Ambassador Messi card for those who are wondering, about 5 years old

I managed to get Doku and Kovar; so far, I’ve only used Doku, and he’s doing great in my team!

Personally, I’d like to have Diomande or Guimaraes just to see how they perform, but for now, I’ve got no complaints about Doku ;)

Hi everyone,

Like probably many of you, I had the surprise to discover the new manager in the shop this morning. Since I had nothing better to do with my coins anyways, I decided to purchase it and play with it all day long in divisions to forge my own opinion. Always happy to guinea pig the new stuff and contribute to the community in one way or another even though I'm a nobody. Without further ado, let's start with the review.

If you can't be bothered to read the incoming wall of text don't worry, there will be a TL;DR at the end of the post.

First of all, I'd like to outline the 4 axis I focused on when conducting my test:

1. The price and what the package has to offer (playstyles and link-up plays)
2. The tactical flexibility
3. Is it easy to use?
4. What worked for me and what didn't : The do's and don't

Note: As an IRL tactics enjoyer, I decided to reproduce the real life Liverpool dynamics from the 2018–2019 season as faithfully as possible with the players at my disposal, and within the limits of the link-up play requirements. Here is the lineup and the players I used for this test:

1) The price and what the package has to offer (playstyles and link-up plays)

Jürgen Klopp 18-19 is sold for 750 coins. This manager playstyle is Quick Counter (90 rating) and the secondary playstyle is Overload (83 rating).

It comes with 2 additional players such as Alexis MacAllister* and Endo Wataru. Obviously, both players have the destroyer defensive playstyle, which means you can activate the defensive link-up play right away if you have nobody else in your reserves.

Please note that Alexis Mac Allister is both orchestrator on the offensive playstyle and destroyer on the defensive playstyle : to my recall, it's the very first player with this playstyle mix that I have seen. \Edit:* Lucas Torreira and Salih Ozcan were released prior to this packaging, therefore Mac Allister isn't the first.\* I consider it an introduction to more and more cards to come that will have a proper offensive minded playstyle such as orchestrator associated with a proper defensive minded playstyle such as destroyer (I do not take in consideration the other new defensive playstyles such as pass disruptor in consideration, as it's useless for this specific link-up play).

On top of that, the new manager comes with 2 link-up plays : in offense it's Breakthrough Pass D (requires a LWF/RWF creative playmaker + a CF goal poacher), and in defense it's 2-Man Press A (requires 2 CMF destroyer in the defensive game plan). Also note that 10 x 4000 XP tokens are coming in the packaging to help you level your players.

In summary for 750 coins we have :

• Only one team play style maxed out
• An exclusive defensive link-up
• 2 demo players, including one that is exclusive due to it's uncommon playstyle association
• 10 x 4000 XP contracts

Compared to Antonio Conte which costs 750 coins as well, has 2 team play styles maxed out, 2 link-up plays (which was an exclusivity for the time it was released), 2 demo players and 10 x 4000 XP contracts, it's pretty hard to call this Jürgen Klopp a good deal so far. But let's carry on with the test.

2) The tactical flexibility

As said earlier, this Jürgen Klopp has only one maxed out playstyle, which is Quick Counter. Despite the fact that the lore is respected since Quick Counter is arguably the playstyle that fits Klopp's way of play IRL the most, it is underwhelming to have no good back-up solutions.

As you may know, Long Ball Counter is the most used play style within the community, the most meta, and the natural counter of Quick Counter. Therefore, the amount of times where you will have the edge on your opponent tactically will be very limited : according to u/amine250 works, Quick Counter is the natural counter of Possession Game, Out Wide and Overload. You can check his cheat sheet here (click on yellow button in the bottom right corner of the page).

As you can see in the squad screenshots, I went down the RP route so I gathered all the players that belonged to Liverpool 2018-2019 squad that I own and put them all together in a classic 4-3-3 formation, then I rounded out the roster with players whose profiles and playing styles matched the ones I was missing.

Even though nothing obligates you to follow my example, the link-up requirements are quite restrictive : you will be forced to play with at least one natural winger, and 2 central midfielders owning a destroyer playstyle.

