Goleo VI, commonly known as Goleo, is the official mascot for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He takes the form of a lion, and is never found far from his sidekick, Pille, a talking football. Goleo is clad in a white football top with the number 06 written upon it, and is trouserless. The Goleo costume was fabricated by Jim Henson's company, at a price of around €250,000.
Goleo was unveiled as the World Cup mascot on November 13, 2004 during the German television program Wetten, dass..?, presented by Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. He also appears in 2005 music video for Bob Sinclar's song Love Generation.
The choice of a lion has been criticized for not being a German animal, but rather the emblem of historical rivals England and the Netherlands. Renowned designer Erik Spiekermann suggested that the mascot should have been an eagle (which appears on Germany's coat of arms) or even a squirrel as a symbol of the nation of frugality in his opinion.
Criticism has also been raised of the fact that Goleo does not wear any pants.
Interestingly, the name of the character can both be interpreted as Goleo! in Spanish, meaning "I score a lot of goals!" (from the verb golear), and as "Go Leo!" in English.
On May 16, 2006, the German licence holder to produce Goleo, Bavarian toy company "nici", filed for bankruptcy. One apparent reason could be very high licence fees of around €28,000,000.
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