Two major finals brought the 2008/09 season to a close but soccer fans need not worry too much as the European qualification campaign for the 2009/10 Europa League is just about to get away. Yes, the triumphant squads from Brazil and the German Under 21 side will barely have had their winning soccer kits cleaned and stored away to preserve the memory of their win but soccer continues. It seems as though the close season break gets shorter and shorter and with the summer of 2010 being a World Cup summer, there is an obvious desire to get the new season underway to allow proper preparation time for the biggest show on earth.
At half-time in the Confederations Cup final, it looked as though USA were going to pull off the shock of the season, if not the millennium as they roared into a two goal lead over Brazil. This may have been the result that finally kick-started life into soccer in America but you know when you are playing that famous golden soccer kit, nothing can be taken for granted. A goal seconds into the second half brought Brazil back into the game and the rest of the half was one way traffic as the samba loving soccer stars swamped all over their opponents. It was a tough way to lose for the Americans but no one can deny that Brazil were worthy champions. Hopefully the US public will be able to take comfort in what their team achieved in the tournament and wear their own US soccer jersey with pride over the next few months.
The final game of the season was the Under 21 European Championships final between Germany and England and many were predicting a close tie. Many were wrong though as Germany, wearing their unfamiliar change soccer top of red, humiliated England by a score line of 4-0. This result means that the Germans are now European Champions at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 level which is some record and possibly indicates a strong future for the German national side. The English team may have looked smart in their tailored Umbro soccer shirts but their performance and blunders made them look amateur at best.
So with the past season behind us, its time to look forward to the new season and this is always an exciting time for soccer fans. Your team is yet to lose a game and there is always the hope of new signings and the launch of a new soccer kit and equipment to raise your spirits. Mind you, if you support any team but Real Madrid, and maybe Manchester City, it is likely that you will be casting envious glances at the money that is being spent. Real Madrid may have a world famous all white soccer kit but the real stars next season will be Kaka and Ronaldo and you just know millions of children all over the world will be wearing replica jerseys with they names emblazoned on the back.
It also seems as though Manchester City mean business and are seriously courting Samuel Eto’o from Barcelona. Barcelona have just had the best season a Spanish club has ever achieved but a busload of money may be enough to convince Eto’o to swap the blue and red stripes of Barcelona for the sky blue soccer jersey of Manchester City and the English Premier League.
Read More!
Soccer Superstitions!
Our soccer heroes gave us the most exhilarating matches with their deft dribbling and breathtaking goals. These professionals worked hard at their game, trained to perfection and when all the work was done, they left the rest to superstition to get the job done! Some players and coaches followed the most bizarre pre-match rituals on and off the pitch and swore by their efficacy. Idiosyncrasies that worked for them once and became rituals, to be followed without question or logic. Here are some superstitions our soccer greats took recourse to in the hope that lady luck would smile their way…
Les Bleus were superstitious about goalkeeper Fabien Barthez’s bald pate! During the 1998 World Cup, captain Laurent Blanc kissed the keeper on the head and France went on the win! And with that a ritual was born, with Barthez offering up his head for the habitual kiss before each match, often to the tune of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, which was blasted in the locker room to get them into winning mode! And then, there’s coach Raymond Domenech’s controversial reliance on astrology. He is said to have chosen players and put his team together based on their sun signs! This won Domenech his fair share of criticism from the players’ who’d been left out simply because they were born on the ‘wrong’ date or time of the month!
A rather common practice among soccer players is to wear the same underwear for games! Colombian Rene Higuita admits that his underwear had to be blue during match days. It all started in the 80s, when his team couldn’t beat their rival team, no matter what they did. So, a fortune teller was consulted, who announced a curse had been placed on them and could be remedied if all players wore blue underpants while playing! They did and it worked, winning them the Copa Libertadores! Since then, blue undergarments became a must for Higuita!
Brazilian player and coach Mario Zagallo is known for his unshakable faith in the number 13. Since Saint Anthony’s Day is celebrated on the 13th of June, all things 13 were preferred by Zagallo. He married on his patron saint’s day, lived on the 13th floor, saw Brazil through 13 World Cup victories and aided his post-op recovery from stomach cancer by visiting the saint’s shrine all of 13 times!
