The jury is out on Goleo VI. The official mascot of the 2006 World Cup already provoked debate when it was unveiled in mid-November 2004 and is still the subject of heated discussions.
Comedians and critics of every persuasion have poured scorn on the trouserless cuddly lion, with Erik Spiekermann, designer of logos for Audi and Volkswagen and a teacher at Bremen School of Arts, dismissing Goleo as an "absolute catastrophe."
Yet, kids' eyes light up when Goleo makes an appearance. And football icon Pele is also a fan.
PHOTO: EPA
"Fantastic. He's a great mascot," the Brazilian enthused.
The German association of active football fans (BAFF) has christened the lion Prolleo, in a play on the word proletarian, and wants to shove a bottle of beer in his hand and have him mingle with the crowd.
The lion and his constant companion Pille, a football with two eyes and a mouth, represent something of a novelty. Forty years after a World Cup mascot was first introduced in England in 1966, this is the first time that the world football federation FIFA has presented a "living" character.
The 2.3m tall lion can speak, dance and has comical features. In this way he is much more versatile than, for example, his cartoon predecessors Tip and Tap brought out the last time Germany hosted the tournament in 1974.
The head of the World Cup organizing committee Franz Beckenbauer praised the omnipresent mascot in a television show as a "goodwill bearer."
The mascot was designed by the Jim Henson Company in Los Angeles, the company that created such famous characters as Kermit the frog of the Muppet Show, and Ernie and Bert of the children's series Sesame Street.
Goleo, who holds the chatterbox Pille in his left hand, is played by four teams of puppeteers.
The bare-bottomed lion, who wears only a jersey and football boots, has also been at the center of a slick marketing campaign.
He has made it into the music charts in Germany with the song Love Generation and has also featured on stamps.
Martin Paas slips into the costume that is fitted with a monitor. The puppeteer says he doesn't mind being the butt of jokes and derision.
"It's fashionable to run down Goleo, but he's actually rather cute," he said.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS