Soccer, football, kicking a round leather thing down a field and preferably into a net...whatever you like to call it, this sport is set to take over Summer 2010. With 64 matches played by 32 teams of 11 men for a duration of 90 minutes, the important math all adds up to....1 TROPHY.
Bridgeman represents the National Football Museum in Preston, UK. This collection is an archive of 19th & 20th century memorabilia, objects, paintings, photographs, books and more. Whether you are looking for exhibition match advertisements, player postcards or photographs of games gone by, this collection is sure to have it.
To the aesthete it is an art form, an athletic ballet. To the spiritually inclined it is a religion. - Paul Gardner
STC202552 Dr. Faustus in Counsel with the Devil from Gent's translation of 'Dr. Faustus' by Christopher Marlowe (woodcut)(17th century)/ The Stapleton Collection
1. The most coveted tickets in town.
Sell your house, your grandmother, or your soul: for some, these coveted pieces of paper are worth more than all three put together. (Or just watch it on the TV).
WLN69590 The Card Players (oil on canvas) by Lucas van Leyden / Collection of the Earl of Pembroke, Wilton House, UK
2. Pre-match anticipation.
Whether enjoying the South African scenery or placing those all important bets, there is no time so full of hope and optimism as before the tournament actually starts.
I fell in love with football as I would later fall in love with women: suddenly, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain it would bring. - Nick Hornby from Fever Pitch
ILN222176 English International Football Team, 2nd January 1892 (b/w photo)/ The Illustrated London News Picture Library
3. Team bonding.
United by matching outfits, locker room banter and team songs, something certainly smells like team spirit. (Moustaches optional)
BAL5385 Jupiter and Thetis, 1811 (oil on canvas) by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Musee Granet, Aix-en-Provence
4. Goooaaaallll!!!!
The stuff legends are made of. Heroes can be made in an instant as the ball hits the back of the net. And three goals? Move over Zeus, no-one is more revered than the hat-trick scorer.
The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does.
- unknown
MTN246868 Marcel Marceau teaching drama (b/w photo) by Lotte Meitner-Graf/ Private Collection
5. Feigning injury.
On the losing side? Trouble getting hold of the ball? Feel like you need a good, clear, uninterrupted shot at the goal? Free kicks are awarded to fouled players after a nasty tackle. Fitness and fast feet aren't the only skills that come in handy on the soccer field. For the aspiring actor, a little melodrama goes a long way in pursuit of that elusive free kick.
WRO227337 (detail) Off! 1996 (linocut) by Willie Rodger (Contemporary Artist)
6. Red card.
Soccer is a fast and furious game. Sometimes, foul play will occur. Or sometimes, you will run up against a player with the hidden acting skills of Robert de Niro (see previous entry)...and be shown the infamous 'red card' by the referee, sending the offending player off the pitch for the rest of the match.
I loathed the game, and since I could see no pleasure or usefulness in it, it was very difficult for me to show courage at it. Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting.
- George Orwell, English writer.
NFM315317 Bottle of Football Punch (mixed media) by English School / National Football Museum, Preston, UK
7. "Football Punch"
The beverage of choice for the discerning soccer fan, celebrations and commiserations are often similarly washed down with a nice warm beer.
NFM315033 The Goalkeeper, 1930s (colour litho) by English School / National Football Museum, Preston, UK
8. The penalty shoot-out.
If the final whistle blows and the game is tied, the dreaded penalty shoot out will decide who wins. The most nail-biting, jaw-clenching, edge-of-your-uncomfortable-plastic-seat moment of the match, it all comes down to this.
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. - Jean Paul Sartre, French philosopher.
SCP36803 Woman Crying with a Handkerchief, 1937 (oil on canvas) by Pablo Picasso/ Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofia/ DACS
9. Winning celebration.
Never before, and never again, is it okay to show such an uninhibited public display of emotion. Hugging, crying, singing all make up the post-win euphoria. For those watching at home, a generous helping of no. 7 usually serves as accompaniment.
XIR3179 (detail) Mona Lisa, c. 1503-6 (oil on panel) by Leonardo da Vinci / Louvre, Paris, France
10. Trophy.
According the FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, "Some say that the value is the equivalent of the Mona Lisa, and I think that's right." This 14 inch high, 18-carat gold trophy is the holy grail of soccer, and more importantly gives the winner four years of carte blanche over the phrase, 'yes, but we're better than you at football."
Soccer is all very well as a game for rough girls, but is hardly suitable for delicate boys. - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer.
NFM315018 African batik illustrating a football match with crowds watching in the stands (textile)/ National Football Museum, Preston, UK