Football boots -
Football is the most popular game which is played in the most number of countries. The popularity is growing day by day which is resulting as a career option for many players. Though it seems an easy sport to play, but it requires a lot of skills and energy to excel at the international level. The players have to show continuous fleet footwork during the game. All the body weight is transferred to the player's feet in order to do shuffle the football here and there on the field. It is really a demanding sport since it requires an ultimate passion, aggressiveness and agility to beat the opposition. Here, the significance of the accessories and other apparels comes into the picture. It gives the extra protection to the player and helps them to play better.
The cleats used by the football players keep a very important place in a player's life. It gives more aggression to the players with respect to the other shoes used by them. Theses are also designed as per the position of players on the field. It is different for a Forward player than a defense line player. The cleats used for football are generally made from leather or some other synthetic material. The main reason behind it is leather has a very durable quality that gives a much needed comfort to the performers.
If a synthetic cleat is used, it won't give the required durability and breathability. However, it has one advantage that its shape doesn't get ruined when they become wet. Also, you have to pay less for owning it. These cleats are available in different varieties such as high-top, mid-cut and low-cut. It is used for different purposes by different persons involved in the sport. Normally, the linemen use high-top cleats in order to give extra angle support since they have to bend time and again. Similarly the other models are used for safety in a different way.
Sometimes the type and condition of the field also affects your choice of cleats to use. If you play on the turf fields, you should be using the molded kind of cleats. It will give the extra strength since it is attached to the outsole on the lower part of your shoes. It also gives the better grip on the tough surfaces like the turf fields. On the other hand, Detachable cleats can be used on any field other than the grass fields. You can use it on the grass fields irrespective to the fact that it is wet or hard. It gives the choice to you to replace the studs and use a wrench in order to provide you more convenience while you are playing on the field.
The Football Cleats are the part and parcel of the team uniform. It gets torn very fast, so a good quality cleat should be purchased. Nike is a trusted brand name in the field of sportswear manufacturing. It has a wide spread business throughout the world. It has a strong presence in the UK too producing a number of sportswear for different sports. It has introduced some very useful items for the football too. Nike Football Cleats has been made after taking care of all your needs. It is strong, durable and available at an affordable price too. The variety and design you find here can not be found anywhere else. The Nike football cleats offer the mid-cut cleats which is also preferred by most of the star players in the UK. These are useful for the footballers who play in the midfield, running backs and in the defensive line.
Now, enjoy using the football cleats and aspire to give better results to your team and your nation. You can find it on different websites that also offers many schemes available with them. Use the cleats from Nike to perform better and score goals after goals.
Author: Jayson Pablo | Posted: 07-02-2008 |Football Boots
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Win the Golden Boot With a Perfect Football Cleat
Surviving a Football Loss - a 12-step Plan for the Overdedicated Fan
Each season brings a wealth of disappointing events to almost every fan of college football. After all, there is only one champion. Dealing with disappointment is difficult for most, but is a way of life for football fans that happened to attend a school that dedicates itself to basketball. Disappointments are especially difficult for fans of those teams who are used to beating up on everyone else. Following upset losses, these fans find themselves in a dither and have trouble ordering their morning Starbucks.
It is reasonable to be disappointed after one's favorite team loses. It is unreasonable to throw rocks at the ref's car. Some folks have dedicated themselves to football and when football lets them down, they go into a deep emotional free-fall called Over Dedication.
Signs of Over Dedication include acute depression when the favorite team loses. Individuals endure this, but occasionally, entire states mope around for weeks and can't function after their team lays an egg on the field. Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska, Texas and all the major programs have failed in their own expectations at some point. The teams get over a loss, but the fan's emotional attachment to the team suffers such damage that every day life becomes a challenge.
The San Andreas Fault might run through the Cal Bears home field, but the real earthquakes took place earlier this season thousands of miles away in central Michigan. The bomb crater that was the Big House is still smoldering. Not far away from that, in South Bend, IN more tremors are occurring as the once invincible Fighting Irish rose to achieve a stunning 1-7 mark.
The cloud that still hangs over Ann Arbor smells of smoke and stale beer. Michigan needs a good wind. Michigan fans need help. Recovering from the embarrassment of losing unexpectedly and doing so in front of a television audience is a difficult task. Following their spectacular loss to someone called Appalachian State the Blue and Maize treated their fans in the subsequent week to another great public failure - this time to a team dressed too poorly for words (Oregon). This proved too much to bear. Coping skills have gone undeveloped in Ann Arbor. Inability to deal rationally with football failure raises questions of judgment and mental balance – which curiously enough, applies to winners as well as losers.
The following is a 12 Step Plan for the Over Dedicated Fan. These steps are the keys to enjoying life after a particularly disappointing loss. These steps involve increasing levels of difficulty. So follow along, learn from the descriptions and regain control over your life! This plan has been crafted to work in one week, so don't give up!
1. Admit to being powerless over my football team — Admit that my life is unmanageable.
If you are in this position, your life is unimaginable. Witness those that paint body parts in team colors. Why would anyone do this – especially on cold autumn evenings? Most university infirmaries are half way houses dressed up as clinics where you can't tell which half most of the residents are heading for. Inviting pneumonia isn't good for the GPA and beer doesn't make it better. Alums don't handle this any better than students as many really didn't want to graduate anyway.
Powerlessness over football passion is a threat to one's well-being. Not spending the rent at the bar has always been a challenge – especially for Illinois fans. One must depend on one's friends to spend their rent money on you at the bar. Then go home. This is a necessary life skill.
