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So here is the second part of my review on some of the new football kits for the 2008-2009 season. I took some of the main clubs from the EPL, La Liga, Serie A Italiana, French Ligue 1 to give my point of view on the changes that were made.

Some of them can already available at  SoccerPro.com's Licensed Jersey and if not just bug them until they get it in stock! 

Send your comments and opinions. And if you spot another interesting football top for this season just let me know and we'll talk about it.

So here is the second batch:

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INTERNAZIONALE AWAY

Anything is better than that one with the huge red cross all over the shirt. I don't really get the reason for the maroon/burgundy. Maybe it was inspired by Arsenal's last season's away kit. 

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WEST HAM AWAY 

The top is not ugly. I particularly like Aston Villa and West Ham colors. But this kit kind of looks like a youth team's kit. The pattern on the back is... hummm... let's say, interesting.  Not my favorite Hammers kit but it's fine. 

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REAL MADRID AWAY

I forgot to write about this one on my last post. But there is not much to talk actually. I didn't like it. Period. 

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PSG AWAY 

HORRIBLE. Neeeexxxxttttt! 

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NEWCASTLE AWAY 

This picture is not the best but this is a nice shirt. Dark purple. Solid. I like it. It's not my favorite (which would still be the new Chelsea Away Kit from last post) but I'd buy this one.  

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JUVENTUS AWAY 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PEOPLE??? Last season Juve came up with a reasonable blue and yellow shirt to replace the HORRIBLE pink & green from the previous year. Then I thought "well, that's an improvement", now they present this terrible, ugly shirt. What colour is this? Butter? Mustartd?  Baby-Poop?  Shit! Literally! Hahahaha...

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That's is for now. Send me your comments and check for your favourite team's kit at SOCCERPRO.COM, Licensed Shirts ... Au revoir a tous!!!

So the new football kits for the 08/09 season are coming out one by one this month. Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea are just some of the teams that just released their new kits.

There are the classic ones that we can expect to be pretty much the same thing for the home tops but then they go crazy on the away kits. And there are those clubs that really like to change their kits radically.

Bellow are just a few examples. Some of them are linkable if you're interested in placing an order from SOCCERPRO.COM, Licensed Football Shirts.

So let's go to them. And please DO NOT feel offended by my comments on each top. It's totally subjective. Just leave your comments too.

ARSENAL HOME KIT

A variation of the classical Arsenal kit. I like the design and the colours. I liked it.

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ARSENAL AWAY KIT

HORRIBLE!!! Whoever chose the away kit to go back to being yellow is very retarded. Terrible colour combination.

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CHELSEA HOME KIT

Not a lot of changes here. The collar and the yellow trimming looks good. Nice kit.

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CHELSEA AWAY KIT

WONDERFUL. Classy and I loved the fact the the crest is also black. I'll definitely get one for myself.

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LIVERPOOL AWAY KIT

Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Not the colour itself but the patern with the squares... Not good!

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MANCHESTER UNITED AWAY KIT

This one is nice. Simple. Clean. I still prefer the black third kit but this one looks good too.

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BARCELONA HOME KIT

Barcelona always keeps its tradition but tries to varies the way the red and the blue combine. I prefer the 07/08 kit.

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BARCELONA AWAY KIT

HORRIBLE. Why do some clubs insist with bright yellow? Yellow is not to be mixed with any colour. Terrible.

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REAL MADRID HOME KIT

Glad to see that purple trimming out of the home kit. The white with black look much better

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PORTSMOUTH AWAY KIT

I like this one. I like it in long sleeves. It's hard to find one here in Canada or in the USA so I might just order it directly from the Pompey's official online store.

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CELTIC AWAY KIT

Finally a yellow that worked out well. The simplicity and the combination with green and black along with the fact that it's a pale yellow makes this top wearable. Good one.

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Now it's on turn to send your opinions.

Hello lads,

I was in the USA last month for a sports seminar and while cruising through the streets of Los Angeles in my nice rental Ford Escape Hibrid and wearing a Toronto FC shirt I realised how hard it is to find football news on radio stations. I mean OUR football because I easily found radio talk shows about the "US American sports"; basketball, baseball and American football. I must say that there was one station that was 90% football but it was in Spanish and the announcers spend about 98% of the time talking about Mexican football.

So I got to the seminar and mentioned this to someone and the guy, who was from Seattle and I don't remember the name (sorry mate), told me to look for some podcasts.

