My inbox has been absolutely slammed lately with press releases and jargon and all of which point to the fugly and possibly camp new Nike Mercurial Vapor II colourways that have been:

“…designed to the exact specification of Cristiano Ronaldo”

REALLY!? All the money in the world and Nike’s brilliant (now questionable) designers at his fingertips and this is what Cristiano Ronaldo’s “exact specifications” were!?
Please just come out with it already!

A year round tan I can deal with; metrosexuality that makes even David Beckham look like a neanderthal, hey I respect that; LEOPARD PRINT FOOTBALL BOOTS!!!… *Slaps forehead* OK now he’s just taking the piss!

Surely this is a joke right and another pair of boots are going to come shooting out of these images… please let that be the case! If not, these could possibly be theeeeeeeeeee worst boots Nike has ever put it’s slick swoosh on. This is a massive Nike = FAIL moment.

As for CRon… dude, pack your glow sticks, tighty whiteys and leopard print boots and head for the Jersey Shore, there’s no doubt Mike ‘The Situation’ and his crew will be able to accommodate you there; or simply stay in Madrid, I only recently found out it was considered Europe’s gay capital… which actually explains a lot more than just these boots.

On a side note, why is Ronaldo going on Safari in October anyway? Wasn’t everyone else in Africa in June?… I know I was!

It was all part of Nike’s Write History campaign, but I can’t help but feel partly responsible for the Ultra-violet purple and orange colourway of the new Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II. You see, some time ago, I put together the PTP edition of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV’s in a plum colourway and ever since that post, I’ve been inundated with requests of when they’re being released and where they’ll be available… well Nike were listening in and without saying too much more, I believe that they heard your requests and this is partially the result.

A new, unique adaptive traction system designed for explosive acceleration. The Mercurial Vapor Superfly II also includes a reengineered upper for enhanced fit and ball control for fast feet while Nike say the vibrant ultra-violet color boosts visibility on the pitch.” Source Footy-boots.com

I love ‘em and I can’t wait to get my hands on’em.

*UPDATE* Hi-res images of the Nike Mercurial Superfly II launch have now been uploaded

Older Nike Mercurial news:
CR (No 9) At The Double – Olympique Marseille 1 v 3 Real Madrid
Lace Up, Save Lives – Designed to fight AIDS in Africa
Out Of Nowhere! Real Madrid 2 v 3 AC MIlan
Ronaldo In Nike Superfly – Black / Voltage Yellow
Freedom ‘Flys – Clint Dempsey – And his Nike Mercurial Supeflys
Rumour Mill – New Mercurial Superfly Colourway!

The launch of these bad boys may still only be 3 days away, but that didn’t stop me spotting them a mile away. Actually, to be Totally honest, it was Torres’ silky gold locks that got me all hot and bothered at first (reminded me of an old flame!)… more than anything though, I was surprised that he was back and training with Liverpool; perhaps to star in tonights match against the Viola?
Never the less, as you can see in the pictures, he’s wearing the new Total 90 Laser III’s and I’m not so sure I’m a fan of this particular colorway. Heck I thought they’d only recently revealed the T90 II’s! Anyway, on this new version, I’m not so sure of that gigantic T90 slapped on the heel, however one thing I am sure of is that with the likes of Torres and Rooney wearing these puppies, goals will be plentiful and popularity should skyrocket. Unfortunately, I won’t be jumping on the band wagon… although if anyone’s interested in persuading me otherwise, feel free to send a pair my way… you know strictly for testing purposes only and that kind’a thing.

What are your thoughts on these green beasts?

If you’re like me and thought Didier Drogba was wearing (RED) laces in honour of Arsenal in last night’s match… then you’d better think again fool!

It’s time to stop wishing for a medical answer to Africa’s medical crisis. Because one already exists. And while it’s only part of a larger solution, it can help millions already dying from AIDS to live dramatically longer and fuller lives.

(NIKE)RED and players like Didier Drogba are helping change lives in Africa through football. And you can join them. Just put (NIKE)RED laces in your favourite boots, or shoes. Then spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

There’s only one way to discuss a topic like this… so for once, I’ll leave it to the professionals. Eddie Murphy Delirious:

AIDS is scary ‘cos it kills motherfuckers, AIDS!
That ain’t like the good ol’ days when venereal disease was simple.
In the good old days, you got gonorhea, your dick hurt,
you go get a shot, cleared right up.
Then they came out with herpes… you keep that shit forever like luggage.
And now they got AIDS… that just kills motherfuckers!
I say what’s next, I guess you just put your dick in it and explodes !

NIKE & (RED) launch party pics and players wearing (RED) laces during the Arsenal v Chelsea match:

North London’s favourite midget, Jermain Defoe, is the toast of the town today after taking a chance on a silver pair of Adidas F50i Tunit’s and scoring 5 goals. Press Association writes:

I had a funny feeling before the game,” Defoe said. “Adidas gave me a pair of green boots and I tried them on before the game, but Clive Allen said I couldn’t wear them, so I changed them.

“They were pinkish silver ones in the end, and I go and score five.”

