FIFA 12 | Lower League Gems – Defensive midfielders (winter update)


I realise I may not have made it clear at first – this article refers to players’ stats after the winter update.

We move on to the midfield now, and start with defensive mids, or CDMs. You can find CDMs of the Xabi Alonso mould, who sit back and distribute the ball all over the pitch. There are those who fit equally well into the back four, some at full back and others at centre back. Then there are those who are of a more “modern” flavour, who are skilled at dribbling and shooting and can thus contribute at both ends of the pitch. This guide contains players of all three types. My recommendations are below:

  • Wilfred Chinoye Osuji
  • Guaraci
  • Julian Korb

Along with Giuseppe Rizzo, Wilfred Chinoye Osuji is the highest potential player in this list. He is much cheaper (relatively speaking), however, and demands only 2/3 of what Rizzo does in terms of wages. He has good passing and tackling, and so can not only win the ball but can start a counter attack. He’s not actually that far down the Padua pecking order, however, so make a move for him before they starting using him and his price increases.

Guaraci‘s strength lies in his flexibility, and as you may have gathered from my previous articles, this is something I am fond of! He has a high attacking work rate and good passing and dribbling, but at the same time he has strength 84 and solid tackling. I would almost be tempted to use him more as a defender than as a CDM, but he would certainly work well as a first line of defense before opposition players reach your back line. He’s also got stamina 81, so will be fit and ready game in, game out, meaning his growth will be rapid.

Finally, Julian Korb is a very cheap option if you are low on funds, but he’s certainly no dud. He’s actually very well-rounded: his dribbling & crossing, his passing, his tackling stats, even his penalties, are all fairly even, so as he improves they will all improve together. Many players develop certain stats very well but others poorly, but he will end up being very competent in all manner of positions. Not bad for £500,000!

These figures refer to the winter update stats. As always, please bear in mind that these figures may not be exactly the same on your game. These stats are taken from my own personal experiences, but are likely to be very similar to those on your own game. The best thing to do is to make sure you keep checking these players, as their prices may change radically after a while.

Players are ordered by potential, then cost, so it should be pretty simple to find someone who meets both your budget and ability/potential requirements.

Finally, if you’ve had any experiences of good players’ prices changing wildly (especially if their price drops), please post it in the comments!

So, without further ado, here are the players:

[table id=27 /]