FIFA 16 | Good teams for career mode – Torino

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

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Torino (Tier 1)

Torino have a ton of promising players and can hold their own in Serie A, but you’ll need to push them hard if you want to win trophies.

Contents

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

Starting transfer budget: £10,000,000
Starting wage budget: £80,000
Default formation: 5-3-2
Board expectations: Qualify for Champions’ Cup, reach cup round of 16
Key player: Kamil Glik
Best young prospect: Nikola Maksimović

Why choose Torino?

I love Serie A career modes because the league is so competitive. Unlike, say, Liga BBVA, any number of teams could feasibly win the league in FIFA 16 if they have a good season. This is a bit of a doubled-edged sword – while it means that there is a great range of teams to choose from, it also means that any of your rivals can hammer you.

Torino are one of those teams who have the potential to win trophies in FIFA 16. They have plenty of promising players, with ten having 80 potential or higher, but you’ll have to really do well with them if you want to win the league. There’s just the right balance between a strong starting set of players and a real challenge to push them further.

Torino’s key player is Kamil Glik. Practically a complete defender, he will boss the back line – and opposition forwards. With 88 strength, 86 interceptions and fantastic tackling stats, he’s extremely hard to beat and will run a tight ship at the back. Added to that is his phenomenal 88 heading accuracy and 79 jumping, so he’ll be lethal from set pieces.

The team’s most promising player is Nikola Maksimović, with a massive 86 potential. Like Glik, he’s extremely strong and has superb tackling ability, while he’s also deadly in the air thanks to his 6’4″ height and 82 heading accuracy. Pair him alongside Glik and you’ll have one of the most durable centre back partnerships in the league.

Strongest starting lineup

Here is Torino’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Highest potential lineup

Sticking with the 5-3-2 formation, here’s Torino’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, LB, ST.

Because Torino already have a lot of high potential players, any signings we make will be about quality rather than quantity. We need top quality players, not lots of cheap but ultimately mediocre players.

Every outfield position in Torino’s squad has at least one player with at least 80 potential, but the same cannot be said for their goalkeepers. Even though there are four shotstoppers among their ranks, the highest potential keeper only has 76 potential – and he’s already reached it. You’re going to need a goalkeeper who can grow well into the future if you’re to challenge for silverware, so that needs addressing.

The team’s strikers are also (mostly) ageing. Although in the above image I’ve put Josef Alexander Martínez up front, he’s really more of a winger, so you could do with another out-and-out striker to partner Belotti up top.

Finally, both Zappacosta (who is a midfielder but is well-suited to playing at wing back) and Bruno Peres are right footed. Either can play at left back, but you might feel you need a left-footed full back instead. If that’s the case, I’ve covered this issue later in this article.

With £10,000,000 in transfer funds and £80,000 in wages, there’s plenty of spare cash lying around to bring in some quality players. Let’s see who we can get.

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Sergio Rico is a quality young goalkeeper with bags of potential

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Sergio Rico
Club: Sevilla FC
Position: GK
OVR: 75
Potential: 84
Age: 21
Cost: £5m
Wages: £45,000

Torino actually have four goalkeepers, so why bring in another? Well, unfortunately they’re not that great. Sordi has low potential and Castellazzi is 39, so they’re both out of the equation. Padelli is rated 76 but won’t get any better, while Ichazo has 75 potential – really, we want a keeper with more potential than that. You could probably get away with selling all of those keepers and replace them with one very good alternative (there are also two more – the Gomis brothers – out on loan, but they’re not particularly great either).

My solution is Sergio Rico of Sevilla FC. He’s only 21 but is rated 75, automatically making him your second best goalkeeper behind Padelli. But that won’t last long thanks to his 84 potential, so he’ll be growing in no time and will quickly take the number one spot. He’s very well rounded so will excel in all manner of situations, and at 6’4″ is unlikely to get lobbed or struggle on crosses.

He’s also very reasonably well priced – Sevilla want £6.5m but will accept a bid of £5m for his services. You’ll need to bump his wages up to £45,000 to convince him to join, but for what you get – and what you save on his transfer fee – he’s well worth it.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Jerry Mbakogu is an absolutely beastly striker

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Jerry Mbakogu
Club: Carpi
Position: ST
OVR: 73
Potential: 80
Age: 22
Cost: £4.2m
Wages: £30,000

As I mentioned earlier, although Torino have a few forwards, Amauri, Quagliarella and López are in their 30s and will start declining almost straight away. Belotti is good to keep and so is Martínez, but the latter is much more of a winger than a striker. So what you really need is another striker to go alongside Belotti and carry the team forward over the next few years.

My choice is Jerry Mbakogu of Carpi. Just one look at his stats will tell you that he’s an absolute beast – and I raved about him in my cheap, high potential target men guide recently. It’s not often you find a player with 91 sprint speed, 85 strength and 91 jumping, but you get all of that (and much more) with Mbakogu. He’s a beast in the air or with the ball on the ground, and will simply destroy opposition defences.

Carpi want £5m for him but I managed to negotiate that down to £4.2m. Offer him wages of £30,000 and he should accept.


Those transfers leave us with £800,000 in transfer funds and £5,000 in wages – a very healthy amount if you want to buy a scout or a cheap, high potential player. But if you wanted to raise a bit more money, you could try selling some of the players below.

Suggested sales

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

You should sell Amauri before his value decreases

I wasn’t joking about selling almost all the old goalkeepers. I’m half tempted to suggest you keep Ichazo because he can grow a few points, but there’s not much point when you’re going to be focusing on Sergio Rico. Selling Castellazzi, Ichazo and Sordi can net you around £1.5m.

I’d also suggest you sell Alexander Farnerud, as he’s not getting any better and there are more accomplished centre midfielders ahead of him. That sale can raise about £3m.

Finally, Amauri is 35 so you should sell him now before his OVR decreases and his value drops with it. Selling him straight away can get you around £1m.

Future considerations – get a new left back

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Torino

Mário Rui is lightning quick and can run all game

Bruno Peres and Zappacosta would be my first choice wing backs, but they’re both right footed. Peres is fine on the left (his weak foot is stronger than Zappacosta’s), but aside from Cristian Molinaro, Torino don’t have any other dedicated left backs – and he’s 31 anyway.

There’s not enough left over cash after the transfers of Rico and Mbakogu to buy a high OVR, high potential left back, but there should be plenty if you were to buy a player for free in January when his contract expires.

My suggestion would be Mário Rui of Empoli. With 88 acceleration, 84 sprint speed and 92 stamina, he makes an ideal wing back, able to get up and down the flank all game long. His tackling is strong but he can cross too, so will be good at both ends of the pitch. And it’s a fairly realistic transfer, too, so no need to worry about that.

His wages are £50,000 if you go to sign him on a free transfer, which sounds like a lot, but don’t forget that there’s no transfer fee to pay and those sales I mentioned earlier will have generated plenty of cash. Sign him up and he’ll be a fantastic addition to your team.


That just about wraps up this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Torino will have a tough battle ahead of them to win trophies in Serie A, but with some shrewd signings and with their high potential players growing well, you can challenge for a place among the big boys of the division.

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.