Association football culture

Football culture is a descriptive term of the cultural aspects surrounding the game of football. This article explores aspects surrounding the game itself, as well as that of the players, and society itself.

In many countries, football has ingrained itself into the national culture, and many parts of life revolve around it. Many countries have daily football newspapers, as well as football magazines. Football players, especially in the top levels of the game, have become role models and aspirational ideals for many people. The game itself has now become glamourised, with many children practising the game and aspiring to the wealth shown off by the top footballers (it may be argued that, for most footballers, this extravagant lifestyle is unrealistic).

Contents

The game

'Derbies'

Main article: Local derby

Derby matches, or matches between two neighbouring rival teams, are often fiercely competitive and provide a spectacle in football both for the supporters. Sometimes there are underlying political and sectarian tensions. The term often applies to matches between two local teams from the same city or region. However it is sometimes used to refer to matches between big clubs from the same country - these can be found in the article major football rivalries.

Examples of famous football derbies include:[1]

Food

In the United Kingdom, attendance at football matches is also associated with the consumption of what is considered to be "traditional football food". Steak and kidney pies and meat and potato pies are a staple of food outlets in stadiums. Some people consider football stadiums the only place where people want to consume Bovril — and, unusually, London's exclusive Groucho Club.) Nowadays sales of food to fans can raises high income for clubs, and some clubs make attempts to improve their service and diversify out of traditional foods.[2] In Brazil, sanduíche de calabresa (pepperoni sandwich) is a popular meal in the surrounding areas of stadiums after matches. In Mineirão stadium, feijão tropeiro, a typical dish from Minas Gerais, is also very common. In Germany, many football fans eat bratwurst and drink beers.

Match programmes

Match programmes are an integral part of football matches in the UK. The are sold inside and outside stadiums before, and sometimes during, matches. In their most simple form, they provide basic information on the teams, players, and match officials. Larger clubs usually produce multiple-page programmes with a number of common features such as comments from the manager and club captain, interviews with players, ex-players and backroom staff, information about ticketing arrangements for forthcoming matches, a detailed fixture list and review of the team's season so far, competitions, pages for junior fans, and a detailed feature on the opposition. Programmes from some matches are now collectible items, and can fetch a lot of money at auction.

Fair Play

Fair Play is the name of a FIFA programme which aims to increase sportsmanship as well as prevent discrimination in the game of football. This also involves programmes to reduce racism in the game. The programme extends to outside of football, in trying to support charities and other organisations which improve conditions around the world.

The principles of the Fair Play programme can be summarised as follows:[3]

  1. Play fair
  2. Play to win but accept defeat with dignity
  3. Observe the laws of the game
  4. Respect opponents, team-mates, referees, officials and spectators
  5. Promote the interests of football
  6. Honour those who defend football’s good reputation
  7. Reject corruption, drugs, racism, violence, gambling and other dangers to our sport
  8. Help others to resist corrupting pressures
  9. Denounce those who attempt to discredit the sport
  10. Use football to make a better world

Both FIFA and UEFA have awards which they hand out to individuals or groups of people who have promoted what they see as the spirit of Fair Play, both within and outside of football. An example of this was the Italian player Paolo Di Canio who, while not given an award, was congratulated by many sections of the football world for a generous display of Fair Play. Despite having a goal scoring opportunity while playing for West Ham United against Everton, when Di Canio saw the Everton goalkeeper had picked up an injury, instead of scoring what could have been the easiest goal of his career, he caught the ball, thus stopping play and allowing the goalkeeper to receive treatment.[4]

Fans

Football chants

Main article: Football chant

Football chants are generated by fans at matches to encourage their team, insult the opposition, or just make a noise. Some clubs have their own anthems which the crowds sing. Some songs are shared between clubs. While some chants are used to mock opposition players, such as "Who Ate All the Pies?," others are more aggressive and of a personal nature against a player on the pitch. Some chanting can be more than insulting, and may even be racist or sectarian in nature. These type of chants tend to have been banned from football stadiums.

