UCL Showdown Alaba

Lockdown.  The day has arrived and old big ears will soon belong to new hands as PSG and Bayern look poised to put on a memorable show.  EA continued their own UCL Showdown promo in celebration of the final with Ander Herrera and David Alaba representing the final squads.  For me, I immediately gravitated towards Alaba who is my type of CB with a nice combination of pace, agility, and high defensive statistics.  The left back turned center back has thrived in Flick’s system and has once again proven himself as a consistent and reliable option, and I was hoping some of that composure would transfer to his in-game card this weekend.  I decided to go with the ANCHOR chemistry style for the nice combination of pace, defending, and physical boosts… before handing over the captain's armband and responsibility of leading the following squad:
 

Overall

Rating: 9.6/10  
Pace Rating: 9.9/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.5/10
Shooting Rating: 8.5/10
Passing Rating: 9.5/10
Physical Rating: 9.5/10
Defending Rating: 9.7/10

The thing with center backs in FIFA 20 is that there are fine margins between good, really good, and the elite.  Really good center backs are ones with the agility and speed to get into the right position to tackle, and then execute tackles 9/10 times. There are always going to be random/bad bounces that feel out of your control, but for the majority of the time, you can trust them. However, the elite center backs make tackles, interceptions, or blocks that you were not expecting.  They seem to always be in the right place at the right time even if you did not put them there yourself.  So far this FIFA I have noticed this quality in TOTY VVD, TOTSSF VVD, TOTSSF Ramos, and Summer Heat Lenglet… and now with UCL Showdown Alaba. That biggest contributor to this card always being in the right place at the right time is his pace… loads of pace!  I swear there were moments during this review that I said “that’s a goal” as my opponent let fly, only to have Alaba come out of nowhere and make yet another goal saving intervention.  When his pace wasn’t saving the day it was also causing my opponents relentless pressure as I felt I could really step in and make early tackles in my opponents half.  The card creates confidence as you know he will close down fast enough to prevent your opponent turning, and if not he has the pace to get back into position in a hurry.  

Linkability 

Linkability Rating: 2.5/5

One of my lowest ratings in a long time.  I am probably being a bit over the top but it was a serious challenge to get this card into my squad on a good chemistry rating, along with the other options I was interested in using from other leagues/nationalities.  Sure, there are a ton of Bayern options… and just as many in the Bundesliga.  However, the Austrian nationality just threw a wrench in a lot of my best laid plans and soon I found myself settling for squads I was not comfortable with.  Of course, I managed in the end, but just a small inconvenience that could keep some from pulling the trigger on this card.

End Game Strength

End Game Strength Rating: 5/5

It is the end game… and this card is strong… and not just 90 STRENGTH & 85 BALANCE strong.  I was really impressed with Alaba’s ability to bully attackers and I was not expecting the ease in which he moves players off of the ball.  In the shoulder to shoulder battles, I felt Alaba’s extra bit of pace allowed him to bump attackers back off of the ball… and then the 85 AGILITY & 95 BALL CONTROL take over and you can simply move your way out of trouble and find the right pass with his 91 SHORT PASSING & 87 LONG PASSING.  I think this is where Alaba shines as such a class option… while the ANCHOR chemistry style adds some key additions to pace, defending and physical traits, Alaba is already a strong dribbler and passer of the ball without any boosts.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

150k is more than a fair price for a defender of this quality.  I mentioned Lenglet (who has been a real favorite of mine) and a quick comparison shows just how good Alaba is in comparison… and if you recall Lenglet was more in the 500-600k range. Of course, part of where Alaba runs away in the stat department is his non-defending statistics.  The shooting especially, and while I only managed the one goal in 15 matches… what a goal it was!  Alaba launches the ball on his left, while his right feels more like a 2 STAR WEAK FOOT, but you can’t knock a CB who can also chip in with a goal or two from open play.

So is there a weakness in Alaba’s armor?  That one and only complaint I had during the 15 matches I played was his height. In open play such as opponents goal kicks, it was not really an issue… in fact TOTY Van Dijk and Flashback Boateng are the only two CBs I have felt consistently win all aerial battles regardless of where they are on the pitch.  However, in the box, I have found that Lenglet and Ramos are also amazingly consistent at out-jumping attackers and dealing with crosses or high bouncing balls in the box.  On the other hand, one name I will not mention in the “excellent header” category is Alaba.  I had two different situations in which Alaba was simply out jumped and out powered by bigger attackers that led directly to goals… quite frustrating.  In the end, I think the pace and agility benefits far outweigh the inconvenience of a few lost headers... but you might feel otherwise, and so I put it here for you to judge.

Closing Words

If you can’t tell, then I did a terrible job writing this review, but I love this card.  I enjoyed the pressure I could put on opponents, the quality in the 50/50 battles, the tackles, and some of the last ditch tackles/blocks that kept opponents wondering where their goals would come from.  Last weekend with Lenglet and TOTSSF Ramos (who is no slouch) after 15 matches I had conceded 26 goals … and this weekend Alaba improved on that with only 21 conceded.  The key here was all in the confidence that this card would always perform as I expected and the result was a nice 15 match test drive.  If you are looking for a slightly different option in the back, this is a fun card and really changes the dynamic in the back… as long as you can make him fit, I think this card is legit.  Cheers for reading. 
 

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