Team Europe of the Eighties

Football Yesterday & Today's attempt at deciding on the "perfect European XI" of the 80's (1980/1985, 1985/1989 and overall team).

Football Yesterday & Today's attempt at deciding on the "perfect European XI" of the 80's (1980/1985, 1985/1989 and overall team) :

1980/1985

Dassaev - Bossis, Förster, Scirea, Cabrini - M. Olsen, Tigana, Schuster, Platini - Rush, Rummenigge.

Nominees : Schumacher, Arconada, Gerets, Chivadze, Demyanenko, Amoros, J. Alberto, Gordillo, Camacho, Briegel, Souness, Lerby, Brady, Prohaska, Breitner, Robson, Magath, Giresse, Strachan, Vercauteren, Boniek, Conti, Susic, Dalglish, Ceulemans, Elkjaer, Altobelli, Rossi, Littbarski. Laudrup, Gullit. A couple of last ones, Völler and Vandenbergh. And well also T. Nilsson and K. Allofs. Cherenkov. J. Olsen. And Battiston. And A. Hansen. And Vierchowod.

Close to make it instead of one selected player : Schumacher, Gerets, Amoros. Boniek (well, more or less. If we add the 1985-1986 season, perhaps he makes it instead of Olsen)... Dalglish (as an important part of the Liverpool duo, in concurrency with Schuster and/ or Rummenigge), Elkjaer...

1985/1989

Zenga - Berthold, Kuznetsov, Baresi, Amoros - Brehme, Rijkaard, Matthaüs - Laudrup - Gullit, Van Basten.

Nominees : Van Breukelen, Southall, Preud'homme - Sivebaek, Bergomi, Vierchowod, Koeman, Hysen, Demyanenko, Maldini, Heintze, McGrath, Mikhailichenko (and all the other midfielders from Dynamo), Schuster, Michel, Stojkovic, Hoddle, Scifo, Ceulemans, Zavarov, Butragueno, Barnes, Lineker, Völler, Futre. Hagi. Protasov, Mancini, Vialli, Polster. Without forgetting Belanov.

Then some players will be more 90s and there's already some of them mentioned here as with Maldini most of all.

No really "close cases" here and the choice of including Berthold is reinforced by the presence of Brehme, like in the German team '86.

Notes : 

- I solved the "problem of the right back" with Bossis in the '80/85 XI as he used to play at every defensive positions - and as he deserved to make the XI's, in my view. But Gerets was close (some affairs did not help). In terms of performances but at the centre, where Scirea was preferred to him as the "libero", Olsen is in the same tier as the Belgian and the French for sure, so he finds his place at the DM position, where he could be used, especially in the precedent decade and by the end of this one.

Of course Scirea, Bossis, Platini and Rummenigge... also Cabrini, a bit later, all have started their careers in the 70's.

- One player who was really close to appear in the "reserves list" 1980/85 is Matthaüs, who starts to show off during the first half of the decade. Same with Scifo, Hoddle... Völler. Baresi.

- Also I did not mention players who are more late 70s/early 80s, sometimes with dots from one season to another like Keegan, Simonsen, Blokhin, Shengelia, Kaltz, Francis, Shilton, Gentile, Tardelli, Stielike and the young H. Müller and Pezzey whose the progression has stopped at one point. 

I did for Dalglish and Boniek though. Rossi too. Also Susic (good against Juve in 1983-1984). Brady, Prohaska and Breitner too. Schachner is another whose the best times are a bit splitted between the 70s and the 80s and of course we can think of Zoff. We can cite Woodcock too or Rocheteau and Arnesen.

- The inclusion of Laudrup in the 1985/1989 XI is kind like overrating him a bit given what he actually accomplished. The talent is unquestionnable then but I must put a bemol.

- Ceulemans is the guy who manages to be always in the corner, but nowhere close to make a XI, exept for a specific year : 1980. He served well his team in the '86 tournament too.

- I don't rate Bergomi that high but he had to be cited (could have been in the first half of the 80s too, to start with).

- Couldn't find better than Zenga for that period 1985-1989. By the way I think that it was maybe his best years. He could have been the #1 of Italy in '86.

- I've been reluctant to name Pfaff in any half of the decade, it seems. Duckadam = the 1985-1986 European Cup, to add another one iconic name. Too iconic, wich was the problem for the "authorities" of his country.
- As for the "overall team of the decade", FYT had to choose the greatest specialists of the full back position.

OVERALL TEAM EUROPE OF THE DECADE : THE 80's.

DASSAEV

AMOROS FÖRSTER SCIREA CABRINI

SCHUSTER TIGANA

GULLIT PLATINI

VAN BASTEN RUMMENIGGE

Close : Matthaüs (as FYT wanted a quite balanced midfield duo). Back-up for Scirea : Baresi. Back-up for Van Basten : Rush/ Lineker (CF's). Another offensive solution to be distinguished : Butragueno.

FYT's Team Europe of the 80's

The 1980-1985 team was :

DASSAEV

BOSSIS FÖRSTER SCIREA CABRINI

M. OLSEN TIGANA

SCHUSTER PLATINI

RUSH RUMMENIGGE

FYT's Team Europe of the First Half of the Eighties

The 1985-1989 team was :

ZENGA

BERTHOLD KUZNETSOV BARESI AMOROS

BREHME RIJKAARD MATTHAÜS

LAUDRUP

GULLIT VAN BASTEN

FYT's Team Europe of the Second Half of the Eighties

Thanks for the idea @tony-soprano (who has just started a thread about this on BigSoccer forum).