Putting It All Together

We covered all of the different controls in the game. You’ve seen the fantastic variety of Skill Moves. We’ve given you a rundown on the formations, shown you how to custom tailor them to your team, and given you a crash course on the new Custom Tactics feature. Now it’s time to take all your knowledge and put it together on the pitch so you can become an unstoppable force in FIFA 09.

Your Team’s Style

Before you start any game, you will want to look at the Custom Tactics settings for your team. If you work with the Custom Tactic instead of against it, you will experience much more success and much less frustration on the pitch. Simply put, your Custom Tactics determine how your team plays and positions itself on the field. If you don’t like the way they play, then change your Custom Tactic. Don’t try to force your game with the wrong tactic. You can’t play a short-passing, slow build up game if your team is set to Hump and Chase.

If you do decide to make drastic changes to your Custom Tactics, be sure that your personnel can handle it. If your team doesn’t have the technical skill to trap, pass, and move quickly, then a Barcelona style of play is going to fail for you. Conversely, if your team lacks a big Target Man and speed on the wings, then a deep ball tactic is going to fall flat as well. Unlike real life, if your team’s skills don’t match your desired tactic, you can always switch to a new team!

When playing against the CPU, it is a good idea to look at the Custom Tactics setting for the opposing team as well. This will give you a good idea of what you can expect on the pitch. If the team likes to play high and press, then you had better be prepared to handle pace of the game. You will need to get rid of the ball quickly and try to open up space as your opponent attempts to double up on your dribblers.

Custom Tactics are only part of the approach you need to take before a game. There are plenty of other questions that need to be answered if you want to have every single possible edge in the game. Since you are taking the time to read this guide, we know that you want that edge!

Knowing Your Personnel

We mentioned above that you couldn’t shoehorn your personnel into a tactic that they can’t handle. You want to play in such a way that it maximizes the skills of your team. Take a couple of minutes and page through the ratings for your team. You will want to be able to answer the following questions after a look at your team’s ratings:

• Who are your fastest players? (Acceleration, Sprint Speed)

• Which players are most comfortable with the ball at their feet? (Ball Control, Dribbling)

• Which players are the best passers? (Short Pass, Long Pass)

• Who are your crossers? (Crossing)

• Which players are strongest in the air? (Heading Accuracy, Jumping, Strength)

• Who are your shooters? (Shot Power)

• Which foot do your finishers prefer? (Foot)

• Who is your strongest defender? (Marking, Slide Tackle, Stand Tackle)

• Which players can you jostle with best? (Strength, Weight)

Let’s take a look at each of these questions in more detail so you can have a full understanding of your team’s capabilities.

Who are your fastest players?

It’s been said that speed kills. In FIFA 09, few statements are truer. When we say speed, we aren’t referring to just flat out sprint speed, but speed with the ball as well. Speed allows a defence to play the Offside Trap with confidence that they have the make up pace needed if a mistake is made. Speed allows you to slip a through ball between two defenders and blaze a trail to the net. Know your fastest players, and be aware of the burners on your other team. You can have the greatest tactical plan in the world, but if you can’t keep up with the other team, you are in for a long day.

Which players are most comfortable with the ball at their feet?

Here’s a hint…typically, this is not your Centerback. Players with high dribbling ratings can make quicker turns, change speeds with the ball, and fight their way through tackle attempts. You will notice that top ball handlers are able to do the quick double-touch dribbles, and usually will employ a Cruyff turn to make a fast 180 degree change of direction. These are the players that you want to get into space and attack the defence with skill moves. You can use them in the midfield to get around in tiny spaces and then distribute to keep the attack going forward.

Which players are the best passers?

