Player Review
88 - Icon
I have tried a few (icon) strikers this year which I will reference here for comparison.
My two teams (one from the Bundesliga and the other from La Liga) in a 4231 need a striker who can play solely on top without getting bullied away from the ball too much and who can also deliver same short range passes in the important areas up front.
Since Middle Raul is the 4th icon striker I test, I was a bit worried if he can deliver enough for his price tag. Baby Crespo, Middle Crespo and Baby Van Basten are the other icons I can compare him too.
I must say that of all these strikers, Raul is the most complete. He integrates very well in my offensive play (not as the Crespos, they sometimes disappear. At least against defensively good players), makes good runs and can also run through defensive lines despite his moderate strength and aggression stats. His passing is way above the other three and that's what I like most about him. He is not as dangerous as Baby Crespo when it comes to shooting, not the same tank as middle Crespo or van Basten...but the better integration into my team due to his good passing and runs make him a lot more valuable.
van Basten was a joke when it came to fast dribbling and turning around. The Crespos were better, but too sloppy for fast acceleration and direction changes. Raul is just about right. He may not be comparable to Del Piero, Götze, IF Ben Yedder or Elite Icons, but for his price (I payed 1.1 mil on PS4), he is good enough!
His shooting is better than I expected. When you time it right, its a goal in most cases. van Basten was not able to permanently deliver well in that field.
The Crespos were better, but did not get so many opportunities since they are not as agile as Raul.
From all the strikers I played this year, Raul is the overall best. You may have cheaper ones, but they will all let you down in some situation.
(I am a Div 3 Rivals player and usually finish Gold 1 in Weekend League)
- Clinical Shooting
- Involvement into the game
- forward runs
- short passing
- none yet