Australian Soccer Boots: Poster

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Go the Matildas

By qualifying for the quarter-finals The Matildas have given a great boost to Australian women's football. Despite a dire domestic situation which has top class athletes playing in amateur regional leagues, trying to maintain top fitness and develop their soccer skills. In the Women’s World Cup 2007 competition Australia has been the underrated team but have upset the equilibrium now by getting through to the next round. The 2 all draw against Canada saw both the flashes of talent the Australian Squad can play along with some lack lustred passages of play. The Matildas looked tired and slow at times but obviously were able and capable when it came to the final score. Hopefully a rest will do them good and like their male counterparts in FIFA World Cup 2006, the Australians will play their hearts out in the final run. Go the Matlidas.

Go the Matildas and the Ferns

Just kicked off is this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007, a competition often neglected by the media and all the more so this year, because of the Rugby World Cup France 2007. Women’s soccer is now the third most popular sport in the world and all the more reason why adidas are interested in attracting customerss by engaging designer, Stella McCartney. Women's (soccer) football became popular during the First World War when young men were off fighting and the leagues were suspended. Now in the workforce, women formed company teams and inter company competition leagues were popular. Women’s international matches started in 1920 with the first major fixture between Dick, Kerr’s Ladies (from Preston, UK) and a team from Paris. The English ladies (national team) took on their Scottish counterparts in the same year and thrashed them, 22 nil (nothing new there!). Women’s soccer proved so popular after the war that crowds of up to 53.000 came to see them play. Concerned at the potential to damage men’s soccer, the Football Association (England) took an unprecedented action in 1921 and banned women from playing the game on Association members' pitches on the pretext women’s soccer was distasteful. A similar decree was made by Scottish football authorities. Undaunted the English Ladies Football Association was formed and ladies soccer was played on rugby grounds and park football pitches. In 1969 the English Women’s FA was formed and the ban on playing on FA pitches was lifted two years later. Union of European Football Associations(UEFA) recommended the women’s game be taken under the control of the national associations in each country and the first professional team was established in 1984.In 1991, FIFA held the first Women's World Championship in the People’s Republic of China and the USA were the victors. It took almost a decade before the Women's United Soccer Association in the United States was established as an all-professional league for women. In this years' competition both Australia (The Matildas) and New Zealand (The Football Ferns) qualified and their first games start on the 12 September. The Matildas are in Group C and play Ghana; The Football Ferns are in Group D and play Brazil on the same day. Australia qualified through the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and New Zealand stormed through Oceania World Cup qualifiers with 100% clean sweep. Germany are favourites to pick up the cup again but host country, China may well have other ideas. Australia may be the dark horse of the competition in 2007 and USA are likely to be strong contenders, too.

Interesting Sites
Women’s Football
womensoccer.com
Competition fixtures
History of soccer boots
soccer.com
The English FA

Rugby World Cup 2007: News

Keep up to date with Rugby World Cuo News. This is an excellent website Myrugbynews.com

France v Italy final: Wat no smartball technology?

It is only a matter of time before the match ball incorporates smart technology but adidas confirmed last year it would not be introduced at FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 . After tests late last year in a Peruvian tournament FIFA announced the system was not yet ready for use yet, but the chances are it will be at FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010, in four years hence. The technology is based on an application-specific integrated circuit chip (ASIC) with a transmitter to send data. The chip is suspended in the middle of the ball to survive acceleration and hard kicks. The technology uses a network of receivers around the field designed to track the ball's precise position in real time including exactly when the ball passes over the pitch lines. Ball position is conveyed by radio signals to the referee’s watch in less than a second after the ball crosses the goal line. Similar chips, but smaller and flatter, have been designed for players’ shin guards. The system is independent of weather influences and can not be distracted by other wireless systems. The principles can also be applied in different situations: sport applications such as grid iron, soccer, basketball or ice hockey, but the system can also perform in an industrial environment such as the security of airports and flight gates, in large docks, in military operations and in many more situations. At present however the system has several problems including when the ball is shot over the goal and lands on the net it registers as a goal. Information can take several seconds to reach referee and when more than one ball is on the field the system will crash. The decision to focus on the further development and testing before introducing it to top range competition was taken in consultation with FIFA, and in close cooperation with development partner Cairos Technologies AG in Karlsbad, Germany. adidas started its production of footballs in 1963 and has been responsible for some of the most notable innovations. The Telstar ball design consisted of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons. adidas were the first to incorporate synthetic materials into footballs and launched coloured balls an thermal bonding technology into ball manufacture. adidas has supplied the Official Match Balls to all major UEFA and FIFA tournaments since 1970 and will also be the Official Partner and Supplier of the Match Ball for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Cairos Technologies AG is privately owned and is the leader in the sector of highly accurate, high-resolution 3-D localization of dynamic objects. Cairos AG is the exclusive worldwide distributor for the Cairos system in sports and in the industry. In 2001 Cairos started its cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, an engineering research and software development company in Erlangen, Germany.

