Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas is widely considered the best young midfielder in the world and one of the world’s top midfielders in general. This video should not only give Arsene Wenger nightmares, but serves to show how cool under pressure the young one is.
Honestly, would the Cleveland Cavaliers let LeBron James do this?
As we have said many times before, all of us at SoccerPro.com are fans first. We are lucky enough to know some people that have some connections in Europe – and these are just a few of the things that have been rumored to happen over the summer. […]
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As I walked along Matt Busby Way I saw it. Just there, creeping up over a few buildings. As I continued my walk with an ever increasing pace the football cathedral began to cut an even more ominous figure into the Manchester skyline.
Before I knew it, I was standing at the giant doors of the famed Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams and the home of Ferguson’s Red and White Army, Manchester United. I had finally made it, and my pilgrimage was nearly complete.
I then spend the next several hours perusing through the Manchester United mega-store, and after forcing myself away I made it up to the museum where I stood in awe at the trophies and exhibits. I even had my picture taken with the Premier League trophy won by United last year.
After another two hours the moment finally came, when my time was called and my tour of the Theatre of Dreams began. I was mesmerized the entire time, as I walked amongst the memories made in that stadium, sat in the same locker room where the likes of Roy Keane, Eric Cantona and George Best once sat and where Giggs, Scholes, Rooney and Ronaldo still do.
After the tour, I just kind of ambled around the streets of Manchester for a bit, trying to soak it in before what was to come.
I rose early the next morning and made my way back to the grounds in hopes of getting a ticket, which after a bit of haggling I was able to obtain. So there I was, watching and waiting for the whistle that would commence the war of Manchester United and Arsenal.
I sang and cheered the entire game as United scrapped for a victory thanks to a Ronaldo penalty and punishing Owen Hargreaves free kick, and after the whistle I stayed as long as I could stand it, still trying to soak it all in.
It was an adventure that I wont soon forget, and one I encourage everybody to experience.
Cheers!
We here at SoccerPro are soccer players first, fans second, and businesspeople third. In that order. The owners are not businessmen who decided to open a soccer store because it would be a good cash-flow opportunity, they are lifelong soccer players who opened a soccer store for love of the game and to provide the finest soccer equipment with first hand knowledge. Years of professional and amateur playing experience as well as an avid (and sometimes work-disrupting) fan culture gives us a unique advantage only we can pass on to the fellow player or fan looking for the right soccer gear.
We also recognize the importance of the soccer blogging community, the fan buzz and interest it creates, and the tension it can build. Not to mention the entertainment soccer bloggers can provide!
With our soccer background in mind, we set out to learn what the soccer playing community has to say about soccer blogs. Bloggers talk about other bloggers all the time, which is wonderful, but we here at SoccerProse were asking ourselves the deceptively critical question: To which soccer blogs do real soccer PLAYERS look for entertainment and insight into all aspects of our beloved game?
In order to hear that all important voice and tally the soccer player vote, we figured there’s no better way than to give away a pair of soccer shoes in exchange! And why not give away the players’ most popular shoe, the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV ?!
The players and fans have spoken and these are their favorite soccer blogs. Let the link juice flow.
We would like to thank all who entered the contest, congratulate the two Vapor winners and especially thank all the bloggers who responded to the contest so well!
Most Popular Soccer Blog:
Sniffing The Touchline
blowing it up the arse of the beautiful game…..
http://sniffingtt.blogspot.com/
Other Heavy Hitters:
(in no particular order)
Soccer By Ives
Spanning the world of soccer with an American voice and a Jersey flavor
http://www.soccerbyives.net/
The Offside Rules
Spilling red wine on soccer’s social fabric since 2007.
http://theoffsiderules.blogspot.com/
du Nord
for futbol fanaticos
http://www.dunord.blogspot.com/
This Is American Soccer
Adam Spangler’s baby
http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/
From College to the Pros
The US Soccer Ladder
http://collegetopros.blogspot.com/
The Offside
Looking at club football from leagues around the world.
http://www.theoffside.com/
Red Rants
Manchester United Blog
http://redrants.com/
Arseblog
an Arsenal blog (in no way connected with Arsenal football club… repeat to fade…)
http://arseblog.com
Pitch Invasion
exploring football culture around the world.
http://pitchinvasion.net/
The shameless plug award goes to:
SoccerProse
www.SoccerProse.com
A soccer blog for soccer players, fans, parents, and coaches.
Spineless and soulless thanks go to the corporate mama-teat:
www.SoccerPro.com
The Authority for Soccer Gear and Training!
(huge clearance sale going on right now, by the way)
Once again, congratulations to the winners!