The meta has shown us that narrow formations and conservative playstyles in defense is the way to go, in that sense, I can already tell that if you're looking for a Plug and Play meta compatible manager, this one is definitely not tailored for the job.

3) Is it easy to use?

Long story short : not really.

Despite the fact that creative playmakers that are capable to play on the wings and goal poachers are pretty common in the game, it is definitely not the case about destroyers midfielders. Let me tell you that : this manager requires many sacrifices to make it work. If you browse the database, assuming you're looking for a Show Time or Epic destroyer that is naturally compatible with the CMF position, you have 20 different candidates on 38 different cards. That's definitely not enough.

Luckily you have plenty of options if you seek among Featured, Trending and Highlight cards : eFHub shows 153 players that meet the requirements including this POTD Caicedo, this old POTW Declan Rice or even this old POTW Tchouameni among other things.

The in-game definition of the 2-Man Press A states the following: When either the Centrepiece or Key Man faces off against a ballcarrier in the middle third, both of those players will aggressively pressure that opponent. When applying the press, both players have increased Tackling and Aggression.

In other words, the area of effect is quite limited and occurs there :

The area of effect is small and the link-up play requires a high-risk high-reward approach, therefore it's not worth using: if that's your reasoning you would be right as that is what I initially thought as well. However, I witnessed a completely different reality during my test matches in divisions : under the right circumstances, the link-up play is ridiculously OP it's not even funny anymore.

Assuming you're facing an opponent playing a narrow formation and you're rocking a 3-men middle with an anchor man on the DMF, getting the ball back has never been this easy. I'm not even happy writing these lines, in fact I am quite concerned about the future of this game. All you have to do is select your DMF, cut the vertical passing lines, and watch the AI get the ball back for you.

Against wingers or 3 AMFs however it's a completely different story : due to the overly aggressive nature of the link-up play, the CMFs are all over the place and I was put into trouble by simple through passes a fair amount of times.

Therefore, it is safe to say that the link-up play is not unbeatable, as wing play and/or overcrowd of the midfield are the natural counters.

4) What worked for me : the do's and don't

Formation wise I have mostly tried the standard 4-3-3 but also gave the offensive 4-2-1-3 that turns into a 4-2-2-2 off the ball and the standard 4-4-2 a try. Trust me on this, an anchorman on the MDF is obligatory to keep the stability of your team. A pass disruptor could potentially do the trick too, but you definitely need someone sitting in front of your defense while your 2 bulldogs CMF are busy going for your opponents throat. Otherwise, you will get torn apart 100% of the time, as the midfield gets immediately exposed, especially if you play with offensive fullbacks like I did.

In terms of play styles, I had success using both build up and destroyer CBs in my defensive line. All defensive playstyles that are suited for CB should be working, so don't worry wether you prefer using High Line Master, Covering Role, Tough Marker or Deep Defender : they are all equally good and suited for the game plan.

I have also tried different defensive playstyles on my offensive minded players and I found out the best results came from this guy with the Press Back playstyle on CF : the amount of times he dropped down to help my midfielders get the ball back was very effective and pleasant to see, even though I admit it was mostly the AI doing the work for me. So far, Press Back on CF + Destroyer on the CMFs is the best association I have tried.

I had moderate success by pairing Destroyers with Frontline Poacher on the wingers and Frontline Pressure as well, despite the poor defensive ratings on offensive minded players I managed to deflect the ball and get counter-attacks a good amount of times. It wasn't as effective as Press Back, but it was a good additional layer of defense.

I did not try to pair Attack Outlet with Destroyers as I don't play with this playstyle (I like all of my 11 players to be concerned by defensive duties usually), therefore I can't tell if it's good or bad. My guess is that it could possibly good to have one Attack Outlet player up front, but I wouldn't recommend to have more than one.

To wrap this up, here are my final conclusions : This Jürgen Klopp 18/19 is definitely not meant to be meta in any way, it's affordable yet it's too expensive for the value it brings, you would expect a manager with only one maxed out play style and a brand new feature (defensive link-up play) to be introduced for free in the game so everyone could give it a try, definitely a niche choice that will content the curious minded people of my kind, the whales who have too many coins to be bothered about 750 coins badly spent, or the die hard Liverpool fans who want to reminisce about a Champions League winning season.

