With Fifa 21 launching early last month, fans are preparing themselves for a month of lockdown to sit down and really put some time aside for the latest title in EA’s flagship franchise. With the footballing world proving to be especially volatile this year with its empty stadiums and congested fixture list, there’s never been a backdrop to steering your favourite clubs to glory in the best football simulator out there.
Here are some of the most exciting teams currently in Fifa 21, with the potential to provide the most fun and unique challenges possible.
Chelsea
After a summer transfer window that saw superstars such as Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Tiago Silva and Kai Havertz, Frank Lampard and Chelsea are in the midst of a bit of an identity crisis. An FA Cup final appearance and a top four finish marked a good enough, if slightly unspectacular, debut season for Lampard in the dugout, with the Englishman winning plaudits for giving time to some of the club’s most promising youngsters.
Managing expectations is the number one task for Frank Lampard this season, and it will be a similar story for any players who take the reins for the side in Fifa 21. Whether they decide to go all in with Chelsea’s superstar programme or invest more into their youth academies, one thing is certain about the club and how it’s run from above: managers who don’t win, don’t get long in the dugout.
Real Sociedad
In a league that has been dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona for as long as anyone can remember, taking control of any side with aspirations of claiming silverware could prove to be a real daunting challenge.
The 2019-20 season was a really successful one for Real Sociedad, surprising the odds as they finished in the Europa League spots and made it all the way to a Copa del Rey final. Imanol Alguacil’s side play beautiful, attacking football but has really established a legacy around utilising young players from the Basque region. Whilst they are not as rigid as Athletic Bilbao, the Basque region is one of the most unique and independent parts of the football world and this rivalry is one of the most underappreciated matches in Europe. It could certainly add a different dimension and a new challenge to how a player handles a career mode in the game.
Sociedad have every chance of becoming the next big thing in Spain, and steering the club through their first European adventure in some time could make for a tantalizing prospect.
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund last won a Bundesliga title in 2012. Jurgen Klopp was the manager, Sebastian Kehl was the captain and Robert Lewandowski was donning the black and yellow of Dortmund rather than the red of Munich. Since then, Dortmund have become known as the world’s most infamous ‘nearly men’, bringing through some of the most talented and acclaimed young players in the world, but falling short of the grand prizes year after year.
However, one look at the real world odds and Fifa betting markets for the team will indicate the player potential Dortmund possess this year. The likes of Erling Braut Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt and Jude Bellingham are the latest crop of potential world class superstars to build a team around, and the likes of Mats Hummels, Thomas Delaney, Marco Reus and Thomas Meunier have all come into the side to add the kind of steeliness missing at Signal Iduna Park over the years.
There are no more excuses for Dortmund to hide behind, it’s time for the Black and Yellow to establish a legacy in Germany of their own.