FOOTY FAIR

Where's Your Head At? Download the SoccerHeadz

2015-08-30T16:00:00.000-04:00

Created for WGS (wegotsoccer.com) "SoccerHeadz" are a fun way to have your own stand-up paper figurine of some of the most popular footballers on the planet. Currently SoccerHeadz are available in 3 varieties (Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo) and you can download them below and see the easy instruction video on how to put them together.

Yann Dalon's Incredible Football Illustrations (Gallery)

2015-07-22T17:21:00.000-04:00

We here at FootyFair quite often feature various artists who's work revolves around football. To date we have showcased hundreds of illustrators, painter and designer from around the world, but Paris based illustrator Yann Dalon's style may just be one of my favorites so far. The technique and colors used (not to mention the actual artistic skill) is absolutely incredible and he will surely be on our list of artists to watch in the future.

We urge you to follow Yann on Twitter @YannDalon and check him out on his Tumblr page.

5 Annoying Transfer Dramas Involving Barcelona

2015-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Every football supporter around the world loves to see their club pursue new signings that will bolster the side and take them to the next level.

But what few of us like is the "will he or won't he" dramas that play out in the media these days.

Transfer speculation is one thing, but the drawn out affairs like the recent rumours of David De Gea moving to Real Madrid are more tedious than a midfielder who only passes sideways. But it seems that Madrid's bitter rivals Barcelona have been the bigger culprits of initiating transfer soap operas in recent years.

The following are five of the most annoying transfer dramas Barcelona have been involved in:

Neymar to Barcelona

Barcelona had relentlessly chased the Brazilian starlet Neymar, who started his career at Santos, for over two years and despite the players assurances he wasn't going anywhere they eventually landed their man in the summer of 2013. The reported transfer fee of €57 million then came under heavy scrutiny, and an eventual investigation, as €40 million of it allegedly ended up in the bank account of a company connected to Neymar's family. Yeah, nothing dodgy there...

Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona

Let's talk about Cesc baby. Actually, let's not. The protracted wooing by Barcelona of their former youth team player Cesc Fabregas seemed to go on for an eternity. After a few years of trying to get Arsenal to relinquish their creative midfielder in chief, Cesc finally joined Barcelona in 2011 for approximately €29 million.

Luis Suarez to Arsenal and then Barcelona

Serial biter Luis Suarez had a tumultuous time at Liverpool, drawing a suspension for biting Chelsea's Ivanovic and also losing time for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra. During all of this he also found the time to push for a move to Arsenal, before grudgingly staying with Liverpool for one more season. After nearly leading the Anfield club to the title in 2014, he then forced a move to Barcelona for £65 million.

Thierry Henry to Barcelona

Thierry Henry is a Arsenal legend but, like several other Gunners players after him, he pushed for a move when it became apparent that the club weren't going to spend the money needed to dislodge Chelsea and Manchester United from the top of English Premier League. After two summers of looking likely to leave, and a very open courtship with Barcelona, Henry left for the Catalan giants in 2007 for €24 million.

Ronaldinho to Barcelona

Maybe it's something about Barcelona always getting their man, despite efforts by others to the contrary, but they ended up scooping up the buck toothed Brazilian star Ronaldinho in 2003 after the Paris St. Germain midfielder had been relentlessly pursued by Manchester United all summer. While Ronaldinho put pen to paper in Spain, United would end up "settling" for a pimply winger named Cristiano Ronaldo that summer instead.

No Easy Road for Argentina at the Copa America

2015-06-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

As the 2015 Copa America moved into the knockout stages this week I couldn't help but be startled by the quality of opposition that Argentina will potentially come up against if they are to have any chance in lifting the trophy.

After Argentina finished off Jamaica 1-0 to top their group, a bemused Lionel Messi who won his 100th cap on the night was asked by opposition forward DeShorn Brown to pose for a selfie.

While some of us shook our head at the latest example of annoying trends seeping into modern football, the Argentine's were likely already looking ahead to a decidedly difficult knockout phase.

Despite winning their respective group, Argentina will first come up against a Colombia side in the Quarter-Finals, who were made it to the last eight in last summer's World Cup.

Should Argentina make it past Colombia, they will then likely come up against Brazil who face Paraguay in their Quarter Final.

Brazil though have been rocked by the loss of Neymar, who was red carded after his country's group stage loss to Colombia and then showered the referee with abuse.

Getting into the stretched hypothetical stage now, if Argentina gets past Brazil they would almost certainly face one of the two strongest sides on the other side of the bracket in Chile or Uruguay.

Breaking it down like this, and after watching an action packed group stage, it's apparent how strong this tournament is despite it not getting the coverage or fan fate of the European Championships.

