ICON Drogba (89)

Pace. Power. Goals. Repeat.  I think I will get this printed on a sweater this Christmas with a picture of Didier Drogba on the back.  What a machine this lad was for me throughout this weekend.  Like all machines he has some functions that you wish were different, but if you change one thing, you could disrupt another, and using a different option up front then the current Meta was a fun experiment this past Weekend League.  Drogba slotted into my 4-4-2 formation alongside Sadio Mané and brought the power and punch to the following squad:
 

Overall

Rating: 8.8/10
Pace Rating: 9.5/10
Dribbling Rating: 7.5/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 7.5/10
Physical Rating: 9.5/10
Defending Rating: N/A

As my ratings illustrate you have to take the good with bad regarding Drogba, and thankfully for any Chelsea or Drogba supporters, the good far outweighs the bad.  Pace. Power. Goals. Repeat.  Like I mentioned before… I went with the HUNTER chemistry style, and 95 ACCELERATION & 95 SPRINT SPEED was amazing and performed even better than the numbers suggest. 92 STRENGTH is no joke and he throws defenders off of challenges. 98 FINISHING is not quite at this level, but 99 SHOT POWER should read 210.  24 goals this weekend was a nice return for this card, but the one problem I experienced time and time again was Drogba’s shot power affecting his finishing.  I started counting the crossbars I hit after my fifth game noticing the trend, and the total was 9 crossbars in 15 games.  After consulting a few FUT Managers who use this card, this was not specific to me, and this seems to be a trait Drogba carries… unique I guess, but extremely frustrating in close matches. 

Linkability

Rating: 5/5

Okay, this is the section where I make all of my Irish jokes right?  I have been waiting for this since I decided to use the big man for this review.  But on a serious note, being an ICON offers the endless connections for your current squad, and his central position offers numerous areas to fit him in.  The one issue is a lack of quality options from his nation, Roy Keane the only useable option at the moment.

Current Game Strength & Good vs. Bad

Current Game Strength Rating: 4.5/5
Good vs. Bad Rating 4/5

Could this category have any better name when dealing with this card?  Drogba is one of the strongest cards I have used on the ball and really John Barnes is the only close comparison.  The difference is that Drogba can fly when he is moving forward and is more clinical with both feet.  The card is undoubtedly a weapon on attack and offers a variety of ways to score goals.  Even in a FIFA where heading is virtually non-existent, Drogba notched three throughout the weekend.  There are some concerns though and it is why I combined these two categories.  
The passing and dribbling with Drogba are well below the standards of a card of this quality.  Drogba’s 75 Passing rating is about spot on, and he can go from being brilliantly accurate, to shockingly wayward from pass to pass.  His hold up play on the ball did equal a fair return in assists, but it could have been better given more quality moving the ball.  However, the biggest trap with this card is the 80 Dribbling base stat.  Instead, the 66 BALANCE & 70 AGILITY is more of an accurate depiction of what you will get on the ball.  Drogba has some of the slowest and unresponsive turning I have used in a card and it really showed as the weekend progressed, and my opponents defending became better.  With the need for responsive and shifty dribbling in FIFA 20, it does limit the rating and recommendation I can give to this card overall.   

Value/Coins 

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5

This card has some serious fluctuation in price and you need to make sure you are getting in on the low end.  Currently, I see a Drogba on the market for 815k buy now and even at 750k, I do feel this card is a tad on the expensive side.  Even with the ICON stardust that gets thrown on these cards, it is a hard sell for me.  Now if you are dead set on Drogba and just want decent value for coins then this is a definite yes.  He does score goals and creates opportunities with his pace and size. However, if you are looking for a return in performance equal to the 815k price tag, unfortunately, you will not find it in this card.

Closing Words

I was never a Drogba fan in the past, but as I have watched more and more examples of his quality when he played I am getting there, and as I read more and more about the person he is outside of the pitch it is difficult not to like him.  For these reasons I really wanted to absolutely love this card and give him rave reviews urging everyone to buy him for this Weekend League’s grind.  But his virtual self was not quite as quality and didn’t give back to my FUT squad as often as I needed nearing the end of this past weekend.  Quality card, missing a few key attributes, and a bit overpriced.  Cheers for reading.

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Game Highlights: