Ronaldo Avoids Black Football Boots, says Nike VP

Nike have revealed that Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is so insistent on ensuring that he does not wear black coloured football boots.


Regarded as one of the greatest players in the world, the 31-year-old recently won the fourth Ballon d’Or award of his career. Ronaldo managed to win the Champions League with Real Madrid in the summer and then went on to lift the Euro 2016 with Portugal. One of the secrets of his success has been his boots, which obviously play a major role in his career. As soon as the top players in the world, Ronaldo is given the opportunity to have a say in every major aspect of the boot development process.

As of now, he wears the Mercurial Superfly and does so in colourful numbers. Yet, black seems to be the only colour missing from his football boot arsenal. Global vice-president for Nike Football Footwear,Max Blau, has revealed that the footballer is very focused on avoiding the black colour, as it reportedly slows him down at least on a mental level. Continue reading “Ronaldo Avoids Black Football Boots, says Nike VP”

Brain Schmetzer Expects Same Winning Mentality in the Play-Offs

Many were sceptical about the appointment of Brain Schmetzer as a replacement for Sigi Schmid.


Regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the MLS,Schmid will always be a hard man to replace. However, Schmetzer seems to be doing a fine job so far. Since taking over the club in August 2016, he was under a lot of pressure to deliver instant success, and this was in the form of qualifying for the MLS Cup play-offs and potentially winning the title. He seems to have done everything asked of the team and the club’s recent form has been a major factor in Seattle Sounders sneaking in at the last moment.

Schmetzer says that the team were in a very difficult situation when he took over, and that they needed to win all of their matches in order to stand any chance of qualifying for the play-offs. However, it is exactly what the team did as they failed to win only two games since the middle of September. They also suffered only one defeat – against FC Dallas – during this period. Continue reading “Brain Schmetzer Expects Same Winning Mentality in the Play-Offs”

Schmetzer Remains Unsure of Clint Dempsey Return

Seattle Sounders recently appointed Brian Schmetzer as the interim coach of the team.


This was following the exit of long-standing coach Sigi Schmid from the club. Even though Seattle are not happy with the waySchmetzer is only on an interim basis, the club have little choice left at the moment. They have to find a way to reinvigorate the team in the remainder of the season so that they could at least finish in the play-offs. At the moment, Seattle Sounders are struggling in the eighth spot but only four points away from the play-offs.

In order for the club to recover their league position,Schmetzer is aware that he needs to have the help from his best players and this definitely includes Clint Dempsey. The former Tottenham and Fulham star was recently sidelined with suspected irregular heartbeat. This serious condition could threaten his career. The complex nature of the situation also has prevented many from speaking about Dempsey’s potential return date.Schmetzer was also of the same opinion when he was put forward the question of Dempsey returning to the squad. He said that the doctors were a more reliable source of information and he suggested the media to ask the questions at the physicians.
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MLS association comes to an End

One of the longest standing associations in the MLS has come to an end after manager Sigi Schmid decided to majorly part company with Seattle Sounders.

Schmid is regarded as one of the best coaches in the MLS. Seattle Sounders have been able to keep hold of him for the last eight years. However, continued poor form in the 2016 MLS campaign has brought this relationship to an end. The club has revealed that assistant manager Brian Schmetzer will be appointed on an interim basis until a permanent solution is found. The separation appears to be amicable as Sounders Owner Adrian Hanauer thanked the manager for his invaluable contribution over the years.

One of the biggest achievements ofSchmid during this period will be qualifying for the MLS play-offs for the last seven consecutive years. He has also led Seattle Sounders to the 2014 MLS Supporters’ Shield and several other U.S. Open Cup titles. However, he leaves the club after having been part of 20 matches in the regular season. The club are currently ninth in the Western Conference table after having taken only 20 points. It is extremely difficult for the club to now finish in the play-offs. This season has been one of the worst in recent memory for Seattle Sounders.
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Seattle Sounders beaten by LA Galaxy

Seattle Sounders have experienced yet another defeat in their Saturday game against LA Galaxy.


