There's also the Ultimate Challenge mode, a celebration of the greatest moments in Champions League history, in which you can replay the competition's most memorable comebacks, the best (and hardest to complete) of which is Manchester United's last-gasp final victory over Bayern Munich in 1999. More focused than a standard 90-minute game and adding a welcome bit of drama, the Challenge mode is the highlight of UEFA, although even this is slightly tarnished by the fact that EA hasn't included the correct squads for the teams of the time - you have to play the challenges with the current-day line-ups, which obviously differ in strength from their predecessors. EA does, however, deserve a shout-out for including online play for both ad-hoc and infrastructure modes, good for a heated match over a few pints across the room or the country.

To analogize from another sport, UEFA is Anna Kournikova to WE's Martina Hingis; one of them is knockout gorgeous with decent enough skills to hang around but never dominate, while the other may not be so easy on the eyes yet consistently wins championships. The Champions League is an amazing showcase of the drama and passion of the Beautiful Game, but EA has mostly wasted an opportunity to transition it to the 360 by repackaging FIFA 07 with a shinier coat of paint. It’s fine enough for a lark, but not enough to claim the crown.