The knockout rounds are certainly shaping up to be very interesting indeed and if you're Argentina there doesn't appear to be an easy route to the final.

5 Players to Watch in the 2015 Copa America

2015-06-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Kicking off on June 11, Chile will play host to the 2015 Copa America and some of the finest players in the world will be hoping to lead their sides to glory.

The following are five players to watch for in Chile:

Lionel Messi

This one is a no-brainer. Lionel Messi is the undisputed greatest player on the planet at the moment and, incredibly, seemed to find his richest vein of form in the last few months of the Spanish season for Barcelona. Argentina are inevitably among the favourites to win this tournament and they will look to the "Magisterial" Messi to inspire them.

Neymar

One of Brazil's lone bright spots as they scraped through to the Semi-Final of the 2014 World Cup, Neymar missed his country's 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany and will hope to be a big part of a side looking to restore their dented pride. Neymar has been brilliant at times for Barcelona this season and should shine in Chile.

James Rodriguez

The Golden Boot winner in last summer's World Cup, James Rodriguez will again be key to Colombia's hopes. A good first season for Real Madrid confirmed that he was the real deal as he showcased his outstanding passing range to go along with his goals from midfield since his big money move last summer. For Colombia to win their first Copa America since 2001, James will have to be on form.

Alexis Sanchez

After a strong showing in last summer's World Cup, Chile's Alexis Sanchez will be counted on lead his side to the first Copa America win in their history. The 26-year old, who stars for Arsenal in the English Premier League, is Chile's creative fulcrum and if he's able to reduce his club form for his country the hosts could be in for a great tournament.

Edinson Cavani

With Luis Suarez suspended from the tournament thanks to sinking his teeth into Italian Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, Edinson Cavani will be counted on more than ever to provide the inspiration and goals for Uruguay. After firing his club side PSG to a French domestic treble Cavani will be trying to help his country defend the title they won at the 2011 Copa America, but they're facing some stiff competition and won't be helped by the absence of Suarez.

The Roundtable: The Best Player You've Seen in Person

2015-05-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Every weekend we go beyond the headlines and talk to real football fans about current topics or issues in the football world.

Today the group discussed their the best players they've had the privilege of seeing in the flesh.

On the round table today we were joined by:

Bramble
Parmar
Luka
Wes
Hawk
Iain (me)

Who is the best player you've seen play in person, when did you see them and why were they so special?

Iain:

Best player I've seen in person is Zinedine Zidane in a pre-season friendly between his Real Madrid side and Roma in 2002. His touch, balance, range of passing and control was out of this world. The guy was magical. Even in the pre-match warm up he was ridiculous to watch.

Bramble:
I guess for me the best player i've seen live would be either Romario or Eric Cantona. I saw Romario here in Canada post WC 94 and he was phenomenal. A bit of a douche though. He went on to win the World Cup that summer. The King (Cantona) I've seen enough times during my reign of going to Old Trafford regularly in the 90's he was good before his kung fu incident but after he was somehow even better. His touches were amazing and the flicks and tricks and vision were always unparalleled to me. I agree with your opinion on Zidane but for me the King has to be.

Parmar:
Eden Hazard. I was in attendance for Chelsea v Sporting in this year's Champions League. The kid was magic to watch; what he does with the ball to beat opponents, his confidence when taking on opponents 1 v 1 or as I had the pleasure of seeing 1 v 3 or 4 is truly precious. For me, all Chelsea bias aside, this kid will be one of the greats in the history books once he's finished with his career.

Bramble:
Some of the players of today are something special, I just chose mine based on the fact that it was a bit of a tougher game back then. Yet the skill was top notch.

Parmar:
If I had to choose one from waaaay back when, and some of you pricks may laugh at me for even bringing his name up in this conversation, Domenic Mobilio. I had the pleasure of growing up watching and even training with him in Van. When it comes to Canadian football he was special in my opinion.

Wes:
Is it a bad thing that the best player I've ever seen live was David Beckham? It was the first leg of TFC vs LA Galaxy. What made him so special, is that honestly, looking at everyone on that pitch, you could tell he was worlds apart from the rest of them. Even with people tossing toilet paper, and I think a beer cup, he kept his cool.

I don't think I got a chance to see what he is truly capable of live, but it was a pleasure to watch him.

Parmar:
I remember saying to my buddy "his passes are still pinpoint" in that match.

Bramble:
Wasn't that me? (Laughs)

Iain:
Beckham comes in for a lot of grief, because of his underwear modelling and strange looking wife mainly, but he looked miles better than anyone on the pitch when he played for LA against us in Toronto. His crosses and delivery from set plays seemed effortless.