Personal preferences are one thing, but on-pitch peculiarities sometimes bordered on vulgarity! Argentinean goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea is a case in point. While defending penalty shots, he was known to urinate on the pitch! Now that could easily qualify as a ‘pe(t)e peeve’!
Moving on to England’s squad, striker Gary Lineker refused to shoot at the goal while warming up. He was convinced that he was saving up goals for the match! And if he failed to score in the first half of the game, he would promptly trot to the dressing room at halftime and wear a fresh soccer shirt. If goals evaded him for a lengthy period of time, it meant a trip to the hairdresser! Another legend, Paul Ince, always made sure he was the last player to leave the dressing room and only wore his soccer shirt while running onto the pitch!
These are some superstitions and there are plenty more… Some extremely funny, others seriously unbelievable! Read More!
Les Bleus were superstitious about goalkeeper Fabien Barthez’s bald pate! During the 1998 World Cup, captain Laurent Blanc kissed the keeper on the head and France went on the win! And with that a ritual was born, with Barthez offering up his head for the habitual kiss before each match, often to the tune of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, which was blasted in the locker room to get them into winning mode! And then, there’s coach Raymond Domenech’s controversial reliance on astrology. He is said to have chosen players and put his team together based on their sun signs! This won Domenech his fair share of criticism from the players’ who’d been left out simply because they were born on the ‘wrong’ date or time of the month!
A rather common practice among soccer players is to wear the same underwear for games! Colombian Rene Higuita admits that his underwear had to be blue during match days. It all started in the 80s, when his team couldn’t beat their rival team, no matter what they did. So, a fortune teller was consulted, who announced a curse had been placed on them and could be remedied if all players wore blue underpants while playing! They did and it worked, winning them the Copa Libertadores! Since then, blue undergarments became a must for Higuita!
Brazilian player and coach Mario Zagallo is known for his unshakable faith in the number 13. Since Saint Anthony’s Day is celebrated on the 13th of June, all things 13 were preferred by Zagallo. He married on his patron saint’s day, lived on the 13th floor, saw Brazil through 13 World Cup victories and aided his post-op recovery from stomach cancer by visiting the saint’s shrine all of 13 times!
Personal preferences are one thing, but on-pitch peculiarities sometimes bordered on vulgarity! Argentinean goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea is a case in point. While defending penalty shots, he was known to urinate on the pitch! Now that could easily qualify as a ‘pe(t)e peeve’!
Moving on to England’s squad, striker Gary Lineker refused to shoot at the goal while warming up. He was convinced that he was saving up goals for the match! And if he failed to score in the first half of the game, he would promptly trot to the dressing room at halftime and wear a fresh soccer shirt. If goals evaded him for a lengthy period of time, it meant a trip to the hairdresser! Another legend, Paul Ince, always made sure he was the last player to leave the dressing room and only wore his soccer shirt while running onto the pitch!
These are some superstitions and there are plenty more… Some extremely funny, others seriously unbelievable! Read More!
When Soccer Came to Brazil
Brazil and Futebol are ‘hand in glove’ (pardon the pun)! But it’s the British who invented this much loved game. The history of Brazilian soccer is a disorganized one and it comes as no surprise that its origins has many a version! This British sport is said to have arrived in Brazil during the end of the nineteenth century.
One version of the advent of soccer in Brazil claims it all started with the arrival of British and Dutch sailors to the country. The locals learned the ropes of the game from these sailors on the beaches of the north eastern coastline. Another version gives credit to a certain Mr. Hugh as the ‘father of Brazilian soccer’. It seems Mr. Hugh was the first person to teach the game to the workers of the São Paulo Railway back in 1882. Yet another version prefers a Mr. John as the first coach of soccer, who taught the skills to a team of Leopoldina Railway workers sometime in 1875.
Now, if that’s not confusing, what is?! Well, there’s one more version that most people espouse as the ‘true story’. According to this popular version, Brazilian soccer owes Charles William Miller for bringing the game to the country. Born in Brazil in the year 1874, Charles left for England for his studies at the age of 10. It was there that he was first came in contact with the sport. Charlie was a natural and soon became a deft dribbler and a free kick and header specialist. An accomplished striker, he won school honors that gave him entry into Southampton Club, and later, the Hampshire County team.