Plastic Fantastic

In 2005 FIFA under-17 world championship in Peru was played entirely on artificial turf made by Polytran GmbH, Germany. Chances are by FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa stadium will be carpeted with artificial turf. Experts agree the cost of natural grass is too prohibitive and dedicated turf means venues are unable to be used during the season for other events. If the purpose of the World Cup competition is to promote football then reducing costs of turf maintenance especially in climates which demand high maintenance makes economic sense. Increase in reported injuries (due to cleats), has led to players to join the lobby to play on artificial turf. Not all are of the same opinion (74 percent of Italy's professional players opposed playing matches on artificial grass, according to a recent survey by the Italian players union) but there is pressure to accept synthetic surfaces. The latest artificial grass is so like the real thing as to be impossible to tell the difference when running on it in football shoes, according to manufacturers and players. Earlier attempts to introduce synthetic turf to football fields failed in the 1980s, when nylon surfaces were installed in four English stadium. Complaints that the ball bounced too high, the surfaces damaged players' knees and skin burns resulted when tackling opponents, all contributed to abandoning the artifical grass. Modern synthetic surfaces use sand, rubber and polypropylene foam bases to give the same cushioning as natural earth. The silicone coated polyethylene tufts do not cause friction burns and provide uniform surfaces to play over. In Europe, league clubs are beginning to use artifical pitches e.g.
Moscow's Spartak, Moscow and Austria's Red Bull Salzburg. Technological advances by synthetic grass makers such as Polytran GmbH and FieldTurf, along with demands for uniform playing conditions, have led the Zurich-based Federation Internationale de Football Association FIFA to consider artificial turf for future tournaments. Good reasons to assume future development of the football boot will include better interphase between the cleat and playing surface. The hope is this development will reduce the horrendous lacerations that cleats appear to be currently causing.

Happy Aussies

The real winners in this World Cup.

Goalies Gloves

Goal keepers gloves could be in line for a new development if smart material known as d3o is incorporated into their make up. d3o is normally a flexible material which becomes rigid in response to an impact as the material exhibits "strain rate sensitivity". Flexible materials are made up of molecules which are weakly bound together and can move past each other with ease but with d3o the shock of sudden deformation causes the chemical bonds to strengthen and the moving molecules to lock, turning the material into a more solid, protective shield. The hardening effect only last as long as the impact itself which would make them ideal for goal keeper’s gloves. Currently the lightweight bendable material is worn under normal ski clothing and used to make better protective gear for skiers on the slalom. Skiers normally have to wear bulky arm and leg guards to protect themselves from poles placed along the slalom run now d30 can replace this. The exact chemical ingredients of d3o remains a commercial secret but the material was synthesised by mixing together a viscose fluid and a polymer. The resulting liquid (d3o) is poured into a mould that matches the shape of the body part it will protect.

Interesting link
goalatopper.co.uk

Perfect Pitch?

