Defending: Manual Switch Player Button

Something new to FIFA 08 compare to the previous version is the ability to select any player you want during defending. You can even select the furthest player at the back even if your at your opponent half. This is the benefit of this switch button.


The switch button on keyboard is shift+Q and on gamepad its the right stick. Certain gamepad doesnt have this feature because you need to install the gamepad program 1st.


So whats the benefit of this button? Guess what, this button was design to block long ball! In the previos version long ball seems to be the move that always inflict pain in the ass. So EA has come up with a brilliant defending move which is Manual Switch Player Button.


How to use it?


1st: Select your last defender

Red: Opponent Blue: You

Then move to the back slowly as far as you can but not too far. If you saw the striker running then i suggest you start follow him as well. By doing this he wont have any free space to run forward anymore.

Dont Pressure Just Go Back

Although it seems simple but most people forgot to do this act of defense or even sometimes didnt quickly change to the last defender. Get use to it and you can block any long ball that comes into you path.


So play beautiful football ^^

Defending: Goalie

In defending section, we will cover all the stuff about defending. Although i am not really that good in this area but at least i can still help with the basic.



I believe everyone here have undergo a situation where you have to defend 1 on 1 or a situation where it is most likely you gonna concede. And the only one who can stop you from concede any goal is your GK. But i believe everyone can see that sometimes they are not reliable as well.



Well here is some trick that i wanna share with you using graphics below:

1 on 1 Situation

During 1 on 1 situation or similar situation to this, you must be ready to use your GK as your last resort. It is very important to anticipate the speed and the position of the striker. The striker is most dangerous when he is walking because this show that your opponent is anticipating any movement from your GK. So be very careful when he is walking.




Now when the striker is this near to your box, it is time to bring out your GK. When you bring out your GK, do not bring him out from the small box yet. At this moment you will be playing mind games with him. Plus by keeping your GK in the small box it will reduce the chances for the striker to score because you are closing the angle for him to shoot. But if you come out of the box and the striker is still a distance from your GK, its gonna be a piece of cake for the striker to score.

Anticipation Time

When your GK is about to come out from the small box, try to anticipate the striker movement. See is he going to shoot or still moving forward. If he still moving forward then bring out your GK all the way to grab the ball. If the striker wanna shoot, pull back your GK to cover up the space expose at the far post. This should be enough to stop a few goals from going in.



Now there are disadvantage by using this method. If the striker do a dummy shot then most probably it will result in a goal in the end. Even the striker can also do a chip shot if your opponent is good at it. But all of this can be minimize by doing a lot of practice using this method. You might be expecting a few free goals when you 1st started using this method but once you've understand the concept you can make Julio Cesar into Buffon in no time. You can also stop any other common finishing by using this concept as well if you've already understand the concept.



In the end practice makes perfect. So play beautiful football ^^