Today we’re taking a look at the home and away jerseys of France, as modelled by Karim Benzema to the left there.

All World Cup 2010 jerseys are available to see and buy in our World Cup 2010 store, but the idea here is that we take an honest and semi-critical look at the home and away shirts of all 32 teams at World Cup 2010. Remember, everything below is just personal opinion / kneejerk reaction and I’ve got no fashion credentials other than accidentally seeing about four episodes of Project Runway. So whether you agree of disagree I’d love to get your reaction to these shirts in the comments.

France Home Shirt

The royal blue colour of the France jersey always looks good in my opinion, but it’s the red and white around the mid-section that I’m not fond of here. I know it’s meant to represent the blue, white and red of the French flag, but the pattern just seems a bit… random. Unfinished even, like the two sections were meant to meet in the middle but didn’t quite make it. If I was feeling cheeky the I’d suggest an alternative pattern. Like maybe Thierry Henry’s handprints. But I’m not, so I won’t.

A much more successful attempt to incorporate the tricolore can be found if you look a little higher up. All adidas jerseys carry three stripes on the shoulders, and this one is no exception. But there’s a band of red running between the second and third stripe, producing a subtle but clear pattern of blue, then white, then red on the shoulder. I love seeing examples of team specific design within the standard template, and the shoulders of the French home jersey are a perfect example.

France Away Shirt

The white away jersey allows the three striped tricolore on the shoulders to stand out even more. Definitely a good thing. Meanwhile the thin grey vertical stripes on the body prevent the white from being too white and making you go blind. I quite like the collar too, with a nice mix of blue and gold. It’s somewhat rare for the away shirt to trump the home shirt, but I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happened here. Hopefully France will wear the away shirts vs Uruguay in Group A, and then find themselves facing another blue team in the knockout rounds.

You may as well have a good listen to this song now, because you’re going to be hearing much much more of it during World Cup 2010. It’s called “Wavin’ Flag” by Somalian-born Canadian-rasied hip-hop artist K’naan, and and is the official song of Coca-Cola’s World Cup 2010 campaign. For the record it’s NOT the official song of World Cup 2010. It just may as well be, given Coca-Cola’s prominence as World Cup sponsors.

For the fizzy pop and football version, K’naan is joined by Latin-Grammy winning Spanish pop singer David Bisbal for an Anglo-Hispanic version that’s intended to represent global unity. Might sound cheesy, but I’d argue that having one song that people of two languages can enjoy has to be a good thing. Unless you speak only French, German or Japanese.

As for the song itself… have a listen. Try and tell yourself you don’t like it. Then realize that the song is still playing in your head long after the above video has finished. Now wave your flag.

We continue our review of World Cup 2010 kits with a look at what Mexico will be wearing in South Africa. As mentioned before, I have zero fashion credentials. Unless sitting through The Devil Wears Prada and finding it reasonably enjoyable counts. Which I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. But I can offer an honest reaction that hopefully stays away from being either too snarky or too serious.

Big news is that between World Cup 2006 and World Cup 2010, Mexico made the switch. The big switch. From Nike to adidas. So the home and away versions of their three stripe manufactured World Cup 2010 kits (as modeled very seriously by Francisco Palencia to the left there) can be found below.

Mexico Home Shirt

If you’re thinking “that looks a bit plain” then I’d agree with you. At first glance anyway. Because after a few looks at the Mexico home shirt I’ve come to think of it as very clean and simple, in a good way. The green, white and red colours of El Tri are very clearly represented. Green body, red stripes on the shoulders, and white collar with a red trim. Everything just right. Except… my only complaint would be the armpits. As with all adidas World Cup 2010 jerseys, there’s a splash of colour under the arms. This works better with some jerseys than with others. Unfortunately the effect in this Mexico home jersey is that the wearer appears to bleeding from the armpits. Like maybe it’s on a bit too tight (which may be true in the case of Francisco Palincia, above. Go up a size man!)

Possibly the best thing about this jersey is the underlying pattern. As with the adidas South Africa jersey, the body of this Mexico jersey features a symbolic pattern. For South Africa it was the flag, for Mexico it’s feathers, which apparently represent the Eagle Warrior (the bravest in the Aztec army) and also the eagle on the Mexican Football Federation crest.

Mexico Away Shirt

Mexico’s away shirts have been white for as long as I can remember. But no more. For World Cup 2010 Mexico’s away jerseys will be black. It’s such a big change that you’ve got to admire the balls it took to make this decision. I’d say the black suits the feather motif nicely, and also helps the red and green elements stand out. Even better, armpits are green. So no armpit blood here. Only complaint is that the black design means there’s no room for white, and so one of the “El Tri” colours is missing.

When discussing the history of any sport, any talk of the “greatness” is bound to be met with a quick hop in a time machine, going back into the annals where myth and storytelling often displace fact and reality to the back seat. And this was necessary in a time when most could only follow sport through the words of others; words which were often embellished, contorted, polished, creating an aura which far superseded the event. Similar to the children’s game which starts with a simple sentence at one end of the room and morphs into something entirely different by the time the exercise ends.

