World Cup 2010 Blog: “Mexico’s Traveling Towering Talisman” plus 2 more |  |
- Mexico’s Traveling Towering Talisman
- World Cup 2010 National Anthems: Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea
- World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Uruguay
| Mexico’s Traveling Towering Talisman Posted: 25 Mar 2010 01:40 AM PDT Given that the World Cup is the granddaddy of the sport, you can hardly begrudge a country for doing everything short of selling out their grandmommy for a decent run. So while you can’t really blame Mexico for bringing along their giant good luck charm, you’d have to think a lucky coin or a saint’s medal might be just as good. Those at least don’t require teams of movers rivaling the Egyptian pyramid builders.
We can only hope they mean the statue alone, rather than the entire monument: Statue alone or not, I sense a real space problem in South Africa should this catch on – Christ the Redeemer alone might clear out Jo’burg.
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| World Cup 2010 National Anthems: Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea Posted: 24 Mar 2010 01:10 PM PDT
Click below to see and hear the anthems, including a surprisingly moving rendition of the Nigerian national anthem by a former member of Destiny’s Child. National Anthem of Argentina(with both subtitles and sign language, which I think is a nice touch) The original version of “Himno Nacional Argentino” (National Anthem of Argentina) contained several vehemently anti-Spanish verses. Understandable, as it was written soon after the May Revolution of 1810, in which Argentina liberated itself from Spain. However, in the 20th Century, with the revolution in the rear view mirror and many Spanish people living peacefully in Argentina, the anti-Spanish verses were ditched, leaving a song mostly about liberty. Lyrics to the the Argentinean national anthem, in English: Hear, mortals, the sacred cry: May the laurels be eternal National Anthem of Greece(choral version from the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics) The lyrics to the Greek national anthem are taken from the rather long poem “Hymn to Liberty” by Dionysios Solomos. The first two stanzas of Solomos’ poem were set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros and adopted as first the Greek Royal anthem in 1864 and then the national anthem in 1865. The musical version sounds somewhat waltzy jolly (I think I suggested you could dance to in our World Cup Group B podcast preview) but the lyrics (below) are both poetic (obviously) and terrifying. Compare the above choral version with the instrumental version below: Lyrics to the Greek national anthem, in English: I know it’s you from the edge drawn from the bones National Anthem of Nigeria“Arise, O Compatriots” has been the national anthem of Nigeria since 1978, when it replaced “Nigeria We Hail Thee”. A national competition was held, with elements of the five best entries being incorporated into the final song and then set to music. The above recording sounds a little old fashioned, so here’s Beyonce performing the anthem for an appreciative crowd in Lagos: Lyrics to the Nigerian national anthen: Arise, O compatriots, National Anthem of the Republic of KoreaSouth Korea’s national anthem is known as “Aegukga”, or “The Patriotic Song”. North Korea’s national anthem is also known as “Aegukga”, but is actually completely different. Lyrics to the Republic of Korea’s national anthem, in English, are: Until the day when the East Sea’s waters and Mt. Baekdu are dry and worn away, Three thousand Li of splendid rivers and mountains, filled with Roses of Sharon; The pinetree atop foremountain stands firmly unchanged under wind and frost as if wrapped in armour, Autumn sky is void and vast, high and cloudless, With this spirit and this mind, give all loyalty, More World Cup 2010 national anthems here.
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| World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Uruguay Posted: 24 Mar 2010 08:52 AM PDT
Uruguay are La Celeste, and so the home jerseys are always sky blue. Since 1935 anyway. This year’s away jerseys are gold, but more about those later. Read on for a closer look at Uruguay’s home and away shirts and for my very best Tim Gunn impression as I review the shirts below.
