Hero Alex Teixeira

From cheap beast to slightly more expensive beast, Alex Teixeira has been not so quietly building a small cult following in FIFA 21.  Joined by Rulebreaker Talisca and Inform Paulinho… this trio has offered a decent alternative to the carbon copy squads that we see match after match.  I should point out, I am well aware I am part of the problem with my backline especially.  However, I did join the minority this weekend in utilizing a Neymar-Mbappe-CR7less squad and instead rolling with POTM Lewandowski (as I already reviewed) alongside Hero Teixeira.  As I already stated… I have seen quite a few positive posts, comments and tweets regarding Teixeira in-game, and I was excited to give the Brazilian an audition this weekend.  The card looks built for this FIFA and boasts some impressive statistics, especially after the application of the FINISHER chemistry style.  Again, I hoped that the combination of a big man - little man partnership could successfully lead the line of my 4-4-2 formation all weekend.   In the end, Teixeira did not quite live up to the hero title this weekend in the following squad:


Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 7.5/10
Pace Rating: 9/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Shooting Rating: 8/10
Passing Rating: 7/10
Physical Rating: 7.5/10
Defending Rating: N/A

Watching back over my video of Teixeira this weekend was a perfect reminder of where I wanted to go with this review. There were times where I could see where the hype is coming from; this care is quick, agile, and has a flair for the spectacular.  Some of the goals Teixeira pulled off in the short space of this Weekend League review were impressive.  The final goal of the video sums it up perfectly as Teixeira masterfully juggles over would be challenges before calmly chipping the keeper to spark the ragequit pause.  It is all well and good to score those get you out of your seat goals; you can send them to your mates and is a solid reminder why you want to play FIFA in the first place.  However, flair without fundamentals doesn’t work quite so effectively when the difficulty increases; and this was ultimately my finding this weekend with Teixeira.  But first, let’s focus on the good:           
          

Main Statistic - Pace

Pace Rating: 9/10
Height: 174cm - 5’9

When you mix the pace of 95 ACCELERATION & 93 SPRINT SPEED with the smaller frame of a 174cm - 5’9 player you are going to see results.  Teixeira was quite pacey and this caused a lot of problems for my opponents throughout the weekend. I eventually started sliding Teixeira out to the wing positions after my review was complete and I felt his performances improved… adding a pacey dimension to the attack from the flank.  I went with a 9/10 due to the fact that I did find Teixeira slightly lacking in top speed while on the ball as the tractor beams from defenders just seemed to pull harder in this case. 

Main Attribute - 4 STAR SKILLS

Skills: * * * *
Dribbling Rating: 9/10

While not in my top ten favorite dribblers in FIFA 21, Teixeira still had some excellent left stick dribbling and acceleration out of skills.  The mixture of 95 ACCELERATION, 99 AGILITY, 84 BALANCE & 98 DRIBBLING… again with the smaller frame made Teixeira a weapon on the ball.  The ability to work through traffic and cut apart defenders was effective, especially earlier on in the review.  While I am not a huge skiller, I have started to notice that the 4 * and 5 * dribblers seem to have an advantage in dribbling even without performing skills.  The left stick dribbling feels a lot more responsive and with Teixeira that was certainly the case. 
 

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

150k.  If you take a quick look at the cards in the 130k - 170k price range it is clear that Teixeira is not completely out of his realm.  The likes of Inform Vardy, Inform Mahrez & Paul Pogba are all interesting opinions but have a notable fatal flaw that is keeping them from being in a higher price bracket.  Honestly, if these were the only available options I would lean more towards a perfect 5/5 for Teixeira.  However, the presence of Kevin De Bruyne at 160k sinks this card in the end for me.  I realize that De Bruyne is a midfielder… but I truly believe that if I used De Bruyne in the same squad and position as I did Teixeira this weekend, I would have had largely improved returns, especially assists.

Pace and dribbling are of course two of the key factors in FIFA 21, and Teixeira is loaded with both… so where did he go wrong?  The main issues for me with this card occurred when Teixeira tried to move the ball away from himself, both in passing and shooting… and obviously, these are MAJOR issues.  Starting with the passing; countless times this weekend I found myself saying (rather calmly, and then not so calmly) to Teixeira, “that is not where I was aiming!”  The passing was so bad I often found myself laughing through the tears as yet another chance slid painfully out of my grasp with another errant pass.  It even got to the point that I tried the DEADEYE chemistry style for 5 matches, to no avail.  What I will say is that there were some gameplay issues this weekend, so perhaps that bails out Teixeira a little… but I am not sure what excuses I can find for his shooting when Lewandowski was busy putting on a clinic alongside him.  Again, I have read the posts… and people generally like this card for his goal-scoring.  But with only 13 goals in 20 matches, I just didn’t experience it at all.  96 FINISHING & 88 SHOT POWER should have been plenty, while 80 LONG SHOTS & 4 * WEAK FOOT should have done the trick.  In the end, it just felt like everything underperformed and the chances missed really started to pile up by the end. Frustrating just begins to describe it.  
 

Closing Words

To wrap it all up I have to say that these are the reviews I worry about the most.  A card that has been relatively well received while I experienced a much more challenging experience.  However, I do feel like this was a realistic and accurate review of what I experienced and that is all I can do in the end.  The 7.5/10 rating directly relates to the fact that Teixeira is certainly a usable option and can chip in with any squad… but overall he just had too many weaknesses to earn anything better.  The brilliant moments were simply outweighed by the shocking mistakes and I don’t want to recommend a card to you when I couldn’t rely on him myself.  In this case, I found Teixeira to be more of a Tragic Hero and have to pass on him moving forward, and I would suggest you do the same.  If he is doing the business for you, I would love to hear the results, formation, and style that you are playing with him.  Cheers for reading.
 

Game Stats:
 

Game Highlights: