Assigning FIFA Card Ratings to 21st-Century Manchester United Legends

It is that time of the year again: The new FIFA is on its way. There is plenty of excitement, as always. It is a license that somehow maintains its lustre in spite of the travails of football's international governing body with which it shares its name.

Indeed, the game is so ubiquitous that seeing the acronym used in association with Sepp Blatter momentarily conjures an image of the 81-year-old Swiss holding a controller. With the excitement about the new game building, Blatter is presumably hoping his six-year ban from FIFA only applies to the organisation and does not mean he will have to get really good at PES 2018.

Manchester United's 21st-century legends are already heavily represented in FIFA Ultimate Team's Legends category. Ruud van Nistelrooy is rated at 90, a fair reflection of his dominance in front of goal at his peak.

Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are all 89. The rating is a touch on the low side for Scholes and Van Der Sar and even a bit high for Giggs' career in totality, but certainly not for his peak.

Roy Keane is there, rated 88 because "fierce driving will to win" is hard to capture in numerical form. Rio Ferdinand shares the same rating, with Teddy Sheringham, Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all on 86.

But what of those who have not made it in? We have selected a handful of players to assign appropriate values to. Some are undoubtedly "legends"; some are more borderline cases. But with so many already in the game, it was inevitable we would have to stretch the definitions a little.

Nemanja Vidic

Pace: 80

Shooting: 40

Passing: 50

Dribbling: 60

Defending: 90

Physical: 90

Overall: 87

His centre-back partner and the goalkeeper in front of whom they played their best football are already in the mix. It is time Nemanja Vidic joined them so players can recreate one of the finest defensive triangles in football history.

One point less overall than Ferdinand seems about right for Vidic. He beats his team-mate for physical attributes and equals him for "defending," though of course their styles were different, with Ferdinand preferring the standing tackle and interception and Vidic the towering header or clattering challenge.

Ferdinand's use of the ball was always superior to Vidic's—indeed Ferdinand's 65 for passing is a little low. But in relation to that, a 50 for Vidic is fair.

They were both at their best alongside each other, but it always felt a little like Vidic needed Ferdinand's game-reading more than Ferdinand needed his aggression. There was not much in it, though. A one-point gap is fair.

David Beckham

Pace: 80

Shooting: 85

Passing: 89

Dribbling: 70

Defending: 65

Physical: 75

Overall: 89

David Beckham won't be making it into this year's ultimate team, thanks to an exclusive deal with Pro Evolution Soccer. If he did, though, he would deserve some big numbers.

Using his former team-mate Scholes as a template is a decent starting point. Of course, they were stylistically different players, but they had similar efficacy.

Both had a superb aptitude for long-range passing, with Beckham's applied from the wing and Scholes' from deep-lying central positions. Both had a mean shot on them, though Beckham relied on curl and precision where Scholes opted for blasted volleys.

Beckham was neither quick nor a dribbler but required so little space to make a telling delivery that he was a potent attacking weapon. His celebrity is such that his football is sometimes overlooked, but his performances in 1998/99 were at least as strong as anyone else in United red. Any compilation of goals from that season will see Beckham in action over and over again, either as scorer or provider.

It may border on heresy in United's ranks to put Beckham on the same level as Giggs or Scholes, but he deserves it. He was that good.

Park Ji-Sung

Pace: 80

Shooting: 75

Passing: 70

Dribbling: 76

Defending: 70

Physical: 90

Overall: 82

Park Ji-Sung is a popular figure at United, a legend in terms of how beloved he is if not necessarily in terms of on-pitch contribution.

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Decent numbers for passing, shooting and dribbling, and a reasonable turn of pace, would make him a solid all-rounder, but the star stat would of course be his physical capabilities. "Three Lungs" Park was a running machine, apparently as capable of pitch-length, full-speed sprints in the 85th minute as he was in the 10th. 

In the interests of accuracy, he should have excellent chemistry with Patrice Evra given their close off-pitch relationship. 

Denis Irwin

Pace: 78

Shooting: 75

Passing: 80

Dribbling: 60

Defending: 90

Physical: 80

Overall: 85

Denis Irwin was at his peak in the 1990s, but he was at United for the first couple of years of the 21st century and so squeaks into contention. 

The Cork-born defender could play at left- or right-back and was a key cog in Sir Alex Ferguson's relentless winning machine. He was far from the most glamorous player, but between his superb defensive nous and his contributions from dead-ball positions, he was an excellent all-rounder. 

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He was a medium-pacer to use cricket parlance—certainly not a speed merchant but not a slowpoke, either. His shooting was more than functional for a player in his position, and he was also able to distribute the ball decently. Beating a man with the ball at his feet was not his game, but his defensive contributions were vital. 

In an interview with Sundayworld.com (h/t ESPN), Ferguson said Irwin was the only player he knew for sure would make his best XI.

Ferguson said: "At Highbury in one game, he had a bad pass back in the last minute, and [Dennis] Bergkamp came in and scored. After the game the press said, 'You must be disappointed in that pass back.' I said, 'Well, one mistake in 10 years isn't bad.' He was an unbelievable player."

Nicky Butt

Pace: 75

Shooting: 65

Passing: 80

Dribbling: 70

Defending: 85

Physical: 90

Overall: 85

Nicky Butt was at United until 2004 so comfortably meets the 21st-century criteria. And "legend" is only a touch too strong to describe this member of the Class of '92 who made 307 starts and 80 substitute appearances for the Red Devils. That places him at 34th in overall appearances for the club, per the Website of Dreams.

Butt was the understudy to Keane for much of his career, so using Keane's card as a starting point is sensible. 

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Butt was a little quicker than Keane, though there was not much in it, and his shooting was less effective than his former captain's. Keane managed 48 goals in his 480 appearances, a better ratio than Butt's 26 in 387. 

They were both slightly underrated passers of the ball, with Butt's performance at the World Cup in 2002 showing just how creative he could be. But he was a level below Keane, and so he has to get a lower score here too.

Keane was a little better when it came to beating a man, given his background as a more attacking midfielder. The former Republic of Ireland international also had the edge in defending, by a whisker, but their physical statistics deserve to be about equal. 

The intangibles are, in the end, what score Butt a lower overall rating than his former captain, with 85 about fair overall. 

All FIFA data per Futhead.com.