The World Cup always has two champions – one from international football, while the other is a global sports equipment manufacturer. Which jersey manufacturer will emerge as the winner of the equipment for the world champion in 2010?
The last was Puma for Italy in 2006, Nike succeeded for Brazil in 2002, Adidas for West Germany in 1990 and France in 1998, and Umbro for Brazil in 1994. The quarter-finals of the World Cup today and tomorrow will not change the number of companies still in the game, which are former champions Adidas, Puma, and Nike. All four matches feature teams in jerseys from the same manufacturers, namely Nike against Nike (Netherlands-Brazil), Puma against Puma (Uruguay-Ghana), and Adidas against Adidas (Argentina-Germany and Paraguay-Spain).
Adidas: Argentina, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa
Nike: Australia, Brazil, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, USA
Puma: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Italy, Ivory Coast, Switzerland, Uruguay
Umbro: England
Joma: Honduras
Legea: North Korea
Brooks: Chile
Each of the companies will therefore have at least one representative in the semi-finals, and Adidas will certainly have a representative in the final. So far, Nike’s teams have the highest percentage of points earned of all possible at the World Cup in South Africa. Those familiar with the bitter feud in the Dassler family, which created Adidas and Puma and divided the town, know that it lasted 61 years and was only broken in 2009. If Uruguay or Ghana meet Argentina, Germany, Paraguay or Spain in the final, it will be a great duel between Puma and Adidas, and an opportunity for old rivalries to awaken once again. (Zlatko Salahović)
