Many trace the origins of many aspects of Western society to ancient Greece (though not all: in his essay Anthropology and the Savage Slot, Rolph-Michel Trouillot claims that “Greece did not beget Europe. Rather, Europe claimed Greece” [21]). The beginnings of democracy, philosophy, and debate as they are practiced today, it is claimed, can be seen in the lives of ancient Greeks.

Though not nearly as influential as other aspects of Greek society passed down to us today, several top soccer teams have names that make reference to Greek gods and places. In most cases these names suggest qualities to which the teams aspire (though perhaps don’t always achieve). The list I present here is relatively small, though I don’t doubt that there are other teams with Greek-inspired names (I am not, of course, counting Greek teams themselves in this list). If you know teams with such names, please post them in the comments.

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One of the joys of watching the World Cup is seeing teams from different parts of the globe play each other. The styles they employ are often a study in contrasts. Any time England plays Argentina, it is a battle of grit and determination versus technique and guile (there’s also the wee matter of the Falklands / Malvinas that provides the political backstory to such matches). But how did teams come to play they way they do? The answers offered to this question are as varied as the styles themselves.
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Ed. Note: This essay is by Culture of Soccer reader Jason Murphy, who is a PhD student in philosophy at St. Louis University. I thank Jason for his contribution. If you would like to contribute an essay to be considered for publication here at Culture of Soccer, please write me at david [at] cultureofsoccer [dot] com.

I think back to August 2007, when England hosted Germany in a “friendly” match that had “no meaning” as is often said. Christian Eichler of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a paper of record in Germany, wrote at the time about Wembley Stadium, where the game would be played:

In times of globalization, not only of markets but also of experiences and memories, there are few places that remain non-interchangeable. Places like Wembley. That place is uniquely English and at the same time: a German place.

Germany train at Wembley before their match against England (photo: AP/FAZ)

The article recounts important German wins at Wembley and the idea of playing in the land where the game was born. Articles in the English and German press show that many people, players and fans, cared very much about this match, despite the fact that it was only a “friendly.”

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Steve Menary’s book Outcasts!: The Lands That FIFA Forgot is a fascinating read. In the book, Menary reports on the far flung “countries” that FIFA doesn’t recognize. Steve Menary sat down to speak with me recently about writing Outcasts and the issues his book raises. Menary told me that he got his start writing for several magazines, including World Soccer, When Saturday Comes, and Sport Business before he wrote Outcasts, his first book.

Steve Menary (photo: Play the Game)

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Greenland is an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands are an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands belong to FIFA; Greenland does not. A reasonable person might wonder why the Faroes are given membership into the international soccer governing body while Greenland is excluded. Such a reasonable person would not come up with anything resembling a reasonable answer. Greenland is one of the “countries” featured in Steve Menary’s new book Outcasts: The Lands That FIFA Forgot. The book is a whirlwind tour of forgotten lands scattered throughout the globe. During his visits with teams from places as diverse as Greenland, The Falklands, Northern Cyprus, Zanzibar, and Occitània, Menary introduces us to players, coaches, and officials struggling for international soccer recognition for their countries which, according to FIFA, don’t exist.

The Tibetan national team (photo: Kaos Pilot)

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Happy New Year to readers of Culture of Soccer. I also want to point out that this is, more or less, the one year anniversary of this blog (well, I did a few posts in the fall, but then got too busy with graduate school applications until after Christmas). I am honored to have obtained a regular readership and although I’m not always able to respond to all of your comments, please know that I appreciate the how insightful they are. I wasn’t able to post as much in the fall due to starting graduate school, but I’m hoping that I’ll be back on a more regular schedule from now on. Again, Happy New Year and thank you.