Cleats (blades) have proven ideal for gripping when players are changing direction when running or pushing off and side-stepping but the traction systems are less efficient during straight line stopping and starting. This may account for some of the slipping we have seen during competition, from what appear perfectly normal patches several players have struggled to keep their feet. The condition of the grass has always been the predictor of the kind of studs that should be worn and many clubs kept on staff old timers, known as boot men, their job was to care for the players’ boots and advise them on the type of studs to wear. Sadly less emphasis is placed on this now and due to the introduction of blades the boots are often worn inappropriately for the pitch condition. Now such the beautiful game is such a spectator sport the colour of the pitch has become very important. Some believe the preoccupation of being seen to play on lush green pitches has created problems and not just for the greenkeepers. To help stop large lumps of turf being ripped up the grass grown through a thin plastic mesh which helps to bind the playing surface together. However the presence of the mesh inhibits the movement of conventional studs and blade studs damage the pitch. Away from the camera greenkeepers work frantically behind the scenes at half time replacing the divets, displaced by the players. Incompatibility may result in a further increase in player injury and a groundswell is growing to accept artificial playing surfaces. Some of the World Cup turf comes from a farm near Heythuysen village in Holland. It is grown at a top secret location near the German border which is frequently monitored by the FIFA’s Turf Competence Team. FIFA have brought together turf specialists from all over Germany. More than 530,000 square meters of grass has been grown for the competition and the Dutch turf covers seven out of the 12 World Cup stadium. The grass is a highly resilient mixture of two types: Kenbtucky Bluegrass (poa pratensis) provides texture and texture) and fast growing rye grass (lolium perenne). This blend maintains a high quality and color of grass which will look good for the television as well as for spectators in the stadium. The combination guarantees the ball moves 'very quickly' over its surface and will influence how the ball bounces. The Dutch grass is already used in the Real Madrid stadium. Workers laid the new grass before the start of the 2006 World Cup at a cost of more than $1.9 million (US) and whilst the “experts” described the pitches as exquisite individual players and teams have complained the grass is too rough for accurate passing, and dry patches had already appeared at most of the 12 stadiums. World Cup officials blame the cold, wet weather in April and May, when the grass was growing at nurseries. Changes in temperature after it has been laid meant the turf failed to anchor properly into the moist earth beneath. So in many stadium it is far from a perfect playing surface.

Who's the poofter in the boots?

“Bobby Moore Superstar, walks like a woman and he wears a bra.” Went the chant at Hampden Park, when England came to play Scotland on their annual get together.

Questioning the manhood of an opposition player is a common ploy indulged upon by rival fans. More than likely this impacts on the terracing rather than the individual on the field but all that is immaterial when you are trying to help your team to win. A common indictment is to imply effeminacy in a player and what better way of knowing than the colour of a player’s boots. Up until FIFA World Cup 2002 Korea Japan it was only the very brave who sported coloured boots on the pitch but since Metro sexual David Beckham has broken the mould, now everyone on the field feels comfortable in coloured boots. Sociologists believe clothing has important social significance which tells much about the personality of the wearer. Humans see and react to visual signals emitted by clothing and this at a football match provides the safest distance to judge a stranger. No self respecting German fan would in a normal course of events wish to be confined in a lift with a group of lager swilling English fans, dressed accordingly. Fig leaf mentality may explain why we have covered up, but by far the major reason for clothing is decoration. The essential purpose of decoration is to beautify bodily appearance, so as to attract admiring glances from others and fortify self-esteem. Simply put boots outwardly represent a non-verbal sign of gender, presence, and personality. Many believe this is due to the encoded messages they contain which are recognized by our primal subconscious. Male footwear is part of a uniform to mark membership in a group, (I am a player). Western man embraces the idea that evolution compels them to compete in all areas of life from the soccer pitch to the corridors of power. In truth this competition is about sexual selection. Thus what an individual player looks like, how they dresses and groom themselves, may be of far more importance to a potential mate than whether he can beat his opposite number on the field. So Bec’s blue boots may have more to do with Victoria then Brazils’ defense. Style icons are real people with a vibration within, totally individual not fashion followers by fashion setters who are true to themselves. So what is with Beckham in ladies knickers? Some men prefer texture, fit or even the sensation of constraint in ladies clothing and why not. Modern masculinity is defined by being all that is not feminine, whereas femininity has always been slightly more pragmatic. Campness, male homosexuality and all associated eccentricities are an integral part of masculinity after all gay men are not women with willies. Yet the idea that they are, perpetuates straight male fears of losing their masculinity through the slightest frivolity. Think about that next time you are in the terracing.

Blades: Sinners or Saints?

