EOAE Torres

Just last weekend I was planning on slowly scaling back on FIFA for the remainder of FIFA 19, and with that slowing phasing out reviews until the hype of FIFA 20.  The Ultimate TOTS dragged me back in for another Weekend League grind, then the prospect of the player picks this weekend brought me back yet again, and the Futties promotion banner has me hooked back in … you really can’t escape.  So if we are here and playing we might as well look at a player while we are at it, and the arrival of EOAE Fernando Torres was perfect timing.  El Niño went through periods in his career where he was “virtually unplayable” and I hoped this would transfer over into the virtual world of FUT.  
 

Looking back on the weekend, Torres was impactful and played a large part in my success but is definitely missing something, this is what I found:

Final Score

Final Rating: 9.2/10

My image of Fernando Torres; young, blonde, in a headband, wearing a red shirt with black and white Nike boots; terrorizing defenders with his pace, skill, clinical finishing,  and relentless pursuit of the ball.  While the stats from this weekend show how clinical this card is, that is about the only similarity to my memory of El Niño.  The 9.2, in this case, is entirely tied to the clinical nature of this card and Torres was just about flawless in front of goal for me this weekend.  In a dead sprint he is also a handful and can get in behind and cause a lot of problems for defenders.  However, in terms of the pace, 3 STAR SKILLS, and the 79 STAMINA … I just don’t think they did El Niño justice with this card and in my mind, he is just a small step from being a next level option.

Link-ability

Rating: 3.5/5

At this point, there have been quite a few J1 League options to cash in on, Flashback Villa and Iniesta immediately spring to mind for the Spanish links as well.  However, if you are like me and did not complete these cards than you are basically relying on ICONS.  Yes, there are quite a few TOTS players from Spain and you could work something out there, but it just isn’t an easy fit.

End Game Strength & Value/Coins

EGS Rating: 4/5
V/C Rating: 5/5

This card is definitely strong enough to make it through Futties and to the end of FIFA in my mind.  Yet, due to the link difficulties, I could see EOAE Torres becoming an option off of the bench in the majority of squads.  I normally separate the value for coins discussion but I can’t wait any longer… 60 – 70k for this card is one of the best value SBCs that we have had all year.  I realize that the game is in the final third, but it still feels like a steal of a deal and is incredibly affordable.  With that in mind I do feel like Torres will be in A LOT of squads by the end of the SBC, but in most cases will end up as a super sub off of the bench.    

Uniqueness

Rating: 4/5

There are not many options with the Pace, Shooting, Dribbling and then POWER of this card.  The physicality of Torres is what sets him apart from the majority of options out there … that and the price.  While low cost is not really a “unique” attribute it is still eye-opening and I had to look twice when the SBC was released.  All in all this card is an easy 3.5/5 in terms of “uniqueness,” but the dynamic image of Torres just pushes him over for me.  That smile sums up El Niño in a nutshell.  He went through many difficult moments in his career, but in the end, he strikes me as a man who loves football. In short, there are not many EOAE cards in FUT, this one is awesome, and I went with a 4/5.

Good vs. Bad & Closing Words

G/B Rating: 4.5/5

There are a few issues with this card that don’t go unnoticed and 5 games into my review I was already sending the same message … “does Torres feel sluggish for you”?  The problem is, of course, trying to determine whether it is caused by an issue with the card or an issue with the servers.  In this case, I really do think that 88 ACCELERATION mixed with his height, leaves Torres slow off the start.  When he is at full sprint this card is quite fast, but just lacks that bit of quickness.  I tried HUNTER, HAWK, ENGINE, and even SHADOW for a couple of games … after zero change in pace, in the end, I settled on MARKSMAN and the clinical effects it had.  The 3 STAR SKILLS is also a shame and in my mind they really should have been moved him to a 4 for this card.  After that, it is all roses and rainbows with El Niño and he thrives as both a goal scorer and facilitator on the pitch.  A fantastic goal return for the weekend and a fair few assists as well.  This card is a no brainer for me, complete him, use him, and enjoy him.  Cheers for reading.

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