Tag Archives: kits

ten words or less #75

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brazil finally get a stern test ahead of the big dance in 2014. and so far, they’ve risen to the occasion.

Feeling deprived of football during the summer months? You shouldn’t be. I’ve been drowning in it lately.

If the regular European summer transfer speculation, coaching moves and kit releases aren’t enough to keep you entertained, there’s been plenty of actual soccer being played to watch. Drama has been in ample supply in World Cup qualifying. MLS has been entertaining as hell, as has the US Open Cup. And now that FIFA’s redheaded stepchild of a tournament, the Confederations Cup in Brazil, has kicked off, there’s even more footy to feast upon.

Not sure where to start? Below are some of the best links I’ve unearthed over the last week.

America’s oldest capped international seems like a dude. – espnfc.com

Yet another excellent NYCFC branding proposal. – hyperakt.com

Live Breath Footballs latest “Rebels” line is pretty sick. – livebreathfootball.com

Spooky explains why this summer is going to suck. – dearmrlevy.co.uk

Oh, and the Parisians are after AVB. Greeaaaaaaat. – guardian.co.uk

This is freaking awesome. –  google.com/culturalinstitute

Don’t sign if you want Liverpool to look like clowns. – change.org

Shame they don’t have the World Cup after next year. – kckrs.com

‘What part of Jamaica?’ ‘Right near da beach. Boy-eeee!’ – football-shirts.co.uk

True supporters let passion flow even in times of sorrow. – dirtytackle.net

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i want: umbro universitario shirt

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Umbro 88th Aniversary Universitario Shirt

So what if Nike ditched them and made off with most of their most-prized assets; that hasn’t stopped Umbro from pumping out a further flurry of drool-inducing kits. The recent masters of retro, the once-giant English manufacturer have once again dropped an absolute masterpiece in historically influenced design. And this time, the effort was made to commemorate the 88th anniversary of Peruvian power Universitario. A silly anniversary to celebrate? Sure. But who cares when they made a shirt this awesome for it.

So why exactly do I dig it so much? Maybe it’s the simplicity of their crest (which has been getting lots of love lately). It could also the shirt’s Henley button placket, a design characteristic that’s become much more prominent in my wardrobe as of late. But mostly, I think I’m drawn to it because of its use of off-white as the primary color… which gives it just the perfect amount of vintage flair to make it actually look old.

Whatever the case: I want it. So someone give it to me. And that all starts with someone procuring me with a link to do so!

NOT YET AVAILBALE TO WANT  |  umbro.com

ten words or less #74

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we check back in with dribble 4 toledo, who now find themselves in paulding, ohio.

we check back in with dribble 4 toledo, who now find themselves in sherwood, ohio.

It seems like everyone is hitting the road these days. Premier League clubs are playing one another in Yankee Stadium. Or how about Neyamar, who’s packing his bags and leaving Brazil for greener (potentially) pastures in Barcelona. Better yet, remember the guys I wrote about back in early February? You know, the band of four dudes from my hometown who were making an epic trip across the state with only a soccer ball at their feet and the goal of raising money and awareness for the poor of Toledo in their minds?

Well at the close of the ninth day of Dribble4Toledo‘s 250 mile route, I’m happy to report the guys already find themselves well over halfway through their journey from Monroe to Toledo. Along the way, they’ve had some interesting detours along the route, so be sure to check out their Facebook page to chart their progress and see what they’re getting themselves into. And congrats and safe travels again to the boys as they continue their path across Ohio!

And to keep the trend going, I’ll also be hitting the road this week… albeit in significantly more lazy fashion, as I’ll be in a car and not hoofing it like the boys from D4T. First, I’ll be heading North to watch the US Men as they take on a Spurs-rich Belgium side in Cleveland. Then at the weekend, I’ll be sliding over to Chicago’s Toyota Park to watch the Fire battle DC United and kick off the next big project here at WSOTP. All told, it will be over a 1000 miles worth of driving just so I can fill these pages with content and keep your prying eyes coming back for more. Don’t worry, you can thank me later.

