REVIEW - TOTS LOZANO

Hirving Rodrigo Lozano Bahena, better known as Satan, or God, depending on which team he is playing for.  From the moment Chucky Lozano earned his first inform he has been a go to super sub for numerous FUT Managers.  Terrorizing backlines with his pace and finishing ability that has resulted in numerous rants and/or humblebrags about epic comebacks. Which brings me to a confession; I seriously could not get on with either the 82 or 84 IF Lozano cards and I sold both shortly after buying them.  They were not as advertised and in my opinion were a result of massive overhype and circumstance. Perhaps they just didn’t fit my playstyle?  With the release of the new and improved 89 TOTS Lozano I was willing to subscribe to the “third times a charm” mentality and give him a final go.  But I couldn’t help but wonder; To sub, or not to sub: that is the question. 
I decided I would play Lozano in 20 matches.  15 as a starter. 5 as a super sub.  Through this process I hoped to determine his value in both situations and ultimately decided if I was a believer or non-believer in the third coming of Lozano.   Lozano was the lightning rod in the following squad:

PACE

The Mexican rattlesnake is always ready to strike opponents when they are vulnerable.  There are very few cards in FIFA 18 that have the acceleration that Lozano possess.  The second you go to accelerate he is moving and does not have the moment of hesitation that you will experience in some players.  Additionally, this card is very quick to react to loose balls and rebounds in and around the penalty area.  While I did not score any rebound goals in my 20 games with Lozano, I was able to keep many attacking chances alive that would later lead to goals.  It goes without saying that Lozano has pace to burn, but I noticed he has even more than other quick players I have used.

RATING: 5/5

SHOOTING

Now this was the category I was looking forward to when I purchased TOTS Lozano.  I have read the endless posts of people dominating with X number of goals in X number of games using Lozano.  As previously stated this was not my experience with past Lozano IFs and the main reason was a lack of finishing.  I would love to say that this version of Lozano was a revelation and I was ripping the net apart all Weekend League long.  But I can’t.  Once again I found Lozano’s finishing to be lack luster and should be goals were blasting past the posts and into the crowd endangering everyone.  One plus is that his FOUR STAR WEAK FOOT is really good and I ended up favouring his left near the end of my trial.  My parting word is that this is my first review where I did not finish the entire weekend league with a player I was reviewing and it was 100% due to Lozano’s finishing.

RATING: 3.5/5

PASSING

88 PASSING does not do Lozano’s ability on the ball justice and neither does the 9 assists in 20 games that his stats show.  Immediately I noticed a huge difference in Lozano’s passing from his previous IFs and this was the area he impacted my squad the most.  While he may not have played the final ball on all of my goals, it does not change the fact that Lozano’s passing is really solid and he can cut apart your opponents back line.  This card reminds me of SBC KDB in that sometimes the passes he plays are even better than I envisioned and always at the perfect weight that opposing defenders cannot get there.

RATING: 4/5

DRIBBLING, DEFENDING & PHYSICAL

I have read numerous reviews of the various Aguero cards and the comment they all have in common revolves about the player architype that you expect when you buy a card.  You expect Aguero’s card to be tiny and weak; and then you start a match and realize he looks solid and at least three or four inches taller than his card suggests.  Lozano has a similar architype and in the end he plays like he is 6 feet tall.  When you match this body type and the pace Lozano has, his dribbling, defending, and physical make him a well-rounded weapon for any squad to unleash.  One example I can share is that I usually average 1 penalty during a full Weekend League.  This weekend, I had 5 in the 20 games I played with Lozano and all of them were fouls on him.  The best compliment I can give this card is that Lozano dribbles like a 5’8 speedster, which he is.  But then you look at the player architype and you realize you have a tank flying around the pitch causing havoc.  His 74 STRENGTH is a complete farce and I was tossing defenders around the pitch like Hulk Hogan in his prime.  The amount of headers, tackles, and shoulder challenges that I won this weekend with Lozano was not fair.  He should not be winning the majority of these battles, but he does anyway.

DRIBBLING RATING: 5/5
DEFENDING RATING: 4/5
PHYSICAL RATING: 4/5

FINALE SCORE

RATING: 3.8/5

As foreshadowed earlier in my review, my rating is not flattering for TOTS Lozano and I still can’t get on with this card.  There are so many players worth 200k or less that are the same or better (84 IF Lozano for instance).  If I was in the driver’s seat and dominating my opponent: Lozano was banging in hat tricks.  If the game was close and a chance broke for my ST: Lozano was slamming shots off the face of un-expecting fans.  I cannot recommend this card with the inflated price tag it has; and while I know there are FUT Mangers out there lighting the world on fire with this card, I suggest that they are good enough that they could do the same with anyone else.  TOTS Lozano does not improve your squad the way so many other options can.  However, I do want to spend a few seconds on one part of Lozano that was incredible, and most would expect it goes the other way, however... TOTS Arias is unbelievable!  I think he rivals and surpasses 85 IF Valencia and that is a massive shout.  I could not get over how effective this card was and I repeat, he would surpass my Valencia in the starting lineup if he linked better.  In the end the hard link to TOTS Arias is the only reason I was contemplating holding on to Lozano, and even that wasn’t enough.  In conclusion, send me your hybrids with TOTS Arias.

Cheers for reading!

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