FIFA 15 | Good teams for career mode – Cesena


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 15’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

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Cesena (Tier 2)

With the lowest number of high potential players in the division and a pretty tight budget, making a success of a career with Cesena is a challenge in the short and long term.

Contents

  1. Why choose Cesena?
  2. Lineups
    1. Strongest starting lineup
    2. Highest potential lineup
  3. Recommended purchases
  4. Suggested sales
  5. Future considerations
    1. Get a new goalkeeper
    2. Get a new right back
    3. Get a new left back
    4. Get a new striker

Starting transfer budget: £3,400,000
Starting wage budget: £30,000
Default formation: 4-3-1-2
Board expectations: Avoid relegation, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Carlos Carbonero
Best young prospect: Carlos Carbonero

Why choose Cesena?

Where to begin with Cesena? Well, let’s have a look at the challenges – and there are plenty. They have the lowest overall of any Serie A team, one of the lowest budgets and as the lowest number of players with potential 75 or higher. You think they’ve got decent players in key positions, until you realise most of them are on loan. Oh, and their kits are kinda crummy too.

On the plus side, there are some players with decent potential, most notably Carlos Carbonero (who I’ll come to in a minute). And who doesn’t love a challenge? Surviving relegation is going to be insanely difficult after all, but you’ll really have done well if you can do it.

If you’re going to do that, you’re going to need to get the best out of Carlos Carbonero. His 84 acceleration and 87 sprint speed will come in handy in creating and scoring goals, something which his fantastic long shots will add to. He’s got a strong weak foot and good crossing, so can create opportunities from either wing, and his 84 stamina means he can play game after game.

He’s also the most promising young player on the team, with 77 potential. Although Nicola Leali has 82 potential, he’s only in on loan, so you can’t rely on him for too long. Matteo Gasperi also has 77 potential, but because he starts at 57 OVR, it’ll be a while until he reaches his potential.

Strongest starting lineup

Here’s Cesena’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

Cesena's best lineup based on OVR

Highest potential lineup

Now here’s Cesena’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

Cesena's best lineup based on potential

There’s not really enough money to improve as many positions as we need to, but here are the players I suggest you bring in to fix the most urgent problems.

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, CM, RB, LB, LM, ST.

First things first, adjust the budget ration to 37:63, leaving you with £1,835,200 in transfer funds and £60,092 in wages. Once you’ve done that, we can start making some purchases.

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Víctor Camarasa is well suited to a whole host of roles in midfield

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Víctor Camarasa
Club: UD Levante
Position: CDM
OVR: 69
Potential: 78
Age: 20
Cost: £800,000
Wages: £6,000

Cesena’s central midfield finds itself in perhaps one of the most desperate situations of the team. The highest potential holding midfielders only have 71 potential each, and while Gasperi has 77 potential, it’ll take him a long time to reach that because he’s so young. At least one replacement is needed, and fast.

When you’re playing with a limited budget and lots of slots to fill, you need to get good bargains, and that’s exactly what you get with Víctor Camarasa of UD Levante in Spain. Luckily for us, his stats show that he can play in all kinds of different midfield roles, so should be able to feature prominently week after week. He can tackle and pass and has excellent strength, making him the ideal ball winner in one of the key battlefields on the pitch.

UD Levante want £1,000,000 for him and that can be brought down to £800,000. His wages are £6,000.


FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Normally you would expect to pay a lot more for a player of Jordan Ferri’s quality

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Jordan Ferri
Club: Olympique Lyon
Position: CM
OVR: 73
Potential: 80
Age: 22
Cost: £1,000,000
Wages: £35,000

Bringing in Camarasa is a good start, but really you need another central midfielder to bring some stability to the team. With little in the way of funds, however, we need to choose wisely.

My choice is Jordan Ferri. Like Camarasa, he is a multi-talented midfielder who excels at a number of different things. He’s strong and has good pace, and like Camarasa he can tackle and pick a pass too. Moreover, his 82 stamina will make him a regular fixture in your starting lineup, helping his progress no end.

Olympique Lyon only want you to pay £1,400,000 for him, and I managed to lower that further to £1,000,000. His wages are pretty expensive at £35,000, but don’t worry, he’s worth every penny.


FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Zimmer’s pace high potential should both come in handy

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Jean Zimmer
Club: 1. FC K’lautern
Position: RB
OVR: 67
Potential: 77
Age: 20
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £6,000

Right back is another problem area but we don’t really have enough cash to buy a new player, so I suggest that you loan a player in for the first season and then either bring in someone for free in January (I’ll come to that later), or buy a new full back in the second season when you have a new budget.

Anyway, my choice for loanee right back is Jean Zimmer of 1. FC K’lautern in the German second division. He’s got everything you need in a full back – pace, stamina, good tackling and excellent attacking stats like dribbling and crossing. And because he’s got high potential, he’ll quickly overtake Gabriele Perico as your first choice right back. His wages of £6,000 are also affordable.


FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Nicola Murru is another talented full back that you can bring in on loan

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Nicola Murru
Club: Cagliari
Position: LB
OVR: 68
Potential: 81
Age: 19
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £6,000

The situation at left back is even more dire than that at right back, as Cesena only have one left back in the entire team. Suffice to say, he has low potential (71) and is barely going to grow, but again we don’t have much money left to splash out on a new permanent player – for now.

