FIFA 23 FUTTIES Ginola Player Review

Futties Round 5 dropped into packs this weekend and it is difficult to say what was more insane… The boost to the squad and the level of cards, or the boost to the pack weight… Either way there was a lot to keep FUT Managers interested in going into the Weekend League grind.

In FIFA 22 David Ginola reigned supreme throughout the entire cycle and was impossible to play against… In FIFA 23 that hasn’t really been the case.  Not that the card has been awful, he just hasn’t been anywhere close to the dominance that existed last year.  

The baseline Ginola Hero was quite underwhelming (in large part from comparing to the FIFA 22 version), the Ginola Fantasy Hero was better but still a little clunky and not as clinical as you would like, and so the hope was that the Ginola Futties Hero could live up to expectations and bang the goals home this weekend as the striker in my 4-2-2-2 formation.
The HAWK application has been a popular one and it was clear to see why as Ginola found the back of the net all weekend long in the following squad:

Overall 

The King has returned.  Futties Hero Ginola definitely gave me some nostalgic vibes as the Frenchman offered a variety of goals and assists throughout a beast ridden Weekend League journey.  It was an immediate improvement on previous Ginola cards I have tried this year and the feel of the card is right up there with the best in the game.  

Main Statistics – Shooting

Shooting Rating: 10/10

Weak Foot: ★★★★★

My immediate concern going into this review was the movement and feel that this card would produce and without that everything else wouldn’t have mattered.  But as I said, it was immediately clear that this version of Ginola could fly around the pitch and so I moved on to concern number 2… The lack of Shooting traits.

With all of the crazy statistical boosts to cards there has also been a focus on adding additional traits… But with Ginola this was not the case and again I feared the worst.  Almost immediately these concerns were squashed as Ginola scored a tidy finesse shot far post and this quality carried through into every match.

The 5 STAR WEAK FOOT feels about as pure as you can get and the devastation of 99 FINISHING, SHOT POWER & LONG SHOTS felt just as ruthless on either foot.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 5/5

1.5-1.6 million coins at this stage puts Ginola in the top 20 most expensive players and therefore the margin for error was about 0.  Outside of one or two finishes, an odd misplayed pass or lost foot race… This card is near perfect and warrants the coins it costs to bring in this magician 100%. 

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

Top 20 price tag needs Top 20 performance and here is what works.

+ The 5 STAR SKILLS are only the beginning as this card felt responsive and danced on the ball similar to smaller cards with the Lean Body Type.  The near perfect statistics mix well with the FLAIR Trait and the standout was definitely the 99 BALL CONTROL.

+ I mentioned a few misplayed passes and therefore the 9/10 Passing… However the 93 SHORT PASSING did lead to some intricate buildup and one or two stunning through balls into tight spaces.

Minor inconveniences are all I can really go to, but here they are for those looking to splash the cash on this weekend warrior.

- Given the CONTROLLED AcceleRATE I expected this card to struggle with acceleration and blow opponents away at top speed.  Yet the 99 ACCELERATION on this card basically came as advertised and enhanced the dribbling further.  It was the 99 SPRINT SPEED that caused the minor issues and against the best of the best defenders it was a struggle to maintain the gap.

- 186cm | 6’1 and almost impossible to knock off the ball, which was a definite positive.  But with that height and 99 JUMPING I was expecting at least one headed goal.  What I got was a few clips of keepers saving decent efforts… But I didn’t really want to pay 1.5 million for decent efforts.

Closing Words

He is definitely back and the production rate was what you would expect.  The 15 goals in 7 matches (with three rage quits) is up there with the best reviews.  In the case of some reviews you know that there was an easy opponent or two to run up the score… But this review included some insanely difficult matches, where Ginola certainly turned out to be the difference maker, chipping in with big goals along the way.

All of this and I haven’t really touched on one of my favorite parts of this review, Ginola’s 98 STRENGTH.  The size of this card is a huge asset for holding up the ball against opponents who press high and the intricate build up play you can put together with Ginola as the focal point was fantastic.  All in all it was nice to see the Frenchman back on his throne and my squad certainly benefited from his coronation.

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.