- When it comes to replicating the experience of being a football manager,
no game does that better than, well, Football Manager.
For years, the addictive series has offered the definitive managerial experience
like no other. The closest you can get to it on FIFA is the Career Mode, but
this doesn’t go into anywhere as near as much depth.
However, EA Sports is promising big changes that should revamp the Career Mode experience this year.
Here are the ways we think FIFA 21’s Career Mode is going to be a bit
more like Football Manager. Interactive Match Sim.
One of the most significant additions to the Career Mode on FIFA 21 will be the
Interactive Match Sim. Instead of simulating the match
and skipping straight to the result like on FIFA 20,
the Interactive Match Sim will let players monitor the action via a top-down view of the
pitch that’s highly reminiscent of the classic Football Manager view.
Like FM, you’ll be able to keep track of your players’ performance
and fitness, as well as tweaking your formation
and tactics and making substitutions to influence the game.
The Interactive Match Sim should make it all much more viable to simply act
as the manager of the team if that’s all you want to do.
There’s an added bonus, though,
because you’ll also have the option to hop in
and out of the match at any time to directly take charge of the action,
something you can’t do on Football Manager.
More Realistic Transfers. Playing the transfer market on
FIFA’s Career Mode is typically much simpler than on Football Manager.
Provided you have the funds to afford the transfer fee and wages,
you can more or less sign any player to any team on FIFA,
which is great if you want to see
whether Lionel Messi really can hack it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke.
You’ll still be able to do that on FIFA 21 if you wish,
but you’ll also have the option to set your transfer negotiations to “strict,”
which should make buying and selling players more realistic,
akin to the way they work on Football Manager.
For example, star players will be less inclined to join teams
or divisions beneath their station, or agree a move if they’ll be playing a lesser role
that means they’ll often be on the bench rather than on the pitch.
EA is also adding some long overdue options when it comes to loan moves.
On FIFA 21, you’ll be able to negotiate loans
that include offers or obligations to buy, just like on FM.
Position Conversion.
Among the new features available to managers on FIFA 21’s Career Mode
is the ability to retrain players to be able to play in new positions.
Need a centre-back but don’t have the funds?
Just convert a midfielder or a full-back, and the gap in your team is filled
without you having to spend a penny.
Have a full-back who excels in going forward but isn’t the best defensively?
Turn him into a winger, and you could have the next Gareth Bale on your hands.
This has long been an option on Football Manager,
and being able to do so on FIFA will open up a multitude of possibilities
when you’re building your squad.
Schedule Planning. Managing your squad’s fitness is crucial on Football Manager
if you want your players operating at peak performance.
On FIFA 20, there isn’t much you can do to keep on top of your players’ fitness levels
aside from leaving them out of the team,
but if you rotate them too much, they can quickly become unhappy at a lack of game time.
FIFA 21 will give you much more control over your squad’s activity in between matches,
whether they’re training, focusing on recovery or completely resting by having a day off.
Achieving the right balance will be vital to keeping up their fitness
and morale as well as their Match Sharpness,
a new metric on FIFA 21’s Career Mode that can enhance or diminish your players’ attributes.
Whether you want to keep things simple like on previous FIFAs
or dive into the nitty-gritty of scheduling every day of your team’s season like in Football Manager,
you’ll have the option on FIFA 21.
Training.
Training was introduced on FIFA 16 as an effective way of shaping
and managing your players’ progression towards their potential,
but it hasn’t changed much since then.
EA Sports has revamped training on FIFA 21, though.
Whereas in past titles you could only train up to five players once a week, on FIFA 21,
you can train up to 15 members of your squad on each training day,
bringing it more in line with the team training you can do on Football Manager.
With the new schedule options, you can also have your players train much more frequently than before,
but it’s important to remember that overworking them could hamper their fitness and morale.
As with the Interactive Match Sim, where FIFA 21 will differ from Football Manager
is the ability to have a direct impact on how your players perform.
While you can simulate training, by personally playing each drill, you can control the results
and how much sharpness your players will derive from each session,
so you should get the best of both worlds when it comes to managing and playing.
Are you excited for the Career Mode on FIFA 21? Let us know in the comments below.