GUIDE

Starting Your First Career: What to Check When Creating a Player

Your first player stays with you for more than 20 seasons until retirement. A few choices on the player creation screen set the direction of the whole career, so it helps to know what the information on screen means before you start.

Position and detailed position

There are four positions, FW, MF, DF and GK, and you pick a detailed position within each. Each detailed position weighs different attributes heavily when OVR is calculated. The creation and candidate screens show the main OVR attributes for each position, so check which attributes matter most at the spot you chose.

Forwards pile up goals and attacking contributions easily and stand out in Hall of Fame rankings, while defenders and goalkeepers have less flashy numbers for the same quality of play. Retired number review, however, looks at contribution by position separately, so a defensive player who stays at one club for a long time has a real shot at one.

Focus attributes and player type

Pick two focus attributes and, combined with your position, they decide your player type (Poacher, Speedster, Stopper, Attacking fullback and so on). The type does not change during the career. It matters even more after retirement than during your playing days, because the type decides which spots a player can fill in an owner team and which team synergies they belong to.

So for your first player, choose by the role you want to use in your team later rather than by the combination that looks strongest. You can preview which combination becomes which type on the creation screen and in the player type section of the Odds guide.

Growth trait and the three candidates

The growth trait decides when a player grows the most. An early developer rises quickly at a young age and can win playing time in the early seasons, while a late bloomer starts slowly but blossoms late in their twenties. Neither is the right answer. It comes down to whether you prefer becoming a starter quickly or playing well for a long time.

When you finish the setup, three candidates with the same total attributes appear. Since the totals match, do not choose by OVR alone. Compare how high the main attributes of your chosen detailed position are. The true potential is revealed at retirement, and height and weight only shift the initial attribute distribution slightly, so starting OVR stays the same.

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