Holiday Soccer Fashion Trends

If you have a family member who loves soccer, the holiday season is the best time to buy the latest gear.

Popular Soccer Apparel

The most popular soccer jerseys are associated with the world's most famous teams. If you want to get your family member a soccer jersey, you might want to choose Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. These teams have beautiful jerseys, with the Real Madrid shirt a perfect white that matches well with all ensembles. The Barcelona colors of blue and dark red are similarly iconic.

If your loved one has a favorite player, chances are it is Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Soccer jerseys with Ronaldo 7 or Messi 10 on the back can be bought online.

Popular Soccer Gear

Portable soccer goals have become very popular over the past few years. If you have a garden or small lawn at the back of your house, a portable soccer goal would go great in that space. These goals come with different features, with some goals allowing players to practice their passing and shooting as if they were playing with another player.

The adidas finale 14 ball is one of the more popular soccer balls right now. This is an exact replica of the ball that was used in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final this past May.

If you are looking for the best gift for your soccer enthusiast then feel free to contact us online and we will help you find the perfect present.

Importance of Footwear for Soccer Players

As the high school and club soccer seasons begin to roll around, it is necessary to turn our attention to the importance of solid, durable soccer footwear.

Cleats come in three different varieties - plastic, synthetic, and leather - and picking the right variety is something every soccer player needs to know how to do.

Plastic cleats are the lowest quality of cleats these days. A teen or adult player will not be able to "feel" the ball as much in plastic cleats, which means he or she may not be able to control the ball with great finesse. However, because of their durable build they will last for a long time. This makes them great for child athletes looking to break into the sport!

Synthetic and leather cleats are very similar. Both of these versions are somewhat costly, so they both have positives and negatives. Leather generally allows for a player to get a better "feel" for the ball, and it also bends better with agile movement. However, synthetic cleats will last slightly longer and have a near-equal amount of "feel" as leather cleats.

All in all, cleat selection plays an important part in performance. One must choose correctly to do well and avoid injury!

If you have any questions about the latest functions in sports footwear and soccer footwear then fill out our contact form online or call us at 1-800-688-8088.

The Group of Death

Photo Courtesy GFE Sport

 

There is a lot of talk about the U.S. national team competing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But it is not regarding the team’s performance. No, the talks all revolve around the “Death Group.” With being drawn to a group with such high class teams like Germany, Portugal, and Ghana, many U.S. supporters do not feel they will make it past the group stage. I however, beg to differ.

The USA team has had great success in the recent tournaments and proven to be a worthy adversary. Let’s take a look at the break down.

Team USA started building this team with the recruitment of coach Jürgen Klinsmann, and has shown poise after a shaky start in the beginning of his national team campaign. He lead the U.S. national team to a Gold Cup Title against Panama. The success preceding Gold Cup 2013 was inevitable. Klinsmann found the recipe of success and took USA to a commanding lead in the tables toward World Cup 2014 Qualification. These factors played a big role on the team's chemistry and they display great confidence to carry out quality play even against tough teams.

Coming into this group, we can see why they call it the “Death Group.” This year’s death group consists of national teams from Germany, Portugal, Ghana, and USA. From the get-go, we can see this being a tough challenge for USA. Historically, our team does not have a strong record against Ghana. Although always close matches, Ghana tends to pull away in the remaining minutes of play.  

Next we have Portugal, another world class talent pull. With such players as Pepe and Coentrao holding back the line, Portugal has a strong defense that many talents cannot break through, and who can forget of the all star midfielder Christiano Ronaldo. With a player of his caliber, the group just got a lot tougher. To top it all off, Germany is in this already explosive lineup. A fully designed machine capable of destroying the most composed of teams. They are set with an array of high profile players, and a goalkeeper that likes his clean sheets.

The group of death is certainly one for the books, but if the U.S. national team is to pull something off, this is the stage to do it in. With most of its backbone talent derived from Europe, the USA national team has made a name for itself in defeating such high profile teams in friendlies.The proficiency of Klinsmann, and the talent that has developed for this national team, will prove some exciting matches and surprising results!

Compression Gear: A Soccer Player’s Best Friend

Photo Courtesy Day Life

Athletes all over the world know how tough it is to keep their body temperature under control while training or during game play, but what most players do not realize is that their lack of mobility, increased body temperature and inability to recover from challenging obstacles is due to their choice of wardrobe. We all know that soccer apparel continues to make strides to produce free flowing and lightweight material, but traditional jerseys and shorts are not helping athletic performance as well as it was designed to be. The fitness industry and sports world all have one thing in common now – compression gear for prime athletic performance.

Compression gear typically is worn underneath shorts or team uniforms, and most people view them as thin and clingy material but they are pure products that are proven to naturally improve an athlete’s performance. While most people see these items as body-hugging fashion trends worn by professionals, compression garments are now the norm among amateurs and weekend warriors everywhere.

These garments are designed to provide mechanical pressure to the body by compressing and supporting underlying tissue just as their originators have done in the medical field. When used properly, clinical compression garments have been shown to:

• Improve functional movement
• Improve circulation in patients with low blood pressure
• Treat varicose and spider veins
• Prevent leg and ankle swelling
• Support wound healing

In the athletic industry, compression gear is making strides to not only keep areas of the body slim

and compact, but to enhance muscle recovery and physical performance. According to research published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, a team of analysts from the University of Wuppertal in Germany found that use of compression gear after a workout and long distance running has the ability to reduce muscle swelling and muscular pain. Which means that compression gear decreases post-exercise recovery time to regain the ability to jump and run after an intense practice or game. So getting back to your maximum performance level will no longer require days of rest, instead you can get back on the field within a few hours of downtime.

Some other benefits of wearing compression gear during training, competition and recovery include:

• Accelerate blood circulation and oxygen to remove lactic acid during competition.
• Removes moisture away from skin.
• Durable fabric that stretches with any movement.
• Optimize body temperature in cold and warm climates.
• Speeds recovery time between training sessions.

Elevate your performance on the playing field and take a look at our compression gear which is fully stocked with full-length tights, shorts, short-sleeved tops, sleeveless shirts and more. Click here to view our top rated selection.