Boot Spotting 17-18 Sep.

As you know by now, we love a good boot spot here at TRW – especially when it involves a brand new boot! This weekend we got to see Nike’s brand new T90 Laser IV make their competitive Premier League debut on the feet of Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres – and they both gave them a scoring debut.

We start with Sunday’s big game between Manchester United and Chelsea featuring the two biggest T90 Laser wearers Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres. These two were used for the launch of the T90 Laser III but with Torres struggling for form, Rooney was the only one featured this time around.

Both players found the back of the net but also missed glaring opportunities. Rooney sent a penalty wide after slipping – no fault of the new T90… Torres looked back to his old self when he neatly dinked a brilliant finish over De Gea early in the second half but shot wide with an open goal later in the half. Irrelevant of the two striker’s performances we think it was a great debut for a boot that will certainly score plenty more goals.

Rooney has already hit 8 goals this season but is closely followed by Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero who has 6. The ex-Athletico Madrid star made his first appearance as an official Puma wearer this weekend having worn a black-out pair of V1.11 since arriving. Aguero wore the new Green/Navy/White V1.11 boots as he struck both of Manchester City’s 2 goals in their draw agasit Fulham.

We have seen a lot of boot swopping happening and once again there were a few players wearing interesting boot choices. Bolton’s Chris Eagles has featured here in Adidas AdiZero boots but wore a great looking pair of White/Blue Nike Mercurial Vapor IV boots.

We have featured Joey Barton a few times as well and had to this week after he was spotted wearing what we believe are a black-out version of the upcoming Puma PowerCat 1.11 boots. This is not the first time Barton has worn the new PowerCats as he was seen in a white-out pair while still at Newcastle.

Mikel Arteta scored his first goal for Arsenal this weekend – also in a different pair of boots. The last time we featured Arteta here (he was still playing for Everton) the Spaniard was in the White/Black/Blue Puma V1.11 SL boots but was back in the King Finale this weekend.

Arteta was the face of the King Finale when they were released and he was joined by fellow teammate Diniyar Bilyaletdinov at the time. The Everton winger seems to have moved on however as the Russian winger opted for a pair of Electrictity/Infrared/Anodized Purple Adidas AdiZero boots this weekend.

John O’Shea was always a great boot spot as the ex-Manchester United defender was one of only two Premier League players to wear the innovative Concave football boots. Unfortunately the company has gone under and O’Shea and fellow ex-United player Wes Brown, have had to find new boot sponsors. It seems that O’Shea has opted for Nike as the new Sunderland skipper was in the new Tiempo Legend IV this weekend.

One colourway we haven’t seen often is Nike’s Platinum/Blue/Black CTR360 Maestri II colourway. This colourway is only available in the standard version of the CTR and not the Elite. Aston Villa’s defender James Collins wore this great looking colourway this weekend against Newcastle.

Shaun Wright-Phillips has looked a brilliant piece of business since his arrival at QPR from Manchester City. The ex-City and Chelsea winger has been in fine form for the R’s and could find himself catching the eye of England boss Fabio Capello if he keeps putting in such good performances. SWP wore Adidas’ Blue/White/Slime AdiZero colourway in leather this weekend.

There was never any doubt about Luka Modric’s ability and he proved why Spurs wanted so desperately to keep him when he opened the scoring with a brilliant long range strike when Liverpool visited White Heart Lane. The diminutive Croatian, wearing Nike Superfly III boots, ran Spurs’ midfield as they easily beat Liverpool 4-0.

Nike Unveil The New T90 Laser IV

T90 Laser IV is a completely redesigned boot for the modern day striker who capitalizes on that one opportunity that comes his way during a game and buries the ball in the back of the net. Be it a long range screamer, close range effort or perfectly struck free-kick or penalty – they all count for this deadly finisher who lives and breathes to score goals.

Focused on adapting to the technical demands and movement of a highly mobile striker the new T90 Laser IV is 20% lighter than the previous version and features a streamlined silhouette that provides enhanced fit and feel on the ball. The forefoot area features a newly configured adaptive shield design and high performance synthetic leatherupper for a soft and close to the foot feel.

To ensure a perfect strike of the ball, the reconfigured shooting and swerve zones on the instep of the boot are designed to flex naturally as the foot contacts with the ball, amplifying the natural benefits of the foot to strike the ball cleanly.

The key contact zones are broken up into flexible strips which enhance the natural power and accuracy of the foot while the swerve zone fins reduced in size and height allow a closer feel to the ball providing friction to curved shots. Finally, along the tongue and top of the boot, shape correction foam increases instep accuracy for a seamless strike of the ball.

Strikers make the most of tight spaces and rapid turns and feints to leave defenders on the back foot and the new T90 Laser IV features remodelled studs designed to maximize the speed of penetration and release on pitch without increasing stud pressure for the player.

