Player Review
95 - Premium SBC
The normal 83 rated card of this Legend survived the 23 man squad of my Serie A superteam (packed with Serie A TOTS' , TOTY Bonucci and 93 rated CEH Marchisio ) until very late in the game. Although not a starter at that point, I held enormous respect for this card and its contribution in the team. He was always solid and reliable as he is in real life. Now you can imagine that as soon as EA anounced his End of an Era SBC I just had to do it to reinstate this splendid foot soldier ( to quote Al Pacino ) back into the team, at the expense of a very underperforming, overhyped and hideously expensive CEH Marchisio. What I have noticed about all End Of an Era cards is that they truly feel different to other cards, much like Icons, they possess great "flair", are very idiosyncratic and very enjoyable to use unlike other cards. However, they lack in stamina and are a little too "soft" for Futchamps. They are cards to enjoy the game with but maybe lack the "cynicism" of many TOTS Meta cards at sweat games. The same CANNOT be said about this card, this card is very useful at the highest levels of FIFA. Every single attribute that made De Rossi's card special (such as tackling, energy, tenacity, strength, positioning and passing) is amplified to an extraordinary amount to create a card that is completely imposing and effective in the midfield. His pressence in the midfield renders the player absolutely safe and the number of attacks that are initiated from his feet is simply superb. despite making mistake after mistake in the midfield, you can fall back on him making everything good again. He spoils the user by how reliable he is. His ball control is exceptional which cancels out his rather mediocre dribbling. His ball control is so close that he comes out of very tight situations in the midfield with shot feints that you wouldn't think possible. Some say he is clunky, but I have to disagree. TOTS Matic is a lot clunkier despite being a very good card and his shooting is simply awful.TOTS Milinkovic-Savic feels clunkier and his is a MAJOR card. Despite that, my vote is with De Rossi whose shooting is out of this world......We are talking about 40 yard bangers guaranteed to be buried on upper corners of the net. De Rossi is by no means slouch in terms of outright speed but if you really want to exploit his speed I would suggest using a Hunter chem style, since anything other than that (like Hawk, engine etc.) will not make a really noticeable change in speed. I wouldn't use Catalyst or Shadow since his passing and defending stats are maxed out. Hunter will significantly improve his speed and his finishing inside the box which is his main weak point. Conclusion? A legend that should fit in the highest rated futchamps teams.
Marking, tackling, positioning, involvement, strength, otherworldly shooting, very close ball control, quality of passing, deep field playmaking.
Finishing inside the box, limited uses outside the CDM position. He is a MAJOR CDM and that's that. He is no TOTS Leon Goretzka.