You know you’re in it for the long haul when it comes to starting a new and ambitious Road to Glory. Of course, picking just any random team is sheer madness so I’ve developed a few guidelines to help steer you towards the light.

The first and most important aspect to picking a ‘Road to Glory’ team is assessing the challenge ahead of you. Why make it easy, right? We want the club nobody will dare touch. The club that proudly wears “Joe’s Cleaners” on the front of their kits. The club whose budget is so low it makes you wonder if the staff and players might be put on furlough in the off season.

Secondly, we want a club who has a nice kit. We’re going to be staring at these things for a really, really lengthy period. We might as well enjoy them!

Lastly, the potential of the squad. Sure, you can go ahead and gut the team and build your own Youth Academy, but you’re going to have to play a few years in the boonies, so you might as well enjoy the player pool. With all these things in mind - let’s start our search!

England - Barnet FC

Challenge

Barnet, also known as ‘The Bees’, are located out of London in a stadium dubbed, ‘The Hive’. Yeah, super cool. Perfect for any club looking to make a splash in the next few years. Their current squad is very, very poor and it will take a keen scout talent to improve it. Currently they sit like this:

Kits

I mean, they’re called ‘The Bees’. Need I say more? They actually have decent kits that have a nice design to them. If you can stand black and orange, this might be the squad for you.

Potential

There is plenty of potential on this side. You have the advantage of playing in a League Two side that won’t force you to promote right away so you can play those youth academy players early. The board expectations for Barnet are focused on Youth Development so they will be on board for your fat-trimming squad rebuilding.

France - Red Star FC

Challenge

Okay so I’m a bit weird. I like to recruit in only Eastern European countries simply because of the logo. I immediately start to scout in Russia and try to bring in some young talent from the bowels of the Russian Premiere. Red Star is an interesting club because they have been around for so long and have even won league titles. These days, they’re an afterthought as they haven’t won anything since World War 2.

Kits

If the logo didn’t catch your attention, those kits have to. Adidas knew what they were doing when they put them together. The only issue I can forsee is if you come home after happy hour and decide to play a quick match - you might lose your players in the field. That green definitely blends.

Potential

This club has a really nice starting place, however, it does lack a bit of the French flair to it. Perhaps it’s the lack of French players to start, or the heavy Russian overtones, but it is super fun to invade Ligue 1 with your new found comrades and assert your superiority.

Germany - SV Sandhausen

Challenge

For me, this was the toughest challenge in Germany. You start off with almost no money, no board support, and nobody wants to play for you. In a second division German league that includes Stuttgart and Hannover 96, this will be just as hard as Barnet. As you see from their squad, they have potential that needs to be trained. Added bonus, American Andrew Wooten is on the squad.

Kits

I really, really like these kits. They might seem too modern for some folks, but I really like the clean and sharp look.

Potential

The fun potential of this team is through the roof. As you can see from the squad, there is a lot of young talent to develop. If building a youth academy is not your game, this is definitely the challenge for you. With tons of talent exuding from every corner of the Bundesliga 2, there is no shortage of real scouting to be done.

Spain - Sevilla Atletico

Challenge

The challenge speaks for itself. You’re looking at probably the most difficult challenge in FIFA 17. The team is the worst in Spain, and your job, is to make it better than arguably four of the best clubs in the world. This challenge is not for the feint of heart. The good news? The potential.

Kits

I like these kits for one reason, and one reason only; no advertisements. Nada. Zilch. Nein Werbung. They are clean, simple, and the diagonal stripe going across the body is a nice touch.

Potential

The second most redeeming quality (after the kits) is the potential of the youth on this team. You won’t need to go looking for any computer generated players in the Youth Academy as you will have your future already on your bench. All it will take is a few years of struggle and some ridiculous training.

Italy - Frosinone

Challenge

Can you imagine a better challenge than taking a team dubbed, ‘The Canaries’, to the top of Italian food chain? Frosinone has been a club for almost a hundred years but reached first division football for only the first time last year. Sadly, they were sent immediately back home. The challenge is to make every team regret that.

Kits

I really like these kits. I’m a big fan of the yellow and blue, and even better, the subtle lion going across the midsection is a beauty of a touch. I should really just have one article where I rank kits. I promise you won’t get tired scoring goals in these.

Potential

The fun potential is high, the player potential is not. You will definitely have to do your own player development and scouting, which most people prefer anyway. This squad is a bit older with much of the youth coming in on loan from some of Italy’s larger clubs. I just started this career mode and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It might be the kits...