World Cup 2010 Blog: “Italy World Cup Team History (Pt. II: 1950-1970)” plus 8 more

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• Italy World Cup Team History (Pt. II: 1950-1970)
• World Cup Moments: Game of the Century, Italy 4-3 West Germany, 1970.
• Italy World Cup History (Pt. I: 1934 & 1938)
• Daily Dose: May 3rd, 2010 – The SBS Australian World Cup Commerical
• Podcast: Best and Worst World Cup Memories.
• Follow Your World Cup Team Blog on Twitter
• Spain World Cup 2010 Profile
• World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Italy
• Germany World Cup 2010 Profile

Italy World Cup Team History (Pt. II: 1950-1970) Posted: 04 May 2010 01:10 AM PDT If Italy’s opening act was one of football’s greatest, the second act fell flat on its face. With the small matter of World War II rendering football a non-factor in the world’s eyes, and with it the sport’s grandest tournament: World Cups ‘42 & ‘46 never happened. It’s far too much to say Italy would’ve won a third, but stunting momentum certainly didn’t help, nor did it help that in 1948 Vittorio Pozzo retired from coaching to fill column inches. These were to be the lean years in Italian football. At least until they weren’t. 1950 World Cup – Brazil The World Cup didn’t have quite the pull in 1950 that it does today. Simply because a team was good enough didn’t make participation some sort of guarantee, particularly when traveling overseas entered the equation, and Italy, still defending champions despite the 12 year gap, barely showed. And FIFA took issue with teams who wanted to play in bare feet, namely India, who were drawn into Italy’s group then withdrew, not being big fans of shoes. This threw the group, the first year with the new format, into a sort of chaos which meant each team would play only two games: one against the other team in the group. Thus Italy’s tournament could be potentially be over after one game, and it was. Only the winner went through to the knockouts, and having lost 3-2 to Sweden in the first game, being down two goals and nearly out of it shortly after the hour, they needed Sweden not to take a point against Paraguay in the second game. They did, a solitary point, and Italy’s tournament was over 90 minutes after it began. They’d get a consolation win in the second and final game, but it was still a disappointing show from, at least in name, the defending champions. 1954 World Cup – Switzerland There was a new system and an intriguing locale for the 1954 World Cup. Switzerland is only a short hop over the Italian border, and it was certainly a more appealing trip than Brazil of four years earlier. With the new system came a new group stage formula: the top eight teams were drawn into four groups, two apiece. They then didn’t have to play each other, only the two unseeded teams. Italy nabbed England as the other seeded team, while Belgium and Switzerland were the less loved. Only Switzerland were very loved, as they were playing at home. Despite being close to home, it’s not quite the same as home, as the Azzurri would unfortunately find out. The first game took place in Lausanne against the Swiss; unlike France of ‘38, they couldn’t beat the hosts and lost 2-1. They’d trounce Belgium 4-1, who would finish up last in the group, which then set up, after two games, the second match against the Swiss in Lausanne. By comparison, they’d have taken another 2-1 loss – it was a 4-1 shellacking, though two of the goals came very late when they were presumably pressing for an equalizer, but it was a second disappointing first round exit in a row. Of course it was to be preferable to the 1958 World Cup, for which they didn’t even qualify, for the only time in their history, having lost to Northern Ireland on the last day. So whilst Pele and Just Fontaine were running willy nilly around Sweden, the Italians were doing other, non-World Cup things. 1962 World Cup – Chile The 1962 World Cup probably represents the low point in Azzurri history, with bedrock levels being reached against Chile in the infamous Battle of Santiago. Much of it was a problem started with the media, as before the game “unfavorable” articles had been written about hosts Chile. It’s largely attributed as the reason the game was so violent, one of the more violent in the history of the game, with two Italians, Giorgio Ferrini (by the local police) and Mario David, having been sent off. The latter was sent off for retaliating to a left hook to the face, spawning the infamous commentary line, “I say, that was one of the neatest left hooks I’ve ever seen!”. Italian Humberto Maschio also had his nose broken, but his pugilist of choice wasn’t sent off either. Safe to say, it was simply an embarrassing show from both sides – one Chile would end up winning 2-0. After their first game nil-nil draw, Italy needed a win over Switzerland, their 1954 nemesis, and Chilean help over West Germany to go through. The South Americans obviously weren’t in a very sympathetic mood, and lost 2-0 while Italy got a bit of revenge, 3-0. With that, they hurried back to Italy, following in the trail of those infamous journos. 