His hardwork paid off! Adi’s career reached its peak in 1954, when Germany won the World Cup against Hungary.

The champions were convinced that the boots (with studs) they wore contributed to their outstanding performance. Needless to say, those (boots) were created by Adi!

Now on its golden year, adidas remains the brand of choice of champions, record-breakers and achievers.

Well, this might explain why adidas was awarded the rights to be the official sponsor, supplier and licensee of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After all, football is synonymous to the brand.

adidas’ partnership with FIFA gave us the opportunity to witness the world’s largest football tournament...live!

adidas Phils., through its assistant manager/marketing–communications Odette Velarde, made it all possible!

The world’s "addiction" to football was evident the moment we stepped out of Germany’s flag carrier – Lufthansa – at the Frankfurt International Airport.

Football fans from all over the globe flew in to Germany to boost the moral of their respective teams.

Business was good! The cash registers of duty free shops in the airport rang non–stop as shoppers went crazy over Goleo stuffed toys (official mascot of the 2006 FIFA World Cup) and other souvenir items such as tees, watches, mugs, keychains, atbp.

The football "fever" is indeed contagious! Inside Lufthansa’s Senator’s Lounge, ecstatic fans were glued on TV to get live updates on the opening ceremonies in Munich.

A guy left his seat when it was announced that Michael Ballack, Germany’s team captain, couldn’t make it to the opening match due to an injury.

In Munich, everyone was in a festive mood. Colors of the German flag – black, red and yellow — were everywhere… on the streets, outside commercial buildings, even on people’s faces.

A shining landmark in Munich, the new FIFA World Cup Stadium is just an hour away from Maritim Hotel where our group was billeted.

The "futuristic" stadium, which cost a whopping 280 million euros, boasts of an innovative membrane shell made of 2,874 lozenge–shaped cushions to form the stadium’s roof.

It was "a time to make friends" with football fans from around the globe. Spectators clad in the most outlandish costumes relished their 15 minutes of fame in front of TV cameras.

They were so nice they even offered to take our group’s photo...on condition that we would take theirs, too!

Tickets to the opening match cost a fortune but die–hard football fans didn’t give a damn! The stadium was filled to the rafters!

German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, singer Tony Braxton and Brazilian football star Pele graced the opening ceremonies.

The German team posted the first victory of the tournament when it defeated Costa Rica, 4-2.

From Munich, our host Odette took us to the "world" of Adi Dassler in Herzogenaurach.

According to Petra Schmeisser, adidas product trainee, Herzogenaurach is the birthplace of sporting goods giant adidas.

"It’s the place where its founder built his dreams," Petra said.

Popularly known as the Adi Dassler Platz (ADP), the building served as the global headquarters of adidas until 1997.

"When the adidas team grew, plans to move the headquarters to another city or country were brought up but the proposals were rejected. After all, Adi’s team started right here in Herzo," she related.

The search led them to a vacant military base on the northern outskirts of Herzogenaurach. Built in the 1930s as an air base for the German Army, the HerzoBase was the perfect site for adidas’ envisioned "home."

The 115 hectares property offered enough space for adidas’ future growth. In 1999, the company had a massive plan to divide the area into four "worlds" resembling a campus.

Later that year, the first "world" was constructed. Situated on a 39-hectare land, the World of Sports features sports and outdoor areas, exhibition halls and an award-winning employees’ restaurant called, "Stripes."

"This state-of-the-art edifice was represented twice in "Centrum 2000–2001/Arcitektur und Stadt," the prestigious year book of global architecture," noted Petra.

A few blocks away is the adidas Brand Center, a shining black building made of glass, steel and cement.

"adidas conducted a worldwide design competition for this structure alone. More than 300 architects submitted their works. The credo ‘form follows function’ was the principle behind its construction," Petra explained.

From the entrace, the 12,000-sq. meter office looks like an empty shell. If not for the beamer wall (said to be the largest in the world), there’s nothing extraordinary about the structure.

"For the duration of the World Cup, all the matches will be shown on the beamer wall for the benefit of adidas employees," Petra said with a grin.

She then led us inside for a quick tour. We were surprised to find that the center is not bare at all! Artistically hidden behind the tall walls are state-of-the-art exhibition rooms, conference rooms and presentation areas.

The main part of the "house" is the "Walk of Fame," a small museum with changing exhibitions. Currently on view are Adi Dassler’s priced possessions which trace the evolution of the adidas’ football shoes.

Another component of the World of Sports is the Adi Dassler Sportplatz which opened in the summer of 2005.

The arena is used for company sports, soccer tournaments, product testing and running sessions.

In the southwest corner of Herzo–Base lies the World of Living. Currently under construction, the 30-hectare area houses 600 residential units for sale.

This ‘world’ is divided into three residential islands and boasts of Tuscanystyle one-family houses as well as duplex units.

Among the four "worlds," the World of Commerce (the adidas Factory Outlet) has the most number of visitors.

One million shoppers from all over the world visit the shop each year.

Public facilities include the Public World (adidas Ramada Hotel), a minimalist 4-star hotel, which opened right in time for the World Cup.

The hotel offers leisure and gastronomy services as well as spa and fitness facilities.

For lack of time, our trip to Adi’s "world" was cut short. We had to rush to the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg (on board the exclusive ‘adidas Bus’) to watch Mexico and Iran’s bout.

Whenever our bus made a full stop, we noticed the strange reaction of the people on the streets. They waved at us and took photos of the vehicle!

Bewildered, we asked our driver Uwe why the people reacted that way.

"Oh, that’s normal! Those people think you guys are members of the national team! The adidas Bus is only for VIPs," Uwe replied with a grin.