Back in the days before the Ultimate Team mode took the soccer games niche by storm, career mode was the go-to way of playing FIFA. Nowadays, it may have been pushed aside by EA due to the sheer popularity of FUT (and the revenue it brings in on a daily basis). However, taking over a team and leading them to glory is still a lot of fun in FIFA 21.
There are plenty of ways to enjoy career mode without getting bored of it after one or two seasons. Of course, this may be difficult to achieve when playing as one of the established soccer giants. Most of the time, lifting a team up out of a dire situation and making champions out of them is the most enjoyable way to play the game. Career mode challenges like the ones listed below are a great way for players to rejuvenate their love for FIFA 21.
Updated August 8th, 2021 by Maciej Grzymkowski: The end of the football season is always a time of eagerly anticipating the new FIFA game, and spending some final moments with last year's iteration of EA Sports' hit franchise. Despite being overshadowed by the money-making giant that is FIFA Ultimate Team in recent years, there is still a lot of fun to be had in the Career Mode. Of course, due to its limited nature, it can get quite dull relatively fast. Spicing things up with challenges is always a good idea, especially if they entail exploring some of the most overlooked parts of the Career Mode, such as the Youth Academy or leading national teams to glory by winning the FIFA World Cup.
13 Turn A Championship Side To Premier League Winners In Two Seasons
Difficulty: Hard
The Premier League is by far the most popular soccer competition in the world. In terms of viewership and worldwide popularity, it can be rivaled only by the UEFA Champions League. Every club that plays in the top-flight of English soccer generates millions of pounds in revenue.
With a sound transfer strategy and good manual skills, players can take a Championship (the second division) side and lead them to become the champions of England in just two seasons. It's one of the most difficult challenges on this list, and as such, it's also the most satisfying one to complete.
12 Win The Club World Cup With A Non-European Team
Difficulty: Hard
The FIFA Club World Cup is a competition meant to bring together the absolute best teams from all continents and have them compete for the ultimate glory. It's the title of club world champions. Unfortunately, the tournament is usually won by the European Champions League winners, ridding it of its competitiveness.
Players who take on this challenge have to face some of the greatest teams in world football at the Club World Cup. Not only that, but they must also win their respective national and continental competitions in order to get a spot at that tournament in the first place. To make it easier on themselves, players might want to choose American or Chinese teams, since these clubs have decent transfer budgets, comparable to those of European sides.
11 Win All Five Top European Leagues
Difficulty: Easy
Although there are dozens of national leagues in Europe, five of them are considered to be the cream of the crop. They dominate not only in European soccer, but all over the world. Winning the English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian league is a feat that no manager in the history of the game has managed to achieve.
Thankfully, it is a challenge that players can accomplish in FIFA 21. The tricky part is getting hired in all of the top five leagues. However, once the player does the job in at least two of them, they shouldn't have a problem getting a pick of sides to manage.
10 Take A League Two Side All The Way To The Premier League
Difficulty: Medium
The EFL League Two is the lowest tier of the English Football League. As such, it is composed of clubs with incredibly low budgets. There's also a shortage of quality players that could lift teams up to higher divisions.
Taking teams from League Two all the way to the Premier League will require at least three seasons, and that is if they are played to perfection. Players will need to show incredible managerial acumen and must often rely on loaned players to bring their sides up to the higher leagues. Making the jump from the Championship to the Premier League will likely be the most difficult step. It may possibly require a full restructuring of the team.
9 Win The World Cup And The Champions League In The Same Season
Difficulty: Medium
Although it's completely unrealistic, as no real-life football manager would have the time and energy to coach a top club and a national team at the same time, FIFA 21 allows players to do exactly that. Those who are up for the challenge of rivaling for the top honors in both club and national football might want to try and win both the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup in a single season. It is a difficult task, one that will probably take a couple of seasons to complete.
The 2022 World Cup is just one season away from the beginning of the Career Mode, which means that one would be unlikely to receive a management offer from a team capable of winning that trophy. Therefore, players should spend the five seasons before the 2026 World Cup getting the best results possible with their club to generate interest from the very best national teams. It might be helpful to try to bring as many players from the national team over to the club, as it will increase both of these teams' chemistry and help secure the coveted trophies.