1966 World Cup – England Well…maybe this represents the low point? As was said above, these were “the lean years”. FIFA were apparently in a mischievous mood in the early 60’s – the reasons why entirely unknown – because Italy once again drew Chile, their sparring partners from the ‘62 World Cup. Of course they also got Lev Yashin’s USSR and North Korea, a team which would drag them pretty close to the depths of the Battle of Santiago. At least they would get their revenge against Chile, winning 2-0 through Sandro Mazzola and some suspicious highlight editing. (Paolo Barison too.) After that, the 1966 World Cup has been flashed from the minds of Italians the world over. An Igor Chislenko wondergoal and a Yashin scramble on the line, as he was apt to do, was distressing as they lost to the USSR, but not the end of the world – they’d only need to beat debutants and minnows North Korea. Cue one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, and Italy crashed out with a giant thud. 1970 World Cup – Mexico If the early-to-mid 60’s were the lean years, the late 60’s to Mexico ‘70 ushered in the Renaissance. Another one, at least. The Azzurri won their first, and to date only, Euros in 1968, meaning ‘66 was forgotten and ‘70 meant high expectations – and they would deliver. Eventually. The 60’s in Serie A had been defined by Helenio Herrera’s catenaccio at Inter, and though he was gone, two of his best disciples, Giacinto Facchetti and Tarcisio Burgnish were on the pitch for Italy, so they knew how to defend – and defend they did. Italy took the group with perhaps the worst group winners line you’re ever bound to see: 1-2-0, 1, 0, +1. No points for guessing the scores of the three games. Funnily enough, they had at the time a young Dino Zoff, to become one of the greatest keepers in the game, riding on the bench. It would appear he wasn’t needed. Then Italy would come alive in the knockouts – on the scoreboard, if not tactically – through irony: despite the association with catenaccio, the star was to be Gianni Rivera, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, precisely because of the dispatch of catenaccio. Coach Ferruccio Valcareggi was of the idea that Sandro Mazzola, very much a great in his own right, couldn’t co-exist with Rivera tactically, which brought forth a system where Mazzola would play the first half and Rivera the second. It worked to perfection in the first knockout, positively thumping Mexico 4-1 through, yes, threesecond half goals. This meant West Germany, which then meant the Game of the Century. It also meant a tired squad for the final. A final which would go well until the 66th – dead even at that point – after which the wheels would come off and Brazil would have a 4-1 victory with which to celebrate their third title. However, for Italy the progress was not insignificant – the World Cup were in the past, and Italy was back among the elite. 1974 World Cup – West Germany It was a hell of a draw, one which picked up Argentina, Poland and Haiti. The latter two had one solitary World Cup between them, that infamous 6-5 Poland loss to Brazil in 1938, and zero points. The obvious thought was that Argentina and Italy would somehow find a way to both get through, but Poland had already knocked out England in qualifying while winning the ‘72 Olympics with their full national team (Eastern Europe’s “amateurs” and all that political lingo), so they weren’t an entirely unknown quantity. However, what they did was still quite remarkable. The first game was against Haiti, and it went well, save for the Haitians nicking Dino Zoff’s goal record of 1142 minutes without conceding. It was a 3-1 despite being down a goal for a hair. The second game was the ever so meaningful one, or so it was thought, against Argentina. As so often happens with big games in the groups, it disappointed, with a 1-1 draw off an Argentine own goal earning Italy their point. This would set up the final game with Poland, merely a draw needed, with qualification via a loss still possible. However, Poland would continue their tear, setting Italy down 2-0 by the half, and putting Italy quickly into panic mode. With Argentina playing Haiti, who were out by some distance and enjoying a 1-10 goals scored-to-conceded ration, it very much became a game of goal difference. A late one by Fabio Capello – yes, that Fabio Capello – got them a consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough: Poland 2 – Italy 1; Argentina 4 – Haiti 1; Argentina +4 – Italy +3. And that was that. After all the good done in Mexico, they were out in the groups. Fortunately, this would usher in the new era: all knockouts, all the time. To be continued. - More World Cup team histories.

