SoccerProse.com

It’s been practically a year since the guys at SoccerProse spilled some digital ink on this page. A lot has happened. The staff has changed a bit but the love of soccer and the need for awesome soccer discussion is still within our halls. One major change at www.soccerpro.com is the addition of a new corporate office — the good people at Soccer Master (based in St. Louis) now lead the charge. SoccerPro is still “SoccerPro” and their won’t be any crazy changes to the operations. We’re just bigger, better and having more fun than ever before.

So what is going to happen to SoccerProse.com? Truthfully, we’re not sure. My money says it will change. Probably the name or at least the focus of the content. We’ve seen a lot of great things happen when we discussed the new product being released. Also, had a lot of conversation when we used this blog as a resource for coaches and parents to learn about the game or to sound off about problems we all face when trying motivate young players. No matter what you’ll be able to come back here — www.soccerprose.com — and find new content soon. If we change the name I promise we’ll automatically redirect the page so you don’t have to update your bookmark.

If you have any suggestions on what you think is missing in soccer blogs or what you would like to see us write about PLEASE add your comment here.

Rumor is passing through our ears here that the biggest event on Wednesday night/Thursday morning was not Manchester United winning the UEFA Champions League.

No, this has to do with Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with the Red Devils.

Rumor has it a deal with Real Madrid has been struck for 125 million Euros ($250 million)!!!!!!!!!

That would easily be the biggest transfer fee ever if this rumor holds up to be true.

If it is, is any player worth that much? If so, who? Also, what would you want Man U to do with all of that cash?

Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas is widely considered the best young midfielder in the world and one of the world’s top midfielders in general. This video should not only give Arsene Wenger nightmares, but serves to show how cool under pressure the young one is.

Honestly, would the Cleveland Cavaliers let LeBron James do this?

As I walked along Matt Busby Way I saw it. Just there, creeping up over a few buildings. As I continued my walk with an ever increasing pace the football cathedral began to cut an even more ominous figure into the Manchester skyline.

Before I knew it, I was standing at the giant doors of the famed Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams and the home of Ferguson’s Red and White Army, Manchester United. I had finally made it, and my pilgrimage was nearly complete.

I then spend the next several hours perusing through the Manchester United mega-store, and after forcing myself away I made it up to the museum where I stood in awe at the trophies and exhibits. I even had my picture taken with the Premier League trophy won by United last year.

After another two hours the moment finally came, when my time was called and my tour of the Theatre of Dreams began. I was mesmerized the entire time, as I walked amongst the memories made in that stadium, sat in the same locker room where the likes of Roy Keane, Eric Cantona and George Best once sat and where Giggs, Scholes, Rooney and Ronaldo still do.

After the tour, I just kind of ambled around the streets of Manchester for a bit, trying to soak it in before what was to come.

I rose early the next morning and made my way back to the grounds in hopes of getting a ticket, which after a bit of haggling I was able to obtain. So there I was, watching and waiting for the whistle that would commence the war of Manchester United and Arsenal.

I sang and cheered the entire game as United scrapped for a victory thanks to a Ronaldo penalty and punishing Owen Hargreaves free kick, and after the whistle I stayed as long as I could stand it, still trying to soak it all in.

It was an adventure that I wont soon forget, and one I encourage everybody to experience.

Cheers!

We here at SoccerPro are soccer players first, fans second, and businesspeople third. In that order. The owners are not businessmen who decided to open a soccer store because it would be a good cash-flow opportunity, they are lifelong soccer players who opened a soccer store for love of the game and to provide the finest soccer equipment with first hand knowledge. Years of professional and amateur playing experience as well as an avid (and sometimes work-disrupting) fan culture gives us a unique advantage only we can pass on to the fellow player or fan looking for the right soccer gear.

We also recognize the importance of the soccer blogging community, the fan buzz and interest it creates, and the tension it can build. Not to mention the entertainment soccer bloggers can provide!

