FIFA 14 | So You Want A… Goalscorer UPDATE


In our two part breakdown of strikers, tonight we’re looking at goalscorers. These players have great finishing and often utilise their speed and dribbling ability to outfox defenders. If you’re looking for bigger, stronger strikers, check out tonight’s other post on target men. Let’s turn to my goalscorer recommendations:

  • Luciano Vietto
  • Dudu
  • Héctor Villalba
  • Victor Andrade/Santi Mina/Gabriel

If you want a player who’s already close to being the finished article, look no further than Luciano Vietto. He’s so well rounded that you wonder how his OVR is only 73. His 84 acceleration, 81 sprint speed, 79 dribbling and four star skills will make light work of opposition defences, while his 74 finishing will ensure he puts away the chances he creates. With 79 shot power and 77 long shots, he’ll even give you an option if you are having trouble weaving your way past defenders. He’s got excellent passing too, so will be well suited to dropping behind another striker and acting as the supply line. Racing Club ask for a lot, but offer just under £6m and they should relent. And if you want a very similar player with a little more strength and aerial ability, try Danny Ings.

You often see stunning goals on YouTube of FIFA gamers tricking and skilling their way through hapless defences and almost walking the ball into the net. If that’s the type of striker you like to play with, go for Dudu. His five star skills, 83 dribbling and 85 balance will bamboozle even the best defenders and afford you the opportunity to score some really special goals. I got him for £3.7m, which probably makes him one of the cheapest high potential five star skillers in the game, but if you can’t afford that, try Yassine Benzia. A long time favourite of FIFA scouters, you can get him for just over £1m.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a good old blast of pace to inject into your attacks, Héctor Villalba is your man. Not only is he a speedster with 91 acceleration and 90 sprint speed, but unlike the other speedsters in this article he’s got a lot of stamina (83). This means that he’s going to be running defences ragged all game long and makes him ideally suited to playing on the wings if you don’t fancy him up front. His superb dribbling and long shots give him a real element of variety, so you can beat defenders or simply shoot past them depending on the situation. It’s that degree of flexibility that really makes him stand out from the crowd.

You may have noticed that a few of my choices are quite expensive (an unfortunate caveat that often comes with the best players). Well, if you’re looking for some real bargains then you’ll find them in Victor Andrade, Santi Mina and Gabriel. Victor Andrade may have a fairly low starting OVR but he comes with two brilliant assets – his pace (85 acceleration, 86 sprint speed) and his close control (77 dribbling, 76 ball control). Because he’s on a one year contract, I managed to pick him up for £800k – amazing considering those skills. If you want a clinical goalscorer for an absolute pittance, on the other hand, then get Santi Mina. Already with 74 finishing and good dribbling and aerial presence, he shouldn’t cost you any more than £1m. And finally, if you want a blend of the two, Gabriel is the one to go for. Just bear in mind that you’ll have to wait until January before he becomes available.

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The articles in this series should give you some ideas if you’re looking for a new signing in a key area. There is one article for each position on the pitch to make it easy for you to quickly find players to bolster your squad.

All of the players given here have a minimum potential of 80, so you know you’re getting quality. The maximum OVR for each player is 73, both to keep transfer prices down and to avoid presenting you with too many options and thus making it too difficult to choose the player you need.

The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

Initial player costs may seem very low this year. The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. But I’ve also added a new column this time round – ‘They want’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘They want’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘They want’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 14 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.[/expand]

See below for the full list:

[table id=120 /]

And don’t forget to check out the other articles in this series by going to the ‘So You Want A…’ button in the top menu!