I'm trying to translate this sentence into German:
If all the other players were like him, the team would have solved all its problems.
The possible alternatives I can think of are:
- Wenn all die anderen Spieler wie er wären, hätte die Mannschaft alle ihre Probleme gelöst.
- Wenn all die anderen Spieler wären wie er, hätte die Mannschaft alle ihre Probleme gelöst.
- Wenn all die anderen Spieler so wie er wären, hätte die Mannschaft alle ihre Probleme gelöst.
- Wenn all die anderen Spieler so wären wie er, hätte die Mannschaft alle ihre Probleme gelöst.
I'm having trouble with the last part of the if-clause, as it seems to me that the order of the words is determined by two conflicting rules. On the one hand, in a subordinate clause (in this case, the if-clause) the verb (wären) should take the last position. On the other hand, the second term of the comparison (wie er) should also be at the end. So which one "wins"? Moreover, do I have to say "so wie er" or simply "wie er", without the "so"?
My ear (which is far from being reliable) tells me that among those without "so" the best one is the first one (with the comparison before the verb), but with the "so" the best one is the fourth one (with the verb before the comparison). This seems contradictory, but as I said my ear isn't reliable.
Are these alternatives correct? Would native speakers choose one of these, or would they express it some other way?