Serie A is rightly embedded in football folklore and the Italian passion for the game doesn’t stop at the real life game. It extends to the virtual World too. Some of the great stories from old football video games stems back to Italian teams.
And where else to start than with Adriano’s left foot in the incredible old versions of Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). On the PES5 and PES6 games this was one absolute beast. You could literally shoot from anywhere and it was a guaranteed goal, the Inter Milan and Brazil front man was repping 99 Shot Power for two editions.
Some of those goals seem impossibly realistic but Adriano really did have this skill and power for a brief moment in his career. Unfortunately for the man Inter fans called “The Emperor” it never really worked out long term for him, but that’s not a story for today. The great man was such a cheat code that people would just refuse to play against Inter.
I remember specifically in my evenings playing PES with friends that Inter wasn’t allowed. Just because of Adriano. However, as our Serie A gaming connection goes on, you’ll see that an overpowered Adriano wasn’t the only reason Serie A had a lasting impression on gaming.
In 2020, Juventus signed a big massive deal with Konami to be exclusively represented on PES and not on FIFA (now EA FC). After the 2019 game, Juventus was no more on FIFA. Instead, there was a bizarre Serie A team called Piemonte Calcio. The kits looked strangely like the Juve kit, and they had the same players, and the badge was similar, but it wasn’t Juventus.
Unfortunately, to get really deep, this just showed how the business and commercial aspect of football was now creeping into the gaming world. Something that was supposed to be fun was now a victim of the men in suits wearing man bags. By 2023 they were back, but we’d lost the Milan based teams!
Yes, that’s right, in their place was Milano Calcio and Milano FC. The badges made it clear that Calcio was Inter and FC were in fact, AC. Clear? Wait until you see the kit.
See the difference? I know it’s hard because they’re such good fakes… But if you look closely, you can see that they’ve completely and utterly bodged it. What on Earth is this supposed to be??? I mean, I’m not an idiot, I understand the concept of commercial licenses – it’s just a bit sad it’s crept into the supposed fun hobby of gaming.
One way that fake and copied stuff was kept fun in gaming was in PES and the inventive names. Milan being called Rossoneri was less a kick in the teeth than Piemonte Calcio somehow. Although PES did refer to Juve as PM Black and White in one edition. What?
My favourite will always be the Brazilian marauding full back that represented Milan and Roma. Remember him? Facu? There was also great fun with Tachicardi (Tacchinardi), Naldarinho (Ronaldinho) and heroic defending with Cannarobo (really need help with that one?).
However, the likes of Lucatone started to disappear to be replaced with the real names from PES2010 onwards and the days of editing all the team names before playing were over. Palermo will always be SI Black Pink to me though…
Adriano wasn’t the only overpowered Serie A gem in history though. Old FIFA gamers might remember the sheer ridiculousness of Gervinho’s pace while playing at Roma during FIFAs 13-15, or after 15 when Pogba had an obscene long shot, strength and 5* skills. Try tackling him on FIFA 16, bet you can’t.
Even as recently as 2023, Victor Osimhen was the player Napoli would love him to be now. Insane skill and pace combo that meant he was damned near impossible to get the ball from. And don’t even get me started on Totti or Dida on old versions of PES.
Gaming funnies like these often step over into real life, such is the bond with fans and their clubs that their virtual namesakes also take over our lives. Case in point was when Juventus fans were spotted at matches waving Piemonte Calcio flags. And if I ever have the pleasure of meeting Adriano one day, I’ll be sure to open with a PES related anecdote, not one of his actual career. Perhaps it’s best I never meet him.
I guess the beauty in this article is the acknowledgment that the gaming world has for the general chaos that is everyday Calcio. It’s been embraced by our favourite football games, whether you’re launching 40 yard screamers with Adriano or spending hours editing the clubs names and player names before actually playing a game.
What are your favourite Serie A anecdotes from the world of gaming? Let me know in the comments below, or on X @EnglishCalcio.
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