The World Cup is wrapping up in South Africa and there is no better time than now to point out several stories that caught my attention.

Not so much because of what happened on the field of play (or even off, actually) these stories grabbed my attention for the simple fact they were really unexpected (on my part at least).

10. Vuvuzelas

Okay, I don't need to explain anything here. Everyone is well aware of how annyoying these things are.

FIFA must take a stand and ban these once the Cup is over in South Africa.

For their part, Hyundai built the world's largest Vuvuzela which is sounded at the start of each game. If this was the only one going I think everyone would be okay with them.

9. Unbrotherly love

Having a pair of brothers playing in the World Cup is not something that happens every year. Imagine, you would have to have two or more of a nation's top 23 players to have the two brothers suit up for their side in the World Cup.

Unless you are like the Boateng brothers of course. Jerome Boateng is a central defender who is 21 years old and is representing Germany at the world cup. His half brother Kevin-Prince Boateng is also playing in the World Cup but unlike Jerome, Kevin-Prince defends Ghana. Who do the parents cheer for here?

On a side note, there ARE two Boateng's on the Ghana squad but Derek Boateng is not related to the previous two I mentioned.

8. Kaka's red card

I guess Kaka didn't get the memo that it is a red card offense if you don't elbow the guy in the chest.

He got a stupid yellow card a few minutes earlier, but the referee was not to be outdone, he would top Kaka's lack of judgment when he gave the Brazilian a second yellow, and thus a red after he let someone's chest run into his shoulder.

7. Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

I guess FIFA has nothing more important to do right? It's not as if there are protests at stadiums by South African workers who demand to be paid the extra $40 or so more a day they were promised at first to work security during 16 hour days.

Thirty-three women, three of which were dutch were removed from the stadium and held by FIFA to investigate a possible "underground" ad campaign by a Dutch beer maker.

So in a stadium of 70,000+ FIFA saw the need to remove 33 women and hold them for hours for dressing alike, but they don't want to consider the viable demands being made by the underpaid security workers from South Africa?

6. Asamoah Gyan

Gyan has scored three goals so far in the 2010 World Cup, but that is not what drew my attention to him.

For some reason he wears the number 3 jersey for his country. Why is that weird? Because Gyan is not a defender, he is in fact the team's striker.

This is very uncommon. Jersey numbers are not always relevant to a position, but can you imagine how weird it would be if Adrian Peterson took the field next year wearing number 64? Weird, right?

5. Algeria's Hair


There are a lot of players at the World Cup who do crazy things to their hair.

Who can forget Ronaldo's half cut for 2002? Mohawks, braids among others are still popular on the field but the title has to go to the entire Algerian team.

In a nation where over 99% of the people are followers of Islam, I did not think the players would be able to do what they did to their hair.

It's just not usual to see many people that come from a place such as that with blonde hair, not to mention the strange styles they each decided to use.

4.

Well we all know how North Korea's World Cup run really ended:

Three matches, three losses, one goal scored, 12 goals conceded.

Thank god for Kim Jung-Il however. The "Dear Leader" was able to use invisible cell phones he invented to communicate with the team's manager with hints to help the team win. I mean how else could they defeat mighty Brazil?

Don't believe me? Check out the video below.

3. Jong Tae-Se

he "people's Rooney" is the best player North Korea brought to South Africa.

He is known for being highly emotional on the pitch, and he shows it every single time before a game.

During the North Korean anthem he goes absolutely crazy and starts to cry as if he just saw his dog get run over on the street. Keep in mind that in North Korea his dog was probably lunch, and so who can blame him right?

The weirdest part of this is that Jong Tae-Se is not North Korean. He was born in Japan in 1984 to a South Korean father and his mother "claims" to be North Korean.

Born in a nation hated by North Korea, with parents from another nation hated by North Korea only leaves him one choice, right? Play for North Korea!

Prior to the cup Jong was asked about the political situation in North Korea to which he replied "I have no idea about that. I know nothing of North Korea's political situation."

Maybe he cries because he realized he made a crappy call.

2. Maradona

I can go for months here citing all the reasons I find Diego Maradona very strange.

He is the only coach with earrings at the cup and he kisses all his players pre-match, post-match, and during a substitution.

But for me the weirdest thing I see with Maradona is his suit and tie. He is the anti-suit type player and it just doesn't seem normal to see him all dressed up. So much so that the only reason he is wearing the tie is due to a request by his daughters.

And, yes, that is Maradona sharing a blissfull kiss with one Colin Farrell.

1.

What the hell is wrong with FIFA? Why are there only stretchers to remove injured players?

I mean it makes almost no difference but to an organization such as FIFA who find a problem with 30 people dressing alike in a crowd of 70,000+ I assume a golf cart of some sort would be better suited.

Seriously, even in the Brazilian league they have golf carts for this! How much time has been wasted waiting for these guys to get on the field and then off again. We can only hope that at one point two of these guys will go one direction while the other two go the other resulting in hilarity.