Duty of care and compliance with Law 4, which states ‘a player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player…’ make all players responsible for the upkeep of their boots tand o ensure that they are safe, regardless of the type of stud featured. Blades are a special type of stud, so-called because of their shape. Blades are designed to grip the turf, offering more stability for the player when jumping, landing as well as turning and pivoting. A particular concern relating to blades (cleats) is they are responsible for a significant increase in laceration type injuries. Rifts between Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s, manager Arsène Wenger are legend but one thing they both have in common is their dislike for blades. Indeed Ferguson has banned them from Old Trafford convinced they are the cause of needless injury. The studs have been blamed to slicing into flesh and causing injuries more usually seen in car crashes. The English Football Association has been collecting anecdotal evidence since their introduction and contacted FIFA in 2002 as to their concerns. Two years later FIFA had failed to reply. Medics have also joined the debate alarmed at the increase in injuries corresponding to the adoption of cleats on football boots. Injury rates in other football codes i.e. rugby league, has shown similar patterns. Despite these genuine concerns it appears to be no evidence-based research to indicate that new boots are more unsafe or produce more injuries than with traditional conical studs. An adidas spokesperson said in 2004, “our tests show that there was some wear to the uppers, but the Traxion studs were found to be smooth, flat and rounded-off with no sharp edges (which is consistent with our wear test findings of our internal and external testing bodies)…….Following the examination we are of the opinion that the injuries were an unfortunate accident, which of course do happen in contact sports such as football". As the number of players using blade style footwear increases then the number of injuries resulting directly from blades is proportionately increased. Currently there are fourteen manufacturers who retail bladed styles of boot. Responsible company’s advise blades should only be worn in certain conditions and clearly mark their boxes FG (suitable for firm ground) and SG (for soft ground). However in 2004 the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) issued a position statement: “RoSPA is concerned at the increasing number of reports involving blade studded soccer boots.” Dr David Jenkins, RoSPA's Product Safety Adviser said information about the number and severity of injuries caused by the blade studs should be made more widely known. This would enable players, managers and officials to assess the risk and take appropriate action to deal with it. In January 2005, Consumers Association Which? Magazine reported their concerns at the number of blade related injuries. Later the same year BBC Watchdog programme ran an exposè. Concerns were expressed at the number of laceration injuries thought to be associates but experts believe playing in blade style boots can also contribute to serious joint injuries, especially in children. Twisting injuries cause by increased grip of the cleat in the soft ground sends destructive forces through ankle and knee joints. The BBC approached the English FA, FIFA and all the boot manufacturers but the official response was there is no firm evidence to suggest blades cause any more injuries than traditional studs. A large proportion of football injuries are ligamentous and involve either the knee or the ankle. Shoe-surface traction is thought to play a specific role and likely to correlate with injury incidence. The correlation between footwear, performance and rates of injury was illustrated in the 90s when researchers established the fewer studs on the sole of the boot then the greater performance.. Concerns at preventing knee injuries caused by rotational forces during jumping and landing led to the discovery that by increasing the width of the stud position over the ball of the foot the less destructive rotation reported. These theories led directly to the development of the cleat (or blade) to replace the traditional stud on football boots to improve shoe-surface traction.

Interesting site
Sandal RFU

Bespoke Soccer Boots

Laser sintering may sound as if it belongs in Star Wars but the process could soon be used to make soccer boots that fit players' feet perfectly. Tailored shoes are built using a form of rapid 3D printing called selective laser sintering, in which a laser fuses together particles of a nylon-based material to build the shoe layer by layer. Customised boots start by scanning the foot with a laser to obtain a digital model. Using a pedar insole the subject carries out a series of exercises to determine the size and distribution of forces acting around the feet. That information is combined with other detailed analysis including leg structure and gait information to produce a blueprint template for the sole and stud arrangement. The shoes are then completed around the data. The hope is the player’s boot will not just provide a more comfortable boot but also give the vulnerable appendage greater protection according to the developers. Anything which reduces the potential for injury would be welcomed by the industry. Matching thickness, density and strength of the material for each sub-component gives optimal support without increasing the weight of the boot. The hope is the same software can be used to develop other protective clothing as well as other applications in aeronautics. Meantime London based company Prior2Lever (P2l) is working on prototypes soccer boots and if the project is a success plans are to proceed to the high street, where shops could print a pair of bespoke shoes in just a few hours.

