Style/Fashion

With the turn of the new millennium, the release of Nike Shox heralded the arrival of the future. The columns supporting the shoe’s heel promised to absorb impact while alternatively springing back, giving the athlete that extra little bit of pop and power. 

The validity of the technology was swiftly proven by Vince Carter at the 2000 Olympic Games after he threw down the greatest jam of all-time (“the Dunk of Death”) over 7-2 France center Frédéric Weis while wearing the shoes.  

The U.S. women’s national team is winding down its raucous celebration tour.

It’s difficult to feel all that great about the direction AS Roma is heading under American president James Pallotta, who admitted that last season was a “complete disaster.” Coupled with that has been Francesco Totti stepping down as club director while lamenting, “It was not my fault… Today is like dying. It would have been better to die,” and the ugly departure of fellow club stalwart Daniele De Rossi, who’s now reportedly set to retire at the age of 35.

Outside of Portugal, SC Braga is most widely known for one thing: the club’s home ground of Estádio Municipal de Braga. It was constructed in 2003 as a venue for UEFA Euro 2004, and it’s incredibly striking because it was carved from the Monte do Castro quarry that overlooks the city of Braga. In fact, the backdrop to one of the goals is the quarry’s rock wall. 

You love to see it. 

Forest Green Rovers, a League Two club based in Nailsworth, England, does things a bit differently from the rest of the world.

The team claims to be the greenest football club in the world, and, really, it’s hard to argue with that point.

The facilities are powered by renewable energy, players are only served vegan food and the grass is cut by a solar-powered robotic lawnmower (how cool is that?). 

After five years of tight and taut Puma jerseys, Arsenal is now beginning the first of its five-year deal with adidas as the official kit supplier. This isn’t the first time the three stripes have graced Gunners apparel: between 1986 and 1994 it was adidas that outfitted the London club.

During this period, Arsenal won the First Division twice (1988-89, 1990-91), as well as one FA Cup (1992-93), two League Cups (1986-87, 1992-93) and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1993-94). 

While many people scoff at the idea that a cleat impacts a player's game, when it comes to professionals, it's undeniable that there are clear trends in terms of cleat preference. The main factor, in terms of boot preference for professionals, is the material that constitutes the upper portion of the cleat. This article looks at the three main types of material, attempting to understand why certain players favor specific materials, and we'll discuss k-leather vs kangaroo leather.

The Three Main Types Of Cleat Material

#1: Kangaroo Leather (K-Leather)

In celebration of women’s soccer and the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, Bleacher Report has released an exclusive line of jerseys and T-shirts designed by a collection of female artists and influencers, including Billie Eilish and Kodie Shane.

Over the course of his first four seasons in the English Premier League, Sadio Mané’s best goalscoring total was the 13 he scored during his first year with Liverpool. So while many credited Liverpool’s improvement this past season to newer faces like Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Andrew Robertson and Fabinho, Mané’s ability to elevate his own game and score 22 goals — good for a three-way tie with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and teammate Mo Salah for the EPL’s Golden Boot — was equally as instrumental in a historic year for the Reds.