by JMVP » 2010 Nov 30, 20:30
I think this set needs a big update. Since PES 6 Deco has been one of my favourites midfielders to play with. Which is fair, because apart from some irregularity and excess of flair once in a while, Deco was one of the best players in the world, and one of my favourite players ever. This is the man that clouded an ageing Rui Costa in the NT and Xavi at Barça.
Deco's main strengths were: his playmaking ability, including pass, 1st touch and dribble; his tactical awareness, he who could read the game and understand were his teamates were and were he had to be, or control the tempo of a game. He also had a strong leadership, well represented by Messi's assessment: "Deco doesn't speak much, but when he does everyone listens". This is true as Deco was often found instructing his teammates inside the pitch, such was the recognition of his intelligence by his fellow teamates.
Now, nuf with the talk, here' the numbers. Please keep in mind this is a set made exclusivity for PES 2011, were stats like SPS and balance have different effects than before.
Position: CMF*, AMF
Attack: 80 - high for PSD standarts i know, and i would never put him ahead Fabregas. But then again i don't have Fabregas at 78. Just because someone plays in midfield doesn't mean he can't show a better attacking intelligence than a forward, and Deco was one of those who showed incredible intelligence in both attack and defence.
Defence: 70 - Better than Xavi definitely (although i think he's a tad overrated). Not so sure about him and Pirlo though, i think Deco had the best tackling of the two. Nevertheless he was much above the usual worldclass playmaking CMF, in fact he was often booked with yellows because of some very important fouls he did, stopping counterstrikes right in midfield.
Balance: 78 - weak, and quite a diver when he wanted too. Like i said, the set is for 2011 and with this value he feels very realistic imo. He can be pushed but it's really hard to make him fall without a foul.
Stamina: 89 - many many times he was the man with most km ran in the match. Mostly due to his TW, but since he always did it at a fairly slow pace he hardly got exhaust. A bit like Xavi (although i think Xavi plays at a higher pace) but Deco was younger and fitter, with 90 he's there with current Lamps.
Top Speed: 75
Acceleration: 78 - Off the ball Deco was slow as anyone can be, a bit like Pirlo maybe slower than Xavi, definitely slower than Fabregas. Not because he couldn't run, but rather because this was his style, to wander around more concerned with being aware of what's going on the pitch than with closing down on opponents or doing any kind of runs. A bit like Lampard, always moving but never too fast. Btw, wth is Lampard rated at 78 for TS?
Response: 81 - Probably the biggest disagreement. His defensive positioning was excellent, but he wasn't the first to react and his tackling wasn't always that well timed, hence the yellow cards i was talking about. Since i disagree with the response ratings for most playmakers, let me put it this way: should he get a higher rating than teammates Petit, Maniche or Costinha? I guess every portuguese fan will tell not, those three were quicker to react, even if they weren't so intelegent. To put him side by side with Mascherano, Senna or Gattuso, just to name a few is wrong. It will make Deco a permanent chaser, regardless of his mentality, when his team doesn't have the ball.
Agility: 81 - Could have chosen a higher value, but this one is enough. Deco was quite agile evading tackles but he never had quick feet, nor did he turned very fast. If he was closed down when on the ball he would manage to dribble out of there or go for the foul.
Dribble Accuracy: 91 - Definitely superior to Xavi and better than any CMF i can remember now, from the present or the past. Rui Costa carried the ball with him just as close as Deco did, but Deco had many tricks and the way he covered the ball was more efficient, very much Zidanesque. Not on Iniesta's level as a dribbler in his whole, but Iniesta has speed and agility unlike Deco. Now in terms of "tactical dribble" it was virtually impossible to take the ball away from him and imo not even Pirlo in his prime was has good as he was.
Dribble Speed: 82 - With space he could speed up but he was never super fast. He had very quick bursts when he wanted to dribble, but most times he would just calmly wander around with the ball. And since he was really slow off the ball he must have a good DS to replicate that. I've given him the same as Cesc.
Short Pass Accuracy: 92
Short Pass Speed: 90 - Not much to say, usually his passes were quite slow but since it's for PES 2011 he fully deserves his SPS value. Has for accuracy he was there among today's greatest, like Cesc and Iniesta. From his time he could be compared to R10, Zizou and Rui Costa. Rui Costa and Ronaldinho were better at passes to the center, giving a goal to a striker, while Deco usually tried to open for the wingers but in terms of range they were about the same.
Long Pass Accuracy: 87
Long Pass Speed: 85 - not as good as Xavi or Sneijder, although he was great at long passes too. Never liked him much as a corner kick taker (maybe a swerve issue), but i really liked his low trajectory crosses. In terms of crosses i actually think Simão was better so i'm giving Deco about the same as Cesc, Guti and Arteta.
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 76 - He didn't scored much but he didn't shoot much either, when did he usually did it in good fashion. He only shot with power when he shot from range (hence the middle-shooting) and even in those occasions he didn't really blast them. Pretty much the same as Pirlo, Cesc or Simão, not as powerful as Nani.
Free Kick Accuracy: 82
Curling: 82 - Seriously, how many freekicks did he scored in his whole career ? More so, how many did he scored at Barça? Can't remember any to be honest, and he spent 4 years there. I know he attempted his fair share in the NT, which i never understood why when we had Simão, who could actually bend them over the wall.
Header: 66
Jump: 72
Technique: 93
Aggression: 72 - Too many headers and tap ins scored when playing with two wingers, his TW makes him go to the box too many times. Deco rarely entered the box, and i hope this value is low enough to make him behave like that.
Mentality: 82 - Not a chaser or a fighter like i said, that wasn't what make him so good in defence. To be honest this is a stat i always had some trouble rating, but looking at the other playmakers this seems fair, same as Xavi/Cesc/Lampard, better than Pirlo.
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 90 - Fantastic but not top of the game imo, afterall he was brazilian. Same as Lampard seems fair, he had fantastic vision and understanding with his teammates, excellent work rate too, but he never quite had that telepathic connection with his team.
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6 - I started a ML with Barça using unedited stats, Iniesta had his Condition at 5 and he played 59 games in one season, plus NT games. According to wiki Deco never played more than 47 club games in one season. I remember the press talking about how the accumulation of club and NT games (the flights more than the minutes played) was causing Deco's fatigue, and he did seem tired sometimes although in the important games he usually managed to be in top form.
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 4 - could have used 4/3 as well, or 4/4. But his WFF could never be 5.
S21 - Step On Skills
S20 - Flicking Skills - not sure about this one, i've seen him lifting the ball to escape a sliding tackle but only once.
S18 - Turning Skills - I've seen him doing both the Ronaldo chop and the Cruyff turn
S02 - Passer
S05 - 1-touch Play
S06 - Outside curve - how was this forgotten, really? Lots and lots of perfect passes, both long and short, with the outside of his foot.
S16 - Roulette Skills
P18 - Talisman
Tactical Dribble
Playmaking
Middle Shooting
Last edited by
JMVP on 2010 Dec 01, 19:45, edited 1 time in total.
