Accessibility
Home
Players
Evolutions
Squad Builder
SBCs
Draft
Squads
Market
News
Packs
Objectives
Token Tracker
More
Language
Platform
Theme
EA Tax Calculator

Reviews

90 - Icon
4.5
Rui Costa ("The Maestro")
By Unleashed93, 18-10-2017

"The maestro" is absolute magic in game for my squad. He has the perfect balance of pace, ball skills, and passing that make this card one of the best I've ever used. I completed his SBC for about 515k; an absolute bargain considering his trade-able 90ovr card goes for around 1mil on the open market. I use a "maestro" card on him; which in my opinion, enhances his best stats to an unstoppable level.


The hidden stat that must not be overlooked is his incredible strength of 84. In-game his strength feels closer to a 93-95 range; as he can hold up the ball with ease, as well as wrestle defenders off of his runs. My style of play needs a strong CAM who is an immovable force in the center; allowing for pacey strikers to get into the open pitch behind defenders. Costa's ball control, along with his pinpoint passing is a dangerous combination going forward. I use him behind Papu Gomez and Mertens; the three of which create a deadly attacking force.

Pace: His pace isn't mind-blowing fast; however, is more than adequate for the CAM position.

Physical: Incredible strength; shields the ball well and can shake defenders when trailed by the CBs/CDMs.

Passing: Pin-point passing; incredible through balls with accuracy and power.

Dribbling: I've never played with a card who holds the ball with such ease. His 4 star skill moves and 4 star weak foot play close to a 5 star level.

Shooting: Great long shots, free kick accuracy, and shot power.

His cons are very minor; however, I will share a couple of items to have a fair and balanced review.


Defending: His defending in my opinion is very poor. For myself this is a non-issue as I play a 4-3-1-2 with Costa as the CAM with the "Stay Forward" player instruction. For those who expect their CAM to drop to the deeper midfield and perform standing tackles to help win the ball back, you'll find that Costa's card is not built to perform in defending scenarios (although he will win headers with his strength when battling with these defenders).


Shooting: His finishing inside the box can be slightly off-color at times. He has missed a few open chances for me thus far; however, he almost always made up for these misses by making an incredible play the very next shot opportunity.

Formation: 4312
Position: CAM
Games: 15
GPG: 0.80
APG: 0.93
4.5
Overall
5.0
Value
4.5
GC
4.0
Stamina
Pace (7/10)
Shooting (7/10)
Passing (10/10)
Dribbling (10/10)
Defending (3/10)
Physicality (10/10)
3.5
Brutal Rui Costa review
By Jan0ners, 26-12-2017

So, Rui Costa.


Everyone rates this guy as 5 stars, which he can deserve.


Let me summarize it:

At the start of F18 he was AMAZING. So many longshots/goals/amazing passes/assists/the whole deal. He was totally worth it, the best 400k I ever dropped on a player.

EA then went on to absolutely nerf this guy to death, and now he is below average.


Then:

When I first got him, I played him in a 433(4) behind Diego Costa. Diego was my holding striker and Rui would bang the goals. I played him with a hawk because his finishing was average and needed improvement and because Diego isn't the fastest man on the field I thought that a pace boost would help Rui, which it did. His finesse shots were really good because he has 85 longshots and 86 curve.

I then tried the 4231(2) and I loved it, played him behind Mertens with Carrasco and Cuadrado. He didn't score as many goals because Mertens scored them all, but Rui got a ****load of assists. He still felt like the best CAM in game, because longshots were OP, and becayse defending was hard his 92 (!!!) ball control destroyed BPL defenders.


Now:

After the last patch, I noticed that Rui didn't get as many assists as before. He would still assist or score every game, but that was expected because he played as a CAM.

Longshots got nerfed, so his longshots were OK at best. Sometimes he hits top bins, but most of the time he misses by two feet. Where did his 86 curve go?

His 86 pace is good, but no where near blazing fast. Still good enough to outrun slow defenders.


Let me also say that I have tried every chem style (yes, every) for a least 10 games in fut champs. Hawk is best for him, but still doesn't get the job done.


Passing

Before, his passing was OK. He has amazing stats, but the passing system in fut is still broken, so my 77 rated right back passes just as good. His free kicks are still really really good, but that's not a legitimate reason to spend 500k on him. His passing now is absolutely terrible. He can't pass a ball to my striker even if he were to be 2 feet away. Maybe it's the patch, but that doesn't explain why my other CMs can still pass. It's so frustrating to see that a 90 rated icon can't even make a simple pass.


