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 16’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
VfL Bochum (Tier 3)
Tier 3 sides like VfL Bochum start in a low division but have a great chance of working their way up the leagues – perfect for ‘journey’ career modes or returning a team to former glory.
Contents
- Why choose VfL Bochum?
- Lineups
- Recommended purchases
- Suggested sales
- Future considerations
Starting transfer budget: £875,000
Starting wage budget: £30,000
Default formation: 4-4-1-1
Board expectations: Gain automatic promotion, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Simon Terodde
Best young prospect: Gökhan Gül
Why choose VfL Bochum?
Aside from the presence of RB Leipzig, Bundesliga 2 is a pretty open division with several teams able to compete for the title. While VfL Bochum are among those teams, almost all of their promotion rivals have far superior budgets, so keeping up with their spending will be nearly impossible. There are also a lot of other teams with plenty of high potential players, so you’ll have plenty of competition in the future too.
That said, VfL Bochum do have a very high number of high potential players – 21 with potential 70 or above. Their budget is also misleading, as it’s heavily weighted towards the wage bill; make it more balanced and they’ll get almost £2m. That combination of high potential players and a good budget gives you a real chance of meeting the board’s expectation of ‘gain automatic promotion’, no matter how tricky that goal seems at first.
The team’s key player is Simon Terodde. The highest OVR player in the side, at 6’4″ and with 83 strength he makes an excellent target man. But he’s got good pace for a big man, with 74 sprint speed, and his 77 finishing means he won’t just rely on his head to put away chances. When he’s firing on all cylinders, you’ve got a great chance of taking a promotion spot at the end of the season.
VfL Bochum’s most promising young player is Gökhan Gül. He’s one of the only players in Bundesliga 2 with 80 potential or higher who doesn’t play for RB Leipzig, so VfL Bochum are rather lucky to have him! He’s pretty raw right now but with 79 jumping, you won’t need to worry about him being exposed with a simple lobbed through ball. Give him plenty of game time while you’re still in the second division and he’ll shoot up towards his 80 potential.
Strongest starting lineup
Changing the formation to 4-3-3, here is VfL Bochum’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:
Highest potential lineup
Keeping the formation the same, here is VfL Bochum’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:
Recommended purchases
Key signings required: CM (x2), winger.
VfL Bochum desperately need at least one new central midfielder. While Bulut is there in the image above, he’s actually a right midfielder who can play in centre mid, but isn’t a natural there. Unfortunately, he’s the only player with relatively high potential who you can put there. Eisfeld and Haberer are both attackers too, so really you need at least one new defensive-minded central midfielder. Also, Novikovas doesn’t have massive potential and Terrazzino isn’t the fastest winger in the world (although admittedly Novikovas is rapid), so another winger would be good.
Before you buy anyone, adjust your budget ratio to 62:38. That’ll give you £1,509,700 in transfer funds and £17,794 in wages (see? I told you VfL Bochum have a good budget once you adjust it!). Now let’s see who we can buy with all that cash.
Kristoffer Ajer is unbelievably well-rounded
Kristoffer Ajer
Club: IK Start
Position: CM
OVR: 65
Potential: 79
Age: 17
Cost: £750,000
Wages: £3,100
VfL Bochum’s main problem area is central midfield. There is no high potential, defensive-minded midfielder to take the team forward over the next few years, as Anthony Losilla, Tim Hoogland and Tobias Weis have all reached their peak at 70 OVR. While Onur Bulut is a decent temporary replacement, he’s not a dedicated CDM or even CM, and so can’t play there for ever.
With that in mind, I suggest you buy Kristoffer Ajer of IK Start in Norway. At 6’5″ and with 80 strength at just 17 years old, he’s going to develop into a physical beast in the next few years, and with 82 stamina he’ll be running all game. He’s actually not that slow for a big man, and his technical stats are so well rounded that he is just as good up front as he is at defensive midfield. With 79 potential and that kind of versatility, he’ll be the player for any occasion for years to come.
