan and played his first match on Saturday (2-1 win at home) and though he didn't score he showed lots of class and potential. He's quick, weighs on a defence flirting with offside, great technique, and is known to have a nose for goals.
@Giovanotti: these two players pose the biggest threat
Formation:
In the Belgian league always a very offensive 4-3-3 with the left- and right back helping the midfielders in attack. Most opponents in Belgium play very defensive against us and let us take charge of the situation hoping for a draw or even to steal a win.
In CL however we'll probably play a more defensive 5-3-2 and adapt it depending on how the game goes. Our problem is a recent change in coaches. Sollied left us for Olympiakos. He had a Norwegian type of playing: throwing the ball in the box from the flanks and getting as many players as possible in that box to finish it off. Our new coach focuses more on possession and quick, short combinations; more a Spanish type of football.
Our defenders:
Birger Maertens: 25 years, central (or back), very secure and calm
Marek Spilar: 30 years, central, hard as nails, very physical, loves a good and hard tackle
Joos Valgaeren: 29 years, central, comes from Celtic Glasgow, need I say more?
Olivier De Cock: 30 years, rightback, great crosses, good shot
Our 2 leftbacks are injured so I don't know exactly who will take that position, could be one of our youngsters.They're all Belgian except for Spilar who is a Slovak
Our team is very physical. Always trying to play well organised, working for each other as a team, not 11 individuals. We used to have a lack of players with that extra touch of class you need to win difficult matches. Now with Balaban and Portillo, we have those players. If they need to, the team can battle the full 90 minutes leaving the opponents gasping for breath. That's how we've beaten Ajax, Dortmund, Lyon, Galatasary the last couple of years at home. (We could have beaten Milan at home 2 years ago, but they got very lucky
)
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