Showdown
IVIae
The much anticipated FUT Birthday promo dropped March 15 and needless to say the card choices were not disappointing. Amongst the movement of players was the exciting prospect of a RB to CM Florenzi. The first issue was getting my hands on this card to review in the first place. Florenzi’s card was extinct shortly after release, which makes sense given the 400k maximum price range, insanely upgraded stats as a CM, and the hype around FUT Birthday in general.
After securing the Italian Kante I was met with two more obstacles; which chemistry style and position combination would generate the greatest output in my squad. What gift do you buy the man who has everything? After a small trial and error sample set I settled on FINISHER as the best option; I found Florenzi’s most notable contributions came in any formation with advanced CMs. Florenzi was the engine room in the following squad:
PACE
Immediately, Florenzi felt familiar in my midfield. It took a game to put my finger on it, but the movement Florenzi demonstrates mimics that of SIF Ake. He is gliding around the pitch and does not seem bothered by the “quicksand” that can affect teams. He can track runners, pull away from would be defenders, and exploit any space on the pitch with his pace. He is deceivingly quick defensively as well and broke up numerous plays throughout the weekend.
RATING: 5/5
SHOOTING
Game 1-5 I was testing out an ANCHOR chemistry style and experiencing poor results with Florenzi’s shooting. Zero goals. Discouraging for sure, yet I was so happy with the rest of his game I could overlook this issue with minimal frustration. However, FINISHER was a game changer and revealed a completely new player. Mix in the pace with solid long shots and you have a recipe to pull defenders out of position and speaks to the assist return he produced.
RATING: 4/5
PASSING
Despite the review order I found myself have to skip the passing commentary until this article was finished. On the surface Florenzi’s passing is just about everything you would want in a CM. Maybe he falls short of a few top tier comparisons, but you can’t complain about his overall performances. The problem I faced reviewing this stat is how incredibly effective his passing was for me in this formation. The space I would have in the midfield because of the pace in this card made executing passes easier than I have experienced with other midfielders. Mix in a long range shot (goal or otherwise) and players have to respect the goal threat and step out resulting in added passing options. In the end I looked at the stats. No other player in my squad has an assist every two games. Sometimes the answer is the obvious choice right in front of you.
RATING: 4.5/5
DRIBBLING
Florenzi is definitely a North to South dribbler. The pace he travels at means that the slightest touch past a defender is lights out. East to West is a bit of a different story and would be my only major complaint about this card. Turns in traffic felt like I was in a stop motion video clip while my opponent continued to move in real time resulting in some frustrating possession loss. Much like the shooting issues mentioned before. Sometimes you have to accept small flaws when there are so many positives.
RATING: 4/5
DEFENDING & PHYSICAL
Consider the fact that Florenzi is a RB transferred to the CM position, with an in game stat boost of 180, and this section writes itself. With the FINISHER chemistry style attached I noticed zero drop off in defensive output compared to ANCHOR earlier on. Florenzi is quick, agile, strong in the tackle, and can pressure any top midfielders off of the ball. On the other hand a 5’8 midfielder can be discouraging for many FUT Managers when completing a team. I was shocked at the amount of headers he won in the midfield for me this weekend. Maybe it is the jumping stats when you add FINISHER? Maybe it is a mixture of positioning and interceptions? Regardless, it was a noteworthy bonus that I was not expecting at the start of the weekend. Finally, you mix in 99 STAMINA and Florenzi really was the engine in my squad. He has everything you want in a box to box midfielder and outshines other cards I have used by a noticeable margin.
RATING: 5/5
IT FACTOR
The IT factor is not a statistic you can look up in game or on FUTBIN. Regardless, I strongly feel as though it is the single most important factor in purchasing and then keeping any player for my squad. By this point in FIFA 18 most FUT managers will know exactly what I mean. Some players just have IT, and are worth every hard earned coin. You don’t care if their price dipped 100k overnight because you know they are going to be in your team for months. Florenzi is that player. I bought him to review for 20 games and ended up with a player that I have made significant squad changes in order to accommodate. There was a noticeable difference in my squad’s performance this weekend and this card was the driving force.
RATING: 4.5/5
FINAL SCORE
RATING: 4.5/5
For the second review running I am quite happy with the final outcome of the ratings average. I immediately felt like this card is a game changer, but there are still better options available if you have deep pockets to purchase them. Bang for your buck, I do not think there are many better options. I referred to Florenzi as the Italian Kante and given their weak foot, dribbling, height, and general in-game statistics they are a good comparison. Which brings me to the “people might call me crazy” portion of the review. When I say the comparisons to Kante are close I am not talking about his 88 rated base card. I actually mean his TOTY card. Now before you lock me up and through away the key I am not saying that Florenzi is by any means as effective as TOTY Kante. What I mean is, for 400k (prior to a price range update that may even drop his price) you are getting a midfielder who can hold his own against a 1.3 million coin midfielder. I went into numerous games this WL where my team was way underpowered compared to my opposition, and I continually walked away thinking, “I didn’t get played off the pitch there”. Florenzi was like a tug boat all weekend long as he dragged my team through the murky waters that WL can be. I have not found a player in FIFA 18 who has such a profound effect in every third of the pitch throughout a match. If you can get your hands on this card I would definitely give him a shot. As for me, I am sold.
Cheers for reading!
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