Hawk:
It was a treat to watch him.

Bramble:
Yeah, but oh man did we raise a unholy noise when TFC scored those two goals against LA that night. Toronto has not known such fearsome noise.

Parmar:
It was special.

Luka:
Best player I've seen live I think is Luka Modrić. Saw him play against Milan at San Siro, in the 2nd leg of r.16 of CL. He came around the 60th minute as he was coming off an injury and despite this he was still amazing. The vision, off the ball movement, skills, timing and that outside of the boot pass! He's the type of player you really appreciate when you watch live.

I also really enjoyed watching Neymar and Alexis Sanchez in the Brazil v Chile friendly at skydome last year. Also it's an absolute joy to watch Niko Kranjčar, saw him play three times within two weeks (EPL, CL and international friendly) and he's just a magician with the ball at his feet.

I've seen a lot of good players play in MLS but none of them come close to those 4.

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Thank you for reading this week's Roundtable.

10 Outrageous Quotes by Diego Maradona

2015-05-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Argentinean legend Diego Maradona caused a minor stir this week after he dared to state that Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo strikes more fear into the hearts of goalkeepers than his country's current favourite son Lionel Messi.

Taken in context though it isn't really that controversial what the former Napoli midfielder said:

"Cristiano is a predator in front of goal. You can’t let Cristiano shoot from anywhere in the opposition half.

Goalkeepers are scared of him. You have to be honest, goalkeepers are scared of Cristiano. They are not so scared of Messi in those areas because he doesn’t have the same power as Cristiano.

Cristiano is an incredible professional. I think at this present time he is right up there at Messi’s level."

In fact this is all rather lighthearted material from the man who often appears before a camera or a microphone without a filter.

Here are ten of his real gems:

My mother thinks I am the best. And I was raised to always believe what my mother tells me.
There would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen - me or Pele. Everyone would say me.
Pele should go back to the museum.
Usually, when you see (Pele) these days, it's only at award ceremonies next to the president of FIFA and looking like a doll that's being moved by remote control
We all know what the French are like and Platini as a Frenchman thinks he knows it all.
My legitimate kids are Dalma and Giannina. The rest are a product of my money and mistakes.
I think (George W.) Bush is a murderer. I'm going to head the march against him stepping foot on Argentine soil.
Maybe Neymar is the best player in the world, but only if you say that Messi is from a different planet.
I say this: the player who scores our winning goal in the final is free to enter me from behind
To those who did not believe: now suck my dick - I'm sorry ladies for my words - and keep on sucking it. I am either white or black. I will never be grey in my life. You treated me as you did. Now keep on sucking dicks. I am grateful to my players and to the Argentinian people. I thank no one but them. The rest, keep on sucking dicks.

'Back to Home' - a Photoshop Project (Gallery)

2015-04-19T20:00:00.000-04:00

'Back to Home' is a project created by Brazilian designer André Soares, in which he brings back established footballers currently playing in Europe back to the clubs that developed them originally, using the magic of Photoshop.

The Round Table: Neymar, Messi and Suarez

2015-04-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

Every weekend we go beyond the headlines and talk to real football fans about current topics or issues in the football world.

Today the group discussed Barcelona's scintillating attacking threesome of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

On the round table today we were joined by:

Bramble
Parmar
Jay
Iain (me)

Messi, Suarez and Neymar. Are they the greatest attacking threesome you've ever seen in football?

Parmar:
Now? Not yet, but the more they play together and the more I see the three of them play together they could very well be on the road to that label. The major thing is Messi seems to be keeping Hannibal Lector (Suarez) in check on the field.

Bramble:
I'd probably have to say so... In all my years of watching footy i haven't' seen a trio that was that deadly. I could argue the rotation of Cole, Yorke and Ole (Who put the ball in the German's net) and Teddy (Ohhhhhh Teddy! Teddy!) was the best pairing but they rarely, if ever, were on 3 at a time. But these three are amazingly deadly.... Right now they're still figuring it out but occasionally you see what's going to come in the future and the future is scary if you aren't a Barca supporter.

Iain:

Rivaldo, Fat Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho have to be in the conversation.

Parmar:

Different dynamic. That Brazilian threesom had defined roles, while these three on Barca are just scary, as they are all similar players and swap roles. The opposition doesn't know who will be pulling the strings as the playmakers and who is your goal scorer.

Jay:

Club football or just in general on any team ever? Currently, I don't think any team has the same deadly talent. Real Madrid would probably be the closest with Bale, CR7 and Benzema. Still miles off with the first and latter in that three though in my opinion. As for Brazil.... that lineup was insane together. Arguably better and more consistent in their day.

