TOTS Vlahović Review

Dušan Vlahovic. Another follow up on a card that was reviewed earlier in the year.  If you were following the reviews in February you will remember our look at the Juve man and just how potent that card was.  Vlahovic had the pace to outstrip most defenders and a wand of a left foot that racked up the goals.  The hope this weekend was that Vlahovic had received the adequate boosts to run it back and fill the net on the journey through a true sweatfest.  I don’t know what is in the water bottles atthe Weekend League stadium, but there are some absolute demons playing some of the sweatiest FIFA I have encountered of late.  Truthfully, this might have affected this weekend’s review even more so than the quality of the players themselves, as it certainly wasn’t gameplay and tactics for the faint at heart.  There were matches where I swear I was up against the 300 as they protected their goal as if their lives, wives and children depended on it.  There were not any freebies this weekend and the test of attrition helped expose those lacking and catapult those willing to go to war themselves.  With my team created it was a run through the 4-2-2-2 this weekend as Vlahovic led the line with the aid of the ENGINE chemistry style.  The stage was set, the job was clear, as Vlahovic led the troops into battle all weekend long in the following squad:

Starting Formation:

Overall

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

Complete and total letdown, but I wasn’t really surprised.  The price of this card was already on a steady decline (even by FIFA 22 standards) by the time I tested him and the game just simply isn’t kind to this type of player at this stage.  I was holding out hope that this card could somehow compete with his sheer pace, size and strength… but that hope was pretty quickly dashed as the likes of Varane and co. simply proved too quick and agile.   

Main Statistics - Shooting

Shooting Rating: 9/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★

So why the 7/10 overall despite a pretty abysmal performance?  The answer lies in the Shooting category which is quite potent when you can find the space to utilize it.  Essentially what I am saying is that if you are a superior player to myself or your style suits a potent finisher who simply needs to bang in the goals without creating them… then this card has some serious upside for your squad.  The 99 FINISHING & 98 SHOT POWER on that cultured left foot is something of beauty when they combine to find the top bins.  The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT is quite solid as well and didn’t really let me down throughout the weekend.  There is certainly a poacher hidden in this card and at a truly bargain price if he is producing.

Main Attribute - Height & Good vs. Bad

Good vs Bad Rating: 3/5
Height: 190cm | 6’3

Simply had to combine these two for this review as it is both the “99 STRENGTH” and weakness of this card on the whole. The size of this card is ultimately what drove the pace in the Future Stars version but has ultimately let the Serbian down on this installment of the card.  The 99 ACCELERATION is laughable, especially when boosting out of dribbles… while the 99 SPRINT SPEED is not as far off but not to the levels of what it could be.  TOTS Haaland continues to show that there are opportunities for bigger cards to still fly around the pitch, but not in this case.

Continuing on the size theme it was also the nail in the dribbling coffin… Ultimately rendering the 98 AGILITY & 99 BALANCE useless in tight spaces.  The whole ordeal was just compounded by the hornets nest of defenders I was facing and really limited the opportunities to utilize the previously mentioned quality finishing.  Realistically there was still a light at the end of the tunnel for this card… based on the 4-2-2-2 formation and the number of bodies I am sending into the box offensively, there were still opportunities to create goals and contribute… But even the passing with this card was on tilt. Maybe I was forcing it a bit with the frustration of the roadblocks set up in my path… Yet there were other cards in the squad still finding those killer passes, which only highlighted Vlahovic’s deficiencies.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins Rating: 2.5/5

I stand by my 7/10 rating despite the rather negative review… There were moments when Vlahovic, on his left, was key to my success.  The big Serbian contributed a few goals that would go on and help push the squad towards 14 wins and the highly sought after TOTS pack.  He may not have been everything I expected but wasn’t a complete write off either.  The problem is, there are 8/10 and even 9/10 cards at this point in the cycle that you can pick up for cheaper than the 250k you are paying for this card.  It is truly what sinks Vlahovic as a viable option, not his qualities on the pitch.

Closing Words

Unrealized Dreams… the title for this review and the expectations that I had for Vlahovic going in.  On the surface, I felt he just might have the quality to edge the competition and lead the way this weekend… but the true story often lies beneath the surface, and in this case, it was rather underwhelming.  There is a goal scorer in this card and that can’t be ignored when rating the overall performances… but there is just simply no goal creation coming from Vlahovic and why you won’t see much of the big man moving forward.  Hoping the red pick Gods treated you well this weekend, and hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.  

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Game Highlights: