EURO 2020(1?) football forum average draft

[Kawee]

[The Golden boy]

[grff]

Amended team based on advice from my Assistant Manager...

[SouthCoastRed]

Oops

Edited May 30, 2021 by SouthCoastRed

[SouthCoastRed]

Nothing to see here

Edited May 30, 2021 by SouthCoastRed

[SouthCoastRed]

Although the extra rule I added was originally for comedic value ( originally it was going to be people who had managed their National teams as well), but that quickly turned out to be impossible, the ‘Special K’ actually turned out half decent.

If I hadn’t missed out on Keegan I’d have been well happy 

[grff]

6 minutes ago, SouthCoastRed said:

Although the extra rule I added was originally for comedic value ( originally it was going to be people who had managed their National teams as well), but that quickly turned out to be impossible, the ‘Special K’ actually turned out half decent.

If I hadn’t missed out on Keegan I’d have been well happy 

Then let yourself down by spelling Kranjcar with a C

[GunmaN1905]

2 minutes ago, grff said:

Then let yourself down by spelling Kranjcar with a C

Fun fact, the original surename isn't Kranjčar, it was Krajinčar.

But they misspelled it on Niko's father passport (one of greatest players in Dinamo and Rapid Wien's history) and he was in too big of a hurry for them to fix it, so it stayed Kranjčar.
Now half the family has a different last name.

[SouthCoastRed]

37 minutes ago, grff said:

Then let yourself down by spelling Kranjcar with a C

Haha I checked that twice as well.... losing the plot 

[SouthCoastRed]

[SouthCoastRed]

There. Silly old twit

[XuluBak]

What has happened here? 

[managerdude_66]

Based on popular advice of the gurus of this forum, I've changed my formation up a bit. 

A little bit about Shesternyov: (From Wikipedia) "Nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible", he was the captain of the great Soviet team of the 1960s, he earned 90 caps an appearance record only broken subsequently by Oleg Blokhin and Rinat Dasaev. He was voted, by Ballon D'or as the 14th, 11th, 10th and then 22nd best footballer in the world in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971 respectively. During these years he was regarded as one of the best defenders in the world." Played as a libero/center back.

A little about Luis Suarez: (From Wikipedia) "Suárez is regarded as one of greatest Spanish football players of all time. He was noted for his elegant, fluid, graceful style of play. Nicknamed El Arquitecto - The Architect - he was noted for his perceptive passing and explosive shot, and in 1960, he became the only Spanish-born player to win the Ballon D'or. In 1964 he helped Spain win the European Championship. Suárez originally achieved prominence as a creative inside forward, or attacking midfielder in modern terms, for the great Barcelona team of the 1950s before he joined Inter Milan where he reached his prime as deep lying playmaker for the legendary Grande Inter team of the 1960s."

[XuluBak]

Suarez was a really good pick. I wanted to take him, but couldn't pass on Casillas with Neuer a non-option. 

Burki is a bit of a shocking pick though. 

[GunmaN1905]

34 minutes ago, managerdude_66 said:

 "Nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible",

So you have a CB duo that goes by one on the ground can't get away.

4 minutes ago, XuluBak said:

Suarez was a really good pick. I wanted to take him, but couldn't pass on Casillas with Neuer a non-option. 

Burki is a bit of a shocking pick though. 

Yeah, really like that team, no weak links except for Burki.

@SRL88 and @bestbrother haven't posted their lineups yet, I'm going to do it for them and then we start in a couple of hours.

I'm thinking about 3 groups per day, then 2 knockout games per day.
QFs would start next Monday and the final would be on the next Friday, the day of opening game.

Edited May 31, 2021 by GunmaN1905

[managerdude_66]

13 minutes ago, XuluBak said:

Burki is a bit of a shocking pick though. 

 

9 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

Yeah, really like that team, no weak links except for Burki.

Yep. I really messed up on that one. For my last pick, I had 1 winners' slot + 1 slot from Spain and Portugail left to fill a midfielder/winger + GK.
For the keeper, I was hoping to use Victor Baia or Rustu Recber. Somehow I managed to overlook the fact that both of them have been part of teams that made it to the semis.
My alternatives were the likes of Fabianski, Sommer, Benaglio, Given. And I was hoping that Burki playing for a big team would count for him. Didn't see realize that people rated Burki so poorly. 

An alternate plan was to pick De Gea and a winger from Portugal's 2016 squad like Nani or Quaresma. After the Europa League final, I swiftly decided against this. 

[GunmaN1905]

If I was stuck with a Swiss goalkeeper, Sommer is better, imo.

