FIFA 14 | Good teams for career mode – SC Bastia


Introduction: How do these articles work?

Each Sunday I examine a different team in detail and look at why they’re a good team for FIFA 14’s career mode. The teams are broken down into the following categories:

  • Tier 1: Teams in tough divisions that can push on to challenge for silverware
  • Tier 2: Teams that will have to fight for survival in a challenging division
  • Tier 3: Teams that start in a lower division but can hope to get promoted and work their way up higher leagues
  • Tier 4: Teams that start right at the bottom of the pile, with few funds or high potential players

This might be the hardest article on good teams for career mode so far. It’s a Tier 2 team – SC Bastia in France’s Ligue 1.

SC Bastia

SC Bastia (Tier 2)

Contents

  1. Why choose SC Bastia?
  2. Lineups
    1. Strongest starting lineup
    2. Highest potential lineup
  3. Recommended purchases
  4. Suggested sales
  5. Future considerations
    1. Buy a new centre back
    2. Buy a new left back

Starting transfer budget: £1,700,000
Starting wage budget: £35,000
Default formation: 4-2-3-1
Board expectations: Finish mid table, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Djibril Cissé
Best young prospect: Wahbi Khazri

Why choose SC Bastia?

Usually in Tier 2 articles I choose teams that will struggle to stay in a division, and it’s your job to keep them up. Well, this time it’s a little different. I’ve chosen a team that not only have one of the worst budgets and lowest number of high potential players in the division, but one that is also expected to finish mid table. You’ve got to take a team with the third lowest budget and only five players who will grow above 75, and not only survive a division with the likes of PSG and AS Monaco in it, but survive comfortably, maybe even in the top half. Oh, and most of your good players are old and will be heavily declining. Magic may be required.

They have got a few things going for them. Their attack is pretty good, with Krasić and Khazri down the flanks and Cissé knocking in the goals up front. Central midfield is also pretty solid, with some players with decent potentials and good stats. But defence needs a big overhaul and the goalkeeper area is pretty much in crisis.

In terms of key players, I’ve picked out Djibril Cissé as your main man. He’s got great physical presence and is both fast and strong, while his finishing is excellent and will be vital in your climb up the table. He’s also rated 83 for penalties, so shouldn’t let you down wherever you need to score from. The problem is that he’s 31 and will probably be steadily declining throughout the season, so a replacement will be needed.

The team’s best young prospect is Whabi Khazri. He already has a good starting OVR and his potential is 80, meaning he’ll be a fantastic player in a year or two. He can be both provider and goalscorer, as his crossing, passing and finishing stats will make him useful in a number of roles. Try and keep hold of him if you can, because it’ll be hard to find a replacement as good as him with Bastia’s limited budget.

Strongest starting lineup

Here is Bastia’s best starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets. As you can see, their attack is very decent but their back line needs a fair amount of work, and I’ll address that in the ‘Recommended purchases’ section.

SC Bastia's best ineup based on OVR

Suggested formation and starting lineup

I’ve adjusted the team’s formation to 4-4-2 to get as many high potential players on the pitch as possible. The team has plenty of players who will develop nicely, but there’s still lots of work to do.

SC Bastia's best ineup based on potential

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, CB, ST

Right, let’s see what we can do to improve SC Bastia’s chances of finishing mid table. Before any purchases are made, adjust your budget ratio to 56:44 so that you have £1,971,160 in transfer funds and £29,784 in wages. Once that’s done, we can make our first purchase.

Just as a word of warning, teams may or may not accept the prices I’ve listed here. They are the lowest prices I could get, so you may need to reload a bit if the team is stubborn. If you don’t want to do that, it shouldn’t take a much higher bid to get the player.

Miroslav Lobantsev

Miroslav Lobantsev
Club: Lokomotiv
Position: GK
OVR: 66
Potential: 78
Age: 18
Cost: £400,000
Wages: £1,500

The most immediate problem facing SC Bastia is that they lack a good goalkeeper who will develop well over the next few seasons. Jean-Louis Leca is their best keeper at 67 OVR, and he’s also the highest potential one with 70 potential. If you’re to not only survive relegation but finish mid table, you’re going to need a better GK.