2. Belief in a power greater than myself that will restore sanity.
Usually, this power arrives in the form of a police officer. The officer is restoring sanity for everyone in your section, your dorm, your block or your house. This allows the recovering fan to receive a little time for quiet reflection along with some really big compatriots – one of whom is named Bucky.
3. Stop controlling and live in the moment.
You didn't throw the interception. You can't command the kicker to miss the extra point. You can't get that cheerleader to look at you. So give it up. You have bigger problems – like getting a C on the English Comp paper that is due at 8 am Monday.
Alums have similar problems. Attending business meetings with a hangover is poor lifestyle choice. Alums also can't get that cheerleader to look at ‘em. So unless you can pass better than Brady Quinn, sit in the stands and enjoy the game!
4. Assess your personal ethical strengths.
This is a quick step. Most fans check their moral inventories at the stadium gate. It is a short list anyway. And when they pick it up on the way home, its a whole lot shorter.
Assess what you value in life. Honestly ask yourself ‘am I a good person?' When was the last time I bought a round down at the Stadium Inn? So if you hang out at the Stadium Inn, share the load.
5. Shine the light of day upon my wrongs.
Shine all you want.. You are in the stadium with 50,000 other people doing the same thing. Why does the TV Cameraman keep pointing at me?
Asking questions is healthy. Not answering them is dangerous. For Alums that can't get tickets anywhere but the student section this is doubly dangerous. Holding the babe over your head and passing her off to the guy behind you only invites tough questions from the wife. Don't do anything that you would be embarrassed about if it showed up on Action News at 11.
6. Throw away all deficient characteristics.
Right when I leave the stadium. Or… right after I leave the bar. Or… forget it I'm going to bed.
Character flaws reveal themselves all at once during football season. The combination of heat, cold, liquor, noise and good looking college co-eds causes most male sense to get booted right through Touchdown Jesus' arms. Unfortunately, this scores no points and is a possible source of extortion when one finally wants to settle down and get married. This also allows female companions a useful opportunity to gain promises of future actions – not for things like cutting the lawn, but for big stuff like long vacations in exchange for allowing one to watch his team uninterrupted for a couple hours. Southern girls have this down to an art. If they go to a game, they don't bring any money.
7. Implore the Supreme Being to remove all defects and shortcomings.
Right after he removes the shortcomings of our running game! Is God watching this? If he was, he'd hit that O-Line with a 2 by 12.
Asking God to remove one's shortcomings is a job He'll probably drop right back on your sunburned bald spot – and He'll most likely laugh as you stumble through the exercise. You dug the hole, now you fill it in. If you want to watch Penn State play Slippery Rock instead of working on your Physics homework, your call. But save your breath come pop-quiz time. This applies to Alums who need work but only make it as far as the ESPN Zone.
8. Make things right with all that have been harmed.
Do referees count? How do I make it up to all the families in section 202?
Recovering fans really have to work at this. It is impossible to right the all wrongs of the season opening game. Everyone who heard your utterances while leaving the Big House last Saturday were thinking the same thing, though. Why should you be punished for saying what everyone else was thinking? The answer: because your conscience is buried in the closet with a bagel from last week, half a can of flat Miller Lite and your Black Sabbath tapes.
9. Provide reparation to those that have been wronged.
The Recovering Fan himself is included in this. This part of the process frequently goes bad for the RF as attempts to apologize only reignite the passions that caused the problem in the first place. Making an apology to a girlfriend while trying to climb up to her balcony is risky business – especially after the liquid required to gain courage for the venture.
10. Maintain personal ethical and moral standards and when wrong, promptly own up to it and correct any error.
Most Recovering Fans have to schedule this like a regular class. Alumni frequently have to re-enroll in this course and all tend seek the assistance of others. Others tend to have better observation skills towards our own actions. If not carefully selected, these “others” can actually be honest and cause you to have to do some real work. So it is important to choose a Recovering Fan who is crazier than you.
11. Meditate to improve relationship with the Supreme Being, not asking for outcomes, but for guidance.
Most prayerful moments on campus do in fact take place either at the football stadium or near Sorority Row. They are inspired pleas and impassioned prayers and for better or worse, are at least honest. Don't worry about this one. Scholars are wrong when they say religion is gone from our college campuses. Prayer is an active part of campus life.
12. Keep the new-found peace close to your active, conscious self.
By the time most Over Dedicated fans get to this part, it is Friday evening and the gang is headed down to the local pub to psych up for tomorrow's game. By Friday evening, it is difficult to raise the moral standards to a higher consciousness, so the standard practice is to lower one's consciousness to the level of whatever moral state one falls into at the end of the week. This may be done at the Stadium Inn.
So have a good time on Saturday, but don't do anything that will cause moral stress or anxiety should your team come out on the short end. And if Michigan tanks at home again this season, send a care package.
Author: Matthew Mulligan | Posted: 30-10-2007 |
Football or Soccer
Football boots Football is the name given to a number of different, but related, team sports. The most popular of these world-wide is association football (also known as soccer). The English word "football" is also applied to American football, Australian rules football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, rugby football (rugby union and rugby league), and related games. Each of these codes (specific sets of rules) is to a greater or lesser extent referred to as "football" and sometimes "footy" by its followers.
