Reviews

I was surprised to see there was no real review on here, and i thought why not do one and help some guys out who are thinking if you should do his SBC.

Do you play 4231 or 41212 - and in need of a lone CDM? Big Pat is the man.

Did his SBC - Packed TOTS Havertz , then did the Diho SBC - so first of all the packs you get back from the SBC - worth it!

Lets make this review a swift one.

Pace 9/10 -> With Anchor you have 90 Acceleration & 87 Sprint Speed. On a guy that is 192CM/6ft4!

Shooting 8/10 -> Not known for his thunderbolt longshots or silky finesses. I would rather pass the ball once more to one of your attacking players. He wont find himself in many shooting positions really.

Passing 10/10 -> Makes no mistake, if you keep it safe, every short & long pass will find its target. He is amazing at shielding the ball and then over-the-top it to one of my wingers.

Dribbling 8/10 -> Agility & Balance not the highest and can feel clunky, but it is expected from such a huge guy.

Defending 12/10 -> THIS is where this card becomes the best in his ROLE In Fifa 19. There is no touching this guys ability to INTERCEPT & TACKLE & HEAD IT. You will notice that people will try to play around him, because when he is in the middle his presence is felt! He wont back out of a tackle and intercepts everything with his long legs.

Physical 10/10 -> What you expect, 192cm + 91 Jumping & 99 Aggression & 95 Strength & 94 Stamina. Huge In-Game Model - Just a physical Tank!

If you are still thinking about doing him.. just do it, you will get nice packs in return and have your CDM for the rest of Fifa 19!

His Presence alone brought me to Elite again this Weekend.

After contemplating for a long time about which icon SBC I should do with all my untradeables, I decided to go for Vieira after trying out his base version. I didn't think it was important to have a good, tall, defensive CDM, but after using Vieira for a few weeks I don't think I can go back. I will break down the stats and discuss why I think this card is so good.

I've been using him as a CDM in a 4231 and as a CM in a 442. Even though I generally don't think pace is the most important on a CDM, the +15 boost on acceleration was too tempting and I opted for a shadow chemistry style.

Pace - The shadow chemistry style takes him to 99 acceleration and 92 sprint speed, which is just ridiculous on a 192cm guy. He will still feel a bit clunky in slow gameplay, but I've never considered him slow by any means. This is just about as good as it gets.

Shooting - He actually has some quite decent shooting stats that probably would be really good with the right chemistry style. Some people would argue that CDMs rarely get into shooting positions, but I'd say that it is quite nice to have a CDM that can take a long shot when the opportunity presents itself, especially when playing against the drop back. He did score some goals for me, both long shots and a few tap ins from arriving late in the box. Worth mentioning is that it takes about 2.5 seconds to get the shot away, and he tends to use his 3* weak foot a little bit more often than I'd prefer.

Passing - I've read a few reviews that claim that he often misplaces easy passes, but that is not my experience at all. I'd say 89 vision, short and long passing reflects exactly how he is - obviously not elite, but he does the job more than well, and with 91 composure he rarely misplaces passes even under pressure for me. Passing is an underrated ability for a CDM and Vieira has all the ability that could be needed and more.

Dribbling - This is probably one of the things that separates the prime from the baby. Agility and balance may seem low on paper, but for a 192 guy it is just about as good as it gets. The dribbling stats are decent, and I think that separates him from many tall defensive midfielders. With guys like Fabinho I often feel uncomfortable trying to dribble past my opponent, but with 89 ball control and 85 dribbling Vieira has no problem with that. 89 reactions may be one of the reasons he feel so over powered and wins almost every 50/50 in midfield.

Defending - The defending stats are probably his best stats and the reason this card is so stupidly good. With shadow they are all pretty much maxed out, and you would expect nothing less. He is just perfect and have the unique ability to do the defensive work for you.

Physicality - Probably my favorite stats of the card. The 90 strength and 93 aggression is what turns him into a defensive tank, and 81 jumping is enough to win pretty much every header that comes his way. This guy doesn't care about Ibra or van Dijk, he bosses every single air ball that comes his way. 94 stamina is excellent on paper, but for some reason it feels like he gets tired a bit too quick. Maybe I'm controlling him too much (it's just so fun!).

Even though he is good in almost every aspect, I think it is the combination that makes him so good. There are many attackers that I still want to try out, many different GKs that will get the job done, and many midfielders that look interesting. But tall, strong, fairly fast defensive midfielders that can dribble, pass the ball and take a long shot are few and far between. Add the M/H work rates and I think we are down to just one. And that is one of the reasons he is in almost every pro player's team.

My advice would be to consider Vieira next time you wonder where to upgrade your team or which icon SBC to do. Players like Cruyff or Eusebio are fun and will probably give you three extra goals every weekend, but Vieira will give you three more wins. And if you do get him, or already have him - use him for what he is and what he is good at, don't try to make him into something he isn't. He is pricey, but on the other hand you will get the best CDM in the game.

This is a great time to do this SBC, he’s around 1.9m on the market but the SBC is 1.3m, you get packs back and right now the packs are stacked so the chances of getting decent cards are quite high – I got about 300k back and if like me you have a load of untradeables and an icon you no longer use then he offers great value – I reckon I did this for 250k-300k

Anyways on to his performance. His workrates are perfect for a CDM, and he sits in front of the back four and breaks up play, being 6ft4 means he’s incredibly hard to get past and he often makes tackles and interceptions other players can’t make, he’s strong and aggressive as well so despite tackling being broken and the ball often going to the other team again he gets his foot in loads in centre mid. He’s amazing defensively off corners and beats pretty much everyone in the air, he’s a presence on the pitch as well and he seems to panic attackers who don’t try and take him on. He’s the best defensive player I’ve used all game

His passing is good, I have engine on him so that ups that but he’s good at getting attacks started and passing it on when he wins it back

Agility and balance are not great but that is to be expected with a player his size but I don’t have him to twist and turn, he’s strong and with his back to your goal he can hold players off before passing ball on.

Shooting is garbage, he’s not bad from range and I think he’s scored one for me that way but he has got  a few headers for me from corners but he’s no good 1 on 1

Overall at this stage of the game he’s great value if your club is full of untradeables and he’s an awesome CDM