We’re in a strange pre-South Africa limbo here at Umbro at the moment, looking forward to the action this summer, but not wanting to get too excited yet. This hasn’t been helped by our ongoing sticker addiction, an amazing delivery to Umbro HQ this week which we’ll be talking about soon and the fact that every blogger on the planet is talking about the action in Africa.

You’d almost be forgiven for thinking that the 2009/10 season was over, when in fact two of its most important games are yet to take place. This weekend, we get the League One and League Two playoffs down at Wembley, matches that are sure to deliver a fair bit of drama and suspense. Top football mag Four Four Two have taken a close look at the Swindon and Millwall teams ahead of tomorrow’s match which you can check out here – essential reading if you want to watch the match but don’t know much about the teams beforehand. As for the League Two final, take a look at Peter Jackson’s thoughts on the final here, and decide whether you’re going for Rotherham or Dagenham (& Redbridge).

Apart from that, it’s all South Africa this week, with every aspect of tournaments past and present being analysed by the blogging community. One that we think will come in very handy during the action is the self-explanatory South Africa’s World Cup Stadiums, which gives a nice run-through of each of the grounds that will feature matches. Want to know the capacity of the stadium that’s hosting a game you’re watching? This is the place to visit.

Looking back at tournaments past, or rather football kits past, Who Ate All The Pies have dug up some absolute beauts with their round-up of the most garish WC kits they’ve ever seen. We’re not ashamed to admit that some of their choices come from Umbro’s own back catalogue – indeed, having seen them again we’re tempted to dig them out of the archive and wear them over the weekend. Put some shades on and check out their choices here…

Another look at past tournaments, but much more artistic, is the Score-Line project that Adrian Newell pointed in our direction earlier this week. Basically, the idea is that the goals from each WC final (and FA Cup final, Champions League, etc) are drawn out as tactical style drawings, giving an interesting spin on classic matches. That’s not really doing it justice to be honest – these are some really innovative images that work just as well as works of art than as football memorabilia – so just take a look at the images here, and you can even pick one up to decorate your wall with!

Finally this week, it’s often said that these big tournaments can bring a country together, and the BBC’s Paul Fletcher has unearthed an example of just how that can happen. Looking at Honduras, a country that we know little about, the blog explores how the South American country’s political tensions were threatening to boil over, but have been soothed by their qualification for this summer’s tournament. It’s fascinating stuff, and a terrific backdrop to the on-pitch action. Check it out here.

By the way, that terrific picture at the top is from City fan Andrew Mallileau, who is offering it as a free wallpaper to use on your computer. To download the image, just click on it to go through to Flickr