Since the dominance of Juventus began in 2012, the other Italian clubs haven’t had a look in on silverware. Lazio did manage to steal a Coppa Italia in 2013, just their eighth major domestic trophy in their history.
But this season, times could be changing. Lazio are sitting in fourth place in Serie A as they look to return to the Champions League for the first time in three years and find themselves in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia.
Can you get I Biancocelesti to that next level in FIFA 18’s Career Mode? It’s a big club, but often overshadowed by the Italian heavyweights, so if you're looking for a challenge, Lazio could be the club for you.
Team Rating
Lazio have a 4 ½ star rating on FIFA 18, which reflects their 80 overall. This consists of an 81 attacking, 79 midfield and 80 defence.
Formation
Deciding which system to play at Lazio is a tough call. They currently lineup in an unconventional 3-5-1-1 which you could stick with, but for simplicity we have gone for a 4-3-3 attack.
Thomas Strakosha is in goal, as Dusan Basta, Stefan De Vrij, Stefan Radu and Senad Lulic make up the back four.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Marco Parolo are just behind Luis Alberto in the midfield three, and Felipe Anderson and Nani flank Ciro Immobile in attack.
On the bench go for Federico Marchetti, Bastos, Martin Caceres, Lucas Leiva, Jordan Lukaku, Filip Dordevic and Felipe Caicedo.
Tactics
With useful wide players, you should look to spread the ball out to Nani (92 agility) and Felipe Anderson (94 acceleration). Look to use their skills and then play the ball into star striker Ciro Immobile (89 finishing), who doesn’t need to be asked twice in front of goal.
Your midfield trio of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (86 ball control), Marco Parolo (86 long shots) and Luis Alberto (86 vision) should have the tools to unlock the defence when the build-up slows down.
Training
Training your squad allows you to improve your players, especially those who do not start every week. To make the most out of your time, use the high growth players which include Luis Alberto, Felipe Anderson, Jordan Lukaku, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Stefan De Vrij and Bastos at Lazio.
The Transfer Market
Starting transfer budget: £17 million
Starting wage budget: £133,000 a week
Who should go
Lazio need to be closing the gap between themselves and six-time defending Serie A champions Juventus, so you need to cut out the players who aren’t of Champions League standard.
The highest profile sale should be Filip Dordevic, with his 74 overall likely to collect you £3.5 million and free up £42,000 a week in your wage budget.
Guido Guerreri, Ivan Vargic, Brayan Perea and Antonio Rozzi can then all go for a combined £2 million, saving £40,000 a week in wages.
Loans
With five sales already, you can’t allow too many more players to leave the club, so the only man you can consider loaning out is Luiz Felipe. The 20-year-old is the seventh-choice centre back, so you can loan him away from the club for a couple of seasons to help his 64 overall grow towards a 78 potential.
Who to sign
New transfer budget: £23 million
New wage budget: £215,000
Another wing option
£23 million is not a huge amount of cash in today’s market, so you are looking for just one player to come in to add some depth to your squad. Nani and Felipe Anderson are your only conventional wingers, so look to bring in another wide man. Ajax’s young star Justin Kluivert would be a great acquisition, with the 18-year-old holding a 75 overall and 86 potential. His 87 acceleration, 86 sprint speed and 86 agility will set you back £14.8 million and wages upwards of £7,000 a week.
Alternative options:
- Cristian Pavon – Boca Juniors, Age 21, OVR 76, POT 85, Cost: £16.9 million, Wage: £21,000
- Kahraba – Al Ittihad, Age 23, OVR 75, POT 83, Cost: £16.3 million, Wage: £28,000
- Levin Oztunali – Mainz, Age 21, OVR 75, POT 82, Cost: £15.9 million, Wage: £18,000
- Gonzalo Martinez – River Plate, Age 24, OVR 75, POT 81, Cost: £12.7 million, Wage: £16,000
- Ivan Cavaleiro – Wolves, Age 23, OVR 75, POT 80, Cost: £15.6 million, Wage: £40,000
Contracts
Six Lazio players have contracts running out at the end of the season, and it's absolutely paramount that you give Stefan De Vrij a new deal. The 25-year-old Dutchman has an 84 rating which can improve to 89, so give him whatever he wants to keep him at the club.
Dusan Basta is your only conventional right back so keep the 30-year-old for a couple more seasons, and as for back up goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, it may be time to let the 34-year-old leave the club.
Filip Dordevic, Brayan Perea and Antonio Rozzi are players you should look to sell and not give new contracts to.
Managerial objectives
Your domestic success goal at Lazio has a high importance, and this season you will need to reach the Coppa Nazionale round of 16 and finish in a Champions Cup place in the league.
Continental success is of a medium importance for which your task is clear; win the Euro League. It’s a long competition, but if you get your squad rotation down to a tee, you are firmly in with a shout.
For youth development, you must grow two youth academy players by at least 10 overall points and then play them in 10 matches before the end of the season. Send your youth scouts out straight away and use them consistently in training to give yourself a chance here.
To complete your brand exposure objective you will need to sell out 90% attendance in half of your home league games this season and increase season ticket holders to 10% of the stadium capacity within three years. If you keep the crowds entertained with victories and goals, you should be sorted here.
Lastly, your financial goal requires you to increase your club worth by 20% within two seasons. Make sure to achieve a profit year on year and win silverware to complete this objective.
Start filling the trophy cabinet
Considering Lazio are up against Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and rivals Roma in Serie A, eight trophies so far this century isn’t a bad return. Three of those have been SuperCups though, and their last league win came in 2000. With a small budget and an average squad, it will take a couple of seasons to turn them into a title contender, but with Ciro Immobile leading the line, you will have a chance against any side you come up against.
Full Lazio player ratings
Player | Age | Pos | Country | OVR | POT | Value | Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalkeepers | |||||||
Thomas Strakosha | 22 | GK | Albania | 77 | 87 | £18.4m | £27k |
Federico Marchetti | 34 | GK | Italy | 77 | 77 | £4.5m | £32k |
Ivan Vargic | 30 | GK | Croatia | 69 | 69 | £500k | £16k |
Guido Guerreri | 21 | GK | Italy | 61 | 73 | £300k | £4k |
Defenders | |||||||
Stefan De Vrij | 25 | CB | Holland | 84 | 89 | £54.7m | £65k |
Stefan Radu | 30 | CB LB | Romania | 80 | 80 | £16.5m | £48k |
Dusan Basta | 32 | RB RM | Serbia | 79 | 79 | £9m | £48k |
Bastos | 25 | CB | Angola | 78 | 83 | £18m | £38k |
Who are you managing on Career Mode? Let us know in the comments section below.
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