FIFA 17 | Good teams for career mode – Levante UD

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 17’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 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Levante UD (Tier 3)

Tier 3 sides start in a low division but have a great chance of working their way up the leagues – perfect for ‘journey’ career modes or returning a team to former glory.

Contents

  1. Why choose Levante UD?
  2. Lineups
    1. Strongest starting lineup
    2. Highest potential lineup
  3. Recommended purchases
  4. Suggested sales
  5. Future considerations
    1. Get a new centre back

Starting transfer budget: £5,530,396
Starting wage budget: £29,033
Default formation: 4-4-1-1
Board expectations:
• Domestic success: Critical
• Continental success: Very low
• Brand exposure: Low
• Financial success: Medium
• Youth development: Low
Key player: José Morales
Best young prospect: Jefferson Lerma

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Why choose Levante UD?

You may be getting a sense of déjà vu here. That’s because I’ve already done an article on Levante UD before. However, I felt they were worth revisiting, because a few things have changed. They no longer have Álex Remiro in goal (although we’ll be bringing him back), and other areas need strengthening too. As well as that, they’re simply such a good team for FIFA 17 career mode that I felt they needed another look and a bit of an update here at FIFA Scouting Tips.

Levante start in the Spanish second division, but really they’re good enough to be in the top division. Their starting lineup is excellent, and they have plenty of players with potential in the 80s and high 70s. Their budget is also one of the best in the league, allowing you to strengthen in a few places.

Getting promoted is the easy bit; staying in the Liga BBVA the next season will be more tricky. That’s where the challenge of this career comes – we want to get Levante as high as possible, but you’ll have to withstand some of the best teams in the league in order to do that. It’s not easy, but it’ll be great fun along the way.

Levante’s key player is José Morales. He’s absolutely rapid – 90 acceleration and 88 spring speed – which is a real leveller when he plays against bigger teams, who won’t be able to handle his pace. His 85 dribbling will tie defenders in knots, and his long shots are very good as well. Keep hold of him and he’ll score bags of goals.

The team’s most promising young player is Jefferson Lerma. He’s the N’Golo Kanté of the team, with 90 stamina and good tackling stats to win the ball back from the opposition. He’s fast too, but also fairly strong, so will be adept at breaking up play and starting moves for your side. And he’s got 83 potential, the highest in the team.

Strongest starting lineup

Changing the formation slightly to 4-2-3-1, here is Levante UD’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Highest potential lineup

Keeping the formation 4-2-3-1, here is Levante UD’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, LB, striker.

Firstly, change Levante’s budget ratio to 72:28. This will give you £5,139,282 in transfer funds and £36,554 in wages. Now let’s buy some players.

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Adrián Ortolá is free and will soon become your first-choice goalkeeper

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Adrián Ortolá
Club: Deport. Alavés
Position: GK
OVR: 69
Potential: 79
Age: 22
Cost: £0 (contract expiry)
Wages: £8,000

Levante UD have four goalkeepers, but only one of them (Raúl Fernández) is really worth keeping. Even then, his potential is only 75, so he’s a bit of a weak link in the team. We’ll need to start looking elsewhere for a replacement.

My solution is twofold. First, we want to sign Adrián Ortolá on a free transfer. He starts at 69 OVR and has 79 potential, so will become much better than Fernández. By the time he arrives in the second season he should have grown into the early 70s, so will be competing for the first-choice spot straight away. And with a bit of training, he’ll be able to exceed that 79 potential and grow into the 80s.

Because we’re getting him on a pre-contract signing, he’s free. Just approach him in the January transfer window and select ‘approach to sign on contract expiry’. He’ll join your team at the start of the second season. His wages are £8,000.


FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Get Álex Remiro on loan for the season to boost your goalkeeping options

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Álex Remiro
Club: Athletic Bilbao
Position: GK
OVR: 72
Potential: 82
Age: 21
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £7,100

Because Ortolá won’t arrive until the second season, we want to bring in another goalkeeper in the first year who will grow past Fernández and become first-choice keeper. However, we only need to loan him for a year while we wait for Ortolá.