In the mean time, enjoy these excellent links from around the interwebs.

NYCFC’s logo won’t look like this; and that’s a shame. – mwillis.com

A brilliant breakdown of the reasons behind Falcao to Monaco. – reddit.com/u/nikcub

But will Monaco even be allowed to play in France? – guardian.co.uk

Neymar will either prove he belongs or crash and burn. – espnfc.com

The end of a beautiful friendship: Cosmos switch to Nike. – footballshirtculture.com

Trying to get into the Champions League Final… for free.
- supportersnotcustomers.com

Americanisms vs Britishisms. Funny thing: there is no right answer. – bbc.co.uk

Cesc on a mission to play for everyone I hate. – foxsports.com

This one is for mi amiga colombiana… crazy Colombian hair! – thebeautifulgear.com

Everton redesign their kit: fans hate it. Club’s response: surprising. – evertonfc.com

ten words or less #71

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Champions League Tifo at Borussia Dortmund

believe it or not, the reason dortmund fans put up this awesome tifo was to use the dude’s giant binoculars to see when my last TWOL post was.

It’s been weeks since I put out my last Ten Words or Less, which I suppose is a good thing for you readers considering that means I’ve been dropping original content for you instead of shoveling you content from other sources. But that doesn’t change the fact that I feel like I’m neglecting the long-running links post. Or the fact that some of the links I had originally collected for this have since become irrelevant.

So now that you’re done buying a shirt from the brand new WSOTP Shop, I figured I’d get things back to normal with a freshly updated edition. And if you’re looking for original content, I’ll probably have something else for you before the weekend. In the mean time, enjoy some of my favorite links from around the world of football from the last week or so.

Terrible April Fools joke, but a great idea for real. – qatarliving

A refreshing dose of clarity from Spurs’ wordsmith, Spooky. – dearmrlevy.co.uk

Sexiest Puma shirt they’ve put out in quite a while. – football-shirts.co.uk

The first supporters to ever fly to an away match. – inbedwithmaradona.com

Abou Diaby: the man-made of glass. – talksport.co.uk

Chelsea’s creepy blue man group kit launch. – youtube.com

A very well executed dead horse beating. – regista-blog.com

Those poor globe-trotting scouts have it awful. – guardian.co.uk

One designer’s line inspired by retro soccer design. – hypebeast.com

So, bicycle soccer actually exists. – kckrs.com

ten words or less #70

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USA vs Costa Rica World Cup Qualifier

if this excellent promotional poster doesn’t get you amped up for tonight’s USMNT match… i don’t know what will.

It’s been a busy week here at WSOTP. This is my fourth post in less than a week, which has to be a blog record. Hopefully everyone’s been eating it up.

But as you might expect, the events that have dominated my attention over the last few days have to be crucial the upcoming pair of US men’s national team World Cup qualifiers. In the lead up for that, I’ve been busy promoting watch parties in Dayton, OH, as well as helping others to find bars/parties to watch those matches all over the country by promoting the WSOTP Soccer Pub Atlas (And be sure to peep the sidebar to check it out yourself). And of course, I’ve been obsessing over the match-ups themselves.

Anyway, if you’re anything like me, and you are impatiently waiting for tonight’s kickoff, here are some of my favorite links from around the interwebz over the last week to help keep you entertained until then.

The Free Beer Movement suddenly becomes a Middlesborough fan. – dirtytackle.net

I’m not sure how, but AVB’s brilliance is still underestimated. – thescore.com

I would get married again just to have this cake. – facebook.com

Will anyone call this third party ownership if it happens? – mirror.co.uk

Consider yourself a dedicated fan no longer. This is dedication. – guardian.co.uk

This would be so nostalgic. – phillysoccerpage.net

I might need to update my isolated pitches list. – inbedwithmaradona.com

Ole Gunnar Solskjær is so meta. - kckrs.com

Club president quits post to take the pitch… and score. - eluniverso.com
Warning: Spanish.