Iain:

International or club trios are fair game for this discussion. "Friends of FIFA" World XI vs "Zidane and Family" bullshit friendlies are out though.

Jay:

Costa and Hazard may be up for discussion, but I can't think of another player with the same calibre and constant impact to fill the other attacking role (I consider Cesc to be a MF). United misses out because RvP and Falcao can't figure out how to play together and stay fit. RvP, Falcao and Rooney would be immense with the right tactics, but we have yet to see that.

Parmar:

If Oscar would get his head out of his ass I would be with you on that, Jay.

Iain:

Louis van Gaal would never start those three together at United. Rooney could play off of either of those two, but neither RVP or Falcao are that flexible.

Bramble:

I saw first hand how deadly 'true' Ronaldo, who some of you call 'fat', Rivaldo and Ronaldinho were as they tore England's defense asunder in World Cup 2002. Schooling us with one of the greatest counter attacking goals I've seen, and just general trashing of our defense. Definitely they should be in the conversation.

In Conclusion:

At this present moment the Round Table agrees for the most part that there isn't an attacking line up in football quite like Barcelona's attacking three. However, when having any conversation about a great threesome (no pun intended) you have to consider the Brazilian attack of 2002.

Thanks for checking out this week's Round Table.

5 Most Expensive Players in Barcelona’s History

2015-03-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Over the years, Barcelona has had some of the greatest players on the planet, and currently they have who is believed to be the greatest ever. While they proud themselves on developing their own talent, not every star that has played for Barcelona was a home grown talent.

In many cases, Barcelona has gone into the market looking for that one player that will complement their roster and take them to the next level. They will always be known for their development of players and not their spending, but when they do spend they don’t do it cheaply.

Here are the five most expensive players in Barcelona’s history.

David Villa - £34.2m

David Villa was one of the best strikers playing in the La Liga when he made the move from Valencia to Barcelona, so it was no surprise that Barcelona had to pay £34.2 million.

Alongside Messi and Pedro in the front of the attack, Villa proved to be a great addition to the Catalan giants during the 2010/11. If not for an injury that saw him break his tibia during the Club World Cup, he would probably have even a bigger impact at the club. The injury saw him out of action for nearly 8 months and once he returned to the team, he wasn’t the same player. He was never able to regain the form of old too much of Barcelona’s dismay.

He would end up with 48 goals in 116 appearances for Barcelona before making a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013.

Cesc Fabregas - £35m

His dream of one day returning to Barcelona was fulfilled in 2011. Barcelona had to pay £35m for a player that they had given up on and that had flourished at Arsenal. This was the worst kept secret of the summer of 2011. Everyone knew that Fabregas wanted to join Barcelona and that Barcelona wanted their former youth player back. It was just a matter of how much would it cost.

He was never able to gain a regular spot on the team, but how could he when the midfield had the names of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta ahead of his. A tuff task for anyone, so while successful in terms of titles, his stay in Barcelona was not as productive when you considered minutes of play. Having said that his first two seasons saw him having more minutes either off the bench or as a fake number 9, but his third season proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

This summer’s move to Chelsea was the ideal scenario for someone who wanted regular playing time.

Neymar - £48.6m

One of the most talked about player signings in the modern game has to be Neymar’s move from Brazilian side Santos to Barcelona. Life in Barcelona has been good for Neymar, he seemed to fit quickly with the Barcelona style of play and the partnership with Messi helped both players.

The money paid will end up being worth every penny as this young star rises through and is sure to become one of the game’s elite players for years to come.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - £40m + Samuel Eto'o

The time Zlatan spent at Barcelona can only be seen as a failure. Despite his 22 goals in 46 appearances, the Swedish international didn’t fit well with the team mates and coaching staff at Barcelona.

His talent is unquestionable, but his style of play did not fit the free flowing midfield driven Barcelona. He always seemed like a man lost in the ocean, so it wasn’t a surprise when he was sent to AC Milan, where he succeeded once again before making a millionaire move to PSG.

Luis Suarez - £75m

This summer Barcelona signed what is to date their most expensive signing. Luis Suarez broke the bank for a reported £75 million from Liverpool.

After a biting incident at the World Cup which saw him getting suspended for the start of the season, the Uruguayan international is working on regaining his form and become the point man on an offensive trio like no other in football. Neymar, Messi and Suarez could easily be the best offensive trio ever assembled in one squad.

But this is all in theory, if the transfer fee paid by Barcelona will pay off in the end only time will tell.

Cubist Footballers By Robin Gundersen (Gallery)

2015-01-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

Talented Norwegian graphic artist Robin Gundersen is our latest featured artist on Footyfair with his cubist style images of some of the biggest stars in modern football.

