For FIFA 18, EA Sports decided to change their immensely popular ‘Legends’ series of FIFA Ultimate Team cards into ‘Icons’, a much more exclusive group of options available in the game.
Only one player with West Ham United connections sits in the current crop – Rio Ferdinand – but look back through the years and there’s a number of players that Hammers fans will know only too well…
GIANFRANCO ZOLA
The legendary Italian forward is more remembered for his period as a Chelsea player, but Gianfranco Zola also enjoyed a spell in charge of the Hammers between 2008-10, winning 23 of his 80 matches in charge.
Zola’s incredible ability with the football and goalscoring record established him as one of the Premier League’s greatest foreign players, with the Italian a staple of the FIFA Legends series up until the switch to Icons for FIFA 18.
Zola’s most recent Legend card listed him with an 87-rating, with the former Hammers boss more than a handful in FUT.
FREDDIE LJUNGBERG
Although Freddie Ljungberg only spent one year with West Ham, the Swedish winger did feature 26 times across all competitions for the Irons, scoring twice in the 2007/08 campaign.
Of course, Ljungberg really made his name in England with Arsenal, and would also spend time with Celtic in Scotland and in the MLS with Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire.
Now 41 and forging a career in coaching, Ljungberg was also a Legend in FIFA 17, putting the winger on an 86-rating.
TEDDY SHERINGHAM
The gifted Teddy Sheringham spent three years with the Irons towards the end of his career, winning the Hammer of the Year award as West Ham returned to the Premier League through the Play-Offs in 2005, before reaching the FA Cup final in 2006.
A goalscorer and outstanding all-round forward who featured 51 times for England, most notably at UEFA Euro 96, Sheringham also won three Premier League titles, and was a part of the Manchester United team that claimed the treble in 1999, famously scoring in the UEFA Champions League final win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
Still highly regarded as one of the most-talented players to ever grace the English top flight, Sheringham’s last Legend card was ranked at 86.
RIO FERDINAND
The only player on this list who was included in the switch from Legends to Icons for FIFA 18, Rio Ferdinand is one of a very select group of world-famous players who are still represented in FIFA Ultimate Team despite retiring.
It is easy to see why too! Ferdinand has boasted one of the most successful careers of any English footballer, and is arguably the finest English defender to play in the Premier League.
With 81 England caps and 15 honours won during a domestic career that included stops at Leeds United and Manchester United, the West Ham United Academy graduate has an incredible rating of 90 in the current instalment of the game.
BOBBY MOORE
It had to be Bobby Moore. West Ham United’s favourite son missed out on an Icon card in FIFA 18 – the greatest crime in FIFA history since the option to slide-tackle goalkeepers was removed – but his status as one of the game’s true greats cannot be denied.
The four-time Hammer of the Year, FA Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and 1966 FIFA World Cup winning captain amassed 647 appearances for the Irons between 1958-74, and was voted into the World Soccer Greatest XI of all time five years ago.
Last year, the legendary Moore had an 89-rating in FIFA 17. If EA Sports make just one change to FUT, they must ensure Bobby’s return to the game and increase that rating into the 90s!