Or some icon like Bogdan Stelea which would get you some fan votes.

 

[adhikapp]

I'll re-pitch my team because my last post was of me bitching about how I didn't get my initial picks & couldn't do enough research for the rest 

I wanted stability at the back but with three strong and amazing defenders who could play the ball. Add to that, we have a legendary Neuer who'll sweep from the back, which means we could in theory, have a higher defensive line.

I had Lichtsteiner planned for RWB as he would've been perfect for this formation, but World Cup finalist & FM Legend Sime Vrsaljko is an abled deputy considering of the options I had at the time. If it weren't for injuries, he would've reached Srna levels, no doubt. I also former most expensive full back in the world and Champions League winning player in Fabio Coentrao, who at it's peak, benched Marcelo at Real Madrid. I'm happy having both Vrsaljko and Coentrao bombing the wings.

With all CBs able to bring the ball forward, you may need protection for the defence from midfield. Insert La Gravesinha. Former Real Madrid marquee signing () during the Galactico era, he will be the brute force in midfield to partner David Albelda who will distribute the fck out of that ball. I don't care what you all say, Albelda was an awesome player and I won't hear any slander of his name.

Who will Albelda be distributing the ball to? Other than the flying wingbacks, he has Platini and Gullit, two of the most prolific players ever, who will feed off of the silkiest and most unselfish player ever that is Dimitar Berbatov. That front three gives any defence nightmares.

[adhikapp]

2 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

If I was stuck with a Swiss goalkeeper, Sommer is better, imo.

Or some icon like Bogdan Stelea which would get you some fan votes.

 

Hell if I was stuck with a Swiss keeper, Benaglio is the obvious choice, surely?

[GunmaN1905]

2 minutes ago, adhikapp said:

Hell if I was stuck with a Swiss keeper, Benaglio is the obvious choice, surely?

Yeah, I somehow read the name and completely ignored it.

 

3 minutes ago, adhikapp said:

World Cup finalist & FM Legend Sime Vrsaljko is an abled deputy considering of the options I had at the time. If it weren't for injuries, he would've reached Srna levels, no doubt.

Don't want to ruin your team analysis, but they aren't similar at all.

Vrsaljko is a proper full-back, great defensively, also runs relentlessly up and down, but his attacking output is kinda limited.
Srna was always a winger until he moved to Shakhtar, barely even a wing-back and he converted as he got older.
His offensive threat was absolute top class, but he was lacking on defense.

Edited May 31, 2021 by GunmaN1905

[adhikapp]

Yea what I meant was Vrsaljko could reach the levels of Srna. Srna was an absolute baller. Vrsaljko could've reached those heights if he avoided the injuries. I know the only similar thing about them is they played RB for Croatia but that's as far as the similarities go. 

[Marius_R]

11 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

If I was stuck with a Swiss goalkeeper, Sommer is better, imo.

Or some icon like Bogdan Stelea which would get you some fan votes.

 

Why is Bogdan Stelea an icon? Appart from trying to kill Michael Owen in Euro 2000?

[GunmaN1905]

3 minutes ago, Marius_R said:

Why is Bogdan Stelea an icon? Appart from trying to kill Michael Owen in Euro 2000?

Should've qualified that better.

Here an icon is someone who has iconic (idk what other word to use ) status that doesn't necessarily need to be based on his footballing ability.

For example Trifon Ivanov or even Vinnie Jones.

It also has to do a lot with nostalgia, for example I'll always remember the repeated pen in '98 when Šuker scored twice against Stelea.

Icons are also players who had tons of skill, but failed to live up to it because of their off the pitch issues. Like Gazza.

[Marius_R]

8 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

Should've qualified that better.

Here an icon is someone who has iconic (idk what other word to use ) status that doesn't necessarily need to be based on his footballing ability.

For example Trifon Ivanov or even Vinnie Jones.

It also has to do a lot with nostalgia, for example I'll always remember the repeated pen in '98 when Šuker scored twice against Stelea.

Icons are also players who had tons of skill, but failed to live up to it because of their off the pitch issues. Like Gazza.

I refer to those as cult heroes, for example, how Recoba is to us Inter fans. 

Stelea was a bang average goalkeeper, I was just surprised you called him an icon.  

[bestbrother]

@GunmaN1905

Mines a simple 433

They are all international footballers who can understand the basics of their position, so nothing fancy.

Yashin

Torricelli Gough Sanchis Dimas

Seedorf Zidane Gazza

Boksic Voller Mijatovic

[GunmaN1905]

SRL88 hasn't been on since Monday and he didn't make his pick yet.

