New year, new national kit

Both Adidas and Nike have launched new national team kits for a bunch of teams they sponsor, but most prominently for the teams that’ll be seeing some action in Austria and Switzerland next year.
Among some of the surprises, the Netherlands and Turkey will now have turquoise in their away strips, which I rate highly. Adidas on the other hand haven’t really pushed the creative barrier much and their new jerseys look very measured and traditional… which really means they look uninspiring and like they've been 'done before'.
What ever the kit, colour or fit, Euro 2008 promises to be another great tournament for all teams involved and I sure as hell can't wait.

In the meantime though, we'll just have to relive the greatest moments of Euro 2004:

How 'The Beast' stole 3 points

Julio Baptista, 'The Beast' scored the only goal of 'el clasico' in the 36th minute, finishing off a beautiful one-touch move on the edge of the box with Van Nistelrooy; a well-taken half-volley into the top-right corner!
Bernd Schuster's side were worthy winners and now have 41 points from their 17 games, compared to Barca's 34.

Spotlight: Nike Mercurial SL

Lost in obscurity over the last couple of weeks, the Nike Mercurials haven't really been in the public eye lately; up until a few days ago that is, when they re-surfaced on the feet of who else but Cristiano Ronaldo, for the new Untouchables campaign. Even though they've officially been released, the boots still haven't been worn 'publicly'. PTP inside sources say that something big awaits but it's all very hush hush and perhaps the heads over at Nike have something planned for the festive period or the new year. Either way, I think we'll be in for a treat very soon.

Asafa Powell, the fastest man in the world, tests Nike Mercurial SL, the fastest boots in the world... this is the result.

The silly season is upon us

What a way to kick off the Festive Season than with 4 matches in 11 days!? And to headline the act, a London rivalry of the highest caliber; Arsenal v Tottenham at the Emirates. Both teams played mid week in their respective FA Cup ties and both impressed in very different ways. Arsenal fielded an even younger squad, if that’s even possible, and dominated large parts of the match against Blackburn, while over in Manchester, it was business as usual for Ramos and the Spurs as they fielded an almost full strength squad to fight off City.

Both teams have really been playing football lately and under new coach and revelation Juande Ramos, the Spurs have lost only 1 of their last 11 matches. So even though the ods are against them, (only beaten Arsenal once in since Wenger took the reigns in 1996) they probably won’t get a better chance than tonight to get some revenge for all their humiliating losses to the Gunners over the years.
My only concern is that they’re headed to the Emirates and well we all know what happens when teams go there...

I predict:
Arsenal 3 – 2 Tottenham

Champions League - Matchday 6 Review

Robin van Persie made his long awaited comeback from injury today in preparation for the weekends match against Chelsea at the Emirates. And things looked positive for the experimental Gunners side that had qualified weeks ago. RvP was the center of all things creative in the first half and was involved in starting both moves which lead to Arsenals goals. Another positive is that Cesc Fabregas may be joining up with the squad for the weekend clash also.


As I expected, Liverpool stepped up to the plate and knocked Marseille for 6! Delivering some killer blows was the fit again Harry Kewell who had a great game... Funny that, his contract expires at the end of this season, so he may well have just earned himself a new one! Usual suspects, Gerrard, Torres and Kuyt were no the score sheet and so was the on again, off again Ryan Babel.


No it's not 'German Idol' although Schalke overcame the resilient Norwegians to book their place in the next round of the UCL. The Germans, much like the Third Reich, played a very dominant and structured match and made Rosenborg pay for even the smallest defensive slip ups.


Robinho was back to his dazzling best and involved in almost everything fruitful for Madrid. Too bad he still sucks his thumb after scoring! Either he's not getting any 'thumb' action from the missus at home or he's obsessed with the taste of his himself... although thats a rare one cause only two people world wide are capable of that: 1. That guy who had his ribs removed... um... i think it was the artist formally known as Prince! and 2. Marilyn Manson cause he's the other wierdo who did the same thing!


After 9 attempts at it, Olympiacos finally broke the Rivaldo monkey on their back and made it through to the next phase. Knowing their luck though, they'll probably pull Barcelona in the next round and that's where their run will end.


I hate seeing home teams lose in front of capacity crowds and especially when they come so close to winning the match. If the Gers managed to score 2 of their early chances, they may have progressed to the next round. Full credit to Lyon though. They started this campaign very slow and are now steaming ahead! Look out whoever gets them next.


True to form, Barca got off to a slow start and conceded a well struck free kick before awakening. Samuel E'to made an immediate impact and seems to be on the right track back to full recovery. Conveniently, Henry is now injured, so E'to can hog the lime light... but what's going to happen when Henry is back in contention!? Interesting times await Barca.

New Adidas boots...no Kaka

Kaka, Fifa world player of the year, unveiled the new adidas adiPURE football boots in Yokohama only days ago. He opened a black marble shoe box made especially for him and unveiled his new handcrafted adiPURE football boots. At the event, Kaká wrote his personal advice for all passionate football players on the lid of the marble shoe box.

