FIFA 16 | Good teams for career mode – SD Eibar

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 16’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 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

SD Eibar (Tier 2)

Tier 2 teams face an uphill battle for survival in challenging divisions. Can you help them beat relegation?

Contents

  1. Why choose SD Eibar?
  2. Lineups
    1. Strongest starting lineup
    2. Highest potential lineup
  3. Recommended purchases
  4. Suggested sales
  5. Future considerations
    1. Renew contracts
    2. Get a new goalkeeper

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

Why choose SD Eibar?

There’s no doubt that SD Eibar have it tough. With just £1.4m, they have the lowest transfer budget in Liga BBVA. They also have the second lowest number of high potential players (potential 75 or higher). That combination makes surviving relegation a big, big ask. And then you’ve got to contend with two of the biggest teams in the world, as well as a host of other difficult opponents.

On the positive side, they have a good goalkeeper and a prolific striker up front. You’ll need both of these players to perform consistently well, but if they do you stand a good chance of avoiding the drop. Unfortunately, that’s about it though! This really is a tough FIFA 16 career, but who doesn’t like a challenge?

SD Eibar’s key player is Borja Bastón. He’s the prolific striker I was talking about, and I wasn’t exaggerating – he’s got 82 finishing and 77 heading accuracy. He’s the lowest-OVR player in the division with a finishing stat as good as that. That means he’ll score goals when you wouldn’t expect him to be able to, and getting as many goals as possible will be vital in the relegation battle. Keep him fit and he’ll bang in the goals.

He’s also the team’s most promising young player, thanks to his 82 potential. That makes it even more vital that you keep hold of him. SD Eibar’s next best striker is rated 71 and has 73 potential, so he’s no replacement for the quality of Borja Bastón. Bastón should grow quickly as he’s 22 and needs a fair amount of growth to reach his potential, so expect good things early on from him.

Strongest starting lineup

Keeping the formation the same at 4-2-3-1, here is SD Eibar’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Highest potential lineup

And here is SD Eibar’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: CB, RB, ST.

Before starting, change the budget ratio to 68:32. This will give you £2,012,800 in transfer funds and £18,215 in wages. Now let’s buy some players.

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Duje ?aleta-Car is very strong for his age

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Duje ?aleta-Car
Club: RB Salzburg
Position: CB
OVR: 67
Potential: 78
Age: 18
Cost: £700,000
Wages: £2,850

With the exception of Aleksandar Pantic, most of SD Eibar’s best centre backs are ageing and so will start declining soon. That’s no good in the long run, as you’ll need good centre backs to cope with the annual relegation battles. I reckon we need at least one replacement.

My suggestion is Duje ?aleta-Car of RB Salzburg in Austria. He’s only 18 but already has 82 strength, making him rock solid at the back. His tackling stats are good and he’s very decent in the air thanks to his 70 heading accuracy. He’s also got 78 potential, so will grow nicely into one of your best defenders in a few years.

RB Salzburg want £975,000 for him but you can get him for about £700,000. His wages are £2,850.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Jorge Meré will grow quickly while on loan

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Jorge Meré
Club: Sporting Gijón
Position: CB
OVR: 72
Potential: 84
Age: 18
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £4,000

While ?aleta-Car will be a good long-term addition, you may feel his OVR isn’t high enough at the start of the first season. If that’s the case, you can loan in a player to play the first season while ?aleta-Car develops, making way for him at the end of the season.

I therefore recommend you bring in Jorge Meré of Sporting Gijón. He’s got 84 potential so will grow absolutely rapidly, and his 72 OVR means he can drop into the starting 11 almost instantly. He’s very pacey for a centre back, which will give him a good chance of catching up pacey strikers, and his tackling stats are superb. His good aerial ability rounds him off.

