Squad
Gabriel Jesus, ST (21)
Coutinho, LF (26)
Angel Correa, RF (23)
Son Heung-Min, LM (26)
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, CM (23)
Casemiro, CM (26)
"VC"
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,RM (25)
Lucas Hernandez, LCB (22)
Kamil Glik, CB (30)
"C"
Matthijs de Ligt, RCB (19)
Jan Oblak, GK (25)
Bench
Patrick Cutrone, ST (20)
Luis Alberto, CAM/ST (25)
Bertrand Traore, RF (22)
Adem Ljajic, LM/LF (26)
Yacine Adli, CM (18)
Andrija Zivkovic, CM (22)
Raphael Guerreiro, LB (24)
Emre Can, CDM/CB (24)
Issa Diop, CB (21)
Diogo Dalot, RB (19)
Cho Hyun-Woo, GK (26)
I tried to go youth and build a similar squad like last year, but I don't know if I am overall happy with it. Birth days are in (##). I didn't have as much time as last year in picking my players and because of that didn't have longer time to go through available players. I will suggest that my squad is quite underrated though, but still not a fan of my right side even with the players I picked there.
So when I was building my squad, I wanted a central core of tough players to play against since I was going to play three at the back and have pace on the outside. In that sense I accomplished my goal where I got Casemiro, SMS, and Can on the inside. I also wanted mobile CB's which I accomplished with Hernandez and de Ligt including a central roadblock directing traffic in Glik, who also serves as my Captain. You guys criticized my last team in being really weak defencively, which I took to heart and improved this year with hardworking and trackbacking players like Oxlade and Son. These two are also quite pacy and have a lot of skill going forward as well.
Now in terms of tactics, my squad of 3-4-(2)-1 turns into a four back consisting of Casemiro/Can as the second central CB with Lucas moving to LB and de Ligt moving to a RB when defending. It is a shape that turns back into the three back formation when we have the ball or moving forward. Here, Casemiro turns into a CDM and SMS turns into a CAM/SS of sort. I give Coutinho and Correa both free roaming ability to play as wingers, but I keep Jesus as the CF and want him to stay in that position. Not because he's a target man nor do I want my squad to play long balls, but I really want the LF, RF, LM, and RM to all whip balls with a ton of curve into the box, where Jesus' pace can cause so many problems. I am using Pep as my inspiration with the four defenders when defending and three when going forward.
The bench of Sergio Ramos FanClub de Futball is filled with more technical players just in case I find myself trailing. The likes of Alberto can be used as a back up striker, false 9, or as a CAM player who could replace SMS if need be. Cutrone is Jesus's replacement if I need fresh legs on the pitch. Traore brings that pace I want on the right side. Ljajic is Coutinho's or Son's replacement. Grabbed Adli for his potential, but as a future replacement for SMS. Zivkovic is for any of the CM's or Coutinho and brings a lot of technique I wanted. Guerreiro is my only left-back and I use him as a sub for Son or if I want to change formations for a proper four back/wingback. Can is there as a sub for any of the three CB's in case of injury since he can also play as a LB, CB, and RB. He's quite accomplished and skilled at many different areas (which really appealed to me). With that said, I really intend to use him as a CDM to replace Casemiro. Diop is there to eventually replace Glik and have a similar role in directing the spine/traffic. Dalot is similar to Guerreiro where he's there to replace Ox as a wingback or for a more proper four-back formation. Cho Hyun-Woo is insanely underrated and he's there as my back up goalkeeper who can hold his own weight. What are you guys' thoughts here?