These games involve:
a large spherical or prolate spheroid ball, which is itself called a football.
a team scoring goals and/or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either into a goal area, or over a line.
the goal and/or line being defended by the opposing team.
players being required to move the ball mostly by kicking and — in some codes — carrying and/or passing the ball by hand.
goals and/or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts.
offside rules, in most codes, restricting the movement of players.
in some codes, points are mostly scored by players carrying the ball across the goal line. in most codes players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts. players in some codes receiving a free kick after they take a mark/make a fair catch.
Many of the modern games have their origins in England, but many peoples around the world have played games which involved kicking and/or carrying a ball since ancient timesWhile it is widely believed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") originated in reference to the action of a foot kicking a ball, there is a rival explanation, which has it that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot.[1] These games were usually played by peasants, as opposed to the horse-riding sports often played by aristocrats. While there is no conclusive evidence for this explanation, the word football has always implied a variety of games played on foot, not just those that involved kicking a ball. In some cases, the word football has even been applied to games which have specifically outlawed kicking the ball
Throughout the history of mankind, the urge to kick at stones and other such objects is thought to have led to many early activities involving kicking and/or running with a ball. Football-like games predate recorded history in all parts of the world, and thus the earliest forms of football are not knownDocumented evidence of what is possibly the oldest activity resembling football can be found in a Chinese military manual written during the Warring States Period in about the 476 BC-221 BC. It describes a practice known as cuju, which involved kicking a leather ball through a hole in a piece of silk cloth strung between two 30 foot poles.
Kemari being played at the Tanzan Shrine, Sakurai, Japan.Another Asian ball-kicking game, which was influenced by cuju, is kemari. This is known to have been played within the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto from about 600 AD. In kemari several people stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other, trying not to let the ball drop to the ground (much like keepie uppie). The game appears to have died out sometime before the mid-19th century. (It was revived in 1903, and it can now be seen played for the benefit of tourists at a number of festivals.)
Mesoamerican ballgames played with rubber balls are also well-documented as existing since before this time, but these had more similarities to basketball or volleyball, and since their influence on modern football games is minimal, most do not class them as football.
The Ancient Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman writer Cicero describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barber's shop. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a team game known as "ep?s?????" (episkyros) or pheninda that is mentioned by Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388-311BC) and later referred to by Clement of Alexandria. These games appears to have resembled rugby.
There are a number of references to traditional, ancient, and/or prehistoric ball games, played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world. For example, in 1586, men from a ship commanded by an English explorer named John Davis, went ashore to play a form of football with Inuit (Eskimo) people in Greenland.[2] There are later accounts of an Inuit game played on ice, called Aqsaqtuk. Each match began with two teams facing each other in parallel lines, before attempting to kick the ball through each other team's line and then at a goal. In 1610, William Strachey of the Jamestown settlement, Virginia recorded a game played by Native Americans, called Pahsaheman. In Victoria, Australia, indigenous people played a game called Marn Grook ("ball game"). An 1878 book by Robert Brough-Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, quotes a man called Richard Thomas as saying, in about 1841, that he had witnessed Aboriginal people playing the game: "Mr Thomas describes how the foremost player will drop kick a ball made from the skin of a possum and how other players leap into the air in order to catch it." It is widely believed that Marn Grook had an influence on the development of Australian rules football (see below).
These games and others may well go far back into antiquity and may have influenced later football games. However, the main sources of modern football codes appear to lie in western Europe, especially England.
The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football matches throughout Europe, particularly in England. The game played in England at this time may have arrived with the Roman occupation, but there is little evidence to indicate this. Reports of a game played in Brittany, Normandy, and Picardy, known as La Soule or Choule, suggest that some of these football games could have arrived in England as a result of the Norman Conquest.
An illustration of mob football.These archaic forms of football, typically classified as "mob football", would be played between neighbouring towns and villages, involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams, who would clash in a heaving mass of people struggling to drag an inflated pig's bladder by any means possible to markers at each end of a town (sometimes instead of markers, the teams would attempt to kick the bladder into the balcony of the opponents' church). There is no evidence to support the legend that these games in England evolved from a more ancient and bloody ritual of kicking the "Dane's head". Shrovetide games have survived into the modern era in a number of English towns (see below).
The first detailed description of football in England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174-1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of Shrove Tuesday:
After lunch all the youth of the city go out into the fields to take part in a ball game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and wealthy citizens come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by the carefree adolescents.[3]
Most of the very early references to the game speak simply of "ball play" or "playing at ball". This reinforces the idea that the games played at the time did not necessarily involve a ball being kicked.
In 1314 , Nicholas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of London issued a decree banning football (in the French used by the English upper classes at the time. A translation reads: "[f]orasmuch as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls [rageries de grosses pelotes de pee] in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." This is the earliest reference to football.
The earliest mention of a ball game that involves kicking was in 1321, in Shouldham, Norfolk: "[d]uring the game at ball as he kicked the ball, a lay friend of his... ran against him and wounded himself".[4].
In 1363, King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning "...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games", showing that "football" — whatever its exact form in this case — was being differentiated from games involving other parts of the body, such as handball.
