FIFA 23 TROPHY TITANS BERGKAMP PLAYER REVIEW

FUT Birthday has come to a close, and I think I don’t stand alone in thinking, “that went quite well.”  Some decent cards were available, a lot of grindable content, fodder galore, and just a generally fun grind towards some quality rewards and players. 

I have mentioned before that one of my favorite additions to this FIFA has to be the release of promo specific ICONS, which of course were also included in FUT Birthday with some of the best cards design, maybe ever.  

The question was, “how is EA going to follow up such a quality promo?”  The answer arrived this weekend in the form of Trophy Titans, and again the promo specific ICONs continued to roll out and this time as a huge focal  point of the promo.
As of now it seems like EA might have hit the content nail on the head again… the grindable Bergkamp looking a quality value for time, SBC Keane looking as menacing as ever, and in general it seems like a decent drop rate and current market status has resulted in relatively affordable options as well.

To start this weekend off we hoped to ride the creative coat tails of the Dutch legend, 94 rated Dennis Bergkamp.  Despite the fact that the 94 version is a slight improvement on the 93 objective Bergkamp, the idea was to also provide a small look into what that card will play like as well.

Playing as the striker in my 4-2-2-2 formation it seemed appropriate to go with the Pace and Dribbling of the ENGINE chemistry style, which proved relatively effective.  The Passing boost was also key as Bergkamp occupied the False 9 role of my two strikers.    

Bergkamp provided the mix of poise and potency required to be a Trophy Titan in the following squad:

Overall 

When all was said and done… Bergkamp played in 7 matches (2 of which did not see the full 90 minutes) scoring 8 goals and providing 4 assists.  Certainly, a steady style of card that did not offer anything out of the ordinary, but could be relied on to do the job required.  

Main Statistic – Hold Up Play

Passing Rating: 9/10

Physical Rating: 8/10

Weak Foot: ★★★★

There are pros and cons that come along with Bergkamp’s 183cm | 6’0 frame.  Versions of Bergkamp in the past have often suffered from the slower turning and acceleration that come with the height and body type attached to the Arsenal legend.  

The irony of his real life abilities notwithstanding, I thought it important to point out that the main contributions I gained from Bergkamp during this review were also largely down to his bigger frame.  The 81 STRENGTH is not off of the charts, but combined with his size it led to some impressive hold up play.

The key to all of this was the passing though, 96 SHORT PASSING, 97 VISION, & even the 83 LONG PASSING were all so impressive and devastating to opponents who gave Bergkamp the space to operate.  I added the weak foot out of the observation that regardless of the side his passes were always perfect weight and incredibly accurate, only amplifying the focus on how well Bergkamp facilitates attacks.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5

Great returns.  Nice hold up play.  But it is still a game of pace when all is said and done.  Every card is not going to be Al-Owairan and that is fine, but they can’t feel sluggish, and at times that was the downfall of Bergkamp’s performances.  

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

Beyond the hold up play there was still quality on display throughout this test run.

+ The 5 STAR SKILLS, FLAIR Trait, and generally fantastic Dribbling statistics really have this card feeling good from a left stick movement standpoint.  The 93 AGILITY, 96 BALANCE & 99 DRIBBLING are all working in tandem to make a responsive feel to every turn of the stick.  

+ The 91 SPRINT SPEED on such a tall card was actually LENGTHY-esque when it came to the difficulty my opponents had in catching the big man.  Of course the key is to get him moving and then find him in space… but when you do you can reap the rewards of his north-south pace.

+ The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT was a Shooting asset as well and generally Bergkamp was a reliable finisher in front of goal.  The 96 FINISHING & 94 SHOT POWER were potent and normally rewarded quality play.

I already touched on the biggest issue with this card but worth summarizing the entire experience and minor issues with this card.

- With other versions of Bergkamp I have felt like the fluidity of Dribbling was ultimately holding him back.  But this version is quite different as I just mentioned in the positives.  In this case the dribbling is 100% hindered by the 93 ACCELERATION… Or lack thereof.  It is made even more frustrating by the fact that you can completely send opponents for hotdogs with the control of the dribbling… Only to have them back in your face a second later when the acceleration refuses to kick and move Bergkamp anywhere.

- The Shooting with this card is generally solid.  But there were a few head scratching misses even on Bergkamp’s preferred right foot.  The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT is also a true 4 STAR and leads to a few missed opportunities that you would expect when not operating a true 5 STAR player… But doesn’t make them any less frustrating.

Closing Words

The 650k price tag does feel a little high with this one, but if you give it time and he starts to drop then this has to be a green light for those FUT Managers looking for a hold up specialist to beat the relentless press that some deploy in game.

If we go all the way back to the start of this review… We wanted to at least shine some light on the Objective Bergkamp.  In this case I can see how there is value in terms of the quality you get for the time spent.  However, I think the disappointment of the acceleration (which I can only assume is as bad or worse) will have many managers quickly move away from the card, leaving him fodder.  Unfortunately, I think that is the mentality FUT Managers should have when diving into the objectives… And if it ends up that you love him, even better.
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.