(street) name? - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Football madness hits
the flora
Even flora is not spared
from football madness.
With the slogan, “smell
the real grass”, Paul van
Bentem Flower Bulbs
Ltd has come up with mini-football fields,
of real grass, for in the living room.
Spray the grass with water before the
game, trim the grass a little and success is
guaranteed. The baskets with grass come
with a goal and football.
Group C
If ever there was a nightmare group, then
this is it. Argentina, Netherlands, Serbia and
Montenegro, and Côte d’Ivoire are all in the
top 50 of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
The Oranje and the Albiceleste are third
and fourth respectively.
The Albiceleste must be starting to
think they are cursed. In 2002, they drew
England, Sweden and Nigeria in the first
round. Despite being favourites, they then
failed to emerge from the group. The
Dutch, imperious in qualification, will have
their hearts set on making a successful
return after an eight-year absence. The
Serbo-Montenegrins, meanwhile, will come
to the tournament full of confidence fresh
from a preliminary competition where
their defensive solidity impressed the
entire world. As for Côte d’Ivoire, their
qualification ahead of Cameroon was
nothing short of miraculous.
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
Argentina 4th Côte d’Ivoire 32nd Serbia and Montenegro 46th Netherlands 3rd Date for your diary: Frankfurt, 21 June,
Netherlands v Argentina, Potentially the
most exciting clash of the first round.
Supermarkets colour oranje
Dutch supermarkets are getting ready for
the World Cup with a lot of products and
promotions. Manufacturers jump in on
the hype with expressions as: ‘we make
chocolate of them’ and ‘bite Holland bite’.
Joop Holla of research company GfK
values the extra turnover on 50 million
euro. “It depends on how well the Dutch
team does. For twenty days there are three
games a day on television to see. That’s
why I think that TV-dinners will do very
well”, says Holla. In the year 2000 the extra
turnover in supermarkets was approximately
50 million euro. “This is possible now as
well.”
BUSINESS NEWS
Source: Het Financieele Dagblad
The perfect ball can always be a bit more round
The synthetic fiber industry is very proud
of the ball that’s being used at the
World Cup Germany. It exists of fourteen
seamlessly glued parts.
Airing football wisdoms is not reserved
to Johan Cruijff. Sepp Herberger has made
himself immortal with statements like: ‘the
next opponent is always the most difficult’
and ‘the ball is round’. Coach Herberger led
the German team to win the final in 1954,
the first postwar world championship.
It is unlikely that the ball with which
the Germans shot themselves to victory
(3-2) in the thrilling final against favorites
Hungary was still round after ‘the wonder
of Bern’. The ball existed of eighteen pieces
of leather sewed together. Even before the
first kick it was already unfeasible to make
a really round ball this way, let alone
after 22 men lived up there ambitions to
become world champion on it for ninety
minutes.
The game ball has come a long way
when Germany and Costa Rica kick off for
the opening duel of the world championship
2006 on Friday 9 June in Munich. The ball
doesn’t resemble the brown leather from
According to the Centraal Bureau
Levensmiddelenhandel (CBL) it will be a
party on the shop floor in the time to come.
“The atmosphere is always festive during
major football events”, says spokesperson
Sija de Jong. “Consumers are also more
willing to buy as well. When the weather
is good we sell a lot of barbecue packets.
Then the TV is put outside too. However, it
is especially beer, snacks and soft drinks
that do well.” Manufacturers are counting
on products as orange custard, biscuits with
orange topping, orange candies, orange soft
drink, orange pasta, orange mayonnaise and
lots and lots of other products. Beer-brewer
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Vol.16 • No. 5 • June 2006
1954 much. Even the resemblance in shape
is deceptive, says manufacturer Adidas.
Teamgeist, as the ball is called, approaches
perfect roundness much closer than its
distant predecessor.
Azteca was the first plastic ball with
which in 1986, in Mexico, a World Cup was
played. The material was new, but the
design, 32 six - and pentagonal pieces,
followed Telstar, the leather ball from 1970.
That had been named after the satellite
which made live-broadcasting of the
championship possible.
With Teamgeist, the 32 pieces have
been replaced by fourteen panels. The
benefit of this is that contact points
between three panels have been brought
back from 60 to 24. The total length of the
joints between the panels has been reduced
from 400.5 to 339.3 centimeter. Because
the panels have been glued together by
means of warmth instead of being sewed,
the surface is practically seamless.
Adidas promises that its new ball, that
in its original design costs approximately
euro 100, will barely lose roundness when
used.
Heineken launches Dutch secret weapon
It was bound to happen: Heineken, sponsor of the KNVB,
introduces a smart successor for the famous Heineken
Loudspeakerhat at the coming World Cup in Germany. Holland’s
secret weapon looks like an amiable German hunter’s hat that
in literally one twist of the hand turns into a loud speaker hat.
During Euro Cup 2004 in Portugal, Heineken introduced
the since then well-known Loudspeakerhat. This ultimate Orange-item became a straight
hit with Dutch football fans and set the scene in houses, streets, cafés and many other
places for weeks on end. Every self-respecting Orange-supporter had it in his hands or
wore it. All the more reason for Heineken to introduce a worthy successor for the World
Cup 2006: in the shape of a secret weapon.
The Dutch secret weapon is available with purchase of a set of eleven Heineken
cans or bottles.
Heineken has painted its draft system,
Beertender, in the national colors for the
occasion. In the run-up to the games
consumers cannot escape.
The campaign is surrounded with much
secrecy. The only thing market leader
Albert Heijn wants to share is that “it will
be a lot of fun”. Manufacturers have come
up with a lot of special promotions for the
World Cup. Grolsch has a special beer mug.
Coca-Cola comes with special packaging,
same as producers of snacks and candy. De
Jong from the CBL thinks that we will be
harassed the whole summer with orange
products if Holland becomes the new
champion. “A victory leads in abundance
to inspiration and innovation.”