In FIFA, we all want to sign the next best thing. Alen Halilovic, Adnan Januzaj and Paul Pogba. But at the other end we have the golden oldies. Players nearing retirement who still have a lot left in the tank! Just look at Frank Lampard’s incredible season at Manchester City. Lampard (36!) was let go by Chelsea and signed by Manchester City, what happened? He’s scored 7 goals in 5 appearances for Manchester City, sometimes against big clubs (his former team Chelsea) and sometimes in crucial moments.
And I don’t need to mention Ryan Giggs, playing until he was 40 years old! Scoring in every Premier League season since it was founded in 1992!
Whilst speed may decrease over the years, experience gets better. To my American friends - which I’m sure most of the users on here are - 4th quarter, your team is down by 3 points who do you want at QB? Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Cam Newton, RG3 or Andrew Luck? I’ll take Brady, Manning or Brees any day!
So with all that being said, with all of the articles out there about the best young players in FIFA 15. I want to offer my squad of retiring players in FIFA 15!
Now, it could’ve been easy for me to just choose world superstars. But I also wanted to throw in a few “sleepers” guys who are underrated but have the stats to back it up. Guys who you can get pretty cheap. If I gave you a squad full of world class superstars then you might end up spending 90 million trying to buy them all! Instead, I threw in a few guys who should be pretty cheap to buy. Hence why Agbonlahor is there and Foster.
I really don’t want to go into why I chose each player, it’ll make this thread too long and most players in my team are world class players that most people know about. I’ll pick the “unusual choices”.
Julio Cesar - Brazil’s goalkeeper. I could’ve gone with Iker Casillas or Gianluigi Buffon but Cesar is a good goalkeeper, unlucky in the Premier League, but if Brazil are confident to put him out there, so am I.
Ben Foster - The former Manchester United keeper isn’t fantastic, but his stats are good to make him a sleeper.
Ron Vlaar - Just a solid choice for a defender, I really like him, he’s strong and is just a beast. I hope Manchester United do sign him.
Joleon Lescott - Again, a great defender and Manchester City let him go to West Brom for pretty much nothing!
Michael Dawson - Could put John Terry here, but I like Dawson and I’m sticking with him.
Jermain Defoe and Gabby Agbonlahor - Firstly I really like Defoe and think he’s one of England’s best strikers. He’s not usually a right midfielder but I had to get him in my team somehow because I know he’ll create chances.
Gabby is fast and yes, he’s my lowest rated player, but I got him in my Nott’m Forest team and he actually got up to 82 OVR! That’s 9 points he grew over the course of 2-3 seasons. Once he’s in form, he just can’t stop scoring.
Gareth Barry - I really like midfielders who can comeback and help the back four defenders in case everything goes wrong. I like, in FIFA, to control my defensive midfielders rather than my main four defenders, why? So they keep their shape. Gareth Barry has brilliant defensive stats and that makes him good enough to hold a lead as an off the bench player.
Fernando Torres - Once brilliant, now the forgotten man. He was never the same after injuries. But a leopard doesn’t change it’s spots and once a goalscorer always a goalscorer. I’m prepared to give him a chance in FIFA, in real life though, maybe Robbie Keane or Drogba takes his place!
Captain, Andrea Pirlo - My Quarterback of the team. He can dictate the pace of the game, make beautiful, accurate passes and lead my attack. However, if Paul Scholes were still playing, I’d choose him over Pirlo any day!
Honourable Mentions -
Robert Green - Other than a couple of mistakes back in 2010 for England, he’s a decent keeper.
Gianluigi Buffon - Italy’s shot stopper and one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world today.
Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez, Jose Reina - Three brilliant goalkeepers in their own right. All Spanish, all worthy of your team.
Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, Tim Howard - All American goalkeepers. But there’s only one Tim Howard. Gotta go with him and that beard and the fact that the goalkeeping animations in FIFA 15 are modelled after him.
Phil Jagielka - For me, there’s never been much to choose from between Jagielka, Dawson and Lescott. Go with any of those guys and they’ll be solid in the back.
Patrice Evra - I went with Ashley Cole because he has been referred to as one of the best left backs in the world.
Nemanja Vidic - Great defender and Manchester United shouldn’t have let him walk.
Michael Carrick - So underrated in FIFA and his stats show. In real life he’s become the glue that holds the Manchester United midfield together, he needs a huge update in FIFA.
Rafael van der Vaart - Balanced in a lot of areas, multiple positions CAM and CF.
Dirk Kuyt - Versatility, he can pretty much play anywhere and keep going his stamina is insane for his age!
Florent Malouda - an old Chelsea great, I’d keep him in the midfield and play slow attacking football with him.
Mikel Arteta and Darren Fletcher - Arteta is good at coming back and helping the back line. Same as Darren Fletcher but if I’d play Fletcher in the back four! Maybe as a CB / Sweeper, he has great defensive stats.
Robbie Keane - He’s got good finishing, good shot power and long shots. His skill is nice and so is his positioning. He seems like an all round striker.
Didier Drogba - His age is an issue, I don’t know how long you’d get to have him on your team for before he retires, but what a player!
