After a 2019 that saw Mexico post a record of 16 wins and one defeat to Lautaro Martínez, El Tri is approaching 2020 guided by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” proverb with regards to its home jersey.
Of course, we’re halfway through 2020 and Mexico’s national plans for the year — including the Nations League Finals, Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship and Kirin Challenge Cup — have all been pushed back to 2021.
When your internal calendar is largely synced with the footballing one, it’s difficult to wrap your head around the fact that we’re now approaching mid-June. In the fantasy world before COVID-19, we’d see Euro 2020 begin on Friday; in the actual COVID-19 world, we’ll see the Premier League return Wednesday with a pair of fixtures that were originally scheduled for March 11.
Hopefully this isn’t earth-shattering news for you, but Euro 2020 has been delayed by a year due to the pandemic. But the show — from a merchandising standpoint — must go on. Adidas can’t hide all this gear inside a bushel basket for the next 12 months.
As the official supplier for the European Championship, the German sportswear giant has been slowly unveiling its campaign over the last year. We got our first major idea of the company’s theme back in November with the unveiling of the “UNIFORIA” ball.
WARNING: Classic Football Shirts is really fun to browse but you will go broke.
Before Puma decided that when it came to Per Mertesacker’s body, nothing should be left to the imagination, jerseys were essentially built for quarantine. Forsaking the modern urban fit for that of a parachute, these were shirts that you could grow into for years and years and years — perfect for the figure you’ve achieved over the last two months.
It’s kind of strange to think that Manuel Neuer will be turning 34 at the end of March. The Bayern Munich and Germany No. 1 is synonymous with what’s hip and youthful due to his revolutionary work in the goalkeeper role, but he’s now something of a godfather to players who have carried on his tradition, like Alisson, Marc-André ter Stegen and Ederson.
As Mario Puzo wrote, the world is so hard that a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that’s why we have godfathers — and no godfather has protected his people better than Don Neuer.
Inspired by the legendary adidas “Japan Blue” Predator Mania cleats that won the 2002 World Cup, the Three Stripes have released a limited edition Predator Mania “Tormentor” boot that looks better than anything out there. They’ve got it all: the red tongue, the wavy stripes and swerved rubber fins, the glorious color way, the fully leather upper. Perfection.
The adidas Predator Manias were by far the greatest cleats the 2000s had ever seen. These cleats were years ahead of their time. This was back when the new millennium was still trying to find its way, there was this whole Internet thing, nobody knew what it really was, we were all a bunch of tadpoles aimlessly wandering around in our own way.
Not adidas. Not these cleats. They just … they slapped different. As a cool 12-year-old, I was a die-hard Nike kid but damn did I trade in my Tiempos for Predator Manias real fast.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, FC Bayern Munich celebrates its 120th anniversary. It was on that date back in 1900 that photographer Franz John and 11 other men decided to found the club before playing their first competitive match that spring, defeating FC Nordstern 15-0.
That domestic dominance has continued to this day with a record 29 Bundesliga titles and 19 DFB-Pokal victories to go along with five triumphs in the Champions League.
Over the course of the last three years, MLS fans have grown familiar with the partnership between adidas and Parley for the Oceans through the annual Earth Day weekend release of eco-friendly jerseys made from yarns that are comprised of plastic waste collected from beaches and coastal areas.
It is the one item a game can’t be played without: a ball. Unless you're named Michy Batshuayi that is. Jokes aside the latest installment of Champions League knockout football is upon us and with that comes the new Champions League ball.
Adidas is calling it the Istanbul20, and this ball trumps all past designs.