World Cup 2010 Blog: “World Cup Moments: The Wasserschlacht, West Germany v Poland, 1974” plus 9 more |  |
- World Cup Moments: The Wasserschlacht, West Germany v Poland, 1974
- The Matchup: Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo.
- World Cup 2010 Schedule
- Japan World Cup Team Profile
- Daily Dose: From Xavi, To May 10th, 2010.
- World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Japan
- World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Brazil
- The BBC’s Brilliant New World Cup Ad
- The Potential Brotherly Battle In Group D
- South Africa Ready to Deal With World Cup Hooligans
| World Cup Moments: The Wasserschlacht, West Germany v Poland, 1974 Posted: 11 May 2010 05:10 AM PDT
Just because it’s the World Cup doesn’t mean everything about it need be of World Cup quality. Take the pitch in the 1974 semifinal between hosts West Germany and Poland, for example – it looked like it belonged hosting the 400m butterfly at the Summer Olympics rather than a World Cup game. And that’s precisely why it became known as the Wasserschlacht, German for water fight. The game wasn’t a semifinal, per say, but it was: the winner would win up winner of Group B and thus unofficially, it was a semifinal. Therefore it was a largely important game. Factor in German-Polish relations and, well, wars have been started over less. (Too soon?) Poland wanted the game postponed; West Germany, as hosts, wouldn’t. The pitch was drained and rolled as best they could and the game would go on, and the Germans would win 1-0. They’d then go on to win the whole darn thing at home against those Dutch fellows, as though they’d just swung each arm on either side (the left over East Germany) and knocked down their neighbors for the title. The game is perhaps less remembered than the state of the pitch and the controversy surrounding it, like any good World Cup semifinal.
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| The Matchup: Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo. Posted: 11 May 2010 03:10 AM PDT
Club Team Height
WAG Status At the World Cup he will most likely… Likely legacy |Part of our series A Casual Guide to World Cup 2010|
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| Posted: 10 May 2010 09:19 PM PDT
All you need to do after reading the World Cup schedule is decide how you’ll be watching (we recommend watching the World Cup in high-definition, since you ask) and whether you’re brave enough to skip work/school if necessary. Then you just have to wait until it all begins on June 11th. Which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. All kickoff times are local. Group Stage#1 South Africa vs Mexico – Group A – June 11th, Johannesburg (Soccer City), 4pm #4 South Korea vs Greece – Group B – June 12th, Port Elizabeth, 1:30pm #6 Algeria vs Slovenia – Group C – June 13th, Polokwane, 1:30pm #9 Netherlands vs Denmark – Group E – June 14th, Johannesburg (Soccer City), 1:30pm #12 New Zealand vs Slovakia – Group F – June 15th, Rustenburg, 1:30pm #15 Honduras vs Chile – Group H – June 16th, Nelspruit, 1:30pm #20 Argentina vs South Korea – Group B – June 17th, Johannesburg (Soccer City), 1:30pm #21 Germany vs Serbia – Group D – June 18th, Port Elizabeth, 1:30pm #25 Netherlands vs Japan – Group E – June 19th, Durban, 1:30pm #27 Slovakia vs Paraguay – Group F – June 20th, Bloemfontein, 1:30pm #30 Portugal vs North Korea – Group G – June 21st, Cape Town, 1:30pm #33 Mexico vs Uruguay – Group A – June 22nd, Rustenburg, 4pm #37 Slovenia vs England – Group C – June 23rd, Port Elizabeth, 4pm #41 Slovakia vs Italy – Group F – June 24th, Johannesburg (Ellis Park), 4pm #45 Portugal vs Brazil – Group G – June 25th, Durban, 4pm Second Round(key: 1A = team that finished first in Group A, and so on) #49 1A vs 2B – June 26th, Port Elizabeth, 4pm #51 1D vs 2C – June 27th, Bloemfontein, 4pm #53 1E vs 2F – June 28th, Durban, 4pm #55 1F vs 2E – June 29th, Pretoria, 4pm Quarter-Finals(key W53 = winner of match #53) #57 W53 vs W54 – July 2nd, Port Elizabeth, 4pm #59 W52 vs W51 – July 3rd, Cape Town, 4pm Semi-Finals#61 W58 vs W57 – July 6th, Cape Town, 8:30pm #62 W59 vs W60 – July 7th, Durban, 8:30pm Third-Place Playoff#63 L61 vs L62 – July 10th, Port Elizabeth, 8:30pm Final#64 W61 vs W62 – July 11th, Johannesburg (Soccer City), 8:30pm Source: FIFA (straight from the horse’s mouth) If you live in the US, you’ll also want to take a look at our World Cup 2010 ESPN TV schedule post, which shows the kickoff times in US eastern and also which channel each game will be broadcast on.
