So now that I can play World Class pretty confidently, I wanted to try going it again with Arsenal for a long run (more than 3 seasons, which is my record right now).
My first career with FIFA12 was with Arsenal, and I ended up like 4th or 5th in Premier league (which was pretty tough for me at the time on Professional) and everybody (the board) was being really bitchy at me and all my players were whiny and I had enough so when the season got done with I had an offer from Real Madrid to manage there with like a $200mil transfer budget and Sneijder on the team so I jumped ship.
Now i’m better so I thought I’d give it a shot. And I’m trying this Virtual Pro thing out as well, at my real life position (which is Right Fullback, cuz I like to be lazy sometimes but I’m also quick). In FIFA11, I had a good run of a few seasons with Arsenal with players I liked, so I thought I might try to get a few of those players again.
So let’s see how my transfers turned out.
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Outbound (default): Got rid of Almunia and Squillaci right away (for more than they were worth). Also really wanted to get rid of Arshavin, due to I’m not good at skill moves and he’s not good at much else. He went to Manchester City for about $2mil over, which I was happy/satisfied with.
Wingers: Even before I got rid of Arshavin, I signed Lavezzi from Napoli. I had signed him in FIFA11 before I knew anything about him (other than he was an 82 Argentine) and was happy with his eventual superstar status. I liked Lavezzi so much that Napoli is now my second team (after Arsenal) and knew that he was a perfect replacement for Arshavin. $40mil+ for him. Lavezzi and Miyaichi on the left, Walcott and Chamberlain on the right, and Gervinho floating in between took care of my winger situation.
Strikers: Love RVP, so wasn’t gonna touch him. I felt like I wasn’t gonna need more than 3 strikers, so I didn’t pursue any. Park and Chamakh both need playing time IRL so I figured I’d give them more FIFA12 starts.
Defenders: With Verminator and Mertesacker, I have a solid starting middle. Gibbs and Andre Santos are find with me, while on the right I suddenly had a surplus. Along with my new Virtual Pro player-manager, I had Sagna (set with him), Jenkinson (even worse than my new VP) and Hoyte. Both of the youngest defenders went out on loan, as did Miquel. With Squillaci also gone, I only had Kos and Djourou as backup. Went out looking for loan deals, found an awesome 21-year old, Caldirola from Inter at 69. Negotiated a end-of-season transfer fee for pennies, and brought him to London. Am super happy with him so far. Kos almost left for Lille for $17mil on Deadline Day, but I couldn’t sign another favorite defender in time so I had to pass.
Midfielders: Here’s where it gets kinda crazy. Arteta was a favorite from a FIFA11 career with Everton, so I wasn’t doing anything with him (now he’s my joint top scorer with RVP). Ramsey wasn’t performing very well, while Wilshere is wonderful. Ozyakup and Coquelin needed to go on loan, so off they went. I was fine with Frimpong, but I had money to burn and slots to fill so I figured I’d sign somebody a bit better and send him to go build up his strength (loan to West Brom). I immediately started looking for a good midfield option (not too expensive, around $20mil that I had left over after Lavezzi). Finally settled on Milner (lots of variety), Flamini (ex-Arsenal player, great work ethic) and Sven Bender (BVB, fav. from FIFA11). It was around this time that PSG came sniffing around for Song, eventually ending up at $27mil. I figured, I might just go for it, so I sold him off and bought Flamini and Bender. So with all my different options for midfield configurations and plethora of experienced players itching for time on the pitch, I decided to send Ramsey off on loan (Bolton, which is really funny) and brought in Stuart Holden from Bolton (see why it’s funny? and now Ramsey gets a starting position). And then i started on an American kick, tried to sign Brek Shea from Dallas (didn’t work) and Diskeruud from somewhere in Norway (which did). My loan try for Diskeruud didn’t pan out, but he’s getting enough playing time anyway, cuz he’s a 70 which was not at all bad.
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Turnout: Season’s going well so far, and I have lots of money left over for scouting and more transfers later in the season (which i won’t need unless somebody gets bitchy and leaves).
![smalltimegenius:
Here’s the deal, Pep Guardiola should stick to what he knows. Lionel Messi is not the Michael Jordan of his sport, to hear this from anyone, either fan or Ex-Futbol player is ridiculous to me.Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest and most dominant player to play his sport, he dominated offensively and defensively and won 6 championships by taking a team that had won nothing until he came along. Lionel Messi plays for a team that has been great years before he came along and will be great years after his departure. Grant it, this is the way the sport has always been, but nonetheless for this same reason comparing him to Michael Jordan becomes more and more ludicrous when making that statement. Leonel Messi is arguably the best offensive player in his sport now, but in my opinion he is hardly greater than Mardona, Pele, or Zidane… and anyone that believes otherwise within this sport needs to go back and check their history… and if they still feel this way afterwards they really ought to have their head examined…No offense and no apologies with this statement.So please, people, enough of this greatest ever talk… Save it for the day he is able carry his national team to a world championship, but until than he is no Michael Jordan.