World Cup Moments: Game of the Century, Italy 4-3 West Germany, 1970. Posted: 04 May 2010 12:10 AM PDT There have been a lot of football games played over the years, some might even say thousands. Therefore it takes something awfully impressive to earn the title of Game of the Century with such a pool to pick from. But football has that one: Italy versus West Germany, semifinal, Mexico 1970. Both teams had topped the group, Germany in a slightly more convincing, or attacking, manner, with wildly different quarterfinals running up to this eventual tribute to football. Italy had enjoyed a 4-1 victory against Mexico, a comfortable win even if the winner came past the hour mark. Conversely, West Germany had been burdened with extra time against England before Gerd Muller, scorer of many World Cup goals, would put the knife to the defending champions. With 120 minutes of football three days before the semifinal, they could be excused if suffering from the screams of fatigue. If they were, they didn’t listen. It was something of a blistering start for the Italians, if only because a goal was a blistering start by group stage standards (forgetting, of course, Mexico). With the door bolted at 1-0 in the eighth through Roberto Boninsegna, a 1-0 victory seemed likely. They were awfully good at keeping teams out of their net, as that lone goal conceded in four goals shouted. But it wasn’t. What follows are the most spectacular 30+ minutes of football likely ever to be witnessed. Six goals, five in extra time, and one winner. The Game of the Century, played in front of over 100,000 at the Azteca. Roberto BONINSEGNA (ITA) 8′, Karl-Heinz SCHNELLINGER (FRG) 90′, Gerd MUELLER (FRG) 94′, Tarcisio BURGNICH (ITA) 98′, Gigi RIVA (ITA) 104′, Gerd MUELLER (FRG) 110′, Gianni RIVERA (ITA) 111′ Italy would go on to lose the final, but the game itself looms as one of the sport’s greatest spectacles. - More World Cup moments.

Italy World Cup History (Pt. I: 1934 & 1938) Posted: 03 May 2010 09:10 PM PDT As World Cup histories go, Italy has a good one. Only that Brazilian footballing juggernaut has won more titles, five to four, and Italy have a long and rich history as one of the sport’s best teams. It’s awfully long, in fact. (For the full depth of the Italian national team history, might we suggest majoring in it at school? Also available for a doctoral program, one would assume.) The long history started out awfully well for the Italians too. They hosted their first tournament in 1934 before heading to France in 1938. Both good memories, to say the least. 1934 World Cup – Italy It’s good juju when your inaugural World Cup is in your own backyard, and Italy had that fortune in 1934. In fact Uruguay had been given the honor of hosting the first edition, and they walked away with the trophy at the end. This would become something of a theme. The name is Vittorio Pozzo. (Spoilers ahead.) He was to become the first coach to win two World Cups; today, he remains the only coach. Obviously with a tag line like that nearly 75 years later, the tournament went particularly well. His aura is and was almost that of a military general, a serious man who took football seriously. He was one of the first to initiate what’s now known in Italy as ritiro – camp away from home. He also favored the oriundi, the foreigners of Italian blood, famously saying, “If they can die for Italy, they can play for Italy.” – as good a kibosh as you’ll ever hear. Most sides favored the 2-3-5 at the time, but Vittorio’s tactical idea had a slight bend – it was the Metodo or WW or 2-3-2-3. In their first ever World Cup game they ran out 7-1 winners over the United States, with a score sheet that reflects the integral members of the World Cup win: Angelo Schiavio got three and Raimundo Orsi two – both oriundi – while Giovanni Ferrari and Giuseppe Meazza each hit one. The latter, Meazza, may sound familiar as one of Italy’s greatest ever, perhaps even ahead of his time, players, an extraordinarily skilled inside forward; or, he may sound familiar as the former Inter & Milan player for whom the San Siro is named. With the World Cup very much new, the “first round” of the finals was simply