Bale Injured and US National Women

One of the Spurs top players, Gareth Bale, was injured in a friendly against Liverpool. Bale stole the ball at midfield and started dribbling, then Charlie Adam came running from behind a threw his cleats down on Bale's foot. Bale was in a lot of pain, but to Andre-Villas Boas's refief, he did not come up with a big injury. Bale has called Adam a coward, and  Villas Boas thinks it would be nice to have an
 apology from the Liverpool player.

Today the U.S. Womens National team plays in the olympics. They have already won their first two games and are looking to go 3-0 playing North Korea. It will be at Manchester United's stadium, Old Trafford. Just a few days ago in the United States game against Colombia, Abby Wambach was punched by Lady Andrade. It happened in the 39th minute when Andrade punched Wambach in the eye. Later the U.S. team called on FIFA to take action and they did, suspending Lady Andrade for two games. This means that Andrade will miss Colombia's next group game and if they advance, their first knock out stage game. Todays game should be a good one, and it is already said that there is a little rivalry between the U.S. and North Korea.

Thanks for reading, come back tomorrow!

Back From Dallas and Poor Arsenal!

Yes, I am back from Dallas! It was fun going to an FC Dallas game, the only problem was the out of the 4 big stars that are usually playing, there was only 1.  We all new David Beckham was at the Olympics, so he could not be there. Then Landon Donovan did not play, but at least I got to see Robbie Keane. Then the fourth guy would have been Brek Shea for Dallas. Even though the stars where not all there it was still a good game and Robbie Keane had a nice assist to put the Galaxy up  1-0 and that is how the game stayed, Galaxy taking the three points. While in Dallas I picked up a pair of Puma Liga Finale's. They are usually around 72-78 Dollars, so I got them for a cheaper price! It is a pretty good boot, made of full grain leather and ways the average for an average high-end boot at 9 ounces.

Arsenal could not have their two new signings ready for play by the first of the season. The manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, has said that Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski may not be ready for the start of the season after spending a lot of their time during their summer at the Euro Championships. He has not been able to play them in the friendlies and says he will have to ease them into the season after it starts. More bad news for Arsenal is that Jack Wilshere may not be ready until October, I am starting to wonder if he will ever come back. Then one of the best right backs in the Premier League Bacary Sagna, will not return for a while after suffering that foot injury. Also, Tomas Rosicky just had surgery and will be out for who knows how long, maybe forever. Wenger has also said,  Nicklas Bendtner, Sebastien Squillaci and Park Chu-Young could leave the club this summer. Squillaci and Park can go, but with Arsenal loosing all their strikers we may need Bendtner. Wenger has said that Andrei Arshavin still may have a future at the club, and they will have to sit down and talk with him. The start is not looking as good as I thought for Arsenal, but hopefully we can have a nice season.

New Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas has stood firm on keeping Luka Modric. Villas Boas said that he hoped to keep Modric and would do everything he could. Spurs have set a 40 Million Pound value on Modric and will not sell him for anything under that price.

Thats it for today. Thanks for reading!

Nike Releases New Cleat

Good Moring and not much to talk about today, so how about another cleat review!

Nike is about to launch another cleat, this will be the second one in the past 1 or 2 months. The Nike GS, which they released about  3 weeks ago, is another nike boot which I think will be terrible. As I said in my cleat review blog the only nike cleats I really like are the Nike Tiempo's, but just a few days ago Nike came out with a pair of cleats that I may actually like! They are the new CTR 360 Maestri III 'playmaker' boots. In a way they are kind of like the Adidas Predators. That is because they are both not made of real Kangaroo leather and both have raised up material on the side of the cleat. These are made out of Kanga-Lite which is like fake Kangaroo leather, but is super light weight. They do not look to bad and seem nice. Of course, they will put a dent in your wallet costing about 165 Dollars. They are designed for the midfielder or at least that is what Nike wants you to think. They have Andres Iniesta showing them off, also saying that it would be great for Barcelona fans to pick up a pair so they can be like him; I guess that is a good way to sell cleats. Then they try to sway Arsenal fans by saying Jack Wilshere will be wearing them! In the end, they are not my favorite cleats out there on the market, but they are also not the worst.

Well that is it for today, just remember that tomorrow and Sunday I will be writing from the blogger app!

Olympics start for Soccer

Just to warn you that Saturday and Sunday I will be writing from the horrible blogger app, because I am going to Dallas to watch FC Dallas play the LA Galaxy.

The olympics have started for soccer! Yesterday the Women played some games and today the men play some. The olympics are a little different for men's soccer compared to other big competions. The difference is that the under 23 team is playing, instead of  the regular really good players. Each country does get to have 3 older guys on the team though.

In the women's competion yesterday, one of the big favorites kicked off their tournament. It was the United States vs. France. France got off to a great and surprising start by netting the ball in the 12th minute and then another one in the 14th minute. This was the most goals the United States had given up in a game since the Japan world cup loss, and it was all in the first 15 minutes. Then the U.S. started kicking it up when Abby Wambach headed a goal, in the 19th minute. The team still had a long way to go if they wanted a win,but then in the 32nd minute Alex Morgan scored making the game 2-2 and it stayed that way going into the second half. Eleven minutes into the second half Carli Lloyd struck in a screamer and made it 3-2! The U.S. was not done yet though, when in the 66th minute, Morgan hit the back of the net again! That is how it ended, United States beating France 4-2. One of the other notable women's team, Brazil played. They handled their business smoothly winning 5-0.

Today the men play and Spain kicks of their olympics. Some say their under 23 team is almost as good as their older guys team. We will see how they do against Japan today.

That is it for today thanks for reading!

Premier League Top 4 Prediction

Lionel Messi will miss his first preseason game against Hamburg, because of a right leg injury. Barcelona said that the striker injured his right leg at practice Monday and how he responds to treatment will see how long he is out.

The Arsenal midfielder, Tomas Rosicky may have to miss up to two months of the beggining of this years season. Rosicky got himself injured in the Euro 2012 competion and now may have to have surgery that could keep him sidelined for a while.