Violence

Main article: Football hooliganism

The level of passion with which football teams are supported has from time to time caused problems, and clashes between fans can result in violence. Some violence occurs by people deliberately aiming to cause trouble, a phenomenon known as hooliganism. Other fans group together in hooligan firms, which are organized gangs that seek fights with other firms supporting rival clubs. Both practices are said to have originated in England, and are sometimes known as the "English Disease,"[5] after the disorder caused by English fans travelling abroad to support either their club or national team in the 1970s and 1980's. However organised violence surrounding football has spread to other countries, most notably by ultras in Italy, torcida in Brazil and barra brava in Argentina and other Latin American countries.

Violence by fans has had varying degrees of seriousness, ranging from small fights between fans to tragedies such as the Heysel Stadium disaster and also the Football War. There have been incidents of fans being murdered, such as the killings of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, two Leeds United supporters, in Istanbul in 2000 on the eve of the UEFA Cup Semi-Final first leg.[6] In recent years this aspect of the game seems to have passed its peak in England though it has by no means disappeared completely. Specialist police units and information-sharing between regional and international police forces has made it much harder for the hooligans to organize and participate in disorder. CCTV inside and outside stadiums and also at other anticpated "flash points" such as city centres and railway stations now makes it more likely that people involved in disorder can be identified later even if they are not arrested at the scene. However there are still disruptions surrounding football matches. One example being the UEFA Champions League matches which were played on 12 March and 13 March 2005.[7][8]

Violence by fans has also affected players, but this is rare. For example, a message to Christian Vieri, apparently by a Inter Milan fan, threatened to burn down his restaurant, criticising his attitude towards the team.[9] There is also the notorious incident where the Colombian international player Andrés Escobar was murdered shortly after returning home from the 1994 World Cup. This was reputedly for scoring the own goal which eliminated Colombia from the competition.[10]

Accidents and disasters

There have been a number of accidents and disasters in the history of football. Some of these, such as the Hillsborough and Ibrox disasters, were due to problems with crowd control. The Heysel Stadium disaster was a combination of hooliganism and poor crowd control. The Bradford City Disaster was due to poor fire safety in the stadium. Lessons learned from these disasters have led to safer football stadia.

There have also been deaths on the pitch and dugouts. On 5 September 1931, Celtic F.C. goalkeeper John Thomson suffered a skull fracture when he collided with Rangers F.C. player Sam English during an Old Firm match. He was fatally injured and died later that day.[11] On 10 September 1985, Scotland manager Jock Stein died of a heart attack as his team scored the equaliser against Wales which virtually secured qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. He was aged 62. In 2003, Cameroon international player Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed during a Confederations Cup match against Colombia and was pronounced dead later that day. His death was attributed to previously undiagnosed heart problems. On 8 September 1990, York City F.C.'s David Longhurst collapsed and died on the pitch during his team's match with Lincoln City F.C.. The game was abandoned and York City paid tribute to the player later by naming a stand in his honour at their Bootham Crescent ground. In 2004, the Hungarian international Miklós Fehér died from a heart attack, while playing for Benfica against Vitoria Guimarães. On 9 September 2006 Hinckley United F.C. player, Matt Gadsby, collapsed on the pitch and died during a Conference North game against Harrogate Town F.C.. Medical tests revealed he died from a heart condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. On 25 August 2007 Sevilla FC player, Antonio Puerta suffered a heart attack during Sevilla's first game of the season against Getafe whilst running back towards his own goal. Sevilla teammate Ivica Dragutinović as well as medical staff rushed to his aid. He was admitted to hospital and he died on 28 August aged 22. Several players have also been struck by lightning while playing during sudden storms.

Other disasters have occurred away from stadia. Most notably, the Superga air disaster of 1949 in which the entire Torino F.C. squad perished. The Munich air disaster, involving the 1958 Manchester United F.C. team and the loss of the entire Zambia national football team in an air crash in 1993.

Stadia and seating

After the Hillsborough Disaster, the British government commissioned the Taylor Report which resulted in standing being banned from many stadiums, include every top league stadium. Groups such Stand Up Sit Down are campaigning for its return. This is very different to the situation in British non-league football and other leagues around the world where it is common to see terracing (standing areas) making up some, or even all of the room for fans.