The Pele Exhibition

Between games visitors to Berlin can visit the Pele Exhibition at the Berlin's Potsdamer Platz station which houses an exhibition which depicts the life of Pele. On show are a collection of trophies and memorabilia marking the career of the greatest footballer of all. Exhibits include the famous Number 10 shirt and black boots as well as the white ball he kissed after scoring his thousandth goal in 1969. All three of Pele's World Cup medals hang on the wall next to the sceptre and crown he was given by Yugoslavia's national team in a 1971 farewell match, declaring him king of soccer. There too is the FIFA Player of the Century trophy and a portrait of player by Andy Warhol. The Pele Exhibition will go on tour in Europe and Asia after the World Cup.

Interesting Book
Pele

And who would not want to play for Brazil?

Your name on a Brazilian Strip

All in the game: Sponsorship

It is a matter of record that before the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 Australia’s captain Mark Viduka (Middlesborough) was decked out in Puma gear for a photo shoot outside a sports store in Australia. Just one week later the same player was dressed in Nike gear. Sponsors have clambered on board to make the most of Australian soccer's rare appearance on the later stage of the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. With the notable exception of Liverpoolwinger, Harry Kewell none of the Socceroos had individual sponsorships before their qualifying victory over Uruguay in Sydney, November 2005. Success has meant players can now negotiate a myriad of commercial arrangements. The work done against Uruguay definitely lifted the team’s status, and as national heroes, the Socceroos have become public property with much potential for commercial success. The use of player images to market the game and apparel make their endorsement a valuable asset. Now Viduka will be seen playing and training with the Socceroos in his Nike gear, as per contract. However the player is still allowed to wear his own Puma boots for matches and is free to do sponsorship work for Puma outside Socceroos time. In exchange for their co-operation, Australian players get 30 per cent of the Australian Federation's net sponsorship deal and will share this equally. Apparently the team sponsors are required to use at least four player images at a time to avoid undermining individual sponsorships, and to reinforce perceptions of a team game. Jostling for their moment in the World Cup spotlight are team sponsors Qantas , Nike, Hyundai , Powerade , Telstra , National Australia Bank(NAB), Westfield and SBS . A representative of Football Federation Australia has had to take advertising hoardings for Westfield and NAB halfway across the world and installed them around the training grounds so Australians would see them in the background when the Socceroos were training.

Go Aussie Go......

Teamgeist: strikers and keepers

Footballs are high-tech products, and the Teamgeist took three years to develop according to adidas . Something which has been noticable has been the number of long range goals scored from outside the penalty box. So far the tally is 20 per cent of the total scored in 2006 compared to 9.31% of the goals scored in 2002. The Teamgeist certainly favours the long kick and spot kick (dead ball) specialists. The new ball is a hit with adidas sponsored, David Beckham and Brazil's Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (aka Kaká ). Germany's Torsten Frings (who plays for a national squad sponsored by adidas)agrees the Teamgeist is perfectly suited for long-range shots. The new ball has fewer seams with only 14 and not the 32 of its predicesors and has an air valve designed to avoid imbalance according to adidas. The Teamgeist is the roundest football ever made and these claims have been upheld by Stiftung Warentest , an independent German group who tested the ball. Meantime what do the keepers think? Jens Lehmann (Germany) and Paul Robinson (England) both agree the Teamgeist is very fast but does change its flight path in the rain. It feels like a plastic ball and can become extremely slippery in wet conditions and handles like a waterpolo ball which is a real hazard to goal keepers. By chance Robinson has an endorsement deal with Nike, a company which also outfits Lehmann's English club, Arsenal.

Boot Designers would prefer to be there

Now down to the last 16 and in the second stage Nike are sponsoring more teams (5), followed by adidas (4) Puma (3), Umbro (2),and Lotto and Marathon sharing one each. With Portugal and Netherlands and Spain and France the only opposing teams to sport the same sponsor Nike and adidas respectively.