If you’ve got $20 to burn, why not learn to design kits. – skillshare.com

in review: MLS jersey week

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Ahhhhh. Take a second and breathe in that cool refreshing spring air. Mmmm… it smells like First Kick, doesn’t it?

MLS Jersey Week 2013

hopefully this is the start of a new yearly tradition in major league soccer.

Well if it doesn’t, it certainly should. In fact, I’d be a little surprised if you weren’t subliminally thinking about MLS right now, as the league’s marketing has been awfully hard to ignore this winter/spring. With an advertising campaign that’s been plastered all over the place — TV, print and all the various electronic outlets — the league is doing its best to not let you forget that the 2013 season is about to kick off.

My favorite promotional gimmick though has to be Jersey Week. Though the name sounds worryingly like ill-advised partnership with some Guidos from the shore, it’s actually a week-long unveiling of all the 12 new kits that will be adorned by MLS clubs this season. Though as regular readers know, I’m a sucker for gear, so it probably shouldn’t be that surprising that this would pique my interests.

Adidas and the clubs worked closely on what they wanted out of their kits this year, meaning that many fan’s calls for something different to spice up the MLS jersey scene might just be met. Said Maribeth Towers, MLS senior VP of consumer products in a league statement, “Jersey Week will celebrate the soccer jersey. Every stitch, every minor detail, every shade is designed in collaboration between the club and our partner at adidas.”

But as you might expect, some were smart-looking, “take my money already” designs, while others were… umm, questionable. Let’s take a look at each, and let me pass judgement over them like I could do better.

Continue reading →

ten words or less #68

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Cristiano Ronaldo's headed goal against Manchester United

ronaldo was literally jumping through the roof over all of the football on tap during this stretch of the year.

Without a shadow of a doubt, mid-February has to be one of my favorite portions of the entire footballing calendar. The major European leagues are entering the home stretch of their seasons, with the races for final league places really heating up. The Champions League knockout stages have kicked off, presenting us with loads of truly world class football to admire. Add in a sprinkling of World Cup qualifiers here and there, and factor in that MLS First Kick is just around the corner, and you can start to understand why I’m so infatuated with a month normally hated by most American fans.

But with so much soccer to take in, my very A.D.D. brain often has a hard time digesting it all. Which means my efforts to pump out full-length postings becomes infinitely harder. I’ve probably started a dozen new drafts in the last week; my guess is only around a third of those will end up seeing the light of day.

So while I strain out the garbage and identify the gold in my writings, I present you with a sampling of my favorite links from the last week. Bon appétit.

All goal line technology implementations handled by just two officials.
- bigdsoccer.com

How “what could have been” in Manchester was derailed. – inbedwithmaradona.com

Jorge Campos-inspired posters remind me of the 90′s. – behance.com

For a few Nigerian prostitutes, it’s time to pay up. – dirtytackle.net

This Genoa centenary shit just exudes retro awesome. – footballshirtculture.com

Screw? Loose. Other shoe? Waiting to drop. – guardian.co.uk

I love soccer and dinosaurs. I don’t love them together. – kckrs.com

Just five minutes playing in Turkey… Drogba gonna Drog. – youtube.com

The official MLS #TrueColors posters are (mostly) pretty sweet. – facebook.com

See: Move to capitalize on Indian market exposure. – nikebiz.com

ten words or less #67

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Monday in the middle of February. Everybody’s favorite day of the week in everybody’s favorite month. And though we’ve had some unseasonably warm temperatures here in the Midwest, the depression caused by lack of exposure to sunlight during the winter has seemed more palpable this year compared to last.

Real Madrid vs Manchester United Champions League

ronaldo and rooney are just two of the high-profile names squaring off this week. if you can’t get excited about that, go see a doctor. (Image courtesy of the BBC).

But fear not, football fans: there’s cause for your spirits to perk up this week. Champions League resumes, with a zesty marquee match up between Real Madrid and Manchester United to cure your wintertime blues. Europa League also picks back up, and though I’m understandably looking forward to Spurs’ tie with Lyon, several other intriguing matches are also on tap. And with the Premier League and others reaching the final third of the season, a full slate of pivotal matches to the relegation races and European places are also in the cards.

