For many people, the ultimate aim of the new FIFA 21 game is to dominate the career mode and create the best possible dynasty that they can. This is the main draw for a lot of those who buy the game, and those who take part will often play in very different ways.
So how do you go about picking which way you want to play this game, and how do you pick out the team you want to be?
This is a two-step process, choosing the type of game you want to be followed by the team you want to be which matches the game type. Here we will talk you through both parts of this, hopefully enabling you to move forward with a team and a game type that you are happy with.
If you get this right, you should find yourself with a long and successful game with that team, hopefully achieving everything you originally set out to do.
Step 1 – The Type of Game
It is important to work out what type of game you want on FIFA 21 career mode before you even start to consider the teams on offer. Do you want to start in one of the top leagues and dominate things? Therefore, you need to be looking at teams such as Liverpool, Manchester City and others around Europe.
Or do you want to take a good team to glory, someone who hasn’t lifted a trophy for a few seasons, someone like Tottenham or Manchester United would be perfect for that.
Then there is the option to play with someone lower down. This could be a team at the bottom of one of the top leagues, someone like Burnley, Southampton or Crystal Palace would be good options for the Premier League in this case.
Lastly, you can decide to go even further down and give yourself a really long project. This is to go with a team from one of the lower leagues and try to gradually bring them through the ranks and take on the big boys in years to come.
There will be many thoughts here and people will have different opinions on how to play the game. Whether it’s a team already on top or someone at the very bottom of the ladder, do what you want to do so that you can get the most possible enjoyment from the game.
Step 2 – The Team
The second step is where you choose your team, and we are going to break this down into two sections. The first is for those who are thinking about choosing their own team, while the second is a general section offering help when it comes to choosing your team.
Should You Play as Your Own Team?
This is certainly the dream game for many people, taking the team they love to the top and enjoying the glory that brings.
There are advantages to playing with your own team, you will feel comfortable doing so, know the players who are at the club and have very clear thoughts on where they need to improve. All of this information can be used during your game, so it does make sense that many will choose their own club as a starting point in career mode.
Who Else to Choose?
If you don’t want to play as your own team then there are many other teams to choose from, all based on the type of game you want which is a question you answered during step one of this process.
Even if teams are in the same position and your aim is the same with them in the game, they can still be set up very differently. This is what you need to look at and decide which path you want to take.
For example, if you are looking at a Premier League team who you want to play with and challenge the big two in the league then you will be looking at Tottenham and Chelsea as two possible teams to play with.
However, they are set up very differently. Chelsea offer a bigger budget and they also have several younger players who still have time to develop and push you forward. This puts you in a position where you can challenge down the line, you can buy more young players to add to those already at the club and set yourself a target of being at the top in three or four years.
Tottenham on the other hand have a team that is very much ready now, their players are generally not too young, and you need to be looking at an immediate challenge with them. For this reason, you should probably look to add more experience and get your squad ready to try and win the Premier League over the next year or two.
These would make for two very different games, despite being two teams in the same league that have the same expectations on them.
If you are looking further down the leagues, budget becomes even more important. If you want to take a team from the bottom up to the top then do you want to do this the hard way with limited funds or the easy way by choosing a team that has strong financial power over others in their league?
Both could lead to fascinating stories where you triumph and lead a team up the divisions, but both will take you on very different paths.
Look at the squad makeup, where you can find the length of your challenge based on what you have right now, and look at budgets to see what spending power you have. Both of these can help determine your path, and both are the most important areas to focus on when choosing your team if you decide against being the team you support.