TOTY Cancelo Review

When I originally laid eyes on TOTY João Cancelo I was certain we were looking at one of the most expensive wing backs in FUT history.  The card had class written all over it and the statistics were something special to behold.  Soon after the release of the TOTY Defenders, it became obvious that my market prediction was wrong for the thousandth time this year as both Hakimi and Cancelo fell to “reasonable” levels.  While I was 100% sure that Cancelo would be the perfect left back and I can confirm this was true, I was even more interested in how he would perform in the center of the pitch throughout a Weekend League grind.  Despite the more forward position, I still opted for an ANCHOR chemistry style, which fits this card perfectly in almost any position you might deploy him.  It was a continuation of the 4-2-2-2 formation (although I have been playing a lot of Rivals with the 4-1-2-1-2(2) formation of late) with Cancelo running as the workhorse box to box CM. In the end, the only complaint I had was that there wasn’t enough time to play this card in every single position on the pitch. As Cancelo was the crème de la crème all weekend long in the following squad:

Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 10/10
Pace Rating: 10/10
Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Shooting Rating: 10/10
Passing Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Defending Rating: 10/10

There it is.  The perfect 10/10 rating for the Manchester City man… and truthfully it was extremely well deserved.  There is the argument to be made that Cancelo wasn’t technically a 10/10 in every category… but for me, this comes down to the unrivaled versatility that you have once this man enters your squad.  I mentioned not having enough time to test this card at every position I wanted to, but having played Cancelo as a LB, Defensive CM and Box to Box CM there was nothing this man couldn’t do.  If I would have had the time I can guarantee Cancelo would be an endlessly annoying CB to come up against… and truthfully I am not exaggerating when I say he would hold his own as a striker as well.  The card has it all and certainly lived up to every expectation that a TOTY card should have.

Offensive Attributes

Pace Rating: 10/10
Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Shooting Rating: 10/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★★
Skills: ★★★★

This man has the Deathly Hallows of attacking abilities and to date, I have not had the levels of offensive contributions from the midfield that I witnessed in the 10 matches I deployed Cancelo in a more forward area.  For those wondering why I finished the review with Cancelo as a left back despite the success, it was 100% down to an imbalance in my squad trying to free up Cancelo in attack.  While the experiment was quick, it was definitely effective.  The 99 SPRINT SPEED was fantastic as Cancelo feels like he is gliding past defenders … and even when would be tackles did get close, it was just a simple change of direction with the 90 AGILITY & 86 BALANCE, while the 99 ACCELERATION had me moving in a hurry away from trouble.  All this would be lost if Cancelo didn’t have the end product to benefit from his speed and trickery in the midfield… But as the statistics have already revealed, he can do that too, and with style, I might add.  I was a little concerned that the 81 FINISHING would be Cancelo’s attacking kryptonite, but the 96 SHOT POWER, 90 LONG SHOTS, 5 STAR WEAK FOOT and maybe even some hidden TOTY magic stats made sure that this card fires lasers into the top bins.  Some might opt for a more attacking chemistry style, but I honestly noticed zero deficiencies on either foot and really enjoyed the defending boosts for that important part of the box to box requirements.       

Defensive Attributes

Physical Rating: 9/10
Defending Rating: 10/10
Height: 182cm | 6’0

Obviously, the key reason for the application of an ANCHOR chemistry style on Cancelo is for the added bonus to his defending capabilities.  Even as a box to box CM I certainly felt these being implemented as this card was literally everywhere on the pitch.  In the end, I can’t quite separate who does it better… TOTY Cancelo or TOTY De Bruyne… but the one thing for certain is that you can’t go wrong with either option.  The 99 STAMINA is key to everything with Cancelo in the midfield and you don’t notice a drop off in quality from kickoff until the final whistle.  The 95 INTERCEPTIONS are crisp and certainly aided by the AI sniffing out would be chances… while the 99 STANDING TACKLE & SLIDING TACKLE feel as overpowered as they appear on paper.  One of the key elements for me was the size of this card and while Cancelo doesn’t feel like a 182cm | 6’0 card when dribbling, you still get the benefits when added to his 90 STRENGTH.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

Paying 800k for this card feels like you stole something and the fact that he is not a million coins is mind boggling.  The versatility is unrivaled and the quality superb.

While the passing in this game is currently at an all time low in terms of reliability and quality, I will say that there is a difference between TOTY Cancelo and TOTY De Bruyne and so I dropped the rating of the wing back ever so slightly.  The 93 SHORT PASSING & 86 LONG PASSING is by no means bad… but it also doesn’t match the wizardry of KDB on the ball. Small margins, but if I could improve one thing ever so slightly, it would be Cancelo’s passing.

Closing Words

The biggest compliment I can give Cancelo is that he feels like FUT Birthday Florenzi in FIFA 18.  And while I don’t want to bring up old memories of better times, I do want to bring up a card that truly paved the way as a jack of all trades operator. Cancelo has the perfect mix of attributes and statistics to manage any position on the pitch and if it weren’t for issues trying to manage my own backline, I would have left Cancelo as a more attacking option throughout the weekend and moving forward.  With that, I am curious if any of you are using midfielders in the backline that could perhaps pave the way for a return of Cancelo in my own midfield. But regardless of where you play him, he is a fantastic card, a lot of fun, and I can’t recommend him more.  Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.   
 

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