Time capsule

That I'm of the 'older' kind might be seen by the fact that the venerable FIFA series still bore the addition 'Football' in its name during my time. 2003 was the release year, and for 11-year-old Mattis, one of the most fruitful in terms of video games. After all, not only was he gifted with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - The video game, but also with FIFA Football 2004 and NBA Live 2004. Retrospectively, this expensive pacification suggests that my parents either wanted a bit more time for themselves or actually believed that my enthusiasm for sports would be increased by NBA and FIFA ... probably the former. None the matter.

The game was a dream come true for me back then – like almost every game – even though I played it with a keyboard, which meant movements were only possible at 45-degree angles. Looked stupid, but still rocked. However, the fascination for the ball-kicking sport never really caught on with me, even though I can still recite parts of the Bayern Munich squad from back then to this day, thanks to this game. And I still thrive on my memory of that one game where I scored a goal from the center line with Jens Jeremies – something I've never managed to do since.

The score

As is customary with EA's sports games to this day, the soundtrack of FIFA Football 2004 offers a good cross-section of the musical pop culture of the time and proves to me that it was better back then since when I listen to the scores of current installments, my earlobes curl up. Similar to a Need for Speed: Underground , we are offered a selection of genres here that are supposed to make us wanna kick.

Through the album, I stumbled upon one-hit wonders like Caesars' Jerk It OutCaesars5 gestoßen, L.S.F. von Kasabian und Guten TagWir sind Helden5 von Wir sind Helden. Zusätzlich tauchen bekannte Namen wie The Stone Roses, Kings of Leon, The Dandy Warhols und Lostprophets auf – zumindest sind mir diese Namen geläufig. Anders als bei klassischen Soundtracks wird sich hier die individuelle Begeisterung deutlich unterscheiden. Ich bin eben kein Fan von Electro / EDM, anderen sagt der Latin- / Salsa-Einschlag mehr zu. Es ist eine Zeitkapsel ins Jahr 2003, nicht mehr und nicht weniger.