I know OleOle has a kind of official podcast but it's run by an Arsenal fan but I am getting sick and tired of Arsenal fans (I'll write a post explaining my reasons for this some other time) so I called my friend Travis from SOCCERPRO.COM who once mentioned they were going to launch a podcast on their website and asked if they had done it or not.

Long story short is that they did. And it's a nice, funny, american football podcast with people that actually know what they are talking about (something rare here in North America). And another plus for Goalmouth Scramble is that the episodes are not too long.

I recommend and I believe you guys will enjoy too if you check it out. You can click on the image bellow to check their latest episode.

Hey Folks,

After I made that "test drive" video of the Nike Air Legend II Euro Edition, I received a couple of e-mails of Adidas fans telling me of how much better the German brand is... and that Nike is not the right brand for football... and blah, blah, blah...

Well, so why not discuss it here then... If Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabregas wear Nike they might be good, but then we have Messi, Beckham, Kaka and Ballack wearing Adidas... hmmm... tough choice uh? And some others like Samuel Eto'o wear Puma...

So here's what I did: I selected three models of the three most worldwide recognized brands and I'll let you choose the one you prefer. (the images link you to the Soccerpro page where you can see the specifications for each boot)

Nike Mercurial Vapor IV / Adidas F50.8 TUNiT / Puma v 1.08 I

Nike Total 90 Laser II / Adidas TRX Predator PowerSwerve / Puma v-Konstrukt II

Euro Semifinals - Germany vs. Turkey - Which country has the most beautiful supporters?

I'm really surprised with the number of beautiful women I've seen in this Euro. Unfortunatelly the cameramen working in the matches broadcasting are more worried about showing Slaven Bilic ultra tantrums. Here are some of the good ones for you guys to vote and appreciate.

oh, and my vote goes to Germany!

TURKEY:

 

GERMANY:

Of course they still cannot beat the AMAZING Swedish girls but I'm sure the competition between Spain and Russia will give us very stunning girls. I'm looking forward for the perfect FINAL between Germany and Russia. It will be a celebration of beautiful women!

I finally got my pair of NIKE AIR LEGEND II boots. Just in time to watch Ruud Van Nistelrooy wear the same ones during the match between the Netherlands and Italy. The next day I took the boots for a "test-drive" as I promised you guys I would do.

The boots look stunning!!! The very dark-brown leather with a weathered look gives the shoe the classic look that Nike announced they were going for. The light-blue bottom is trendy and gives the modern touch to it. And it's a limited edition especially made for the Euro 2008.

Talking about touch; as I picked up the shoes from the box the first thing I noticed was how light and soft these boots are. The leather is extremely flexible.

When I put then on it felt really good on my feet. It wraped my feet well without squeezing my calluses (yes, I have a couple of calluses mostly from bad football boots).

The pitch in which I tested was a turf one but the studs on the Legend give a good grip without locking your feet on the ground (what could easily cause an ankle or knee sprain).

I started jogging and really felt comfortable and firm.

And of course I kicked the ball around. By myself at first, doing some juggling and taking a couple of shots to the empty goal. Just to feel the boots.

So easy without a goalkeeper

 

Then I spotted some guys arriving to play on the other half of the pitch and joined then for a good casual pick-up match of footie.

It couldn't have been better. I full test.

We played for about an hour and I could prove that the lightness of the shoes really improves the speed and it also provides a good touch on the ball. In the end my feet felt great too (no pain on the callused areas).

Quick Overview:

Look --> 9.5 - I love the retro look of the Legend. The work they did on the leather made these boots look like a real classic. The blue at the bottom makes it really beautiful too.

Some people might be more interested in the more audacious look of the Mercurial Vapor or the Total 90 Laser.

Ibrahimovic prefers the Mercurial Vapor

Comfort --> 10 - I'm not afraid to say that I have worn all types of football boots and these were by far the most comfortable EVER! In the past I abandoned Nike boots because they would always give me blisters on my heels and that was one of my concerns but these ones felt PERFECT. No blisters, no pain. It really wrapped my feet perfectly.

Touch --> 9 - On the first touches I felt that the ball was getting stuck to the boots too much (that's why I mess up some moves in the video) but on the other hand it helps you keep the ball closer to your feet. (it can also be my lack of skills). Shooting and passing feel great.

