FIFA World Cup 2014: Don’t feel blue, the Cup will be a colourful affair

Chennai: Can La Furia Roja do it again? Will the Oranje be able to end their final jinx? Can the Azzurri and Les Bleus bounce back? Is another fine performance from La Celeste on the cards? Do the Albicelestes have the tools to go all the away? Can the Blue Samurai strike a blow for Asia?

You deserve a red card if you thought this story is about a rangoli competition. The riot of colour in the series of questions refers to the nicknames of some national teams that will be taking part in the Fifa World Cup, starting in Brazil from June 12.

If individuals can have nickname, why shouldn’t a team? After all, all the football clubs in England have nicknames. Even though the moniker of every participating nation at the World Cup isn’t popular, many fans know the alternate names of the big guns such as Italy (the Azzurri), France (Les Bleus) and the Netherlands (Oranje).

Not surprisingly, the colour of the national jersey played an important role at the time of invention. The first thing that strikes you while watching a football match is the colour of the teams’ jersey.
Even children can identify them. Blue rules at the World Cup in Brazil with the nicknames of Argentina (Albicelestes), France, Italy, Japan and Uruguay (La Celeste) originating from the hue. Albi is white in Spanish and celeste is sky blue. Not far behind is red.

If Chile are called La Roja (The Red), defending champions Spain are known as La Furia Roja (The Red Fury). Manchester United have a copyright issue with Belgium as the landlocked country’s football team are called the Red Devils. The moniker of Ecuador is Yellows. Mexico are called El Tri because their national flag has three colours.

Nicknames aren’t only about hues. African teams appear intimidating, at least on paper, through their association with animals and birds, from the ferocious to the cunning. Cameroon are the Indomitable Lions while Algeria are known as the Desert Foxes. Both the Lions and the Foxes will be hoping that their outing in Brazil is fruitful because they returned home with tails tucked firmly between their legs from South Africa in 2010.