This post is dedicated to Pille. 
Mascot is an important symbol representing professional sports team, school, society, corporation, etc. It is usually represented by animal, person or thing. A mascot can bring in million of dollars in merchandise sales. 
Do you know the mascot’s name for the 2006 FIFA World Cup ?
Let us all travel back to 1966 England where the first World Cup mascot was invented.
1. England 1966, World Cup Willie 
A lion(symbol of United Kingdom) wearing a Union Jack jersey with the words “World Cup”.
2. Mexico 1970, Juanito 
A boy wearing Mexico jersey, sombrero with the words “Mexico 70″. Juan is a common Spanish name.
3. West Germany 1974, Tip & Tap 
Two boys wearing West Germany jerseys, with the letters WM (Weltmeisterschaft, World Cup) and number 74.
4. Argentina 1978, Gauchito 
A boy wearing Argentina jersey, hat with the words “Argentina ‘78″, neckerchieft and a whip(a type of Gauchos).
5. Spain 1982, Naranjito 
An orange wearing Spain jersey. Naranja is orange in Spanish.
6. Mexico 1986, Pique 
A jalapeno pepper wearing a sombrero and a moustache. Its name comes from picante, Spanish for spicy peppers.
7. Italy 1990, Ciao 
A stick figure with its body the colors of Italy and a football head. Its name(pronounced as chow) is an Italian greeting for goodbye and hello(rarely).
8. USA 1994, Striker 
A dog wearing the USA jersey.
9. France 1998, Footix 
A cockerel, a typical symbol of France wearing a blue jersey with the words “France 98″. It’s name is a portmanteau(word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of 2 different words) of “football” and “Asterix”(from the popular comic strip).
10. Japan/Korea 2002, Ato, Kaz & Nik(The Spheriks) 
They are computer generated creatures representing a fictional football-like sport. Ato is the coach while Kaz and Nik are players. This 3 names were selected from shortlists by users on the internet and at McDonald’s outlets in the host countries.
11. Germany 2006, Goleo and its sidekick Pille 
A lion wearing Germany jersey with the number 06 and a talking football.
I like Juanito, Mexico 1970 mascot the most coz he’s cute(chubby face and body) 
. Which mascot do you like ?
p/s: ok who watch England v Ecuador match ? I only have 1 word to describe it…YAWN
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moz monster Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 10:47 amVisit moz monster
World Cup Willie …
Pille Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 11:01 amVisit Pille
Thanks very much for doing the post, Che-Cheh.
xazuru Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 11:53 amVisit xazuru
nice blog u got here. keep up the good work. I thnk Portugal gonna win on 1st July though.
Che-Cheh Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 1:06 pmVisit Che-Cheh
Moz Monster, I think World Cup Willie is a nice name.
Bryan Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 2:25 pmVisit Bryan
I have 3 words for the match, sien sien sien. No team work at all! Don’t know what Lampard and Gerrard were doing also. Portugal vs Holland was entertaining, yellow cards and red cards flying.
Laksa Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 4:40 pmVisit Laksa
muahaha…some mascots look really freakish…
wuching Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 5:40 pmVisit wuching
ee..Goleo no wear pant wan!
Pille Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 7:02 pmVisit Pille
Wuching, Winnie the Pooh also no wear pant wan!
Che-Cheh Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 10:05 pmVisit Che-Cheh
Xazuru, thanks dear. I want Portugal to win…but then 4 Portugal players were red carded today. Will Portugal team prevails ?
Neo Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 11:10 pmVisit Neo
Goleo has so much hair… forgot to shave lar…
dreamcatcher Says:
June 27th, 2006 at 1:03 pmVisit dreamcatcher
heh!heh! the orange is rather different, no? fruit over animals.
Che-Cheh Says:
June 27th, 2006 at 1:17 pmVisit Che-Cheh
Neo, Please shave his legs only.