FUT Birthday Suárez Review

Luis Suárez is just one of those cards that after receiving a promo boost seem to turn into an absolute world beater.  If you look back through the generations of Suárez cards you see a collection of ridiculously good goal scorers with many fan favorites along the way.  It definitely has something to do with the unique body type that allows Suárez to maneuver his 182cm | 6’0 frame in a manner more often associated with smaller players.  Mix in the movement with a potent scoring touch and you have a recipe for goals and FUT folklore.  However, maybe it is just me, but FIFA 22 has had a different feel when it comes to some of these perennial performers.  The hope of course would be that Suárez could regain his old vibes and perform this weekend at a high level, bringing the club back into Weekend League glory.  In order to help the Uruguayan with that aforementioned maneuverability, I applied an ENGINE chemistry style which seems to be a popular choice across the community, and for good reason.  If you read the Mkhitaryan review then you will know that there was a test of both the 4-1-2-1-2(2) and 4-2-2-2 formations, but with Suárez playing striker it didn’t play much on his performance, save for one detail that I will outline later.  Regardless of position, Suárez was the thorn in my opponents' sides all weekend long in the following squad:

Starting Formation:

Overall

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

I think it was safe to say after only a few matches that this card is back to performing at a level previous FIFA FUT Managers would recognize.  Again, it comes back to the unique body type and some of the movements that you wouldn’t really associate with cards this size.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this card was absolutely juiced for statistics and was a key reason the ENGINE chemistry style was so effective… there is not much else he needs.  14 goals across 15 matches were just about that perfect sweet spot of a goal per match and the 7 assists were really a stand out for me.  In previous striker reviews, a growing trend has been an eye for goal without the ability to contribute in the assist department, but Suárez chipped in for the squad in a variety of ways and really won me over throughout the review.    

Main Statistic - Dribbling

Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Pace Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Skills: ★★★★★

Even more so than the deadly accurate and incredibly powerful shooting, this card can get around the pitch in a hurry.  For me, it always comes down to the quickness of turns and the acceleration out of them, which both felt fantastic when using this card.  Then you have the added bonus of the 5 STAR SKILLS for those of you with the magic mitts and a very agile and responsive feel for those of us that are human on the sticks.  I don’t want to beat the unique body type horse to death so this will be the last time I mention it… but just know that I want to bring it up a lot more.  Suárez has both the ability to harness the strength of his 92 AGILITY & 99 BALANCE, while at the same time the body type to utilize his 91 STRENGTH against challenges.  Honestly my only complaint, and it isn’t really a dribbling one, is that I wish the top end pace had been 99 overall as well.  You dance around opponents, accelerate away from their tackles, only to be caught within a few yards in the end. Around the box, this is of course a none issue, but in moments where separation and time were needed, it was a frustration, even if a minor one. 

Main Attribute - 4 STAR WEAK FOOT

Shooting Rating: 9/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★
Attributes: Outside Foot Shot

The 14 goals speak for itself as far as I am concerned, in a game where more and more opponents are dropping back further and further, while keepers constantly show off their best Superman impression… a goal per game over a stretch of matches is starting to feel like gold dust.  Would this card have benefitted from a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT?  150%, and what a card that would have been.  But I would also say that while the use of the ENGINE chemistry style was needed, the lack of topping off some of the shooting statistics did hurt the shooting rating in the end.  The base 97 FINISHING is ridiculous and was a key part of the goal tally… but the 93 SHOT POWER & 92 LONG SHOTS could have used a little touch up to compare with other cards I have used that seem to have cannons for legs.  Still a fantastic finisher… but I wouldn’t say perfect.    

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

This card has really held up the 1.1 million coin price tag against the normal crashes of recent promo cards.  The reason?  He is worth it!  Truly it is that simple and it is obvious that the FUT Managers using Suárez are recognizing his value as well. The connection with the extremely popular and wizard-like Flashback Griezmann is certainly not hurting either… throw in a dash of RTTF Llorente and you have a triangle of death for your opponents to deal with.

The bad with this review is more a look at things you wish Suárez had that would have made him one of the best cards in the game, rather than real deficiencies.  The top end pace could have made Suárez both a magician in the box and a torpedo outside of it.  The increased shooting ability and/or a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT would have made this card lethal in a manner more often reserved for multi-million coin cards.  Yet, that is what the result would have been… a multi-million coin card and instead, we have an affordable weapon that more managers could deploy and I think that is amazing.  Just to add one more bonus to the pot… the passing is very nice with this card and the 95 SHORT PASSING & 89 LONG PASSING perform as advertised and do not disappoint.    

Closing Words

At the outset of the review, I mentioned that there was a slight change in Suárez with the formation and that came with the 4-2-2-2 formation.  I normally have one of the strikers with BALANCED instructions to have them dropping back as more of a False 9 and I put Suárez in charge for obvious reasons.  The quick dribbling to find space, the strength to hold off challenges and then the passing to execute the counter all made the Uruguayan the perfect candidate… and he performed that way.  If you haven’t put it together by now I really enjoyed this card and across the weekend and into qualifying he was an animal, and while not perfect, he was potent.  Strongly recommended you give him a test and maybe some options in Team 2 even see him drop to a bargain price (anything under 1 million for this card would be insane value).  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.

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