So I'll pick for him and post the formation.

Darius1998: 1. Robert Lewandowski (Poland); 2. Mark van Bommel (Netherlands); 3. Cristian Chivu (Romania); 4. Siniša Mihajlović (Serbia); 5. Gaetano Scirea (Italy SF1); 6. Robert Prosinečki (Croatia); 7. Bryan Robson (England); 8. João Pinto (Portugal SF2); 9. Jean Tigana (France W1); 10. Rinat Dasayev (Soviet Union/Russia SF3); 11. Ulf Kirsten (Germany)

Barry Cartman: 1. Lothar Matthäus (Germany W1); 2. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy SF1); 3. Wayne Rooney (England); 4. Marek Hamšík (Slovakia); 5. Rui Costa (Portgual SF2); 6. Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine); 7. Damien Duff (Ireland); 8. Danny Blind (Holland SF3); 9. Vedran Ćorluka (Croatia); 10. Míchel Salgado (Spain); 11. Youri Djorkaeff (France W2)

Jorg:  1. Marco Van Basten (Netherlands W1); 2. Brian Laudrup (Denmark W2); 3. Enzo Scifo (Belgium); 4. Igor Akinfeev (Russia SF1);  5. Paulo Sousa (Portugal SF2); 6. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Ukraine); 7. Ciriaco Sforza (Switzerland); 8. Christian Wörns (Germany SF3); 9. Miguel Angel Nadal (Spain); 10. Eidur Gudjohnson (Iceland); 11. Antonio Candreva (Italy)

bestbrother: 1. Zinedine Zidane (France W1); 2. Lev Yashin (Soviet Union/Russia W2); 3. Paul Gascoigne (England SF1); 4. Clarence Seedorf (Netherlands SF2); 5. Rudi Völler (Germany SF3);  6. Richard Gough (Scotland); 7. Predrag Mijatovic (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 8. Moreno Torricelli (Italy); 9. Alen Bokšić (Croatia); 10. Manuel Sanchís (Spain); 11. Dimas

Baptista_8: 1. Xavi (Spain W1); 2. Pepe (Portugal W2); 3. Robin van Persie (Netherlands); 4. John Barnes (England); 5. Gareth Bale (Wales SF1); 6. Joshua Kimmich (Germany SF2); 7. William Gallas (France); 8. Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy SF3); 9. Ricardo Rodríguez (Switzerland); 10. Artur Boruc (Poland); 11. Krasimir Balakov (Bulgaria)

Hazzaj: 1. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands SF1); 2. Marcel Desailly (France W1); 3. David Villa (Spain W2); 4. Gianfranco Zola (Italy); 5. Karel Poborský (Czech Republic SF2); 6. Zvonimir Boban (Croatia) 7. Kyle Walker (England); 8. Stefan Effenberg (Germany SF3); 9. Miroslav Đukić (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 10. Łukasz Fabiański (Poland); 11. Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium)

grff:  1. Thierry Henry (France W1); 2. Petr Čech (Czech Rep SF1); 3. Giorgio Chiellini (Italy SF2); 4. Davor Šuker (Croatia); 5. Fernando Hierro (Spain); 6. Paul Breitner (Germany W2); 7. Marc Overmars (Netherlands SF3); 8. Radja Nianggolan (Belgium); 9. Henning Berg (Norway); 10. Glenn Hoddle (England); 11. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)

Marius_R:  1. Arjen Robben (Netherlands SF1); 2. Robert Pires (France W1), 3. Daniele De Rossi (Italy SF2); 4. Miroslav Klose (Germany SF3); 5. Christian Eriksen (Denmark); 6. Dan Petrescu (Romania); 7. Jordi Alba (Spain W2); 8. Dejan Stanković (Serbia); 9. Martin Keown (England); 10. Pat Bonner (Ireland); 11. Dario Šimić (Croatia)

PaulHartman71: 1. Paolo Maldini (Italy SF1); 2. Oliver Kahn (Germany W1); 3. Frank Lampard (England); 4. Edgar Davids (Holland SF2); 5. Henrik Larsson (Sweden); 6. David Silva (Spain W2); 7. Patrice Evra (France SF3); 8. Dries Mertens (Belgium); 9. Thomas Helveg (Denmark); 10. Alpay (Turkey); 11. Stiliyan Petrov (Bulgaria)