Women and football

Main article: Women's association football

Women have been playing football as long as the game has existed. Their numbers, as both football players and fans, increased with the lifting of bans on women playing football and attending matches. In Iran however, women are still forbidden from attending matches. The first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in 1991, and has drawn worldwide television interest. Football matches now tend to have increased numbers of women supporters at the match, as well as watching matches at home or in pubs and bars. In the United States, the Women's United Soccer Association League was formed in 2001 in response to growing interest in women's football around that country. The league collapsed in 2003, but grassroots football was not affected, and the league plans to relaunch in 2009 as Women's Professional Soccer. The semi-professional W-League continues to operate with 38 teams, as of 2006. Japan's women's league, the L. League is well supported.

Drinking and disorder

In some countries football has been associated with alcohol consumption [12]. This can be before, during and after the game, with drinking occurring inside the stadium, sometimes illicitly, as well as in pubs and bars outside. However, unwanted behaviour caused by drinking has led to the banning of the sale of alcohol to general supporters in stadiums across the United Kingdom, although most English and Welsh sides continue to sell alcohol within general stadium areas, with only clubs in Scotland being subject to a blanket ban. Sales of alcohol still occur in executive lounges. Some teams and countries have Supporters Clubs which have friendly drinking reputations. However some countries are more associated with drunken hooliganism as mentioned in the violence section above. A Member of the Scottish Parliament was arrested for being drunk and disorderly while on a trip to see Scotland playing England at Wembley Stadium.[13]

Pitch invasions

Main article: Pitch invasion
Supporters of West Bromwich Albion invade the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate the "Great Escape" of avoiding relegation on the last day of the 2004-05 season

Pitch invasions happen when supporters move from the stands onto the football pitch, some times to deliberately disrupt a match. This is distinguished from times when, due to safety reasons, fans are let onto the pitch. Pitch invasions in football tend to be rare as clubs are punished heavily for letting any unauthorised persons on the pitch.

Mass pitch invasions tend to be rare, but famous examples can be found, such as the 1923 "White Horse" FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham United at Wembley.[14] Due to the overwhelming numbers in the stadium the police had to bring order back to the stadium. Another example is the 1977 British Home Championship match between England and Scotland, again at Wembley. After Scotland won 2-1, the "Tartan Army" invaded the pitch and managed to break down the goalposts, as well as cutting up the turf to take.[15][16]

Solo invasions are more common although few in number. In some cases these are streakers who try to invade the pitch while nude. Supporters tend to view this as harmless fun. One such pitch invasion was at Euro 2004, in the final game between Portugal and Greece, when Jimmy Jump ran onto the pitch to disrupt the game.[17] Another well known invasion was carried out by Karl Power, who sneaked into Manchester Uniteds team photograph before their Champions League game with Bayern Munich;[18] his other stunts have involved the England national rugby union team and the British Grand Prix.

Sticker Albums

Usually collected by children, a sticker album is a book where a collector sticks in pictures of players from different teams in a certain league. The most widespread are those that have been produced by Panini worldwide. A sticker album can be compared to baseball cards.

Teams and players

From the beginnings of football, clubs and players have contributed greatly to the culture of society. Teams have moved from amateur status to, in some cases, big commercial concerns. Players have also managed to increase their earnings massively during this change.

Teams

Money

Main article: Richest football clubs

Nowadays football has become big business for the privileged few. While most grassroot clubs and lower division league teams struggle to make ends meet, the big clubs can make a lot of money. Teams such as Manchester United and Real Madrid are considered amongst the richest in the world with a global support base.[19][20] Chelsea has also undergone a transformation, buying a number of expensive football players, due to being bought by the billionaire Roman Abramovich.

The catalyst for this change was the arrival of satellite television. Satellite TV companies paid massive sums for the rights to cover football matches, and in turn have recouped this investment from the many fans who are unable to catch the game in person. This benefits the "hardcore" and "casual" fan as they have more choice of which game they want to watch.

While some clubs do well out of the increased money in football, other clubs can get into trouble trying to keep up. Leeds United attempted to do this by spending a lot of money, and were successful for a few seasons. However the debts became unmanageable, the successful players were sold off, and the team were eventually relegated twice. First from the Premier League to The Championship and then to League One.

Not all clubs do well out of television money. Clubs in lower leagues receive less money for matches and, if promoted to higher leagues, can have trouble matching the spending power of bigger clubs. This leaves them more likely to be relegated again.

