The World Cup mascots you'll have to see to believe
While almost every World Cup mascot raises a few eyebrows when they're revealed, Fuleco, the official mascot of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, actually seems normal compared to the suspicious selections from past World Cups.
The history of the World Cup mascot got off to a relatively normal start in 1966 when host nation England introduced World Cup Willie, a smiling lion with a Union Jack on his chest. The Lion is a traditional figure of the United Kingdom and The Three Lions are exhibited on the crest of the England football jersey. Nothing crazy.
But then things started to get weird. Like, really weird.
From 1982 to 1990, organizers chose to go with the unconventional route of having a piece of fruit, vegetable and stick figure symbolize their event.
1982 FIFA World Cup - Naranjito
Simply put, the mascot for the 1982 World Cup in Spain was an orange. Because what better way to represent Spain and the beautiful game than with a piece of fruit?
His name was Naranjito, a smiling orange, wearing a Spanish uniform while holding a soccer ball. In order to promote the tournament, Naranjito had his own cartoon series where he and other characters would get into all kinds of World Cup-related mischief. And to top it off, Naranjito had a girlfriend and her name was...Clementine.
1986 FIFA World Cup - Pique
When soccer fans hear the name Pique, they think of Barcelona defender Gerrard Pique and not the mascot from the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Which is a good thing.
Sticking with the food theme, Mexcian organizers introduced Pique, a jalapeño pepper with a mustache and a sombrero wrapped around his head (pepper?) to be their ambassador. While it's a far cry from their last mascot in 1970, which featured a little boy wearing a sombrero, Pique would surely raise some questions about political correctness given the stereotypical features of the mascot.
1990 FIFA World Cup - Ciao
Based on the Italian greeting, Ciao is probably the most confusing selection for a mascot in the history of the World Cup.
Ciao is a stick figure and could be mistaken for a poor piece of art created by an elementary school student based on its simplistic design. The iconic Italian tricolore of red white and green is featured on the stick body with a soccer ball for a head.
2002 FIFA World Cup - Kaz, Ato and Nik
Speaking of Italy, the suspect officiating during their loss to South Korea in the Round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup is the only blemish that ranks higher than these three creatures.