Kawee: 1. Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria); 2. Claude Makelele (France); 3. Gennaro Gattuso (Italy); 4. Eric Gerets (Belgium SF1), 5. Paul McGrath (Ireland); 6. Kurt Hamrin (Sweden); 7. Gary Lineker (England); 8. Allan Simonsen (Denmark SF2); 9. Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain); 10. Mats Hummels (Germany SF3); 11. Yann Sommer (Switzerland)

The Golden Boy: 1. Sergio Ramos (Spain W1); 2. Patrick Vieira (France W2); 3. Andrea Pirlo (Italy SF1); 4. Andreas Brehme (Germany SF2); 5. Kevin Keegan (England); 6. Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands SF3); 7. Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union/Ukraine); 8. Shay Given (Rep. Ireland) 9. Łukasz Piszczek (Poland); 10. Stéphane Henchoz (Switzerland); 11. Mateo Kovačić (Croatia) 

Butts: 1. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium); 2. Ashley Cole (England); 3. Carles Puyol (Spain W1); 4. Thomas Müller (Germany SF1); 5. Karim Benzema (France); 6. Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands SF2); 7. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy SF3); 8. Rui Patricio (Portugal W2); 9. Seamus Coleman (Rep. Ireland); 10. Igor Tudor (Croatia); 11. Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Norway)

Haguey: 1. Andres Iniesta (Spain W1); 2. Philipp Lahm (Germany SF1); 3. Francesco Totti (Italy SF2); 4. Frank de Boer (Netherlands SF3); 5. David Trezeguet (France W2); 6. Ivan Perišić (Croatia); 7. Wojciech Szczesny (Poland);  8. Emlyn Hughes (England); 9. Stephan Lichtsteiner (Switzerland); 10. Oceano Cruz (Portugal); 11. Ștefan Radu (Romania)

Citizen Kane: 1. Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden); 2. Paul Scholes (England); 3. Gerard Pique (Spain W1); 4. Bixente Lizarazu (France W2); 5. Michael Ballack (Germany SF1);  6. Christian Panucci (Italy); 7. Andrei Arshavin (Russia SF2); 8. Vladimir Jugović (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 9. Yordan Letchkov (Bulgaria); 10. Vítor Baía (Portugal SF3); 11. Daniel Agger (Denmark)

Yuko: 1. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany W1); 2. Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands W2); 3. Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine);  4. Deco (Portugal SF1); 5. Ivan Rakitić (Croatia); 6. Claudio Gentile (Italy SF2); 7. John Arne Riise (Norway); 8. Santiago Cañizares (Spain); 9. Antoine Griezmann (France SF3); 10. Srečko Katanec (Yugoslavia/Slovenia); 11. Phil Neal (England)

sjg11: 1. Sergio Garcia (Spain W1);  2. Matthias Sammer (Germany W2); 3. Jaap Stam (Netherlands, SF1); 4. Marco Tardelli (Italy SF2); 5. Peter Shilton (England); 6. Willy Sagnol (France); 7. Mario Mandžukić (Croatia); 8. Mario Coluna (Portugal); 9. Florian Albert (Hungary SF3); 10. Goran Đorović (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 11. Brian McClair (Scotland)

adhikapp: 1. Michel Platini (France W1); 2. John Terry (England); 3. Ruud Gullit (Netherlands W2); 4. Andrea Barzagli (Italy SF1); 5. Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria); 6. Manuel Neuer (Germany SF2); 7. David Albelda (Spain); 8. Jan Vertonghen (Belgium); 9. Šime Vrsaljko (Croatia); 10. Fabio Coentrao (Portugal SF 3); 11. Thomas Gravesen (Denmark)

managerdude_66: 1. David Alaba (Austria); 2. Eden Hazard (Belgium); 3. Darijo Srna (Croatia); 4. David Beckham (England); 5. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany, W1), 6. Paul Pogba (France, SF1), 7. Albert Shesternyov (Soviet Union/Russia, SF2); 8. Phillip Cocu (Netherlands, SF3); 9. Marco Materazzi (Italy); 10. Roman Bürki (Switzerland); 11. Luis Suárez (Spain, W2)

SRL88: 1. Steven Gerrard (England); 2. Raul (Spain); 3. Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands SF1); 4. Dino Zoff (Italy W1); 5. Laurent Blanc (France W2); 6. Paulo Ferreira (Portugal SF2); 7. Gary McAllister (Scotland); 8. Iulian Filipescu (Romania); 9. Sami Khedira (Germany, SF3); 10. Marc Wilmots (Belgium); 11. Konstantinos Iosifidis (Greece);