Clubs from smaller countries also have problems with this issue. Due to their smaller population base they receive less money from television rights. This means they are comparative paupers compared to clubs from the bigger countries, and can lead to debt problems if they try to match spending in trans-national competitions. Some clubs have managed to buck the trend by training players through their youth academies, as well as making wise investments. Examples of these clubs are FC Porto and Ajax Amsterdam, although when these teams become successful, as in Porto's case winning the 2003-04 Champions League, the players tend to get sold off due to financial pressures.

Corruption

Allegations of corruption, for example match fixing, in football have always been present. This level of corruption can vary from country to country, and can involve players, agents, and teams. The 2005-06 football season saw many corruption scandals. This included the 2005 Bundesliga scandal in Germany with the refereeing scandals of Robert Hoyzer, and the Brazilian football match-fixing scandal involving Edilson Pereira de Carvalho.[21] This was followed by the 2006 Serie A scandal ("Calciopoli") where five clubs were found guilty of match fixing and resulted in several top clubs being penalized (most notably, Juventus was relegated to Serie B for the 2007-08 season and lost many top players).

Football players

Football players, especially at the top levels of the game, have become role models and aspirational ideals for many people. The game itself has now become glamourised, with many children practising the game and aspiring to the wealth shown off by the top footballers. The top footballers also have "hangers-on", best compared to the groupies of rock stars. Such extravagance has recently been satirised in the British TV show Footballers' Wives. For another example of notable "hangers-on", see WAGs (wives and girlfriends, more specifically those of the England national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup).

Bad behaviour

While many footballers can be argued to be "good role models", there have been numerous headlines in the news regarding bad behaviour by footballers.[22] Such is the influence of footballers, their activities tend to be reported widely in the media and also bring condemnation from the government of the countries in which they play.

One such player was Diego Maradona. While he had exceptional skill and was voted FIFA's Player of the Century, alongside Pelé, he also suffered problems with drug abuse. He was also sent home from the 1994 FIFA World Cup for doping offences and Argentina meekly bowed out of the tournment following a shock defeat by newcomers Romania. His cocaine abuse has led to his medical problems in recent times.

Shortly after Euro 96, the English national team gained notoriety for the "Dentist's Chair" incident. Several English players including Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham were photographed after being seen in a bar pouring beer down each other's throats while the person sat on a dentist's chair. Later in his life, Gascoigne struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and had to be hospitalized for overdose on several occasions.

There have been several incidents in England of players being accused of violence and misconduct off the pitch. Although on many occasions, players have been found not guilty, such cases are highly controversial. In 2001, two Leeds United players, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, appeared in court over the assault of a student outside a nightclub. Woodgate was found guilty of affray.[23] In 2002 three players, two from Chelsea (John Terry and Jody Morris) and one from Wimbledon (Des Byrne), appeared in court on charges of affray. All were acquitted.[24] On May 20 2008, Joey Barton was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty for his part in an assault in December 2007. Barton was captured on CCTV punching a man 20 times.[25]

In 2004, the Leicester City trio of Paul Dickov, Frank Sinclair and Keith Gillespie spent a week in prison after being accused of sexual assault while on a training break at the La Manga resort in Spain with their team.[26] However, the case was dropped after forensic evidence showed the accusations to be baseless.[27] Although the players accused were ultimately innocent, the scandal led to a media outcry about footballers and their behaviour, especially with regard to children who look up to them.

Wayne Rooney was also attacked in the media for alleged visits to prostitutes in 2004, a claim he later admitted was true.[28] Adrian Mutu admitted cocaine use after failing a drugs test,[29] and Graham Stack was charged with rape but cleared in 2005.[30] Lee Bowyer again made headlines in 2005 when he and Newcastle United teammate Kieron Dyer fought each other near the end of a Premiership match.[31]

Ethnicity and football

Main article: Ethnicity and football

People of different races have sometimes not been accepted as players in European football. This is changing during the start of the 21st century due to society change as well as campaigning on the part of the football authorities in different countries. UEFA and the European Union support the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) project[32] which aims to stop racism. Many black players were not accepted initially into European football, even though the earliest black player was in 1881. However in the 1970s onwards players were increasingly accepted leading to a situation where many club and national teams have players of varying ethnicities. However, full acceptance in the bigger footballing nations did not occur until the 1990s, and racism still exists at some levels. Samuel Eto'o, for example, was once racially insulted by some Real Zaragoza fans at a match against FC Barcelona, and threatened to quit the game if they kept insulting him. The same happened to Messina defender Marc Zoro in a match against Inter Milan.