With defences coming in fast and furious to tackle the ball away, being a good passer is a must in FIFA 09. If you can’t pass, you are in a world of trouble. With that said, you want to channel your offensive attack through your best passers. These are the players that can put a through ball on a dime, and are able to deliver a trappable ball to the striker so he can turn and shoot. Players with an 85+ short passing rating can also hit a swerving through ball. There are some players that don’t have this rating, but are known to have this tendency in real life. They will be able to perform this skill as well. Some examples of players that can perform the swerving through ball are Michael Ballack, Andrey Arschavin, Gareth Barry, Alessandro Del Piero, and Giovani Dos Santos. There are over 200 players with this ability in the game.

Who are your crossers?

If you want to finish with a header or volley, then you need the best possible service. You want to get your top crossers out on the wing with the ball at their feet. Know who the best guys are to whip in the cross with. If you can, take time to slow down and get your balance before attempting a cross. Using the L1/LB buttons to square up on the goal will help you deliver a better quality ball.

Which players are strongest in the air?

It is one thing to put in a good cross; it is another to be able to put it in the net. When it comes down to a cross or critical set piece, it is helpful to know that the player on the other end has the goods to get the job done. You will want to look at the Jumping attribute, as this will relate to the player’s ability to get up over opponents to claim the ball. The Heading Accuracy attribute will reflect how well the player can place his header on target. Strength refers to a player’s ability to hold his ground and fend off an opponent while trying to win the header. You’ll also want to look at height. Peter Crouch certainly has a built-in advantage here. There are two determining factors to most one-on-on heading battles: positioning and strength. You’ll have to fight for position, but if you learn to do this, you’ll see more success with your aerial attack.

Who are your shooters?

It is possible to score from a distance in FIFA 09, but you’ll need a quality ball striker to get it done. Players like Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes can let it fly and put the ball in from distance. These are the types of players you want lining up outside of the box to let one rip. Try to get the ball to the endline, and then fire a pass back to one of your snipers at the top of the 18. You will have to learn to pull the trigger quickly as defenders in FIFA 09 close out quickly.

Which foot do your finishers prefer?

The best way to finish is to use a finesse shot from close in. However, if you attempt a finesse shot with a player’s off foot, you will get very unpredictable results. Most of the time, these are not positive, as what would be an easy finish ends up with a ball in the stands. Know the preferred foot of your strikers, wingers, and attacking midfielders. When you go for goal, attempt to get the ball on the preferred foot as much as possible. If you are going to take a finesse shot, hitting it with the better foot is imperative.

Who is your strongest defender?

If you get into a situation where a single player is running roughshod over your defence, then it may be time to take your best defender and put him in a man-marking scenario. No matter what you do, knowing who you can count on to make a tackle is important. You can take a few more risky tackling chances with a top-flight defender. They won’t foul, and the odds of them getting the ball are usually pretty high.

Which players can you jostle with best?

FIFA 09 has a new level of physicality never before seen in a football video game. You can defend smaller players by simply pushing them off the ball and taking it away. It is critical that you know who your bangers are. It doesn’t do you any good to get into a shoving contest with a lightweight player. He is just going to get barged out of the way by a stronger man. Watch out for players like Torres and Drogba who combine speed and strength. If you can catch them, you’ll still have a difficult time pushing them off the ball.

Building an Unstoppable Attack

If you want to be a successful goal scorer in FIFA 09, then you need to use plenty of variety in your attack. Your friends and online opponents will soon learn if you have a go-to strategy, and they will endeavour to take it away from you. If you don’t have a back-up plan, then you will be in big trouble. In this section of the guide we are going to give you a number of tips and techniques that you can use to add flavour, flair, and creativity to your attacking build up.

Passing

If you have watched professional football for any length of time, then you have seen that games have a rhythm. The ball moves from side to side, forward to back and a little bit in between. One of the first goals that you should have in FIFA 09 is to maintain possession of the ball. If the other team doesn’t have the ball, then they can’t score.

It sounds simple, but this is key. We want to be the team with 55% plus possession on our side each and every game. This way we can dictate the pass and flow of the game in our favour. Forcing your opponent to play chase will frustrate them, tire their players out, and cause them to pull players out of position. If you want to establish this type of football attack, you will need to become a top-notch passer.