King Henry IV of England gives the earliest documented use of the English word "football", in 1409, when he issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball".[5]
There is also an account in Latin from the end of the 15th century of football being played at Cawston, Nottinghamshire. This is the first description of a "kicking game" and the first description of dribbling: "[t]he game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet... kicking in opposite directions" The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football field, stating that: "[t]he boundaries have been marked and the game had started.[6]
Other firsts in the mediæval and early modern eras:
"a football", in the sense of a ball rather than a game, was first mentioned in 1486.[7] This reference is in Dame Juliana Berners' Book of St Albans. It states: "a certain rounde instrument to play with ...it is an instrument for the foote and then it is calde in Latyn 'pila pedalis', a fotebal." [8] a pair of football boots was ordered by King Henry VIII of England in 1526. [9]
women playing a form of football was in 1580, when Sir Philip Sidney described it in one of his poems: "[a] tyme there is for all, my mother often sayes, When she, with skirts tuckt very hy, with girles at football playes."[10]
the first references to goals are in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1584 and 1602 respectively, John Norden and Richard Carew referred to "goals" in Cornish hurling. Carew described how goals were made: "they pitch two bushes in the ground, some eight or ten foote asunder; and directly against them, ten or twelue [twelve] score off, other twayne in like distance, which they terme their Goales".[11] He is also the first to describe goalkeepers and passing of the ball between players.
the first direct reference to scoring a goal is in John Day's play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (performed circa 1600; published 1659): "I'll play a gole at camp-ball" (an extremely violent variety of football, which was popular in East Anglia). Similarly in a poem in 1613, Michael Drayton refers to "when the Ball to throw, And drive it to the Gole, in squadrons forth they goe". The word "football", when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of those described above. Because of this, much friendly controversy has occurred over the term football, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of the English-speaking world. Most often, the word "football" is used to refer to the code of football that is considered dominant within a particular region.
Globally, and not necessarily in native English speaking countries, the word "football" usually refers to association football as this is the most widely played code of football. The name "soccer" (or "soccer football") was originally a slang abbreviation of association football and is now the prevailing term in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where other codes of football are dominant.
Of the 45 national FIFA affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, only three (Canada, Samoa and the United States) actually use "soccer" in their organizations' official names, while the rest use football (although the Samoan Federation actually uses both). However, in some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, use of the word "football" by soccer bodies is a recent change and has been controversial.
Author: Hadi Imran | Posted: 30-04-2007 |
How To Choose The Right Football Boots For The New Season
Football boots - For those of you who have ever played football or soccer at any level you'll understand how important good football boots are to your performance. It used to be a ritual for my team mates and me to go shopping in the pre-season together to get our new football boots. When I was younger there was choice alright but nothing compared to today, you're choice consisted of moulded studs or screw in and then the different makes. Today the choice is endless, but what ones should you choose and why?
More recently, moulded soles with specially designed football boots known as blades have moulded soles facing in multiple directions, theoretically to maximise grip and minimise ankle injury. If you read the product details on your new kids football boots to help you equate the sporting goods offered in this category. We dragged the football boots upper crossed a football and the football boots in truth does grip the ball. Preds are the choicer boot in my opinion, though it is fold.
Look to the right chromatography column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. Contoured heel, external heel parry and shaped choker software system offer stability and comfort. You will be a sports fanatic and particularly interested in tennis but kids football boots and all its games are better by a mile. More recently, moulded soles with specially designed football boots known as blades have moulded soles lining in multiple directions, theoretically to maximise grip and minimise ankle hurt.
If you get the pred kids football boots, you know you are acquiring a solid cleat. We tried and true them at the weekend and will be rental you know concisely how we got on. You will be a sports fiend and particularly interested in lawn tennis.
We are looking for top mass to get part of our winner write up. If you get the pred, you know you are acquiring a solid cleat. Contoured heel, external heel comeback and wrought choker software offer stability and comfort. Association football it is wet on the floor to practice my soccer skills shall I go and get muddy and practice on grass? Many football players now use this personalisation military service to both ameliorate their football boots and to make them easily identifiable in the club environment.
In football, referees must now check all football boots prior to kick off to check for equipment casualty to studs, to preclude harm. Doses should be excluded if they experience immunoglobulin within seven days after the treatment application is on and linen in hot body of water. Kid's football boots must fit correctly as children's feet can be damaged by incorrectly fitting football boots
Adidas have been about a long time, and intelligent competition from littler companies is all part of the game. I am a nerve centre back in association football shall I still practice run with the ball? We tried them at the weekend and will be lease you know soon how we got on. Skirrow agrees that the weight unit of the football boots should be a consideration, tho' he cautions that it should not be the main feature. If you get the pred, you know you are getting a solid cleat. Doses should be excluded if they welcome immunoglobulin inside seven days after the treatment application is on and linen in hot knee.
So don't skimp when it comes to your football boots as you will need them to last you the whole season, there is nothing worse in football than having to break in new football boots mid season.
Author: Harwood E Woodpecker | Posted: 20-03-2008 | Football boots
Biography Of Pele - The King Of Football
Football boots - For us younger folks, Brazil soccer is great because that's how it's meant to be...we take that as a natural order of things, having grown up with the Brazilian soccer team's successes in the World Cups of the 1990s.
But the myth of Brazilian soccer was born a lot earlier, in times when soccer started to become a worldwide "plague" and there are a lot of people who attribute this internalization of soccer to the Brazilian team of the 50s, a team that was lead to success by one of the most preeminent figures in sports, the famous soccer player Pele.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele climbed a steep mountain from living his youth in a poor Brazilian family, to becoming one of the most beloved figures in the modern history of sports. His father was a footballer himself, playing for Fluminense in the Brazilian league and it was only natural that young Pele would follow his father's footsteps in the game.
He wasn't always known as Pele though. Rumor has it that this nickname was given to him in primary school, as he kept misspelling the name of one of his favorite players at that time, Vasco Da Gama's goalkeeper Bile.