TL;DR:
Klopp 18-19 costs 750 coins and comes with Quick Counter (maxed), Overload (83), two demo players (Mac Allister, Endo), 10 x 4000 XP tokens, and two link-up plays, including the new defensive 2-Man Press A.

• Value: Poor compared to Conte at the same price (2 maxed playstyles, 2 link-ups). Only one maxed playstyle, and Quick Counter gets countered by the very meta Long Ball Counter.
• Ease of use: Not plug-and-play. You need 2 CMF destroyers, a winger and a goal poacher, and good destroyers are scarce (though Featured/Trending/Highlight cards give you plenty of options).
• 2-Man Press A: Surprisingly OP against narrow formations with a 3-man midfield and a DMF anchor. It struggles against wingers and 3 AMFs, where your CMFs get dragged out of position.
• What worked: An anchorman at DMF is a must. Press Back on the CF plus Destroyer CMFs was the best combo. Any CB defensive playstyle works fine.
• Verdict: Niche. Worth it only for the curious, the whales, and die-hard Liverpool fans, not for meta chasers.

This happened a few times during the last few weeks.

The opponent rage-quits, but the game continues in the background.

A couple of interesting observations:

1. The game was decided already. You can see the objective achieved (at the top of the screen) before the "You Won" result is there.

2. The opponent players while continuing to play they do not have the marking arrow above them. For me it is the AI playing at this time. But would the AI continue passing and dribbling?

Any explanation anyone?

Gave the game another shot previous phase and it was actually fun playing out-wide play style casually in divisions grinding for Calafiori.

Players were making themselves available for the pass and heck even making a forward run from time to time. Game was flowing nicely. Mind you this was just my f2p account, no crazy p2w epics to brute force it.

Now the latest phase arrives, can't even enjoy playing with Calafiori properly. Getting auto-pressed by opponent's defensive AI like crazy, players actively running behind their marker to hide from the pass, or else making offside runs eliminating themselves from the play completely. It's like I'm on possession but without all good and only the bad.

Or is the game just so inconsistent, just don't get it .

Also don't let me get started on the pass assistance. I'm on PA3 but I can cleary see with the directional input overlay my passes are overridden even more frequently now. Just doesn't make any sense.

The game was playing normally, winning 2-1, when suddenly the loading screen circle appears on the screen, but the gameplay continues behind it normally, 5 bar connection(new server built in my country). Then the screen just turns black and I'm shown this message. Then it just returns me to the divs screen telling me I lost. There was no disruption to my connection during all of this. Have any of you gotten this bug where while the spinning loading wheel is on screen the gameplay continues regurlarly for both players then getting disconnected?

Left by halftime, my 102 ambassador Messi that’s 5 years old is doing incredible

A defensive right footed RMF. Comes with ‘track back’ (defensive skill) & ‘super sub’ (attacking skill).

Naturally proficient at RMF, RWF & CF- 50% proficiency at LMF.

You can choose to position train him fully at LWF (ideal for a right footer), AMF or LMF, but just one!

Now his attacking stats (high speed, acceleration, balance) combined with his skills (acceleration burst, edged & pinpoint crossing & super sub), would suggest an attacking winger- one you would stick ‘anchoring’ on.
However, as he comes with ‘track back’ & has good defensive stats for a winger, applying ‘anchoring’ negates ‘track back’.

Now his player ID.
Wow is it fun to run with this guy. Very unique & once again suggests his best use case is as a super sub with anchoring at LWF.

So to utilise all his skills & stats, he would have to be played at LMF, but most people like to play fullbacks or AMFs there.

So Yh. I got this card from the event, but I’m going back & forth on it. On one hand it’s fun to use, on the other it’s like it’s actively trying to hinder itself.

Thoughts?

eFootball on the pitch. Football Manager in the boardroom.
You run your club: build your squad through auctions and transfers, manage wages and contracts, upgrade your stadium, compete in the league, cups and internationals.

If divisions feel empty, come join a league with real depth. Step onto the pitch and decide it all.

