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From developing future stars in the youth team to spending big with increased transfer budgets, career mode offers a great alternative to Ultimate Team. And if simply taking charge of your preferred team isn’t enough, the list of challenge ideas is almost endless for those looking to test their managerial capabilities to the max.
10 Road To Glory
For one of the most engaging and rewarding experiences in FIFA 23 career mode, ‘road to glory’ challenges are a fun way to trial what career mode has to offer. The aim is to transform the fortunes of some of FIFA 23’s worst-rated clubs by winning promotion to their nation’s top division before establishing the club as a significant domestic and continental force.
‘Road to glory’ is an all-time favorite for players and is best used in England’s EFL League Two where three promotions are required to reach the Premier League.
9 Youth Academy Focus
The ability to build and train up a youth academy is a feature exclusive to career mode on FIFA 23. With a little patience and effort, gamers can sculpt an entire starting XI around top-quality youth team graduates.
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Training players to upgrade their overall rating is an essential part of your career on the touchline and doing it with stars of the future who joined your team as teenagers is even more satisfying. After scouting a selection of high-potential youngsters, try integrating them into the first team to create a starting line-up only made up of youth players.
8 Sell Your Best Players
If the AI difficulty levels aren’t challenging enough, career mode managers can take further measures to create problem-solving situations. This challenge requires selling a number of your highest-rated players (five is usually a good benchmark) and working around the ensuing shortfalls in talent by utilizing squad players or promoting a youngster.
It’s a situation that often plays out in real life when clubs need to generate funds to pay off debts. Whether managing in the Premier League, La Liga, or Bundesliga, learning to cope without the stars of your team is a test of skill on the controller as well as managerial decision-making.
7 Build The Greatest Team On Earth
FIFA 23 career mode’s increased transfer budget function allows fans to spend like there’s no tomorrow during transfer windows. Taking inspiration from Real Madrid’s galácticos team of the 2000s, add a ‘financial takeover’ of $1 billion at the start of your career mode save and simply build a team composed of the highest-rated players on FIFA 23.
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Stepping into the shoes of Real Madrid club president Florentino Pérez might sound simple, however, equating superstar signings to constant on-pitch success isn’t always so easy. Every manager would love to use the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Neymar, and Vinicius Jr. in attack, but restricting one or two to warming the substitutes’ bench can rapidly cause friction.
6 Start From The Bottom With “Create Your Club”
EA introduced ‘create your club’ as a headline development to career mode for FIFA 22, and some minor updates have been added for FIFA 23. Emulating the popularity of FIFA Ultimate Team’s endless customization options, new and returning career mode fans can take the reigns of their very own club in pursuit of glory.
This mode’s start-up settings allow gamers to effectively decide the exact level of difficulty for their career, and for one of the toughest tasks on FIFA 23, it’s recommended to select a low-rated squad, small transfer budget, and high board expectations. Starting from the lower leagues, ‘create your club’ guarantees some harsh truths about your true management qualities.
5 All Or Nothing: Win The League Every Year
For some football clubs, winning the league title is a necessity every season. Take that mantra to heart on FIFA 23 career mode by setting yourself the very same goal – ensure your team is crowned league champions at the end of every season or end the career mode if you fail.
This challenge is particularly suited to those looking for the thrill of a high-stakes career mode, where constant league domination is a requirement. Make your own job even harder by choosing to play out an ‘all or nothing’ career mode in one of Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, or Bundesliga).
4 The “Invincibles”
Going a full league campaign without defeat is one of football’s ultimate achievements, notably accomplished by Arsenal in the 2003-04 season and the Scottish Premiership’s Celtic in 2016-17. FIFA 23 career mode is the perfect place to try your luck at an ‘invincible’ season, with the looming pressure of having to either win or draw every league match en route to winning the title.
In one of the most authentic manager challenges, intelligent use of squad rotation and navigation of continental competitions are important skills for career mode fans with ‘invincible’ aims.
3 Take Ted Lasso’s AFC Richmond To The Premier League
FIFA 23’s most intriguing and unexpected new addition is the arrival of Ted Lasso’s AFC Richmond in the game. The fictitious London-based team from Apple TV’s well-received football comedy-drama series is now an option for career mode hopefuls to select at the beginning of their journey to dugout glory.
And best of all, EA has given career mode fans the ability to choose Ted Lasso as their manager avatar in career mode, complete with Nike trainers and that iconic mustache. It makes for an incredibly immersive experience, and it’s your task to restore Richmond to its English top-flight status.
2 Tiki-Taka Tactics
With just as much emphasis on tactics as in FIFA Ultimate Team, career mode is the ideal environment to embrace the renowned ‘tiki-taka’ possession-based playing style used by gaffers like Pep Guardiola and Vicente del Bosque. To apply their football theories most effectively, play every match in career mode with the goal of achieving a minimum of 60% possession and restart the game if one falls short.
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‘Tiki-taka’ was largely engineered and trialed in Spanish football, so taking charge of famed La Liga giants like FC Barcelona or Real Madrid to face up to the challenge is a favorite for many career mode gamers. Editing your team’s tactical structures is a quick process but finding the correct formation and technically gifted players to match the ‘tiki-taka’ system could be a stumbling point.
1 Transfer Ban
Just as Chelsea of the English Premier League recently succumbed to a ban on signing new players by football’s top authorities following transfer violations, it’s possible to implement a similar situation in FIFA 23 career mode. While some light use of imagination is required later down the line, the game does allow users to switch the first transfer window off at the start of every career mode.
The transfer ban challenge provides the perfect baptism of fire for newcomers to career mode, forcing gamers to use their managerial initiative in the face of adversity. Hold out for as long as possible without making a single transfer and instead focus on the pathway from youth academy to first team or recall some loan players to bolster the squad.
FIFA 23 is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