His schoolmates gave him this new nickname and mostly made fun of him, so he obviously disliked it; so much that he punched the fellow classmate that coined the nicknamed. However, in time, he gradually became used to it and even started liking it and it wasn't long before everyone knew the soccer wonderkid as Pele.
Living in poverty, he couldn't afford soccer equipment, nor a soccer ball. He shined shoes for an extra coin that would help him and his friends stitch up a newspaper-filled sock to use as a football. He formed a team with his neighbors from the Sete de Setembro street and even participated in a youth tournament, where the team earned the nickname "the shoeless ones" because none of the kids could afford to waste their walking shoes (if any) on playing soccer.
A few years later, each member of the team worked hard for the extra money to get a proper pair of shoes and renamed their team to Ameriquinha. Participating in numerous youth tournaments with Ameriquinha, Pele made a name for himself at a tender age for his prowess in front of goal, becoming top scorer in almost all of these tournaments.
At the tender age of 15, he caught the eyes of one of the biggest teams in Brazil, FC Santos, who offered him a contract and by 16 he was already a member of the senior squad. He spent almost his entire career at Santos, since European transfers weren't that popular back, although the final 2 years of his career were spent at New York Cosmos, before Pele finally hanged his boots.
Pele made his debut in the Brazilian soccer team in the same year he debuted at Santos' senior squad, when he was just 16 years old. Amazingly, he was taken on to the 1958 World Cup squad, at age 17, becoming the youngest player in the competition. He even scored a crucial goal in the quarterfinals against Wales, a goal which took Brazil past that stage and into the semis.
But Pele was saving the best for the final: meeting Sweden, he scored a magnificent goal, lobbing the ball past a defender and volleying it into the net, eventually winning the final for Brazil. After the match ended, the effort and the joy bundled up and the 17-year old Pele couldn't take it, passing out on the field and needing medical attention.
As a soccer player, Pele attended 3 more World Cups, between 1962 and 1970, winning the first and latter. He was the first player ever to score in 4 different World Cups and in 1970 he achieved a unique performance that boosted him to the heights of international soccer: he scored 1,000 official goals for club and country.
Although many dispute this record or try to bring it down, saying that soccer wasn't as defensive or tactical back than as it is today (which is partially true), his merit of being a major stand pole on the international soccer stage between the mid 50s all the way to the late 70s should not be undermined. Named best soccer player in the World and athlete of the 20th century, Pele now acts as an ambassador for soccer and fair play.
Author: Niv Orlian |Football Boots
Football Boots | The History
Football boots - The Early Years
The history of football boots mirrors the development and progression of the beautiful game of football in the late 19th century and into the 20th century. Football rules and laws were introduced to progress football into a more organised and formalised structure, which succeeded in moving a largely provincial game into the sport that is enjoyed around the world right into the 21st century. Football as a game was part of British life for several hundred years previously and one early protagonist included probably the most famous and notorious historical figures of British history, King Henry VIII (1509-1547).
Football Boots: Earliest Recorded - King Henry VIII in 1526
King Henry VIII's football boots were listed within the Great Wardrobe of 1526, a shopping list of the day. They were made by his personal shoemaker Cornelius Johnson in 1525, at a cost of 4 shillings, the equivalent of £100 in today's money. Little is known about them, as there is no surviving example, but the royal football boots are known to have been made of strong leather, ankle high and heavier than the normal shoe of the day.
Football Boots - The 1800's
Moving forward 300 years saw football developing and gaining popularity throughout Britain, but still remaining as an unstructured and informal pastime, with teams representing local factories and villages in a burgeoning industrial nation. Players would wear their hard, leather work boots, which were long laced and steel toe-capped as the first football boots . These football boots would also have metal studs or tacks hammered into them to increase ground grip and stability.
As laws become integrated into the game in the late 1800's, so saw the first shift in football boots to a slipper (or soccus) style shoe, with players of the same team starting to wear the same boots for the first time. Laws also allowed for studs, which had to be rounded. These leather studs, also known as cleats, were hammered into the early football boots , which for the first time moved away from the earlier favoured work boots. These football boots weighed 500g and were made of thick, hard leather going up the ankle for increased protection. The football boots would double in weight when wet and had six studs in the sole. The football boot had arrived…
Football Boots - The 1900's to 1940's
Football boot styles remained relatively constant throughout the 1900's up to the end of the second world war. The most significant events in the football boot world in the first part of the twentieth century were the formation of several football boot producers who are still making football boots today, including Gola (1905), Valsport (1920) and Danish football boot maker Hummel (1923).
Over in Germany, Dassler brothers Adolf and Rudolf formed the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in Herzogenaurach in 1924 and began producing football boots in 1925 which had 6 or 7 replaceable, nailed studs, which could be changed according to the weather conditions of play.
Football Boots - The 1940's to 1960's
Football boots styles shifted significantly after the end of the second world war, as air travel became cheaper and more international fixtures were played. This saw the lighter, more flexible football boot being worn by the South Americans being thrust onto the world stage, and their ball skills and technical ability amazed all those that watched them. Football boot production shifted to producing a lighter football boot with the focus on kicking and controlling the ball rather than simply producing a piece of protective footwear.
