25 years of FIFA games: We bet you can't name every cover star

Take a trip through gaming history…

Over the years some of the biggest names in world football have graced the cover of a FIFA game, from Lionel Messi to, er, Erik Thorstvedt.

On the release of FIFA 18 we’ve compiled every single cover since 1994’s FIFA International Soccer, tracking the development of the world’s favourite football game as we go.

Which one’s your favourite?

FIFA covers through the ages - FIFA International Soccer

1. FIFA International Soccer

The first FIFA shunned the top-down view favoured by most football games and went for an isometric camera angle instead. Everyone recognises David Platt on the cover, but do you know the name of the Polish midfielder he’s tussling with? It’s Piotr Świerczewski, who played 38 minutes for Birmingham City in the 02/03 Premier League season.

2. FIFA Soccer 95

Norwegian goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt played for Tottenham when he was featured on the cover of FIFA 95. Although the game itself only included fictional players, it had real clubs for the first time, with teams from England, Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Holland, plus a few from Brazil.

3. FIFA Soccer 96

The cover of FIFA 96 featured future (short-lived) Crystal Palace manager Frank De Boer, pictured in happier times playing for the Netherlands against a dandruff-free Jason McAteer, the face of Wash & Go shampoo.

It was the first FIFA game to have real player names, although the Brazilian league was out of date and the American teams were entirely made up.

4. FIFA 97

Newcastle’s David Ginola was the cover star for all European versions of FIFA 97, while Brazilian striker Bebeto was chosen for the rest of the world.

The Frenchman also took on motion capture duties for the game, which was the first to include an indoor mode, something that many people still long for a return of.

5. FIFA: Road to World Cup 98

Considering his status in world football it’s amazing that D-Beck only appeared on the cover of one FIFA game, but he chose a cracker to lend his face to, even if he came back from France ‘98 with a slightly dented reputation.

RTWC 98 included all 172 national teams and was the first FIFA game to properly implement the offside rule.

6. FIFA 99

With the Premier League’s greatest ever player on the cover (that’s Dennis Bergkamp, not Kasey Keller, who appeared on the front of the American version), FIFA 99 had a lot to live up to. Goalkeepers were more realistic, though, and you could choose to bring them out to dive at the feet of an advancing striker. Not that that put off Dennis.

7. FIFA 2000

While the UK got Sol Campbell on the cover of FIFA 2000, Italy got Vincenzo Montella, Spain had Pep Guardiola, and American soccer fans picked up copies graced by Eddie Pope.

As well as over 40 classic teams full of legends from the past, it included Major League Soccer for the first time, when even fewer people cared about it than they do now.

8. FIFA 2001

FIFA 2001 was the first to include online play (although only on PC), the first to get player likenesses, and the first to get a power bar for shooting, so you could choose between calmly slotting home or trying to tear the net off. Paul Scholes featured on the UK cover but it’s a total coincidence that there was also a button for making bad tackles.

9. FIFA Football 2002

Thierry Henry took centre stage (the last player to appear alone on the cover until FIFA 17’s Marco Reus) on the front of a game that introduced power bars for passing, giving you more control of your build-up play and marking the point where EA started to take FIFA in a less arcadey direction.

10. FIFA Football 2003

FIFA’s famous these days for its uncanny recreation of televised footy, full of slow-mo replays and whizzy menus. That all started with FIFA 2003, which was the first one to get broadcast-style highlights at half-time and after the final whistle.

Meanwhile, Roberto Carlos, Ryan Giggs and former Barnet boss Edgar Davids all gave disapproving looks from the front cover.

11. FIFA Football 2004

A fearsome trio of Thierry Henry, Alessandro Del Piero and Ronaldinho look like they’re running for a bus on the cover of FIFA Football 2004.

It was the first one to include lower-league teams, back when League 2 was known as the Third Division and it included Swansea City and Premier League new boys Huddersfield Town.

12. FIFA Football 2005

The last FIFA game to actually feature the word ‘football’ in the title, PES was at the height of its powers when FIFA Football 2005 was released, and not even Patrick Viera, Fernando Morientes and Andrei Shevchenko could do anything about it.

John Motson also made his final appearance as commentator, with Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray taking over.

13. FIFA 06

Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho teamed up for the first of many FIFA covers, while a chemistry system in the game’s revamped Manager Mode planted the seeds for Ultimate Team.

A special Road to FIFA World Cup edition was also released, which only allowed you to play a qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

14. FIFA 07

FIFA 07 was the first to feature the warm-up area, which allowed you to fire potshots at a goalkeeper on a practice ground while the game loaded. Extra kudos was awarded if you could recreate Ronaldinho’s famous(ly faked) crossbar challenge YouTube video – the first one ever to reach a million views.

15. FIFA 08

A young Wayne Rooney screamed out from the cover of FIFA 08, while Ronaldinho, at the height of his powers with Barcelona, cracked jokes with someone off-box.

FIFA 08 was the first one to include Be a Pro mode, which gave you control of just one play during a match – a bit like an interactive version of Sky Sports’s Player Cam.

16. FIFA 09

FIFA 09 introduced Ultimate Team mode, user-controlled goal celebrations and Live Season data that made your players better or worse depending on how they were playing in real life.

AC Milan’s Ronaldinho made his final appearance on the box, handing over main cover star duties to Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.

17. FIFA 10

FIFA 10 was the first one to include full 360 degree passing, which made it possible to thread balls through the gaps between defenders more accurately than ever.

Flanked by Frank Lampard and Theo Walcott, Wayne Rooney made his fifth appearance of seven on the cover. Later that season he scored that overhead kick in a 2-1 win over Manchester City.

18. FIFA 11

Wayne Rooney and Kaka (then of Real Madrid) were the odd couple on the cover of FIFA 11.

It also introduced Be A Goalkeeper mode, which allowed you to get stuck controlling only the man between the sticks for the entire game. You know, just in case you wanted to relive your school days.

19. FIFA 12

Most FIFA cover stars are at the top of their game when they’re featured, which is probably the case for Jack Wilshere. When he appeared on the cover of FIFA 12 with Wayne Rooney, the Arsenal midfielder was one of England’s hottest prospects, but these days he spends more time warming the Gunners’ bench.

20. FIFA 13

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi began a four-year run as FIFA’s global cover star, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Hart either side of him.

One member of that trio has since won awards and titles left, right and centre, while the other two have seen their stock fall somewhat. We’ll let you decide who’s who.

21. FIFA 14

When EA first unveiled the cover for FIFA 14 it showed Gareth Bale in a Spurs shirt, but the small matter of a €100m transfer to Real Madrid that summer meant it had to be updated before it went on sale, so Tottenham fans couldn’t even keep it as a reminder.

22. FIFA 15

For FIFA 15, Lionel Messi (who for some reason looks a bit like Mark Wahlberg) was joined by Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, who would go on to the win the Premier League and PFA Player of the Season award, before it all went wrong for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.

23. FIFA 16

FIFA 16 was the first to add women’s teams, while Portsmouth’s Fratton Park was also added as a tribute to creative director Simon Humber, who died during the game’s development.

In one of the biggest mismatches since Shaun Wright-Phillips played basketball against Peter Crouch, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson appeared on the UK cover alongside Lionel Messi.

24. FIFA 17

This should really be Borussia Dortmund’s social media manager on the cover of FIFA 17. Why? Because the only reason Marco Reus graces the front of the box is because he won a Twitter competition to be featured, and you can be fairly sure it wasn’t him out on the campaign trail for that one.