The Backpage | FIFA 13 Future Stars

In this week’s Backpage, football journalist and FIFA fan Darren Cross picks out ten FIFA 13 Career Mode stars of the future…

The year is 2020, and the best player on the planet is 92-rated attacking midfielder Deniz Aycicek.

33-year-old Lionel Messi is still ripping defences apart for Barcelona, the club he’s spent his whole career with, but Real Madrid goal machine Romelu Lukaku is currently the top striker in the world. Juventus strike partners Yassine Benzia and Manolo Gabbiadini aren’t too far behind him though.

Eden Hazard, Neymar and James Rodriguez compete for the title of wing king ahead of challengers like Liverpool’s Deulofeu, while Paul Pogba – now at Man. City – is the numero uno holding midfielder.

In defence, Loris Benito is one of the best left-backs around but Southampton’s Luke Shaw – who is three years younger – is catching him up quickly in terms of Overall rating. On the right Porto’s Brazilian full-back Danilo is top of the pile, just ahead of Kyle Walker, and Juventus’ Alberto Masi is the main man at centre-back, followed closely by Atletico Madrid’s Kurt Zouma and Barcelona’s Nathan Ake.

The number one No.1 is Tottenham stopper Hugo Lloris, who boasts an Overall rating of 90, but the much younger Nicola Leali is just a point behind on 89.

These are some of the top players in my current Career save, which I’ve simulated through to the 2020-21 season so I could pick out a bunch of future stars that you can sign right now, back in 2013.

So below you’ll find ten young players who’ll all become top stars as long as they get plenty of games to develop their potential. Initially that can be tricky as some begin with Overall ratings in the 50s, but the good news is you’ll be able to pick many of them up for a bargain price.

Let’s take a look…

Yassine Benzia
ST
Lyon
2012-13 OVR: 67
2012-13 Value: £1.4m
2020-21 OVR: 84
2020-21 Value: £16m
17-year-old Lyon striker Yassine Benzia starts off with a bunch of desirable attributes in the mid 70s, but give him games and by the time he’s 25 he’ll be one of the fastest strikers around with Dribbling and Finishing stats into the 90s. Remember, as with all of the players here, plenty of playing time is the key to development so it’s best to sign him up as soon as you can. Benzia begins the game loan listed but you can get him for around £1.5 million.

Manolo Gabbiadini
ST
Juventus (on loan at Bologna
2012-13 OVR: 74
2012-13 Value: £4.9m
2020-21 OVR: 85
2020-21 Value: £14.5m
Gabbiadini is 6ft 1in tall and developed a rocket of a left foot way before my current season in 2020. His Finishing, Heading Acc and Ball Control all grow rapidly, and that makes him a real handful for any defence. He’s on-loan at Bologna initially so you’ll have to wait a while until you can sign him, but he’s well worth it.

Romelu Lukaku
ST
Chelsea (on loan at West Brom)
2012-13 OVR: 74
2012-13 Value: £5m
2020-21 OVR: 89
2020-21 Value: £24m
It took me ages to sign Lukaku in my current save because West Brom decided they’d like to keep him, but when I did finally get him he’d already grown into an excellent striker. Two seasons later and I sold him to Real Madrid for the best part of £40 million. Lukaku’s standout attributes are Strength, Sprint Speed, Finishing, Shot Power and Long Shots, all of which creep into the 90s by 2020.

Deulofeu
LW
Barcelona B
2012-13 OVR: 73
2012-13 Value: £3.1m
2020-21 OVR: 83
2020-21 Value: £9m
Deulofeu’s growth of ten Overall since the 2012-13 season doesn’t sound that impressive – being slightly better than one point per season – but he does build on already-great numbers in a few key areas. By 2020 the winger has Acceleration and Sprint Speed in the high 90s, a Dribbling stat of 94 and a Ball Control of 88. He just feels great to use from the first season and keeps getting better.

Deniz Aycicek
CAM
Hannover 96
2012-13 OVR: 58
2012-13 Value: £190k
2020-21 OVR: 92
2020-21 Value: £50m
Hannover midfielder Aycicek has grown by 34 points Overall to become the highest-ranked player in my current save. His club will let him go for less than £150k in season one, and by 2020 he can be worth over 300 times that figure as long as he gets regular first team football. In terms of playing style he’s all about technical ability rather than pace, so if you like your midfielders to be quick and tricky then he’s not for you. Think of him as a Xavi type of player; all about keeping the ball and finding team-mates, which he does with ease by 2020 thanks to his Short Passing and Long Passing stats into the 90s.

Loris Benito
LB
FC Zurich
2012-13 OVR: 57
2012-13 Value: £200k
2020-21 OVR: 83
2020-21 Value: £7m
FC Zurich’s Loris Benito has become one of the best attacking full-backs in the world in my save. I signed him quite early on for Anderlecht and he quickly gained a load of Overall points before being snapped up by Man. City. He’s another player who feels great to use, as he’s quick and responsive, and by 2020 he’s also a top ball winner who can whip in great crosses or find team-mates using his Short Passing. Sign him up.

Nathan Ake
CB
Chelsea
2012-13 OVR: 59
2012-13 Value: £275k
2020-21 OVR: 84
2020-21 Value: £10m
If you’re going to play your games rather than sim them then you’ll like having Ake in your team from the very first match, as he’s really quick for a centre-back. Chelsea won’t sell him to you straight away but you can loan him and buy later, as long as you’re not the manager of a rival club, and after a few seasons in your team he’ll be quicker, stronger and much better at tackling. In my save he has Interceptions and Standing Tackle ratings of 91.

Kurt Zouma
CB
Saint-Etienne
2012-13 OVR: 73
2012-13 Value: £3.3m
2020-21 OVR: 85
2020-21 Value: £11m
6ft 3in 17-year-old defender Kurt Zouma has everything you want in a centre-back; height, power, pace and good tackling ability… and that’s just in season one. By 2020 Zouma is a defending machine so I was gutted when he asked for a transfer! You’ll have to play close to £5 million to buy him at the start of the game, which is still a real bargain.

Alberto Masi
CB
Juventus (on loan at Vercelli)
2012-13 OVR: 65
2012-13 Value: 975k
2020-21 OVR: 87
2020-21 Value: £13m
Talking of bargains, don’t miss Juventus defender Alberto Masi. Unfortunately he’s another player you’ll have to wait for as he starts off on loan at Vercelli, so make sure you’re ready with the chequebook as soon as he becomes available. He’s different to Ake and Zouma because he isn’t quick and that won’t really change over time, but he’s dominant in the air and a real master at winning the ball back in the tackle.

Nicola Leali
GK
Lanciano
2012-13 OVR: 67
2012-13 Value: £775k
2020-21 OVR: 89
2020-21 Value: £8m
Finally, if you’re after a promising young keeper then head over to Italy’s Serie B and stick Lanciano’s Nicola Leali on your shortlist. He’s an acrobatic keeper who develops into an incredible shot stopper, thanks to his GK Diving and Reflexes stats well into the 90s by 2020. He’s only 19 too, so you won’t need to look for a new goalkeeper again once you have him, although you will have to wait a season until Lanciano will let him go.

Okay that’s all for this week. If any other stars pop up as I play through this save then I’ll tweet about them, so feel free to follow me @Darren_Cross

Darren
@Darren_Cross