FIFA 19: Juventus Career Mode Guide, Tactics, Formations & Tips

Juventus may just be the favourites for the Champions League this season following the £99 million move of perhaps the greatest player on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo. With the big sides around Europe struggling with consistency and the ability to juggle European and domestic action, all signs point towards it being Juve’s year.

Quality is all over the pitch with Juve and they can afford to rotate with some useful players coming in. The bottom half of Serie A is weak, allowing you to rest up your star players and keep them fresh for the big clashes against the likes of Napoli, Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan and Roma as well as the European ties.

RealSport gives you all there is to know as you set up with the Old Lady on FIFA 19’s Career Mode. 

Team Rating

Juventus receive a five star rating on FIFA 19 which consists of an 88 attack, 84 midfield and 85 defence, making them the best team on the game.

Formation

Juventus’s current formation may be a 4-3-3, but you could be tempted to revert back to one of their previous systems, go for a 3-4-3 flat. 4-2-3-1 wide or a 5-2-3 can also be used.

Wojciech Szczesny wins the battle of the goalkeepers with a solid back three consisting of Medhi Benatia, Leonardo Bonucci and defensive wall Giorgio Chiellini (94 marking). 

Juan Cuadrado and the motoring Alex Sandro (92 stamina) are in the wide midfield positions, with playmaker Miralem Pjanic (89 short passing) and World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi in the middle.

The explosive Paulo Dybala (91 agility) and Douglas Costa flank the deadly Cristiano Ronaldo (94 finishing) in attack.

On the bench, go for Mattia Perin, Andrea Barzagli, Joao Cancelo, Sami Khedira, Emre Can, Federico Bernardeschi and Mario Mandzukic.

Tactics and instructions

Changing the formation means you almost have to start from scratch with your tactics, with the players keeping their shape much more important in a 3-4-3 system.

You should head to the tactics screen and switch the defensive style to balanced or press on heavy touch as you will get caught out if you stick with press after possession loss. Offensively your style should be balanced or fast build up, as you do not have enough numbers in central midfield to play possession.

Of course, your kingpin is Cristiano Ronaldo (95 jumping). The striker can score all sorts of goals, but is most prolific in the air on FIFA 19, so look to get the ball out wide and whip balls into the Portuguese. With two sets of wide players, this shouldn’t be a problem,

You may only have two midfielders, but with a lot of your opponents likely to sit deep, Miralem Pjanic (89 ball control) and Blaise Matuidi can still run the game for you. Use them to dictate the tempo, and either spread the ball wide or play into the feet of the attackers. Ronaldo (93 long shots) and Paulo Dybala (88 long shots) only need a sniff to test the goalkeeper.

For your instructions, a lot needs to be done. Blaise Matuidi (86 interceptions) is the backbone of the midfield, and he will be the man to win the ball in the middle of the park. To make sure you have enough players covering, make sure his attacking support is changed to ‘stay back while attacking’. You may wish to do the same for Miralem Pjanic for the defensive mentalities. 

Paulo Dybala has only recently moved to the flank, and he is certainly more dangerous when coming inside and picking up the ball on the edge of the box. His chance creation should be altered to either ‘free roam’ or 'cut inside'. 

Let’s be honest, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t defend. Whether you play him up front or on the wing, you want him high up the pitch so switch his defensive support to ‘stay forward’.

Lastly, Douglas Costa (97 acceleration) is your speed outlet, and to make the most of this his support runs should be ‘get in behind’. He can then look to square the ball for Ronaldo or Dybala to finish. 

Training

Training should not be overlooked, giving you the chance to improve your players outside of matches. Use players with high growth, as shown by the green icon, which includes Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, Mattia Perin, Federico Bernardeschi, Joao Cancelo and Emre Can at Juventus. 

The Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £102 million

Starting wage budget: £276,000 a week

Who should go

Juventus have a very small squad, consisting of just 25 players so you cannot afford to let any outfielders go. With such a gulf in class between first team goalkeepers Wojciech Szczesny & Mattia Perin and reserve Carlo Pinsoglio, you should let the 28-year-old Italian go. Pinsoglio should collect you around £1 million with wages of £38,000 a week. 

Who to sign

New transfer budget: £103 million

New wage budget: £314,000 a week

New right back

If you don’t want to play a back three, then you should look to bring in a new right back to come in ahead of Joao Cancelo. The Portuguese has a bright future with an 88 potential, but his 82 overall makes him the weakest player in the starting lineup

You only need a defender for around two seasons, so it makes sense to go for the experienced Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard is one of only a handful of world class players at Chelsea, and should cost around £43 million with wages of £154,000 a week. Stats of 90 standing tackle, 89 interceptions and 88 marking take his overall to 86, and he is also capable of playing centre back in a defensive trio.

Alternative options

Left back/wing-back understudy

Alex Sandro is a quality option at left back or wing-back, but beyond him, Juve are short of options with the right-footed Mattia De Sciglio, underwhelming Leonardo Spinazzola and teenager Pietro Beruatto all waiting in the wings.

Valencia’s Jose Gaya would add reliable depth to the position, and is young enough at 23 to challenge for the position once Sandro has passed his peak. Another Spanish international, Gaya has attributes of 87 sprint speed, 86 acceleration and 83 balance to take his overall to 80, which can rise to a potential of 85. He will set you back around £24 million with wages of £29,000 a week. 

Alternative options

Contracts

Juventus have been very good tying their players to long-term contracts, with the only player out of contract at the club being Andrea Barzagli. At the age of 37, he is likely to be retiring at the end of the season, but even if he doesn’t his overall will drop dramatically so allow him to leave the club for free. 

Managerial objectives

It won’t surprise you that Juventus are eying three trophies this season. Your domestic success goal requires you to win both Serie A and the Coppa Nazionale, with the Champions League also expected for continental success.

Brand exposure has a critical importance, and for this you will need to earn £176 million shirt sales over the season. With CR7 shirts flying off the shelves, this should be no problem at all. 

Youth development is the only other objective you need to worry about, and here you must sign a player from the youth academy and play them in half of the matches next season. Get your scouts out early to give yourself the best chance of completing this. 

Go all the way in Europe

Juventus have the quality, but if a couple of injuries creep in you could be in trouble. Not because there aren’t reliable replacements, it’s that they lack numbers in the squad. It is then vital that you not only bring in some talent, but rotate your squad to keep your big names fresh.

If you start the Serie A campaign well (Juventus have won 17 and drawn two of their opening 19 games), that should free you up to focus on the cup competitions. The Champions League is the ultimate, and with Ronaldo leading the line you should still be able to pick up victories if not playing at your best. 

It’s been over 20 years since they last claimed the European Cup, and it’s a about time that changed. 

Full Juventus player ratings