To see more of his work, check out his portfolio site: https://www.behance.net/robingundersen

Neymar Sued for Joining Barcelona

2014-12-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

Now I can officially say that I have heard it all. A Santos FC fan has launched a lawsuit against Neymar for leaving Santos and joining Barcelona.

Media outlets in Brazil are reporting that Brazilian lawyer and lifelong Santos fan, Luciano Pereira Caparroz has entered a motion to sue Neymar for signing a pre-contract with Barcelona before the match against Santos at the 2011 Club World Cup.

This is the kind of thing I thought it only happened in the United States but turns out I was wrong. The Brazilian lawyer claims he spent near £2,000 to travel to Japan and attend the match. Once he arrived in Japan he found out that Neymar had signed a pre-agreement with Barcelona and he was furious. Santos would go on to lose that match 4-0 which I am sure added to his anger and displeasure.

Being a lawyer he will at least save on his lawyer fees, but I would hope the judge would look at this and fine him for misuse of the judicial’ s system time.

He filed the lawsuit against Neymar and N&N, the company owned by Neymar’s father who represents the player. The lawsuit was filed in Sao Paulo for £6,600. He is asking for three times what he claimed he spent, perhaps the extra is for his pain and suffering of going so far and seeing his team get demolished by Barcelona.

"I'm a Santista, I go to all the games and I decided to travel to Japan to watch the Club World Cup. I was left frustrated with the result and on top of that, later on we learned that Neymar was already sold. I feel cheated," he was quoted by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

Neymar and N&N have not commented the lawsuit or any of the allegations put forward by Caparroz.

Bionic Barca and Their Hounds?! (Gallery)

2014-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

We've featured examples of the art from talented graphic artist Sakiroo Choi (@sakirro) in a few of our Art of Football pieces here on FootyFair before, but his outstanding work deserves a page of it's own.

This week he posted up his unique take on a few of the stars of Barcelona, that fans of the club would certainly like to have on their walls. His use of vibrant colours, cartoon likenesses and abstract concepts in my humble opinion contributes greatly to him being one of the more interesting artists out there that does a lot of football related art.

If you'd like to see more of his work, check out: http://sakiroo.com/index_full.php

Germany 7 - Brazil 1: The Most Tweeted Event of the Year in the UK

2014-12-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

This summer in Brazil we witnessed a result for the ages as the German national team thoroughly humiliated a fragile host side 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final.

For the more cynical among us who had shaken their heads at Brazil's sense of footballing entitlement, pre-match crying and holding the injured Neymar's shirt aloft as if the Barcelona star had died or something, Germany's thrashing of the once great football nation was a breath of fresh air.

That said, no one could have predicted the ease in which the eventual World Champions would swat the hosts aside.

Such was the shock as goal after goal flew in, it's now been reported by The London Evening Standard that Germany's semi-final demolition job was the most tweeted about moment in the UK in 2014.

So forget David Cameron, ignore the Scottish referendum and turn a blind eye at that shitty X-Factor show the Brits love so much, it was old rivals Germany's rout of Brazil that won the Twitter league in Blighty this year.

The World Cup itself generated a whopping 672 million tweets, with the shocking Semi-Final registering more mentions than any other event or moment in 2014.

This shows not only the number of football mad people there are in the UK, but also the siesmic scale of this result.

Besides the shock of witnessing a result like this, there is a strange perversity in watching a side get absolutely spanked in the knockout stages of a tournament. I remember seeing an exciting Netherlands side take Yugoslavia behind the woodshed for a good old 6-1 thrashing in the Euro 2000 Quarter Finals, and that made for enjoyable viewing, unless you're from Yugoslavia, in which case it would have been shit. There was also Germany's 4-0 humiliation of Argentina in the 2010. But knockout matches generally don't go like this, and certainly not at the Semi Final stage, so this really was a shock of the highest order.

Brazil had stumbled like a drunk after last call through the tournament to that point, but to see them beaten like this is definitely the main football story of the year, and perhaps not that surprisingly tops on Twitter in the UK.

Players on Halloween (Gallery)

2014-10-31T20:00:00.000-04:00

I have a simple rule when kids come to my door on Halloween, that is if a kid's smokes falls out of his or her pocket when they say trick or treat, they're too damn old and aren't getting a treat.

That being said, I actually love Halloween and typically host or attend a party the weekend around October 31 and costumes are always mandatory.