On his return to Brazil in 1894, he brought with him some soccer gear, a rule book and his skill. He formed the first Brazilian football club, the Sao Paolo Athletic Club (SPAC), and even came up with a few new rules! SPAC went on to win the first three championships with Mr. Miller at the helm. His football skills were far superior than his team mates and the ‘Chaleira’ - a football move invented by him saw him flick the ball with his heel - was named in honor of him. This move is still used by the legends of Brazilian football! The greatest names of the game, Pele, Socrates and Rivelino owe a lot to this pioneer of Brazilian football…
The first official match in Brazil was played in São Paulo back in 1894. Charles Miller had invited the English football teams from Southampton and the Corinthians Club to play against SPAC and other local teams. Charles had so much respect for the Corinthians sense of fair play, he even named a local team after them! And with that, one of Brazil’s most popular club was born… It went on to become Brazilian Champion in the year 2005 and had some of the best players Brazil has seen on its roster.
In 1988, SPAC commemorated its centenary with a match against the English Corinthians! The final match had legends like Socrates and Rivelino on the local Corinthian side playing against their English counterpart. The local team was leading 1:0, when Socrates, in the spirit of Corinthian fairness, agreed to change his soccer jersey to play for the English team!
Well, those were the early years of Brazil’s love affair with football. It went on to make history as five time World Cup champion and is the only country to have qualified for all 17 World Cups in the tournament’s history! Until 2002, Brazil had lost only one World Cup qualifier in 70 years of playing! With its elegant dribbling, lightening speed passes and precision scoring, Brazilian Futebol has been likened to ballet dancing, and more recently, to the rhythmic samba! Read More!
One version of the advent of soccer in Brazil claims it all started with the arrival of British and Dutch sailors to the country. The locals learned the ropes of the game from these sailors on the beaches of the north eastern coastline. Another version gives credit to a certain Mr. Hugh as the ‘father of Brazilian soccer’. It seems Mr. Hugh was the first person to teach the game to the workers of the São Paulo Railway back in 1882. Yet another version prefers a Mr. John as the first coach of soccer, who taught the skills to a team of Leopoldina Railway workers sometime in 1875.
Now, if that’s not confusing, what is?! Well, there’s one more version that most people espouse as the ‘true story’. According to this popular version, Brazilian soccer owes Charles William Miller for bringing the game to the country. Born in Brazil in the year 1874, Charles left for England for his studies at the age of 10. It was there that he was first came in contact with the sport. Charlie was a natural and soon became a deft dribbler and a free kick and header specialist. An accomplished striker, he won school honors that gave him entry into Southampton Club, and later, the Hampshire County team.
On his return to Brazil in 1894, he brought with him some soccer gear, a rule book and his skill. He formed the first Brazilian football club, the Sao Paolo Athletic Club (SPAC), and even came up with a few new rules! SPAC went on to win the first three championships with Mr. Miller at the helm. His football skills were far superior than his team mates and the ‘Chaleira’ - a football move invented by him saw him flick the ball with his heel - was named in honor of him. This move is still used by the legends of Brazilian football! The greatest names of the game, Pele, Socrates and Rivelino owe a lot to this pioneer of Brazilian football…
The first official match in Brazil was played in São Paulo back in 1894. Charles Miller had invited the English football teams from Southampton and the Corinthians Club to play against SPAC and other local teams. Charles had so much respect for the Corinthians sense of fair play, he even named a local team after them! And with that, one of Brazil’s most popular club was born… It went on to become Brazilian Champion in the year 2005 and had some of the best players Brazil has seen on its roster.
In 1988, SPAC commemorated its centenary with a match against the English Corinthians! The final match had legends like Socrates and Rivelino on the local Corinthian side playing against their English counterpart. The local team was leading 1:0, when Socrates, in the spirit of Corinthian fairness, agreed to change his soccer jersey to play for the English team!