Uruguay Home ShirtWant one? Find your Uruguay home shirt in the World Cup Blog store In some ways you can’t do much with sky blue. It’s just one colour. So Puma were up against it when it came to designing this, but they’ve done a decent job by adding extra details. After some careful consideration, I’m going to say I’m a fan of the multiple suns pattern on this shirt, a nice reference to the sun on the Uurguay flag. There’s always a danger that repeating the same symbol multiple times will look like a badly designed web page, but I think the suns are subtle enough to be present without dominating the shirt. Not all Uruguay fans agree with me there though. I also like that the red Puma logo (although seems it’s sometimes white, see Forlan above) picks up the small amount of red in the national team crest. Speaking of which, if anyone’s wondering why there are four stars above Uruguay’s crest, it’s to represent Uruguay’s two World Cup wins (1930, 1950) and also Uruguay’s two Olympic gold medals (1924, 1928). Think counting Olympic golds is cheating? Maybe, but remember these were the pre-World Cup Olympics, when the Olympics really was the biggest and best football tournament on the planet. I like the shape at the bottom of the jersey too, with the change in colour on the hips which should theoretically have a slimming effect on anyone wearing the XXL version of the shirt. Theoretically. But here’s the best thing about this Uruguay home shirt:
Uruguay Away ShirtLike it for some unknown reason? Find your Uruguay away shirt in the World Cup Blog store The idea of a gold away shirt (instead of the usual red) isn’t necessarily a bad one. Presumably it’s a reference to the sun again. But they don’t seem to have gone any further than that, and I get the feeling that putting the crest front and center is an attempt to try and hide the fact that nothing else is happening here. I also suspect that Puma spent so much time and effort on the home jersey that everyone forgot that an away designed was even needed, and so at ten minutes to midnight someone drew this very very quickly. Agree or disagree with the above? What do you think about Uruguay’s home and away jerseys?
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Before every international football match, the national anthems of the two competing teams are played. It’s all about tradition and patriotism, and it’s one of my favourite ceremonial things about the World Cup. We’re writing about the national anthems of the 32 team at World Cup 2010 four at a time, group by group. Last week we did 
We finish our review of the Group A 
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Upon learning that Thierry Henry won’t be participating in the World Cup 
Brazil has appeared in every tournament so far – the only team to do so – and won five World Cups – the only team to do so. Our history of Brazil at the World Cup finally comes to a close with Part IV. In 
This is where we meet Ronaldo. Sort of. The 17 year old future all time World Cup top goalscorer was in the Brazil squad for the 1994 World Cup, but didn’t see a single second of on-field action. Seems odd to say that now, but that’s before you consider the other attacking options at coach Carlos Alberto Parreira’s disposal. The great Romário was 28, playing for Barcelona, and arguably at his peak, and formed a dangerous attacking partnership with Bebeto. The team was anchored by Dunga in defensive midfield, who also took over the captaincy after Rai was benched in the latter stages. Other significant members of the squad include attacking fullback Jorginho, who had no less a player than Cafu as his backup (!) and also a young Leonardo, in his pre-Milan days.
Incredibly, Brazil’s coach in 1998 was the man who coached them at the 1970 World Cup: Mario Zagallo. The talent in his squad takes some believing. Get ready for this list of names. Brazil 1998 had two of the most dangerous attacking fullbacks the world has ever known in Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Dunga was still there in defensive midfield (though not in his 1994 form) and going forward there was the magic of Barcelona playmaker Rivaldo, and the explosive pace and power and all round unbeatableness of a 21 year old Ronaldo. If you’ve never seen early Ronaldo, then you’ve never seen Ronaldo at all. Factor in the experience of a 34 year old Bebeto and the promise of a 20 year old (pre-Betis) Denilson, and that’s quite a team. 
Brazil very nearly failed to qualify for World Cup 2002, but Luiz Felipe (or “Big Phil” if you prefer) Scolari replaced Émerson Leão and righted the ship. Brazil entered 2002 with a strong team on paper: Cafu and Roberto Carlos again, and the attacking trident of The Three Rs: Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Rivaldo was still going strong at Barcelona, Ronaldinho was a 22 year old buck-toothed attacking mid at PSG, but once again Ronaldo was the big story. In the four years between the 1998 and World Cup and the 2002 World Cup, Ronaldo suffered two serious knee injuries and two long rehabilitations. But somehow he was back, and ready for another shot at World Cup glory. The now 36 year old Romario was in good form for Fluminense and desperate to play, but Scolari basically decided Romario wasn’t needed. Even though his name began with the letter “R”.
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