While smaller countries without a large ethnic population have been seen to have problems with racism, there have been recently notable incidents of racism in bigger leagues. There have also been problems with religious identity and football.

In some countries, such as England and Germany, there have been strong campaigns to remove racism and intolerance from football on the pitch and on the terraces. In other countries despite visible problems, little action has been taken such as Spain and Italy.

Globalisation and players

Globalisation has benefited current and former players, coaches, teams and others involved in football. For the best players it means their services can be offered to clubs in various different countries, and for whatever the price they want. The top players can make salaries of millions in a year, plus whatever additional endorsements they receive.

Teams have also benefited from this by being able to find a wider support base outside their traditional local areas. They can also scout for talent from a wider area. However some European clubs have been accused of exploitation for doing this, as some African youngsters they have recruited for football teams have eventually been left with nothing after the team no longer requires their services.

Coaches are also becoming sought after expertise internationally. This extends to national team coaches, once being native to their country, being brought in from other countries. Examples include Brazilian legend Zico coaching Japan, Sven-Göran Eriksson, a Swede who coached England, as well as Berti Vogts, a German who coached Scotland and now coaches Nigeria. Another German, Otto Rehhagel, is practically a national icon in Greece, after leading the national team to a shock victory in Euro 2004, and shortly afterwards turning down an offer to coach the German national team and stay with Greece. Dutch coach Guus Hiddink has a similar iconic status in South Korea after coaching its national team to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup. So much so that one of South Korea's World Cup stadiums was renamed in his honour shortly after the competition.

Society

In many countries, football has ingrained itself into the national culture, and many parts of life revolve around it. Many countries have daily football newspapers, as well as football magazines. The mood of regions and countries has been seen to be connected to football. Victory in a major tournament can bring happiness to the local community or country. Conversely defeat can lower spirits, and has been seen to be connected to mortality in the population.[33] Withdrawal symptoms when the football season finished have also been reported.[34] The economy can also be seen to be connected to major football tournaments,[35] although the precise association is disputed.[36]

The terms soccer mom and soccer dad, popularized in the United States, refer broadly to a demographic group of parents with school-age children playing football.

Arts, literature & film

The popularity of football has been reflected in the arts, books and films in many countries. Many books have been written dealing with the culture, such as violence, surrounding football, as well as detailed histories of events or rivalries. Many clubs have one or more fanzines, one example being TOOFIF.

Some consider that British football's image of a nasty working-class pursuit was changed into something far more respectable after Fever Pitch, a memoir by Nick Hornby about his life as an Arsenal fan, was published. The book also provided Hornby's big break. It was later adapted very loosely into a film. Numerous films have been made including Bend It Like Beckham, and The Football Factory, based on the book by John King, dealing with hooliganism and its relationship to socio-economic realities in England. In Germany, The Miracle of Bern (2003) revived the euphoria of the national team's victory in the 1954 FIFA World Cup and was a huge hit.

One film that has a historical basis is Escape to Victory.[37] The film was based on the true World War II story where a Dynamo Kiev team, which defeated a German Luftwaffe team, was subsequently persecuted, and some team members executed. The story has also been recounted in the book Dynamo by Andy Dougan.

Football and celebrities

Such is the popularity of football that some players become better known for their 'off-the-pitch' activities. The celebrity status is such that advertisers and sports goods manufacturers hire them to sponsor their products. The Brazilian footballer Pelé is such a player. He was so admired as a player during his time that he went on to become a UNICEF ambassador, as well as being a spokesman in advertisements for many different companies. For example with the young prodigy Freddy Adu in a Sierra Mist commercial. He also spent some time in politics in Brazil.

Former FIFA World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, and African Footballer of the Year George Weah secured most votes in the first round of the 2005 Liberian presidential election, but was defeated in the run-off ballot.

