What was trending the last time Italy qualified for the World Cup? Have you ever heard of Ice Bucket Challenge?

After the victory against Northern Ireland in Bergamo in the playoff semifinal, the National Team is closer to its first qualification for the World Cup since 2014. The Azzurri have missed the last two editions of the World Cup, in 2018 in Russia and in 2022 in Qatar. To avoid missing a third consecutive edition, Italy must win away against Bosnia. Only then will they secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across United States, Canada and Mexico. The National Team already knows its potential opponents, having been placed in Group B with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. If they qualify, 4371 days will have passed since Italy’s last World Cup match—an amount of time that forces us to look back and understand what things were like back then.

Football 2014: players, style and trends

Let’s obviously start with football, because 2014 was probably the first time we came across the abs of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star showed off his cyborg-like physique after scoring the final 4-1 goal in the Champions League final won by Real Madrid against Atlético Madrid. Serie A at the time was dominated by mohawks: the blonde-streaked one worn by Paul Pogba, the classic Mohican defining the silhouette of Marek Hamsik, and the wild bleached version of Radja Nainggolan. As for formalwear, luxury fashion brands had yet to fully break into football, but that summer the Italian national team traveled to Brazil wearing elegant Dolce&Gabbana suits.

When it came to boots, the battle was between Nike and adidas. In 2014, Nike celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Tiempo while also releasing a new Mercurial model. More broadly, Nike collections introduced a novelty: a small elastic band around the ankle. adidas, on the other hand, focused heavily on the Samba Pack for the F50 model, followed a few months later by the F50 adiZero Crazylight, one of the first ultra-lightweight boots.

iPhone 6 and technology: what the world looked like in 2014

Technological evolution has stretched our perception of time, and to understand how many years have really passed since Italy last played in a World Cup, the iPhone model released that year becomes a useful reference point. In 2014, Apple launched the iPhone 6: it was introduced in September alongside the iPhone 6 Plus, which became something of a cult object due to its ability to bend under pressure before breaking. September 2014 also marked a turning point for Apple, as the company decided to discontinue the iPod, whose music-playing functions had by then been absorbed into the iPhone.

Also in 2014, Apple acquired Beats Electronics, the company behind the iconic Beats by Dre headphones. These headphones became a cult item during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil thanks to the campaign “The Game Before The Game,” featuring players such as Neymar, Cesc Fàbregas and Bastian Schweinsteiger. The campaign is still considered a case of ambush marketing, as Beats was not an official sponsor—indeed, it was competing with Sony, a FIFA partner—yet still managed to exploit the World Cup stage. Its success led FIFA to ban the use of Beats headphones during the tournament.

Fashion 2014: normcore, athleisure and health goth

In 2014, Instagram already existed, but Tumblr was the most widely used platform for images. It was there that normcore was born—a fashion trend that has recently made a comeback. The style is defined by anonymous, unbranded clothing meant to make the wearer look like an average person: jeans paired with t-shirts or sweaters. 2014 was also the year of athleisure, a trend that involves wearing workout clothes outside of their intended context. An evolution of athleisure was health goth: the same concept, but expressed strictly in black and white tones.

High fashion also saw surprising trends in 2014. For example, Karl Lagerfeld staged a Chanel runway show set in a supermarket, with models shopping while wearing outfits featuring the iconic double C. Moschino, under Jeremy Scott, presented collections inspired by fast food and Barbie culture. The year also marked the return of John Galliano to fashion, as he was appointed creative director of Maison Martin Margiela.

Pop culture in 2014: music, celebrities and viral trends

In pop culture, 2014 was the year of Kim Kardashian: first her wedding to Kanye West, then the iconic Paper magazine cover featuring the champagne glass balanced on her backside. That same year, in August, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, while in September George Clooney officially tied the knot with Amal Alamuddin.

In music, 2014 was the year Pharrell Williams released the single Happy, featured in Despicable Me 2 and nominated for an Oscar. The film industry mourned the deaths of Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Conchita Wurst made a strong impact at the Eurovision Song Contest, while Facebook feeds were flooded with videos of celebrities taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge—pouring a bucket of ice water over their heads to raise awareness and funds for ALS.