Hello everyone,
I'd like to present our alternative, "defensive" formation. This is like an unorthodox 5-3-2 formation but with Matic playing a little up front to support and further congest the midfield. His tackling, interceptions and passing ability will be vital as both the defensive midfielder and "shadow" defender when needed. The aerial advantage of Manolas, Godin and Matic come handy here as well, dealing with any possible long ball to the third area. Both Kurzawa and Lahm are comfortable with the ball and can come in as an additional midfielder while becoming a reliable passing option to open up the play when needed. Their versatility will allow us to have a good passing game in midfield while most probably outnumbering the opposition and having the best chance to win the ball/not allowing anyone to go through. They are also pretty good defenders which will make unlocking our back five harder, especially with the aerial advantage and interceptions of Kurzawa combined with the defensive genius of Lahm. I believe these players will create a good balance defensively in both defense and midfield thanks to the aforementioned tactical discipline, it will be very hard to score on us. Also, like BJGOAT3 stated, we have possibly the best goalkeeper in the world.
The offense is a different approach. Thanks to Roberto Martinez' defensive atrocity, Lukaku didn't bother to do much defending this season and we'll probably be keeping him that way. We also plan to be more direct in attacking which will benefit him more. He's a lethal threat in the penalty area, certainly isn't afraid to shoot and when he shoots, the ball's most likely going to hit the target, something that is evidenced by his shot accuracy of 56%. He's got good attack positioning, he's fast enough and can dribble the ball at a good rate and he's pretty big and damn strong that gives him an edge to score aerially, so good luck to anyone who's trying to contain him. We can pass pinpoint through balls to his way, have low and hard crosses in which he'll find the space to tap it in, or float a good cross where he'll overpower his defender and head it home, all scenarios he has scored last season. There's a reason why Everton's asking £75 million for him.
Franco Vazquez is the real difference maker here. With our defense being set, he's going to have freedom on offense. He's had the most dribbles accompanied by 8 assists last season, qualities which we will try to use to feed Lukaku and create offense for our other attackers such as Mkhitaryan or an overlapping Kurzawa. He scored 7 goals as well and he will be a threat from outside. He was also by far the most fouled player in Serie A(5,5 per game), something that would result in creating many free kicks which may be a good opportunity to score directly or indirectly. Along with all this offensive load, he can also provide adequate defensive cover especially with his tackling, which would be more than enough for his position and strengthens our overall defense. Also, the movement of Mkhitaryan provides fluidity in the offense and when you factor in his pace and dribbling, it opens up opportunities for everyone. The assist leader in the Bundesliga last season, the Armenian is also a goalscoring threat with 11 on the charts. Ramsey can also move to the wings when needed and may stretch the opposition defense which may prove to be valuable in a counter attack. Our midfield's passing will be an important asset to have a more direct style in attack.
Really sorry for the late posting, I hope we didn't delay the processing of the tournament too much.
"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."
- Vince Lombardi
