A curiosity I've had while watching the World Cup these past weeks (that is to say obsessively, in bars, with a midafternoon beer in hand, missing work) is "what language is spoken on the pitch"? What language do the referees speak, and what language are the players speaking when they contest bad calls beside the usual illustrative hand gestures?
Maybe it's a nationalistic steak that made me assume that English must be the equalizing tongue out there, or maybe the unlikelihood of finding a officiator fluent in both, say, Swahili and Swedish for a particular match. Here are a few articles that address the question but don't exactly put it to bed.

Does the World Cup Have a Lingua Franca? from Slate Magazine

What is the Language of Dissent from WorldCupBlog

The basic idea of both is that the referees are culled from all over the world but must pass a test of written and spoken English. Yet neither of these articles adress all questions- like, how do the players know what language the ref will speak? Do they do research on them beforehand so they can talk shit properly?

And (he turns again to his imaginary reading audience), if you're interested, I have picked a club to support for the finals after watching a dozen games as a curious but impartial observer. It's (Sorry, Giorgio) France.
I find something romantic and star-shot about their offensive play. Maybe it's just those chic white and nautical blue uniforms that reflect that sunkissed sailor/precocious spaceboy/petit prince aesthetic that the French hold so dearly that some consider it gay (hey, I didn't even mention Tintin). Maybe it's because they have the most multiracial team of any I've seen out of Europe, which many frogs resent despite their success. Maybe it's because I imagine the celebration parties there as wine-soaked affairs replete with giant sweating wheels of Brie, seared foie gras, and a larger swell of applause for the presentation of a perfectly executed creme brulee than that of the winning goal.
I don't know what France's official World Cup song is (they all have them, they're all garbage expect for the "Soca Warrior" jam from Trinidad and Tobago), but here's my choice for a rallying anthem, if only to take some wind out of their billowing trois coleurs and put their asses back on solid ground where the match will be won. The song is "FranSSe" by Monsieur R, a French/Congolese rapper who has nothing but contempt for his adopted home. R was recently brought before the French Parliament on charges for inciting riots after the melees of last year. This song was blamed for stoking the flames of immigrant rage, plus just generally offending everyone. In the tradition of the classic "le Monde de Demain " by MTM, the song drowns out it's own legitimate political discourse with an incendiary, obnoxious chorus, this one being something like "France is a whore, you've got to use her up for all she's worth. Treat her like a slut." Enjoy the video featuring French pornstars frigging themselves on the hood of a jeep whilst draped up in the French flag.


Mr R - Fransse on Vimeo

If France could gets it's head around patriotism like that, along with the fact that it is now a multicultural salad bowl, a slum and a shrine, a champion and a whore, then I would be sippin on the Dom with them.

p.s. Zidanne is an animal and their defense is logical and everywhere. Murder.