Last night it came out that Landon Donovan would be making an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show tonight (Wednesday). Now we know why. He’ll be unveiling the FIFA 11 cover, featuring himself in the blue USA World Cup kit. Donovan posted the cover on his Facebook page this morning (see below). Donovan was previously the FIFA cover athlete for FIFA 07, wearing his yellow LA Galaxy kit.
Joining Landon Donovan is Mexican international Carlos Vela in his club kit (Arsenal) and Brazilian superstar KaKa in his Real Madrid whites. I find it interesting that Donovan is the only one wearing a national team kit, but given his status as this summer’s American Hero wearing that jersey (even if “the goal” came in the white kit), it makes sense. The average person not necessarily looking for FIFA will see him and pick it up.
Perhaps the more curious decision was to have Carlos Vela in his Arsenal kit instead of his Mexico kit. Vela isn’t exactly a superstar with an iconic look like Memo Ochoa. I’m also surprised that Chicharito wasn’t selected, given his recent surge in popularity. Chicharito wearing his Manchester United kit would have made a lot more sense than Vela wearing Arsenal.
FIFA 11 hits the shelves on September 28th on all systems except Wii. The Wii version comes out the following week, October 4th.
Adam Soucie is the author of Soccer, Not Football, a blog focused on the American game. If you’ve liked this piece, check out his other work. If you haven’t liked it, he promises there’s better stuff on his site.