So what I suggest you do is bring Nicola Murru of Cagliari in on loan. He’s a highly adept young player and much better at tackling than Renzetti, so will be very useful when trying to keep a tight ship and avoid relegation. Like Zimmer, his high potential will see him grow quickly (even more so than Zimmer, in fact, thanks to his 81 potential), so you’ll be able to count on him to get better and better as the season progresses. He also has £6,000 in wages.


FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Timo Werner’s pace can be used to devastating effect

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Timo Werner
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Position: LM
OVR: 71
Potential: 86
Age: 18
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £5,000

Although the images earlier in this article show Gregoire Defrel on the left wing, he’s not actually a winger at all; amazingly, there’s not a single left midfielder in Cesena’s whole squad. Because there are so many problem areas, we can only afford to bring in a player on loan for now, but don’t worry – we’ll bring in some more permanent signings in January.

But don’t think that you’re getting a raw deal with Timo Werner, because he’s one of the best young talents in the game. He’s already a speedster, and his 90 pace will cause havoc even to much higher rated players. Crucially, he has excellent finishing (72) and positioning (70), so will provide plenty of goals that will be vital to keeping Cesena in Serie A. And for all that, you only have to pay £5,000 in wages.


All that leaves us with £35,200 in transfer funds and £2,092 in wages. I want to make some permanent signings in January to replace the loanees when they leave, but to do that we’ll need to raise some money. Let’s see what the starting lineup will now look like, and then who we can offload.

Cesena's suggested lineup, including new transfers

Suggested sales

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Cesena have four goalkeepers, which is unnecessary, so you can sell one of those. Although Leali is only in on loan, I want to replace him in January, so there will still be too many keepers. Agliari has just joined and Iglio isn’t worth selling, so I’d suggest you sell Walter Bressan – he can bring in around £300,000.

Midfielder Giuseppe De Feudis is 30 but not essential to the team, so I’d sell him before his value starts decreasing. You can get about £350,000 for him.

Also, Davide Succi is in a similar situation – his value is likely to start going down soon, so move him on and you’ll get about £450,000.

Once you’ve done that, pour all the money you make from those sales into wages and you’ll be ready to sign some free players.

Future considerations – get a new goalkeeper

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Fehmi Mert Günok is going to be very difficult to beat

Nicola Leali will depart at the end of the season and there’s not really a ready-made replacement on the team, so you’ll need to bring in a new keeper to fill his shoes.

My choice is Fehmi Mert Günok of Fenerbahçe SK in Turkey. His starting OVR is 74 and his potential is 80, so by the time he arrives he should have grown a few points. He’s a big lad at 6’5″ and very well balanced in terms of his stats, so beating him is going to be no mean feat.

That’s essential if you want to forge a long-term future in Serie A, so go for him and you’ll have a strong foundation at the back. His wages are £30,000.

Future considerations – get a new right back

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Michael Lang can play across the back line and perform consistently well

Now it’s time to start replacing those players we brought in on loan ourselves. First up is the right back position, where Jean Zimmer will be departing at the end of the season.

I’d recommend Michael Lang of Grasshopper in Switzerland. Because Cesena’s defence is so frail, you need players who can play in multiple positions, and that’s just what you get with Lang. He’s fast, good in the air and has a powerful shot, so can be a threat going forward. But as well as that, he’s very strong for a full back and has excellent tackling stats, so can be deployed at centre back if need be.

Add to that his good starting OVR of 71, potential of 77 and affordable wages of £20,000, and you’ve got a free player who you’d be foolish to turn down.

Future considerations – get a new left back

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Hong Chul is a favourite of mine, and with good reason

As with right back, Nicola Murru is going to leave at the end of the year and you’ll need a player to fill the gap and to give the team another option in that position – because just having one left back isn’t a good long term strategy!

I’m going to recommend a player who I’ve liked for a few years now: Hong Chul of Suwon Bluewings in Korea. He’s got incredible pace (86 acceleration and 89 sprint speed) but also has 90 stamina, meaning he can get up and down the pitch for as long as you need him to. Like Lang, he’s pretty strong for a full back and can tackle as well, making him useful defensively, while his 74 crossing will provide your attackers with plenty of ammunition.

But he also brings something else: fantastic free kicks. With 79 curve, 75 accuracy and 71 shot power, he can score you goals even when you find it almost impossible to break down the opposition. Just a bit of magic in a dead ball situation and you can get a vital goal that may just keep you in the division.

And what’s more, his wages are super cheap at just £3,000.

Future considerations – get a new striker

FIFA 15 good teams for career mode: Cesena

Gyasi Zardes is a brilliant attacking all-rounder

Though Guido Marilungo will perform well for the season, he’s only in on loan, and Cesena’s next best striker is 35 and will be declining rapidly. There’s not really much else going for them up front, so improvements are needed.

So, my final January purchase is Gyasi Zardes of LA Galaxy in the MLS. In my opinion he’s pretty much the perfect attacking option because he’s good at so many things. He’s very pacey (85 acceleration and 87 sprint speed), has great dribbling and four star skills, so beating defenders with the ball on the floor is simplicity itself.

But he also can finish and head the ball well, as well as throw his weight around thanks to his 76 strength and 6’2″ height. He’s got good positioning, too, a four star weak foot and 77 stamina, making him a brilliant all-round package. His wages are pretty affordable at £15,000.


So that just about wraps up this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Cesena make for an insane challenge (almost on a Tier 4 level), so you’re going to have to think wisely and make some shrewd signings to keep them in Serie A. But achieving that is still possible – just don’t expect a walk in the park!

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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