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Reviews

86 - IF
4.5
Papu Papu! The Little Maestro!
By Unleashed93, 21-10-2019

Papu has long been one of my favorite players IRL, so to see him play just as well in game make this a very fun card to use! How I use him - I've played 35 games with him at CAM in a 4-1-2-1-2 (narrow) formation behind Insigne and Mertens up top at the ST positions. I play him with a maestro chem style and with "stay forward" tactics. In 35 games he has 30 goals and 35 assists for me. I play a short-pass style of buildup play, relying on quick acceleration and clever runs without the ball to slice up opposing CBs. Gomez fits this style very well.

Acceleration & Agility & Balance: 95 acceleration combined with 93 agility and 95 balance is almost unfair to those not used to defending him. He turns with ease and his movement is so fluid I often wonder if I'm using Messi instead; he feels like him in-game if you don't look to closely. These three stats are important to myself, due to my quick short-passing style of build-up play. Combining him with other like-minded attackers like Insigne and Mertens, the three of them are able to dominate possession in the opposing third despite their tiny statures.


Dribbling & Short-Passing: I'm not a skiller as much as I am a short pass and move style of player. He holds the ball close to his feet and is able to release the ball accurately to others. I couldn't ask for anymore in these areas.


Shooting & Attacking Runs: One of the best parts of this card is Papu's clever runs without the ball. He moves into and out of space very well. With the "stay forward" instruction he really does enable me to keep attacks fluid; hence the large amount of goals he has scored for myself from the CAM position. In the box he is quite lethal. He will miss a chance from time to time, but overall I couldn't ask much more in terms of finishing in the box for a CAM with his stats.

Every fair review needs to have a few cons to touch on; these are not vital cons imo, but they are worth mentioning.


Strength: Don't try to hold up the ball with his back to defenders; he will get pushed off. For me, I release the ball quickly so it's not a big deal, but for those who use their CAM as another target man, this will not be the card for you.


Long Shots: His outside the box shots are near as strong as his stats would suggest, even with a maestro chem style. To counteract this, I typically make a couple extra passes to get him opportunities from shorter distances when he makes his runs. He is inconsistent with long takes, especially finesse outside the box.


Stamina: This is one of his largest cons; you need to apply a fitness consumable at least every other game. He loses stamina fast and if you start a game with 90 or less stamina he will be completely drained by the end of the game. The "stay forward" instruction does help, but he would not work well as a box-to-box CAM or CM; he'd just lose stamina way too quickly.

Formation: 41212-2
Position: CAM
Games: 35
GPG: 0.86
APG: 1.00
4.5
Overall
4.5
Value
5.0
GC
2.5
Stamina
Pace (9/10)
Shooting (7/10)
Passing (9/10)
Dribbling (10/10)
Defending (3/10)
Physicality (2/10)