Reviews

In my first pack opening in Fifa 21, I just opened this card. I am a Real Madrid fan, so my reaction was something like when Sergio Aguero opened a pack and saw Klopp. Later on, I was so pleased to have this legend in my team... he was and he will always be a football maestro.

I looked his stats and i quickly understood that he could not be a CDM (because of the lack of physical and defence). So I had to decide to put him a catalyst (CM) or hunter (CAM). Finally, i decided to play him as a CM because his shooting did not convince me, even with hunter.

So this review is for a Xavi CM with catalyst.

• PACE: 90 with catalyst, he feels really fast in game and in this stage of the game is perfect. We thought before the game launch that his pace may be a problem, but that is not true.

• PASSING: maybe, and i am not exaggerating, this is the card with the best passing that i have ever played with. Everything is perfect: his vision, long passing, short passing, ball efect... i just have no words to describe this. You just have to play with him to understand what i am saying.

• SHOOTING: with hunter will be better (if you put him as a CAM), but in my opinion this is just not enough for that position. That is the main reason i put him in CM and with catalyst, i prefered to improve other stats rather than his shooting. But, however, i have to say that he impressed me. His high attacking rates makes him a very offensive player, he often goes inside the rival area and, as his positioning is PERFECT (92), he should often score some goals for you, as his shot power is really good. Also, he had scored for me absolutelly bangers outside the area with finesse shoots. His weak foot does not feel as 3* (in my opinion that is not a fair stat Ea Sports, he deserved 4*), he feels 4* so this is another good point for this card.

• DRIBBLING: his 4* skill stars makes him a very agile player. His balance+composture are 90+, so you can imagine how he feels in game. His skills are just so classy and elegant, he looks like he is playing another sport.

• DEFENDING AND PHYSICALITY: he is strong enough to not have a lot trouble in the middle of the pitch. His high defending rates are perfect for those who like defending with all the team. He can fight body with body with many rivals, but in most cases he will lose this physical battles. I also had to mention his stamina, not a bad stat but his high/high rates may get him tired in the last minutes of the match.

ADVICE: in custom tactics, let him move all over the pitch. This man has to be your captain, he has to be whatever he wants in order to understand and control the match. For me, this is the perfect CM. A bit expensive for not being a META card, but WTF enjoy him, we are just tired of the meta cards. If you liked him in your childhood, go for him.

The first thing, sorry for my inglish. 

I used him on basic chemistry style. He's brilliant. He can give the ball to anyway and anybody and any distance. CM in 433(2), 433(5) or 41212 is the best position for him. He feels very fast and dexterous. Composure 92! is very important indicator. Spanish men can control the ball (93) very sweet like IRL. Xavi removes opponents with one turn of his body. He can controls the speed of the game. if you don't cry when you play for him - you don`t have the heart.

At first, when I pulled this guy from a base icon pack, I was quite disappointed. I usually play 4231, and Xavi just doesn't seem to have the right stats for being neither a CAM, nor a CDM. I tried him out with a "shadow" as a secondary CDM a couple of times, but was not impressed at all, so for a couple of weeks I forgot about him, he was basically idling in my club.

Eventually, I was in the middle of a bad streak, being relegated to about 1670 skill rating from my usual 1900, and that's when I decided to give Xavi a second try. This time I put an "engine" on him, planted him as a secondary CDM on "balanced" alongside Kante, and this somehow changed my game. In two days I went back up to Division 1. Maybe this was due to a combination of factors like better connection, smother gameplay, DDA in my favor, and so on, but this time I found Xavi very, very efficient. Of course he is not a defensive monster like Kante, but he intercepts well and can steal the ball here and there a few times per game. He shows his best qualities in positional, possession-based attacks and counterattacks. With engine chemistry he feels very fast and a top-tier dribbler and passer. Silky-smooth with his turns and ball control, mercilessly precise with his passes - short, long, through balls, you name it. Sometimes (but really not often) he even scores due to his very good attacking positioning. Quite often, when everyone else in my team is stalling, he is the one who makes that run and lets me continue the attack. In my squad he is now a playmaker, a corner kick taker and a captain, also providing important chemistry links. His 83 stamina looks scary but isn't a big problem for me personally. He can usually make it through 120 minutes of a Weekend League game.

P.S.: You may notice that for the number of games he has played the number of assists doesn't seem too high. I'll just point it out that an important pass doesn't necessarily need to be the last one, it can also be the one before last. Anyway, for me his contribution to the link-up play is tremendous.

packed him from my mid icon pack and played him cm in a 4-4-2. I am a gold 2 player and he performs so well. he scored and assisted a lot and also defending was way better than i had expected.