I know it is a bit early, but today I will predict who the top 4 in the Premier League will be this year. This may change due to transfers and injuries throughout the preseason, but it does not really matter. In fourth this year I do not have Tottenham or Newcastle, but I do have Chelsea. They finished sixth place last year and had a bit of trouble with their first manager. During the preseason Chelsea have tried to spend as much money as they can and still are, to find great players. I think with the new signings they have made and that some of their most valuable players are coming back from injury, they could make a fourth place finish. Also, they like their new manager and that should give them easier chemistry to work with. In third I have Arsenal. Yes, they maybe loosing Robin Van Persie, but they still have almost all their players from last year, plus Jack Wilshere will probably be making his return. Arsenal have signed Podolski and Giroud this off season. Also, they are still looking to buy maybe one or two new players to help up front. They have a great coach in Arsene Wenger,so third seems like a finish for them that could happen. The top was the hardest to pick and it is between the two Manchester teams, but I think Manchester United will come in second again. They have great players that have been with the club for years, plus the new signing of Kagawa. The only reason I do not see them winning the whole thing is that Manchester City buys all their players and they buy the really good ones. City will win the premier league again this year, because of their money. They have all their good players from last season that are all or mostly returning, plus this transfer deadline is not even close to ending yet, so we could see them land another huge player.

Thanks for reading today! Come back tomorrow!

Short Soccer News

Hello and before we get on with today's blog, tomorrow I will be really busy so there may not be a new blog to read. But stop by anyway tomorrow, just to see if I have written one.

Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger has said he is not interested in the French Midfielder Yann M'Vila. M'Vila has been strongly linked to go to Arsenal this summer, but Wenger has said that we have enough choices and depth at midfied. Wenger said that even though Wilshere and Diaby had troubles to be fit for play last season, this year they should be fine and the team will be fine at midfield.

The 24 year old Atletico Madrid strikere Adrian Lopez says he is very happy at Atletico and does not want to move. This summer Lopez had been linked with two or three premier league clubs. Lopez is on Spains olympic team this summer also. Lopez has three more years left on his contract at Atletico and has clearly stated he would like to stay.

Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schurrle has said if his team would accept and offer from Chelsea, it would be hard not to go. Chelsea was said to have offered 20 Million Pounds for Schurrle, but Leverkusen turned it down, stating that it would be hard to find a replacement as good as Schurrle. If you watched Euro 2012 we got a nice glimpse of him playing for the Germany team.

In two days Chelsea will be taking on the MLS all-stars. It should be an okay game, but if Chelsea plays a few of their stars it could turn ugly for the best MLS players. Last year the All-Stars were handed a 4-1 loss from Manchester United. This year I expect them to do a little better since to me, Chelsea is not as good as Manchester United.

Tomorrow I may not write a blog, but thanks for reading today!

FIFA 13 and 100 Million Euros

Harry Redknapp wants to have another go with a premier league team, after the Spurs fired him. He had been linked to the middle east, along with offers from China and Russia. But he says he wants to stay in the Premier League. Redknapp was very surprised when he was sacked from the Spurs job and other people where too. He actually would have qualified for the Champions League, it is just that Chelsea won the whole thing and took their spot. We will see in the coming weeks where he lands a job or if he lands a job at all!

Napoli President has said their 25 year old striker Cavani is not for sale, but they would be able to let him go for a low price of 100 Million Euros. He later went on and said that this was not his real value, but that is what he was worth to the team.

 Most soccer fans and soccer players have heard of the soccer video game FIFA, and that is what we are going to review. Of course FIFA 13 is not out yet, but lots of features of the game has been released. In FIFA 13 this year they have said a new feature will be the first touch controll. In all past FIFA games if you could get the ball to the player he almost always got the perfect first touch on it, without it bouncing off his knee, or him miss controlling it. But that is changing this year! I do not know how they will do it, or with what buttons but if you are buying the new FIFA 13 expect it to be harder to keep controll on the ball in the air or even on the ground. Then they go on with the usually stuff, battle for possesion, all fancy tricks on the ball, blah , blah, blah! But then they added anther new feature! FIFA has included tactical free kicks this year. That means instead of just shooting it or passing it off the free kick, you can have somebody run and step over it, or any other creatinve play that we see in the pro's. It will be interesting to see how that works and if you gives you a better chance of putting the ball in the net. For game play that is really all I have heard from the makers of the game. I expect them to have all the modes FIFA 12 had and maybe they will include something new. For all you people out there who like big improvement on graphics, I would not be expecting anything that much improved, there will probably be a few bugs worked out from the 12 version. Of course all the new kits will be updated and all the players put on their new teams. I think that FIFA 13 will be pretty good and people will like the first touch controll and tactical free kicks, even I am waitng to see how the free kicks go. First touch controll, not so much, but most people say they are really wanting that, so I guess they got it!

Thanks for reading today, come back tomorrow!

What is wrong with Brek Shea?

The Italian team Juventus is looking to sign Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez. Arsenal are looking for a higher price than Manchester United offered, which was said to be around 20 Million Pounds. Arsenal are probably ready to sell him anywhere from 28 Million Pounds to 35 Million Pounds.

In the MLS, on a team called FC Dallas, there is a 22 year old named Brek Shea. He was born in the United States and plays for the under 23 U.S. National team. Usually he does really good in the MLS and pretty good for the U.S. Under 23 National team. This year for some reason, Shea is not at his best. Firstly, Brek Shea usually plays for the US National team when the MLS season is at a break, or in the off season. This year he has had to switch between playing for two different teams, probably with two different styles of play. Once Shea got used to the US style of play, he had to switch back over to the FC Dallas style of play. That would make you struggle on getting to top form. Plus Shea came back with the sadness of not leading the Under 23 team to a spot in the Olympics. Shea has also got less chances to score in his recent games, because sometimes he has got subbed out for, leaving less time on the pitch, and plus he just has not been around that much. He missed two games at the start of the season in March and was not around with the team between those two matches.Over the last 12 months he has gone to do various things with the regular and under 23 US National team. Meaning he has missed off season stuff too. One of his teamates said a few weeks ago, "in Kung-Fu you serve one master, and this year Brek Shea is unclear of who his master is."  Shea also got suspended for three games after kicking the ball at a referee. Just in FC Dallas's most recent matches when the manager subbed him out, Shea exchanged some mean words with the manager and then went and sat on the bench by himself with a towel wrapped around his head. Clearly these are not good times for Brek Shea, but with US National play over, or it should be anyway, their is only room for improvement.

Thanks for reading, come back tomorrow!