Germany (adidas) vs Sweden (Umbro)
Argentina (adidas) vs Mexico (Nike)
Italy (Puma) vs Australia (Nike)
Switzerland (Puma) vs Ukraine (Lotto)
England (Umbro) vs Ecuador (Marathon)
Portugal (Nike) vs Netherlands (Nike)
Brazil (Nike ) vs Ghana (Puma)
Spain (adidas) vs France (adidas)

Most of this year’s Puma sponsored players are wearing grass camo boots . Like other World Cup 2006 these are ultra light and Puma’s lightest football boot to date. It has a super thin 0.4mm thick upper (ConTec). The outsole integrates anatomical stud positioning with pointed soft ground studs, designed to offer the better grip, maneuverability and rear foot stability, according to the manufacturers. Players wearing the grass camo boots are England’ s Peter Crouch, Yaya Toure, and Francisco José da Costa, better known as Costinha . The hi-tech Puma Grass Camo boots are coloured green to match the pitch. Makers suggest the boots help boost speed and agility abd their colour makes them hard to spot against the turf. Although following the bouncing ball would give an incredible advantage, to even the most short sighted defender. Puma’s biggest claim to soccer fame was boot endorsement from Brazil’s superstar Pele and Argentinean genius, Maradona . Puma remain manufacturers of quality soccer boots but remain very much in the shadow of adidas. Brother Adi and Rudolf Dassler fell out in 1948 and Rudolf started Puma as a rival company operating from the same Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, Something Adi and his brother shared was a love for sport and the realisation neither would ever compete on the field. Instead they had the skills and foresight to design boots which would allow gifted players to soar. This is the same dream all football boot designers share including Australian Con Hatzilias . He too realised he did not have talent to ever play in the games highest competition but had the brains to design boots which might eventually get there. Of course Con is not the first Australian to seek the same goal although Craig Johnson (former Liverpool ) was an outstanding player during his career and went onto design the adidas predator . David Miers had other motivation for his Blade designed boot and although he is an agricultural scientist as a youth David was dogged by injury which influenced his playing career. Determined to improve the boot he eventually replaced the studs with a series of diagonal blades. When he realised this was a breakthrough in boot design he tried to interest sports companies in new invention. Like Johnson before him he experienced much resitance and reluctance to pick up his new design. Thanks mainly to AFL players Peter Daicos and Simon Madden cautioned against playing in the boots, their faith was such that they continued to play in blades. Simon Madden painted stripes on his boots to disguise them. When he was spotted wearing them the sponsor fined his club for breach of contract. The boots are now part of a sport museum exhibition where you can see the little stripes very poorly painted on them. Eventually the benefits of blade style cleats were recognized and now al the major companies include them within their premier range of boots across the football codes.

Soocer stars: Big time earners

Real Madrid's David Beckham is soccer's top-earning star, bringing in $US24 million ($32 million) a year from endorsements which is estimated three times his playing salary. His most lucrative deal is with Gillette , and estimated to be worth $US9 million over three years. Ronaldinho is the most commercially valuable football player in the world, according to a study by Omnicom Group subsidiary BBDO Germany . The player's endorsements include Nike, PepsiCo and Sony. Adidas have a long-term sponsorship deal with Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona, announced in February. The company believes he will make an ideal replacement for their two biggest stars, David Beckham and Zinédine Zidane . Messi inspired Argentina to a World Youth Championship in 2005 as well as producing dazzling displays for FC Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this year. Heralded as the new Maradona, the legendary Argentina World Cup star of the 1980s and 1990s who was voted best player of the 20th century by FIFA, the international governing body of soccer. Adidas have high hopes for Bayern Munich’s new signing, Lukas Podolski (previously with FC Cologne). The Polish-born striker enjoyed a sensational start to his international career, scoring seven goals in his first 13 appearances. The Prinz has picked up a significant portfolio of endorsements. Adidas have already created a Podolski line of boots. Up and coming talent Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal) is another exceptional young talent being looked at with interest by marketers. Unlike many of his contemporaries he is articulate, intelligent and charismatic which are all attractive qualities to marketers. Anyway who needs sponsors when you have divine intervention, not the Hand of God style, but the support of a genuine mystic with voodoo powers. Togbui Assiogbo Gnagblondjro III is a voodoo fetish priest and keen devotee of Togo. He has told the team they will go far in the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. Now before you dismiss the power of the occult in football think of Wayne Rooney's broken metatarsal and how it has miraculously recovered in record time. Well whilst treatment and rest may have contributed the result really came through the works of HealRooney.com The site lets users rub the Rooney’s foot with the cursor and the player much needed strength to play in Germany. Seems to have worked and it looks like England will, need him!!