1948 saw the formation of the Adidas company by Adolf (Adi) Dassler after a falling out with his brother that was to form the cornerstone of football boot maker rivalry for the preceding years up to today. Brother Rudolf founded the beginnings of the Puma company in 1948, quickly producing the Puma Atom football boot. This led to interchangeable screw in studs made of plastic or rubber for the first time, reputedly by Puma in the early 1950's but the honour is also claimed by Adidas ( Read the Story on Footy-Boots ). Football boots of the time were still over the ankle, but were now being made of a mixture of synthetic materials and leather, producing and even lighter shoe for the players of the day to display their skills with.
Football Boots - The 1960's
The technological developments of the sixties bought a momentous step-change in design which saw the lower cut design introduced for the first time in football history. This change allowed players to move faster and saw the likes of Pele wearing Puma football boots in the 1962 World Cup Finals. Adidas, though, quickly emerged as the market leader, a position it claims until the present day. In the World Cup Finals of 1966, an astonishing 75% of players wore the Adidas football boot.
The 1960's also saw several other football boot makers joining the market with their own brands and styling including Mitre (1960), Joma (1965) and Asics (1964).
Football Boots - The 1970's
The seventies began with the iconic 1970 World Cup Finals which saw a sublime Brazilian team lift the trophy with Pele again at the helm, this time wearing the Puma King football boot. The decade itself will be remembered for the way in which football boot sponsorship took off, where players were being paid to wear only one brand. In terms of design and style, technological advancements produced lighter boots, and a variety of colours, including for the first time, the all-white football boot.
In 1979, Adidas produced the world's best selling football boot the Copa Mundial, built of kangaroo leather and built for speed and versatility. Although Adidas remained dominant, several other football boot makers joined the fray including Italian football boot maker Diadora (1977).
Football Boots - The 1980's
The greatest development of recent times in the design and technology of football boots was developed in the eighties by former player Craig Johnston, who created the Predator football boot, which was eventually released by Adidas in the 1990's. Johnston designed the Predator to provide greater traction between football boot and the ball, and football boot and the ground. The design allowed for greater surface areas to come into contact with the ball when being hit by the football boot, with a series of power and swerve zones within the striking area allowing the player to create greater power and swerve when hitting the “sweet spots”. The eighties also saw football boots for the first time being made by English company Umbro (1985), Italy's Lotto and Spain's Kelme (1982).
Football Boots - 1990's
1994 saw Adidas release the Craig Johnston designed Predator with its revolutionary design, styling and technology making it an instant and lasting success. The Predator by now featured polymer extrusion technologies and materials allowing for a more flexible sole as well as the conventional studs being replaced by a bladed design covering the sole, giving a more stable base for the player. In 1995 Adidas released their bladed outsole traxion technology which are tapered shaped blades. Puma hit back in 1996 with a foam-free midsole football boot, known as Puma Cell Technology, to which Adidas responded again, this time with wedge shaped studs in the same year. The nineties saw new football boot producers Mizuno release their Mizuno Wave in 1997. Other new football boots came from Reebok (1992) and Uhlsport (1993) with other companies also joining the ever increasing, lucrative and competitive market place. Most significantly the nineties saw the entry of Nike , the world's biggest sportswear producer, immediately making an impact with its Nike Mercurial soccer boot (1998), weighing in at just 200g.
Football Boots - 2000+
As technology advanced still further, the application of the new research and developments were seen in the years into the new millennium right up to the present day and this has led to a reinforcement of the market positions of the big three football boot makers and sellers, Puma, Nike and Adidas (incorporating Reebok since 2006). Fortunately, there still remains room in the market place for the smaller producer that does not have the big money endorsement contracts at its disposal, such as Mizuno, Diadora, Lotto, Hummel and Nomis .
Recent developments since 2000 have seen the Nomis Wet control technology producing a sticky boot (2002), the Craig Johnston Pig Boot (2003), shark technology by Kelme (2006) and the exceptional design of the Lotto Zhero Gravity laceless football boots (2006) all of which underpin the successes that these smaller makers can achieve by producing specialised and technologically advanced football boots that provide a distinct differentiation from the mass produced products of the big three. Laser technology has also helped to produce the world's first fully customised football by Prior 2 Lever , which is perhaps the most exciting and innovative of the recent developments.
Current favourite football boots include Adidas' F50, Tunit and Predator; Nike's Mercurial Vapor III, Air Zoom Total 90s and Tiempo Ronaldinho, Reebok Pro Rage and Umbro X Boots.
Football Boots - The Future
As the debate rages with regards the lack of protection given by modern football boots , and the repercussion in terms of player injuries, there seems little to suggest that the major manufacturers are going to give up their quest for the lightest football boot for a more protective one. The proliferation of big money sponsorship deals, namely Nike Ronaldinho , Adidas with David Beckham and Reebok with Thierry Henry , has become a huge factor that drives the success and sales of a football boot maker, but is viewed as at a cost of injury and stagnation in football boot research and development. All we can predict for the future is integration with sensor technology, lighter and more powerful football boots and more outlandish designs and styles.
Football boots have travelled a long way since King Henry strutted onto the fields of England in the 1500's: the football boot has gone from an everyday protective apparel to a highly designed and cutting edge technological product which is a vital part of the player's equipment. Whatever the colour, the design, the style or the player - we love footy boots !
by : http://www.footy-boots.com/
General Football boots Advice
General Football boots Advice
Football Boots - Studs, moulded, blades, soft ground, firm ground, confused? The last five years have seen an explosion in grassroots football with over five million youngsters registered across the country. This explosion has also seen an extension to the normal Football playing season with the introduction of summer tournaments, fun days, summer Football schools, development centres and even football tours abroad! Football has now become an all year round sport, which also means climate changes and different playing surfaces. Football Players should always wear the most appropriate type of boot to coincide with the type of ground they will play on. Flashy, fashionable Football Boots may look good but will they do a satisfactory job on a particular surface?