Just loan him in for the season, which is free. His wages are £4,000.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Jordan Ikoko is a apeedy right back with good stamina

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Jordan Ikoko
Club: RC Lens
Position: RB
OVR: 66
Potential: 76
Age: 21
Cost: £600,000
Wages: £6,000

To say SD Eibar have a right back problem is an understatement – they don’t have a single one in the team, despite having 5 left backs. Lillo is a right footed left back, but he’s the only option really. Really we need one dedicated right back to take over that spot.

My choice is Jordan Ikoko of RC Lens in France. He’s absolutely rapid and has great stamina, so will have no trouble running up and down the wings all game. His tackling stats are very good, and his potential of 76 means he’ll fit right into the team after a bit of growth. His jumping is also impressive, so he should be useful on corners and set pieces.

RC Lens want you to pay £1,000,000 for him, but I negotiated that down to £600,000. His wages are £6,000.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Sander Svendsen has an excellent OVR for his age

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

Sander Svendsen
Club: Molde FK
Position: ST
OVR: 65
Potential: 78
Age: 17
Cost: £700,000
Wages: £3,050

I mentioned earlier how SD Eiber only really have one quality striker. Aside from Borja Bastón, there are only two other strikers in the team – Sergi Enrich and Thaylor. Seeing as they only have 73 and 62 potential respectively, they’re not really good long-term backups for Bastón. I think we need another striker who will grow and develop while Bastón plays and will be able to support him as a backup.

My recommendation is Sander Svendsen of Molde FK in Norway. He’s only 17, but his rating of 65 is very good for that age. He’s got 78 potential, but given his age/OVR combination, I wouldn’t be surprised if he easily exceeds that potential and grows into the 80s. He’s got good pace and dribbling stats, and his positioning is also one of his strongest stats, meaning he can ensure he’s in the right place at the right time to score. He’ll make a great super sub or rotation player for when Bastón is tired or injured.

Molde FK want £925,000 for him but you only have to pay about £700,000. His wages are £3,050.

Suggested sales

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

You can sell Asier Riesgo for about £800,000

First of all you can sell a couple of goalkeepers – Jorge Mediavilla and Asier Riesgo will got for around £100,000 and £800,000 respectively.

Imanol Corral, Ander Gayoso and Julen López can be sold for £40,000, £80,000 and £120,000 each. You could also sell Mauro Dos Santos for about £1.4m if you wanted to raise some extra money.

Iñigo Ibargoien and Asier Etxaburu can get you £30,000 and £70,000 each. Julen Azkue and Iñigo Barrenetxea can also be sold for £50,000 and £100,000 each.

Finally, Thaylor can be sold for around £50,000.

Those sales combined can make you between £2.84m and £1.44m – at least what you started the career with.

Future considerations: renew contracts

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

You could lose Saúl Berjón for free if you don’t renew his contract

SD Eibar have a lot of players whose contracts are expiring, so it’s important to get these players signed onto new deals. If you don’t, there’s a risk they will leave for nothing in the January transfer window.

There are 14 players with expiring contracts, including Borja Ekiza (the team’s best centre back) and Saúl Berjón (the highest OVR player in the side).

Future considerations: get a new goalkeeper

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: SD Eibar

André Moreira is a high potential young goalkeeper

The youngest (good) goalkeeper at SD Eibar is 29 years old. Although goalkeepers can go longer before they start declining, it’s worth thinking about bringing in a new, young keeper soon.

My suggestion is André Moreira of Madeira in Portugal. He starts out at 71 OVR at 19 years old and has 81 potential, but with plenty of training he will be able to easily exceed that. His stats are nicely balanced, so you don’t have to worry about him spilling shots in the box or not reacting quickly enough to loose balls – he can do it all.

Madeira want £2,400,000 for him but you can knock that down to around £1,900,000. His wages are £4,400.


That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. SD Eibar have a real challenge on their hands, and surviving relegation won’t be easy. But it is doable – just make sure Borja Bastón scores plenty of goals!

I’d 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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