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

Stade Rennais (Tier 1)

Tier 1 teams can challenge for the title in a tough division, but it’ll be no walk in the park.

Contents

1. Why choose Stade Rennais?
2. Lineups
   1. Strongest starting lineup
   2. Highest potential lineup
3. Recommended purchases
4. Suggested sales
5. Future considerations
   1. Get a new right back

Starting transfer budget: £6,500,000
Starting wage budget: £80,000
Default formation: 4-4-1-1
Board expectations: Qualify for the Champions’ Cup, cup round of 16
Key player: Paul-Georges Ntep
Best young prospect: Ousmane Dembelé

Why choose Stade Rennais?

At the time of writing, PSG currently stand a mere 27 points clear at the top of Ligue 1. The club have pulled so far away from the competition that to call it a one-horse race would be a severe understatement. So if you want to try to win the league with any other side in the division, you’ve got a monumental challenge ahead of you.

Stade Rennais, though, are one of the best placed teams to try to do just that. They actually have the same number of high potential players (potential 75+) as PSG despite having less than a tenth of the Parisians’ budget. They’ve also got the joint-highest potential player in the league and some fantastic players among their ranks, so winning the league is absolutely not outside the realms of possibility.

The team’s key player is Paul-Georges Ntep. Rated 79 with 84 potential, he’s almost the perfect winger. He’s blisteringly fast with 90 acceleration and 91 sprint speed, but his 74 strength is very good for a wide player. His 84 dribbling and four star skills will turn defenders inside out, and he can finish chances too thanks to his 77 finishing. If you need a player to score the goals that will propel you towards the title, he’s your man.

Stade Rennais’ highest potential young player is Ousmane Dembelé. He’s just 18 but already rated 76 and has a stunning 89 potential, making him one of the hottest prospects in Europe. He’s rapid thanks to his 83 acceleration and 85 sprint speed, and his 85 dribbling and four star weak foot make him highly dangerous when facing up to a defender. He’s also got a five star weak foot so can play on either wing, and is just as happy playing centrally as an attacking midfielder. Keeping hold of him should be a priority!

Strongest starting lineup

Changing the formation to 4-3-3, here is Stade Rennais’ strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

Highest potential lineup

Keeping the formation the same, here is Stade Rennais’ highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: CB, LB, CDM, CM.

We need to strengthen more areas than usual, so we’ll make use of a couple of free signings. Before starting, change your budget ratio to 46:54 – this will give you £4,903,600 in transfer funds and £110,700 in wages. Now let’s buy some players.

Solomon Kverkvelia
Club: Rubin Kazan
Position: CB
OVR: 72
Potential: 78
Age: 23
Cost: £0 (contract expiry)
Wages: £25,000

While Mexer is an excellent centre back, the other central defenders at Stade Rennais are a bit average, with none possessing potential higher than 75. We want more promising centre backs than that going forward. However, because it’s not a desperate situation, we can probably make do for the first season with what we have – so I suggest you get a free centre who will arrive at the start of the second season.

With that in mind, my recommendation is Solomon Kverkvelia of Rubin Kazan in Russia. With 78 potential he’s much more promising than most of Stade Rennais’ current centre backs. He’s 6’5″ so will be a threat in the air, but unusually for a big man he’s very fast – 76 acceleration and 78 sprint speed will be a fantastic asset at the back. He’s strong thanks to his 78 strength, and his interceptions and tackling stats are very impressive too. He should provide the stability you need at the back for years to come.

Approach to sign him in the January transfer window and you can get him for free; he’ll join you at the start of the second season. His wages are £25,000.

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Afonso Figueiredo
Club: Boavista
Position: LB
OVR: 74
Potential: 79
Age: 22
Cost: £0 (contract expiry)
Wages: £35,000

The situation at left back is similar to that at centre back – stagnation. While the current left backs are OK, they’re really nothing special, with Ludovic Baal and Cheikh M’Bengue both having 76 potential. In my ‘highest potential starting lineup’ image above I’ve put Dimitri Cavaré at left back – he’s actually listed as a right back but goes up two points at centre back. Eitherway, he’s not a natural left back! So it’s definitely an area that needs improving.