Strength + defending

His strength is still very good, he doesn't get pushed of the ball by bailly or boateng. His interceptions are also amazing good for a CAM, he can steal the ball from a CB and go on to score. His stamina is really good, he can run all game, if he decides to do that (see "workrates")


Dribbling

Still very good, nothing special here. Doesn't quite feel like 88 but you can still run through defenses with ease.


Shooting

He went from the best shooting cam to probably the worst. I tried every chem style and he still misses sitters. Finesse shots, longshots, one on ones, he just doesn't score them.

His 4 star weak foot looks OK on paper but feels like a 2 star in game. Shooting with his left is terrible, don't try it.


Workrates:

Yea this absolutely ***** the card. M/M is fine, but after the patch he just doesn't make the same runs as he did before. He just stands there at the edge of the box, but he doesn't get in behind or in a better position. He runs all the way to the edge of the box, and then he just doesn't move. Medium workrates for defending is nice, but I would rather have H/L than M/M. It feels like he just doesn't want to play anymore. Sometimes he scores 4, sometimes he doesn't get a goal or an assist. His consistency is all over the place.


Different positions

I tried to play him as a CM, striker, CF. As a striker and CF he did the same as a CAM. He scores goals and gets assists but just not every game. At CM he completely disappears.


Really really sad, because he used to be my favorite CAM this year but I am now seriously thinking about trading him in for another icon.



Get him if:

You are looking for a CAM that might eventually get really really good again or if you need someone who is amazing sometimes and garbage the next game.


Don't get him if:

You are looking for an icon that will carry you from bronze 3 to elite 1. He isn't a game changer. I can sub him off for Papu Gomez and Gomez will do more than Rui did all game.

CAMs that you should buy that do the same thing after the patch:

  • Eriksen
  • Papu Gomez
  • Perisic
  • Ozil
  • High rated Icon
  • Sometimes bangs absolute mind blowing longshots
  • High strength for a CAM
  • interceptions are amazing for a CAM
  • Very good goal contribution
  • WORK RATES
  • Consistency
  • finishing
  • passing


Formation: 41212-2
Position: CAM
Games: 352
GPG: 0.79
APG: 0.53
3.5
Overall
2.5
Value
3.0
GC
5.0
Stamina
Pace (8/10)
Shooting (7/10)
Passing (7/10)
Dribbling (7/10)
Defending (8/10)
Physicality (9/10)
4.5
The ideal CAM
By sjaakboy, 04-11-2017

Rui Costa is an amazing CAM in this game, i have completed his SBC for arround 500K and it is a great investment for the future. Rui Costa is the perfect balance in creativity and raw 1 man army. I unlocked this card with the intension of using him al year in every squad. With his amazing card stats he is super balanced and is the ideal CAM, in-game he shows he is a world class player. He has his positives and negatives of course so lets talk about that.


A quick recap, Rui Costa is the best CAM i have used as off yet. He is amazingly strong his passing is perfect and is a good finisher. He is fast and can dribble good enough for this game. The 4* combo is great his left foot is amazing and 4* skills are always a pro. He is defenently worth 500K untradeble. And if you dont like him you can always use him in a later stage of fifa for a better icon SBC because he is a 90 rated CAM you can always use him in SBC for different icons because of position changing him.

PACE: He is not the fastest player arround but with a hawk chem style he feels fast enough in game to make some amazing runs with and without the ball

SHOOTING: Even tough his finishing stat is only 75, its really good. He scores most goals for me in the box and will sometimes miss due to his 75 finishing but will score 7/10 times.

PASSING: Do i really need to talk about it? his passing is top class and he even makes passes i haven't seen. When u press the pass button Rui sometimes decides to pass it to another player who is in a better position. Some people will dislike this but it saved me a couple of times and gave me some goals.

DRIBBLING: His dribbling is good not insane just good, he can feel a little stiff sometimes but most of the time he turns quick and with 4* skill moves u can play yourself open all the time.

STRENGTH: This guy is amazingly strong he will bully defenders when you shield the ball and can do some amazing hold up play because of it.

STAMINA: This guy goes on all game long with 88 stamina you dont have to substitute him


LONGSHOTS: his 87 shot power and 85 longshots, i usually score alot of longshots with players in this game but with rui costa i can't get them in. This is probally user error but i needed to adress this issue i have with his longshots

DEFENDING: Rui Costa can win balls in the midfield but its not a speciallty and will not happen everytime.


