The Backpage | FIFA 12 BARGAINS!

In this week’s Backpage, football journalist and FIFA fan Darren Cross reveals the must-buy bargains for your FIFA 12 Career Mode team

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the MATCH office thanks to the January transfer window and, after an uninspiring start compared to this time last year, things are finally hotting up a bit.

There are plenty of quality players that will surely complete moves to new clubs before the deadline and many of them could be real bargains, particularly the ones who are out of contract in the summer. All this talk of bargains has given me the transfer bug over the last few days, so I’ve been digging around in the FIFA 12 Career Mode market looking for some gems of my own.

There are loads of them.

Regular readers may remember that we’ve already covered a bunch of young players that you should sign as soon as possible (have a look here if you missed it: The Backpage | FIFA 12 - FIVE YOUNG PLAYERS YOU MUST SIGN) but there are a ton of experienced players out there that are well worth looking at too, if you need quality at a low price.

Some of them will only be good for a season or so while others will stay at their peak for longer, but all are available from the start of season one and should have something to offer most teams outside of the very best.

If there are any I’ve missed please share them with the FIFA community by using the #FIFA12bargains hashtag on Twitter.

Right, let’s take a look…

FORWARDS

Jorge Henrique
Pos: CF * Club: Corinthians
It would have made more sense for me to start with the bargain goalkeepers, but Jorge Henrique is my top tip of all the players here and I’m too impatient to wait until the end to tell you about him.

Just have a look at these stats… Acceleration 90, Balance 84, Jumping 90, Sprint Speed 86, Stamina 90, Dribbling 80, 4* Skills. They’re the kind of numbers you’d expect to see for a player that would cost you £20 million, but you’ll pay less than £3 million for Henrique, who only commands £10k per week in wages.

Best of all, the 29-year-old forward has the Engine speciality so he’ll bomb around at top speed for most of the game without tiring.

Michael Owen
Pos: ST * Club: Man. United
Although 31 and lacking that explosive pace that used to be his trademark, Owen is still a top striker thanks to his Finishing ability. He’s also got excellent Att. Position, good Agility and Balance along with the Finesse Shot trait.

He’s a little injury prone, but at around £2.5 million and just £15k wages, he’s worth the risk.

Carlos Darwin Quintero
Pos: CF * Club: Santos Laguna
Quintero is one of those players that I always sign, no matter how big the club I’m playing as. He feels quick and responsive when you’re running with the ball, which is something I like to do a lot, and he can do 5* skill moves.

He’s only 23, so you’ll see a fair bit of growth for your investment of £3 million, and you’ll only have to give him ten grand a week.

Rafael Sobis
Pos: CF * Club: Fluminese
At £5 million Sobis is one of the more expensive bargains on this list, but I reckon he’s worth every penny and a whole lot more.

He has the Flair trait and can do 5* skill moves so that tells you what kind of player he is, but he’s also quick, takes up good positions and can finish with either foot. Well worth a look.

Alessandro Del Piero
Pos: CF * Club: Juventus
Del Piero is 36 and some of his physical attributes faded a while ago – he’s pretty slow, has terrible Stamina and virtually no Strength, but his technical abilities more than make up for this.

He has 89 for Vision, 91 for Ball Control, 90 for Curve, 85 for Dribbling and takes a mean free-kick. Del Piero has also got the Playmaker and FK specialities, can do 4* skills and is brilliant with his weak foot, so he’s an absolute steal at £2.4 million, even if you only get a season out of him.

MIDFIELDERS

Christian Bermudez
Pos: CAM * Club: Atlante FC
Like Quintero from the recommended Forwards above, Bermudez is another player I sign for pretty much every team I manage. He’s extremely quick and very responsive, thanks to his Dribbling stat and Acrobat speciality, and he’ll give you a return on your money should you decide to sell him further down the line.

The little Mexican will cost you about £4 million in season one, but he only wants £10k per week which makes him accessible to plenty of smaller clubs. He was by far my best player in my Middlesbrough save!

May Mahlangu
Pos: CM * Club: Helsingborgs
The 22-year-old midfielder is the youngest player on this list so doesn’t necessarily fit under my ‘experienced players’ tag, but I couldn’t write about bargains without telling you about him.

One glace at his first attributes screen will tell you why… everything is either dark or light green except for his Stamina. May also has the Engine and Acrobat specialities and should eventually prove to be worth at least five times more than the £2.5 million you’ll pay to sign him. He only asks for £10k per week too.

Hatem Ben Arfa
Pos: RW * Club: Newcastle
The Newcastle winger will cost you more in transfer fees (£9 million) and wages (£60k p/w) than almost everyone else here, but he’s still available relatively cheaply considering what he has to offer.

He's very quick, has good Vision, excellent Ball Control, great Dribbling and the Flair trait. Be Arfa can also do 5* skill moves, has a 4* weak foot and is only 24 years old, so could potentially give you ten years service. That’s less than £1 million per year, which is why I think he’s a bargain.

Ryan Giggs
Pos: LM * Club: Man. United
Giggs is 37 but has an Overall of 82, not bad for a transfer fee under £1 million.

He’s still class on the ball – with Ball Control and Dribbling well into the 80s – plus he’s got great Vision and the Crosser speciality. If you can afford his £70k per week wages, you’ll get at least a good season or two from him.

DEFENDERS

Ivan Estrada
Pos: RB * Club: Santos Laguna
27-year-old Mexican right-back Estrada starts out at 72 Overall and will cost you about £1.8 million in season one.

He’s a brilliant attacking full-back with loads of pace and, because of his Engine speciality and 93 stat for Stamina, he’s a relentless runner. Well worth a look if you’re in the market for a pacey defender.

Marvell Wynne
Pos: CB * Club: Colorado Rapids
Talking of pace, meet Marvell Wynne. With an Acceleration stat of 97 and a Sprint Speed of 95, he’s the fastest defender in the game by an absolute mile.

He’s valued at just £400k at the start of the game but you might have to pay around £1 million to get him. He only wants £3k per week too. A true bargain.

Angelo Ogbonna
Pos: CB * Club: Torino
Italian centre-back Ogbonna will cost you around £6 million, but for that you’ll be getting a top defender who, at just 23 years old, will improve considerably.

He’s quick for a centre-back but his best attributes are his Strength and Heading.

KEEPERS

John Smith
Club: Free agent
Smith is probably the worst-kept secret in FIFA 12, but I thought I’d shout about him in case you’ve somehow managed to miss this real bargain.

Being a free agent you can snap him up straight away for nowt, and you’ll only have to give him about £2k per week. His 77 Overall rating puts him on a par with other keepers like Boruc, Isaksson and Ali Al-Habsi. Not bad for free, eh?

Mark Schwarzer
Club: Fulham
You’ll only get two good seasons out of the ancient Fulham stopper at the very most, but he has an Overall rating of 81 and will only cost you a few hundred thousand pounds.

You’ll need to pay him about £50k per week, but that’s not bad going when you consider the low transfer fee.

Okay, that’ll do for now.

Remember, if there are any I’ve missed or if you spot some new ones over the next week or so, please tell the FIFA community about them by using the hashtag #FIFA12bargains on Twitter.

See you next week.

Darren
twitter: @Darren_Cross