Sano: 1. Gerd Müller (Germany W1); 2. Lilian Thuram (France W2); 3. Luis Figo (Portugal SF1); 4. Gică Popescu (Romania); 5. Milan Škriniar (Slovakia); 6. Johan Neeskens (Netherlands, SF2); 7. Pep Guardiola (Spain); 8. Jan Heintze (Denmark); 9. Zlatko Zahovič (Slovenia); 10. Dragan Dzajic (Yugoslavia/Serbia SF3); 11. Angelo Peruzzi (Italy)

trueblue.85: 1. Peter Schmeichel (Denmark W1); 2. Didier Deschamps (France W2); 3. Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Rep SF1); 4. Alessandro Del Piero (Italy SF2); 5. Andoni Goikoetxea (Spain SF3); 6. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium); 7. Martin Škrtel (Slovakia); 8. Dragan Stojković (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 9. Marko Arnautović (Austria); 10. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Iceland); 11. Slaven Bilić (Croatia)

SouthCoastRed: 1. Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany W1); 2. Ronald Koeman (Netherlands W2); 3. N'Golo Kante (France SF1); 4. Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark); 5. Niko Kranjcar (Croatia); 6. Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland); 7. Kim Kallstrom (Sweden); 8. Bora Kostić (Yugoslavia/Serbia); 9. Oleg Kuznetsov (Soviet Union/CIS/Ukraine); 10. Kenny Sansom (England); 11. Nico Van Kerckhoven (Belgium)

MaxeyN17: 1. Harry Kane (England); 2. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy SF1); 3. Michael Laudrup (Denmark SF2); 4. Niko Kovač (Croatia); 5. Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands, SF3); 6. Yevhen Konoplyanka (Ukraine); 7. Sergio Busquets (Spain W1); 8. Christian Ziege (Germany W2); 9. Thomas Meunier (Belgium); 10. Tomáš Řepka (Czech Republic); 11. Thomas Myrhe (Norway)

Harryseaess: 1. Eric Cantona (France); 2. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands SF1); 3. Xabi Alonso (Spain W1); 4. Tugay Kerimoglu (Turkey); 5. Freddie Ljungberg (Sweden); 6. Sol Campbell (England SF2); 7. Toby Alderweireld (Belgium); 8. Nani (Portugal W2); 9. Christian Fuchs (Austria); 10. Razvan Rat (Romania); 11. Francesco Toldo (Italy SF3)

Scott1892: 1. Gheorghe Hagi (Romania); 2. Alan Shearer (England, SF1); 3. Franco Baresi (Italy, SF2); 4. Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain); 5. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium); 6. Toni Kroos (Germany, SF3); 7. Eric Abidal (France); 8. Safet Sušić (Yugoslavia/Bosnia); 9. Aron Winter (Netherlands, W1); 10. Raphael Guerriero (Portugal, W2); 11. John O'Shea (Ireland)

Crispypaul: 1. Bobby Moore (England SF1); 2. Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands SF2); 3. Andrei Kanchelskis (Russia); 4. Alessandro Costacurta (Italy); 5. Robert Jarni (Croatia); 6. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany SF3); 7. Florent Malouda (France);  8. Chris Hughton (ROI); 9. Bruno Alves (Portugal W1); 10. Fernando Torres (Spain, W2); 11. Michy Batshuayi (Belgium)

XuluBak: 1. Bobby Charlton (England SF1); 2. Alessandro Nesta (Italy SF2); 3. Luka Modrić (Croatia); 4. Manfred Kaltz (Germany, W1); 5. Ruud Krol (Netherlands, SF3); 6. Iker Casillas (Spain, W2); 7. Miodrag Belodedici (Romania); 8. Jean-Pierre Papin (France); 9. José Águas (Portugal); 10. Bülent Korkmaz (Turkey); 11. Mousa Dembélé (Belgium)

