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
1899 Hoffenheim (Tier 1)
Tier 1 teams can challenge for the title in a tough division, but it’ll be no walk in the park.
Contents
Starting transfer budget: £11,000,000
Starting wage budget: £80,000
Default formation: 4-3-3
Board expectations: Finish mid table, cup round of 32
Key player: Kevin Volland
Best young prospect: Niklas Süle
Why choose 1899 Hoffenheim?
Whereas many clubs are plagued with over-expectant boards, 1899 Hoffenheim have the opposite: their board want them to finish mid table, despite the wealth of talent in their ranks. This makes them a good choice for a new FIFA 16 career because there’s much less pressure on you to do well with the resources at your disposal. And what great resources they have – we’ll come on to their players in a minute, but 1899 Hoffenheim have enough to challenge for a top three finish, if not the league title itself.
Of course, it’s not all plain sailing. The central midfield needs some work and you could do with another right back, but it’s not a disaster. A career with 1899 Hoffenheim is both fun and challenging, without too much pressure.
The team’s key player is Kevin Volland. He’s a superbly versatile player that can play as a striker, a wide player or an attacking midfielder and still dominate the opposition. He’s pacey, strong, a great finisher and has 90 stamina, so will be extremely hard to handle. And he’s got 85 potential, meaning he’s got a bright future as well as a bright present.
1899 Hoffenheim’s most promising young player is Niklas Süle. He’s only 19 but already is one of the best players on the team, and his 86 potential will make him a real star in a few years. He’s already a beast, though – 93 strength, 80 heading accuracy, 6’5″ height and an 85 standing tackle stat mean he’s incredible in both defence and attack. Keep hold of him at all costs.
Strongest starting lineup
Changing the formation slightly to 4-2-3-1, here is 1899 Hoffenheim’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:
Highest potential lineup
Keeping the formation the same, here is 1899 Hoffenheim’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:
Recommended purchases
Key signings required: RB, CM x2, CAM.
Before we get started, change the budget ratio to 74:26. This will give you £11,218,400 in transfer funds and £75,800 in wages. Now let’s buy some players.
Lukas Klostermann will make a good understudy at right back
Lukas Klostermann
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: RB
OVR: 69
Potential: 81
Age: 19
Cost: £1,300,000
Wages: £7,000
1899 Hoffenheim already have a very good right back in Pavel Kadeřábek, so at first you might think they’re fine in this position. But the problem is that he’s the only right back in the team – if he gets injured or tired you’ll have a problem. So let’s bring in a high potential understudy who can develop and perhaps overtake Kadeřábek in a couple of years.
My choice is Lukas Klostermann of RB Leipzig in the German second division. With 88 acceleration and 91 sprint speed he’s extremely fast, and his 74 stamina is very decent too. His tackling stats are some of his best technical attributes, and in fact he can play well at centre back – he’s 6’2″, after all. Play him at centre back and that pace will really come in handy. But he’ll do well wherever you play him thanks to his 81 potential – that also means he’ll make a good competitor to Kadeřábek.
RB Leipzig want £2m for him but you can get him for around £1.3m. His wages are £7,000.
Rúben Neves is a high potential wonderkid
Rúben Neves
Club: FC Porto
Position: CDM
OVR: 75
Potential: 86
Age: 18
Cost: £5,100,000
Wages: £20,000
Looking at the image of 1899 Hoffenheim’s highest potential lineup, the weakest area is in central midfield. With potentials of 78 and 77, you might want to replace Sebastian Rudy and Pirmin Schwegler. As well as that, Schwegler is 28 so will start declining soon.
The first replacement I suggest you buy is Rúben Neves of FC Porto. He’s one of the best young central midfielders in the game and is incredibly well-rounded. His tackling, passing, dribbling, crossing and interceptions stats are all great, and he’s got very good stamina too. But of course the best part about him is his 86 potential – if you think he looks decent now, just wait until he hits that potential.
FC Porto want £7m for him but you can bring that down to around £5.1m. His wages are £20,000.
Jorrit Hendrix will work well alongside Rúben Neves
Jorrit Hendrix
Club: PSV
Position: CDM
OVR: 75
Potential: 82
Age: 20
Cost: £4,700,000
Wages: £25,000
Rúben Neves is great, but he’ll need a player with a bit more defensive steel alongside him. I recommend you buy Jorrit Hendrix of PSV for this situation. He’s a bit stronger than Neves and a bit better in the air, so will excel when the opposition are attacking. He’s also got 84 long passing, so will be a great player if you want to quickly start an attack with a long ball. And with potential 82 he won’t be too far Neves in terms of growth.
PSV want £6m for him but I was able to negotiate that down to £4.7m. His wages are £25,000.
Viktor Kovalenko can play in the middle or out on the wings
Viktor Kovalenko
Club: Shakhtar Donetsk
Position: CAM
OVR: 74
Potential: 86
Age: 19
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £20,000
We’ve still got a bit of cash lying around, but only really enough to bring someone in on loan. This could be used to bring in another attacking midfielder. Nadiem Amiri has 81 potential, but will take a couple of years to get there, so it might be worth loaning in a better player for the first season so he can develop. Then in the second season he should be ready to take that starting position.
My suggestion is Viktor Kovalenko of Shakhtar Donetsk. He’s an extremely flexible attacker and can play right across the front line – useful if you need to provide cover. His 74 OVR makes him good enough to start, and with 86 potential he’ll develop rapidly. He’s got great stamina, decent pace and excellent dribbling, so getting past defenders will be easy. Bring him in on loan and he’ll make a real impact.
After those transfers you’ll be left with £118,400 in transfer funds and £3,800 in wages – obviously not enough to buy anyone else or bring in any scouts. With that in mind, let’s see who we can sell in order to raise some extra cash.
Suggested sales
Kai Herdling can be sold for around £400,000
First off, Alexander Stolz can be sold for around £250,000. You could also sell Benedikt Gimber for about £150,000.
Now that we’ve brought in some more midfielders, you can sell off the surplus. Baris Atik, Kai Herdling and Russell Canouse can be sold for £150,000, £400,000 and £150,000 respectively. You can also get rid of Jiloan Hamad and Tarik Elyounoussi for £1.5m and £2.2m each.
Finally, sell Joelinton for £200,000. If you need to make a bit more money, you can sell Keven Kuranyi for around £1.5m.
Selling all those players will bring in about £5m – £6.5m. That’s enough to bring in a couple of high potential youngsters, or perhaps a more established first team starter.
That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. 1899 Hoffenheim have a great budget and a lenient board, so make the most of it with some shrewd signings and you could find yourself challenging for the league title.
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?
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