Goleo VI, commonly known as Goleo, and Pille were the official mascots for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Goleo takes the form of a lion, and is never found far from his sidekick, Pille, a talking football.
Goleo is clad in a white football shirt with black collar and sleeve rims, similar to those worn by the German national team between the 1950s and 1970s, and is trouserless. He wears the shirt number 06 (for the 2006 FIFA World Cup) and has his name written above it on the back of his shirt. The Goleo costume was manufactured by The Jim Henson Company, at a cost of around 250,000 euro. The word Pille, meaning "pill" in standard German, is otherwise a common German sports jargon for a football.
Goleo was unveiled as the World Cup mascot on November 13, 2004 during the German television program Wetten, dass..?, presented by Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. He was also featured in the European version of music video for Bob Sinclar's song "Love Generation", which was released in Germany on December 9, 2005, the day of the World Cup draw. A computer-animated Goleo also appeared in music videos for Lumidee's "Dance!" and Atomic Kitten's "All Together Now" songs, released in the spring of 2006.
The choice of a lion has been criticized for not being a German animal, but rather the emblem of historical rivals England and the Netherlands. Renowned designer Erik Spiekermann suggested that the mascot should have been an eagle (which appears on Germany's coat of arms) or even a squirrel as a symbol of the nation of frugality in his opinion.[1] Criticism has also been raised of the fact that Goleo does not wear any trousers.[2]
On May 16, 2006, the German licence holder to produce Goleo, Bavarian toy company NICI, filed for bankruptcy. One apparent reason could be very high licence fees of around 28 million euros.[2][3] Other sources, however, quote much lower licence fees of 3.5 million euros.[4]