• Austria: David Alaba; Emanuel Pogatetz; Marko Arnautović; Christian Fuchs; 
• Belgium: Kevin De Bruyne; Eden Hazard; Enzo Scifo; Eric Gerets; Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld; Romelu Lukaku; Radja Nianggolan; Dries Mertens; Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier; Mousa Dembélé; Michy Batshuayi; Nico Van Kerckhoven; Marc Wilmots; Thomas Vermaelen; 
• Bulgaria: Hristo Stoichkov; Dimitar Berbatov; Yordan Letchkov; Stiliyan Petrov; Krasimir Balakov; 
• Croatia: Darijo Srna; Luka Modrić; Davor Šuker; Ivan Rakitić; Niko Kranjčar; Niko Kovač; Robert Jarni; Mario Mandžukić; Ivan Perišić; Zvonimir Boban; Robert Prosinečki; Vedran Ćorluka; Alen  Bokšić; Šime Vrsaljko; Slaven Bilić; Igor Tudor; Mateo Kovačić; Dario Šimić; 
• Czech Republic: Pavel Nedvěd; Petr Čech; Karel Poborský; Tomáš Řepka; 
• Denmark: Peter Schmeichel; Michael Laudrup; Brian Laudrup; Christian Eriksen; Kasper Schmeichel; Thomas Helveg; Allan Simonsen; Jan Heintze; Thomas Gravesen; Daniel Agger; 
• England: Steven Gerrard; Harry Kane; Alan Shearer; Bobby Moore; Bobby Charlton; John Terry; Carlton Palmer; Ashley Cole; Paul Scholes; Frank Lampard; Paul Gascoigne; Wayne Rooney; Chris Woods; John Barnes; Kevin Keegan; Peter Shilton; David Beckham; Sol Campbell; Gary Lineker; Kyle Walker; Bryan Robson; Martin Keown; Emlyn Hughes; Kenny Sansom; Phil Neal; Glenn Hoddle; 
• France: Zinedine Zidane; Thierry Henry; Michel Platini; Eric Cantona; Lilian Thuram; Didier Deschamps; N'Golo Kante; Patrick Vieira; Claude Makelele; Franck Ribery; Robert Pires; Marcel Desailly; Karim Benzema; David Trezeguet; Bixente Lizarazu; Laurent Blanc; Florent Malouda; Eric Abidal; Paul Pogba; Willy Sagnol; Patrice Evra; Willian Gallas; Jean Tigana;  Antoine Griezmann; Jean-Pierre Papin; Youri Djorkaeff 
• Germany: Lothar Matthäus; Franz Beckenbauer; Gerd Müller; Jurgen Klinsmann; Harald Schumacher; Matthias Sammer; Philipp Lahm; Oliver Kahn; Rudi Völler; Miroslav Klose; Andreas Brehme; Thomas Müller; Michael Ballack; Karl-Heinz Rummenigge; Manfred Kaltz; Bastian Schweinsteiger; Toni Kroos; Manuel Neuer; Paul Breitner; Joshua Kimmich; Christian Wörns; Stefan Effenberg; Sami Khedira; Christian Ziege; Mats Hummels; Ulf Kirsten;
• Greece: Stelios Giannakopoulos;  Konstantinos Iosifidis;
• Hungary: Florian Albert; 
• Iceland: Gylfi Sigurdsson; Eidur Gudjohnsen;
• Italy: Paolo Maldini; Franco Baresi; Fabio Cannavaro; Alessandro Nesta; Giorgio Ferrini; Simone Zaza; Francesco Totti; Andrea Pirlo; Gennaro Gattuso; Daniele De Rossi; Giorgio Chiellini; Gianluigi Buffon; Alberto Aquilani; Gaetano Scirea; Gianfranco Zola; Marco Tardelli; Andrea Barzagli; Dino Zoff; Alessandro Del Piero; Alessandro Costacurta; Claudio Gentile; Christian Panucci; Leonardo Bonucci; Moreno Torricelli; Gianluca Zambrotta; Marco Materazzi; Francesco Toldo; Angelo Peruzzi; Giuseppe Bergomi; Tarcisio Burgnich; Antonio Candreva;
• Netherlands: Johan Cruyff; Arjen Robben; Dennis Bergkamp; Ronald Koeman; Ruud van Nistelrooy; Edwin van der Sar; Nigel De Jong; Marco van Basten; Ruud Gullit; Jaap Stam; Frank Rijkaard; Robin van Persie; Mark van Bommel; Clarence Seedorf; Edgar Davids; Khalid Boulahrouz; Frank de Boer; Rafael van der Vaart; Ruud Krol; Johan Neeskens; Wesley Sneijder; Patrick Kluivert; Marc Overmars; Danny Blind; Phillip Cocu; Aron Winter; 
• Norway: John Arne Riise; Henning Berg; Thomas Myrhe; Ole Gunnar Solskjær; 
• Poland: Robert Lewandowski; Wojciech Szczesny; Łukasz Piszczek; Łukasz Fabiański; Artur Boruc; 
• Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo; Luis Figo; Pepe; Rui Costa; Paulo Sousa; Ricardo Carvalho; Deco; Paulo Ferreira; João Pinto; Rui Patricio; Mario Coluna; Nani; Bruno Alves; José Águas; Fabio Coentrao; Fernando Couto; Vítor Baía; Oceano Cruz; Dimas; 
• Republic of Ireland: Paul McGrath; Robbie Keane; Damien Duff; Shay Given; Seamus Coleman; Chris Hughton; John O'Shea; Pat Bonner; 
• Romania: Gheorghe Hagi; Cristian Chivu; Gică Popescu; Miodrag Belodecici; Dan Petrescu; Iulian Filipescu; Razvan Rat; Ștefan Radu; 
• Russia: Andrei Kanchelskis; Igor Akinfeev; Andrei Arshavin; 
• Scotland: Gary McAllister; Richard Gough; Brian McClair; 
• Serbia: Siniša Mihajlović; Predrag Mijatović; Dejan Stanković; Miroslav Đukić; Vladimir Jugović; Dragan Stojković; Bora Kostić; Goran Đorović; 
• Slovakia: Marek Hamšík; Milan Škriniar; Martin Škrtel; 
• Slovenia: Zlatko Zahovič; Srečko Katanec; 
• Spain: Xavi; Sergio Ramos; Andres Iniesta; Sergio Garcia; Raul; Xabi Alonso; Carles Puyol; Gerard Pique; David Villa; Lucas Vázquez; Fernando Hierro; Andoni Goikoetxea; Alfredo Di Stefano; Iker Casillas; Sergio Busquets; Pep Guardiola; David Albelda; David Silva; Jordi Alba; Miguel Angel Nadal; Cesar Azpilicueta; Santiago Cañizares; Fernando Torres; Luis Suárez; Paco Gento; Manuel Sanchís; Míchel Salgado
• Soviet Union: Lev Yashin (Russia); Albert Shesternyov (Russia); Oleg Blokhin (Ukraine); Oleg Kuznetsov (Ukraine); Rinat Dasayev (Russia);
• Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimović; Henrik Larsson; Olof Mellberg; Freddie Ljungberg; Kim Kallstrom; Kurt Hamrin; 
• Switzerland: Ciriaco Sforza; Ricardo Rodríguez; Stephan Lichtsheiner; Roman Bürki; Stéphane Henchoz (Switzerland); Yann Sommer; Xherdan Shaqiri
• Turkey: Hakan Şükür; Tugay; Bülent Korkmaz; Alpay; 
• Ukraine: Andriy Shevchenko; Yevhen Konoplyanka; Anatoliy Tymoshchuk; Oleksandr Zinchenko; 
• Wales: Gareth Bale; 
• Yugoslavia: Safet Sušić (Bosnia); Dragan Dzajic (Serbia);