Grip --> 10 - The attrition between the studs and the turf field was my main concern. It's a shoes designed for a natural grass pitch but I had no problems moving on the artificial surface. It gave me the necessary grip and for no moment I got stuck on the turf. Excellent!

As I said, it is definitely THE BEST football boots I've ever put my feet in.

I recommend. And if you're in the USA or in Canada you can order from my friends store (They don't ship it overseas unfortunately and I didn't receive this product on my store, I'm sorry). But I'm sure the guys from SoccerPro will be able to get you a pair. You can click on the logo to visit their online store.

End Of Match: Thank God it's over. Germany will face Portugal in the quarterfinals. If they play like this they have their butts kicked so hard there won't be enough beer to ease their pain!
Read More

End Of Match:

Two great goals for Venezuela. One for Jean Carlos Maldonado and the second one an AMAZING lefty shot by Ronald Vargas.

Venezuela played amazingly well and deserved the victory.

Brazil had only two clear chances and it happened in the second half with Diego shooting open from inside the box and being denied by goalkeepeer Vega. And the second one the a heel flick kick by Adriano the went very near the goal. 

Not enough from a team that wants to win their first Olympic Gold or their 6th World Cup Title.

For Venezuela, A GIANT STEP to prove how much the country has grown in terms of football.  

Read More

This is very cool! Nike has just launched a new limited edition of football boots for the UEFA Euro 2008.

I've always complained (and I complain a lot) about this new rainbow trend with the football boots - especially the ones from NIKE. They have them in lemon-yellow, orange, red, shiny blue and it really annoys me.

You see, I love the classics.

I want to pay attention to the ball being worked by talented feet and have my attention drawn by a scandalous pair of orange shoes.

But this time Nike got it right!

I just got this breaking news about the most incredible football boots I've ever seen.

They are not only made with the most advanced technology available but also THEY LOOK STUNNING! Simple, and yet fashionable! Check out the pictures.

Nike Mercurial Vapor IV

Nike Total 90 Laser II

Nike Air Legend II

I WANT A PAIR OF THIS LAST ONE!

Here is exactly what I received from a very good friend who also owns a football store and the shoes beforehand.

"This week, Nike will launch a new look across its main football silos - the Air Legend, Total 90 Laser and Mercurial Vapor. To celebrate tradition of the European Championships held in Austria and Switzerland all three top styles will feature a classic, dark cinder upper with blue cleat. Nike's top athletes will be wearing the shoes during the tournament. Nike is also launching a new material for its Mercurial Vapor IV that pushes its synthetic uppers beyond any other soccer shoe on the market. The Vapor IV is now softer for greater touch on the ball and durable for top-level soccer athletes. These shoes are in limited supply and only released through a few football retailers.

Every game of the Euro 08 Tournament will be televised in the United States through ESPN channels. This is a HUGE step for football in the US. Nike is supporting the continued push to get soccer closer to mainstream media coverage by dedicating itself to making football exciting, elevating top players to superstar status and on developing cutting edge football gear.

Although it seems simple, the release of limited edition shoes like these Euro 08 styles adds to the 'buzz' of the tournament and builds a 'cool factor' with younger audiences who will want to emulate their sports heroes."

So, if you got interested (and you should be) you can visit my friend's on-line store and pre-order yours. They ship anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. (unfortunately they can't ship it overseas)

There is only one thing that can drag me away from the TV when there's a football match on and that is BEAUTIFUL WOMEN!

Of course that I don't go around hunting every single pair of beautiful legs I see but I believe there is nothing wrong in admiring our footballer's wives and girlfriends.

We follow those guys' careers, we cheer for them, we buy shirts with their names on the the back so I really feel that it's ok to take some time to admire the beautiful women they date and marry.

CO-ED Magazine brought their choice of the 50 sexiest WAGs in the World of Football (or soccer as they call it).

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THEM OUT and see if you agree with their selection.

Or send us a link suggesting other gorgeous ones of your choice!

Now sit back and enjoy some of my own top 5 favourites: (you can click on the images to go to the site too)

#5 -> Anara Antanes (Keiran Richardson)

#4 ->Francesca Chillemo (Alberto Aquilani)

#3 -> Pamela Diaz (Manuel Neira)

#2 -> Natalia Fassi (Carlos Tevez)

#1 -> Martina Colombari (Alessandro Costacurta)