I recommend you bring in Álex Remiro of Athletic Bilbao on loan. His diving and handling are his real strengths, so not only will he be able to reach the ball when diving for it, but he’ll be able to hold on to it as well. That’ll prevent him giving away cheap goals by spilling the ball in the box. Start training him as soon as he arrives and he’ll quickly surpass Fernández, giving you a solid number one while he’s in on loan.


FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Ludwig Augustinsson has 92 stamina, meaning he can run all game long

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Ludwig Augustinsson
Club: FC København
Position: LB
OVR: 72
Potential: 81
Age: 22
Cost: £3,000,000
Wages: £14,000

Aside from in goal, left back is another main weak spot at Levante UD. Toño is OK, but only has 75 potential. The only other left back, Abraham, is loaned in for the year. When the season is up he’ll go, leaving us with only one left back. That’s obviously not ideal – we need a high-quality full back with bags of potential.

My suggestion is Ludwig Augustinsson of FC København. He’s got plenty of pace and, even better, 92 stamina, so will be able to run up and down the flanks for the full 90 minutes. His crossing (77) is also excellent, so make sure to have him get forward as much as possible, where his accurate crosses will provide plenty of assists for his teammates.

FC København want £4.5m for him, but you only have to pay £3m to get him. His wages are £14,000.


FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Emmanuel Boateng is a speedy forward who can also play on the wing

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Emmanuel Boateng
Club: Moreirense
Position: ST
OVR: 69
Potential: 80
Age: 20
Cost: £2,100,000
Wages: £7,000

Unfortunately for Levante, they only really have one decent striker in the team who will stay for more than a year. Roger has 79 potential and 76 OVR, so he’s good, but the next best option (Juan Muñoz, 78 potential), is only loaned in for the season. Víctor Casadesús is 31 and will start declining soon, while Matías only has 70 potential. We need another striker to take the strain off Roger.

I recommend you buy Emmanuel Boateng of Moreirense. He’s a hugely versatile striker who can also play on the wing. Like Augustinsson, he’s pacey and has excellent stamina, while his 90 jumping means he can compete in the air despite his 5’9″ height. His good balance and dribbling will also make him tricky to dispossess when running at defenders. And with 80 potential he can become the best striker at the club.

Moreirense want £2.6m for him, but you can negotiate that down to around £2.1m. His wages are £7,000.


Those transfers will leave you with £39,282 in transfer funds and £454 in wages. Obviously that’s not enough to buy any more players or scouts, so let’s see who we can sell in order to free up some more cash.

Suggested sales

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Natxo Insa can be sold for about £1.5m

Now that we’ve got the goalkeeper situation sorted, we can sell Dani Cárdenas and Koke for £200,000 and £400,000 each.

As for defenders, sell Aitor Pascual for £170,000.

Finally, offload Natxo Insa for £1.5m and Matías for £250,000.

Those sales will get you about £2.52m, giving you a decent amount to strengthen the squad going forward.

Future considerations: get a new centre back

FIFA 17 good teams for career mode: Levante UD

Jorge Sáenz is a great long-term option at centre back

Levante UD actually have a fair few centre backs, but aside from the starting two (Rober Pier and Chema Rodríguez), they’re nothing special. To make it worse, Rober Pier is only loaned in, so you’ll need to replace him once he’s gone.

My suggestion is Jorge Sáenz of CD Tenerife. He’s strong, good in the air and has excellent stamina as well. His tackling is good, while he’s surprisingly adept at passing for a centre back, so will be confident at playing the ball out from the back. And he’s got 82 potential, which will make him one of the most promising players on the team once you buy him.


That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Levante UD feel like one of those overlooked teams in FIFA 17 – they present a seriously good career mode challenge, and have an excellent blend of talent and budget. Make sure you use the money wisely, though, so that you can survive in the Liga BBVA against the might of Real Madrid and Barcelona!

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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