Dortmund Says Lewandowski Will Stay

Two days ago Chelsea played the MLS team Seattle Sounders. I did not expect Chelsea to bring a well known player squad, but they actually brought a few big names. Hazard started the game along with Ivanovic. Also Mikel played and so did Benayoun. Then in the second half Chelsea brought on Lampard and Essien. They brought on a few other names, but I can not remember. Anyways, the game was actually better than I thought. It was not a great game, but Seattle kept the score closer than I thought they would. It did not look good for Seattle early when Lukaku hit the back of the net in the third minute and later on in the 11th minute Hazard put it in. I though oh no, here comes another blow out. But then Montero scored in the 14th minute! Then in the 32nd minute Montero scored again!!! It was all tied up, I was amazed. But then in the 40th minute Marin scored for Chelsea and Lukaku added on in the 44th. That is how the game ended Chelsea winning 4-2. I think it was a good game for Seattle, probably because I kind of expected them to repeat their Manchester United 7-0 loss, except this time against Chelsea.

If any team in the Premier League wants the Polish star Robert Lewandowski, Dortmund say they are confident that he will stay. That does not really mean anything, becuase Arsene Wenger said we where going to keep Robin Van Persie and it looks like he may leave. Manchester United have been interested in Lewandowski and their have been rumors that Arsenal was looking at him too. The Polish star said that he would love to play in Premier League and he did not sign an extension with Dortmund. I could see him coming to play in England in the top flight. Speaking of Van Persie, Arsenal have turned down offers for Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus. They are holding out for a bigger amount of money. I hope they reject everything no matter how much the money and tell Van Persie he has to play. I do not know if Van Persie would try if we did that, but he needs to serve out the rest of his contract no matter if he wants to or not.

Well that is it for today! Come back tomorrow!

Continue of Cleat Reviews!!!

Alright, today we continue what we started yesterday. First it will be the Puma EvoSpeed Cleats.

These cleats are a kind of simple boot. There is not really that many different components on them at all. Just like the name EvoSpeed, they are totally built for speed. There are two different versions that are at the highest quality. One version comes with synthetic leather and the other in Kangaroo Leather. This is not the low priced synthetic leather though. The synthetic leather is very, very light and can cost you any where from $160-$185 dollars. The price varies depending on where you buy them. On this shoe the synthetic stuff ways 6.3 ounces and the Kangaroo ways 6.8 ounces, not a big difference to me. If you do not really care about the weight, of course the K-leather version gives you a way better touch on the ball. The cleats have improved from the old Puma's by making them able to break in better and gives you better overall comfort than the last few cleats Puma has released. I think the Blue/Red/White version looks way better than Puma's last few designs. The shoes are really designed for the forward or the winger. They give you a nice shot and great speed running down the wings or past the last defender. Sergio Aguero said, “I like how flexible the sole is, it helps me to change directions quicker and really distinguishes it from other football boots”.

The last and final cleat we will be reviewing is the Umbro Speciali 3. This is one of Umbro's most classic cleats, updated with modern features. The cleat looks great and is 9.2 ounces. It is said to still have that classic feel as the first time it came out, but a little improvments in the ankle tounge, off center lacing, better placed stitching, and improvment on the studs. It is completly made of Kangaroo Leather, but there is one problem with the cleat. That problem is the breaking in time. The breaking in time is not really that bad, but when you compare in to our other cleats we reviewed it does not look so good. Most people say it takes about a practice and a jogging sesion around the field to brake them in. While the other cleats we have reviewed only take about a warm-up to break in because they already came with great comfort. Umbro have improved the tounge of the cleat by putting a little padding behind it, giving the boot a nice striking zone, without taking any touch off the ball. This cleat is made to get lots of nice touches during the game. Umbro was under pressure to design a nice looking cleat, that still looks classic and I think they did that. Overall this cleat is made for any position, but midfielders have really grown to like it.
Well that is it for today and thanks for reading.

Soccer Cleats Review

Hello and today we look at what I said yesterday! Cleats that have been greatly reviewed and that I like too.

Firstly, which leather is the best for your cleats? Well there is really no real correct answer, it is all opinion. But, there are facts that could make you decide on your opinion! K-Leather, which is Kangaroo leather, is usually on the most expensive cleats. K-Leather gives you a great touch on the ball and it also molds to your foot really nice. There are two negatives on the K-leather though! One thing is, Kangaroo leather is not water proof, so if you play in the rain or on a wet surface a lot, they could wear out. Also, besides not being waterproof, it lacks the durability of other leathers. Although it is not as durable as other leathers, it actually has a higher tensile strength of goat skin and cow leather. Meaning under tension it is really strong. Calf skin leather is way more durable than K-Leather, but takes longer to break in. It helps you develop a great touch on the ball (Or so it is said)! It does take longer to mold to your feet and is not as soft as K-Leather. The last of the big three leathers is the man-made leather. It is very durable and retains it's shape well. It is also waterproof. It is stiffer than K-Leather, and it is said to not have as good a touch as Calf Skin Leather and K-Leather.

I am not a big fan of the nike soccer cleats, like the vapors, the superflys, the mercurials,and their is just too many of them that look the same and some actually are the same. There is one Nike soccer cleat that I think could actually be a good buy. It is the Nike Tiempo Legend with a fancy roman numeral behind it. I think it is 6. Any way this cleat actually looks good and is made with Kangaroo Leather (also Kanga-lite which is fake k-leather, but made mostly with real K-leather)! These cleats are really made for the midfielder ,who likes to controll the "tempo" of the game. They are great for getting lots of touches on the ball and are ideal for passing. I could not find but one or two bad reviews for this cleat. They really help you with your dribble aslo. If you are worrying about breaking in, do not worry any more! These cleats are broke in from day 1. If the price is too high on the legends, the tiempo mystics are nice too. They are made from full grain leather, instead of k-leather. Overall, if you are a midfielder, or a person who just likes to get lots of touches on the ball, the Nike Tiempo Legend IV are the boots for you!