A lot of times, great moments are much simpler than we think. Sometimes great moments are just that: moments. Moments without grand results, without a decisive impact, without parades, and without babies being made on the streets. Merely a single moment in time meant to be enjoyed. And equally as often, these moments are right underneath our noses.

Philipp Lahm had been injured in the buildup to the World Cup, you may remember, and he was still in a cast when Germany met up with Costa Rica to kickoff the 2006 World Cup in Munich. This never put his spot into doubt, really, but you also didn’t meant you would expect that, a mere five minutes into arguably the biggest game of his life, he would send the crowd into an uproar. His crowd in his country. It was the perfect opening to what would become a wonderful World Cup run for Germany.

It was also a brilliant goal from a mite of a man who’s long been mentioned in the discussion of the world’s best fullbacks. And it was proof that great moments don’t need to end with a trophy.

But perhaps greatest of all are the opening seconds of that movie, in which Lukas Podolski hurries to throw the ball in five minutes into a group game, yet acting like it was the last minute of injury time in the final with Germany down a goal. And this would be the part where we open up the forum to German fans for jokes, potshots and everything in between.

Can you imagine if both YouTube and blogs had existed in sixties? The events of the 1966 World Cup final would have caused internet meltdown. For those unfamiliar, here’s what happened:

It was hosts England vs West Germany in the final. West Germany had equalized to make it 2-2 late in the match and take it to extra time. So, 11 minutes into extra time, England’s Alan Ball crossed the ball in, and Geoff Hurst turned and shot from just outside the six yard box. The ball hit the bar. The ball bounced down. Either on or over the line. Then Wolfgang Weber headed the ball clear.

The England players celebrated a goal, the West Germany players protested. Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst looked confused, and so consulted his linesman Tofik Bakhramov (who was from Azerbaijan, not Russia, though he was technically a citizen of a Soviet state at the time, which is probably why he became known as “the Russian linesman”). Bakhramov said goal, and it was 3-2 to England.

Here’s a YouTuber of the goal (or “goal”?), with German commentary:

And with English commentary:

It’s been 44 years since that happened. In the intervening years mankind has been to the moon, mapped the human genome and found a way to make Andy Serkis look like a giant gorilla. Yet we’re still arguing over whether goal-line technology is a good idea or not. But that’s another argument for another day.

Obviously Hurst went on to score his third and England’s fourth. Since England won 4-2, you could say the controversial nature of the third goal can be ignored. But since the fourth goal was a direct result of West Germany pushing forward in search of an equalizer, that’s not a great argument. So we’ll ignore that and agree that this is the goal that won the 1966 World Cup.

So, the big question: Did it cross the line or not?

Obviously you don’t know the answer to that question. Obviously I don’t know the answer to that question. Not even little Leo Messi himself knows that answer to that question. But now still seems like the perfect time to ask it.

Leo Messi is on top of the world right now. Ten goals in his last four games. His form goes brace vs Almeria, hat-trick vs Valencia, brace vs Stuttgart in the Champions League, hat-trick vs Real Zaragoza. More importantly these haven’t just been any old goals. They’ve been the sort of goals that make defenders curse the day YouTube was ever invented. Even better, Messi’s showing us that anything Diego Maradona or Ronaldo can do, he can do too.

The World Cup is all about seeing the world’s best players on the world’s biggest and best stage, and in 2010 that means Leo Messi and South Africa. So let’s just say that we’re all very excited to see him in action this June. However…

… there’s no guarantee the little man will be waltzing through World Cup opposition defences for Argentina the same way he does for Barcelona. Mostly because his form for the two sides has been very very different. Maybe that’s Messi’s fault, maybe that’s Diego Maradona’s fault. Maybe it’s just one of those inexplicable things. But there’s a very real chance that Leo Messi could disappoint us in South Africa.

Seems unthinkable? Cast your mind back to 2006. Ronaldinho was in the sort of form for Barcelona that Messi is in now. Ronaldinho was the reigning World Player of the Year. Ronaldinho was expected to light up the World Cup in Germany. Ronaldinho didn’t, and we were all disappointed. If Messi fails to ignite in South Africa, then almost the entire World Cup audience will be let down. No pressure then Leo.

Something happened with Thierry Henry and Ireland recently which impacted a nation’s participation in the World Cup. What it was, we won’t rehash – there’ll be plenty of that every time we flip on a television during the month of June.

Incident X has stuck in the craw of Ireland since, drawing ire, contempt and lots of mean words from normally nice people – chances are if you walk around Dublin with a Titi 12 on your back, pleasantries are not forthcoming. And if you ask any expert how best to deal with heartache, they’ll undoubtedly answer “ignoring it”. So that’s precisely what one European bookmaker is doing: paying out bets as though Thierry Henry isn’t participating.

Keith McDonnell, Managing Director of Bodog Europe and, more importantly in this case, an Irishman, has put the kibosh on Henry’s World Cup participation in betting fantasy land:

“I want to enjoy the World Cup and the only way I can do that is if Thierry Henry is no longer part of it,” said McDonnell.

