The OnionBag was offering free printing of “Terry 6″ on the England Home Jersey through Valentine’s Day.

As reports roll in that Alexander Hleb has stepped down as captain for the Belarusian National Team…one can only wonder what else John Terry has been up to.

Look how babyfaced Giggsy is. It’s like he has no idea how many trophies he’ll win, boots he’ll see kicked into teammates faces and appearances he’ll make in the World Cup.

Whatever happened to Ryan Giggs?

This game was sold in the 1994 Soccer Madness catalog as “Soccer League Game”…my hat goes off the marketing group.

Soccer League Game was designed by a German coach to teach teamwork and ball control passing. It was designed to be used right on the field. So remember that dry erase-soccer field clipboard your select coach used to carry around? …this is essentially a 3d version of that.

Does anyone remember this?

This was taken from the Fall 1993 copy of Eurosport. Can’t believe Desmond Armstrong didn’t want to get involved in that Lapper/Lalas manhug.

The US National Team’s Alexi Lalas is congratulated by Mike Lapper after scoring America’s second goal against England during US Cup ‘93 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Despite some late chances England, the US held on to win the match 2-0. A key element in the win was the superb goalkeeping of Tony Meola who frustrated England’s star striker Ian Wright twice in the waning minutes of the second half.

I’ve always liked the EA Sports FIFA games although it would break my video gaming heart when they would remove features of the game that I liked. Seriously…the FIFA that had the indoor soccer was awesome…hated to see that go. Indoor arena venue or no indoor arena venue, soccer video games have come a long way since Accolade’s Pele.

I got Pele for the Genesis for Christmas in 1993. There are two things I remember vividly about the game 1) it was incredibly hard to score and b) there were no licenses for the players.

I think I scored probably 6 times…and always while I was attacking the goal at the top of the screen. Come halftime…forget about it. I had to get the lead and play a style of Cattennacio that even Dino Zoff would be proud to stand behind. Unlike the EA games today…there was virtually no player licensing in Pele. There was a player from Argentina who was named “Maradini”. You had a lot of that.

The actual footage from the game makes me feel a lot, A LOT older than I actually am.

The Spring 94 Soccer World catalog had this to say about the game:

Soccer superstar Pele brings his special magic to a fantastic new soccer game for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. It’s super soccer action, as dozens of teams from around the world clash in a furious duel of international styles. Choose a team from the U.S., Europe, South America, Africa, or Asia. Or edit a team to create your own evelen superstars. Using Pele’s great “Team Logic”, players move towards balls being passed from teammates. Give your players pinpoint shooting ability, championship speed and great ball control. Take on dozens of international challengers in an electrifying mix of bicycle kicks, headers, slides, dives, scoring and goal keeper saves. Computer features allow you to:

• Control the goal keeper’s defensive dives and jumps
• Adjust the difficulty level by customizing player attributes in play
• Customize team uniforms to your preference
• Play real “fight songs” with the digitized crowd noise and sound effects
• Challenge a friend in “2 player” competition

This was taken from a Eurosport catalog from 1988. I had never seen or heard about this boot before. I knew that Adidas had a World Cup boot, the soft ground cousin of the Copa. I never knew that Puma branded one first.

The Maradona World Cup featured a full grain leather upper with a triple density nylon sole. Eurosport was selling the boot for $137.95 and had the following to say about it:

“A replaceable soccer boot of the premier class. Its newly developed sole is made of three different density compounds. Its arrangement of flex grooves and an EVA wedge combine for excellent shock absorption in the heel area. This boot is a product of superior craftsmanship, and is top-class for soft and wet conditions.”

Has anyone seen, worn or heard of Puma’s Maradona World Cup?

I came home today to find a gem of a package waiting for me from Eurosport.

I geek out pretty hard over soccer memorabilia…the prospect of old soccer catalogs being inside the package…got me all the more fired up. I could feel a couple things…an article of clothing…a stack of catalogs perhaps? I opened the package and found…

…a Eurosport t-shirt. Very cool. In addition to the t-shirt there were two envelopes, one smaller than the other other. The smaller envelope had something written on it.

The envelope says “Germany v. Albania – when Germany qualified for ‘98 W.C.” I opened the envelope to find glossy, action shots of Thomas Hassler, Ollie Kahn, Olaf Marschall’s mustache and Grinnsy Klinnsy.

The last item in the package was a large envelope.

The envelope contained 2 Acme Soccer & Widget Works catalogs, a Eurosport from Spring of 93 (I still have my original), some stickers, a 2001 Champion’s League statistics guide, some Nike literature…and a Eurosport…in pristine condition from…1988.

This Eurosport is now the oldest catalog in the archive beating my first Eurosport by four years. It was really great to see so many items that I’ve never seen before such as the Rummenigge Star and the Maradona World Cup.

Thanks again Chris…and Eurosport!

Brian over at Eurosport was kind enough to send me the cover of their first catalog.

Eurosport’s first catalog features Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenige on the cover. Anyone want to weigh in on the identity of the bearded wonder marking him?

I love how the Eurosport logo has not changed in their 25 years of existence. It’s classic.

The atmosphere in Seattle last night was electric. I caught the game a little late…when I turned it on fans where going nuts, Drew Carey’s marching band was playing…and there was a goal. Yeah, it was a recipe for future success in the MLS. Excited fans, a ton of atmosphere, a goal…all positives. The negatives? Well, for one, I almost forgot the game was on…which is really easy to do with the ever changing game times and lack of exposure to the league from the rest of the sporting world and b) the announcers. I love John Harkes and JP Dellacamera…they’re great…I just think they talk a little too much. And when they should be making some noise, like when Brad Evans got the second…silent. It was as if the Sounder’s goal had interrupted their commentary.

Great to see you playing on US soil again, Kasey. Looking forward to seeing you again…if I can remember when the games are on.