I suggest you move for Afonso Figueiredo of Boavista in Portugal. He’s a great all-round full back, with pace, stamina and great defending stats. He’s just as good going forward, and can also play as a wide midfielder if you need him to. He’s got 79 potential but is only 22, so could reach into the 80s with enough good performances.

Like Kverkvelia, you can get Figueiredo for free in the January transfer window (just remember to approach him on or after his 23rd birthday on the 6th of January). His wages are £35,000.

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Cafú
Club: V. Guimarães
Position: CDM
OVR: 72
Potential: 78
Age: 22
Cost: £2.2m
Wages: £20,000

While Stade Rennais have an abundance of talented attacking players in midfield, they really lack promising defensive-minded midfielders. While there is Gelson Fernandes, he’s not going to grow past 76 OVR, and Denis Will Poha isn’t ready yet for the big time. We’ll need to draft in another holding midfielder who can shore things up in the centre of the pitch.

My choice is Cafú of V. Guimarães in Portugal. His 84 strength and 82 stamina mean that not only is he strong enough to dispossess almost every player he comes up against, he can keep doing it all game long. His tackling stats are excellent but he also has a fierce shot, making him useful at both ends of the pitch. In fact, he’s rated 72 at CDM but also 71 as a striker and 74 at centre back. That just shows you how flexible he is and what an asset he will be to the team.

V. Guimarães want £3.3m for him but you can get him for a massively reduced price of £2.2m. His wages are £20,000.

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Bryan Dabo
Club: Montpellier HSC
Position: CM
OVR: 73
Potential: 78
Age: 23
Cost: £2.7m
Wages: £30,000

Despite getting Cafú, I still feel we need one more midfielder who is able to defend, in case Cafú gets injured or tired. We’re looking for a midfielder who isn’t purely defensive – a box-to-box player who can push forward while Cafú holds back would be ideal.

My suggestion is Bryan Dabo of Montpellier HSC in France. He’s even more well-rounded than Cafú – he can pass, shoot, dribble, tackle and read the game equally well. He’s fast but also strong and has excellent stamina, all excellent stats for a central midfielder. In fact, central midfield is ironically his worst position – he’s rated 75 at wing back, 74 at defensive midfield and 74 as a striker. That kind of flexibility is incredibly useful – play him where you like and you know he’ll excel.

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Those transfers leave us with precious little in the way of cash – £3,600 in transfer funds and £700 in wages. That’s not enough to do anything, so let’s take a look at who we can sell in order to raise some more money for scouts and/or more players.

Suggested sales

Stade Rennais have a few more goalkeepers than they need, so you can sell Abdoulaye Diallo for about £1.3m and Olivier Sorin (if he’s not retiring) for about £300,000.

Jérémy Gélin and Séga Coulibaly are also surplus to requirements and can be sold for around £150,000 and £250,000 respectively. You can sell either Romain Danzé or Mehdi Zeffane depending on whether you want to prioritise OVR or potential – you’ll get about £2.1m or £750,000 for them respectively.

In midfield, Sébastien Salles-Lamonge and Arthur Njo Lea definitely aren’t needed, and will bring in £150,000 and £40,000 each. If you feel like you need a bit of extra cash, you could also sell Kamil Grosicki for about £3.1m.

Finally, Abdoulaye Sané can be moved on for around £250,000.

Depending on how many of those sales you make, you can bring in between £2.89m and £7.64m – not a bad haul either way!

Future considerations: get a new right back

While Steven Moreira is a good right back and has 78 potential, the other options on the team aren’t great. Mehdi Zeffane has 76 potential, and Romain Danzé has reached his 75 potential. This is an area that could really be improved with the introduction of a higher potential player.

I recommend you get Mayke of Cruzeiro. He’s fast and has excellent crossing, which will be highly dangerous going forward, but he can also defend as well. Like many players in this article, he’s highly flexible – he’s just as good as a winger as he is at right back. So he can provide cover and fill in where he’s needed, making him great value for money.

Speaking of money, Cruzeiro want £5m for him but I was able to get that down to about £3.9m. His wages are £30,000.

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That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Stade Rennais have a tough challenge ahead of them if they’re to overcome the might of PSG, but with some incredibly high potential players in the squad it’s certainly possible. Strengthen key areas and push on in subsequent seasons and you’ve got every chance of winning the league.

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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