the US game – this meant that win earned them a trip to the quarterfinals with Spain. It wouldn’t go as smoothly, with Ferrari scoring his second of the tournament, but a 1-1 after extras necessitating a replay. All they’d need in the replay was a little Meazza in the 11th to send them to poignantly the San Siro semifinal (it’d opened in 1926). There, they’d meet football’s original geniuses: Hugo Meisl’s Austrian Wunderteam. They’re spoken of in the same mystical aura as the Mighty Magyars of Hungary for their visionary ball-on-the-floor attacking and dominating grasp on the game. Lady Luck, however, was an Italian on the day of the semifinal: it poured buckets by all accounts, and one needs no grasp of history to understand what a muddied pitch – presumably when groundskeeping wasn’t of the ilk it is now – does to quick passing football. The Italians would win, 1-0, amid rumors there was a foul on the lone goal. And though football and politics should probably have their own beds, they rarely do. This was the time of Benito Mussolini, with the Italian players required to do the fascist salute before the game and to be victorious after, and the World Cup was being held in Italy, so questions were raised about how much influence Mussolini had over the referee, Swede Ivan Eklind, who’d also done the semifinal. Like so many World Cup finals in history, it was controversial. There were claims of a penalty on Antonin Puc which wasn’t called and in general “hard fouls gone unpunished”. Puc, however, would get his goal in the 70th, the first of the game and a jolt to Pozzo’s Italians. Orsi and Schiavio, the duo who’d thumped in five combined in the opener but hadn’t added to their totals in the next three, would come up heroes. In the 82nd Orsi would reply in storybook fashion, the methods of which seem to change by the article, forcing extra time, and in the fifth minute of extras Schiavio would bookend his World Cup with Italy’s first and last goals, and in the process earning Italy their first ever title. Pozzo had led Italy to the second World Cup title, both having won on their own soil, but it wasn’t until four years later that he’d truly cement his legend. 1938 World Cup – France It wasn’t home, but the Azzurri didn’t really have to travel far to defend their title – just over the border to France it was. The tournament had been whittled down to 15 teams after Austria, no longer the Wunderteam with Meisl’s death, had declined the invite with other things to worry about, such as being annexed by Nazi Germany – though some would join the German team. (For this, their opponents Sweden would get a first round bye.) Politics and football – never far apart. This was also their chance to dispel any notion that they weren’t deserving of their 1934 victory and at least separate their football from Mussolini’s politics. That they would. However, they’d have to do it with new faces – though Pozzo was still around, only four players took part in both World Cups. Thankfully, Meazza and Ferrari were included in that exclusive group. Picking up where they left off in Rome with those new faces, it was a 2-1 win in extra time via Silvio Piola, Italian legend and Serie A’s greatest goalscorer, to set up a meeting with hosts France. This was a rather big game, what with France hoping to continue the tradition of host nation supremacy and all – not to mention the winner would draw either Brazil, a high-flying favorite, or Czechoslovakia, who had a bone to pick with Italy. Though the tournament was abroad, Mussolini’s grasp was never far away. Instead of the House of Savoy blue, he requested the Azzurri wear black shirts, putting his fascist ideals on tour. Once again it would be Piola, scorer of the winner and third in a game that ended 3-1 – a game which also included some rough goalkeeping. And this brought forth perhaps one of the biggest, and more arrogant, personnel missteps in World Cup history. Brazil and Czechoslovakia had participated in a rough’n'tumble 1-1 draw in which they saw two reds on the 12th of June, which then necessitated the replay two days later on the 14th, with the semifinal to be played on the 16th. An absolute scheduling