The type of outsole (bottom of the Football Boots) will have a direct effect on the function of the foot and should be a major consideration when playing Football . A good Football Boots should give you support, stability, grip and traction allowing the Football player to perform.
These outsoles fall into three Type of football ground : soft ground, firm ground and hard ground.
Soft ground boots (SG) consist of studs or blades and are ideally suited for use on soft natural grass surfaces, mainly through the winter months. Studs can be changeable to different lengths depending on the softness of the surface. Bladed stud configurations are normally fixed directly to the outsole and the depth of blade can vary from Football Boots to Football Boots, with some models even having a metal tip at the end of the blade which like a stud, can be replaced with replacement tips if worn or damaged.
Firm ground boots (FG) use moulded or short bladed outsoles which can be used on firm natural grass surfaces that have become too hard for a traditional stud or long blade to sink into. These Football Boots would be used through the spring/summer months, pre-season or end of season. Again these outsoles differ in styles and length of stud depending on manufacturer. The number of studs or short blades can vary from Football Boots to Football Boots and will not be removable. The greater the number of studs the better the stability of the foot over a wider area. This can also reduce the pressure on the foot as the weight is distributed more evenly, especially if the studs or blades are short and are positioned right to the edge of the sole
Hard ground (HG) boots are for very hard natural surfaces. These outsoles will have a multiple stud configuration which consists of short low rubber studs which are very close together and normally will cover the whole sole; these are non removable. This Football Boots should be worn on pitches where there is very limited give in the surface unlike firm natural surfaces which still has a reasonable degree of softness to allow a stud to sink in. With the design of low profile studs, they will not fully penetrate the ground, but the playing surface is still roughly pitted and textured, so the studs find their own grip on the surface of the pitch. These Hard ground Football Boots are also suited for Astro surfaces.
Football Boots uppers are made from many different materials but usually leather or man-made synthetics. In some cases the upper will consist of a mixture of the two. Leather can mould to the shape of the foot better and be very comfortable with a realistic feel to the ball. However, leather can also stretch when wet and sometimes becomes too soft to provide any protection. Synthetic Football Boots are generally cheaper than leather but ,with modern materials such as synthetics, Football Boots now have the ability to let the foot breathe through the fabric, therefore reducing sweating, making the boot more comfortable to wear.
The position of laces can also vary greatly, from the traditional top of the foot position to running down the side of the Football Boots. Apart from being fashionable there are two advantages with the laces moved to the side of the Football Boots. Firstly, it gives the top of the Football Boots a bigger, flatter area in which to control and strike the ball; this is known as the sweet spot. Secondly, it removes pressure from the top of the foot, which has a multiple of criss-crossing small nerves running over the top of the Football Boots. It could be argued that on a child's Football Boots, the top of Football Boots would require more protection as their feet would still be soft and still developing solid bone structures, this would mean they would benefit from a traditional style Football Boots, with padded tongue and laces positioned at the top of the Football Boots.
A young child starting out in football may want to consider a Velcro Football Boots instead of a lace up. These Football Boots are great for youngsters looking for independence or who have trouble doing up laces.
All surfaces are different of course. Our British weather is very changeable, making the surfaces we play on very changeable too. If you are unsure which Football Boots and outsole would be best on that particular day, try different Football Boots before kick off or in your warm up. A little jogging with some light twisting and turning will give you some idea if your Football Boots are good for those conditions. Ask yourself are they comfortable? Is there enough cushioning when pounding the ground? Is there enough grip and traction? Like all good footballers, be prepared; always have a second pair of Football Boots on the touchline in case you may need to change.
Whatever your Football Boots, make sure they are maintained. After playing, remove all mud and wipe them clean with warm water. Always let the Football Boots dry naturally, with newspaper stuffed inside to help absorb the water and keep the shape of the boot. Putting them on a radiator or in an airing cupboard will dry them far too quickly, cracking the leather, and making them hard and uncomfortable to wear. After the Football Boots are dry, a light polish and buff can be added to bring them back to their best.
If changing or cleaning studs, add a slight lubricant to the stud thread to prevent any rusting if moisture gets in. Ensure the stud is tight, but not too tight to damage the thread. (Too much lubricant will reduce the friction and prevent the stud from properly tightening).
Always try to put your boots on, either in the dressing room or at pitch-side. Walking across car parks or on concrete paths will damage the soles and sharpen the studs or blades which can lead to injury. It is important to check your soles on a regular basis.
To give any player a psychological boost before a game, make sure you feel comfortable in your boots to get maximum enjoyment from the game. Remember that your boots should not only look good but feel good!
Football boots -More than 50%, the players that are listed in the Golden Boots award list made by the European Sports Magazine (ESM), come to represent the countries that participate in the next football summer tournament in Switzerland and Austria.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger who plays for Manchester United, tops the list with 72 points, a result of his 36 goals up until 10th March. For players who are playing in the top league such as the EPL, Serie A and La Liga, ESM multiplies the goals made with "2" to determine the points gained by the players.
The purpose of these coefficient differences is to put a different standard of football played in various countries, so when a player scored 50 goals, but if he played in a weaker league he won't top the list over players who play in a much more competitive league.