Heel, medial, lateral and toe off edge traction combined with a more flexible plate also enhance agility and reduce slipping. With flexibility and movement key to the strikers success enhanced mid foot torsion creates a stiff power transfer from heel to toe creating a clean break from defenders to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

The T90 Laser IV will make it’s official debut this weekend on Wayne Rooney’s feet when Manchester United play Chelsea. The new T90 Laser IV will be available at key retailers worldwide and online at nikestore.com beginning October 1, 2011.

It is no surprise that Nike used Wayne Rooney to launch the new T90 Laser IV. The Manchester United star is an avid T90 wearer and epitomises the boots characteristics.

Nike’s new viral video featuring Rooney shows off some of the boots new technology and is visually a stunning piece of creativity – as if we would expect anything less from Nike.

The viral begins with Rooney receiving the boots in a hardcase – a feature you will not be receiving in store unfortunately.

Rooney has begun the season in blistering form and it is a great time for Nike to release the new T90 Laser IV. I’m sure Nike themselves will be joining every Manchester United fan this weekend in hoping that Rooney gives the boots a scoring, and winning, debut.

New F50 adizero TRX FG Leather High Energy/Electricity/White

THE FAST BECOME THE FASTEST...

In football, the need for speed has never been greater . Adizero F50 players like Messi and Villa are faster on and off the ball than ever before. Now powered by micoach, the adizero F50 is not only the fastest boot on the planet it is also the smartest. micoach turns the adizero F50 into the ultimate digital training tool by letting you track and upload performance data like distance,sprint count and maximum speed. Then you can share those stats with friends on Facebook, get personalized coaching from the micoach website or play the micoach football video game using your own real -life abilities. Wheter online or in the stadium, the adizero F50's electrifying speed inspired looks will leave zero doubt as to who is the fastest.

ENJOY .....

Messi debuts new Adidas Adizero II

Yesterday we were given a heads up by our friends at Adidas that there was going to be something special released when Argentina played a friendly against Nigeria in Bangladesh. In fact the quote we got was ‘today Adidas changes football forever’… Well that certainly got us excited – especially when we saw what they were talking about – Lionel Messi giving the upcoming Adidas AdiZero II a surprise debut.

So a new pair of AdiZero boots is very exciting but will that really ‘change football’? Well we can’t give you all the details now but the ‘game changer’ is the incorporation of Adidas’ MiCoach into the boot. Messi himself seemed impressed by the boots when commenting on his Facebook page after the game; “Wore my new Adidas f50?s for the first time against Nigeria tonight. So much technology in a pair of boots, it’s incredible!”

Adidas promised some more information soon so stay tuned to TRW. We we can tell you is that this was a once off spotting as Messi will revert back to his Electricity/Purple AdiZero boots until the release of the new AdiZero II in November (this Yellow/Red colourway will be his colourway.) Adidas just wanted to create a bit of hype around the new boots ahead of their launch and we certainly think they have achieved that!

Adidas adizero PREDATOR UCL/White/Purple

The 13 of September will see the kick-off of the new Uefa Champions League season and as usaual Adidas have released a UCL inspired Predator colourway. Adidas have released a bold new White/Purple colourway for the AdiPower Predator – a combination we think looks great.

The stand out feature of this colourway is the rainbow-like section on the heel of the boots similar to the design featured on the new Finale ball and Petr Cech’s gloves.

The AdiPower Predator is 25% lighter than their predecessor the Predator X. This is thanks mostly to the incorporation of Adidas’ SprintFrame we know from the AdiZeros. The AdiPowers’ SprintFrame features a redesigned Predator PowerSpine for additional energy transfer directly from the foot into the ball resulting in greater power.

A redesigned Predator element, lighter upper and TPU outsole and high-grade Taurus leather provide a perfect fitting boot with a superb touch.

MLS New rule to attract younger talent...

MLS unveiled a new type of DP mechanism that is projected to bring in a new crop of young international stars to the league.
Beginning in 2012, teams can acquire Designated Players based overseas who are 20 years of age or younger for a budget charge of only $150,000, while Designated Players between the ages of 21 and 23 will count just $200,000 against a team’s salary budget. Current DPs represent a $335,000 hit to a club’s player budget of $2,675,000, regardless of their age.
“If you look at it, our Designated Players are anywhere from mid to late 20s to early 30s,” said MLS executive vice president of competition and player relations, Todd Durbin, on a media teleconference call. “We’re getting good players, veteran players and players with experience but we’ve been out of the market for young, promising players in this area.
“We’re hoping with this rule change we’ll tear down this last barrier of entry and bring in quality players at every place in their career and truly have the ability to get into the market of young players to be able to bring in and grow stars of the future for Major League Soccer.”

Manchester City and Tottenham agree on season long loan for Emmanuel Adebayor?