nightmare. Brazil won the replay 2-1 to head to the semis, but after over 200 minutes of World Cup football in 48 hours, Brazilian coach Adhemar Pimenta famously stated he was “resting Leonidas for the final”. Leonidas was, of course, their best player, one of the best players in the world, and scorer of six goals already in the World Cup, including four in the Hollywood action flick known as Brazil 6 – Poland 5 from the opening round. It would backfire enormously according to FIFA: “a costly error of judgement as the Azzurri prevailed 2-1 in a disappointingly low-key contest”. With that, Italy were back in their second straight final, to be played in Paris. It was the two “old” horses from ‘34, Meazza and Ferrari, who ruled the day. A brace apiece for Gino Colaussi and again Pinola, who would fall second to Leonidas on the scoring charts with six, after intricate work and silver platter service from the men sitting inside on either side of Silvio. It’s one of the better replays from the early, early World Cup days, and you can see just how little the goalscorers had to do for their final heroics. They’d repeated as champions, something only since achieved by Brazil in ‘58 & ‘62, while becoming the first side to win on foreign soil. More importantly, they proved they were well deserving of their crown as football’s kings, with and awfully impressive two-for-two ratio. And once again it was Pozzo, Italy’s great leader – not that Mussolini guy – who’d taken them to glory. - More World Cup team histories.

Daily Dose: May 3rd, 2010 – The SBS Australian World Cup Commerical Posted: 03 May 2010 07:40 PM PDT Does Australian broadcaster SBS actually want Australians to watch the World Cup? Or does it just want to make them very very angry? Top marks for comedy though. FrankenSven unveils ultimate football player. Sadly not Ivorian. (Soccerlens) Benoît Assou-Ekotto is an honest man (The Guardian) The Gaza World Cup (Palestine Note) Marseille’s 2010/11 shirts unveiled leaked. (OM Offside) Kevin Kuranyi’s summer just opened up (Germany World Cup Blog) Are Spurs ballboys paid per ball? (EPL Talk) World Cup players in their grundies (Unprofessional Foul)

Podcast: Best and Worst World Cup Memories. Posted: 03 May 2010 05:40 PM PDT We have six episodes of our podcast World Cup 2010 previews in the bag, and two more to go. But for the most recent Total Football Soccer Show – broadcast Thursday, April 29th on WRIR – we’re looking backwards instead of forwards. With a little help from yourselves. On April 20th I asked for your favourite World Cup moments, and also promised a forthcoming podcast full of World Cup reminiscence. This is that podcast. There’s a lot of England, a lot of USA, a bit of Italy, a bit of Brazil, and a sprinkling of Zinedine Zidane and Archie Gemmill. And some mashed potato too. If you didn’t leave your favourite World Cup memories in the earlier post then please do so below. Click here to open the mp3 file and here to subscribe to the show via iTunes. Or, easiest of all, simply click play below to listen:

Follow Your World Cup Team Blog on Twitter Posted: 03 May 2010 03:40 PM PDT Here at WorldCupBlog, we know that not everyone reads about or watches football the same way. That’s why we try to use every tool available to us to get our commentary, analysis and news updates to you, wherever you are. Over the year leading up to World Cup 2010, we have used Twitter more and more to spread our content around the web. Now, you can use Twitter to follow your favorite WorldCupBlog team blog through the World Cup and beyond. Click on the flags below to check out our team-specific Twitter feeds, and make sure to also check out WorldCupBlog’s main Twitter feed. Each page will be updated with new content from that team blog, plus the team bloggers will be adding comments and links that will only be posted on Twitter. Algeria Argentina Australia Brazil Cameroon Chile Ivory Coast Denmark England France Germany Ghana Greece Honduras Italy Japan North Korea South Korea Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Paraguay Portugal Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Switzerland USA Uruguay