The next cleat we look at today is F50 Adizero Leather Cleats. These cleats are one of the lightest around. If you do not have them with the MiCoach thingy, they way about 5.6 ounces. These are made from full grain leather, and last very long. If you play a whole bunch of games every week, these would be pretty nice for you. There are many colors in this cleat, some really bad and some not that bad. These cleats are made for really any positon and can be used for shooting, passing, great touches, and defending. These are also MiCoach usable. I am not really sure if I like the whole MiCoach thing yet for the price. If it was a bit cheaper, I think I might grow to like the idea. In the end these boots are very durable and very light weight, giving you speed and touch through all your games through out the week.

Tomorrow we take a look at the new Puma Evospeed and one of the brands we never really talk about like Lotto or Umbro cleats. Remember there are way more than just these 2 cleats we reviewed today and the 2 we will look at tomorrow. So if you would like a website that reviews all soccer cleats here it is..............Soccer Cleats 101! Bye for Now!!

Tomorrow Preview And Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott maybe leaving Arsenal. This would be sad since we are also probably loosing Robin Van Persie. Liverpool and Chelsea are the clubs that are rumored to be looking at him. I do not really think that Chelsea would get him, but Liverpool may. Walcott is in the same position asVan Persie, meaning he has one year left on his contract. I hope he signs and stays. If Walcott leaves, we could put Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right or maybe Gervinho, who usually plays on the left. Since we have Podolski, I have no idea where Gervinho will play, or if he will even play at all.

Tomorrow, we will look at two soccer boots (cleats) that I think are pretty good. So come back tomorrow and read about which cleats are best for you!

Thanks for reading, come back tomorrow, bye!

MLS, not all that bad!

You know, I did not like the MLS a year or two ago. I thought it was a bunch of people who where really not that good at soccer. This season though, my thoughts have changed on the MLS. Now I have seen two games in person and thought it was great fun. Also, lately, since there is not really any other soccer on, I have been watching the games on TV. Just two days ago, there was a great game between Portland and Los Angeles. David Beckham had two wonderful goals and Robbie Keane had a couple of goals to his name too. There are big names all over Major League Soccer, like David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and Thierry Henry! So during the summer, if you are refusing to watch Major League Soccer, try out a few games and see if you like it.

Here are the highlights of the Portland vs Los Angeles game! It was a great game!

Also just yesterday I was watching Seattle vs. New York and it was also a pretty good game. The shots where not as amazing, but good plays. And of course there is no atmosphere like Portland, so that was also a downer, but other than that it was a well played game.

The news that I covered on Michael Bradley a few days back has now gone official! It is confirmed that Michael Bradley, the U.S. National player, is going to play for the Serie A club A.S. Roma! Now Bradley will have to work as hard as he can to try to get a spot in the starting 11. I hope he gets the starting job, because he will be one of the few Americans playing for a big European team, in a big European league.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow!

Collection of News

One of my favorite MLS teams, FC Dallas ended their 13 game winless streak yesterday after falling behind 1-0. Just 10 minutes after the Colorado Rapids scored, a cross came in by Fabian Castillo and Carlos Rodriquez headed it in to tie it up, 1-1. Then in the 80th minute Castillo fired one past the Rapid's goalkeeper and FC Dallas went into the lead. Dallas went on to keep the lead and ended up winning 2-1.

David Villa says his is almost ready to come back and train with the Barcelona team. He has been out for six months after breaking his leg in the World Cup Club back in Decemeber. He said he can not wait for summer to be over and he is itching to go back to work. Villa has passed a check up with Barcelona's team doctors.

We where just talking about PSG yesterday saying they where going to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but today they have announced they have signed the Brazilian, Thiago Silva. If Paris Saint Germain (PSG) keeps signing players they could rise to the top in the French league after coming a close second last season.

Inter Milan has said they expect Wesley Sneijder to stay, even though they said earlier that they would sell him at the right price. Last year Inter finished in 6th place in Serie A, so if Sneijder wanted to move to a Champions League team I could see him doing so.

Andre Villas Boas says he is counting on Rafael van der Vaart  to stay with the Spurs. Van der Vaart has been linked to Hamburg, but he says he will probably stay. After loosing Modric, Villas Boas really does not want to loose another great midfielder.

Well that is it for today! Bye and thanks for reading.

Best and Worst Jerseys

Maxi Rodriguez has decided to leave Liverpool and go back to his former club Newell's Old Boys in Argentina. He scored 17 goals in 73 appearances for Liverpool and said he loved playing for them and the atmosphere was like one great big family. The Liverpool managment is sad because they where keen to keep Maxi, but just could not keep hold of him. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's agent says the move to PSG is not close to being completed. He did say after that though that they are edging closer on a deal, so who knows if the deal is close to being completed. Ibrahimovic put the ball in the back of the net 28 times last season for AC Milan. The French team Lyon says them have not yet recieved an offer for the French Captain Hugo Lloris. Lyon has put a Monday deadline for offers to come in. If it gets to Monday Hugo Lloris will stay with Lyon.

Now it is time for the best home kit, worst home kit, best away kit, and worst away kit. The worst home kit and very dissapointing to me would have to be Barcelona's. It just looks weird how the one red strip in the middle intersects the to purple on the outside of it and kind of just blends together. Why can't they just have it like the usually do strait lines of each color and nice placement, instead of this weird one red stripe thing! Any way it is their first bad home jersey in a few years, so I guess we can let them slide.



The next kit is the worst away kit and most people have said it should be Arsenal's Purple jersey with black stripes. Also the goalie has to wear all pink, everything pink. But I think the kit is okay and I like the purple with black stripes, although I do feel sorry for our goalie. So then the worst away kit is Manchester City's. Yes a lot of people may like this one, but the color is just horrible on the away jerseys. A lot of home jerseys are a shade of red and it will clash with other jerseys. I think their home jerseys are much better and a way nicer color. I do not know Mancherster City's colors, but I am guessing that horrible, ugly shade of red is one of them since, they use it on their kits every now and then.


The best home kit of the 2012/13 season would have to be Borussia Dortmunds. I love how they have upgraded from their previous uniform makers Kappa to Puma and that has clearly paid off. The collar on this jersey is looks great and is not like the regular collar we see today. This color gives the defending Bundesliga Champions a bit of class. Also the fact that this jersey is so simple also gives it a lead above all the others who try to do way to much with their kits (Manchester United and Barcelona).




The best away kit is Chelsea's. I like the bright blue stripe that goes across the middle of the jersey. On the long sleeve jersey, the light blue that fades to black on the sleeve looks great and the have that feature on the shoulders of both the long sleeve and short sleeve jersey. I think this one looks  way better than last years away jersey and Adidas has done a great job with it.


