Flashback Dembélé Review

I was shocked to count that there have been 25 Flashback SBCs released in FIFA 21… 25!! Now I am interested to know how many have you all completed if any?  For me, it was 5.  CR7, Robben, Coutinho, (look away) Mbabu and most recently the Barcelona Frenchman, Ousmane Dembélé.  For months the 83 version of Dembélé was in and around my squad at the start of FIFA 21.  He was a weapon and disproportionately so.  There were matches when I couldn’t wait until half time as I knew that this lad would soon appear and cause chaos for my opponents' backline.  I don’t have the exact number, but Dembélé logged well over 300 matches for my club as many newcomers tried and failed to usurp his position.  Interestingly, every version of  Dembélé since has felt way behind the current power curve and even his widely regarded FUT Freeze always felt like a let down in my hands.  However, after this weekend… I am starting to believe we are starting a new legacy as Flashback Dembélé feels like a card that has harnessed the power of old.  Playing Dembélé as the striker in my 4-2-2-2 formation, utilizing the MARKSMAN chemistry style, it was back to better times for a large portion of this weekend. Dembélé proved to be the 5 STAR addition all weekend in the following squad:


Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 9.5/10
Pace Rating: 9.5/10
Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 9.5/10
Physical Rating: 8.5/10
Defending Rating: N/A

We are talking about a seriously high end operator with this card.  We have reached the pinnacle of FUT at this point. Literally, 20 of the 28 squads I faced this weekend were ‘strong’ in terms of the quality of cards in their starting 11.  5 more were what I would call ‘insane’ and contained the likes of R9, Gullit, Cruyff, TOTS Neymar, TOTY Mbappe etc.  Three… that is the number of squads I faced this weekend that were what I would call behind the power curve and ‘should be win’ matches. With the level of opposition, it was always going to be a huge test for Flashback Dembélé this weekend, and I truly felt that he was up to the challenge when called upon.

Main Statistic - Dribbling

Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Physical Rating: 8.5/10
Skills: *****
Traits: Flair
Height: 178 cm | 5’10

This card has a level of dribbling that will make you question, “did I just do that?”  There are moments when the responsiveness on this card feels like a cheat code and leaves defenders on the floor as Dembélé finishes off the play in behind.  The turns are crisp and responsive as the base 97 AGILITY & 90 BALANCE has Dembélé spinning like a top on the ball… the left stick dribbling is so smooth with the 99 BALL CONTROL & 99 DRIBBLING making sure a sticky connection between ball and boot… while ultimately the 5 STAR SKILLS are just the icing on the cake moving forward.  Then to top it all off, no one has the ability to catch you when through on goal given the 98 ACCELERATION & 97 SPRING SPEED keeping Dembélé one step (or more) ahead of opponents.     

Main Statistic - 5 STAR WEAK FOOT

Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 9.5/10
Weak Foot: *****

I think I have been burned one too many times by fake weak foot statistics in FIFA 21.  It took me WAY too many matches to seriously start trusting Dembélé on his “weaker” right foot and definitely cost the frontman a handful of goals across the course of this review.  Even still, the 31 goals in 20 match return were impressive as the 5 STAR WEAK FOOT doubled the fun in front of goal.  But I don’t think we can talk about the clinical nature of this card without fully examining just how cracked his statistics are.  With the MARKSMAN style, you get 90 ATTACKING POSITIONING, 90 VOLLEYS, 93 PENS & the 99 trifecta with FINISHING, SHOT POWER & LONG SHOTS sitting at max capacity.  Maybe even better… this card has the hidden left footed finesse trait that I have so often talked about during these reviews and over on YouTube (channel: MaeNine).  While there wasn't quite the same accuracy and sting on the right… it is still worth noting just how effective he is on either foot..  

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 4.5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

With the release of the 90+ and 88+ TOTS packs, we saw a slight increase in price with Dembélé but this value does not reflect that.  In the end, there are two truths when dealing with this card.  1) This card is undoubtedly worth 800k and would be 1.3 million coins minimum on the market even at this stage in the cycle.  The 5 STAR/5 STAR mixed with an easy to link nation, easy to link league/club and just one glance of the statistics confirms his quality. 2) There are just so many quality cards that are available at this stage in the cycle, some even “free” with objectives… sinking 800k into a non-tradeable card will limit the fun you can have trying different options.  True, if you already have the fodder you can say the card is still “free”... but then that fodder is not available for SBCs like the TOTS packs I mentioned before… which is fun in itself with the potential to get other options to try.  To be clear, my argument is not about this card's market value as that is a no brainer and Dembélé is worth every coin.

This card oozes quality and was a key contributor to my weekend league performance.  The Passing was pinpoint, the dribbling sublime and the finishing had a criminal ruthlessness.  There are really no issues to confront beyond the fact that anytime you have a lean body type (of course Dembélé’s is unique to him but still lean) you will have an issue with physicality in more tightly contested matches.  Still, I think this card performed admirably even in those 50/50 situations and I couldn’t have been happier with his overall contributions to the WL grind.
 

Closing Words

My instinct is to say that this card is a “must try”... and that is truly the problem.  On the market for 1.3 million I would be suggesting you use/save coins and immediately take this card for a test drive.  The enjoyment level is high and so is his output in the game.  The real issue is that you can’t just try… and you have to buy.  This is both the best and worst case scenario for a card of this quality.  On one hand, you have to sink the fodder/coins into the card that could be saved for future options.  But on the other, it allows FUT Managers without a huge budget a grindable card that will certainly be an end game option.  In the end, if it wasn’t clear already, this card is cracked and certainly lives up to the hype.  I enjoyed the ruthless finishing and slick dribbling more than I should in a game that can be ever so frustrating.  With that, I hope you are all safe and well.  Cheers for reading. 

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