Studs Up

I was all geed up for a great semi-final second leg and it was all over by the time I got back from my first bathroom break. I saw Park’s goal and missed Ronaldo’s, but luckily found the highlight already posted to a number of websites before the match was even over. Almunia will get stick for not saving that shot, but to be honest I think he (rightly) expected the ball to dip onto his gloves but Ronaldo got so much power behind it that it simply never did.

For a spotty kid who came to England with a fondness for step-overs, who would have thought he’d develop into one of the most deadly strikers of the ball and goalscorers in the world? Elsewhere, Arsenal fans have finally snapped and are calling for Wenger’s head left and right. Interesting, to say the least.

In other news, the lads at SoccerPro sent me over a bunch of new gear to review. The pick of the litter was the Nike Total90 Omni Premium Match Ball.

A great looking ball that, even only 3/4 inflated, has a nice feel to it. SP has a pretty good selection of soccer balls but the Omni is the most expensive at a shade over USD$90 and at that price I’m expecting to Ronaldo the living hell out of people every time a freekick comes up. If the weather is good this weekend I’m planning to give it a run out along with the PUGs they sent me last time. Some friends of mine have a nifty terrace out the back of their house and we’re planning to get a little 2v2 going and there’s little doubt someone is going to get injured. Badly.

Included in the pack (at my request) was a new pair of shin pads, I wanted to get away from having to use tape all the time as I’m pretty sure I was cutting off circulation to my calf. So I had them send me the Nike Mercurial Alpha Lite Shin Guard. They come with a pair of sleeves to keep them up and so far feel light but sturdy. Even though I will be heckled for wearing shin pads in a street football match, I’ll give these a run out this weekend too.

Last but not least, my Nintendo DSi arrived. Expect some nice unboxing pics and my full thoughts as gaming is near the top of my list again these days.