Ankle boots to soccer slippers

In the early years of football clothing was restrictive and worn for protection from the elements as much as decency. Hence British football was slow and not considered a spectator sport. Despite this the game’s popularity grew and clubs began to spring up across the UK. Players wore long laced boots, similar to engineer's boots and with a strengthened toecap in iron hard leather. In 1880 boots began to incorporate a strap, narrow on the inside of the foot, which crossed over the bottom two or three rows of eyelet's, winding to the outside of the foot. This gave greater protection to the toes as players used the dorsum of the foot to kick the ball. Today, players use the side of their foot to strike the ball, and then the toe was used to catch the ball and give it lift. To increase ground grip the soles incorporated metal tacks but Rule 13* prevented these in official matches. They were replaced in 1890 with new plugs made from layers of leather, the idea came from hockey boots. Studs (sometimes referred to as cleats) were positioned to avoid isolated pressure points and unnecessary irritation of the foot. In the area of the hindfoot they were located towards the outside of the sole to avoid buckling. The common formation was six studs, two distal and proximal to the metatarsal heads and two on the posterior aspect of the heel. By 1900 the soccer boot was a recognised entity. Boots became an essential part of the sport and by the beginning of the twentieth century, teams appear to wear the same boots. In 1922, Adi Dassler (co-founder of adidas) developed screw in studs which allowed players to select studs appropriate to the weather conditions. Whilst there was some variation in the arrangement of stud patterns on the sole of the boot, most professionals preferred the 4:2 or 4:3 ratio.

Most authorities agree major changes to football boots took place after the Second World War when many international fixtures took place. Improved air travel and popular transcontinental travel brought the soccer players from colder climates of Europe into contact with their counter parts in the Mediterranean and South America. Players in warmer countries wore less clothing with flexible soled boots more suited to the pitch conditions. The Latin game was played faster and provided opportunity for athleticism rarely seen in the traditional European matches. Media coverage meant more spectators appreciated the novel Latin styles and adaptation of their skills caused a revolution in play and clothing. The ankle boot lowered to become a soccer shoe freeing players to demonstrate athletic leaps and volleys. The new focus for design was aimed at kicking and controlling the ball on the ground and alternative methods of providing ankle stability were necessary. This often took the form of ankle bandaging (ankle vigours). With the introduction of artificial playing surfaces the need for long studs became redundant. Deep penetration was neither good for the surface nor advantageous to the player. Many poor performances and injuries had been reported so boot designers devised studs which gave maximal stability as the leg was anchored to the floor as well easy release when the foot needed to move quickly over the ground. The new soccer shoe had bristle (or cleat) soles and gradually these have been incorporated into the traditional soccer boot design.

*Rule 13#: No player shall be allowed to wear projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots.

Hundred years of soccer boots

A century ago professional footballers received on average 2/6 (37c. Aus) per game and some were paid special bonuses in addition depending on their skill. The sum varied according to the size of the crowd but even the best players seldom got bonuses over 2/11 (45c Aus). Quality football boots made from russet calf with fluted toecaps sold at the same time for 8/6d ($1.26A) which was almost three and a half times what a player earned per game. Shin guards cost between 1/6d (22c Aus) and 2/11d (45c Aus), and football socks varied between 1/11d (30c Aus) and 4/11d (75c Aus). A hundred years later the cost of boots has dropped considerably and bares no comparison to the average wage, performance and appearance bonuses, professional players earn today. For that we need to be grateful but manufacturers are also being criticized for using questionable labour practice in their sport apparel. Although player's costumes have changed since early days of the game, football boots have undergone surprisingly few design changes in the last seventy years. The evolution of the modern boot has been a conflict between protection from the climate and injury against the freedom of the limb to perform better. Improved fitness of players combined with greater glittering prizes has had a positive spin on boot development but related changes appear surprisingly to be stylistic as the football codes have become more glamorous and not forged by a desire to play better or decrease the rates of injury. Published research supports there has been more injuries caused by boot innovations than appear to be resolved by new designs. This includes the adaptation and incorporation of new synthetic polymers. The incidence of football related injuries continue to be the focus for much concern but ironically safety changes to soccer boots are less likely to come from the professionals, as boot sponsorship has become a major source of income. Instead the genuine concern of Soccer Mums, especially in North America, where the game has become so popular with young children, their concerns and in particular their consumer dollar will forge better safety awareness.