Following this November’s upcoming international break (Nov. 14 — 19), we’ll know 20 of the 24 participating nations at UEFA Euro 2020. While the four remaining spots will be decided in late March through the qualifying playoffs, it’s safe to say that we can begin to look forward to next summer’s European Championship in earnest.
Adidas feels the same way.
For a country that’s madly in love with the game, the football tournaments at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics will be sources of exorbitant amounts of pride and pressure for the host nation of Japan.
The women’s team treated the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup as something of a trial by fire for a squad that featured 14 players aged 23 and under, including young midfield maestro Yui Hasegawa. That side advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to eventual finalist the Netherlands.
Attention all 34.5 million Americans who list their heritage as primarily or partially Irish: The Republic of Ireland is dropping a fantastic new home shirt (apart from the damn Three Ireland sponsor) that’ll serve you very well on Saint Patrick’s Day and then throughout next summer’s Euro 2020 tournament.
The New Balance-produced number is a beautiful Eden Green, features subtle tonal pin stripes, a smart collar and some nice touches of gold, including a gold border that frames the Ireland crest and the gold-inscribed “Éire” on the back.
The list of top-selling MLS jerseys 2019 was announced this week and there will be little surprise with the man leading the pack.
Major League Soccer released its annual ranking of top-selling MLS jerseys based on retail sales on MLSStore.com since the start of 2019. For the second year in a row, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was No. 1.
It’s been exactly 15 years to the day since Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini hopped off the bench in the 82nd minute of Barcelona’s 1-0 derby victory over Espanyol to mark his LaLiga debut. The 17-year-old replaced midfield maestro Deco and gave a tantalizing glimpse of what was to come.
What followed, in league play, is currently 453 more appearances, 420 goals, 164 assists and 10 titles. You could say that things have gone well.
There’s no real marquee matches in European Championship qualifying over the course of the next week, but after the country’s disastrous attempt to qualify for the last World Cup, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on Italy versus Greece on Oct. 12.
There’s no forgetting the original adidas F50 Tunit cleat: its super shiny, seaside color way; its kinda haphazard lace cover that was stuck firm with velcro. This was the boot that adidas went all in on for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and the commercial that aired constantly on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 is still up there with the best.
Although I’m not sure what that kid was thinking taking Djibril Cissé with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
It happens every year. Clubs release their new soccer jerseys and you’re faced with a dilemma — which one do you buy?
It’s a rite of passage, buying a new soccer jersey. When the new season arrives, the true fans always buy the newest kits. But it can be a bit daunting to choose from the plethora of options, no matter which team (or teams) you support.
Fortunately, we’ve sorted through the hundreds of new kits released for the 2019-20 season to find the very best — and compared them to vintage kits that may have inspired them.
Everton fans hate Liverpool. They’re too flashy, they think they have a monopoly on bad singing and they just win too damn much.
The Merseyside Derby, unlike many of the world’s great soccer rivalries, is different because of the proximity of the two clubs — Anfield and Goodison Park are a literal stone’s throw from each other. This intimacy engenders deep resentment between the two clubs — Everton fans jealous of Liverpool’s money and success and Liverpool fans jealous of actually attracting fans from Liverpool instead of abroad.
In a market that's dominated by industry giants, it’s difficult for smaller cleat brands to make an impact. Many have tried to redefine the cleat by removing its laces, adding a special “strike zone” or using a unique stud pattern, but when you boil all those features down, Sam Garzon and his team at Unozero only see a collection of gimmicks.