Camila Sosa
Mexican soccer players began appearing on the covers of soccer video games in 2005, but for the last six years there have been none.
For several years Electronic Arts was focused on finding Mexican players who were going through a good moment, to place them on the covers of their FIFA videogames. From 2005 to 2016, 10 Mexican soccer players appeared as the main image, but in the last six years this stopped happening.
Since EA launched its first edition, it has been looking for a way to captivate the public in order to add more users. As the years went by, modifications were made to the game types, the graphics and each time it became a more realistic simulation, since nowadays the players are more and more similar and it does not look like a video game but like a soccer match in real time.
Last year Carlos Vela was the MLS Most Valuable Player in the FIFA 22 edition, but that didn’t earn him a place on the cover. The following are the Mexican soccer players who were the image of the FIFA video game.
1.- Oswaldo Sánchez
The goalkeeper was the first Mexican to be the main image in a video game. He played in the 2005 edition, when he was a star player for Chivas. He shared the cover with Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Morientes.
2.- Omar Bravo
In 2006, a Mexican appeared on the cover of FIFA for the second time in a row and this time it was forward Omar Bravo, who was already participating with the Mexican National Team and was one of the best Mexican players. On the cover he appears alongside Brazilian star Ronaldinho and American Freddy Adu.
3.- Jaime Lozano
In the same year, 2006, there was a special edition for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the cover featured Jaime Lozano with the “Tricolor” jersey, who was not called to the World Cup.
4.- Francisco “Kikín” Fonseca
Another Mexican who had the privilege of being taken into account by EA was Francisco “Kikín” Fonseca, who emigrated to Europe after his participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He appeared as the image of the video game alongside American Landon Donovan and Brazilian Ronaldinho.
5.- Guillermo Ochoa
The Águilas del América goalkeeper was beginning to make a name for himself in the Mexican league and abroad due to his call-ups to the Mexican National Team and was the image of the video game on two occasions — 2008 and 2009, alongside Ronaldinho and Jozy Altidore, respectively.
6.- Cuauhtémoc Blanco
The story of Cuauhtémoc Blanco began long before FIFA made the first edition of their video game, but they decided to include him on the cover in 2010 when he was playing for the Chicago Fire of the MLS. He shared the front of the video game with Sacha Kljestan and Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s star player at the time.
7.- Carlos Vela
Despite not having a cover in 2022, Carlos Vela has already been featured as the main image of FIFA. In 2011, the Aztec striker, while at Arsenal, was included alongside Real Madrid star Kaka and Landon Donovan.
8.- Rafael Márquez
Mexican defender Rafael Márquez had the privilege of being part of the select group of Mexican players who were featured on the cover of the famous video game. In 2012 he shared the front with Landon Donovan and Wayne Rooney.
9.- Javier “Chicharito” Hernández
It took two years for another Aztec player to appear in FIFA. Javier Chicharito Hernández was another of the Mexican soccer players who had the opportunity to repeat the space, as in the 2014 and 2015 awards, Hernández shared the stage with Argentine star Lionel Messi.
10.- Marco Fabián
In 2016, a Mexican appeared for the last time on the cover of FIFA. Marco Fabián, who starred for Chivas Guadalajara, was alongside Lionel Messi in that edition. The current Mazatlan midfielder was the last to appear on a cover of the well-known video game series.
