FIFA 19: Release Date and Review of Challenging Clubs to Control in Career Mode

FIFA 19 will land in stores on September 28, with the most popular virtual football game aiming to defend its title from Pro Evolution Soccer for yet another year.

EA Sports has neglected Career Mode for years, opting to prioritise modes that can be more lucrative on a long-term basis like Ultimate Team.

This year's major Career Mode innovations―visual upgrades, UEFA Champions League integration and a tweak to the budget management system―indicate gamers who love to manage their clubs will once again have to settle for an all-too-familiar product. Nevertheless, many will boot up a new save file the moment the game lands.

Bringing up a smaller team with a limited budget and few budding stars has always been one of the best ways to play Career Mode. Here is a look at three such clubs, who all have a great backstory to help you consider picking them (all budget info courtesy of FIFAGameNews.com).

Parma Calcio 1913, Serie A (budget: £7,641,000)

Parma have returned to Serie A―and not Calcio A, as EA Sports have finally obtained the license for the Italian top division―just a few years after the club were relegated to Serie D due to financial struggles.

Three straight promotions saw the iconic club return to the biggest stage of Italian football, and in real life, the return has been a success, including a shock win at Inter Milan:

The Crociati have a solid budget compared to the minnows of Serie A, but this club was winning European silverware not so long ago and is as ambitious as they come. With Juventus, Roma, Napoli, Inter and AC Milan all vying for a Champions League spot, it won't be easy to return Parma to the heights of old.

Fortunately for gamers, Parma already have some stellar talent in the squad, including Gervinho and Bruno Alves.

SD Huesca, La Liga (budget: £1,823,000)

Huesca are the only club in La Liga with a budget of less than £2 million, and several teams from the second division dwarf their financial abilities.

They're playing their first-ever season in the Spanish top division and field a side that has a whole host of on-loan players in it, including Atletico Madrid's Axel Werner and Ruben Semedo of Villarreal.

Few gave Huesca any chance to stay up at the start of the season, but they shocked Eibar on the opening matchday before earning a draw against Athletic Bilbao. They've lost three in a row since then―including an 8-2 drubbing from Barcelona―and the real-life Huesca face a real battle to keep their La Liga dream alive.

The challenge will be a tough one in Career Mode as well, as all those on-loan players will join their parent clubs soon enough, leaving a serious void. With almost no budget for transfers to speak of, managers will need a solid long-term plan to find success here.

AFC Wimbledon, League One (budget: £1,144,000)

With four divisions worth of teams on FIFA, England has long been an ideal place to start your Career Mode. Taking a small club and guiding it all the way to the promised land of the Premier League is a huge challenge, and while there are several worthy League One sides to go with, few can match Wimbledon's unique story.

The Dons have officially been around since 2002 and started after the old Wimbledon FC were relocated to Milton Keynes. Local fans furious with the decision and upset at losing their club started a new side all the way down in the ninth tier of English football, and they've steadily built something special, with promotion to League One achieved in 2016.

Many FIFA fans will already be familiar with the squad, which has featured heavily in several Career Mode series:

Wimbledon's budget sits slightly below the average of League One and the squad could use upgrades in several key areas, but there is real talent there. Deji Oshilaja and Will Nightingale are standouts, handing the Dons a strong presence in defence.

Like Huesca, the Wimbledon project would likely require some patience, but it would be an excellent challenge to undertake.