Spain World Cup 2010 Profile Posted: 03 May 2010 01:35 PM PDT After years of pre-tournament hype followed by in-tournament disappointment, Spain finally got it together two summers ago and shrugged off the “under-performer” tag to win Euro 2008. In style too, with some excellent passing football played along the way. That Euro 2008 victory means Spain has two Euro titles in the glass cabinet. But still zero World Cups. So now it’s time for the real thing. Spain are many people’s favourites for World Cup 2010, and I’m not going to argue with them. But though the Euro 2008 win seemed to lift the weight of underachievement off Spanish shoulders, it also sent expectations for World Cup 2010 soaring. So the way I see it, 2010 could be the fork in the road where the Spanish national team either becomes a long-term trophylifting superpower or a team that had one glorious summer in Swissaustria. Not only does this seem to be Spain’s best ever chance to lift the World Cup, it’s also the case that failure in the form of an early exit would mean the return of all that under-performer talk, and it will be as if Euro 2008 never happened. No pressure then lads… Nickname: La Furia Roja, or The Red Fury. FIFA World Ranking as of April 28th 2010: #2 Group H Matches: Spain vs Switzerland – 16th June, 3pm, Durban Spain vs Honduras – 21st June, 7:30pm, Johannesburg Ellis Park Spain vs Chile – 25th June, 7:30pm, Pretoria Buy Spain World Cup tickets Coach: Luis Aragones was the man who delivered the famous European Championship triumph in 2008. But it’s Vicente del Bosque who’s in charge now. Del Bosque has stuck to the sound principles that were so successful in Switzerland & Austria and the same core of players, but has not allowed the Spanish to get complacent. Del Bosque himself seems a very likeable character, and is the owner of not just a fine moustache, but two Champions League winners medals from a very successful spell with Real Madrid. Key Players: Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas makes the incredible look commonplace, with multiple matchwinning performances for both Real Madrid and Spain. He now has well over 100 caps and seems to be the very definition of reliability. Barcelona centre back Carles Puyol brings even more experience (and significantly more “just got out the shower” hair) to the backline, and enjoys a successful partnership with Gerard Pique at both club and international level. The 23 year old Pique is quick and good on the ball, but also big enough and strong enough to cope with anything and anyone. Pique is the one major addition to the Euro 2008 team, but it already seems difficult to think of Spain’s defence without him. The man who makes it all happen in midfield is Xavi Hernandez. He seems to set the tac-tac-tac tempo for Spain’s short passing, but also regularly plays defence splitting through balls that apparently only he can see. You’d have to go a long way to find someone who didn’t agree that Xavi is the best passer in the wide world of football right now. Going forward it’s all about Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Valencia’s David Villa. Both are quick, both are lethal. Basically if Nando doesn’t get you, then David will. A lot will depend on how successfully Torres recovers from the knee surgery he had in April, but seems the operation was timed to have him fit in time for scoring goals in South Africa. The fact that I didn’t get around to mentioning players like Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva is a testament to the amount of talent in this squad. Player with best YouTube video: This is tough. Not just because Spain boast so many good players, but more because the team doesn’t really have one showboat player. When you think of Portugal you think of Cristiano Ronaldo doing stepovers. When you think of Spain you think teamwork. So it’s only fitting that the best YouTube vid award goes is shared between both Fernando Torres and David Villa. And the theme tune from “Jaws”. That said, Xavi Hernandez is special enough to get one too: Player with best name: Has to be the man whose full moniker is Xavier Hernández i Creus. Player with best nickname: I like the simplicity