While I feel that the above statement is a little harsh, I have been attempting to reconcile my feelings about such news articles which compare soccer players as to who was the greatest of all time.
My feeling of Messi as the greatest is that I think we need to wait until he matures. Will he stay with Barca for the rest of his career? Most likely. Does Barca field a team of all-stars and of potential to be international champions who mesh very well with the style of soccer that Messi embodies? Most certainly. Is he the greatest player to ever play the sport? Speaking as an outsider (an American, who loves all soccer/football of any kind, and from any time, but who has fairly limited first-hand knowledge of the exploits of previous greats), I would say that Messi is up there, but not the gone-and-away champion.
You’ve got your Di Stefano’s, your Maradona’s, your Pele’s, your Zidane’s, your Henry’s. There are geniuses across the globe who have gone unrecognized, but of the same material and talent as these legends, and there are probably a few Messi’s as well. Lionel’s record over his career is astonishing and really good, but I would like to see him communicate his dominance (as the original poster put it) across all aspects of his play. So yeah, that means contributing to the glory of a national team accomplishment. Win a World Cup, and Messi will have no detractors, but still there’s an issue that bugs me.
Comparing Messi to Jordan is difficult and tenuous. Winning a World Cup is harder than nabbing an NBA title, I’ll concede (the pool for talent and management is far larger and has had time to evolve, when compared to professional basketball’s primary focus in North America). And like Messi’s situation, there is contention for greatest basketball player of all time; you’ve got your Kareem’s, your Dr. J’s, your Magic’s, your Jordan’s, even your Kobe’s, and many more. But I’m going to come to the point that I want to make here.
Why you can’t compare Messi to Michael Jordan (3 small reasons and 1 big one):
League Competition: Barcelona has 1 serious rival in its league, and regularly wins Spanish titles, though not consecutively. It’s real show of force is Champions League success, which has been quite impressive. However, the NBA is a much more challenging (in terms of #’s of top teams) league, which may have dynasties, but rarely do those runs of form last for decades, and they cannot do so with an unlimited budget (hello salary caps). The Lakers have been kings of the NBA since the Jordan era, and are in fairly serious decline. Furthermore, there is more variability in terms of team performance over years. The Bulls have dipped considerably since the Jordan era, but are now back on top after a decade. The Oklahoma City Thunder (when did that team start up, btw?) is top of their conference, in front of Spurs and both LA teams. So big NBA teams rarely hold steam for extended periods.
Team contribution: Is Messi the leading scorer for Barcelona? Probably. But is he the most influential player on the field? I would say that he is not, for he is joined by not only a World Class defensive line, but the combination of Xavi (my vote for Barcelona’s key man) and Iniesta. And then throw in the top-scoring Spanish striker in David Villa, and how significantly influential can one man be? Messi is great, but he’s also surrounded by greats. When Jordan joined the Bulls, he became a mega-star and lifted that team to greatness all by himself. They changed their whole strategy to fit him for the first few seasons, and he eventually blossomed into an outstanding team player, as well as a key defensive man.
Competitive attitude: A lot of attention was placed on the Miami Heat last year, due to the choice of one LeBron James to join up with the Dynamic Duo of Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. A lethal combination of 3 of the best players in the league was something to fear, but I recall a comment on the entire dramatic scenario, which went something like “Jordan wouldn’t have joined up with Magic Johnson and [insert top player here]. Those were the guys that he wanted to beat.“ It’s a powerful commentary on the current attitude of certain superstar players, and it touched something powerful in me. From my perception of Jordan, it’s completely true to his way of thinking about the game. He wanted to be the best and compete against the best. If Messi went to some other no-name team and brought that team to the Champions League multiple times and won? No question he would be the best. Hands down. Again, this isn’t a bashing on Lionel and I recognize that such a simplification is irrational and I would think he’d be an idiot to do such a thing. But imagine if it worked?
Road to success: This is my pitch right here, my overall hypothetical requirement scenario. Take Messi as he is now. Put him on any team you want (even Barca), and make him the key standout player. Messi then leads that team to 3 successive years of championships (I don’t care which, but significant trophies). Give him all the praise and trophies and international accolades you can. Then, his Messi’s father is murdered. Lionel, emotionally crushed, then decides he wants to change his life, and retire to pursue a career in tennis. The greatest soccer player in the world, leaving the greatest team in the world. Biggest news story of the decade. He plays at a semi-pro level for a few years, then decides that he misses the football pitch a little too much. Then have him return to his former club, which has fallen on hard time since his absence (no trophies of any kind for 2 years) and has had to trade (not sell for a big cash bonus) all of the best players that helped win them those trophies. Messi, the god of soccer, has returned, and duplicates his feat of gifting his team with another 3 years of glory and championship. All the while winning international praise. That’s Michael Jordan, and that’s what he represents.
That’s why you can’t compare Lionel Messi to Michael Jordan.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m181p0TeXe1qb6l70o1_400.png)