To fix that, I bought Miroslav Lobantsev from Lokomotiv in Russia. He’s only 18 but already he’s only one OVR point behind Leca, while his potential of 78 means he’ll grow well and become a very solid keeper over the next few seasons. What I liked about him was that not only is he very well balanced, but he has excellent positioning, which seems to be quite rare for a young goalkeeper. This should stand him in good stead and mean he should concede fewer goals from being caught out of position.

Another great thing is his affordability. Though Lokomotiv originally want £725,000 for him, I was able to knock his price down to almost half that, at £400,000. His wages are very cheap at £1,500, although I had to bump the contract length up to five years to convince him to join.


André Ramalho

André Ramalho
Club: RB Salzburg
Position: CB
OVR: 68
Potential: 79
Age: 21
Cost: £650,000
Wages: £6,000

The most worrying thing about SC Bastia’s defence is that Squillaci and Modesto – their best two centre backs – are 32 and 34 respectively, so it won’t be long before they start rapidly declining. Worse, they’re the highest potential centre backs on the team. This area urgently needs improving with at least two new signings.

The first player I brought in was André Ramalho of RB Salzburg in Austria. Whereas Modesto and particularly Squillaci are painfully slow, Ramalho has excellent pace and reactions, so he should rarely be caught out by quick counter attacks. He’s pretty strong and fantastic in the air, but what really makes him stand out is his technical ability. He is great with the ball at his feet and can pass, dribble and even shoot just as well as he can defend, meaning you can push him up into midfield if you need him there.

His initial asking price is £950,000, but I was able to get a bid of £650,000 accepted, which was an excellent price to pay. His wages are £6,000.


Samir

Samir
Club: Flamengo
Position: CB
OVR: 72
Potential: 86
Age: 18
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £5,000

I knew I’d need another centre back to cover both Squillaci and Modesto, but with all the areas that needed improving, funds would be stretched thin. So what I decided to do was loan in Samir of Flamengo and then move for a more established centre back in January, when I could get one for free. This meant I would have a high OVR, high potential centre back for the season (and no pay a transfer fee), then bring in an already established centre back when Samir’s loan ends (again, without paying a transfer fee).

The alternative was buying a player outright, but with Bastia’s limited starting funds – plus the other players I needed to buy – that would be hard. I certainly wouldn’t be able to get a player of Samir’s quality.

And what quality that was. In Samir you can bring in one of the most exciting young centre backs in the game. He’s already at 72 OVR, and his 86 potential means I’d expect him to grow 3-4 points at least while he’s with you. He has some brilliant stats – 82 strength, 76 marking and 77 stand tackle will make him a rock at the back for you. He’s also got good pace, so like Ramalho he should be able to cover threatening counter attacks.


Ademilson

Ademilson
Club: São Paulo
Position: ST
OVR: 69
Potential: 79
Age: 19
Cost: £900,000
Wages: £7,000

Although Bastia have Cissé in their ranks, he’s 31 and (knowing FIFA 14), he’ll have declined a couple of points by the end of the season. Gianni Bruno isn’t bad, but you really want a better striker to partner Cissé and then replace him once his OVR drops too low.

Ademilson is the player I went for. The third Brazilian player that I bought, he makes a good foil for Cissé. While Cissé is powerful and direct, Ademilson brings more trickery and finesse up front. He’s got 79 dribbling, 87 sprint and acceleration, as well as four star skills, so combining the two strikers should give you an outlet whatever the situation. He’s also got excellent potential, and I’d expect him to be well into the 70s by the end of your first season.

São Paulo asked for £1.7m for him but I managed to get a bid of £900,000 accepted. His wages were £7,000.


Here’s how much those players cost:

Starting transfer funds: £1,971,160
Starting wage funds: £29,784

Total spent on transfer fees: £1,950,000
Total spent on wages: £19,500

This leaves you with about £10,000 in wage funds. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend you use this to bring in a centre back to replace Samir when he leaves at the end of the season. I’ll cover that and more in the next section.