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| Posted: 10 May 2010 06:10 PM PDT
The latter would be course for extraordinary disappointment, at least in-house. Or in one house. Coach Takeshi Okada has made waves by placing perhaps the highest relative expectations upon his team at the World Cup: semifinals or bust. It’s worth a double-take surely, because a Japanese semifinal berth would likely be considered nothing short of a major upset, particularly from a tough group. But where’s the fun in aiming low? FIFA World Ranking as of April 28th 2010: 45th Group X Matches: Kit: The standard samurai blue with white shorts.
Coach: Takeshi Okada, the man whose dreams know no bounds, is in his second stint as head man atop the Japanese coaching pyramid. He took the squad to France in ‘98, where the won precisely zero points and finished 31st out of 32 teams. He’ll be hoping this time is an improvement. The fans will too, because Okada isn’t exactly the most popular man in Japan. He has his own methods, some might say stubborn methods, and the team, which by Asian standards is quite good, doesn’t inspire great confidence, and Okada will likely step down or find himself unemployed after the World Cup. Unless, of course, they shock the world/meet expectations. Key Players: Their clear strength is in midfield, where they boast some of Asia’s best player. Complete mid Yasuhito Endo is Asia’s best player, at least he was in 2009, when he earned the title. Shunsuke Nakamura, perhaps the most widely known over the world from his time in Europe, is another high quality mid with a gorgeous free kick swing, much like Endo. Junichi Inamoto, once the baby-faced media darling, like Nakamura went back home for the J. League season and will see some time in central midfield along with Makato Hasebe. Despite all these “names”, at least in Japan, the biggest of them all is the young gun with the left foot from the gods, Keisuke Honda, who will be put somewhere, anywhere with the hopes of scoring goals from midfield. In front, trying to make goals from midfield just an added bonus, there will be a story of two youngsters: Shinji Okazaki and Takayuki Morimoto. The former is a 24 yo with 15 goals in 2009, a lovely tally, but the latter is Japan’s great hope. For a few years Morimoto has been Japan’s golden boy, considered by many to be one of the most talented forwards in all the world. However, he’s only had 3 caps and is still new to international football, even if he plays in southern Italy. And despite the youth movement, Keiji Tamada still has a stronghold atop the formation. The back is led by Tulio Tanaka, something of a libero, will partner centrally with captain and old horse Yuji Nakazawa. On the right and left will be the two young and gifted fullbacks, Atsuto Uchiba and Yuto Nagatomo. Despite the surprise callback of former No. 1 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Seigo Narazaki will get the gloves in South Africa. Player with best YouTube video: Midfield dynamo Keisuke Honda doing strange things while showing off his equally abnormal football skills. Player with best name: Obviously the Japanese-Brazilian hybrid Marcus Túlio Lyuji Murzani Tanaka. Or just Tulio. But I like M.T.L.M.T. Who’s got a good mnemonic device? Player with best nickname: It could’ve been for Keisuke himself, or perhaps just for his left foot, but in the Netherlands, Honda earned Keizer Keisuke – Emperor Keisuke. I trust it doesn’t get much better, even if the alliteration made it necessary. Qualification: They lost/drew some games they probably should’ve won, but ultimately they settled comfortably into second place in their second group and qualified easily with only two losses through out – Thailand and Australia. Interesting: Only 4 on the squad ply their trade outside of the J. League – before the World Cup, that is – and they only combine for a total of 65 caps; 7 teammates have more alone. National Anthem: “Kimigayo” World Cup History:
Squad: Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata) Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers) Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg/Germany), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow/Russia), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble/France) Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuhito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania/Italy) Blog: Aidan runs the ship at the Japan World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.