of the above mentioned footballer abbreviating to simply Xavi. I like that Fernando Torres is still called El Nino, even though he’s now 26. And I love that Carles Puyol’s appearance has earned him the name Tarzan. But best nickname of all goes to captain and goalkeepr Iker Casillas, better known as San Iker (Saint Iker). Qualification: Spain played 10 games in Group 5 of the UEFA qualifying zone. The result was 10 wins. With 28 goals scored and only five conceded. Interesting: Sergio Ramos is the new David Beckham/Beatles. Cue teenage hysteria: National Anthem: La marcha real (”The Royal March”) Kit: Spain will be wearing a traditional red home shirt, but a new fangled black for away. Find your Spain World Cup 2010 jerseys in our store. World Cup History: No trophy lifting to date, despite plenty of expectation. Expectations: After the Euro 2008 win, and the incredible form (and performances) ever since, Spain will be expecting to take their first World Cup trophy. Squad: TBA Blog: Ade C., Corey, Cameron and Jeremy are all following La Furia Roja at Spain World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Italy Posted: 03 May 2010 10:50 AM PDT Puma have been working overtime designing Italy kits recently. There was the very light blue shirt and chocolate brown shorts and socks worn for the 2009 Confederations Cup, which I was quite a fan of. But the team has had another makeover for World Cup 2010, with a quite a few unique features. Chris has already let the world know how he feels about the “fishnet” design of the new goalkeeper jersey, but this post is all about reviewing the outfield gear. Read on to get a closer look at Italy’s home and away shirts for World Cup 2010, and please feel free to share your own reactions in the comments. Italy Home Shirt Want one? Find your Italy World Cup jersey in our store. Long sleeve Italy jerseys and authentic Italy jerseys (not replicas, these are identical to what the players wear) are also available.. Let’s start at the top. A lot of football jerseys claim to be unique, but I think the collar of this Italy shirt is genuinely original. The four points on the collar apparently represent the four World Cup trophies in Italy’s history, which is a nice touch, and if you looks from left to right you can also see a fairly subtle green, white and red trim around the tip of the collar, which are obviously the colours of the Italian flag. I’m still not 100% sure I like these new fangled collars, but top marks for individuality and symbolism. The other obvious standout feature here is the “abs of steel” pattern on the torso. Did Puma really design a shirt for professional footballers that featured fake muscles outlines? The answer is of course. The truth behind said pattern is that it’s an imprint of Zinedine Zidane’s head, taken from 2006. No, wait, that’s not it either. Actually, the design is a “battle graphic”, which means the pattern represents armour, not muscles. It’s a brave move, but I think Puma (and Italy players and fans) will just about get away with it, provided the pattern isn’t too obvious. Either way, it’s great to see Puma really putting some effort into a shirt as opposed to the same design, different colours approach that irked a few people during Euro 2008. Italy Away Shirt You like? Find your Italy World Cup away jersey in our store. Long sleeve Italy away jersey also available. For the Italy away shirt, it’s the classic colour scheme of white, with a touch of blue and gold. This time the blue is the trim of the neck and sleeves, while gold slides under the armpits. No complaints here. The collar for the away shirt is just as eye catching as the home shirt. In the above image you should be able to just about spot the red and green reflection coming from underneath the collar. Here’s what happens when you pop that collar, as demonstrated by Giorgio Chiellini: Yep, it’s the Italy flag again. Great touch. I love little details like that one. It shows some genuine thought went into the design process. Plus, imagine how good it will look if any player/fan is actually brave enough to pop the collar. That’s my take. What do you think of Italy’s World Cup 2010 jerseys?

