a pioneer for women's football in England
EA Sports is getting ready for the release of EA FC 24 and that means the return of popular game mode Ultimate Team.
The upcoming game serves as the inaugural instalment in the EA Sports FC series following the conclusion of EA’s partnership with FIFA.
Ultimate Team has long been a staple of the franchise but for the first time, players will be able to use the world’s top female stars alongside male footballers in the same team, opening up even more opportunities for custom teams.
New Heroes will help with this.
Once again, EA Sports and Marvel have collaborated to reimagine cult stars as comic book heroes and heroines.
In EA FC 24, each new Hero will be remembered for how they performed both domestically and continentally
Each will be celebrated with a base version as well as a UEFA Champions League or UEFA Women’s Champions League version to commemorate their European greatness.
With EA FC 24 releasing on September 29, 2023, we look at the new Heroes in more detail.
Alex Scott
A distinguished individual on and off the pitch, Alex Scott ruled the right-back position for her entire career, stopping defenders in their tracks and leading her team forward.
She won six English titles, seven FA Cups and a historic quadruple.
As a pioneer for women’s football in England, Alex Scott was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
One of her biggest achievements came when she scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 2007 UEFA Women’s Cup Final.
The class to lead and the courage to fight makes Alex Scott a worthy Ultimate Team Hero.
Gianluca Vialli
The late Gianluca Vialli was a beacon of both character and quality, a striker that struck joy into all who had the fortune of watching him play.
His trademark charm and trophy cabinet were equally memorable.
Vialli smiled his way to an iconic UEFA Champions League title with Juventus, winning the hearts of all of Turin and all who tuned in to watch their triumph.
A record-setting goal scorer, a proud representative of Italy on the international stage, and a charismatic leader, Vialli was truly an Ultimate Team Hero.
Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez was more than just a world-class striker. He was a warrior, capable of fighting his way to victory with a rare combination of effort and ability.
For Manchester United, Tevez proved his grit on the biggest stage, battling through 120 minutes of a UEFA Champions League final and emerging as a champion of Europe.
Even after this epic triumph, he never tired of fighting for glory, going on to lift the Premier League with Manchester City as a three-time English champion and Golden Boot winner.
Tevez epitomises what it means to be an Ultimate Team Hero, good enough to win without breaking a sweat, but heroic enough to always give it everything he had.
Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder had an eye for a killer pass but he was also a proficient striker of the ball, making him dangerous from anywhere on the pitch.
Everywhere he went, the Dutch midfielder set his sights on trophies, travelling to storied clubs around Europe and sniping silverware at every opportunity.
For Inter Milan, he hoisted the UEFA Champions League in 2010, authoring one of the most epic European runs ever written and bringing treble glory back to Italy.
When Sneijder steps on the pitch, he sees goals.
Bixente Lizarazu
From left back, Bixente Lizarazu marauded forward, claiming the whole left side of the pitch for his own and charging onward to tackle all of world football.
From best left back in France, to best in Germany, all the way to best in the world.
Lizarazu’s legs never tired from chasing attackers and his arms never tired from hoisting trophies.
He was champion in Germany, winning six Bundesliga titles, five cups and running the UEFA Champions League title back to Munich.
He was also a champion for France, winning the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
Lizarazu, the Dynamo, always kept moving forward for his team.
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu had all the qualities of a great leader on the pitch – wisdom, foresight, flexibility, tact and strength.
He was majestic on the ball, floating away from challenges, feinting defenders into oblivion, and finding teammates through the eye of a needle.
He presided over an incredibly talented Ajax side, reading the game and dictating play as a centre forward with noble technique and regal vision.
His career was accompanied by an array of honours.
This included going unbeaten with Arsenal to win the Premier League, a UEFA Champions League trophy with Ajax and a gold medal for his home nation of Nigeria.
Nadine Kessler
Nadine Kessler was a serial winner who led by example and whose glittering trophy cabinet was equal parts individual honours and team trophies.
Every time she took to the pitch, she ran the midfield, using her football IQ to dictate the tempo of the game and captain her side to glory.
A four-time German champion, three-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, a three-time German Cup lifter, a European Championship victor, and the European and World Player of the Year, Kessler is simply one of the best to ever play.
Her example continues to be a guiding light for her beloved Wolfsburg, now a perennial European powerhouse.
Personal success turns players into stars and Kessler has left a lasting legacy.
Ludovic Giuly
Ludovic Giuly was a tricky player who caused nightmares for defenders.
Mark him too tightly and he’d slip away. Underestimate him for a moment and he’d use his lightning quickness and thunderous finishing to power his team into the lead.
Giuly produced magic everywhere he played, dazzling at a handful of Europe’s top clubs during his decorated career.
He lifted the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in 2006, topping his run to the final with AS Monaco just a few years prior.
Giuly may have been small in stature but he was one of the most impactful on the pitch.
John Arne Riise
John Arne Riise was a marauding left back with a cannon of a left foot that fired shots goalwards, leaving goalkeepers no chance.
Underestimate him as an unassuming full-back and you’d find yourself picking the ball out of your own net as he wheeled off to celebrate yet another explosive freekick.
It was Riise’s rocket-powered left foot that launched Liverpool’s comeback hopes in the famous ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ in 2005.
The Norwegian assisted the first goal to reignite Liverpool’s title ambitions in what became the most famous UEFA Champions League final comeback in history.
He will now join EA FC 24 as an 87-rated Ultimate Team Hero.
Tomas Rosicky
Midfield maestro Tomas Rosicky was an elegant playmaker who could write a goal into existence at any moment.