Starting May 28, 2008 we are going to know a lot about the United States Men’s National team.
Why is this date important? It marks the first of three friendly matches against teams in the Top 11 of the FIFA World Rankings. The first one will be against England at the new Wembley Stadium. England is currently ranked 11th in the world. You can catch it on ESPN Classic and see how the Americans fare against an England side that missed out on Euro 2008. This could definitely not be England’s full A side but either way it will be a test for the U.S. Having this game in Europe is great as well because historically we have not done well on European soil. This gives a chance to gain more experience away from home which is vital in World Cup qualifying and World Cup play. Read More »
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Nothing is faster than Nike’s Vapor cleats and now there isn’t an easier way to get a pair than with the help of SoccerPro. Already your authority for soccer gear and merchandise, SoccerPro wants to help put you in a pair of the world’s finest cleats even easier.
To get $10 off your next purchase from SoccerPro enter our Nike Mercurial Vapors giveaway. You could be one of two lucky winners to nab your own pair of Nike Vapors! Don’t pass this opportunity by!
First and foremost: I like Javier Mascherano.
He is one of those players who scrape and scrap and get under an opponent’s skin. He is tough as nails and never backs down from a challenge. You want him on your team, but you don’t want to play against him.
Needless to say he also got under the skin of referee Steve Bennett when Liverpool and Manchester United faced off over the weekend. Mascherano earned his second yellow card of the match, halfway through the contest, for dissent. The resulting red card to send him to the showers has raised speculation over the decision and its impact on the game.
I’m going to digress from whether or not Mascherano’s presence would have prevented United from having its way with a Liverpool side that can’t find its way out of a paper sack in league play. I want to take time to applaud Bennett for his decision because it was not an easy one.
See, the Football Association is trying to crack down on the hissy fits these millionaire footballers are throwing every time a decision does not go their way. They huff and puff and cause a big stir while in the recent past referees have stood by taking the abuse like one of Michael Vick’s pit bulls.
Now referees have been told to come down harsher on player dissent. It not only sends a message to the cry babies to shut up, but it makes the players and the game look better. Also, it sets a better example for every 10-year-old out there admiring a player of Mascherano’s skill.
Maybe the decision on Mascherano was harsh, but it was needed. After Ashley Cole’s act of petulance for his horror tackle on Tottenham Hotspurs’ Alan Hutton earlier in the week, and resulting argument and tirade when shown a yellow when a red was mightily needed, a message needed to be sent to the players in the Premier League.
Perhaps Mascherano’s red card was the fallout from the buildup of abuse referees have taken, but it was a step in the right direction.
The draw is over. The teams have been set. There is no looking back now.
With the conclusion of today’s Champions League draw, the path to the Moscow final has begun to take shape.
The yellow brick road looks something like this.
Schalke 04 vs. Barcelona
Fenerbahce vs. Chelsea
Now comes the slightly more complex part.
The winner of Arsenal vs. Liverpool will play the winner of Fenerbahce vs. Chelsea, and the winner of Schalke 04 vs. Barcelona will play the winner of Roma vs. Manchester United.
With this simple draw (and by simple I do mean simple, they basically just reach into a bowl of little plastic balls that look like the Champions League ball and open similarly to an Easter egg) the probable final begins to take shape, and I couldn’t help but do a bit of speculating.
He slips past would-be tacklers.
He gets stuck in at every possible moment.
He hypnotizes defences with his dribbling and precision passing.
He is Paul Scholes, the Maestro.
Even though Manchester United line-up featured more fringe-players than the world-class stars one would normally see, Paul Scholes was still able to make everyone around him better.
That’s just the kind of player he is.
On the field he is a chivalrous leader who presses onward no matter the score line, and off the field he has the attitude that all players, young and old should look up to.
His passes are breathtakingly beautiful and you can’t help but wonder how the game must look through his eyes as he always seems to be one step ahead of the other team as he meticulously picks them apart.
And before there was Steven Gerrard, there was Paul Scholes.
If left alone at the top of the box, the keeper would soon be left wondering what had happened to his team-mates in front of him as he digs the ball out of the still rippling net.
To all you young players out there, be you a United fan or not, I encourage you to dig up some Paul Scholes highlights and take a lesson from a man that still sends teams to their knees and fans to their feet.
Cheers!
All it took was a Carling Cup final loss for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to get antsy and begin pressuring manager Avram Grant.
Abramovich has again made his way into the British tabloids demanding that Grant begin putting a side on the pitch that not only wins, but also plays attractive and stylish football.
Oh those billionaires just want it all don’t they? Read More »
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