I jumped the gun a little overnight and wrote my best bit on Jermain Defoe’s performance against Wigan here… but today is a new day and I’m always full of shit, so give me a moment and I’ll be back with more. While you wait please ask yourself…
What do you get from a glut of TV?
A pain in the neck and an IQ of three
Why don’t you try simply reading a book?
Or could you just not bear to look?
You’ll get no commercials
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah…

Other players wearing the new F50i colourways over the last week:

What’s an Adidas football boot if it can’t be fully customised for the biggest name in world football and Adidas’ biggest asset right? Well that’s what the geniuses over at the three stripes must have been thinking, so naturally they created this custom colourway and unleashed them through the PR machine that is David Becks when LA Galaxy took on Chivas USA. I haven’t had much time recently to comment on the Predator X range, however I do think the boot itself looks shit hot and gets another two thumbs up in terms of aesthetic design. I’m not entirely convinced by this particular colourway (give me the black pair any day of the week), but it seems to work so well for ‘Golden Balls’ as most things do… even without his infamous mutton chops!

What do you think of the boot / colourway / mutton chops?

The Power of X:

Older Adidas news:
Beckham Grows Mutton – Wears silver Adidas Predator Absolado’s
Scoring Four Fun! Racing Santander 1 v 4 Barcelona
Adebayors Weapons Of Choice- Adidas F50i Tunit – White
Take It Away Barca! Barcelona 2 v 0 Manchester United

Mutton chops, may just be the best thing to happen to the side of the head since ears and you know that if Becks is sporting them sooner or later, gay and straight men the world over will be running around with “designer” forests growing off their faces… just wait till you see see my lame attempt!
What you probably won’t see them [straight men] wearing though are these hideous Silver / Gold Predator Absolado TRX FG DB J thingamabobs that Becks decided to wear against Belarus last night. He may have assisted in a goal and had a half-descent hit out against a lower class opponent, but his choice of boots were questionable… if it wasn’t for his facial hair, I’d be summoning my pack of robot attack dogs to LA with strict orders to find the boots and for the good of all man kind (queers included) chew them to bits!

Match highlights:
9 out of 10 aint all that bad heading to the World Cup… I wonder how they’ll fair against real opposition though.

Older David Beckham news:
Beck In The Good Books – LA Galaxy 1 v 2 Barcelona
Yep, They Were The Actual Kits… England 4 v 0 Slovakia
Hey Galaxy, screw you! Beckham at Milan till end of season
International Friendly – Spain 2 v 0 England

These bad boys may have a silly name, a mediocre design and a synthetic leather that mimics kangaroo leather, but if they can assist in 4 goals and even score a screamer on debut, then surely Nike have done something right again! Dammit, those guys are never wrong!… psst. Puma and Anelka take note, you might learn a thing or two!

Watch Fabergas and co. destroy Blackburn every time they venture forward, it’s bloody impressive…
Match highlights:

Older Nike news:
Ronaldo In Nike Superfly – Black / Voltage Yellow
Freedom ‘Flys – Clint Dempsey And his Nike Mercurial Supeflys
Confed Cup – Spain Through To Semis – Spain 1 v 0 Iraq
Rumour Mill – New Mercurial Superfly Colourway!
Weekend watch – Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly

If you’ve ever wanted to look like Spiderman whilst playing football but didn’t quite have the right boots for the occasion, don’t fret any longer cause your time has come and all your prayers have been answered! Ok, the colours are a little off Spidey’s all blue and red ensemble so you will have to settle for a mess of yellow and red webbing but the pattern is unique and um… ah who am I kidding! I think I can confidently speak for everyone when I say Puma’s designers seriously need to stop hitting the crack-pipe before designing boots. When their competitors chose simplicity, Puma went the full hog with these complicated monstrosities. And as if that wasn’t enough, they got Nicolas Anelka to debut them over the weekend in what was an eventual loss to Wigan! In my eyes, these boots are already destined for failure… or the dollar dazzler bins at Sportsmart.

Quick question:
When will Puma ever make another descent football boot? Their descent boot count still only stands at 1, that being the all time classic Puma King.

Older Puma news:
Take It Away Barca! Barcelona 2 v 0 Manchester United
Screw You, Nicolas Anelka/a>
Commercial: Puma Kidnapping Anelka

What better way to promote a new pair of boots than by wreaking havoc against your old team and literally tearing them apart! Getting stuck into Fabergas’ ankles, taking a chunk out of Van Persies face and then basking in glory in front of the Arsenal fans when scoring have all been major talking points since the weekend. What caught my eye however, was the new colourway for Adidas’ highly successful Tunit range. Before the F50i was released, I wasn’t much of a fan of these puppies, however ever since their relaunch and minimalistic redesign, I’ve been hooked and these white unicorns are definitely a fav. So can’t wait to see the next new colourway!

Older Adidas news:
Take It Away Barca! Barcelona 2 v 0 Manchester United
Spotlight: Lionel Messi wearing – Adidas F50i Tunit
Spotlight: Xavi wearing – Adidas Predator Absolado
New Adidas Boots, Pure Kaka!

So my prediction here was correct… and in case you’re wondering what I’m on about, yes Cristiano Ronaldo was revealed wearing the Black / Voltage Yellow Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s. Ha!