Well, those were the early years of Brazil’s love affair with football. It went on to make history as five time World Cup champion and is the only country to have qualified for all 17 World Cups in the tournament’s history! Until 2002, Brazil had lost only one World Cup qualifier in 70 years of playing! With its elegant dribbling, lightening speed passes and precision scoring, Brazilian Futebol has been likened to ballet dancing, and more recently, to the rhythmic samba! Read More!
The Many Colors of the Soccer Uniforms
A team’s soccer gear defines its character. It is a symbol of unity that etches out a national or club identity. And its serious business with specialists designing custom fit, durable, comfortable, easy to breath fabrics and cuts. As you can imagine, colors play a huge role in the scheme of things. After all, each color has a distinct effect on the players behavior and emotions. Let’s take a quick peek at the various shades that bring soccer to life. Soothing, flashy, subtle, pristine, modern, classic, they all make their presence felt on the green of the pitch…
Color me up!
Soccer uniforms come in a variety of designs and color combinations, but the colors usually aren’t coincidental to the teams. They are deliberate, usually well thought out selections meant to make the team stand out. At times, the color choice is decided through a consensus of the players. Though often, team colors originate from a particular association with the country or city that the team represents. Soccer team uniforms first made an appearance in the 1870s, and even then, the team’s colors were often linked to a sports club, university or school. Since the early days of the game, team colors had an emotional connotation.
Dressed for Success
The color and design of a team’s soccer shirt has to match with the shorts and socks. It should all come together seamlessly as an ensemble assembled for success! Since referees need to stand apart from the players, their uniforms are traditionally black. As a color, black is usually associated with power, mystery, sophistication, formality and conventionality, not to forget, its inherent quality of making people look slim!
Fire Brand
If the color red is associated with passion, intensity, energy, ambition, masculinity, strength, courage and excitement, it is also intrinsically linked with the club Manchester United. The team adopted its red and white team colors as far back as 1902! It’s latest home kit is again a red soccer shirt with white shorts that have red stripes on the sides. Other teams inspired by the color and identified with it, are the Reds of Liverpool and the Rojas of Chile.
Blue By Design
Think blue and peace, loyalty, constancy, reliability, confidence, unity, harmony, trust, coolness and wisdom come to mind. The legendary teams behind the ‘bluing’ of the pitch are Argentina in its famous sky blue and white stripes, France’s Les Bleus and Italy’s Azzurri. Looks like the club FC Barcelona has ensured it gets the best of both worlds with a return to vertical stripes of red and blue on its soccer jersey! And it sure has worked for them!
It’s White, Yellow and Blue!
Representing purity and radiance, the color white has always been associated with the clubs Leeds and Real Madrid. On a national level, the English and German squads usually mark their presence in pristine white soccer uniforms. Yellow stands for warmth and joy, while green recalls the hues of Nature in terms of freshness, calmness, rejuvenation, energy, growth and balance. No wonder the national team of Brazil took inspiration from their national flag and embraced these colors as their own!
Orange Works!
But it’s the Dutch Oranje who contrast the green pitch the most in their striking orange soccer shirts! This color represents energy, enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness and a ‘let’s-do-it’ attitude, which the team seems to have assimilated!
As you can see, team colors are related to team identity, as much as football is related to dribbling! Read More!
Color me up!
Soccer uniforms come in a variety of designs and color combinations, but the colors usually aren’t coincidental to the teams. They are deliberate, usually well thought out selections meant to make the team stand out. At times, the color choice is decided through a consensus of the players. Though often, team colors originate from a particular association with the country or city that the team represents. Soccer team uniforms first made an appearance in the 1870s, and even then, the team’s colors were often linked to a sports club, university or school. Since the early days of the game, team colors had an emotional connotation.
Dressed for Success
The color and design of a team’s soccer shirt has to match with the shorts and socks. It should all come together seamlessly as an ensemble assembled for success! Since referees need to stand apart from the players, their uniforms are traditionally black. As a color, black is usually associated with power, mystery, sophistication, formality and conventionality, not to forget, its inherent quality of making people look slim!
Fire Brand
If the color red is associated with passion, intensity, energy, ambition, masculinity, strength, courage and excitement, it is also intrinsically linked with the club Manchester United. The team adopted its red and white team colors as far back as 1902! It’s latest home kit is again a red soccer shirt with white shorts that have red stripes on the sides. Other teams inspired by the color and identified with it, are the Reds of Liverpool and the Rojas of Chile.