Well that is it for today thanks for reading!

What should you buy?

After I typed up that blog yesterday, I realized that their was one obvious answer to the question, which merchandise is the best for a soccer player. It is of course what the whole game is played with, a ball! You can not play soccer without a ball! You could play socccer in your bare feet or with socks, with no jersey or no shirt. So clearly you need a ball. But lets say you already have a regular ball and you are wondering wheather you should get an Official Match Ball, Cleats, and so on! Well that is where the debate starts.

Firstly lets start if you are just a plain fan and not a player. You really want to show your team spirtit and you can have only one thing,ONLY ONE. There is lots of stuff out there from posters to hats, to wristbands, to backpacks. A lot of people like scarves too, but you have to remember it is hot in other places in the world, while it is almost always cold in England. But really what would show your team spirit the most? I would say it would have to be a Replica Jersey. This way you are wearing a jersey that most people will recognize and people will say hey, he is a Man U fan or hey he is an Arsenal fan. You can wear it to games or to a friends house and show off who your team is.Also, you can where it almost anywhere! Yes, there is one set back to the jersey, that is that a real official jersey costs around 80-95 dollars, depending on if it is long sleeved, short sleeved, and the place you bought it from. If you do not want to spend that much on the newest kit, then why not get an older kit for less? You could have a jersey from a few years back and it would still look pretty cool. I've seen jerseys that where just last season's, already on sale for 25 dollars! So clearly if you are looking to show your team spirit, buy a jersey!

Now time for if you are just a plain player and not a fan. There is lots of stuff they make for the player these days ranging from the craziest training gear to the most expensive match balls. Remember you already have your regular ball. Lets say you already have the essentials like shin guards and socks. If you wanted to train I would not waste my money on a piece of equipment that breaks down after one day of use. I would just go strait out and buy a goal and maybe some cones to dribble through, but that still is not the main thing a player needs. Some people say, "Oh you need an official match ball. It has such a better touch and feel". But do you know how much one of those costs! A whopping 150 Dollars! I just think that a soccer ball can not be worth that much in less it has been used in a real game or signed by the whole squad of a Premier League Team. It is just not worth it to buy a ball for 150, when you could just go out and buy a 15 dollar ball and have loads of fun and good work. I think what a player really needs is some nice cleats. Cleats that are made great and by a good company can range from 90 dollars to 210 dollars and even more than that. The reason the cleats are worth that money, is if you love to play soccer and play it a lot, you need some good cleats that last long and are great to play with every time you hit the pitch.Everybody wants their shoes to be comfortable, I see your cleats should be the same way.  You know that you are going to get good use out of a nice pair of Puma, Nike, or Adidas cleats (along with other brands). Sometimes great cleats can go on sale for just 70-90 dollars! So if you are a player looking for a piece of equipment go out and buy some well made, nice cleats.

There you have it! Those are the two most important things to have if you are a fan and a player. If you still wanted something more and you are a fan, I would think a scarf is a good purchase. If you are a player and still wanted more I would try to find a cheap priced soccer goal, a bag to carry around your equipment, or some nice adidas/ nike flip flops for after practice/game.

Thanks for reading, come back tomorrow!

Which Merchandise Is Best For You Preview

Today a preview for tomorrow!

In the world of being a soccer fan and a soccer player, there is so much merchandise you can buy! You may want your favorite teams jersey or a work out shirt with your favorite teams logo. Or if your a player you may want the newest cleats from Adidas, Nike, or Puma! Also there's all sorts of new high tech things to evaluate your performances. What about an official match ball to train with or a gear bag? Tomorrow we look at which is the better buy and which item would you actually get your money's worth for!

Come in tomorrow and read which item you really want to get, thanks for reading!!

Two More Stadiums!!

Well breaking news has reached, Ronaldinho has drank a can of pepsi! What has the world come to? The Brazilian Ronaldinho has lost his 500,000 pound deal with Coca-Cola for drinking a pepsi in public. Apparently he had a sponship deal or commercial deal with Coca-Cola and one of the only things they asked him to do was not to drink a pepsi in front of everybody else. Unfortunately for him somebody saw him drink a pepsi and his deal was dropped!

Two more stadiums we will continue with today.

Old Trafford

Next on our stadium list is another Premier League stadium. It is the home of Manchester United and is called Old Trafford. Some called it the field of dreams, after Man U's sad and exciting history. The stadium is one of the biggest in England holding a huge amount of people 75,811. On our list of great stadiums it is the oldest, having it's first match in 1910. Since it was so close to the industrial part of Manchester it got hit by a lot of bombs during the German air raids in World War Two. Other than the repairs on it after that not many changes have been made. In the seats they always have something spelled out with white chairs. A feature that is always there is the Manchester United spelled out and sometimes they will have their sponsor spelled out to, along with other things.  The atmosphere at this stadium is great the Red Devils are almost always playing infront of a full house, meaning a ticket is not the easiest thing to get. If you want to visit the field of dreams not just for a game, they have a museum and a tour around the stadium. What kind of great stadium would not have a megastore? Old Trafford has one of the biggest stores you will find in a stadium.

Signal Iduna Park

The last and final stadium is Borussia Dortmund's stadium Signal Induna Park. It is the largest stadium in Germany holding 80,700! Most fans call it "The Temple" and most proffesionals and the press call it "the nicest stadium in Germany". One of the best things about this stadium is the crowd and atmosphere. Here the fans love,love,love their home team Dortmund and come out every game to watch them. There is standing places with a combined compacity of 25,000. In the north stand (at least I think it is and not the south stand) the fans stand up the whole game waving their flags and jumping over and over again. The color at this stadium is cool to me, even though some say it looks like a giant bumble bee. The stadium is always packed to the max! A really cool feature about this stadium is that under the grass they have a drainage system and that is not the coolest part. It also has a heater to heat the grass when it gets really cold or starts to snow/ice so the game can go on with out the pitch being in bad conditions. The stadium used to be called Westfalenstadion, until Dortmund's sponsors wanted to change the name. This stadium has been a venue in two World Cups.

Thank you for reading!

Three Great Soccer Stadiums

YAY! The three stadiums have been picked! We get to view three spectacular stadiums in a close up look of their history, features, and stats.