In more good news, apparently, a Nike executive recently confirmed that the company’s wish is to have all of their sponsored professionals playing in black based boots for the new season (claims made here)… which is great if you ask me, I think this colour way is brilliant! plus, I’ve been raving on for years about how boots have gone tooooooo multicoloured and I’ve longed for a time when they will be traditional once again. Now that this is the case, I think I will sleep easier tonight… as will C-Ron, on top of a big pile of money with many beautiful ladies… ah, it’s good to be the king!

Older Nike Mrecurial Superfly news:
Freedom ‘Flys – Clint Dempsey And His Nike Mercurial Supeflys
Rumour Mill: New Mercurial Superfly Colourway!
Weekend watch: Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly
Champions League – Second Leg – First Knockout Round Predictions – Wednesday
Spotlight: Ronaldo wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Spotlight: Drogba wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Coming soon: Nike Mercurial Superfly

As I sit here watching the final of the Confederations Cup unfold like an action packed episode of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, the U.S MNT sit 2-0 up against the might of Brazil… so once again, i am gob-smacked! Plus, given my earlier prediction of the match, don’t I feel like an ass at the moment!?
10min in and that man again, Clint ‘The Giant Killer’ Dempsey, wearing his all white Nike Superfly’s bagged the nights opening goal and his third of the tournament… I wonder if the US can keep this up!?
Follow my random comments of the match on Twitter.

UPDATE
Goal Highlight: Clint Dempsey’s goal

Older Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly news:
Rumour Mill: New Mercurial Superfly Colourway!
Weekend watch: Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly
Champions League – Second Leg – First Knockout Round Predictions – Wednesday
Spotlight: Ronaldo wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Spotlight: Drogba wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Coming soon: Nike Mercurial Superfly

Judging by the highlights below, it seemed as though Spain were the only team on the attack, whilst their opposition hid in caves continuously tried to catch them on the counter. With laser-like precision (or not), España hit their opposition with wave after wave of attack, almost like they were dropping bombs in the Middle East, so it doesn’t really surprise me that Iraq were on the receiving end again… will that country ever get a break!?

In totally unrelated news, I couldn’t help but comment on Fernando Torres in his new Orange Nike Total 90 Laser II’s. As a boot, they’re not really my cuppa tea, but they work for him and again tonight he was at his menacing best, whilst also in top form only days ago against New Zealand. At this pace, he’ll be raring to for season ’09-10 and if he stays fit and keeps this up, he’ll be unstoppable. Ole!

Match highlights:

Older Spain news:
Confed Cup – Spain Toy With NZ – New Zealand 0 v 5 Spain
International Friendly – Spain 2 v 0 England
Spain Crowned Champions of Europe!

Some real impressive rumours are being thrown around at the moment. Things like: Olive wreaths will be presented to the winners as opposed to medals, women playing harps will be seated in cages above areas of the grandstand and possibly my favourite of the bunch, tigers and Gladiators will be thrown onto the field if the match starts to get too defensive… you know, just to spice things up a little!
So anyway, I’ve decided to catch one of the rumours and run with it just to see how far I’ll get with it before I’m tackled to the ground and beaten to a pulp.
Turns out that C-Ron is being lined up to wear a newly released color way of the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s… which on second thought kind’a makes sense.
Last year in the final, both he and Drogba wore the carbon Vapors… a masterstroke by the brains at Nike, seeing as both players scored.
This year, United will be donning their all white strip which opens the suggestion that C-Rons boots will also be white. I know the orange would stand out more… but the white ones haven’t been seen before and I’d be bloody surprised if Nike didn’t use this opportunity to ram another product down our throats.
Well with less than six hours to go before the match kicks off, there isn’t long before we find out.

Older Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly news:
Weekend watch: Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly
Champions League – Second Leg – First Knockout Round Predictions – Wednesday
Spotlight: Ronaldo wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Spotlight: Drogba wearing Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly’s
Coming soon: Nike Mercurial Superfly

With all the hype surrounding the UCL final, I almost let the ball slip on posting about the new F50i Tunit’s that Lionel Messi will be kitted in for tonight’s match. FINALLY, Adidas have made a boot that will compete with the slickness and sophistication of the Nike Mercurial Vapors and Superflys!
At heart I’m a minimalist, so looking at this design is like looking at Adidas in a new light, as though they tossed their rich history of plunking three solid lines all over our their products out the window and opted to be a bit more subtle about their approach. And the colour isn’t all that bad either. It’s almost an electric blue, which works well to push their marketing tag line “Every team needs the spark”. I’m surprisingly impressed and as long as they can keep them off the feet of that Togolese elephant Emanuel Adebayor, they’ll be on a winner.
Whether Messi is “The Spark” that Barca need tonight is a different issue saved for a later post… whatever the case though, tonight’s going to be electrifying match! (lame pun intended).

Older Lionel Messi news:
Can You Feel The Buzz!?
Munchen Get Shpoonkten! Ax Ya! Barcelona 4 v 0 Bayern
Argentina On Fire! – Argentina 4 v 0 Venezuela
All aboard! Barcelona 5 v 2 Lyon