Only when you have a true feel for the ball can you truly make it do what you want.

At the heart of this new football boot made of fine, shiny K-leather is incredible elegance. The name “adiPURE” symbolizes the main features of the handcrafted football boot: pureness, simplicity, naturalness and elegance. However, the key benefit of this boot is its fantastic fit. The high-quality materials, soft leather and pre-moulded sockliner provide outstanding comfort as well as an excellent, natural feel for the ball. Their striking resemblance to the Adidas Copa Mundials and Adidas World Cups, together with their fine craftsmanship and materials also mean that this boot will be here for the long term. The adiPURE football boots in black/white and white/black, together with matching apparel items, will be available early next year.

Separated at birth!

While I was browsing shots of Chelsea's UCL training sessions today I discovered that I'd seen Avram Grant years ago (before I actually knew he existed, which to tell you the truth, was not until he got the lead role at Chelsea only a few months ago). Anyway, convinced that I'd seen his ugly head several times while growing up, it soon occurred to me that he was part of the awkwardly morbid and gothic 60's tv show The Addams Family... now all I have to find are people that look like Gomez, the Thing, Lurch, and Cousin Itt and we'll be able to have a reunion!

Champions League - Matchday 6 Predictions

A spot in the final 16 still awaits 8 teams, so here are my predictions for the matches to be played this matchday.

Tuesday matches
Marseille 2 v 3 Liverpool
Porto 2 v 2 Beşiktaş
Chelsea 1 v 0 Valencia
Schalke 04 3 v 1 Rosenborg
Olympiacos 3 v 2 Werder Bremen
Real Madrid 2 v 1 Lazio

Wednesday matches
Rangers 1 v 2 Lyon
Barcelona 2 v 0 Stuttgart
Roma 0 v 2 Man. United
Sporting Lisbon 3 v 0 Dynamo Kyiv
PSV 2 v 1 Internazionale
Fenerbahçe 3 v 1 CSKA Moskva
Arsenal 3 v 1 Steaua
Slavia 1 v 0 Sevilla

Do-or-dies
Marseille outclassed the Reds last time these teams met at Anfield. Although a lot has changed since that encounter and Liverpool have started to find their feet (minus the weekend loss to Reading). So Marseille will put up a great fight, but I just don't think they have the experience that Liverpool do when a game hangs in the balance... Stevie Gerrard and co. always seem to lift for these occasions.
It'll be a quality match to watch!

Its a battle for second spot in Group B. Chelsea has top spot wrapped up, but Schalke and Rosenborg will slug it out to see who secures second. The Germans have a good record at home and are tough to break down so I think they'll pinch this from the Norwegians grasp.

Group C is still wide open and any of the four teams can still qualify. Match of note here is Olympiacos v Werder. The Greeks need anything but a loss to progress and break their 9 year UCL hoodoo of not being able to make it to the second phase of the tournament. They've been playing well and are coming off a win on the weekend. Werder will be keen to spoil the party, but I just don't see it happening tonight. Madrid and Olympiacos to go through from this group.

Oz going Orange again

Pim Verbeek, a subordinate to great-man Hiddink in South Korea's 2002 World Cup campaign has been appointed as head coach of the Socceroos; And we won't have to wait long to see if his tactics and ideas are worthy of comparison. Come February 6th, Australia will face Qatar in Melbourne with a depletion of its European based stars.

The reality is that Verbeek must work in a more difficult situation than even Hiddink faced. Verbeek now has virtually no time, perhaps one friendly to prepare, and must use predominantly locals to get the job done in the critical first two games.

I think it's great that Verbeek was appointed because, given the time frame, he gets to work with the legacy that Hiddink initiated, the legacy that Rob Baan is desperately trying to implement throughout Australia and the legacy that Graham Arnold almost destroyed in the horror show that was the 2007 Asian Cup! All I know at the moment is that come Feb 6th, all eyes (or daggers) will be on Verbeek and his results... regardless of who can make the flight from Europe to Australia.

Riddle me this:
The Dutch have a rich culture and history and are generally a very intelligent race... so why do they have such ludicrous first names!?
Here are a couple off the top of my head: Pim, Guss, Edwin, Urby, Dirk, Ruud, Arjen, Henk etc, etc... and I won't even get into surnames.

Nike Mercurial SL - They've arrived!

Finally, the world’s fastest boots have been unleashed into the world! They’ve been in the works since 2004 and are made up of a number of high tech components by the best craftsmen or their respective materials. I can’t wait to see them in action against their unsuspecting Premier League opponents and tonight Manchester United take on FC Fulham at Old Trafford. Now that the boots have been released officially, maybe we’ll see Cristiano Ronaldo wearing them. One thing is for sure though, if he does, you’ll read about it here first!

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