8 Win The European Treble
Difficulty: Easy (with the right team)
This is a classic challenge, and one of the most coveted achievements in the world of soccer in general. The European treble is composed of the national championship, national cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Winning the treble grants managers a spot among the all-time greats.
Winning all three of these competitions is a difficult task. The key to securing the treble is squad depth. Juggling three tournaments around will mean that a lot of the team's players will get tired. If there aren't enough quality backup footballers, low stamina levels may make many games impossible to win, especially in the Champions League.
7 Win The Champions League With A Lower Division Team
Difficulty: Medium
This is another challenge that might take more than three seasons to succeed at. Firstly, there is the hard task of taking a team from the second (or lower) division to a top European league. The player should spend the following seasons on solidifying the team's spot in the first division.
Finally, getting to a Champions League promotion spot and buying the players who will make the team competitive in that tournament is a challenge in its own rights. It's more than worth the effort, though. Reaching the pinnacle of European soccer with an underdog team is the ultimate Cinderella tale, and one of the most satisfying things to do in FIFA 21.
6 Build A Trophy-Winning Team Consisting Of Only Academy Players
Difficulty: Very Hard
This is probably a FIFA career mode challenge that requires the most patience of them all. Given the fact that youth academy players with high potential usually start wanting to ascend to the first team when their overall ratings are at about 65-69, it means that in order to fully develop a title-winning team with these footballers, players will have to spend at least four seasons rotating a low-rated squad to allow the youngsters to meet their potential ratings.
Although it might take about seven or eight seasons to complete the project, the end result is always extremely satisfying. Youth players with high potentials tend to outperform any of the existing, real-life footballers, and so an entire team of fully-grown, high-potential academy players in Career Mode is as close to an unbeatable side as it gets in FIFA 21.
5 Become A National Champion On Five Continents
Difficulty: Medium
This is an extended version of the "win five European leagues" challenge. Trying to become a national champion on five continents is a great adventure and a perfect opportunity to freshen up the gameplay when it gets stale.
The best way to enjoy this challenge is by starting in South America or Asia. Next, they can ultimately make their way to Europe. Opting to play career mode like this is also a great way for players to educate themselves about some of the lesser-known, more "exotic" soccer leagues.
4 Don't Buy Players Over 21
Difficulty: Easy (but time-consuming)
Players interested in the soccer scouting scene will love this challenge. It's a great choice for those aspiring to find the next Kylian Mbappe in the sea of potential wonder-kids present in FIFA 21.
Essentially, the point here is to build a successful team around youth players with high potentials. It is going to take many seasons to unleash the full power of a youngster squad like that, but it's also great fun, especially for soccer enthusiasts.
3 Become A National Champion Only With Players Over 30
Difficulty: Medium
Creating a "blast from the past" lineup is more difficult than it seems. It's quite tricky to find aging players who also retain pace and physicality. Because these are two of the most important stats in the FIFA franchise, this challenge requires a change in strategy.
Managers aspiring to win a top league with a team composed of players older than 30 will have to adjust their tactics. They should rely more on passing, vision, and defensive prowess than the typical winning combination of holding down the "sprint" button and dribbling the way to success.
2 Win The Champions League Without Using Players From The Top 10 Nationalities
Difficulty: Medium
It may seem very difficult at first, but in fact, it is fairly simple, if one has the time and patience to do their research. Although it will take some time and effort to scout out players for each position (as well as the bench), FIFA 21 is full of talented alternatives to footballers from countries that usually challenge for the top international honors.
Players who embark on the journey of composing a Champions League-winning side without resorting to the top ten nationalities should look for footballers coming from countries like the USA, Poland, or various African nations. Their national teams are composed of inexperienced, but promising players who have already secured transfer moves to the top European leagues and are only a few years away from hitting their prime.
1 Win One National League With Five Different Teams
Difficulty: Medium
This challenge is the perfect option for players who consider themselves experts in a particular league. Winning it five times with different clubs will definitely take more than five seasons (except on the Amateur difficulty). It will also mean that players will have to face the championship-winning sides they built themselves.
On top of that, this challenge is also a great way to learn a lot about a particular national league. Players can then take that knowledge into the Ultimate Team mode, in order to find the perfect chemistry combination for that division.