Some of our favourite football players seem to enjoy getting into the Halloween swing of things as well and here are some of the more memorable costumes that some of them have donned in recent years:

Michael Carrick

Javier Manquillo

Rio Ferdinand and Robin van Persie

Ronaldo

Lionel Messi

Jose Enrique

Alex Morgan and Syndey Leroux

Neymar

Neymar's Ex Girlfriends: Patrícia Jordane and Carol Aranches (Gallery)

2014-09-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

Neymar ex-girlfriends Patrícia Jordane and Carol Aranches team up in a photo-shoot to show that they share more than the fact that both dated Neymar, they also have a love for the game of football.

Paparazzo is the production company behind this photo-shoot.

Football Stars in Vinyl - Part 2 (Gallery)

2014-08-20T18:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back we featured a collection of terrific images by New York-based graphic artist James Taylor.

Taylor imagined what the album covers of football legend's like George Best, Pele and Roberto Baggio would look like if they were musicians, and better yet what these covers would look like in vinyl. To view this incredible collection, check out our piece on Football Legends in Vinyl.

In the meantime feast your eyes on Taylor's interpretation of the potential album covers of some of the current stars of world football:

Bizarre World Cup Souvenir Available in Online Auction

2014-08-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

Every sports fan loves to own a piece of history or something that has a direct connection to a moment in sports. Sometimes this means bizarre items become object of attention and desire and are sold of amounts that far outweigh the real value of the item.

This could indeed be one of those items. The jersey worn by Camilo Zuniga of Colombia when he fouled Neymar and consequently broke his back has been put up for auction on Bazarsports.com.

The quarter-final match between Colombia and Brazil will always be remembered by the foul of Zuniga over Neymar. More than the result, the goals or individual performances, that moment will be recorded in everyone’s mind as perhaps the turning point of Brazil’s fate. Well if you want to own a piece of World Cup history and perhaps have a fetish for bizarre items, bidding on the jersey worn by Zuniga when he broke Neymar’s back should be perfect for you.

You will also need money, I forgot to mention that. The jersey was listed originally for $500, but it already sits at 3 times that amount with only 8 days to go until the end of the auction.

The web site looks legit, they have promotional videos with players like Deco, helping them promote the site and items. They sell football memorabilia, either game worn or autographed item. Anything from jerseys, to cleats, to warm up track suits, they have everything you can imagine at their site.

I am not surprised that someone would want to have this jersey. I have seen people bid on toe nails, hair clips and used underwear, so going for a jersey of a player that was wearing it when he injured Neymar is not that much of a leap when it comes to sports fans.

10 Hottest Footballers on Instagram (Gallery)

2014-08-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

Many footballers use social media as a way to connect with the fans. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are the mediums of choice for most players to share either pictures or their thoughts with fans.

Looking at Instagram and you will find some pictures that are indeed for the ladies, so why not put together a list of the 10 hottest footballers on Instagram.

Teal Bunbury

Cristiano Ronaldo

Edison Cavani

Falcao

Fernando Torres

Juan Mata

James Rodriguez

Podolski

Neymar Jr.

Stuart Holden

5 Less Known Facts About Neymar Jr

2014-08-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Neymar is currently one of the biggest stars in world football, and very little is unknown to his biggest fans. I have tried to dig into his history to find the 5 lesser known facts about him. It wasn’t easy, so I hope these were as surprising to you as they were to me.

Here are the 5 less known facts about Neymar.

Fact 1

Neymar could have played for Brazil in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Dunga was the coach at the time and he refused to call up the young star that was already turning heads with Santos. Over 14,000 fans signed a petition asking the coach to include Neymar in the list of players travelling to South Africa but he refused. Even Pele and Romario joined in with their request to have him on the team. He would help that team, even if only off the bench for small periods of time, but Dunga is as stubborn as they come.

Fact 2

Neymar is the first Brazilian footballer to ever appear on the cover of Time magazine. In 2013, Neymar was featured on the cover of the iconic magazine. The magazine has been around since 1923 and even players like Ronaldo and Pele had never made their cover. This is a huge achievement for Neymar, it may not win him any games or trophies, but it is always a nice thing to have in his personal resume.

Fact 3

According to SportsPro he is the most marketable athlete in the world. He has endorsements from Nike, Police sunglasses, Castrol & L’Oreal. The revenue he generates from these advertisements has made him the seventh richest footballer in the world. He will end up being one of the top earners, as his career progresses and he becomes an even bigger world star. This World Cup in Brazil helps him achieve that level.

Fact 4

Every celebrity and popular pop culture icon has a legion of fans; some of the biggest athletes in the world of sports have a similar following of fans. Normally these fan groups give themselves a name, in the case of Neymar, his fans call themselves Neymarzetes. This is a very strange name for a bunch of people who should just enjoy his play on the field instead of all the other stuff that surrounds a player’s life.