This is the 10th defeat of the season so far, and Seattle Sounders will be frustrated by the outcome of the match. Indeed, this was a game that they managed to dominate from the start and failed to score a goal.

This has become a usual pattern for Seattle Sounders where they manage to take control of a game without being able to score a goal. Against LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders had 22 shots on goal with 16 of those coming inside the LA Galaxy box. With these kinds of occasions, they should have at least get a goal.
Unfortunately for them, it was LA Galaxy that opened the scoring in the opening stage of the game. Indeed, Robbie Keane managed to score in the 15th minute to give LA Galaxy the lead. Since then, Seattle Sounders took control of the game and created opportunities one after the other.

Seattle Sounder’s coach SigiSchmid admitted that it was a frustrating defeat. He said that his team played well and created some good opportunities but failed to score the important goals. He said that he had nothing to complain as his players gave everything on the pitch. He believes that if they continue to play like this, they will sooner or later experience a change in their fortune.
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Seattle Sounders will wait until the summer before making transfer decisions

Seattle Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey has indicated that the team will wait until the summer before making any investment decision.


He said that they are investigating a couple of players but will need to continue watching them before making any transfer dealings.

Sounders head coach SigiSchmid also said the same thing to the media. Schmid told reporters that he will have to sit down and analyze each player before making a decision about signing. He said that he is not going to buy new players just for the sake of buying and that the new players should really add value to the club.

It is expected that Seattle Sounders will be adding a couple of players to the team to help boost their chances of winning a trophy. Based on the comments of both the General Manager as well as the Head Coach, it seems that they already have made their choices, and they are just waiting for the right moments to finalize their deals. Continue reading “Seattle Sounders will wait until the summer before making transfer decisions”

Shinji Kagawa is starting to be an influential player again for Borussia Dortmund

Shinji Kagawa is starting to be an influential player again for Borussia Dortmund and is starting to show glimpses of what he had done in his first tenure at the club.

Kagawa had emerged as an absolute belter of a player at Dortmund in that two-year tenure and had attracted big clubs with his classy style of play.

He signed for Manchester United in 2012 which was thought to be a career defining move for him, but, it turned out to be otherwise as he failed to progress any further at Old Trafford and probably went in the backward direction instead.

When he rejoined Dortmund the previous summer, he was only a fraction of the player which he was when he had left the club and there were concerns among his well wishers regarding where his career was going.

But, of late, that is in 2015-16 Season, it’s been a different story for Kagawa.

It would probably be an overstatement to already say that the Japan international is at his best now, but, it can be safely said that he has been playing far better this season than he had been playing in the past couple of seasons.

The Dortmund Chairman Michael Zorc is also a happy man to see Kagawa delivering.

He applauded the playmaker while speaking to media recently.

Zorc said, “Shinji is setting up goals more frequently than before which is very, very good news. He has become vital to us again.”

“He is someone who is energetic all the time and just keeps going.” Continue reading “Shinji Kagawa is starting to be an influential player again for Borussia Dortmund”

Major League Soccer is still not right up there in terms of the game standard

The Major League Soccer is still not right up there in terms of the game standard, but, the way it is developing every season, the time is not that far away when it will start giving tough competitions to the big leagues in Europe.

The fan following of some of the teams in MLS is just remarkable.

Seattle Sounders probably have got the most passionate fans. In almost every game that they play at their home stadium, it happens to be jam packed.

The average no. of people that were present during the home matches of the Sounders the previous season was more than 43000 and that’s not bad at all.

It’s actually better a number than what some of the clubs in Premier League achieve.

And, not only do the Sounders’ fans come in big numbers, they create an electric atmosphere too. They are full of passion, make noise, sing songs and stand right behind their team. Continue reading “Major League Soccer is still not right up there in terms of the game standard”