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| Daily Dose: From Xavi, To May 10th, 2010. Posted: 10 May 2010 05:05 PM PDT Xavi’s on a planet of his own.
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| Posted: 10 May 2010 03:30 PM PDT
There’s a reason for everyone to look good at the World Cup. After all, if you can’t look good while winning, what’s the point? Japan’s reason is damn good: they represent one of the world’s biggest fashion hubs, perhaps the single biggest fashion hub, in Tokyo. Therefore they must put on a show and do honor to the living spirit of Hidetoshi Nakata, who’s surely critiquing their every fashion move. The brand is adidas, and they didn’t exactly go with their “cookie cutter” 2010 line, instead with a more unique national identity. Plus they have Shunsuke Nakamura pointing and yelling at someone, presumably where in the back of the net his free kick is about to go. The whole thing is simply awesome.
Want one? Grab the Japan World Cup home shirt at our store. It’s royal blue, what with the Japanese national team being the Blue Samurai and all. Two things jump out immediately: the red patch, or patches, and the intricate design in the blue. That design is actually leaves cleverly hidden.
What it means is merely theory having stumbled around the interwebs to no avail, but given the nature of their placement in the shirt, I think it might be a decent one: Hagakure is a famous book on the bushido, the “way of the warrior” (the samurai code of behavior), which translates to ‘hidden leaves’. It’s a rather famous text, so given the importance and inspiration of the samurai way, the nickname of the team, Blue Samurai, and the leaves being ‘hidden’ in the blue, I think this might be the most ingenious kit at the World Cup. Above, the clutter across the top with four separate instances of identification is a little busy for me. Personally, I would’ve suggested doing without the adidas logo and moving the Japanese flag over to the right. Pretty sure that would’ve resulted in adidas personnel asking me to leave the room, however. And added on the official shirts but not on the replicas is the new adidas TechFit which looks like a bra on the outside of the shirt: stylish and supported. There’s an epic manga at the adidas Japanese site which makes one think this kit might have special powers – do report back if it makes you fly with suspicious flames behind you – along with the actual story in Japanese that is beyond my grasp.
Want one? Grab the Japan World Cup away shirt at our store. These Japanese kits are awully good lookin’, aren’t they? This one’s rather more simple, but no less aesthetic. The classic away white (they’ll add blue shorts) with the three blue adidas stripes running down the shoulder along with that highly identifiable red patch just above the sternum. There’s a better glimpse of the crest here, along with the flag and that pesky adidas logo, all of which doesn’t look quite so busy without those falling leaves. There’s a mesh upper torso so as to keep cool in the South African, err, winter, working up into sort of the half collar, too. It’s very understated, so to keep it similarly simplified: these are two of the best kits at the World Cup.
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| World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Brazil Posted: 10 May 2010 01:10 PM PDT
Read on for a closer look at the Brazil home and away jerseys for World Cup 2010, and for an example of just how difficult it is to review a shirt with no real distinguishing features. Brazil Home Shirt
Earlier Brazil home shirts have been a bit more adventurous with the green trim. The 2004/5 version for example. Brazil’s World Cup 2010 home shirt is much more of a classic. Simple yellow, minimal green. I like. I also like that it’s one of the few Nike World Cup shirts not to feature those horizontal stripes near the sleeves. Said stripes aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s too much of an average thing. So well done to Brazil for avoiding that. Other unique features include the breathable mesh (and by “breathable mesh”, I of course mean holes) down the sides and this rather nice detail on the inside of the collar/back of the neck:
The final thing I’ll say about this new Brazil jersey is that – from a design perspective – it already has too many stars on it. If Brazil wins another World Cup this July, then the people at Nike are going to have serious problems fitting six stars above the crest for 2014. Brazil Away Shirt
The Brazil away jersey is much more of a deviation from the norm. The same basic shape as the home shirt, and dark blue like most recent Brazil away shirts, but with a pattern of yellow dots. I think we can agree that blue with yellow dots sounds like the worst idea for a football shirt. Maybe ever. But the size and colour of said dots means that Nike get away with it. The dots are visible, but nor prominent, and it’s an original way of incorporating the more famous home colour into a different coloured away kit.