“He has already ruined my World Cup and I want to make sure he can do no more damage.”

The way it works:

For any French game in which Henry plays, punters can now place a bet safe in the knowledge that his goals will not count against them. For example, if a customer backs a draw in a France game and Henry scores, making them 1-0 winners, he will still get paid. This also applies to a first goalscorer and each-way markets too. So, if a punter backs a player to be the highest scorer throughout the tournament and the customer’s selection comes fourth, one below Henry, he would be paid as if he came third. However, if a person places a bet for France to win, all of Henry’s goals will still be counted.

While Keith may feel slightly better, his superiors are probably already popping corks: not only have they appealed to Ireland and any other anti-Henry fans the continent over, they’ve drummed up all sorts of free publicity. As evidenced by…well, everything above.

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.

As I’m sure you’ve figure out by now, an exact replica of that statue, El Ángel, which stands on a platform in Mexico City, will be the 24th…err…woman on the Mexican national team during the World Cup.

Mexican soccer fans often gather by the thousands at the 100-year-old statue in Mexico City after important victories, running circles around it and waving flags. Tourism Secretary Alejandro Rojas says shipping and diplomatic arrangements are underway to get the statue to Johannesburg. Once there, he said, it will be set up in a public space so fans from other nations also can gather by the statue.

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.

Today we turn our sartorial eyes to Argentina, and the home and away shirts the team will wear at World Cup 2010.

All World Cup 2010 jerseys are available in our store, but the idea with these posts is that we play (uneducated) fashion critic and cast judgments over colours, patterns and forms. If those are even the correct terms. Read on for my best attempt at a review, and I’d love to hear your reactions in the comments.

Argentina Home Shirt

I’ve always been a big fan of Argentina’s albiceleste stripes. It’s one of the iconic football images, even more so since so few teams wear a similar style. So this jersey is off to a good start. What I’m not entirely happy with is the way the stripes are interrupted. There’s a separate panel on the shoulders to accommodate the adidas three stripes, and that panel interrupts the flow if you ask me. Couldn’t adidas have gotten their striped in there without ruining the more important albiceleste stripes? So I’m not 100% sold on this version, but it’s still a classic design, and will likely look good when matched with black shorts and the black socks.

Argentina Away Shirt

I’m giving this 10 out of 10. Not just because the dark blue contrasts nicely with the white trim, but because this kit is a very clear nod to the Argentina away shirt of the 1986 World Cup. Don’t believe me? Here’s a snapshot of Diego Maradona against England from that year:

With Diego Maradona now in charge of the team, and Leo Messi doing Maradona-esque things with the ball, I see this away shirt as both homage to the past and optimism that the current team can maybe match that World Cup winning team of 1986.

“Zdravljica” (”A Toast”) is a poem written by France Prešeren in 1844. The seventh stanza of that poem is mostly about Slovenian unity and independence, and so was adopted as the Slovenian national anthem after indendence from Yugoslavia.

The brilliant thing about Prešeren’s poem is that the lyrics to each verse of “The Toast” are designed to form the shape of a wine cup. This can be seen in the English translation, but is more obvious in the original Slovene. Here’s the first verse, just so you get the idea:

Spet trte so rodile,
prijat’li, vince nam sladkó,
ki nam oživlja žile,
srce razjásni in oko,
ki utopi
vse skrbi,
v potrtih prsih up budi!

Nice, eh?

Here are the English language lyrics to “The Toast”:

The vintage, friends, is over,
And here sweet wine makes, once again,
Sad eyes and hearts recover
Puts fire into every vein.
Drowns dull care
Everywhere
And summons hope out of despair.

To whom with acclamation
And song shall we our first toast give?
God save our land and nation
And all Slovenes where’er they live,
Who own the same
Blood and name,
And who one glorious Mother claim.

Let thunder out of heaven
Strike down and smite our wanton foe!
Now, as it once had thriven,
May our dear realm in freedom grow.
May fall the last
Chains of the past
Which bind us still and hold us fast!

Let peace, glad conciliation,
Come back to us throughout the land!
Towards their destination
Let Slavs henceforth go hand-in-hand!
Thus again
Will honour reign
To justice pledged in our domain.

To you, our pride past measure,
Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
There surely is no treasure
To equal maidens of such race.
Sons you’ll bear,
Who will dare
Defy our foe no matter where.

Our hope now, our to-morrow -
The youths – we toast and toast with joy.
No poisonous blight or sorrow
Your love of homeland shall destroy.
With us indeed
You’re called to heed
Its summons in this hour of need.

God’s blessing on all nations,
Who long and work for that bright day,
When o’er earth’s habitations
No war, no strife shall hold its sway;
Who long to see
That all men free,
No more shall foes, but neighbours be.

At last to our reunion -
To us the toast! Let it resound,
Since in this great communion
By thoughts of brotherhood we’re bound
May joyful cheer
Ne’er disappear
From all good hearts now gathered here.