Another football celebrity is the English footballer David Beckham. While he is talented on the football pitch, he is also admired off it. He is a trend-setter in England, with his frequent hairstyle changes triggering copycat looks in the country. He is also married to the former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, and his relationship difficulties were widely reported in the UK press in 2004 and 2005. Statues have been made of him, notably at a Buddhist temple[38] as well as made out of chocolate.[39]

Many other players have also become celebrities and are treated as heroes by the fans of the teams and countries they have played for. Retired players, such as Gary Lineker, have also become celebrities in their own right by working on television or radio. Even non-footballers who are connected to football have become famous through their association alone. After the 2002 World Cup the head of the South Korean Football Association decided to run for president of the country.[40]

Football as a religion?

It has been said that in some countries football has become the new religion (although this is a contentious issue).[41] Many people tend to avoid their traditional places of worship, and are now regular attenders at football matches. Religious aspects of large, popular sporting events include:

Football and other such sports lack some aspects usually associated with religion, however:

Religious beliefs are also in common use throughout football. Many players are quite religious and can be seen to cross themselves before a game. In Africa, traditional belief rituals are used to help teams win important games.[42] In Argentina an official religion around the football player Diego Maradona has been formed called "Iglesia Maradoniana".

The German club Schalke 04 has brought out their own bible titled Mit Gott auf Schalke.[43]

Famous sayings

References

  1. ↑ BBC Sport - "Which is football's fiercest derby?"
  2. ↑ UEFA.com - article on football and food
  3. ↑ FIFA - "FIFA Fair Play Code"
  4. ↑ ESPN Soccernet - "Di Canio surprised by fairplay acclaim"
  5. ↑ Football Industry Group - "Fig fact-sheet four: Hooliganism"
  6. ↑ BBC Sport - "Leeds deaths trial delayed"
  7. ↑ BBC News - "Milan's football violence 'not a first'"
  8. ↑ BBC Sport - "Trouble mars Juve-Liverpool match"
  9. ↑ BBC Sport - "Fire bomber threatens Vieri"
  10. ↑ BBC Sport - "Football's day of shame"
  11. ↑ Celtic Supporters Club Manchester - "John Thomson"
  12. ↑ Evening Times - "Drinking only part of fan trouble warns Uefa chief"
  13. ↑ BBC News - "Arrest incident 'closed', insists SNP"
  14. ↑ Guardian Unlimited - "'White horse final'"
  15. ↑ Guardian Unlimited - "Excited Scotland fans"
  16. ↑ BBC Scotland (RealVideo)
  17. ↑ worldcupweb.com - "Anger over transfer behind final pitch invasion"
  18. ↑ BBC Sport - "The biggest football sting in history"
  19. ↑ FootballCulture.net - "The Biggest Brand In Football: Manchester United" (Internet Archive copy)
  20. ↑ ESPN Soccernet - "Real chief: We're the richest club"
  21. ↑ Dan Warren (2006-07-14). "The worst scandal of them all", BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2006-07-18. 
  22. ↑ BBC Sport - "Footballers behaving badly"
  23. ↑ BBC News - "Leeds footballer walks free"
  24. ↑ BBC News - "Footballers cleared over club brawl"
  25. ↑ "Joey Barton is jailed for assault", bbc.co.uk/sport (2008-05-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-20. 
  26. ↑ BBC News - "Sex charges for Leicester three"
  27. ↑ BBC News - "Leicester trio charges 'dropped'"
  28. ↑ BBC News - "Rooney admits prostitute visits"
  29. ↑ BBC Sport - "Mutu admits cocaine test failure"
  30. ↑ BBC News - "Footballer Stack cleared of rape"
  31. ↑ BBC Sport - "Bowyer & Dyer in amazing punch-up"
  32. ↑ Football Against Racism in Europe
  33. ↑ BBC News - "Beating the World Cup Blues"
  34. ↑ BBC News - "Fans suffer 'end of season blues'"
  35. ↑ BBC News - "England defeat to dent UK economy"
  36. ↑ BBC News - "World Cup win 'could bring share falls'"
  37. ↑ Internet Movie Database - "Victory"
  38. ↑ BBC News - "Beckham meets Buddha"
  39. ↑ BBC News - "Japan unveils chocolate Beckham"
  40. ↑ BBC News - "Korean football chief runs for presidency"
  41. ↑ FootballCulture.net - "Sacred Soccer?" (Internet Archive copy)
  42. ↑ FootballCulture.net - "The Magic of Soccer" (Internet Archive copy)
  43. ↑ Mit gott auf Schalke

External links