Germany World Cup 2010 Profile Posted: 03 May 2010 09:01 AM PDT It feels like a lazy stereotype to say that Germany are always there or thereabouts at World Cups. But if you look at Germany’s World Cup record (down at the bottom of this post) you’ll see that that stereotype is based on fact. Even at World Cup 2006, when expectations for the team were lower than I’ve ever seen, Germany still made the semi-finals and took third place. For 2010 Germany have been drawn into Group D alongside Australia, Ghana and Serbia. If there’s a Group of Death at World Cup 2010 then this might be it. Read on to find out all about Germany’s coach, players, player nicknames and national anthem. Nickname: Regularly referred to as Die Mannschaft (The Team), but apparently only by those who don’t sprechen Deutsch. Other nicknames include Die DFB-Elf (The DFB Eleven) and Nationalelf (national eleven), but if you read the comments under this post you’ll see that – at least within Germany – the national team has no established nickname. FIFA World Ranking as of April 28th 2010: #6 Group D Matches: Germany vs Australia – June 13th, 19:30, Durban Germany vs Serbia – June 18th, 12:30, Port Elizabeth Germany vs Ghana – June 23rd, 19:30, Johannesburg Buy Germany World Cup tickets Coach: He was Jürgen Klinsmann’s assistant in 2006, but Joachim Löw (better known as Jogi) will be 100% in charge for 2010. As with many assistants turned managers, and people that wear jaunty scarves (see picture) he came with a reputation for being a bit too nice, a bit too friendly. Kevin Kuranyi can confirm otherwise. Way back in 2008, the Schalke striker didn’t make the matchday squad for the game against Russia, and so disappeared from the stadium at halftime. Löw has never forgiven that show of disrespect, and a recall to the national team now seems all but impossible, despite Kuranyi’s prolific Bundesliga strike rate. Jogi is tougher than he looks. Key Players: He may not quite be the force of old, but 33 year old captain Michael Ballack can still boss a football game. When playing for Chelsea, Ballack is competing for either playing time or on-field space with multiple other midfielders. For Germany, Ballack owns the middle of the park, and knows it. Bayern fullback Philipp Lahm kicked off World Cup 2006 in style. Lahm is now four years older and wiser. But he’s still only 26, still has that turbo boost turn of pace, and is still keen to get forward and join the attack. Striker Miroslav Klose has been a bit peripheral at Bayern this season, but he was Germany’s top scorer in qualifying with seven, and still has a role to play for Die DFB Elf: The role of big target man. Playing further behind Klose in the attacking midfield position will likely be Werder Bremen’s 21 year old playmaker Mesut Özil. The kid has all the tricks and flicks to compliment the more, shall we say, imposing play of Ballack and Klose, so Özil will provide some much needed X-factor to Germany’s attack. Player with best YouTube video: Read the last sentence above. This category can only belong to one man. Ladies and gentlemen, Herr Mesut Özil: Player with best name: Has to be Bastian Schweinsteiger. One look at that name and you know exactly which national team he plays for. Player with best nickname: The coach comes close with “Jogi”. Schweinsteiger comes even closer with “Schweini”. But it has to be captain Michael Ballack, known to German fans as “Kleine Kasier”, presumably in homage to Franz Beckenbauer. Ballack also gets called “Balla”, apparently. But that’s not quite as good. Qualification: Group 4 could have presented a challenge to Germany, especially with a strong looking Russia team that had ambitions of claiming first place. However, Germany beat Russia home and away, and cantered through qualifying with eight wins, two draws and zero defeats. Klose bagged seven to finish joint fourth top scorer in European qualifying, with Lukas Podolski only one goal behind him. Interesting: For all his success, Michael Ballack has a lot of runner-up medals. Especially with the national team, with whom he’s collected a silver medals at both World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008, plus a bronze at World Cup 2006. Factor in that he also has two Champions League runner-up medals, and you can argue that time is running out for Ballack to win a major non-domestic title. World Cup 2010 might even be his last chance. National Anthem: “Deutschlandlied”, or “Song of the Germans”. Hear all national anthems from Group D. Kit: Classic white home shirt from adidas, with the colours of the flag in a thin vertical stripe. As modelled by the Kleine Kaiser below: Find your Germany World Cup jerseys in our store. Schnell! World Cup History: Three-time winners and multiple near misses. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Expectations: I’m not sure that Germany and their fans expect a victory in 2010. But I imagine they expect to be in with a shout. So I’d say semi-finals is the minimum for Germany’s 2010 campaign to be considered somewhat successful. Unfortunately we can say that about more than four teams this year. But I guess that’s what makes the World Cup so brilliant. Squad: TBA. Blog: Follow Nick and Jan at Germany World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

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