IK Start want £1.1m for him but I was able to buy him for £750,000. His wages are £3,100, and he also wants the ‘squad rotation player’ squad role.
Ramiro makes an excellent ball-winner in midfield
Ramiro
Club: Grêmio
Position: CDM
OVR: 69
Potential: 78
Age: 22
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £6,000
Getting Kristoffer Ajer is a great investment, but I still think we should get one more central midfielder in case he gets injured. I therefore recommend you bring Ramiro of Grêmio in on loan. While Ajer is physically very powerful, Ramiro is much better when it comes to tackling and marking. His marking, slide and stand tackling stats are all 74, so he’s got a great chance of winning the ball back no matter who he comes up against.
Rather than buying him outright, loan him in for two years. This means we can save some money to get one more player, and still have a very good player join our team for a few years. His wages are £6,000, so he’s great value for those two years.
Jordan Graham’s speed and skills will wreak havoc on the wing
Jordan Graham
Club: Wolves
Position: LM
OVR: 66
Potential: 77
Age: 20
Cost: £750,000
Wages: £5,500
While VfL Bochum’s current wingers are OK, they’re not hugely inspiring. Arvydas Novikovas is lightning quick but only has 72 potential, while Marco Terrazzino has 73 potential and isn’t particularly fast. All the side’s other wingers either have lower potential or, in the case of Bulut, are being used elsewhere on the pitch.
To improve this situation, buy Jordan Graham from Wolves. With 83 acceleration and 84 sprint speed he’ll enable you to have pace on both sides of the pitch, and his four star weak foot means he can swap wings at will. His 77 dribbling stat is fantastic for his OVR, and he’s also got four star skills, making him a nightmare to defend against if you’re fond of using tricks. He’s also got 77 potential, so will bring some much-needed future talent to the team.
Wolves want you to pay £1m for him but, like Ajer, you only have to pay around £750,000. He needs a bit of convincing to join, but wages of £5,500 will be enough to get him.
After those transfers you’ll be left with £9,700 in transfer funds and £3,194 in wages. We want more spare cash than that in case we need some scouts or other new players, so let’s see who we can sell to help raise some funds.
Suggested sales
Piotr Ćwielong is the lowest potential player on the team and can be sold
Felix Dornebusch only has 66 potential, so he’s not high potential enough to be kept. Selling him will raise about £100,000. You could also sell Patrick Fabian for about £400,000, although just be aware that you’ll need to bring in another centre back next season to replace Malcolm Cacutalua, who is only in on loan – otherwise you won’t be left with many CBs in the squad.
As for midfielders, sell Michael Maria, Piotr Ćwielong and Roman Zengin; they’ll get you about £250,000 in total.
Don’t sell any strikers, as there are only three in the squad, so you’ll probably need them for cover and rotation.
Selling all those players can add about £750,000 to your transfer budget.
Future considerations – get a new right back
Erick Aguirre is incredibly versatile and has excellent potential
Another area that could be improved going forward is at right back. Stefano Celozzi is decent but only has 71 potential, and Jan Gyamerah’s potential is just 69 so he’s not particularly promising.
Try getting Erick Aguirre of Monarcas Morelia in Mexico if you can. Much like Ajer, he’s incredibly flexibly and is just as good at central midfield as he is at right back. He’s pacey, has good stamina and his passing, tackling and dribbling are all very good. He starts at 67 OVR and has 78 potential, so he’ll be a great player to carry you forward over the next few seasons.
Monarcas Morelia want £1.2m for him but you can get that down to £750,000. His wages are £3,500.
That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. VfL Bochum are in a challenging division and face teams with more riches and high potential players than themselves, but their budget is still strong enough to bring in plenty of talent to help propel them up the league table. It’ll be a challenge, but a good one at that.
I’d 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?
Don’t forget to connect with me on social media. I’m running the FIFA Scouting Tips YouTube channel, and you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest updates.