 

He was missing a LB and it was a tough choice given the restrictions.
It came down to Yugoslavian LB Mirsad Baljić, mostly because his nickname, chewing gum.

But then I remembered Yuko and his complaints about how noone has Greeks, so I decided to go for Konstantinos Iosifidis, PAOK legend.
Maybe @Yuko can shed some light on his abilities because I have absolutely no clue.

His team is actually good and I couldn't find a better LB than those two.

 

[GunmaN1905]

Deadline for changes has passed, here's the final squad and formation list. I'm not accepting anymore changes until the groups are done.

A: adhikapp, trueblue.85, XuluBak

B: Baptista_8, Yuko, Kawee

C: Haguey, Sano, Crispypaul

D: Citizen Kane, SRL88, Barry Cartman

E: grff, PaulHartman71, The Golden Boy

F: SouthCoastRed, Marius_R, Darius1998

G: Harryseaess, Butts, bestbrother

H: sjg11, Hazzaj, managerdude_66

,

I: MaxeyN17, Scott1892, Jorg

Edited May 31, 2021 by GunmaN1905

[SouthCoastRed]

I went to all that trouble to change Kranjcar and then you used the original one anyway 

[XuluBak]

Interesting that 6 teams went 3ATB, and half of them ended up in the same group. 

[GunmaN1905]

2 minutes ago, SouthCoastRed said:

I went to all that trouble to change Kranjcar and then you used the original one anyway 

Your image didn't load for me, sorry.

I'll fix it myself.

Sorry, now it loaded, was an error last night I remember.

Fixed.

2 minutes ago, XuluBak said:

Interesting that 6 teams went 3ATB, and half of them ended up in the same group. 

Are you trying to imply something here?

Edited May 31, 2021 by GunmaN1905

[XuluBak]

3 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

Are you trying to imply something here?

No? It's just a random coincidence. I'm sure there are others if one looks for them. 

[Yuko]

Hahah yeah Iosifidis was a pretty good left back  

He actually emerged in their first team under English coach Les Shannon (former Burnley player) and he remains their best ever left back. 

