evilhita666's Barca

[evilhita666]

Transfer budget: 50 m

Out
Valdés: 12 m
Alves: 26 m
Piqué: 30 m*
Fabregas: 40 m*
Villa: 12 m*
Afellay: 6 m*
JDS: 3 m*
Fontas: 1m*
Abidal: 0 m

Deulofeu: Loaned to Dortmund
Cuenca: Loaned to Ajax
Rafinha: Loaned to Betis

Total: 130 m

* Adjusted market value

In
Handanovic: 17 m
Juanfran: 12 m
Hummels: 24 m
Martinez: 15 m*
Gundogan: 20 m
Gomez: 20 m*
Neymar: 30m*

Total: 138 m

* Adjusted market value

Balance: 50 m + 130 m - 138 m = 42 m (For color photocopies, obviously)

Squad
GKs: Handanovic, Pinto Colorado, Oier.
Defenders: Juanfran, Montoya, Hummels, Puyol, Martinez, Mascherano, Bartra, Alba, Adriano.
Midfielders: Busquets, Song Billong, Xavi, Gundogan, Iniesta, Thiago, Roberto.
Attackers: Alexis, Pedro, Messi, Gomez, Neymar, Tello.

Transfer explanation
Aside from Piqué, Alves and Fabregas, the rest of the transfers were no-brainers. Regarding those three players, it was a difficult decision that was based mostly on mentality issues than on footballing skills. Those three players have a big impact on the rest of the dressing room and their lapses of concentration are too much of a distraction for the rest of the team. My big Guardiola move, hahaha...

I had trouble picking out a GK as I was torn between Handanovic and ter Stegen, however I picked the former based on experience, even at a bigger price.

In defense Juanfran came from Atlético to share the RB spot with Montoya. I was leaning towards Abate who has plenty of CL experience, but returned to La Liga looking for a spanish player to keep team dynamics, especially considering that Hummels was brought as CB and too many languages could prove troublesome. Speaking of Hummels, he is a direct replacement to Piqué but with less presence in the dressing room, allowing for easier rotations in that CB spot. Martinez comes from Sociedad as a young CB with La Liga experience which is very important.

Midfield sees the departure of Fabregas to favor the inclusion of Gundogan, the reasons being purely tactical.

Finally, the attack is reinforced by Neymar and Mario Gomez. Neymar comes to provide with and one-on-one superiority while Gomez comes to give a big man reference in the box. Surely a cheaper player could have been brought, but Gomez's age and discipline might prove crucial for his success.

 

[evilhita666]

Tactical explanation
The 4-3-3 will still be the main used tactic. Juanfran and Montoya will have a more reserved role going forward than Alves, and are expected to give balance and solidity to our defence while Alba and Adriano are allowed to bomb forward constantly.

By locking the RBs Alexis can use free space on the right flank, allowing him to go to the end line and cross or to pass to the middle of the box, like most of his assists. Being right footed, he usually drifts outside with the ball and drifts inside in his off-the-ball runs , giving perfect balance without clogging up the front line. By freeing the LBs Neymar will have support when he takes on opposition defenders, he likes to drift inside to use his strong foot, so the overlapping fullback is a blessing to him, opening up space and giving the option for the extra pass.

The CBs will rotate according to the team needs, and keeping Bartra gives enough depth to that position.

The midfield will continue to work as it has for years, one DM and two CMs controlling the game, pressing opposition and keeping possession. The inclusion of Gundogan serves various purposes. He can thrive playing deep, he is decent enough at recovering the ball and providing some friction, he can start counter attacks quickly and his youth can help him learn how to dictate tempo. Thiago will have a more attacking role most of the time, similar to the one Iniesta has right now. Finally Mascherano, can provide depth if needed, by using him as DM and pushing Song or Busi as CMs in emergency situations. Roberto was also kept to provide depth and to continue his progress.

The idea to pair Gundogan with Thiago is to have a similar Xavi with Iniesta pairing, however the players in this midfield are all very versatile, so the idea of using double pivot is not discarded at all, in fact, it can be embraced in difficult matches.

Up front, Messi will continue his reign of terror, destroying opposition defenders. His position will remain pretty much the same, but adding Neymar's presence should take some load of his back and hopefully will stop defenders from suffocating him and focusing on breaking his ankles. Messi, Neymar and Tello will provide the magic, while Pedro and Alexis will provide the much needed hustle.

 

[evilhita666]

Last, but not least, the addition of Mario Gomez to the squad is crucial. He will not only provide another goal threat but opens up many tactical options by being a reference inside the box. In the past, our lack of options up front has proved costly when our usual tactics are insufficient, so Gomez is brought to fix that. Given that he is a strong player, has decent headers, is a good pivot and has the ability to be at the right place at the right time. While he could be used in the normal 4-3-3 formation he could be equally useful in difficult matches.

Sorry about doing so many post, but the forum wouldn't let me post more than 5 images at a time...

 

[DonAndres]

Well thought out and great squad versatility. No good ever comes from a team having a predictable formation/tactics and yours has definitely made sure to keep the players rotated and the tactics interchangeable.