Ronaldo is followed closely by fellow footballers, who pundits expect to rise and shine at Euro 2008, such as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Holland) of Ajax Amsterdam, Fernando Torres (Spain) of Liverpool, Zlatan Ibrahimovic ( Inter Milan ) of Sweden and Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyon) of France.
From the Golden Boots list, a Russian player by the name of Dmitri Lipartov (JK Trans Nava) is also listed, he tops the Russian league goal scorer list with 29 goals. But unfortunately he has never been capped for the Russian National side. The striker has high hopes of getting called into the squad by Russian manager, Guus Hiddink, but somehow the odds seem to be against him, due to his 34 year old age disadvantage.
Author: Hans David | Posted: 03-04-2008 |Football Boots
Football Boots Tips
A series of guides to help improve your performance at & enjoyment of sport. We thought even though you probably know how to prolong the life of a Football boots we would get our ex-professional footballer and Managing Director, Bruce Bannister, to shed some light on caring for your Football boots Selection & Care of Your Soccer Footwear
Top Tips of Football Boots:
1. Caring for the Leather
boots relating to football generally have black leather uppers so that any scuff marks or stud marks can be polished out and so the natural oils can be replaced by polish, Dubbin or oil after the Football boots have been dried.
2. Drying
The best way of drying Football boots is to stuff them with paper and allow them to dry naturally. Never force-dry them (i.e. next to, or on a radiator, or in an airing cupboard). There are three main reasons for not force drying. The first is that, obviously, the upper is cemented to the sole unit and anything hot can dry out this adhesion. The second is that leather uppers react badly to too much heat, the leather drying up and becoming hard and brittle. The third is that the sole unit can warp if the heat is intense enough.
3. Types of Leather Uppers
The best leather uppers - i.e. hardest wearing, softest, that mould to the feet best - historically have been kangaroo skin. There are now oil based, water repellent leather that do a similar job (e.g. Pittards leather). Then we have full grain leather uppers from various origins ( e.g. American hide, Italian etc.) which wear well and are very supple.
4. Other types of Uppers
Further down the scale is split leather with a polyurethane (P.U.) coating, then synthetic Football boots which are still normally the cheapest. On the way through the scale, of the best downwards, are varying degrees of mixtures of full grain forefoot with the rear split leather with a P.U. coating or full grain forefoot with rear synthetic or forefoot split and rear synthetic etc.
5. New Types of Uppers
For over 50 years quality leather dominated the uppers of football boots. There are now uppers witha mix of Kangaroo leather and rubber (i.e. adidas Predator) which arguably give better touch on the ball. Nike have been working for years on complex synthetic uppers that perform equally as well as
leather but give a better feel on the ball.
6. Selection
Helpful information on selection of Football boots / shoes.
There are four basic types of football boots : (i) Changeable studded Football boots (ii) Moulded Football boots (often referred to as 'rubber studs' or 'rubbers') (iii) Astro-turf shoes (iv) Indoor football trainers.
(i) Football boots with Changeable Studs:
In the UK, these are the best sellers. In the rest of the world moulded Football boots are best. This is because of the changeable weather conditions in the UK - the studs can be changed to longer studs when it is muddy and wet and shorter studs when it is dry and hard - a balanced decision being made between traction and comfort.
· (ii) Moulded Football boots:
Multi - studded sole units ( generally 16 studs ) are often made of rubber, thus known as 'rubbers'. Much more comfortable on drier, natural pitches they provide good grip on drier ground but the more wet and soft the ground becomes, the less grip is given.
(iii) Astro-turf Shoes:
Extensively used in both football and hockey. Hard wearing rubber sole units with many small studs for traction on artificial surfaces. Often used as casual 'trainers' because of the hard wearing nature of the sole. Because of the hard nature of the artificial surfaces, there is generally a comfortable midsole to help absorb shock in Astro-Turf shoes. Not often used on natural surfaces as the closeness of the studs can clog with mud.
(iv) Indoor Football Trainers:
Sole units are generally flat and made of clear gum rubber. Not as hard wearing as carbon black mix rubber sole units ( i.e. sole units which are coloured black ), but will grip the indoor surfaces much better because of the softness. Many sports hall managers will not allow black sole units, as the carbon black can mark the floors.There are also 3 new types of outsoles based around the bladed sole unit.
(a) Moulded Bladed Sole Unit for soft natural surfaces
This has deep blades that allow traction on wet surfaces.
(b) Moulded Bladed Sole Unit for firm or hard ground
This type has the same postion of blade a
(a) but has a less deep
blade so that traction can be gained but also for comfort.
(c) Adidas has this year brought out an inovation of a bladed sole unit which has 8 blades, six of which are changable. This allows stud length to be changed to suit the ground conditions as well as when the
blade wears.
7. Care of Studded Football boots
When the changeable studded Football boots are first purchased, normally the studs will not be tightened. It is advisable to tighten them and while doing so, add a touch of Vaseline to the screw part to help stop the studs rusting into the boot.
8. Fit of Boots
Obviously, if a child is growing there needs to be room for growth. When growing has stopped, boots need to fit snugly. The reason being that there should be no movement inside when playing; leather when put under pressure stretches and when wet and put under pressure stretches even more.
9. 'Breaking - in' of Football boots
The best way to break Football boots in, is in the wet - when it has just rained or is raining. This allows the leather upper to fit to the foot. Vaseline can help reduce the possibility of blisters ( i.e. Vaseline the foot prior to putting boots on). Many professionals initially break boots in without socks.
articles by : www.richmondaviators.com