Welcome to the Lower League Gems series for the winter update to FIFA 13! If you want promising players for an absolute bargain, you’re in the right place.
These articles aim to highlight young, high potential players that are priced at £1m or less. The pre-winter update version of this series had 76 as the minimum potential, but there were simply so many eligible players this time round that I’ve had to up it to 77.
This year EA have been updating the game week by week. This means that player OVRs and potentials can change slightly depending on real world performances. As such, please note that the player stats on your game may slightly vary from those depicted in the table below. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but it’s conceivable that if you download the squad update in, say, two months time, some of the stats may be different.
Just remember that this year players can exceed their potentials if they play enough games and play well enough. Thus take this table to be a guide only. A player listed with potential 78 could reach the mid 80s (or even higher) if he consistently plays well!
As a final note, people have asked me what the ‘Avai?’ column is for. ‘Avai?’ is short for ‘available?’ (there is not enough space for the full word), and it refers to whether or not each player is available to buy in the first transfer window. ‘Y’ means yes, they are available, whilst ‘N’ means that they’re not. The number after the ‘Y’ or ‘N’ is the amount of years left on their contract. So ‘Y/2’ means that yes, they are available to buy in the first transfer window and that they have 2 years left on their contract. Similarly, ‘N/5’ means they’re not available to buy right away and that they have 5 years left on their contract. The ones to look out for are ‘Y/1’, as you should be able to get these players for less than their listed value. Players who are on loan will have a “-” in this column because information on their contracts is not available.
Here are my recommendations for attacking midfielders:
- Tomas Rogi?
- Marcos Lopes
- Mattheus
- Leandrinho
My first choice for this article is Tomas Rogi?. I chose him simply because he has so much going for him: He’s as quick as he is strong (so both should develop equally well), is very agile and has good stamina. He’s got brilliant ball control and dribbling and good passing as well. In addition, he’s a big player (6’2″, 196lbs) so will be hard to knock off the ball, plus he’s got four star weak foot and skill move ratings. He’s pretty much got it all, and although he’s a bit expensive, he’ll be well worth it and a fantastic player if you choose to buy him.
Next up is a cheaper option, Marcos Lopes. Very quick already and with four star skills moves, he should beat defenders easily. His balance and dribbling are also standout features, and at only 16 and with potential 83 he’s got years of growth ahead of him. His stamina isn’t great so he’d be best used as an impact sub at first, but as he develops his stamina will improve and he’ll prove to be a great purchase.
Mattheus is next up, and don’t worry about his apparently low growth – it seems ridiculous that he’ll supposedly only grow 10 points in over 10 years, and he’ll easily exceed that. As well as his dribbling, Mattheus stands out because his finishing is almost as good. As he improves this is only going to get better, and you’ll soon find yourself with a player who can not only dribble past players (he also has four star skill moves) but finish the chances he creates as well. He’s only got a year left on his contract, so wait until January and you may be able to get a great deal for him.
Finally, my fourth recommendation is Leandrinho. Whilst some of the players above specialise in using their dribbling abilities to beat defenders, Leandrinho’s strong point is his passing. Put him just behind your strikers and he’ll become a great source of assists for your team. He’s also quick and has good dribbling, so don’t think passing is all he can do – he can beat defenders as well. He would make a great choice if you enjoy using a passing style of play to create chances.
The table in full is below:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAM | Marcos Lopes | 62 | 83 | 16 | 675,000 | 2,250 | Manchester City | Y/2 | Left | 3 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Max Meyer | 58 | 81 | 16 | 300,000 | 2,000 | FC Schalke 04 | Y/3 | Right | 4 | 3 | Flair | |
| CAM | Abdallah Yaisien | 63 | 81 | 18 | 675,000 | 1,750 | PSG | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Eghan Shadrach | 64 | 80 | 17 | 850,000 | 1,750 | FC Twente | Y/5 | Right | 4 | 3 | Acrobat | |
| CAM | Leandrinho | 64 | 80 | 18 | 850,000 | 1,000 | Santos | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Sandrinho | 65 | 80 | 20 | 900,000 | 3,000 | S. Recife | Y/5 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Marco Piredda | 63 | 79 | 18 | 550,000 | 2,250 | Cagliari | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CAM | Luis Gil | 65 | 79 | 18 | 800,000 | 2,000 | Real Salt Lake | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Guilherme | 65 | 79 | 21 | 850,000 | 3,000 | SC Braga | Y/2 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Chris David | 64 | 79 | 19 | 875,000 | 3,000 | Fulham | Y/5 | Right | 5 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Juan Carlos | 63 | 78 | 21 | 575,000 | 2,000 | SD Huesca | - | Right | 3 | 2 | On loan from RC Deportivo | |
| CAM | Guilherme Costa | 65 | 78 | 18 | 800,000 | 2,000 | Vasco da Gama | Y/1 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Tomas Rogić | 67 | 78 | 19 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Celtic | Y/5 | Left | 4 | 4 | Finesse shot, long shot taker | |
| CAM | Etzaz Hussain | 67 | 78 | 19 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Molde FK | N/3 | Left | 3 | 4 | Flair | |
| CAM | Thomas Pledl | 61 | 77 | 18 | 375,000 | 2,000 | Greuther Fürth | N/4 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Vyacheslav Podberezkin | 62 | 77 | 20 | 575,000 | 2,000 | Lokomotiv | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Mats Rits | 64 | 77 | 18 | 800,000 | 2,000 | KV Mechelen | Y/3 | Right | 5 | 3 | Injury prone, finesse shot | |
| CAM | James Wallace | 64 | 77 | 20 | 850,000 | 1,000 | Tranmere Rovers | N/2 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Mattheus | 67 | 77 | 17 | 925,000 | 3,000 | Flamengo | N/1 | Left | 3 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Martí Riverola | 67 | 77 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Bologna | N/4 | Right | 4 | 3 | Long shot taker |