It has become a bit of a tradition to have our new employees write a blog post; this one is written for you by Lilian. Enjoy!

Growing up, I was oftentimes confronted with the disheartening fact that I – unlike my peers – had to make do without my Saturday morning cartoons. My father, a true Brit, found the very thought of missing the televised weekend soccer games sacrilegious. You can imagine, then, the commotion in our household when the FIFA World Cup was playing. Even though it took me a while to warm up to the sport, it was impossible not to get caught up in all the fervor and frenzy that would came around every four years.

Now that it is that time again, I have found a new way to appreciate the game: through art. The gallery houses quite a few football-themed posters which bridge the gap between my father’s enthusiasm for the sport and my love of great graphic design. The series of 1982 World Cup posters each features a different Spanish city to have participated in the tournament. With such a variety in the designs and styles, each one manages to convey a different aspect of the game, from the sheer magnitude of the crowd to the target of every player’s aim: the goal.

Elche immediately drew my attention. It is especially comical, with its stripe-sporting, mustachioed players, casually warming up on the field. It almost feels like I’m right there on the field with them, as one waves in my direction and a teammate tosses the ball in my direction.

Mestalla, while not actually an advertisement for the World Cup, is bright and dynamic, showing two players from opposite Spanish teams lunging for the ball. The poster was done just two years after the FIFA World Cup was established.

Finally, my personal favourite: the Russian instructional soccer poster. Beautifully illustrated, the athletes demonstrate how to play the game ‘Soviet style’. Maybe I would have fallen in love with the game sooner had I had this how-to guide to inspire me as a child. Who knows? Maybe I could have been the next female Kerzhakov. It’s always good to dream!