That’s my take on Brazil’s World Cup 2010 jerseys. What do you think?
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| The BBC’s Brilliant New World Cup Ad Posted: 10 May 2010 11:40 AM PDT
Given that everything’s so media-driven and technology so evolved, this World Cup has the potential to be the best of the lot in terms of ads – and it’s always brilliant for ads anyway. It’s like the Super Bowl, but for a month. ESPN’s already gotten into the act and Visa would like you to run all the way to South Africa to use their credit card, and now BBC’s has followed suit. It is, in a few words, a colorfully brilliant representation of what you can expect to see this summer – not just on the pitch. After the jump…
[Spotted on 101 Great Goals]
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| The Potential Brotherly Battle In Group D Posted: 10 May 2010 09:09 AM PDT
47 times brothers have made it to a World Cup, not necessarily the same World Cup, which is a rather high number if you think about it. When Kevin-Prince Boateng was named to the Ghanaian provisional squad, it potentially set up the mother of all family reunions. If they both make the World Cup – likely for Jerome, but a mystery for K-P since it involves a paper trail, which can never bode well – they’ll be the first pair of brothers to make the tournament on opposite squads (that we can find). What’s more is that pesky draw, the one which put Germany in Ghana’s group and vice versa. And with no two brothers in a World Cup under different flags, it obviously stands to reason no two brothers have opposed each other in a World Cup. That could all change June 23rd, when Germany meets Ghana in the third round of Group D games. There are a number of brothers who’ve played on different sides of the fence, most recently Steve Mandanda and Parfait Mandanda in a friendly between the France A and Democratic Republic of the Congo. With both keepers, it’s not quite the same as going studs up on your brother, is it? Which brings us to the most important point: how is a brother-brother duel supposed to be refereed? If there’s anyone who can give you a good thwack across the head when you’re getting out of line, it’s family. In fact it’s what family’s supposed to do. How’s a referee supposed to handle what is normally a quick red when it’s just a bit of brotherly love?
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| South Africa Ready to Deal With World Cup Hooligans Posted: 10 May 2010 07:56 AM PDT
Before every World Cup the big concern has been the behaviour of certain people (I’m not calling them fans) who travel looking for trouble. The focus is usually on the English, but other countries have idiots too. And South Africa is getting ready to deal with them. First priority for South African national police commissioner General Bheki Cele is preventing the hooligans from entering South Africa:
For those that do enter, Cele and his people have set up special cells and an expedited judicial system.
I can’t decide if that’s reassuring or a potential nightmare for innocent fans who accidentally find themselves in the middle of trouble and then in the middle of one of these “special cells” and then with a life sentence in South Africa. Let’s hope it’s the former and not the latter. The one small consolation for would-be hooligans who don’t manage to get to South Africa is that they can stay home and play video games instead:
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Hair
Below you’ll find the schedule for World Cup 2010. Every World Cup match, in the order they’ll be happening, organized by date and kickoff time. It’s not as pretty to look at as our two 
It’s awfully hard to tell which way this will go, but today, Monday May 10th, Japan became one of two teams to release their full World Cup squad of 23, along with New Zealand. It could mean that they’ll be well and gelled by the time the tournament commences. Or it could mean that their campaign, like their squad, is destined for prematurity, which obviously isn’t good.
Ah, the famous yellow shirts of Brazil. Canary yellow to be precise. After 
It’s fairly rare to get two brothers who are good enough to partake it football at the highest professional levels. It’s even more rare when both brothers are considered of the quality to earn international callups. It’s so rare to have never happened that brothers are good enough to be opponents at the World Cup – until now.
There’s been a lot of worry about security at World Cup 2010, with FIFA and the South African organizers repeatedly vowing to protect visiting fans from the crimier elements of South African society. Which is fair enough. But it’s interesting how the emergence of that potential problem has taken everyone’s mind off the usual World Cup security worry: Hooligans. Nasty nasty hooligans.
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