Though if you’re still suffering from a case of the Mundays even with such great soccer around the corner, below are some excellent links from the last week to help brighten your mood.

Spectacular custom subbuteo art: Hazard’s Ball Boy Incident. - subbuteo-art.blogspot.com

Gazza continues his slide down his sad slippery slope. – mirror.co.uk

Not always the norm, but a worrying prospect for players. – theuniondues.net

Nike’s marketing department strikes gold once again. – thebeautifulgear.com

Oh look, he’s not dead. - soccerbyives.com

I’m fast becoming a fan of Dortmund’s İlkay Gündoğan. – youtube.com

Wait… is it really that easy to get press credentials? – kckrs.com

Murdered out. - footballshirtculture.com

It seems like Sergio Ramos is finally growing up. – guardian.co.uk

Guess which club’s manager is against financial constraints. – soccerlens.com

ten words or less #66

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Tottenham's Clint Dempsey celebrates scoring against Manchester United

deuce earned his stripes against united once again.

From this American fan’s perspective, the long holiday weekend that’s just passed us by was quite a good one.

Saturday’s fixtures were chock full of goals, averaging just over three and half per match. Then on  #EpicSunday2 (© Fox Soccer Channel) with an entertaining Gunners loss to Chelsea and a gutsy, come-from-behind draw for Spurs against Manchester United. And with a whole additional day to recover after spending Sunday at the pub watching it all go down — not to mention being able to squeeze in a few hours of skiing on Saturday night — I would be hard pressed to design a better weekend for myself.

So with some bigger things around the corner still needing some attention and final polish, this seems like the perfect time to share some of my favorite links from the last week.

The European Transfer Market: Visualized. - transferwindow.info

Greeting fans through your car sunroof isn’t the best idea. – theoriginalwinger.com

Il Fenomeno finally get’s his move to England. – guardian.co.uk

Well look who’s decided he wants to play this year. – lagalaxy.com

Footballer lowered into a well to save a little girl. – dailymail.co.uk

Ferguson has bigger issues than Zeki Fryers move to Spurs. – espnfc.com

Like Rapinoe, I wish more USWNT players would move abroad.
- prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com

Ronaldinho get’s his own, footie-themed Bollywood Space Jam. – indiaglitz.com

If MLB ran soccer teams… their kits could be AWESOME. – kckrs.com

Adu now looking for his 9th club in 9 years. – soccerbyives.com

ten words or less #60

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Zidane vs Materazzi Head But Statue

trying to write while working on other projects is about as painless as head-butting an iron statue of marco materazzi.

I’ve found over the last few weeks that it’s a hell of a lot easier to write content for the blog when I’m not juggling a number of other side projects at the same time. And, thanks to all of you awesome readers, the WSOTP Soccer Pub Atlas project has been quite the time-consuming affair. So as I’ve been busy trying to dig myself out from the mountain of pub submissions in my email inbox, you can probably predict that my writing has taken a bit of a backseat to the action. That said, there are now over 120 soccer pubs in the directory, so if you’re looking for a place to enjoy a pint while enjoying this weekend’s action, you’re probably set now.

Anyway, as I work on getting my writing back on track, here are some quality links to keep you entertained and oblivious of my lack of creativity.

The unintended consequences of the growth of American soccer.
- reddit.com/user/IWillKickU

A look into the crazy future of Brazilian player names. – snapkakapop.blogger.com

Nike x Celtic = A 125th Anniversary Kit done right. – thebeautifulgear.com

Placing no importance on the Europa League is very anti-Spurs. – catilagefreecaptain.com

A (slightly inaccurate) handy guide to sports arguments. – xkcd.com

Scientist predicts a bold future for soccer in the States. – espnfc.com

Rolfe for a USMNT call up, anyone? – mlssoccer.com

A rare class act, that Klose. – 101greatgoals.com

Is it that surprising that England are slow to evolve? – espnfc.com

Okay, so this is a good reason to have a kid. – dirtytackle.net