Allianz Arena Lit Up at Night

The first one we will start off with today is Allianz Arena. It is located in Munich, Germany and is home to one of my favorite teams Bayern Munich. The stadium is fairly new; the stadium opened to 2005. One of the things I really like about this stadium is it is designed totally for the game of soccer. It is just a beautiful high-tech stadium! The outside of the stadium is covered in 15 miles of LED lights. They change colors as the night goes along and it is pretty amazing how they set it up. The venue costs 340 Million Euros to construct, which is about 418 Million USD. The total capacity of Allianz Arena is 69,901 people. There is a total of 66,000 seats and 106 VIP boxes of different sizes holding a total of 1,374. Also there is a special 165 seats for the disabled. Also the stadium has 2 fan restaurants along with an Arena la carte and a press club. Lastly one of the best things about this stadium is the atmosphere. In Munich they love their football and it is almost always sold out when Bayern Munich comes to play and sometimes even with the other Munich team that plays their. They have a whole section devoted to standing a singing the whole match.

The Nou Camp

The next stadium today was recommended by my frequent blog reader Dream Boy. He wanted a view at Barcelona's stadium, The Nou Camp. The Nou Camp is located in Barcelona, Spain and is one of the biggest stadiums, along with being the home of one of the best teams in the world. It was constructed between 1955 - 1957. At first it was not called the Nou Camp and it was originally named ‘Estadi del FC Barcelona’, but most people called it Camp Nou, which means, the new ground. In the 2000/2001 season, the name of the stadium was officially changed to Camp Nou. It now has a capacity of 99,354. At one point it had the capacity of 120,000 for the FIFA World Cup, but then the law eliminating standing area's, sent the capacity down to 99,000. In the 1998-1999 season UEFA awarded Camp Nou with the Five Star Stadium title. The chairs in the stadium are neatly colored to match Barcelona's colors and part of the seats are yellow which spell out "Mes Que Un Club". Appart from being a great place to watch a match, Camp Nou has a great Museum and also has the "Camp Nou experiance in which includes a ticket to the Museum, a tour of the stadium,and the multi-media area.

The next stadium is the newest of the three. It is home to Arsenal and is called Emirates Stadium. It replaced one of the most famous grounds, Highbury. The stadium was introduced in 2006 to the Arsenal fans. When the name of the stadium was being decided, some thought we should call it Ashburton Grove or the New Highbury, but since our sponsors helped fund the project it was named after them. The total cost to build the venue was 390 Million Pounds or 604 Million USD. The stadium holds 60,361 people. The stadium is very famous for the world class pitch that helps Arsenal with there quick pace passing. It is said to be one of the best pitches in the world. There is also a self guided tour, to let you walk at your own pace through the stadium with and audio tour. This tour includes walking through the changing rooms and the tunnel like you are a real player. There is also a tour to be guided by an Arsenal legend. Emirates Stadium also has an Arsenal Museum, which both tours access. You can go the the museum with out the tour. There is a huge store called The Amoury, where you can find all things Arsenal. The atmosphere at Emirates is great and the singing and chanting never really stops.

Well that is it for today I know I only did three stadiums, but it takes a lot of time to research every one, so thank you for reading and if you would comment a stadium for me to do, I would probably squeeze it in tomorrow! Thanks for reading, Bye!

2 Brief Looks at Huge Stadiums

This feature is a two day thing. Today we will take a very brief look at two of the biggest stadiums  and then tomorrow we can get a closer look at a select few that either I pick out or a reader can comment and vote. There are many different stadiums out there. Some used for all events. I tried to find the stadiums that just hosted club football or just club and National team, but that was really hard! So some of the stadiums we look at today are not just soccer, but that is their main focus.

The biggest stadium by far to host soccer games on a regular basis is Rungrado May Day Stadium(Pyongyang, North Korea). It holds up to 150,000 thousand people and is home of the Korea National team.  It is set in an imvironment which is very isolated and dangerous, so there will probably never be a huge tournament hosted there.

The second largest stadium is in India, Salt Lake City Stadium. This is in the city of Kolkata. The stadium holds a huge 120,000 people to welcome in the India National team. Also, the stadium is home to four of India's best club teams.

Even though England and Spain have the two most watched leagues with teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, and many other famous teams, they do not have the biggest stadiums in the world. England does not even get on the board till eighth with the huge Wembley Stadium and Spain comes in at sixth with Camp Nou. Even Malaysia comes in with a bigger Stadium than these two.

But big capacity is not what makes a stadium great, it is the atmosphere or how close you are to the pitch. Also, you want a nice and comfortable seat or a nice new shiny stadium. It is not all about capacity. In most of these huge stadiums you are very far from the pitch and some are old and dirty. While some of the big stadiums are cool and neat. Stadiums that are not the biggest are not always the worst and these will be what we look at tomorrow. I am looking to do about five close up looks at the good seating, fancy gadgets and good atmosphere.

If you would like to vote on a stadium to view tomorrow, just comment what you would like.
Good Bye!!

U.S. National For Roma!

Today is not a special feature day, it is just a whole bunch of little news stories that I have gathered up. Probably tomorrow I will have something to blow your socks off (or at least entertain you)!

In the olympics soccer is not that big for the men's side. It is just the under 23 team (it is 23 I think and not 21) and three older guys! So I will probably not be watching soccer the most in the olympics, but that is not the point of this story. Ryan Giggs has been named to Captain the Great Britain side at this years summer olympics.He is now 38 and made his first appearance at Manchester United in 1991. He has had 909 appearances with Man U. So clearly he has a lot of experience. Also, for a pretty old guy at what he does, he is not all bad! Some other considerations for the Captain included Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey.

Bayern Munich has a curse after big international tournaments. Yes I said a curse. In the past three seasons after a major International tournament Munich has failed to win a trophy. Most of the time what happens is, they have a lot of National team players who come back sad or really tired. This Euro Championship they had 8 German National team players! Also Frank Ribery for France and Arjen Robben for Netherlands. Now Arjen Robben should not be tired as his team got out in the group stage but he could still be really dissapointed. 8 German National players who made it all the way to the Semifinals and lost. Not only are they tired after almost a month of playing non-stop, but also the fact that they got so "Klose" to the trophy and fell short of making the finals to an Italy team. So Bayern needs to get their head together, because if I remember correctly, Bayern did not win a trophy last year!

