FIFA 14 Pro Clubs Guide – Tips, Skills, Formations, Roles

How to play as a pro in FIFA 14 and exploit your opponents with simple tactics to play your role effectively.


When I was tired of playing team matches, I thought of giving Pro Clubs a shot. Regardless of its cruel nature, the mode was a real refreshing experience for me, especially while playing it with my buddies.

Pro Club mode will be there in FIFA 14 like its predecessor, and most of us must be aware of its notoriety. I believe that the mode is designed for hardcore football fans (no offense) who understand the essence of the sport.

It doesn’t mean that others can’t relish it, but if you want this mode to be a source of enjoyment rather than a bitter experience or improve your performance at the club, you should read the tips I am going to mention below.

For more help on FIFA 14, read our Best Young Players, Skill Tutorials and Ultimate Team Guide.

FIFA 14 Pro Club Tips

Create a Pro
This will be your first step towards being a virtual pro. First thing you should know about your Pro is the position your are going to play it with. Most of the players just want their pros to be fast so they just focus on enhancing the sprint attribute. That’s a major flaw that can give you a lot of trouble.

Yes, sprint is good but you should keep other stats in mind too. For instance, for a defender, Strength and tackling is the primary attribute with strong heading ability.

Don’t believe me? Look at the stats of most fierce defenders. So your stats should reflect the position you want to play in which also gives an impression that you are good at it.

What if you don’t want to play at that position? That will be fine as in the online mode, you will be able to change the preferred position of your player anytime you want. This brings flexibility to the play as most players only want to play as strikers.

In that case, you can switch to wings or play anchor role in the midfield. After you have created your Virtual Pro and named it, you are ready for the battle.

Use Filters for Good Matchmaking
In FIFA Pro Clubs mode, there are various options one can adopt to play. All eleven human players can choose a position, and their virtual pros will be playing on those positions throughout the game.

If there are lesser number of players, some of the players can be left to AI or a single player can choose “ANY” option to control those non-human players.

To be honest, 11 vs 11 is a disaster as there are always trolls who won’t just play the game as it’s meant to be and never leave the ball. Rest would just leave their positions making it a mess.

The best possible way to enjoy this mode is that you play it with a couple of your friends, and you choose the same filters to find the similar conditioned team for you. Pro Clubs can get awful if you are playing it with anonymous people.

Play Your Role
As a team, every player has an important role to play. That rule only implies if everyone is playing at their positions. Even if you are a defender, you will be surprised how much possession you had after the match is over.

If you want to stay close to the ball most of the time than I will suggest you to play the central midfield as from the center, you can choose to be aggressive or defensive depending on the need.

Whole Football Field is not Your Duty
Some players just keep on running after the ball, and they end up losing all the stamina even before the first half concludes. That’s a rookie mistake in Pro Clubs. You shouldn’t be going out of the area marked for your position.

For instance, if you are playing as a left back, try playing the ball towards the winger first instead of taking it all the way to the opposition’s half. This will naturally leave the left wing exposed and if the opponent is wise enough, you will be punished with an encounter.

Same goes for all other positions. Mid fielders (central) however, do have more freedom of movement without leaving more open spaces for the opponent.

Choose the Formation That Suits You Best
Many players believe that 5-2-1-2 or 5-2-2-1 are the best formations as they make your defense strong. I don’t disagree, but these can’t be best for every player. Personally, I like to have more players in the midfield so that I can maintain possession, which gives me more time for an opening.

Choosing the best formation for your club is a trial-and-error method. Choose different formations and you will eventually come up with the one that suits you and your friends the best.

Notice the Human Controlled Players
It’s important that you know about the human controlled players on the field. Naturally, they can be more threat to you than the AI. You can easily distinguish them from the AI with their names or the fancy appearances. This will help you to control the game in a better way.

Pro Club is All About Teamwork
Even though everyone knows that teamwork is crucial in any teamwork, most Glory hunters don’t tend to pay heed to it. You pass the ball to them, and then you can forget about it.

If there is no teamwork, regardless whether you win or lose, you won’t be able to enjoy the game. So I recommend again that you play this mode with friends rather than a bunch of strangers.

Possession is Key Winning Factor
Being an Arsenal fan, I know how the possession plays a key role in winning or losing. It’s obvious logic that if you have more possession of the ball, more chances you will create and the chances of conceding a goal will be reduced as well.

So if you are playing with four to five virtual pros, maintaining the possession becomes more fun. One can choose “ANY” to make sure that the ball always stays in human control.

When Opponent Team has Virtual Pro Goalkeeper
To me, being a Goalkeeper is tough. I have tried, but it’s too much for me. Anyway, you may come across players controlling the Goalkeeper. Not a bad choice at all as it’s easier to beat an AI controlled keeper than a manual one.

If you are a striker facing off a manual Goal Keeper, you should exploit his positioning. Shoot even from distance if you find him out of position. The finesse shots won’t work effectively as they would be able to easily see through the move. I like to take my chances with the power shoot to catch them off-guard.

Fake shot is also an effective method for this. This will make them use the dive button early, and then you can easily score in the open net.

Skills of Your Pro are Important
As I mentioned earlier, skills owned by your Pro are important on the field, and they should be selected carefully so that they supplement the role rather than being a waste. The full list of skills is as follows:

  • Long Throw In
  • Giant Throw In
  • Second Wind
  • Acrobatic Clearance
  • Early Crosser
  • Finesse Shot
  • Stutter Penalty
  • Skilled Dribbling
  • Fancy Passes
  • Fancy Flicks
  • Bicycle Kick
  • Diving Header
  • Driven Pass
  • GK Up for Corner
  • GK Long Throw
  • GK Flat Kick
  • Outside Foot Shot
  • Power Header
  • Swerve Pass
  • Power Free Kick

Most of these skills are self-explanatory. You would not want your defender to be a skilled dribbler, would you? His heading and clearance techniques would be more crucial. Same goes for other roles so choose them wisely.

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Ali is a passionate RPG gamer. He believes that western RPGs still have a lot to learn from JRPGs. He is editor-in-chief at SegmentNext.com but that doesn't stop him from writing about his favorite video ...