The ball against the cement wall, the bounce rings out on the courtyard asphalt like the hands of a clock marking the homework break, and then another kick, wall, heel flick, and wall again. I brought the ball, I make the teams, you with me, you with him, ball or field?
It all began like this, for all of us who, with dribbles and goals, fell a little more in love with our childhood. Then came Dino Dini's Kick Off, a superhero comic-book name, Goal! for NES and, between one wall-ball game and the next, we put on cleats and shin guards even in the living room.
Titles devoted to often excessive arcade fun, which gave a damn about realism, however evolutions come before revolutions, so Konami tried its luck: Winning Eleven, a soccer simulation that in 1994 brought the Japanese onto the field with measured passes, one-touch touches and powerful shots that no longer resembled the Tiger Shot of that jerk Mark Lenders, but rather precise strikes to be handled with discipline and a lot, a great deal of training.
They called it International Superstar Soccer on SNES. But, at least here, the later version on PlayStation caught on, with Ince’s grit on the cover standing in contrast to our own “White Feather” Ravanelli: ISS Pro ’98 swept away any doubts about which path should be taken.
To distinguish it from its eternal rival Fifa, it emphasized the approach to the match with all the necessary settings to experience and play it to the fullest: you had the powerful sensation of really being in control of the match, depending on your technical abilities and manual skills. Tactical nuances studied on the tactics board, attack and defense strategies thought out with care, hotkey settings to adapt the style of play based on what happens on the pitch over the ninety minutes: all this has always been the hallmark of the series.
And it was only the beginning.
These months mark the celebration of PES’s thirtieth anniversary, an acronym born as a bridge to the future: Pro Evolution Soccer, a name that promises fun with the most important aspect of all, the relentless pursuit of 1-to-1 realism.
The most exciting undertakings are those that are impossible by definition, so just as one cannot go back in time and alter the ballistic trajectory of the most famous and unfortunate penalty kick in the history of Italy-Brazil ’94, in the same way no football game has yet managed to give us the hyperrealism we have always desired.
But Pes came close, that close.
In recent years, it has transformed once again, as changeable as the Asgardian Loki and just as adept at finding new forms for new types of players: today we know it as eFootball and it is playable exclusively online.
But I still remember the beauty of PES 3, the tactical management at the highest levels of PES 4. I remember, I was there when PES 5 was taking the world by storm with its calibrated passes, the shot power bar that if you pressed too hard would send the ball into the sky, Ortega's tricks, Adriano the emperor's thunderous shots, and the man-marking that worked.
Playing with friends or challenging artificial intelligence by embarking on the glorious Master League, with Castolo handling the entire attack on his own.
Iss Pro, Pes, Winning Eleven, eFootball.
Change the outfit, but not the beating heart of a game that will always remain within us and continues to be celebrated everywhere, both online and playing side by side like in the old days.
And I admit it, since that very distant day when I was kicking a football in the courtyards of Corso Dante in Asti, I have grown up; the mirror and the creaking bones do not lie, but the desire to compete and play in the name of a dream, always with me, always with us, that no, will never grow old.
Happy thirtieth birthday, Pes. For new kickoffs, together.
