Holland unhappy with its World Cup slogan

This is what happens when you get idle soccer geeks involved in the World Cup. This spring, the World Cup Web site, FIFAworldcup.com, asked visitors to vote on slogans to adorn each of the 32 Hyundai buses that will ferry the teams around Germany, starting this Friday. One coach, Marco van Basten of the Netherlands, is hardly impressed with the choice for Holland’s motto: “Orange on the road to gold.” It seems harmless enough, but van Basten says it “might be seen as a provocation.” “It is a screaming line,” he says. “We contacted FIFA in an attempt to change it but without any result. We have to settle with this line.” Van Basten should be happy he’s not the coach of Switzerland, whose slogan is the bizarre, “2006, it’s Swiss o’clock!” (That must be a translation error.) We also like Sweden’s line: “Fight! Show spirit! Come on! You have the support of everyone.” The U.S. is stuck with the boring line, “United we play, united we win.” Check out all the other slogans here. The slogan for the overall tournament is “A time to make friends”—a sentiment the Argentine team will no doubt ignore.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

June 7, 2006 | Permalink