Puma v1.06 Grass Camo Boot

by Josh Rubin

Most of this year's Puma sponsored players will be kicking around in these grass camo boots. No, they won't really disappear and provide some kind of stealth advantage, but they will lend a constant reminder of where they really belong. They also happen to be featured alongside Pele in a video short on pumafootball.com that reminds of the spirit of playfulness in the game.

Getty Images and Pele

by SummerSeventySix

Tucked away on a street behind London's Oxford Circus is the fairly anonymous shop-front for Getty Images, and its archive of millions and millions of photographs. Such is the enormous depth and quality of the catalogue, the ever-changing shots that hang on the walls here are the cream. Right now, like everywhere else, the World Cup is on the agenda.

From next Wednesday, 14 June 2006, for just over a fortnight, examples from the life of Pelé are being hung up, as part of an exhibition that has been guest-curated by British menswear designer Ozwald Boateng. It coincides with the release of the silk-bound giant coffee-table book Pelé, that's been produced by recently-established British publisher Gloria. As editions of the opulent book start at £1600 or $2800, we would have to jump through too many hoops to show you images of it here. Suffice to say, there are plenty on the Gloria website.

Meanwhile, back at the Getty Images Gallery, for the next month it won't all be about football from the past. Throughout the World Cup finals in Germany, the most iconic image that has been taken at the tournament each day will be shown on a big screen in the window, and online as well. All of these brand-new images will be available to buy, starting at around £25. Much more affordable.

Getty Images Gallery
46 Eastcastle Street
London
W1W 8DX

World Cup Contest

by SummerSeventySix

As it's World Cup day here on CH, we thought we'd get together some of the things that have caught our eye and give them away. The top prize includes:

Umbro by Kim Jones hoodie in red and blue. As seen in the piece today, and in a size of your choice. Perfect to keep warm, and cool, on the terraces or in front of the tv.

Once In A Lifetime soundtrack CD. Reviewed on CH today and ideal to get you in the right mood for any match - even Iran Vs Angola.

iPod Gelaskin. Thanks to Jamie from Gelaskins, you'll also get one of their excellent ultra low-profile skins for your iPod (pictured below), so it won't get scratched when you celebrate Ecuador's third goal against Germany...

Five runners-up will also get a Gelaskin of their choice. The full range is at their website.

To enter, we want you to answer the following question in one, succinct sentence:

Who is the coolest footballer ever?

Submit your answers here. The competition closes a week today on Friday 16 June 2006. Check the pictures above for some inspiration.

Once in a Lifetime

by SummerSeventySix

The recently-released Once In A Lifetime, is a solidly put-together documentary about the rise and fall of the New York Cosmos football club, but is probably not for those who aren't fans of the sport. However, It's immaculately-produced soundtrack is worth anyone's attention, taking in the sounds of the 1970s when the Cosmos was the most glamorous club in the world. It's easy toimagine star players like Pele and Franz "The Kaiser" Beckenbauer partying post-match to these tunes down at that other famous New York club, Studio 54.

Largely made up of funk and soul from the time, there isn't a duff track here. The pick, though, are Marlena Shaw's six-minute groove, Woman Of The Ghetto, Kool & The Gang's proto-chillout Summer Madness, and Maceo And The Macks' sax-
classic, Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back) penned by James Brown. A couple of more recent remakes are included in the form of 4 Hero's excellent Les Fleur and the haunting Sugarman, re-recorded by David Holmes and The Free Association. Primal Scream's Rolling Stones pastiche, Rocks, rounds things off nicely.

A slight downer is that on the British copy I got sent, the doleful song that closes the film, Steely Dan's Dirty Work, wasn't included, although it looks like it will be on the US release. Regardless, it's still a superb soundtrack that perfectly matches the ebb and flow of the beautiful game.

Once In A Lifetime Soundtrack is available now on Amazon UK, and is released on 15 June 2006 in the United States.

Also worth investigation: Africa Plays On from French label Because Music. It's released on 12 June 2006 and features giants of African music like Baaba Maal and Fela Kuti paying homage to football.