Blue By Design
Think blue and peace, loyalty, constancy, reliability, confidence, unity, harmony, trust, coolness and wisdom come to mind. The legendary teams behind the ‘bluing’ of the pitch are Argentina in its famous sky blue and white stripes, France’s Les Bleus and Italy’s Azzurri. Looks like the club FC Barcelona has ensured it gets the best of both worlds with a return to vertical stripes of red and blue on its soccer jersey! And it sure has worked for them!
It’s White, Yellow and Blue!
Representing purity and radiance, the color white has always been associated with the clubs Leeds and Real Madrid. On a national level, the English and German squads usually mark their presence in pristine white soccer uniforms. Yellow stands for warmth and joy, while green recalls the hues of Nature in terms of freshness, calmness, rejuvenation, energy, growth and balance. No wonder the national team of Brazil took inspiration from their national flag and embraced these colors as their own!
Orange Works!
But it’s the Dutch Oranje who contrast the green pitch the most in their striking orange soccer shirts! This color represents energy, enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness and a ‘let’s-do-it’ attitude, which the team seems to have assimilated!
As you can see, team colors are related to team identity, as much as football is related to dribbling! Read More!
Famous Soccer Players and their Nicknames!
Football players are usually known by their nicknames. Whether, christened by doting fans, team mates or coaches, these short forms encapsulate some of the biggest football giants in a few words! Dipping into the animal world, dabbling with titles of royalty, or simply dripping with emotion, these players are here to stay and be remembered by these names even though they span across generations…
Perhaps the most popular of all football monikers is Pele or the Black Pearl, as the greatest footballer of all times, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is known. Winner of three FIFA World Cups, he was latter dubbed O Rei (The King) for this outstanding achievements. Pele was a name the legend picked up in school, though even he wasn’t too clear as to how he got the name! Whatever you call him, he will always be remembered as the ultimate when it comes to football.
If Pele was The King, Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer was The Emperor (Der Kaiser). He dominated world football wearing the number 5 soccer shirt in 1974 and later went on to become the national team’s coach. His teammate was another legend, Gerd Muller, who gained a formidable reputation as The Bomber for his goal scoring capacity - 365 in 427 Bundesliga matches and 68 in 62 international matches!
Carrying on with titles both royal and military, Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, was referred to as The Galloping Major! It was the player’s actual rank as well as his nickname in the Hungarian army team. This three time UEFA Cup winner with Real Madrid was also dubbed the Cañoncito (Little Cannon) by adoring fans. And then, of course, there was Eric ‘The King’ Cantona and ‘Guv’nor’ Paul Ince, who became the first black player to captain England’s national team. Brazilian Adriano Leite Ribeiro, was fondly called L’Imperatore (The Emperor) and even ‘The Bulldozer’ at different points of his prolific career!
Moving on to names more ‘beastly’, who can forget Brazil’s Edmundo, who came to be known as ‘O Animal’ after his exploits on the pitch! Years before him, the dazzling dribbler Garrincha was dubbed Little Bird, and ended his career as The Joy of the People or Alegria do Povo.
Argentinean legend, Maradona, who made the number 10 soccer shirt a much sought after inheritance, began with the nickname Fluffy due to his untidy mop! Thankfully, he didn’t get stuck with the sobriquet, and moved on to an extremely flattering one – The Golden Child or El Pibe de Oro. But when it comes to Diego Maradona can that be enough! He became the only player in the world whose body part has been given a nickname – The Hand of God – after his infamous goal during the 1986 FIFA World Cup!
One of the most interesting pet names by far has to be The Baby Faced Assassin! Norwegian footballer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, spent his best years at Manchester United, where he scored 126 goals, earning him a reputation as The Baby Faced Assassin for his lethal goal scoring skills, matched with his misleading ‘babe in the woods’ look!
These diminutives have become so popular, that most fans don’t even know their favorite players actual names! Actually, their real names are nothing short of confusing. As a diehard football fan would you know Ricardo Leite is our very own Kaka? Didn’t think so! Guess that’s why these nicknames have stuck on the players soccer team shirts… Thank God for that! Read More!
