Introduction: How do these articles work?
Each Sunday I examine a different team in detail and look at why they’re a good team for FIFA 14’s career mode. The teams are broken down into the following categories:
- Tier 1: Teams in tough divisions that can push on to challenge for silverware
- Tier 2: Teams that will have to fight for survival in a challenging division
- Tier 3: Teams that start in a lower division but can hope to get promoted and work their way up higher leagues
- Tier 4: Teams that start right at the bottom of the pile, with few funds or high potential players
In the first article on Tier 3 teams, today we’ve got 1. FC Köln in the German second division, Bundesliga 2.
1. FC Köln (Tier 3)
Contents
- Why choose 1. FC Köln?
- Lineups
- Recommended purchases
- Future considerations
Starting transfer budget: £2,500,000
Starting wage budget: £30,000
Default formation: 4-4-2
Board expectations: Gain automatic promotion, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Patrick Helmes
Best young prospect: Bård Finne
Why choose 1. FC Köln?
The goal you will be set as Köln manager is to gain automatic promotion, and given the competition in the league that shouldn’t be too hard a task. They have some excellent players already on their roster and a couple of young players with good potential as well. They have one of the better budgets in the league as well, so can bring in a few players to strengthen the squad.
However, everything is not quite so rosy upon closer inspection. While they have a couple of high potential players, the overall potential of the squad is not massively high, with lots of players set to peak in the mid to early 70s. Furthermore, once they do gain promotion they join a tough league with a lot of teams that can far outspend them, so survival next year will be a difficult task. Finally, they have a couple of very weak positions that will need addressing quickly, and although their budget is one of the higher ones in the league, objectively it is still quite low. All this should add up to make a challenging career that will keep you thinking at every turn.
The team’s key player is Patrick Helmes. He’s by far their best player, and with 84 finishing he’ll be the main goalscorer as you seek promotion. Keeping him fit is therefore a key priority, because although the team’s other strikers (Anthony Ujah and Bård Finne) have bright futures, they are not quite up to the same level as Helmes. However, he is 29 and knowing what FIFA 14 is like, he’ll start declining by the end of the year. Nevertheless, he has the quality to fire you into promotion contention and will be around to bag the goals next year as well.
The best young prospect on the team is Bård Finne, not only because he has the highest potential at 81 but because he will develop into a worthy replacement for Helmes. He starts off with great pace and balance (83 acceleration, 83 sprint speed and 80 balance), and is best with the ball at his feet. The Bundesliga 2 is a great environment for him to develop, so send him out against the division’s weaker teams and let him grow ready for the next few seasons. In a couple of years time he will be perfectly placed to step into Helmes’s shoes as the team’s main goalscorer.
Strongest starting lineup
Below I’ve posted the team’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:
Suggested formation and starting lineup
One option is to stick with the 4-4-2 formation (with deep-lying defensive midfielders) and go with the following lineup.
NOTE: Both Ujah and Helmes have potential 77, but I felt Ujah (a target man) better complements Finne, who is strongest with the ball at his feet. Similarly, Both Maroh and Golobart have 75 potential at centre back, but Maroh has the stronger starting OVR and so you may prefer to go with him. Both are good defenders, however.
Alternative suggested formation and lineup
The team’s highest potential area is their strikeforce, so you may want to try the following formation if you want to play a more attacking style and give these players more game time. Although Finne is a striker, he can play just behind a forward pair:
Recommended purchases
Key signings required: RB, LB, CDM
Though Köln have a pretty good team overall, there are a couple of areas that need attention. Here’s who I went for:
DeAndre Yedlin
Club: Sounders FC
Position: RB
OVR: 69
Potential: 79
Age: 19
Cost: £900,000
Wages: £5,000
NOTE: After a great World Cup performance, Yedlin has been updated and is slightly more expensive than when I first published this article. I’ve updated his stats and cost accordingly.
One big problem area for Köln is right back. They have Brečko, but his potential is 69 and he’s 29, so will start declining in a year or two. The other right back is Koray Kacinoglu, who only has a potential of 64. If you want to get promoted and do well in the Bundesliga, this is one position that needs a new player.
I decided on DeAndre Yedlin of Sounders FC in the USA. He’s young and has excellent potential, so will easily be able to compete with and then replace Brečko. Aside from his fantastic pace (93 acceleration, 93 sprint speed), one thing that stood out for me was his 88 stamina. With Brečko declining and Kacinoglu not good enough, you’ll want to have a full back who can play as often as possible, and Yedlin will easily be able to meet this requirement. He’s just as good attacking as he is defending, so he brings versatility to the role as well.
Sounders FC wanted £2m for him but I managed to negotiate a deal for £1,300,000. His wages are £6,000 a week.
Muralha
Club: Flamengo
Position: CDM
OVR: 69
Potential: 77
Age: 20
Cost: £500,000
Wages: £6,000
NOTE: Like Yedlin, Muralha now costs slightly more than when I originally published this (but only £100,000 more). His stats haven’t changed though, and I’ve updated this article to reflect his new cost.
