FIFA 17: Sevilla Career Mode guide

After three Europa League titles on the spin, there is no question that Sevilla are swiftly closing the gap between themselves and the La Liga front three of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Those victories have made them a fully fledged force in Europe, and after finally cracking the Champions League nut, they will be licking their lips at facing the miserably out of form Leicester City in the last 16.

With a well-balanced squad that can match up to most in Europe, no one will fancy travelling to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, with Sevilla seeing off the likes of Liverpool, Fiorentina, Napoli and Porto in recent seasons. Their challenge now is to hunt down the top sides in La Liga, and with Atletico Madrid stumbling this season, Los Rojiblancos have taken their chance, and currently lie in third position, just one point behind Barcelona and four away from Real Madrid at the top of the table. Anything they now achieve in Europe is a bonus, but regular knockout football in the Champions League is the long term aim. With a side firmly on the up, Sevilla are a great side to manage on FIFA 17’s Career Mode, so let RealSport run you through all there is to know about taking over the Andalusians.

How you should lineup

Current Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli has enjoyed using three at the back this season, but it is always a risky system to play with on FIFA. We suggest using a more accustomed 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 to provide more balance to your side.

In goal, on loan PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu is the first choice, but with Sergio Rico just one overall point behind him, it will only be a matter of time before Rico becomes your first choice, with the Spaniard holding a potential of 86.

The back four consists of Mariano, Adil Rami, Daniel Carriço and Benoit Tremoulinas, with an all 82-rated midfield and attack in front of them.

Steven N’Zonzi and Vicente Iborra sit in holding midfield, with Vitolo, Michael Krohn-Dehli and Samir Nasri the attacking three behind striker Franco Vazquez.

On the bench, you will want Sergio Rico, Timothee Kolodziejczak, Gabriel Mercado, Michael Kranevitter, Ganso, Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder.

The Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £29 million

Starting wage budget: £53,000

Who should go

With a squad of 28 players, you don’t want to be letting a barrel load of players leave Seville, but with the standards at the club dramatically improving over the last few seasons, you need to identify which players will not reach the Sevilla standard. 19-year-old goalkeeper Javi Diaz is rated at 60 with a potential of 72, so you can certainly afford to let him leave the club, especially with three goalkeepers above him in the pecking order. You should look to collect around £150,000 for the Spaniard.

It’s a similar situation for 18-year-old Amo, who, with a rating of 63, is the fifth choice centre back at the club. With Eliseo Falcon showing a greater potential of 75 as opposed to Amo’s 73, he is the one who should stay at the club. Amo should fetch you £300,000 in the transfer market.

What the team needs

£29 million will not get you very far, especially with Sevilla now needing players of the highest order to take them to the next level. You need to aim to get at least £6 million winnings from your pre-season tournament, to take you up to the £35 million mark.

Even with that extra bit of cash, you will still struggle to find two players to come into your first team, but you can at least concentrate in bringing in a new right back. You do want to be keeping some of your kitty back for the January transfer window, so perhaps look at using less than £20 million if you can. Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner is exactly what you will be looking for, with the right back rated at 83 with a cost of just £13 million. The Swiss international has 88 stamina, 84 aggression and 83 sprint speed, with his wages coming in at £65,000.

Alternatives:

–       Juanfran – Atletico Madrid, Age 31, OVR 83, POT 83, Cost: £18 million, Wage: £65,000

–       Bacary Sagna – Manchester City, Age 33, OVR 82, POT 82, Cost: £10 million, Wage: £43,000

–       Pablo Zabaleta – Manchester City, Age 31, OVR 82, POT 81, Cost: £12 million, Wage: £65,000

–       Lukasz Piszczek – Borussia Dortmund, Age 31, OVR 82, POT 82, Cost: £16 million, Wage: £65,000

–       Mario Fernandes – CSKA Moscow, Age 25, OVR 80, POT 83, Cost: £20 million, Wage: £43,000

–       Oscar de Marcos – Athletic Bilbao, Age 27, OVR 81, POT 82, Cost: £20 million, Wage: £58,000

In January, you should look to target a left back or striker, with Leighton Baines, Ricardo Rodriguez, Filipe Luis, Jonas, Aritz Aduriz, Olivier Giroud and Javier Hernandez all possible options.

Loans

With a healthy sized squad at the moment, there isn’t a massive need to send any more players out on loan, with three men already on a loan spell away from Sevilla for the season. Two names could be sent away, with one being centre back Eilseo Falcon. If you sell Jose Amo, Falcon will be your fifth choice centre back, but with other players able to fill in there, he is unlikely to get any game time all season, even with injuries. Send the 19-year-old out on loan for a season or two, and by the time he returns he could be in contention for some first team minutes.

Striker Carlos Fernandez is another possible option, but with the forward only one of three out-and-out striking options, maybe only send him on a short-term loan to see how you cope. If you still don’t need him in January, you can then send him away for the rest of the season.

Contracts

Four men have contracts up at the end of the season, but you will want to renew three of them. Michael Krohn-Dehli and Benoit Tremoulinas will be regular starters for you, so you will want to keep them at the club for the next two seasons at least. Eliseo Falcon’s potential is only 75, but there would be no harm in giving him a new contract, as if you do decide to sell him the following season, at least his transfer price will go up. As for Javi Diaz, there is no need for the goalkeeper at the club, so if you cannot sell him, just allow him to leave at the end of the season.

Managerial Objectives

Sevilla’s managerial objectives are what you would expect, with long term success the priority. Your financial objectives are ‘critical’ and you may be asked to reduce your player wages by close to £50,000 over the season, and over the space of three seasons, increase the value of the club by 20 percent. So here you will need to trim the squad, negotiate new deals, and maintain the performances on the pitch, as well as remaining in profit.

For your domestic target, you will be asked to finish in a ‘Champions Cup’ place (top four) and reach the last 16 of the domestic cup. Your youth development could harm this however, as you may need to sign three players under the age of 20 with potentials higher than the current squad average, and within three seasons grow ten youth squad players who have a potential over 75 by ten overall points.

Moving on to brand exposure, it is quite likely that you will need to make some money from shirt sales over the season, which can be achieved by bringing in big names, winning regularly and scoring frequently. Lastly, your continental target will be to qualify for the ‘Euro League’, meaning that you will need to finish at least third in your Champions Cup group.

Maintain the success, or hit the next level?

Those managerial objectives make a lot of sense, but they will damage your hopes of achieving something special in your first season in charge of Sevilla. Signing those three young, high potential players will rule out the ability to bring in any players for the first team, but should stand you in good stead over the seasons to come.

In La Liga, fourth has to be the minimum target regardless of what squad you have, and if any of the big three sides slip up, you must take advantage. Given Sevilla’s success in the Europa League, it’s not really a massive surprise that you haven’t been given a ‘Champions Cup’ target, but remember more money will be on offer if you reach the knockout stages, which you will be in serious need for. If you keep your finances under control from the get go, you could give yourself a chance of finishing the season strong, but you get the sense with Sevilla that this is a long-term project, and your first campaign will be more about keeping the ball rolling rather than upsetting the La Liga applecart. However, with the likes of Sergio Ramos and Dani Alves coming through the club this century, if the timing is right, they can follow Atletico Madrid’s lead and catch the Spanish frontrunners.

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