In his very first season at Borussia Dortmund as their record signing, he helped his team to a Bundesliga title and orchestrated a fairytale run to the UEFA Cup Final.
Rosicky also won an FA Cup with Arsenal.
He made art everywhere he went, inspiring his teammates to play rhythmic, fluent football with his fluid technique and visionary passing.
Opponents will never forget the sight of the little Czech genius effortlessly shifting the ball from one flank to another.
Paulo Futre
Longtime Ultimate Team players will recognise Paulo Futre as he was once a Legend before they were rebranded as Icons.
He now returns to Ultimate Team as a Hero.
Futre’s speed was explosive and his momentum was unstoppable, driving him towards the goal (and his goals) throughout his nomadic career.
Futre led FC Porto to several league titles and even raced to the top of the European ladder in 1986-87, lifting the European Cup with a Player of the Match performance.
From there, Paulo Futre let nothing stand in his way, speeding past centre-backs and touring the world, playing for clubs in Portugal, France, Italy, England, Spain, and even Japan.
His ability to dash away from obstacles made it impossible to keep him in one place for long and after retirement, he remains in the hearts of fans.
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov was known for his cool demeanour during big moments.
Underneath his serene exterior was a brilliant footballing mind quietly calculating his next move.
The Bulgarian striker proved this early in his career, helping Bayer Leverkusen to a UEFA Champions League final at the age of just 21.
By the time he hung up his boots, Berbatov was a two-time Premier League champion, a Golden Boot winner, and one of the most graceful strikers to ever take the pitch.
He will now take to the virtual pitch as an Ultimate Team Hero.
Sonia Bompastor
Sonia Bompastor was known for her ferocious free-kicks.
They blazed past all who tried to stop them, like lightning bolts being fired right into the top corner.
Her double against PSG in 2011/12 epitomised Bombardier’s marksmanship, one stunning free-kick and another thunderous hit that crashed off of the crossbar on its way past a helpless keeper.
Bompastor lifted the D1 Arkema title in every single season she played for Olympique Lyonnais, an unbelievable six times.
She also enjoyed three UWCL titles, including two in a row.
A true Ultimate Team Hero, Bompastor always stood up for her teammates by standing over every free kick and striking fear into all who stood in her way.
Jari Litmanen
Formerly an Ultimate Team Icon, Jari Litmanen returns to EA FC 24 as a Hero.
He was a prolific finisher who was never too proud to provide a killer pass for his teammates.
Litmanen’s reign at Ajax exemplified who he was as a leader, a star who shone on one of the most talented squads in football history.
His majestic midfield play stood out as Ajax became champions of Europe in 1995 and Litmanen himself became one of the best players in the world.
But even as football royalty, Litmanen never let greatness get in the way of togetherness, connecting the great players around him as a noble leader and regal attacking midfielder.
Rui Costa
Another former Ultimate Team Icon, Rui Costa’s creativity was the stuff of legend, carving defences open and crafting clever opportunities for his teammates.
The Portuguese attacking midfielder made football look like art as he turned style into success for both club and country.
Nicknamed ‘The Maestro’, Costa’s highlight came in 2003 when he helped AC Milan win the UEFA Champions League.
back to Milan. Cerebral, creative and classy, Costa was a footballing genius.
Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany was a leader on the pitch and understood the game.
He overpowered his opponents and was able to expertly organise his defence with his elite football IQ and become a one-man brick wall with the match on the line.
His decade of leadership forever changed Manchester City’s trajectory, guiding the club into the upper echelons of English football with four Premier League titles and a host of domestic cups.
He also led City to Europe’s biggest stage, captaining their first-ever campaign in the UEFA Champions League.
A great captain leads their teammates to glory. Kompany led his whole club to greatness.
Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman was pure class, a refined footballer whose elegant approach to the game saw him retire as one of the most decorated Englishmen of his era.
McManaman adapted to any playing style and for Real Madrid, he effortlessly slipped behind enemy lines to seek opportunities for his teammates.
His crowning achievement was a sublime volley to secure the 2000 UEFA Champions League title for Real Madrid.
McManaman won double-digit trophies in his prolific career and in EA FC 24, he will be one of the top-rated new Heroes.
Demarcus Beasley
A picture of consistency, Demarcus Beasley was as pacy as he was reliable, bursting down the left wing match after match.
Everything he did, he did for the team, matching his crafty running with a tireless work rate that made him a nightmare for the opposition.
A pioneer, Beasley was the first American men’s footballer to play in a UEFA Champions League semi-final, leading PSV Eindhoven in goals during their historic run in Europe.
And though he was gone in a blink of an eye on the pitch, Beasley had staying power, playing in a record four World Cups for the USA.
Ramires
One of the most anticipated Ultimate Team Heroes is Ramires, mainly because players know how good he was in previous games.
Ramires excelled at everything. Box to box he went, running every phase of the game, expertly reading attackers, endlessly pursuing opponents, effortlessly carrying the ball forward.
His unforgettable chip against Barcelona in the 2012 UEFA Champions League epitomised his ever-evolving abilities, hanging in the air for an age before dropping in behind the keeper.
It was a goal that any striker would be proud to call their best ever.
But for Ramires, it was just another part of being an incredibly versatile player.
He and Chelsea went on to clinch the Champions League, adding to every domestic honour in England.
These new Heroes will change the way you play Ultimate Team and along with the existing Heroes, there will be more opportunities to create unique teams.
It will also provide more chances to use players you grew up watching.
Some will be better than others, therefore they will be more expensive.
EA FC 24 is just around the corner but expect even more surprises when more announcements are made.
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