With our soccer background in mind, we set out to learn what the soccer playing community has to say about soccer blogs. Bloggers talk about other bloggers all the time, which is wonderful, but we here at SoccerProse were asking ourselves the deceptively critical question: To which soccer blogs do real soccer PLAYERS look for entertainment and insight into all aspects of our beloved game?

In order to hear that all important voice and tally the soccer player vote, we figured there’s no better way than to give away a pair of soccer shoes in exchange! And why not give away the players’ most popular shoe, the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV ?!

The players and fans have spoken and these are their favorite soccer blogs. Let the link juice flow.

We would like to thank all who entered the contest, congratulate the two Vapor winners and especially thank all the bloggers who responded to the contest so well!

Most Popular Soccer Blog:

Sniffing The Touchline
blowing it up the arse of the beautiful game…..
http://sniffingtt.blogspot.com/

Other Heavy Hitters:
(in no particular order)

Soccer By Ives
Spanning the world of soccer with an American voice and a Jersey flavor
http://www.soccerbyives.net/

The Offside Rules
Spilling red wine on soccer’s social fabric since 2007.
http://theoffsiderules.blogspot.com/

du Nord
for futbol fanaticos
http://www.dunord.blogspot.com/

This Is American Soccer
Adam Spangler’s baby
http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/

From College to the Pros
The US Soccer Ladder
http://collegetopros.blogspot.com/

The Offside
Looking at club football from leagues around the world.
http://www.theoffside.com/

Red Rants
Manchester United Blog
http://redrants.com/

Arseblog
an Arsenal blog (in no way connected with Arsenal football club… repeat to fade…)
http://arseblog.com

Pitch Invasion
exploring football culture around the world.
http://pitchinvasion.net/

The shameless plug award goes to:

SoccerProse
www.SoccerProse.com
A soccer blog for soccer players, fans, parents, and coaches.

Spineless and soulless thanks go to the corporate mama-teat:

www.SoccerPro.com
The Authority for Soccer Gear and Training!
(huge clearance sale going on right now, by the way)

Once again, congratulations to the winners!

Nothing is faster than Nike’s Vapor cleats and now there isn’t an easier way to get a pair than with the help of SoccerPro. Already your authority for soccer gear and merchandise, SoccerPro wants to help put you in a pair of the world’s finest cleats even easier.

To get $10 off your next purchase from SoccerPro enter our Nike Mercurial Vapors giveaway. You could be one of two lucky winners to nab your own pair of Nike Vapors! Don’t pass this opportunity by!

First and foremost: I like Javier Mascherano.

He is one of those players who scrape and scrap and get under an opponent’s skin. He is tough as nails and never backs down from a challenge. You want him on your team, but you don’t want to play against him.

Needless to say he also got under the skin of referee Steve Bennett when Liverpool and Manchester United faced off over the weekend. Mascherano earned his second yellow card of the match, halfway through the contest, for dissent. The resulting red card to send him to the showers has raised speculation over the decision and its impact on the game.

I’m going to digress from whether or not Mascherano’s presence would have prevented United from having its way with a Liverpool side that can’t find its way out of a paper sack in league play. I want to take time to applaud Bennett for his decision because it was not an easy one.

See, the Football Association is trying to crack down on the hissy fits these millionaire footballers are throwing every time a decision does not go their way. They huff and puff and cause a big stir while in the recent past referees have stood by taking the abuse like one of Michael Vick’s pit bulls.

Now referees have been told to come down harsher on player dissent. It not only sends a message to the cry babies to shut up, but it makes the players and the game look better. Also, it sets a better example for every 10-year-old out there admiring a player of Mascherano’s skill.

Maybe the decision on Mascherano was harsh, but it was needed. After Ashley Cole’s act of petulance for his horror tackle on Tottenham Hotspurs’ Alan Hutton earlier in the week, and resulting argument and tirade when shown a yellow when a red was mightily needed, a message needed to be sent to the players in the Premier League.

