EA Sports and Konami have brought us some incredible entertainment over the years in the form of FIFA and PES respectively and with the latest editions of the two games ready to hit gaming outlets the world over, it’s time to go down memory lane with these popular franchises.
EA Sports, in particular, has done a splendid job in keeping fans interested in their products with FIFA becoming the game to look out for every year around this time. Started in 1993, the first FIFA game received an overwhelming response from the gaming public at a time when the video game craze was on the rise. Since that reaction, the developers haven’t looked back. Cutting edge graphics and gameplay have taken the forefront and with the advancement of technology, the game has indeed come a long way. So much so, that even today FIFA has a relative monopoly when it comes to licenses and world recognition.
But as they say, every champion has a nemesis. EA ruled the roost for much of the 90s but with the start of the millennium, Pro Evolution Soccer was making waves around the world powered by the tough Konami game developers. PES had all the makings of a real contender but even today faces the problem of licenses and hasn’t been able to receive the same recognition as FIFA because of being unable to use real names of leagues, teams and even some players. Nevertheless, PES fans remain loyal as ever to the franchise so don’t expect the game to head out into the sunset just yet. The two games have produced plenty of cover stars over the years and some of them have ended up being quite questionable when you take a look at these players today. Some of them probably didn’t even benefit as much as you may have thought after being on the cover:
#5 Jack Wilshere
FIFA 12 was one of the best games put out by EA at the time and the inclusion of regular cover star Wayne Rooney yet again came as no surprise to fans the world over. What did come as a surprise, however, was Jack Wilshere next to him. The then Arsenal youngster was coming through the ranks at the time but seeing him on the cover surprised everyone. While it should have ideally catapulted his career, Wilshere actually began to slip into nothingness following dry spells and regular injuries. The face on the cover certainly didn’t do the young Jack any favours.
#4 Mario Gotze
FIFA World Cup 2014 hero Mario Gotze made his much-anticipated move to Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund around this time and his stock was sky high after scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final. The German made the PES 2015 cover in a Bayern shirt and garnered much attention the world over. The chatter soon disappeared into obscurity as did Gotze’s Bayern career as injuries plagued the promising talent and squad depth kept him on the bench for much of his tenure in Munich. Gotze eventually returned to Dortmund but hasn’t been as influential as he was in his first stint.
#3 Adriano
By the time PES 2007 rolled in, Konami had made a decent standing for themselves in the football gaming scene and decided to make Brazil’s Adriano the cover star for their video game that year. At Inter, Adriano had managed to score a decent number of goals and was destined to be a major part of a Brazil squad heading into transition. The striker’s talent was unmatched but that is pretty much where it ended for him as Adriano soon found himself on the sidelines due to injury and shockingly made the move back to Brazil where alcohol problems plagued the once mercurial forward. Reports of him being in a Brazilian gang have worsened the situation and this is one cover star PES surely don’t want you to remember.
#2 Jordan Henderson
If you ask Liverpool fans, this player probably wouldn’t make the list. But the fact of the matter is that Henderson being a co-cover on the FIFA 16 video game did raise plenty of eyebrows. Far from a big name, Henderson was paired with Messi and many felt he didn’t deserve a spot so early in his career. His cause hasn’t been helped today following inconsistent performances and Liverpool’s status of being far from good enough in the Premier League. While Henderson has played a major part for his country (even captaining the side), his inclusion on the cover did little to propel him to stardom. If anything he continues to slip down the radar at Merseyside with new faces expected to join the fray.
#1 Fernando Torres
Who would have thought a decade ago that Fernando Torres would be on the list of “what might have been” players? A talent the likes of which had never been seen, Torres made the move to Liverpool almost a decade ago and scored goals for fun in the Premier League. Even injuries weren’t enough to put the Spaniard down and his scoring ability had even the best of defenders running for cover. This run of form led Torres to the cover of PES 2010 and what might have been a massive draw at the time worked just the opposite as Torres drifted away following a tremendous lack of form and a troubled psychological mindset. As Torres attempts to pick his career up, we can surely say that the cover was among the catalysts of his eventual downfall.