Formation: 41212-2
Position: CAM
Games: 23
GPG: 1.57
APG: 0.43
4.5
Overall
5.0
Value
5.0
GC
5.0
Stamina
Pace (8/10)
Shooting (8/10)
Passing (10/10)
Dribbling (8/10)
Defending (6/10)
Physicality (8/10)
5.0
SO MUCH WORTH IT!!
By AsgerGraff, 23-11-2017

If you think about making the Rui Costa Prime SBC and you have the money, it would be stupid not to make it. Rui Costa is simply amazing. He scores more goals than your strikers and makes more assists than your wingers/other midfielders. Plus he can take your free kicks, corners and penalties.


I use him in a 4-3-1-2 as a CAM and he's by far the best player in the squad. You could probably also use him as CM but a recommend to use him as CAM, CF or even as a striker.

  • Pace
  • Dribbling (don't even need to use skill moves, because he just dribbles around the opponent automatically.)
  • Passing
  • Physicality
  • Longshots, volleys and finishing (some say his finishing isn't that great, but for me it's pretty good)
  • 4 weak foot (feels like 5 star)
  • He hits the post pretty often, but you couldn't really expect more from a player with 75 finishing. His shooting is still very good though.
Formation: 4312
Position: CAM
Games: 24
GPG: 1.54
APG: 0.71
5.0
Overall
4.5
Value
4.5
GC
5.0
Stamina
Pace (9/10)
Shooting (8/10)
Passing (8/10)
Dribbling (10/10)
Defending (6/10)
Physicality (8/10)
5.0
Way better than expected
By robo127, 09-12-2017

I always like it when reviews go into detail on how the card was used and how the player usually plays. That helps me to imagine wheather the card could work for me in a similar way. So this is what i will do now: I play mainly in the Weekend leauge and finish with 26, 27 wins. I play in a 4-1-2-1-2(2) formation with 2 fast Strikers in front (Bale and Auba).

I picked Rui Costa up with his squad building challenge. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting him to be a game changer, but i wanted a legend for chemistry purpose to include Bale in my mainly Bundesliga Team. I was thinking about getting Hagi insetad, but boy, I am so glad to have picked up Costa! I played 48 matches with him, 40 of those in the weekend leauge.


Costa replaced Reus as a CAM in my team and i think i have never had a more dominant player in my Fifa 18 squad. He hasn't got the most impressive stats if you look at them one by one, but his skills just add up very good. His strenght and ball control lead to him almost never lose a ball. I feel extremly comfortable when he is on the ball, because he has great dribbling abilities, is pretty fast with the hawk chemistry style, and is very strong, too. That often means that he can secure a ball under pressure, dribble till there is a small gap and then run with the ball himself or pass it to a teammate. Talking about his passing: It's just great. As you can see, i didn't even bosst it, but its probably the best in used in Fifa 18 so far. Not only does he find the perfect gaps to play a ball through, the timing is unbelievable. I had dozens of situations where i played a through ball with him and the ball became slower the exact moment my striker picked it up. compared to reus with boosted passing stats, Costa wins by a mile. his long and high passes are awesome as well. But what should not be underestimated is his crossing. It is very, very good as well and led to a lot of goals for me.


I could go on and on with his obviously great stats. But to sum it up: He is very fast with hawk, his passes are incredible and his dribbling, especially his ball control, are teriffic. But you already knew that, because you can read. And if you are thinking the way i do, what probably bothers you is the 81 shooting. Well, after almost 50 games, all i can say is that his shooting works very good for me. he has decent long shots, but also his finishing worked perfect for me. Of course, he misses a few now and then, but not significantly more than Auba or bale. I was really worried about his finishing being bad, but he scored 48 goals in 48 matches for me. Nobody, including my two strikers, can keep up with his numbers, and he is a CAM! In the same amount of time, Reus picked up around 20 goals and 23 assists for me. Seriously, if you are not expecting him to bang in 40 yard shots on a regular basis, you'll be fine with his shooting.


To sum it up: Buy this guy. He is the best card i used in Fifa 18 this far and i have used the likes of Pogba, Reus, Aubameyand, Bale and many more.

Incredible passing including perfectly timed through balls and very good crosses

Very good shooting!

Great dribbling, especially 92 ball control allows you to control the ball in tights situations

Awesome strenght! Adds up to his dribbling to make him always a safe option to pass to and one of the most dominant players on the pitch.

I'd say his defending, but due to his physicality, he often wins balls back. I would not play him at cm anyway, cause when you cant push your opponend away from the ball, he doesn't win many balls.

Formation: 41212-2
Position: CAM
Games: 48
GPG: 1.00
APG: 0.83
5.0
Overall
5.0
Value
4.0
GC
5.0
Stamina
Pace (8/10)
Shooting (9/10)
Passing (9/10)
Dribbling (9/10)
Defending (4/10)
Physicality (10/10)