I realise I often choose free players in the ‘Future considerations’ section because they’re such good value, so if you don’t want to do that feel free to save your money and buy a player in the second season. There will be more choice available, but obviously they’ll be more expensive.

Suggested sales

Djibril Cissé

Djibril Cissé is your best bet if you want to raise some funds

There aren’t many players I’d particularly recommend you sell at SC Bastia, mainly because the team is going to need all the high potential players it can get, and the lower potential players aren’t worth a huge amount of money.

However, it is guaranteed that you will get plenty of offers for Djibril Cissé. He’s your best player and other clubs recognise that, and you can expect to sell him for between £5m and £5.5m if you choose to let him go. Considering he’s 31 and will be seriously declining throughout the season, you probably won’t get another chance to sell him for that much. With that in mind, you may decide it’s best to sell now while you can still earn that much and then spend the money elsewhere.

This will give you a significant amount of money to bring in new players. You may decide to share the money out on a number of new signings, or perhaps bring in a few good scouts to start finding youth talent. If, on the other hand, you want a direct replacement for Cissé who is not going to decline any time soon, I’ve listed a couple of suggestions below.

Ibrahima Baldé

Bring in Ibrahima Baldé if you want a good replacement for Cissé

One player I’d recommend you try is Ibrahima Baldé of Kuban Krasnodar in Russia. He’s 24, rated 74 and has 78 potential. His stats put him firmly in that Cissé mould of a fast, strong striker with good all-round finishing – 84 sprint speed, 82 strength, 76 finishing and 75 heading will make him a very useful player. He cost me £5,300,000, and although his wages had to be bumped up from £25,000 to £40,000, that’s still cheaper than Cissé’s £45,000. He’s a great player who will be a fine replacement for Cissé and won’t break the bank in doing so.

For a more established choice you could go for Mame Diouf of Hannover 96 (age 25, 79 OVR and potential 81). He’s faster than Cissé, almost as strong and much better in the air. All that comes at a cost, though – Hannover will want £6m for him and his wages will end up around £60,000 – £70,000, but if you want a player who will easily fill Cissé’s shoes and who isn’t going to decline any time soon, this is your man.

Future considerations – buy a new centre back

Shaun Hutchinson

Shaun Hutchinson is a great replacement for Samir

So, once Samir has finished his loan you’ll need a replacement. Fortunately there are some very good centre backs that can be picked up for free in January, and Shaun Hutchinson of Motherwell in Scotland is one of the best. He’s faster and stronger than Samir, with 75 sprint speed and 91 strength, so if you enjoyed using Samir then you will find Hutchinson to be a very similar player. With stats like that and good aerial presence, he’s going to be dominant at the back

He starts the game at 69 OVR and has potential 79, so by the time he arrives at Bastia he should be in the early to mid 70s. His starting defensive stats aren’t quite as good as Samir’s, but that extra year’s development before he joins you should make up for that, giving you a fantastic centre back for just £6,000 in wages.

Future considerations – buy a new left back

Eduard Sobol

Eduard Sobol would be an excellent addition to the SC Bastia squad

As was probably clear from the team lineups above, left back is a weak area for Bastia. In fact, your only choice is Julian Palmieri, as the team don’t have any other players in his position. While you could field a right back there when needed, the options aren’t great.

My choice is Eduard Sobol from FC Shakhtar in the Rest of World section. He’s only 18 but starts off with 67 OVR, already almost as good as Palmieri. His potential of 78 will soon see him surpass that, however.

He’s got some brilliant stats, really excelling when it comes to crossing and tackling. This will make him both a threat going forward and a reliable defending unit in defence, something that will become more and more true the more he develops.

Although you can’t buy him in the first transfer window, he should be available by January. You then shouldn’t have to pay more than around £1m for him, which is a great price for what you get, especially considering his wages are just £2,000. You may need to sell a player or two to fund the transfer fee, however.


And that rounds off my in-depth guide to SC Bastia. They’re a great challenge, so if you feel like giving them a go be sure to let us know in the comments below.

I’d also like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of the article itself. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include?

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