FIFA 19: Rupp prefers Hazard to himself

The TSG Hoffenheim players were among the millions of people across the globe eagerly anticipating the release of the FIFA 19 video game. When it did come out at the end of September, there was a rather strange surprise for Lukas Rupp: his avatar had Nico Schulz's face instead. Rupp saw the funny side of the faux-pas by manufacturer EA Sports though, saying: "It's obviously an absolute cheek. My Instagram inbox exploded because everyone was writing to me to tell me," he said with a smile.

The matter was subsequently the talk of the changing room. But it is not only the optics that have prompted debate among the players – with the ratings given by EA Sports also the subject of discussion. "As soon as the ratings are published, there's obviously a lot of talk and laughter: 'Why am I so bad at that? What have they done there?' Last year, for example, Niklas Süle was very slow and another player, who is normally slower, was quicker. We cried laughing and Niki didn't hear the last of it for a while."

The first-team's lounge in Zuzenhausen often plays host to some intense battles. Now and again there are some full-blooded games after training sessions – as well as on away trips. "I have a Playstation case that I usually take with me when we have longer away trips. It obviously goes without saying I have the version of the game with the Hoffenheim logo on the cover." The new edition has impressed the players in terms of gameplay and graphics. "The players look really realistic. There's a huge difference each year. It's really difficult to defend compactly, and scoring goals is becoming increasingly difficult too. But you get used to it relatively quickly."

When it comes to attacking play, Rupp has a golden rule – he almost never crosses the ball. "I prefer to play one-twos and then I'm clean through on goal. And then I shoot with a classic low finish into the far corner. So I don't press the R2 button for a curling shot, but instead press the circle button to shoot and hold it down for longer," he explained.

But, as Rupp revealed with a smile, playing with his own avatar isn't always the best way to find the back of the net. "He's obviously underrated compared to the original. But I rarely play with Lukas Rupp." Rupp is open and honest as to his reasons why. "When I was included in my first-ever FIFA game as a Karlsruher SC player, that was amazing for me and then I obviously only played as myself. But in comparison to the top global stars you're really bad, which means it's not as much fun. There's no getting around it: the difference between playing with Hazard and Rupp is like the difference between day and night (laughs)."

The Belgian is the Hoffenheim man's favourite virtual player and so he usually plays as English club Chelsea. "My favourite teams are Chelsea and Liverpool, because they have brutal speed going forward and that's very important on FIFA. That's why I don't tend to do so well with Barcelona on console games – even though I like their style of play in reality." Team-mate Ishak Belfodil follows a similar strategy, preferring to play with Real Madrid or Juventus, who have cover star Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. "I try to score my goals by going through the middle and not by playing crosses. With Juventus I play the ball into space towards Ronaldo and try to use him to score in one-on-one situations."

Despite the intense battles with his team-mates or on his console at home, there's no element of addiction for Lukas Rupp. "I actually only play video games when I'm with friends. I don't play the Ultimate Team mode and I don't download any packages. There are a few other ways to spend your free time, to be honest. But it's always fun to play."