You know how I like that American National Team players play in Europe or around the world instead of in the MLS, right? Well Micheal Bradley, is thinking of moving to a huge Italian club, Roma. He already plays for a team in Serie A called Chievo, where he helped them secure a nice
mid-table finish. The only problem for him moving to Roma is he would have to battle for a midfield spot their, when he has already secured one at Chievo.  If he does not get the starting job at Roma, an important part of the United States National team would be sitting on the bench not getting more experience! It maybe worth the risk though, so he can prove that all Americans are not all bad at soccer and we can move to the big European Clubs. If he plays his hardest he can probably get the starting job and that opens the gates to Americans who deserve to play in Europe but do not because of their reputation!

That is where I end it today! If you would like to comment on my blog go right ahead I will answer questions or take tips for improvement!

Ronaldo or Messi! Paddy Power Pays Fine!

Firstly, remember Nicklas Bendtner's Paddy Power underwear? Well Paddy Power has agreed to pay his 80,000 Pound fine. They said that all their fans flooded Paddy Power's inboxes saying to pay his fine and he should not suffer part of UEFA's harsh punishment. Meanwhile Bendtner will still have to surve his 1 game international suspension.

Today as the main event, we compare two amazing forwards, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I am not going to do any big background check or life story before this, I am getting strait down to stats.

Cristiano Ronaldo started a season ahead of Messi and is two years older than him. This is not a big age difference compared to my last comparing of the two Super Mario's. As soon as Ronaldo got to Manchester United they started playing him, and he got 4 goals 4 assists. Messi, in his first year at Barcelona got one start and seven sub-ins, with 1 goal and 0 assists. Through each of their second season's Ronaldo still got more chances and more goals, but this time he only beat Messi 9 to 7 on goals scored. Oh and by the way Messi scored 7 goals in 23 games while Ronaldo only scored 9 in 50 games. Then you could say that both in both their third and fourth seasons they where about even. In their third Messi had 20 goals and Ronaldo had 12, but the difference was Ronaldo had 7 assists while Messi only had three. By the time it was both of their fifth seasons, they had gone from good to great. In the rest of Messi's seasons including his fifth, he scored 206 goals. This is all club competion and no International play. In the rest of Ronaldo's seasons including his fifth he scored 218 goals. Of course this is all club competion and no International play. In assists (Including Fifth Seasons) Messi has 76 assists while Ronaldo has 52. I got all these numbers from ESPN.com if you would like to check my answers.

Yes, I know I did not do National teams with these two. For one reason is, people never seem to care how both of them do in international play AS MUCH AS they do in club play. People still care, but when it comes down to it, they always seem to compare them through club play. Both are captains of their National team and we have seen Ronaldo play more recently then Messi.

In my opening paragraph tomorrow I may do the trophies they have one, since I did not do that today!

Good Bye!

Vote Passed And Beckham Suspended

Lets start off with yesterday's blog's main point! The vote for using Goal-Line Technology was voted on yesterday in Zurich, and they voted for it! Apparently it wasn't even close. Like I said yesterday it might be used as soon as December in the FIFA World Cup Club and maybe even mid-season in the Premier League.

In La Liga news, Real Betis has confirmed getting the Arsenal striker, Joel Campbell. He will be there on loan for one season. Last season Campbell was on loan at the French side Lorient, scoring 3 goals in 27 appearances.Arsenal has also confirmed that midfielder Denilson will stay on loan at Sao Paulo.

Here is the big story for today! David Beckham, as we all know, now plays for LA Galaxy. He has been suspended and fined for actions during last Saturday's defeat against the San Jose Earthquakes.
A San Jose player was standing over his teamate seeing if he was okay after taking a foot to the head. Beckham, thought they where just time wasting, instead of actually seeing if their player was injured. He kicked one ball at the San Jose player and one ball at the referee. He succeeded in hitting both and drew a yellow card from the referee. A lot of people where surprised and kind of mad that he did not get for suspension after what Brek Shea got for hitting a referee. Shea was handed down a three game suspension for hitting a referee with the ball. Or his LA teamate Mike Magee getting suspended one game for throwing the ball at a ref and missing him completely. MLS Executive Vice President of Competition and Game Operations Nelson Rodriguez, said that the only reason Beckham was not going to get more suspension is that Shea really meant to hit the ref and aimed the ball at him, while Beckham tried to hit a player. Who knows what Beckham was really thinking when he struck the ball in the direction of the player and the referee.

Well that is where we end today's blog, tomorrow expect a little longer one!  

Goal-Line Technology Almost Here!

Yes, all us sad Arsenal fans have heard the news that Robin Van Persie will not be renewing his contract. He will probably, by the way he sounded, not even play out the year he has left on his contract. If you are expecting a Robin Van Persie blog today, I am sorry but not today. Maybe I will write one between the next  4 to 5 days.

Every is tired of goals that are over the line not being called goals or goals that are not over the line and being called goals! Well maybe in the Premier Leauge, as soon as next season, goal line technology will be introduced. This year in the Euro 2012 tournament John Terry saved one of the line that may have been a goal that only goal line technology could see. Also Andy Carroll's header for Liverpool that Petr Cech "saved" in the FA Cup Final! There will be a vote to see if goal line technology is excepted and some people say it will appear in games this December in Japan. Richard Scudamore says that the start of the Premier League season may come to soon, but he hopes to introduce in mid way through the season.

The system is called Hawk-Eye. It works by using six cameras per goal to track the ball around the pitch. The system uses triangulation to locate the exact location of the ball, then if the ball goes across the goal line, a radio signal is sent to the referee's wristwatch. In tact with FIFA's requirments the proccess takes less than a second to complete.

I am glad to see that goals that are actually scored to count as goals, and goals that are not scored, are not counted as goals. Even the Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said, " "We see every season, every big tournament, we need it because there are some crucial moments within those games where you could find the right solution with a bit of technology." Also I think it is very important that this does not disrupt the flow of the game and it keeps soccer with out pauses during the game except for injuries and the usual stuff.

Well that is it for today, Van Persie maybe tomorrow or maybe something other than Van Persie!

