FC 25 97 Futties Ze Roberto Player Review!
Pink Cards. Cracked Stats. With the Final Countdown playing in the background… The end is near for this year's Ultimate Team cycle as Futties are officially here. Quite a lot to unpack with this year's squad and corresponding Heroes/ICONs with Playstyles and Statistics galore… Not to mention a couple of solid EVOs and SBCs to kick off the excitement. I personally can not wait to come up against Micky van de Ven 9 out of every 10 matches for the remainder of the year and look forward to completing him shortly myself.
The selection process for this weekend's review was a tedious one given the large array of options… But I couldn’t be happier with the fact that we settled on Futties Hero Zé Roberto… Absolutely zero to do with the fact that the card seemed fantastic and would add to my success this weekend, and everything to do with the fact that I loved the Winter Wildcard SBC version that was in my squad forever and couldn’t wait to welcome him back. The versatility of Zé Roberto offers so many options to deploy the Brazilian and I hoped to see a lot of that well-rounded game in my test run.
I really could have gone for a multi-position review this weekend but the lack of ANTICIPATE or BRUISER along with some of the recent EVOs really made me lean towards a strictly offensive test run. The 4-2-1-3 formation then narrowed Zé Roberto’s flexibility to a LW focused review and into the MARKSMAN Chemistry Style. In the end I would venture to guess that any Managers wanting Zé Roberto at left back would be looking at him for offensive contributions as well and hopefully we can shine some light on what you are getting with the Brazilian on the ball in attack. With that, we were all set to see if Zé Roberto could reclaim his spot in the starting 11 alongside the following squad:
Rating: 8/10
Unfortunately, I do not think, in fact I know, that this version of Zé Roberto is not going to be the mainstay that the Winter Wildcard was earlier in the year. The best way that I can summarize this review would be to point out that Winter Wildcard Zé Roberto was one of the best cards in the game at the time in both attack and defense… Pacey, TECHNICAL Plus, cannon of a shot, and generally one of the better left backs in the game with high stamina and good strength. The Futties version of Zé Roberto is the complete opposite and simply lacks things that other cards in those positions give you… Lack of 5 STAR WEAK FOOT, TRIVELA, TIKI TAKA and as previously mentioned some of the key defensive Playstyles. Don’t get me wrong there was still upside, but simply not compared to what is out there.
Main Statistic - Dribbling
Pace Rating: 10/10
Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Skills: ★★★★★
PlayStyles: RAPID Plus, FIRST TOUCH Plus, TRICKSTER Plus, Technical, Flair, Relentless
One thing that Zé Roberto does not lack in the slightest is Pace. I am not sure the word rapid does this card justice and there were certainly some frustrated Theo Hernandez users in this short review. There was a moment where I considered the DEADEYE Chemistry Style to get the CONTROLLED EXPLOSIVE AcceleRATE, but opted for the benefits of the MARKSMAN and honestly noticed zero issues with the 99 ACCELERATION. The L1 dribbling boost was in full effect and the ability to stop immediately and reapply that movement was incredibly effective given how responsive Zé Roberto was on the ball.
The FIRST TOUCH Plus on the wings was effective at countering those Managers deploying a heavy press and more often than not allowed me to keep possession and begin moving into attack. I can imagine that the TRICKSTER Plus and 5 STAR SKILLS combination on a card that is moving this quickly would be a complete nightmare to contain. It was clear that Zé Roberto was more than capable of creating space as an attacker and for those that would be looking for an attacking full back you would be 100% getting what you want.
Value/Coins
Value/Coins: 3/5
Again this is not to say that Zé Roberto was not solid… the 15 goal contributions in 5 matches is proof that you can get production from this card and cause opponents issues. However, it feels to me like the 1.5 million coin price tag (as of this writing and even if it falls significantly) has more to do with the potential for versatility than actual top end quality in those positions. Currently there are a large selection of wingers, midfielders, and defenders that I would prefer over Zé Roberto for 1.5 million, there are just not many who can play all three positions so proficiently.
Good vs. Bad
Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5
Weird positive here, but I stand by it…
+ Given his Pace and Defending statistics it is clear that Zé Roberto would be a solid left back. Would he be much better with added Playstyles? Yes. But would he still be a difficult task to beat? Yes. The card is just so quick and agile with the RAPID Plus creating solid cover if you went that route, which would then lead to benefitting from an effective attacking full back.
But it is the negatives that really killed the “Winter Wildcard Zé Roberto is back” vibes for me…
- If you read my Doku review (and I have used him even more since) there is a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT in disguise on that card, but with Zé Roberto it was simply a 4 STAR WEAK FOOT. Even more difficult is the lack of LOW DRIVEN and especially the lack of TRIVELA when playing a left footer down the left wing. With that much Pace and Dribbling ability there were a lot of chances that I created that never ended up in the statistics column due to saved efforts that you would expect a 99 FINISHING/99 SHOT POWER card to score.
- The 4 assists with Zé Roberto were more “this card is really fast and can create open net opportunities for tap ins” then “wow the 98 SHORT PASSING is insane.” Again you have to point out that the 96 CROSSING & WHIPPED PASS on a wingback would be a nice combination for those playing Zé Roberto at left back, but you will have to do without LONG BALL PASS or PINGED PASS playing from the back.
Closing Words
There were times in this review where I put defenders in the spin cycle with Zé Roberto and was enjoying myself to the nth degree. There were also times that those moments did not end in a goal due to Zé Roberto’s Shooting ability and despite the miss I would just repeat that process until I actually did get a goal and those are the clips you see in the highlights. In the end there are cards that can match how fantastic Zé Roberto felt on the ball that then finish those chances and that all but ends the attacking experiment for me. Similarly there are rapid defenders that have bigger body types or at least better suited Playstyles to consistently win back possession. Again, Zé Roberto is still a great card and will deliver quality regardless of where you play him… but in the end felt to me like a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Hoping you are well. Cheers for reading.
SOURCE: FUTBIN