So I'd love to hear what you guys think of my team. It doesn't really fit too well if they played a match in real life, I just wanted to show you guys different players who are near retirement. It usually means you can get them cheaper because of their age, but, they've still got bags of talent to offer. I've got a full list if people want to see it.
And I don’t need to mention Ryan Giggs, playing until he was 40 years old! Scoring in every Premier League season since it was founded in 1992!
Whilst speed may decrease over the years, experience gets better. To my American friends - which I’m sure most of the users on here are - 4th quarter, your team is down by 3 points who do you want at QB? Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Cam Newton, RG3 or Andrew Luck? I’ll take Brady, Manning or Brees any day!
So with all that being said, with all of the articles out there about the best young players in FIFA 15. I want to offer my squad of retiring players in FIFA 15!
Now, it could’ve been easy for me to just choose world superstars. But I also wanted to throw in a few “sleepers” guys who are underrated but have the stats to back it up. Guys who you can get pretty cheap. If I gave you a squad full of world class superstars then you might end up spending 90 million trying to buy them all! Instead, I threw in a few guys who should be pretty cheap to buy. Hence why Agbonlahor is there and Foster.
I really don’t want to go into why I chose each player, it’ll make this thread too long and most players in my team are world class players that most people know about. I’ll pick the “unusual choices”.
Julio Cesar - Brazil’s goalkeeper. I could’ve gone with Iker Casillas or Gianluigi Buffon but Cesar is a good goalkeeper, unlucky in the Premier League, but if Brazil are confident to put him out there, so am I.
Ben Foster - The former Manchester United keeper isn’t fantastic, but his stats are good to make him a sleeper.
Ron Vlaar - Just a solid choice for a defender, I really like him, he’s strong and is just a beast. I hope Manchester United do sign him.
Joleon Lescott - Again, a great defender and Manchester City let him go to West Brom for pretty much nothing!
Michael Dawson - Could put John Terry here, but I like Dawson and I’m sticking with him.
Jermain Defoe and Gabby Agbonlahor - Firstly I really like Defoe and think he’s one of England’s best strikers. He’s not usually a right midfielder but I had to get him in my team somehow because I know he’ll create chances.
Gabby is fast and yes, he’s my lowest rated player, but I got him in my Nott’m Forest team and he actually got up to 82 OVR! That’s 9 points he grew over the course of 2-3 seasons. Once he’s in form, he just can’t stop scoring.
Gareth Barry - I really like midfielders who can comeback and help the back four defenders in case everything goes wrong. I like, in FIFA, to control my defensive midfielders rather than my main four defenders, why? So they keep their shape. Gareth Barry has brilliant defensive stats and that makes him good enough to hold a lead as an off the bench player.
Fernando Torres - Once brilliant, now the forgotten man. He was never the same after injuries. But a leopard doesn’t change it’s spots and once a goalscorer always a goalscorer. I’m prepared to give him a chance in FIFA, in real life though, maybe Robbie Keane or Drogba takes his place!
Captain, Andrea Pirlo - My Quarterback of the team. He can dictate the pace of the game, make beautiful, accurate passes and lead my attack. However, if Paul Scholes were still playing, I’d choose him over Pirlo any day!
Honourable Mentions -
Robert Green - Other than a couple of mistakes back in 2010 for England, he’s a decent keeper.
Gianluigi Buffon - Italy’s shot stopper and one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world today.
Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez, Jose Reina - Three brilliant goalkeepers in their own right. All Spanish, all worthy of your team.
Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, Tim Howard - All American goalkeepers. But there’s only one Tim Howard. Gotta go with him and that beard and the fact that the goalkeeping animations in FIFA 15 are modelled after him.
Phil Jagielka - For me, there’s never been much to choose from between Jagielka, Dawson and Lescott. Go with any of those guys and they’ll be solid in the back.
Patrice Evra - I went with Ashley Cole because he has been referred to as one of the best left backs in the world.
Nemanja Vidic - Great defender and Manchester United shouldn’t have let him walk.
Michael Carrick - So underrated in FIFA and his stats show. In real life he’s become the glue that holds the Manchester United midfield together, he needs a huge update in FIFA.
Rafael van der Vaart - Balanced in a lot of areas, multiple positions CAM and CF.
Dirk Kuyt - Versatility, he can pretty much play anywhere and keep going his stamina is insane for his age!
Florent Malouda - an old Chelsea great, I’d keep him in the midfield and play slow attacking football with him.
Mikel Arteta and Darren Fletcher - Arteta is good at coming back and helping the back line. Same as Darren Fletcher but if I’d play Fletcher in the back four! Maybe as a CB / Sweeper, he has great defensive stats.
Robbie Keane - He’s got good finishing, good shot power and long shots. His skill is nice and so is his positioning. He seems like an all round striker.
Didier Drogba - His age is an issue, I don’t know how long you’d get to have him on your team for before he retires, but what a player!
So I'd love to hear what you guys think of my team. It doesn't really fit too well if they played a match in real life, I just wanted to show you guys different players who are near retirement. It usually means you can get them cheaper because of their age, but, they've still got bags of talent to offer. I've got a full list if people want to see it.
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