We stop the regularly scheduled program of music, writing, science, and other strange oddities to put a spotlight on a sport, maybe the only one I actually care enough to play or watch. I am talking about soccer, and as the 2010 South Africa World Cup started last week,  my proclivity of finding other, more left field versions of the beautiful game has found its way into my head.

First off, every time the World Cup starts it reminds me of growing up watching Super Campeones, which is the Spanish dubbed version of  Captain Tsubasa, a soccer anime, when it aired over here. Here’s a clip of Germany Vs Japan, anime style:

Also, I’d be seriously remiss in my duties as a geek if I didn’t mention Shaolin Soccer, an insane kung fu fantasy version of futbol on the silver screen. Here’s a clip;

In last week’s Doctor Who episode, The Lodger, the current incarnation of the Doctor jumped on the pitch and showed them how a 900 year old Time Lord plays footie:

Maybe they should have put him instead of Robert Green in the US/England match.

For something a bit more out there (as if the other stuff wasn’t), I found out that there is in fact another international soccer body, the FIRA.  The R stands for “Robot-Soccer”.  Sadly, it’s only your run of the mill automatons; I’d pay money to see a Terminator Vs Borg match.