Perhaps the most popular of all football monikers is Pele or the Black Pearl, as the greatest footballer of all times, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is known. Winner of three FIFA World Cups, he was latter dubbed O Rei (The King) for this outstanding achievements. Pele was a name the legend picked up in school, though even he wasn’t too clear as to how he got the name! Whatever you call him, he will always be remembered as the ultimate when it comes to football.
If Pele was The King, Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer was The Emperor (Der Kaiser). He dominated world football wearing the number 5 soccer shirt in 1974 and later went on to become the national team’s coach. His teammate was another legend, Gerd Muller, who gained a formidable reputation as The Bomber for his goal scoring capacity - 365 in 427 Bundesliga matches and 68 in 62 international matches!
Carrying on with titles both royal and military, Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, was referred to as The Galloping Major! It was the player’s actual rank as well as his nickname in the Hungarian army team. This three time UEFA Cup winner with Real Madrid was also dubbed the Cañoncito (Little Cannon) by adoring fans. And then, of course, there was Eric ‘The King’ Cantona and ‘Guv’nor’ Paul Ince, who became the first black player to captain England’s national team. Brazilian Adriano Leite Ribeiro, was fondly called L’Imperatore (The Emperor) and even ‘The Bulldozer’ at different points of his prolific career!
Moving on to names more ‘beastly’, who can forget Brazil’s Edmundo, who came to be known as ‘O Animal’ after his exploits on the pitch! Years before him, the dazzling dribbler Garrincha was dubbed Little Bird, and ended his career as The Joy of the People or Alegria do Povo.
Argentinean legend, Maradona, who made the number 10 soccer shirt a much sought after inheritance, began with the nickname Fluffy due to his untidy mop! Thankfully, he didn’t get stuck with the sobriquet, and moved on to an extremely flattering one – The Golden Child or El Pibe de Oro. But when it comes to Diego Maradona can that be enough! He became the only player in the world whose body part has been given a nickname – The Hand of God – after his infamous goal during the 1986 FIFA World Cup!
One of the most interesting pet names by far has to be The Baby Faced Assassin! Norwegian footballer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, spent his best years at Manchester United, where he scored 126 goals, earning him a reputation as The Baby Faced Assassin for his lethal goal scoring skills, matched with his misleading ‘babe in the woods’ look!
These diminutives have become so popular, that most fans don’t even know their favorite players actual names! Actually, their real names are nothing short of confusing. As a diehard football fan would you know Ricardo Leite is our very own Kaka? Didn’t think so! Guess that’s why these nicknames have stuck on the players soccer team shirts… Thank God for that! Read More!
Football and the Name Game
There’s many a story behind a football team’s name. As years go by, the name becomes synonymous with the team and evokes high emotions among fans! Some names represent the area of origin, others take inspiration from Nature, yet others are based on colors… Let’s take a look at some names with interesting backgrounds.
England is where the game of football began and the practice of naming teams after factories, since many prestigious clubs started out as in-house factory squads. Arsenal had a humble birth in an arms factory at Woolwich that went by the name Royal Arsenal. That’s why the pet name Gunners and the cannon on their crest! Likewise, four time African champions, the Ghanian Black Stars, get their name from the stars on the national flag, which is a reminder of the Black Star Line shipping corporation that brought Africans back home.
Tint Hint
When it comes to the Whites of Leeds and the Reds of Liverpool, the colors of the football jerseys were the defining factor behind the sobriquets. Real Madrid has always been linked with the color white. The ‘Merengues’ boast of football giants like Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul, Ronaldinho, Figo and Beckham who have proudly worn the club’s white soccer shirt. The national team of Brazil is sometimes referred to as the Auriverdes or the Green and Gold, after the national flag and the soccer gear colors. Legends such as Pele, Zico, Eder, Didi, Garrincha, Tostão, Cafu, Socrates, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho have worn the green and yellow Brazilian soccer shirts with national pride. After all, they’re not called ‘the selected ones’ or Seleçao for nothing! And then, of course, vibrant colors hold a prominent place in Latin American football. There are the El Tricolor of Mexico and the Rojas or Reds of Chile.