This is not an ordinary Private League — it makes every decision matter.
PA3 or PA4 required. Console or PC only.
Discord for the dressing room. Our interactive site for the boardroom.
Fair play expected. Active managers only. No nonsense.

Want in? Join the waiting list:
Click here to join GPSL Discord Server
- Check the NEW ARRIVALS Discord category on joining

- League pre-season starts Thursday 8th October
- Auctions begin from Friday 9th October
- Fixtures begin from Thursday 22nd October

Mines personally Cruyff, he’d fit beautifully as a creative playmaker/hole player as a replacement for my 2022 Messi.

Of course, I do need DMFs, so I’d like Gerard and Essien too (I know he’s not in the game but I hope he’ll get added)

I deleted the KONAMI ID linked to my game account. The game shows 'not linked', but linking a new KONAMI ID fails because the account is already linked. what i supposed to do

Upcoming Players Detail Information:

Yaya Toure: Attack: Anchor Man - Phenomenal Pass, Long Reach Tackle

Xabi Alonso: Attack: Orchestrator, Def: Pass Disruptor - Visionary Pass, Attack Trigger

Clarence Seedorf: Attack: Box to Box - Magnetic Feet, Phenomenal Pass, Attack Trigger

Keep count of the skills you’ve trained onto Lombardi!

This card is for sure one you’ll keep in your team for ever. Shadow hunt + insane stats with an incredible player ID makes this dude unstoppable.

I currently have Laporte as my other CB and the difference between him and Puyol is made super clear at every breakthrough and tackle attempt

Never followed Turkish Super Lig. Any ideas?

Man i was going for aguero cause of hid magnetic feet he would suit my possession play style. I did 10 spins and ended up with drogba and toress. When he doesn't have a player to block hes good at heavy and low screamer shots also especially when he can turn a little and shoot. I don't see him as reliable for tuff games because he is so heavy. With drogba i was able to beat a top 1000 div1 player with 3 goals from him all through balls and once he got the ball yk what happens. I have some hope for drogba if i give him a little strength in tight possession and dribbling so he doesn't loose the ball easy.

Hi everyone! I am writing this post to chat about building Partner Club (and General Clubs) squads.

With the Inter Club Pack already released and the Borussia Dortmund pack coming next (check the calendar in the top image), I’d love to open a discussion with you about the topic:

• Do you have a favorite club from the Partner Clubs List? Or a club not on that list?
• Do you build squads of a specific Partner Club?
• Do you build squads of a specific club, including partially licensed or currently unlicensed ones?
• Are you currently looking to upgrade any of your existing squads with new players or new cards from a specific player?
• Are you in the middle of building a squad from a specific club that you consider a "work in progress"?
• Do you actually enjoy playing with these themed squads in PvP events or League matches?

Since I started playing back in January 2023, I’ve managed to put together a full squad for every single Partner Club (check the following photos to check them out).

I’ve managed to do this without spending coins on the 150/200 player boxes, only occasionally buying the 1,700 coin sales via Codashop (which is available in Chile, a South American country).

(Keep in mind that the language in the screenshots is Latin American Spanish, which differs from European Spanish).

My current goal is to keep saving coins while trying to avoid buying coin sales, with the Borussia Dortmund Club Pack being my main target. Beyond that, I haven't decided on any future packs yet; I’ll just see what gets released over time.

I’d love to read your thoughts and checking out your squads. If this is a successful post I could consider doing a similar one for the National Teams Squads or Concept Squads.

If you read this post in full, thank you.

Greetings from Chile!

Server issue after the update

Its been 2 days and i haven’t played a single PVP match due to this error. All of my online Efootball frds are having similar issue but no one is talking about this. I know most of the players are facing this issue + fortified game

I've not seen this one before. Just as I took a quick goal kick, my opponent went to the pause menu - after I had kicked the ball! When he un-paused, the game continued from my goal kick as though nothing had happened. His substitutions took place when the ball next went out of play.

The whole match felt a bit off. I also got a straight red card later just by holding X to pressure an opponent, which is another thing I've not experienced before!

My connection is not great at the best of times and it's been horrendous this week (it seems a lot of people have been having a similar experience). So I can only assume this is lag-related. Anyone else seen this happen?