Fact 5

He became a father at the age of 19. While most 19 year olds are busy with school or part time jobs, Neymar was already a father at that tender age. His son’s name is Luca but the mother identity hasn’t been revealed to anyone to protect her identity. This is a similar situation to the one with Cristiano Ronaldo and his son.

More Wonderful Football Art (Gallery)

2014-08-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Like the terrific piece above by Gonza Rodriguez (@_GonzaRodriguez) there is some amazing football related art work being done by a range of talented artists these days.
Following up on last months series on Wonderful Football Portraits, these are a few more pieces that caught my eye recently.

Although the style of these artists differ, each of these pieces are equally impressive. I encourage you to follow these individuals on Twitter and perhaps even purchase some of their incredible work.

Zoran Lucic

Stan Chow

Aki Enu

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Pennarello

Steve Welsh

Dunga Lays Down the Law - Men Do Not Cry

2014-07-29T15:00:00.000-04:00

For the Brazilian National side a new sheriff is in town and the players better shape up or forget about wearing the famous yellow shirt again.

Like R. Lee Emery's demented Drill Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, the crew cut sporting Dunga doesn't have any time for crying or flashiness from his men. Dyed hair, crying and mourning injured players will have no place under Dunga's new regime.

On dyed hair, Dunga had this to say:

“I would not have permitted them to dye their hair while with the national team at the World Cup,” Dunga raged.

“Do it before, or do it after, but not when you should be thinking about the World Cup.”

Commenting all of the crying that took place during Brazil's campaign, Dunga sneered:

“A crying scene like the match against Chile is negative in a world such as football. We are macho, sexist, and we have this idea that men do not cry.”

Speaking on the ridiculous outpouring of grief surrounding Neymar's injury, Dunga had this to say:

“The message transmitted was: we have lost a soldier.

“But if you go to war you cannot be crying about the loss of one solider – you must give strength to the solider who takes his place.”

Even the most casual observer could tell you that Brazil were an emotional mess during the World Cup, and perhaps a tougher approach is what's needed. Besides getting David Luiz to concentrate on staying in position and not losing his head, could Dunga force him to shave his wild hair? What about Neymar's faux hawk?

One thing for certain is that Neymar can forget about wearing his NJR branded caps for the National side in future, as Dunga put his foot down:

“Either you where a Brazil hat, or you don’t wear a hat at all.”

It looks like the new look Brazil are going back to an old school approach.

Fans Vote: 2014 World Cup Best XI

2014-07-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

World Cup fans have voted, and it seems that Brazil was in fact the best team of the tournament since their players make up the majority of this “World Cup Best XI” list.

The list to be honest is a bit of a farce. After Brazil’s inability to secure a top 3 finish, it is not clear whether these “fans” even watched the tournament before logging-in to FIFA's website to vote, dedicating four of the available eleven roster spots to the host nation.

Goalkeeper:

Manuel Neuer (Germany)

One position that almost cannot be disputed was the goalkeeper. Manuel Nauer surely was the best goalkeeper of the tournament, deservedly picking up the gold glove award as the best net-minder of the tournament. Although Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas would have put himself in contention if his squad was possibly able to advance one more round.

Defenders:

David Luiz (Brazil), Mats Hummels (Germany), Marcelo (Brazil), Thiago Silva (Brazil).

This is the big joke. While Mats Hummels undoubtedly deserves a spot on this list and Thiago Silva may have somewhat of a case, David Luiz and especially Marcelo have no business being mentioned on the same page as 2014 World Cup’s best. BBC’s South American Correspondent had this to say about Luiz: “I have to confess that in all my time watching football I have never seen a worse performance from a top level player in a big game than that of David Luiz in the semi-final against Germany”.

There are probably close to a dozen defenders that could have made this list ahead of one or two of the Brazilians. Where is Phillipe Lahm (although you could argue that in this tournament he should be classified as a midfielder) or even Jerome Boateng who was absolutely solid in German’s defense throughout the entire tournament? Or how about any defender that didn’t score the first goal of the World Cup into his own net like Marcelo? Dutch defender Vlaar, Argentina’s Ezequiel Garay, Mexico’s Miguel Layun and even Costa Rica’s Cristian Gamboa all deserved to be mentioned before the Brazilians.

Midfielders:

Angel Di Maria (Argentina), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Toni Kroos (Germany).

The midfield looks like a just list, but was Di Maria actually better throughout the tournament than Arjen Robben for example? Arturo Vidal and Javier Mascherano made a case for themselves as well, although the three midfielders chosen all had a very good tournament, especially Kroos and Golden Boot winner Colombian youngster James Rodriguez.

Forwards:

Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Neymar (Brazil).

