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[panoramix]

At just 18, the rascally lion is still young but already brimming with confidence in his own abilities. He combines the looks of Lothar Matthäus, the elegance of Diego Maradona and the all-round ability of Oliver Bierhoff - or so the brash young lion says of himself in his first interview, albeit with a wink and a grin. There really couldn't be anyone better suited to the role as mascot.

Wherever he goes, GOLEO VI is accompanied by Pille the erudite ball. Together they make an unbeatable team: after all, it was Pille who spent days badgering his friend to apply to FIFA for the position of mascot. No sooner said than done: he travelled to Zurich and in the twinkling of an eye, his positive outlook landed him the job.

Their friendship got off to a fairly rocky start. GOLEO VI snatched Pille from the referee's hands just as he was about to feature in an international, nipping a potential global career in the bud. The ball's dearest wish was to serve as an object of desire for 22 artists of the game - even if this meant being kicked black and blue for 90 minutes.

Fortunately the pair learnt to get along and soon realised their double act made them ideal candidates to represent the FIFA World Cup. Pille has to accept the fact that GOLEO VI tends to steal the limelight most of the time, but the lion is a good pal and hands his friend a starring role every now and then. That's what friends are for, after all.

The pair agree on one thing at least: they're counting down the days until the 2006 FIFA World Cup? finally kicks off at last. That's something they have in common with millions of fans all over the world.