FIFA World Football Rankings Released

Well after the Euro 2012 tournament the world rankings for National teams have changed. Here are the new top 20.....1. Spain 2. Germany 3. Uruguay 4. England 5. Portugal 6. Italy 7. Argentina 8. Netherlands 9. Croatia 10. Denmark 11. Brazil 12. Greece 13. Russia 14. France 15. Chile 16. Ivory Coast 17. Sweden 18. Czech Republic 19. Mexico 20. Japan! The hosts of the 2014 World Cup have fallen out of the top 10 for the first time, dropping five spots all the way to 11th. Here are some others that I just selected to show you.........26. Republic of Ireland 38. Wales 49. Scotland 102. Northern Ireland! Thats what the top 20 teams look like for now, we will see what happens two years from now in the World Cup.

As many of you probably already know, Andre Villas-Boas has been hired to be the head man at Tottenham Hotspur. There must be something really impressive about him if Chelsea hired him and then another top English Premier League team hired him. Saying that Chelsea fired him so he must be bad, that does not really mean anything because Chelsea fires all their managers! We will see in a few months how Villas-Boas does in his return to the top flight of football (soccer)!

In short Bundesliga news, the defending champions, Borussia Dortmund, have started training again as of yesterday. They are hoping to defend their title for the third strait time. Also, Bayern Munich is intersted in the young 23 year old from Spain, Javi Martinez. He currently plays for Athletic Bilbao.

Well that is it for today, bye!  

Which Mario Is Really Super?

Today, we compare a great player in Mario Gomez to a crazy Italian, Mario Balotelli. Clearly I like Mario Gomez much better and I believe Mario Balotelli is crazy and mean. Lets see if the background checks, stats and all other information back up my opinion.Now we go on a journey through the life and career of both these players.

Balotelli was born in  Palermo, Italy on August 12, 1990.He was the son of two imagrants for Ghana. He had a life threatning illness that caused him to have many operations on his stomach when he was just three. His parents tried hard to take care of him but it was hard in a small house with very little money. They gave Mario to the Balotelli family to take care of him during the week days and every weekend he would go back to his real parents. Later it was arranged that he would just parmently stay with the Balotelli's. People say that his parents just simply left him at the door or left him on the road for somebody to pick up, but I'm sorry guys he parents gave him away not because they hated him, but they couldn't take care of him. So don't make up exscuses that he "Got abandoned". Balotelli now plays for Manchester City and plays for the Italian National team. All his fans say that his crazy habits and weird acting is because of his childhood, his illness and the racsist comments he recieves. I think that might have the simplest of things to do with it , but mostly he is just a plain jerk. He his the hottest headed football player I have ever seen and a horrible sport (oh wait are those the same things, oh well). Also, what explains his crazyness? He has set his own house on fire, he threw darts at youth players, and wrecked his car. He has tackled Arsenal player Alex Song hardly for no apparent reason. He took off his shirt after scoring against Germany and flexed his imaginary huge muscles. (In his head he was thinking I wish I actually had real muscles). Also who remembers him wearing an AC Milan shirt to an interview when he was playing for Inter? Yes all those things are things Mario Balotelli has done, and the list continues, but I would get way to tired or my fingers may fall off before I finish. Now how about Mario Gomez's back ground check and then we will go to what will really decide it, stats.

Mario Gomez sounds very very Spanish, but that is because is father actually was Spanish and his mother was German. He was born on July 10, 1985. In 2004 he made his first career appearance for Stuttgart against Hamburg SV. As a kid Gomez grew up only 95km out of Stuttgart. He played in Stuttgart for 6 seasons. He did not start any games in the first two seasons but he was subed in a total of ten times in both his first two seasons combined. Then after his 6 seasons with Stuttgart in 2009 he moved to the team where he still plays today, Bayern Munich. It really was not until the second season at Bayern Munich when he really established him self as a starter. He could have either played for Germany or Spain, but he chose to play for Germany. He is a very good ariel threat and is known to be able to shoot with either foot. As you can see I could not find anything that bad or crazy about Mario Gomez, probably because he does not have anything crazy or bad about him. Now its time to really prove how good Gomez is by showing the stats!

In the last season Mario Gomez had more starts than Balotelli,but Balotelli did come off the bench a lot. Balotelli might have had more starts if he and the manager got along a little better and if he wasn't just plain crazy! Gomez in all competions (not international)  combined started 45 , while Balotelli started 22 . Gomez off the bench 5, Balotelli 13. So overall Gomez had 50 club appearances, while Balotelli had 35 club appearances. In all CLUB matches Gomez scored 40 goals, while Balotelli scored 18. Now you could argue well Balotelli had less chances well I blame that on him for being a bad guy and do not blame Man City's Manager. If you want to go to assists Gomez had 4, Balotelli had 2. If you want to see all the stats then here is the link. Mario Gomez. Mario Balotelli.
It includes their National team stats too.

Balotelli's Itlaly side did make it to the finals this year in the Euro cup and did beat Gomez's Germany but if you think Balotelli was a major part of that it is your opinion!

That is where I end todays blog, thank you for reading!

Back From DC

Hello and sorry I have been gone so long. I was on vacation in Washington DC! It was very fun and who would have thought it, I got to see a soccer match. Anyways, yesterday was the big Euro 2012 Final. I hope you are not expecting some sort of big recap but I will give you some of the game!

Well while being in DC I missed both semifinals. Which was sad, but at least I did not have to see Mario Balottelli score 2 goals against Germany, then take his shirt off and act like he had muscles. In  the finals, in case you could not tell I was for Spain. In the 13th Minute Cesc Fabregas dribbled it down to the endline, crossed it back into the middle and David Silva (One of the more shortest persons in the tournament) headed it in!! 1-0 Spain! But this was just the start for them. Xavi made a beautiful pass right to Ramos Jordi Alba who finished it perfectly and Spain went up 2-0. Thats what the score was going into the half! The next goal came very late in the second half. The substitute, Fernado Torres, put one in the back of the net! It was now 3-0 Spain. I forgot to mention that Itlay was down to 10 men because one of their players got hurt and they had used all their subs! Then the goals scorer, Torres, made a very unselfish pass right to Juan Mata who also hit the back of the net! Spain Wins The Euro Cup 4-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that the Euro 2012 Tournament is over, I will not have to cover it and now I can write about any related soccer thing I want pretty much!

Anyway thats it for today, Bye!