Messi it seems, could win an American Idol competition without even participating. The Golden Ball awarded to the Argentine as the best player of the tournament was ridiculous, with at least two or three names that should have been considered ahead of the Barcelona man. So it is no surprise he makes this list, and although to most this may seem correct, I wouldn’t name him among the best three in the tournament. Let’s not forget that for the majority of Argentina’s elimination matches Messi was invisible, creating very little in terms of impact for his squad. Sure he’s got 4 goals, but coming against Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria it is hardly an impressive achievement for the four time Ballon d'Or winner.

As far as Neymar is concerned, I feel awful for what happened to him against Chile and truly wish the Brazilian star a speedy recovery. But to me, there’s absolutely no reason a footballer should make a list of top players in the tournament after two good performances against pretty weak squads and not participating in the final three matches for his team. Yes, he is good. Let me rephrase that, Neyamar is an amazing, talented, incredible footballer, but one that does not deserve to be on this particular list!

I would look at the prolific performances of Van Persie and Karim Benzema for instance before picking Neymar for this list. And even Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz with his 2 goals was much more of a difference maker for his squad up-front.

Can Neymar, Suarez & Messi Play Together?

2014-07-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Will FC Barcelona be able to keep their DNA with these three players on the field at the same time?

Most would say yes, but Johan Cruyff doesn’t think so. I have my doubts as well. The signing of Suarez is not surprising, neither was the signing of Neymar last year. Having said that these are almost the kind of signings you have come to expect from Real Madrid and not Barcelona.

Barcelona has always been a team that promotes talent from within and then complements it with the signing of one or two key players. This new Barcelona seems to be pulling away from that road map that they have followed since the days when Johan Cruyff was the coach. I have no doubt that they needed to find a number 9 to complete the attacking front, like when they had Ronaldo or even Romario, but the main difference is that those teams had one single player that demanded the ball, they have three now. Will there be enough of the ball to go around?

There was a reason why Ibrahimovic didn’t work out at Barcelona, and that same reason could be the downfall of Suarez. These are similar players that need the team to work for them, and give them the ball in the last third. When you have Neymar and Messi playing behind you and holding the ball, their main focus is not necessarily to work for you, but rather work for themselves. You can even argue that Barcelona’s most successful years was when the team worked for Messi, not the other way around. That to me has always been one of the reasons for his success at Barcelona and not with his country. At Barcelona the team worked for him, with Argentina he is expected to work for the team.

When you have this dynamic on the field, and off the field you see the departure of Xavi, Fabregas and Puyol, you have to wonder if the chemistry and philosophy of Barcelona will be affected by so many changes. Instead of promoting from their youth system you see them selling or loaning their youth players, like Cristian Tello going to FC Porto or Dos Santos going to Villarreal, and going after big transfer targets like Suarez and James Rodriguez. This is a complete departure from their previous philosophy, and a scary thought to any Barcelona fan.

Luis Enrique - FCB New Coach

The Barcelona DNA will be put to the test this season and so will Luis Enrique. The new manager has the experience from coaching Roma, but that will not be enough for the expectations that he will have to live up to at Barcelona. Being a former Barcelona and Real Madrid player he probably understand better than most what it means to Barcelona fans and the club to win and to play like Barcelona, but the team that he has been handed is not your typical FCB squad, and lacks veteran leadership. His main focus is to ensure Neymar, Messi and Suarez all get enough of the ball so they can all play nice together, and nobody goes home crying.

His second part is to ensure the DNA of the team is not altered by these three egos, in the end they can be successful if they take a page out of Germany’s book. If they all play for the collective putting personal agendas aside, they can play like Barcelona, otherwise it will be very difficult for the team to regain the podium of Spanish football.

NikeiD Gold Pack Boots Released This Week

2014-07-16T21:00:00.000-04:00

Nike has released their new NikeiD Goal Pack Boots.

Winners get gold that is the thought behind Nike’s new NikeiD Gold Pack Boots, which are only available on NIKEiD.com and their new Nike Football App. Any player is not able to get their own gold Hypervenom, Mercurial Superfly and Magista Boots.

Nike Tiempo Legend V Boot will not be available in gold, so if you like to wear Nike Tiempo, you will have to spray paint them gold.

The NikeiD Gold Pack Boots features the same colors as the Neymar Hypervenom Boot, which is officially called Metallic Gold. According to Nike the color is similar to the color Neymar used to spray on his boots when he was a kid. The dynamic fit collar of the Nike Magista Obra and Superfly cannot be customized, but the Nike swoosh can be changed and customized. No gold laces available at this point.

These new boots will be available to the public this week.

NikeiD Hypervenom Gold Boot

NikeiD Gold Pack

NikeiD Mercurial Superfly