Here are the best Fifa songs from the game that made/wasted your childhood

FIFA, on paper, is a video game which is solely concerned with football, there is no real reference to life outside of football- other than when one of your players on career mode ludicrously claims they are 'homesick'.

Yet, in reality we do not judge it on the gameplay nor do we rate it on whether or not they enjoyed success on a particular edition. No, when reminiscing about FIFAs gone by we tend to determine its greatness by its soundtrack.

It is not an overstatement to say that they make or break your fondness for a particular FIFA.

And with Cafe Totem’s Fifa Night just around the corner, it’s about time that we dug out the game’s best ever soundtracks.

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98

To be honest, this is not here because it has a wealth of extraordinary songs, in fact it has only got six, and four are by the same artist. It is on the list as it includes 'Song 2' by Blur. I mean, if this doesn't get you ready to help David Beckham and the rest of the England squad to get to France '98 then nothing else will.

FIFA Football 2004

There are simply no superlatives available that do this soundtrack justice as FIFA Football 2004 is simply synonymous with greatness. Kasabian's 'Club Foot', The Stone Roses' 'Fool's Gold', The Jam's 'Town Called Malice', and The Dandy Warhols' 'We Used to Be Friends' are the best of an excellent bunch which, with John Motson on commentary, would inspire anyone to turn Everton's Kevin Kilbane into the world-beater that he was.

FIFA 06

FIFA 06 is, perhaps, not an obvious choice for this list but when you consider the array of tunes at its disposal, you do begin to remember just how good it was.

As you led Blackburn Rovers to European domination in career mode, thanks to the signings of Andriy Shevchenko and Ronaldinho, the sounds of 'Black and White Town' by Doves, Bloc Party's 'Helicopter', 'Lyla' by Oasis, and LCD Soundsystem's 'Daft Punk is Playing At My House', are just a few that would have graced your ears.

FIFA 08

FIFA 08 has a swathe of songs that could be tagged as 'classics' such as, to quote my nan, 'the whistle-blowing song' – 'Young Folks' – as well as 'Goodbye Mr A', 'Human', and '(What's That Coming Over The Hill) Monster'. 

These are joined by underrated anthems like 'I Believe' by Simian Mobile Disco, 'Clash' by Junkie XL and 'Fa-Fa-Fa-' by Datarock. These musical gems, along with the game, were released at a time when the world was on the precipice, about to fall into one of the worst economic periods in history…

But, that didn't matter because this was a time when there were bigger problems than collapsing banks, namely managing Bolton to the Premier League title, with the help of Messrs Kevin Nolan, and Davies.

FIFA 09

The final edition of FIFA with the classic combo of Rooney and Ronaldinho on the front provided another quality soundtrack, worthy of challenging its predecessor.

Duffy's 'Mercy', Kasabian's 'Fast Fuse', The Kooks' 'Always Where I Need to Be' and, of course, MGMT's 'Kids' are the standout tracks from 2009's edition. However, these are backed up by hidden gems such as DJ Bitman's 'Me Gustan', Chromeo's 'Bonafide Lovin' and Sam Sparro's varsity anthem 'Black and Gold'.

This was the season where Amir Zaki of Wigan (remember him?) decided to become the new Thierry Henry for three months, whilst the Russian enigma Andriy Arshavin would fire you to glory on your Portsmouth career mode .

FIFA 12

'Switchblade Smiles' by Kasabian, 'Machu Picchu' by The Strokes, 'No Problem' by Chase and Status, and perhaps the best of the bunch, 'Call it What You Want' by Foster the People make up the four big-hitters from this edition.

However, these are supplemented by a range of instantly recognisable 'classics' such as CSS' 'Hits Me Like A Rock', Rock Mafia's 'The Big Bang', The Naked and Famous' 'Punching in a Dream' and The Vaccines' 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)'.

This edition was marked by the emergence of Stephane El Sharaawy and Alexandre Lacazette as must-haves on Ultimate Team and, let's be honest, a bit of a disregard for the game once Modern Warfare 3 came out in November 2011.

FIFA 13

The ludicrous decision to put the perpetually-injured Jack Wilshere on the front of FIFA 12 was rightly scrapped on FIFA 13 in favour of the GOAT.

FIFA 13 also included a quite brilliant soundtrack which included 'Shine the Light' from Sheffield outfit Reverend and the Makers, Django Django's 'Hail Bop', 'Sleep Alone' by Two Door Cinema Club, and a song that inspired so many to achieve/waste their potential on FIFA, 'Champion' by The Chevin.

These songs would see you through your journey of building an Ultimate Team that lacked any actual footballing ability but each player had the pace of an Olympic sprinter. (Emenike, anyone?)

Your front three of Gervinho, Ibarbo and Doumbia would strike fear into any opponent and the uplifting melodies of 'Finale' by Madeon would inspire you to the dizzy heights of Division 4 on Ultimate Team, where you would then remain for eternity.

I sincerely hope this has encouraged you to do the responsible thing by going and spending your loan wisely on a PS2 and FIFA Football 2004 from Ebay.