The second area that I wanted to improve was defensive midfield. Köln’s best CDM is Matthias Lehmann at 72 OVR, but at 30 years old he won’t be at the level for much longer. There are Matuschyk and Gerhardt, but no other players who are really able to play there. I was therefore looking for a player who replace Lehmann and ensure there wouldn’t be any shortages should injuries or fatigue strike.
I found the solution in Muralha of Flamengo in Brazil. His nickname means ‘wall’, which is encouraging for a CDM, but what convinced me to buy him was that there is so much more to his game than that. Muralha is a brilliant all-rounder and can play pretty much anywhere in midfield or defence, making him the ideal player for a team that lacks depth in certain positions.
He can tackle, cross, dribble, pass, shoot, head the ball, and he’s got decent pace, agility and excellent jumping to boot. In short, he can handle pretty much anything you throw at him. He can slot in to replace Lehmann, but is just as comfortable as an attacking midfielder. Or on the wing. Or at full back. Or… you get the picture.
And perhaps best of all, he’s an absolute bargain. Flamengo have way too many centre midfielders, so are willing to accept a mere £500,000 for him. He’s rated 69 at 20 years old and has a potential of 77, but that roughly translates as just one point of growth a year. I reckon he can easily exceed that, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him grow into the early 80s.
Hong Chul
Club: Suwon Bluewings
Position: LB
OVR: 69
Potential: 77
Age: 22
Cost: £1,100,000
Wages: £6,000
Adjust your budget allocation to 80:20 so that you now have £1,308,799 in transfer funds and £6,292 in wages. That’s just enough for our final purchase: Hong Chul.
Left back is another difficult area for Köln, not so much due to a lack of quality but simply a lack of players. Their only left back is Jonas Hector, and while he’s decent enough, if he gets injured or tired there’s no one to replace him. Whoever you bring in to compete with him has to be good, so that you won’t be missing out whichever player you use.
That player is Hong Chul of Suwon Bluewings in South Korea. He is a player I’ve admired for a while now for a number of reasons. Like Yedlin, he is very fast and has brilliant stamina (86 acceleration, 88 sprint speed, 90 stamina), and that awesome stamina largely solves the problem of the squad’s lack of depth at left back. But he’s strong too, and with 76 strength he should be able to dispossess opponents and keep hold of the ball himself when going forward. He’s also excellent at free kicks, so should contribute important goals and assists on your quest for promotion.
Suwon Bluewings wanted me to pay £2m, but in the end I got him for almost half that: £1.1m. His wages are a very reasonable £6,000.
Here’s how much those players cost us:
Total spent on transfer fees: £2,900,000
Total spent on wages: £18,000
After adjusting the budget (before buying Hong Chul) that leaves us with £208,799 in transfer funds and £292 in wages. You may decide not to buy one of the above players, just in case a player already in the squad asks for a wage increase.
Future considerations – bring in another striker
Richairo Živković excels at most things up front
These additional suggestions are being made with the knowledge that you may not have much money to spend (even if you wait until the second season when you are given a new budget). You may decide that you’d rather bring in a super-high potential player rather than address all of the following points.
Köln have four strikers, but as I alluded to earlier, it won’t be long before Helmes starts decreasing. Maurice Exslager only has a potential of 69, so that means in a couple of seasons Finne and Ujah will be your only decent strikers. I would therefore recommend finding a striker with decent potential to carry you into the next few years.
A good option would be Richairo Živković at FC Groningen in Holland. He may cost you a fair amount of money, but with potential 83 he’ll be worth every penny. I’d wait until the second season when you have a new transfer fund to spend, but if you can afford him he is a fantastic striker to get and suits pretty much any formation and play style, he’s that versatile.
Future considerations – bring in some new wingers
Oluwasanmi Odelusi is a real handful on the wing
There’s a similar situation with Köln’s wingers: beyond their starters, they don’t have a huge amount of potential. This is true for both the left and right side of the pitch, with players having potentials in the early to mid 70s and below.
For right midfield I’d recommend Eusébio at Wolverhampton. Don’t buy him until the second season – he starts off at 52 OVR but has 78 potential, so after a year his OVR should have hit the early to mid 60s (growth on other teams can be wildly better than on user-controlled teams if the player has high potential). Because Wolverhampton are a lower league team he doesn’t have expensive wages and can easily be persuaded to join. Once he gets growing he’ll be a brilliant player for the future, and will be dirt cheap as well.
For left midfield I’d go for Oluwasanmi Odelusi at MK Dons. Another lower league English player, he has 78 potential but very affordable wages. He is strong, fast and can play as a striker as well as a winger, making him a very versatile option.
Hopefully this in-depth guide to 1. FC Köln has helped you out and given you some ideas for a new career in FIFA 14. If that’s the case, be sure to let us know how you’re getting on in the comments below.
I’d also like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of the article itself. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include?
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