ICON (89) Casillas Review

A few calls for a keeper review of late as we all search for the diamond in the rough.  Realistically speaking it seems like you can’t really count on any of this year's netminders, but I was hoping 89 Mid Iker Casillas might just change my tune. Truthfully, there was a large part of me hoping this would work better than expected.  Having not completed every swap and of course, opting to open the packs I find myself capable of retrieving 7 more tokens.  I know for a fact I don’t want 88 Rio Ferdinand and therefore was left with 89 Casillas or opting out of the remaining tokens altogether.  Additionally, it is always a bonus having an ICON keeper for those squad building links and even better if they are “free” (of course your hard earned time will be required for this one).  With that, it was off to the races for another Weekend League with Casillas between the sticks of my 4-2-2-2 formation… The SHIELD chemistry style could be debated as many opt for others, but worked well for me throughout the review.  Casillas was the safe pair of hands all weekend long in the following squad:      

Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 9.5/10

If you had the time to check out the Headliner Fofana review I not only want to thank you for continuously checking into these write-ups… But also remind you that a 16 - 4 finish this weekend ties with my best this FIFA.  Truth be told it has been quite a struggle to return to this finish and while the players in front of Casillas obviously played a massive role, all would have been lost without the Real Madrid legend holding up his end of the bargain at the back.

Key Details

Height: 185cm | 6’1
99 Reflexes

Lots of the normal categories don’t apply for keepers and therefore I wanted to break down a few of the reasons I think this card is worth your time and energy earning the 6 Swaps required for the SBC… but might even be worth your hard earned coins.  It all started with an overview of the 185cm | 6’1 height and the belief that there would be issues.  For the majority of this year I have gone with the much larger Gianluigi Donnarumma who almost dwarfs Casillas with his 196cm | 6’5 frame.  I feared that corners would be a massive issue, even outside of the glitch, and was sure it would sink the Spaniard before the squad set sail on the full Weekend League grind.  There are three types of keepers when corners are whipped in… The Turtle (ex. Jerzy Dudek): The turtle fears every cross and retreats into his shell at the sight of a cross, sitting on his line despite the “comes for crosses” instructions and hopelessly watches headers go flying past him… The Squirrel (ex. Ederson): The squirrel comes for every cross regardless of area in the box, knocks over teammates, ultimately doesn’t get there, and concedes anyway.  The squirrel punches everything even when they could catch it, hoping a photographer gets the perfect snap to add to their Panini card.  While the squirrel can be effective due to their aggressiveness … over the course of time, they will cost you… The Lion: Commands the box, knows when to come for cross, catches EVERYTHING! The example for the sake of this review is none other than Casillas himself.  My fears of dangerous corners were put to bed in one match as Casillas came out and caught everything with minimal fuss.  Perhaps smaller in stature, but massive in presence and completely took the stress of corners out of the equation.

I didn’t know how long a video of a keeper pulling off clutch saves would be worth watching, but I can let you know that there was a lot more where that came from.  The reflexes on this card are impeccable and all start with good positioning to begin with.  I am not a big keeper mover and to be honest probably costs me a few saves and therefore goals against per weekend, but it honestly felt like Casillas was doing the work for me and picked up countless good positions and then executed the necessary save.  Key saves in big moments… What more can you ask for in your keeper?       

Value/Coins and or Time

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5

I have been straight to the grind this week in order to sell Casillas and replace him with his “free version” for this weekend. The added coins going into TOTY with an untradeable keeper is an obvious motivation… but so was the performance that I witnessed this weekend.  I have kept 89 Casillas in goal for my re-qualification into Weekend League along with my Elite Rivals 7 win grind for the packs.  The card is steady, reliable and to this point the best keeper I have used in FIFA 22.  I am curious who everyone else has trusted with the gloves this year?  Add some names in the comments, because if there is better than Casillas out there, I can’t imagine the impact they would have across a 20 match Weekend League.  While Casillas didn’t necessarily steal any matches for me this weekend, he thankfully didn’t cost me either. 

Closing Words

Pretty simple explanation here.  I am putting in the grind for the 6 remaining tokens… and I strongly suggest that if you are in the same position you do the same.  If I had 8 tokens remaining I won’t lie, that Base or Mid ICON Pack would be staring me in the face with false hope of 90 Gullit walking out and straight into my midfield… only to be met with Baby Trezeguet. But with that out of the question, I have certainly been motivated to put in the work by this weekend's revelations.  I would even go as far as saying that 250k of your hard earned coins, might just be worth the sureness at the back that I encountered since Casillas’ arrival.  The extra links don’t hurt either.  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.    

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