True Blue
If red is sprinkled all over the soccer landscape, blue dominates in all its hues! You’ve got the famous sky blue and whites, the Albicelestes of Argentina, the Blue Samurais of Japan, the Celeste from Uruguay, Les Bleus of France and the Italian Azzurri. Though the first Azzurri team played in white soccer shirts, they later adopted a blue strip representing the royal House of Savoy in 1911.
The Dutch team, nicknamed the Oranje, also took up the color orange in honor of the noble House of Orange. In the 1970s when the team became known for its ‘precision passing’, it earned the name Clockwork Orange. It is also referred to as the Dutch Eleven by some.
Straight jacketed!
German’s, known for their straightforward approach, have assimilated it in their name – die Nationalmannschaft or the national team. It really doesn’t get more specific than this! But fans prefer to cheer them on as Deutschland or Germany. England’s national team are the Three Lions, named after their crest. Not very creative these names, but let’s move on to the cool, whacky and goofy!
It’s Different!
Greece’s team, the Pirate Ship, is by far the most creative name! Referring to the floating ship used during the Euro 2004 Championship’s opening ceremony, sportscasters started calling them by that name during their opening match against Portugal. Australia’s national team, the Socceroos, couldn’t be more representative of the country – marrying soccer with kangaroos! But when it comes to sheer sweetness, fans of the local Everton club win hands down. They call their players ‘the Toffees’ after two toffee shops that were once there!
So, that’s the weird and colored, literal and creative, local and national, world of football team names! Read More!
England is where the game of football began and the practice of naming teams after factories, since many prestigious clubs started out as in-house factory squads. Arsenal had a humble birth in an arms factory at Woolwich that went by the name Royal Arsenal. That’s why the pet name Gunners and the cannon on their crest! Likewise, four time African champions, the Ghanian Black Stars, get their name from the stars on the national flag, which is a reminder of the Black Star Line shipping corporation that brought Africans back home.
Tint Hint
When it comes to the Whites of Leeds and the Reds of Liverpool, the colors of the football jerseys were the defining factor behind the sobriquets. Real Madrid has always been linked with the color white. The ‘Merengues’ boast of football giants like Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul, Ronaldinho, Figo and Beckham who have proudly worn the club’s white soccer shirt. The national team of Brazil is sometimes referred to as the Auriverdes or the Green and Gold, after the national flag and the soccer gear colors. Legends such as Pele, Zico, Eder, Didi, Garrincha, Tostão, Cafu, Socrates, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho have worn the green and yellow Brazilian soccer shirts with national pride. After all, they’re not called ‘the selected ones’ or Seleçao for nothing! And then, of course, vibrant colors hold a prominent place in Latin American football. There are the El Tricolor of Mexico and the Rojas or Reds of Chile.
True Blue
If red is sprinkled all over the soccer landscape, blue dominates in all its hues! You’ve got the famous sky blue and whites, the Albicelestes of Argentina, the Blue Samurais of Japan, the Celeste from Uruguay, Les Bleus of France and the Italian Azzurri. Though the first Azzurri team played in white soccer shirts, they later adopted a blue strip representing the royal House of Savoy in 1911.
The Dutch team, nicknamed the Oranje, also took up the color orange in honor of the noble House of Orange. In the 1970s when the team became known for its ‘precision passing’, it earned the name Clockwork Orange. It is also referred to as the Dutch Eleven by some.
Straight jacketed!
German’s, known for their straightforward approach, have assimilated it in their name – die Nationalmannschaft or the national team. It really doesn’t get more specific than this! But fans prefer to cheer them on as Deutschland or Germany. England’s national team are the Three Lions, named after their crest. Not very creative these names, but let’s move on to the cool, whacky and goofy!
It’s Different!
Greece’s team, the Pirate Ship, is by far the most creative name! Referring to the floating ship used during the Euro 2004 Championship’s opening ceremony, sportscasters started calling them by that name during their opening match against Portugal. Australia’s national team, the Socceroos, couldn’t be more representative of the country – marrying soccer with kangaroos! But when it comes to sheer sweetness, fans of the local Everton club win hands down. They call their players ‘the Toffees’ after two toffee shops that were once there!
So, that’s the weird and colored, literal and creative, local and national, world of football team names! Read More!