[GunmaN1905]

Btw, forgot to mention that I'll be giving my votes for every match when it's all done and I'm about to close the poll, so don't get upset.

I've earned to give my opinion on every tie.

My vote obviously counts the same as everyone else's, just to be clear.

Edited May 31, 2021 by GunmaN1905

[Marius_R]

31 minutes ago, XuluBak said:

Interesting that 6 teams went 3ATB, and half of them ended up in the same group. 

He hates 3ATB.

[XuluBak]

2 minutes ago, Marius_R said:

He hates 3ATB.

I just thought he hated Conte. 

[Baptista_8]

So the guy pulling everyone's teams apart has John Arne Riise at left back 

[adhikapp]

1 hour ago, Baptista_8 said:

So the guy pulling everyone's teams apart has John Arne Riise at left back 

Well it looks like I'm winning my group with Gravesen in midfield

[Yuko]

1 hour ago, Baptista_8 said:

So the guy pulling everyone's teams apart has John Arne Riise at left back 

Left wing back

[GunmaN1905]

Group winners:

adhikapp, Yuko, Sano

Eliminated:

trueblue.85, Kawee, Crispypaul

Second place standings:

Xulubak 25-10
Haguey 22-20
Baptista_8 20-22

@adhikapp @Yuko @Sano

If you wish, you can pick a player from eliminated team right away.
One swap, your squad still has to be within the rules.
Or you can wait to see if second place team from your group advances. If they don't, you can pick a player from either squad that was eliminated. (just one total, not one from each)

[Yuko]

If I make the swap and the 2nd team advances, does that allow them to pick the player I relegated?

[GunmaN1905]

2 minutes ago, Yuko said:

If I make the swap and the 2nd team advances, does that allow them to pick the player I relegated?

No, they get to pick one of 10 players from 3rd place team.

Group winners have the first choice.

[adhikapp]

I'll wait until I know if Xulu gets knocked out or not.

[Yuko]

4 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

No, they get to pick one of 10 players from 3rd place team.

Group winners have the first choice.

Okay, makes this easier  

I'm sorry @Kawee, but Hristo Stoichkov will take the place of Antoine Griezmann and his SF spot

[GunmaN1905]

3 minutes ago, Yuko said:

 Hristo Stoichkov will take the place of Antoine Griezmann and his SF spot

Upgrade and SF spot opened?

Is it the end for Riise if you make it to quarters?

[Yuko]

Just now, GunmaN1905 said:

Upgrade and SF spot opened?

Is it the end for Riise if you make it to quarters?

Riise is the locker room buddy of Beckenbauer and Rijkaard, morale will decrease if he's out  

[GunmaN1905]

Btw, forgot to mention that group winners will be seeded.

Also, they won't be able to play against the team they were in a group with.

[Sano]

I don't see a worthwhile switch that falls within the rules, so I'm keeping my team as is.

[Citizen Sandman]

Been offline a bit lately. Do I get to swap anyone from group stage?

 

[GunmaN1905]

1 hour ago, Citizen Kane said:

Been offline a bit lately. Do I get to swap anyone from group stage?

If you win your group, you get a chance to make one swap.

When the group ends, you can either do it right away, or you wait to see if second place team qualifies. Then you can pick a player for either team. Just one player, not one from each.

Second place team also gets a swap, but only after group winner has done it or decided they're not doing it.

In the knockouts, it's 2 swaps per game won.

[GunmaN1905]

Group winners:

adhikapp, Yuko, Sano, Citizen Kane, grff, Marius_R

Eliminated:

trueblue.85, Kawee, Crispypaul, SRL88, The Golden Boy, SouthCoastRed

Second place standings:

Xulubak 25-10
Darius1998 32-21
Haguey 22-20
PaulHartman71 22-22
Baptista_8 20-22
Barry Cartman 24-32

@Citizen Kane @grff @Marius_R

If you wish, you can pick a player from eliminated team right away.
One swap, your squad still has to be within the rules.
Or you can wait to see if second place team from your group advances. If they don't, you can pick a player from either squad that was eliminated. (just one total, not one from each)

As for second place standings, @XuluBak, @Darius1998, @Haguey and @PaulHartman71are definitely through because there are 2 teams already worse than you.

If you wish, you can also swap a player with the same rules.

adhikapp said he's good with his team, so XuluBak can swap if he wants to.
Sano also won't be making changes, so Haguey can take a pick.

For groups E and F, first place teams have the swap advantage, then second place teams can do it, since you both already qualified.

Edited June 2, 2021 by GunmaN1905