The Daily Mail is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur are poised to complete the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor on a season-long loan from Manchester City before the game against Manchester United on Monday. Adebayor, 27, earns £170,000 a week at Eastlands and his huge wages were a stumbling block to completing the deal, but sources close claim a breakthrough had been made and Tottenham were confident of completing a deal before the end of the week.

EA Sports FIFA Streets First Look...

“Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that EA SPORTS is developing an authentic street soccer game that will replicate the way the game is played by street players all over the world. From the creators of the award-winning EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer franchise at EA Canada, and inspired by street soccer styles and stars from around the world, EA SPORTS FIFA Street will be built to the level of quality and depth that millions of FIFA fans have come to expect from the EA SPORTS FIFA development team. The game will be available for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system in early 2012.”

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Added on August 17th, 2011 by beans

Brazil vs Egypt Friendly Cancelled; Brazil vs Ghana Scheduled Instead

The five-time World Cup winners were due to play Egypt in Cairo on September 6 but have cancelled the match because of continuing security concerns in the north African country. However, Ghana have stepped in as replacements and are expected to be confirmed as Brazil’s opponents in a match which should take place at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium on Monday September 5.

MLSsoccer.com’s Jackie Pickering and Jonah Freedman take a tour at EA Canada, meet the creators of EA Sport’s Fifa game, and find out a whole lot about the FIFA franchise.

Is Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o about to become the highest paid athletein the history of sports?

If the rumors and reports are true, he will be. It is all over the interwebs, and the rumors go like this … if Inter Milan and Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala can reach an agreement over his transfer fee, Anzhi has offered the 30-year-old Cameroonian forward a three-year deal worth $25.5 million per year after tax. Income tax brackets vary, but for comparisons sake, it would cost a club in a big European league or a club in the United States between $50 million and $57 million per season to match the Russian club’s offer.
“Negotiations are ongoing,” Eto’o said Saturday at the opening of a new hospital in Douala, Cameroon. “It’s possible that I could go [to Anzhi] and it’s possible that I could stay.”
Media reports in Italy suggest that Anzhi has offered $35 million as a transfer fee and Inter is holding out for $42 million, but there’s a strong chance the two sides could meet halfway this week.
Its interesting to note, that if Eto’o moves to Anzhi Makhachkala, he wouldn’t actually be moving to Makhachkala. He would be moving to Moscow. Because the club is located in Dagestan, which is politically unstable and possibly unappealing to wealthy athletes, the players live and train in Moscow during the week and fly about 1,000 miles to appear in home matches.

***Blognote*** Its a good week to be Samuel Eto’o …. you know… if you are cool with living in Russia and all.

UEFA re-distributes revenue for Champions League and Europa League Participants 2010/11

Today UEFA released the financial prize payouts from the 2010-11 Champions Leauge and Europa League seasons… Manchester United was the big winner. UEFA said it distributed $1.09 billion among 32 clubs involved in the group stage of the Champions League.
Manchester United earned the biggest share of Champions League prize money last season with $76.7 million despite losing in the final, according to figures. Champions League winner Barcelona earned $73.5 million because broadcast deals which weigh into calculations were worth less in Spain than England.
Chelsea received $64.1 million, semifinalist Schalke made $57.3 million and Real Madrid’s share was $56.6 million.
MSK Zilina from Slovakia, which lost all six group matches, received $10.7 million.
A further $180 million was shared among national associations and clubs which played in the qualifying rounds.
Europa League
UEFA distributed $217 million among 56 teams which played in the group and knockout stages of the second-tier Europa League.
Beaten finalist Braga earned $6.5 million after joining in the last-32 round, in addition to $17 million from its Champions League group.
Europa League winner FC Porto got $11.3 million but was not the biggest earner because Portuguese television deals were not so lucrative.
Spain’s Villarreal, which lost to Porto in the semifinals, collected just over $13 million

Adidas Iconic...

Sergio Aguero Makes Scoring Debut in Puma v1.11

Sergio Aguero could quite easily the signing of the summer. The ex-Atletico Madrid star is a proven goal scorer and think Manchester City have landed a great player. Aguero’s summer has been littered with different boots as ‘Kun’ turned out in AdiPures during the Copa America before returning to his usual Nike Superfly III or Tiempo Legend boots. Earlier this week however Aguero was spotted training in Puma V1.11 after having been spotted in V1.11SL before the Community Shield.

Some bad blistering due to the chopping and changing of boots meant Kun had to sit out the Community Shield but he certainly came in with a bang last night when he made his debut against Swansea City. Kun came off the bench in a pair of blacked-out Puma V1.11 boots and quickly grabbed a brace as City romped to a 4-0 win.

Who knows what Sergio Aguero will end up in but, having added the likes of Barton, Henry, Etherington and possibly De Jong, Puma are certainly on a roll at the moment and the singing of Aguero would be the biggest scoop yet. (It is also nice to see that unlike his Argentinean teammate Carlos Tevez, Kun seems to like life in Manchester.)