USA pull off a major shock!
The United States soccer team may have a limited number of famous moments throughout their history with the Ladies team outshining them but you can bet the US fans wore their soccer jerseys with pride on Monday. Going into the final group game on Sunday night, America sat bottom of the table and requiring a six goal swing to leapfrog the Italians and Egypt to gain second place in Confederations Cup Group B. Brazil were guaranteed their place at the top of the table but the final qualification place was up for grabs between all three sides but most people believed the tussle to be between the Italians and Egypt.
Italy, wearing a one off soccer uniforms for the tournament which commemorated the 1930s Italian side which triumphed at World Cups (and forgetting anything else which is associated Italy and the 1930s), looked strongly out of date and were swiftly swept aside by a rampant Brazil side. The magic of the Brazilian soccer outfit still catches the breath and as they raced into a 3-0 half-time lead, news started to filter through to the US team. The Americans were already one goal up and knew that if the Brazil Italy game remained as it was, they needed to add two more goals to take second place. Egypt’s goalkeeper may have performed miracles in shutting out Italy in his previous match but he was floundering here as the Americans got their two goals and sealed an amazing comeback that very few would have predicted beforehand.
Hopefully the US fans will savour their triumph because the semi-final match they have secured is going to be very tough. Spain are looking to be the form team at the moment and are currently ranked as the top international side in the world. The Spanish are another unit wearing a new soccer kit for this tournament and if they continue to play they way they have been doing, they are likely to sell a lot of shirts as fans everywhere rush to get names like Villa, Torres, Puyol, Xavi and Piquet on the back of their kit. In all likelihood, Spain will triumph against their American opponents to book a final spot but its already shown how dangerous it is to write off this American team. They will be the underdogs but if the Spaniards attitude isn’t right, they may just find themselves on the wrong side of another upset.
The other semi-final also provides a match up where one team begins as heavy favourite but host nation South Africa, and their noisy fans, will be delighted to have made it through the group stages. The players may be more focussed on swapping their soccer uniforms with the famous Brazilian players at the end of the match but hopefully they will be able to give a good account of themselves and maybe give their fans something else to cheer.
It’s looking like a Brazil versus Spain final, allowing the iconic red and gold soccer jerseys to take their place in the final but the Confederations Cup has already pulled out a number of shocks so far and they may not have finished yet. Read More!
Italy, wearing a one off soccer uniforms for the tournament which commemorated the 1930s Italian side which triumphed at World Cups (and forgetting anything else which is associated Italy and the 1930s), looked strongly out of date and were swiftly swept aside by a rampant Brazil side. The magic of the Brazilian soccer outfit still catches the breath and as they raced into a 3-0 half-time lead, news started to filter through to the US team. The Americans were already one goal up and knew that if the Brazil Italy game remained as it was, they needed to add two more goals to take second place. Egypt’s goalkeeper may have performed miracles in shutting out Italy in his previous match but he was floundering here as the Americans got their two goals and sealed an amazing comeback that very few would have predicted beforehand.
Hopefully the US fans will savour their triumph because the semi-final match they have secured is going to be very tough. Spain are looking to be the form team at the moment and are currently ranked as the top international side in the world. The Spanish are another unit wearing a new soccer kit for this tournament and if they continue to play they way they have been doing, they are likely to sell a lot of shirts as fans everywhere rush to get names like Villa, Torres, Puyol, Xavi and Piquet on the back of their kit. In all likelihood, Spain will triumph against their American opponents to book a final spot but its already shown how dangerous it is to write off this American team. They will be the underdogs but if the Spaniards attitude isn’t right, they may just find themselves on the wrong side of another upset.
The other semi-final also provides a match up where one team begins as heavy favourite but host nation South Africa, and their noisy fans, will be delighted to have made it through the group stages. The players may be more focussed on swapping their soccer uniforms with the famous Brazilian players at the end of the match but hopefully they will be able to give a good account of themselves and maybe give their fans something else to cheer.
It’s looking like a Brazil versus Spain final, allowing the iconic red and gold soccer jerseys to take their place in the final but the Confederations Cup has already pulled out a number of shocks so far and they may not have finished yet. Read More!
