Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - July 11, 2010
Viva la Furia Roja! Viva Espana! Congratulations on a well-deserved win. Your football was a one piece of beautiful design.
But we also feel with our Dutch colleagues and friends. Thank you for a fantastic World Cup, and keep in mind: "It's better to fail with your own vision rather than following another man's vision." Johan Cruyff.
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - July 6, 2010
After all the anticipation, controversy, and analysis, it all comes down to a simple formula: Germany versus Spain. Before the mouth-watering semi-final in Durban, the German media is having a blast. I guess it's one of the beauties of the World Cup that it can convert deeply rooted stereotypes into more subtle narratives...well, sort of. :)
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - July 2, 2010
In the very last minute of extra time, Dominic Adiyiah headed what should have been the winner for Ghana. The ball, without doubt, was going in. But Uruguay striker Luis Suarez got in the way – with both hands: “The best save of the World Cup," he said later, not the hand of God, “the hand of Suarez.”
It was a decision that would keep Uruguay in the World Cup and would change many lives forever. Suarez was sent off and Ghana was given a penalty. The penalty before the penalties, as we know now. When Ghana’s forward Asamoah Gyan was about to take the shot, a whole continent held its breath. Seconds later, the silence in and outside of the stadium was eerie - after he had only hit the crossbar.
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - July 2, 2010
After crashing out of the World Cup today, Brazil - as yet another big football nation after Italy, France, and England - will have to reinvent its brand of football and build a new "golden generation" of players.
It might need your help, which is why MinimalsWorld ask: "If you played for Brazil, what would your name be?"
Blog Remarketables
By frog Marketing team - July 1, 2010
This week's collection of remarkable marketing links, curated by the frog marketing team
Make some NOISE: Using the beautiful sounds of the vuvuzelas to annoy the oil barons at BP's International Headquarters in London
More buzzing: Youtube has decided to grace us with a dedicated Vuvuzela Button
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - July 1, 2010
Interesting piece on "Soccer and Snobbery" by Theodore Dalrymple in the New English Review (hat tip to @axelletess), examing the ramifications of the French World Cup fiasco on French society and civilization at large...
My favorite paragraph:
"The decerebrating effect of football (and no doubt other sports as well) is illustrated by a story that my French brother-in-law told me recently. A couple of months after France won the World Cup in 1998, he went to Tibet. He went to a Buddhist monastery that was two days hard trek from the nearest road. There he met young novices, some of whom spoke a few words of English. They asked him where he was from and he told them.
‘France,’ they said. ‘World Cup. Zidane.’"
Read the full article here.
Blog Total Football
By Jordan Burt - June 30, 2010
Does the power of companies such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma extend beyond the consumer? Is there an influence on FIFA and the 2010 World Cup? Such a highly regarded international tournament would never rig its matches for the sake of promoting sponsors, would it? You be the judge:
Uruguay (Puma) vs. South Korea (Nike) = Uruguay (Puma)
Ghana (Puma) vs. USA (Nike) = Ghana (Puma)
Quarter Final: Uruguay vs. Ghana = Puma
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - June 27, 2010
After today's dramatic 1-4 defeat against Germany, English fans will complain about their disallowed goal, while German fans will argue that it was the long overdue compensation for the controversial English "Wembley Goal" in the World Cup 1966 (see video below). As you can see below, at least for today, there is clear evidence that it was not a goal.
Blog Total Football
By Marcus Pérez-Cervantes - June 25, 2010
I've waited 23 years to go to a World Cup and let me tell you it was not worth the wait! If watching a football game on T.V. makes my emotions go all over the place, then try to imagine what it is like to be part of this world-stage spectacle. It is better than falling in love.
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - June 21, 2010
If you examine the history of football for groundbreaking, "game-changing" innovations, you realize they have been scarce; by and large the game hasn't changed much. Some innovations resulted from a changing of the rules (on the macro-innovation level, if you will). Most of them, however, were truly driven by either organizational or individual excellence: for example, the position of the "Libero," the "sweeper" before the goal-keeper, who, freed from marking a direct opponent, was mandated with opening a team's game from deep in its own territory (German legend Franz Beckenbauer perfected this role in the '70s); the allure of the "playmaker" (personified by the French Michel Platini in the '80s); the introduction of a three-man defense row in the '90s; the "Sweeper-Keeper" performing the defensive actions of a libero; the increased importance of the "6," the defensive holding midfielder; and the Dutch "Total Football" concept with its fluid, attacking 4-5-1 and 3-2-5 formations.
