FIFA 23 Team of the Season Moments Goretzka Player Review

Similar to a trend that we saw last year from EA, it would appear that the Bundesliga TOTS, and perhaps all subsequent big five TOTS squads, have been incredibly juiced by comparison to the Premier League.

Nkunku, Bellingham, Musiala, De Ligt, Diaby, Mane and the list goes on… All players that have been boosted to incredible levels and currently sit at some pretty hefty price tags.  For this review we dove into those higher price ranges and picked out an extremely popular FUT operator in Leon Goretzka.   

Cheating a bit grabbing a TOTS Moments card but this one just looked too good to pass up from the moment it dropped.  90+ Base Statistics across the board which can only be matched by TOTS Jude Bellingham and places the German in the top ten for total In Game Statistics.

Basically the end goal of this review was to look at TOTS Goretzka as the partner to Vieira in the 4-2-2-2 formation and compare the quality and price to the likes of TOTS Khéphren Thuram.  While the German obviously dominates the price range, I was curious if he would dominate the in game quality as well.

The application of the ANCHOR Chemistry Style certainly didn’t drag down the running power of this beast as Goretzka literally pulled me over the Weekend League line as the focal point in the following squad:

Overall 

Outside of some minor omissions in quality this card is about as perfect as it gets.  In fact I have swayed back and forth between a perfect 10/10 overall and a close 9.  There is really nothing more you could want in a holding midfielder and even going forward Goretzka offered a serious threat.  Perhaps this is simply overthinking some of the minor errors during the 8 match debut… As this card is certainly something special overall.

Main Statistics – Defending

Defending Rating: 10/10

Physical Rating: 10/10

Height: 189cm | 6’2

Similar size and build to Thuram and in both cases the height allows for fantastic movement and closing down in the center of the pitch.  The LENGTHY AcceleRATE and 94 SPRINT SPEED enhance the top end pace, while the 94 ACCELERATION was perhaps the most surprising element of quality in Goretzka’s arsenal.

Normally I would expect some sluggishness off the line with a card of this size and you can look no further than Thuram himself for proof of that.  However, this was not the case with Goretzka who jets out of a stand still and was the immediate note I made at the outset of this review.

This is one powerful card and the move to 99 STRENGTH only cements the level of physicality that this card can bring to any midfield.  There was nothing to split the presence of Vieira and Goretzka and that in itself is the best compliment a holding midfielder could be paid.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5

This card just about squeezed over the value for coins line.  For 300k Thuram can do roughly everything that Goretzka can… but it is that polish on the ball, especially Shooting, that really separates the two powerhouses.  It is crazy to think that an offensive quality in a holding midfield is worth one million coins… But there are just so few midfielders that can really do it all and most of them are astronomically priced.  Compared to Thuram this is a poorly priced card, but for the true equivalents, Goretzka starts to feel like a steal.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

This card truly has it all.

+ Outside of the acceleration it was the Dribbling that also caught me off guard as Goretzka deploys his 92 DRIBBLING perfectly.  The 82 AGILITY & 80 BALANCE have minimal impact… But in slow turn situations I could still count on a burst of pace or a brilliant pass to play me out of trouble.

+ 5 STAR WEAK FOOT, 90 FINISHING, 91 SHOT POWER & 93 LONG SHOTS are numbers that numerous strikers would bite your hand off for.  Due to the more defensive stance in the 4-2-2-2 those chances were few and far between… But they were quality and well finished when they arrived.  

+ Outrageously good Passing with this card and again it is no surprise given the statistics, which were proved accurate early on in the review as the 92 VISION, 94 SHORT PASSING & 93 LONG PASSING had the ball slinging around the pitch. 

Not much, if anything, to complain about with this card.

- With a card this height boasting 95 JUMPING & 99 HEADING ACCURACY I would expect a serious threat in front of goal in the air with this card.  In the end Goretzka went 1 for 4 on wide open headers, which was eye opening when expecting to have ruthless quality given the statistics. 

Closing Words

There will be some to point out the 3 STAR SKILLS and rightfully so, they just do not impact my game play at all, and on a CDM, did not cross my mind.  After the skills and the need for the FINESSE SHOT Trait for outside the box bangers, there is just nothing to complain about with this card… Okay maybe the price tag.

The Bundesliga has certainly paved the way for some incredibly juiced TOTS cards on the horizon and I for one can’t wait.  It is going to be extremely difficult to part with this card as I truly feel that this is a warrior style card that could help me progress within the Weekend League gameplay quagmire.  There is endless upside with Goretzka and the card doesn’t seem to subscribe to a lot of the FUT pitfalls for a card this size.   

Is he worth one million over Thuram?  If you want offensive contributions then yes.  If you want him to sit back and protect your goal… Go for the much cheaper option in the Ligue 1 giant and spend the coins elsewhere.

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.