TalkMan For PSP

by SummerSeventySix

Okay, I'll admit upfront that this has a somewhat tenuous link to the World Cup, but with people from 32 nations following their team to Germany, communicating could be a bit of problem. Just the kind of situation where Sony hopes PSP owners will take advantage of TalkMan. Originally released in Japan last year, it's not really a game as such; more a piece of portable translation software that's now been updated to include European languages instead of Korean and generic Chinese. You're led through the learning process by cartoon bird Max, and as TalkMan also ships with a plug-in microphone, you can literally say some English phrases and get the translation in return. All those conversational basics that you find at the back of guidebooks are included, with the bonus of obviously hearing how they should sound, thanks to the animated bird.

Sony's been keen to expand the PSP's functionality from the off, and TalkMan stays true to that ethos. How it works in a noisy stadium of 50,000 fans when you're trying to find the Italian for "You're striker was offside" we're yet to discover.

TalkMan, with English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese is pencilled in for release in Europe today, 9 June 2006.

Adidas vs Nike vs Puma

by SummerSeventySix

Easily the biggest grudge match in Germany this month will not be between two of the countries competing, but between homegrown Adidas and, of course, American arch-rivals Nike. The business media is already hot on the Stripes versus the Swoosh, with the German brand reportedly splashing out double Nike's estimated £60m World Cup marketing spend. But what about the shirts themselves? Which ones would you want to play in, and which should be left on the backs of the die-hards down the pub?

Out of the six countries they're dressing, including hosts Germany, and also France, the best Adidas shirt has to be Argentina's (above left). Perhaps not as recognizable as Brazil's famous bright yellow, the subtle sky-blue and white stripes belied how fearsome Argentina were from the late 1970s through the 1980s. Kept simple, although a bit too shiny for my liking, the current shirt remains true to the great players who have previously worn one.

As does Holland's shirt (above right), one of eight nations wearing Nike. While every other colour is sported by several teams, no-one but the Dutch really wear orange, and during the mid-1970s they played some of the sexiest football ever. Though they've never managed to lift the trophy, this jersey echoes the heyday of the Dutch game when their brand of Total Football, as it's known, narrowly lost the 1974 final to Germany. It has none of the unnecessary graphics that have plagued the brilliant orange kit of previous years, but again it's kept simple and low-key, complete with a nod to the 1970s in the form of the collar.

That's the big boys, but it's another German brand that's kitting out the most countries. Puma has deals with no less than 12 federations, including Italy, all of the African teams who qualified, as well as Saudi Arabia and Iran from the Middle East. The brand has taken the opposite approach to it's larger competitors, embellishing most of its shirts with designs that reflect that country's heritage. The Hawks of Togo are depicted, as is the Ivory Coast's nickname, Les Elephants. For me, Tunisia's shirt (above left) works best, showing the Eagles of Carthage merged with a sort of camouflage design.

Elsewhere, there are a handful of smaller brands providing some of the teams with their kit. Umbro's heritage as makers of England shirts is well-known. They also make Sweden's, but their best World Cup-related gear is designed by Kim Jones, which is featured elsewhere on Cool Hunting today. Italy's Lotto and Spanish new-boys Joma are also after a piece of the action, supplying the likes of Ukraine (above right) and Costa Rica respectively. If you want to be really obscure next time you take to the pitch though, an Ecuador shirt (right), made by little-known company Marathon, wins hands down.

Umbro by Kim Jones

by SummerSeventySix

Umbro's known for making England's official football kit, but it's the brand's off-the-field designs by Kim Jones that have caught the eye. Drawing on terrace culture, Jones has created a capsule collection especially for the World Cup. Sticking largely to patriotic red, white and blue, the range liberally uses the red English rose motif, like in the hoodie above and the football below. Elsewhere, on t-shirts and sweats, Jones uses a diamond pattern to good effect, referencing Umbro's traditional logo.

I'm not big on overtly football-inspired clothing, and other designers have already gone overboard to disastrous effect. This collection is just subtle enough to look good on both fans of the game, and those who aren't. 

Certain pieces can be bought online at Microzine, or you could try to win the hoodie pictured above in our competition running on Cool Hunting today.