Perhaps Mascherano’s red card was the fallout from the buildup of abuse referees have taken, but it was a step in the right direction.

As the dust begins to settle on the much-ballyhooed mutual consent departure of Jose Mourinho from Chelsea it’s time to take a look beyond the Special One being gone. As surprising as it was to hear that Mourinho’s time at Stamford Bridge was over, it really wasn’t all that surprising it turns out.

It wasn’t that surprising because the discontent between Mourinho and billionaire-owner Roman Abramovich had become quite clear. Mourinho wasn’t playing the players Abramovich wanted him to play and the manager wasn’t playing the type of pretty, attacking football that the Russian wanted. All Mourinho did was deliver wins, loads of them, and get results on the pitch. Still, for the hundreds of millions that Abramovich sunk into his new play-toy Mourinho was still the one in charge. The only way to make things work the way Abramovich wanted was to constantly undermine (Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko ring a bell) and ultimately discard Mourinho. Abramovich wanted things done his way and he certainly thinks he knows better than Mourinho (as evidenced by having his pet, Sheva, act as a translator for Michael Essien while he laughably tried to explain tactics to the midfielder). The appointment of Avram Grant (one of his minions) only gives Abramovich more power and control over his team, and will only hurt Chelsea’s chances in the future.

Much can be gleaned from this tug-of-war for power between coach and ownership. As parents, take a look at the interactions you have with your child’s soccer coaches. There is something to be said for personal instruction at home and a little extra practice with your child never hurts. Continually working to develop your child’s individual skills will only help them when they hit the pitch. However, try to let your inner coach go once practices and games begin. The coach is there volunteering time and resources (or even if the coach is paid, then they should have credentials and licensing so even more incentive to not get involved) to help build a team that can play together and hopefully produce positive results. Don’t openly criticize the coach in front of your child or other players on the team. It will only undermine the coach when they are at practice trying to work with the kids. You might feel a sense of entitlement for the money and resources you’re putting into the team and your child, but take any problems you have with the coach or their tactics up in private. There are positive ways to sorting out issues with coaches, where all parties are able to understand each other.

The kids are the ones who need to benefit from the sport, don’t be an over-controlling owner who thinks only he/she knows best.

How does a 10-year-old get burnt out of anything? Their energy level has no bounds. They can jump from one activity to the next and as long as their having fun the only thing that will stop them is dinner time and bed time. Well, it happens to 10-year-olds that are pushed too hard too fast to become the ‘best’. Whatever that means. If you push your child into one sport (or any activity) with the thought that it’s your retirement plan because that kid is going pro you are not helping. I understand that professional players are groomed early but if your child hasn’t been noticed by Manchester United already it isn’t going to happen.

Every parent is well meaning. You want the best for their child. You want your child to taste success at an early age. I propose that you give your child the opportunity to succeed and let them lead you to the sport that they will play in high school and college and the pros. Let them show you where their strengths are by giving them the opportunity to experience different things. In the back of your mind you’ll know that your child is the next Freddy Adu but you need to keep that right there — in the back of your mind.

And, as an ex-college NCAA Div 1 player I can tell you that a few years of Tae-Kwon Do helped with flexibility, strength and balance. Playing racquetball with my dad taught me quickness and I had a lot of fun with him, too. Getting to the gym for weight training I learned about the mechanics of the body. And during the summer I was so ready to play soccer that I would take my jam box to the park and hit a ball against a kick wall for hours. One year my parents signed me up for gymnastics. I couldn’t believe it. I hated gymnastics. And I hid under the bleachers in the gym. I didn’t want to participate. My dad didn’t yell. He didn’t force it. He un-enrolled me and we went to dinner. I had no idea what burn out was because I got to tell my parents ‘no’ I don’t want to play that right now and they listened.

I didn’t play professional soccer. I did have a great time with soccer and was very competitive. Soccer made a great impact on my life because from an early age I was always ready to step out onto the field and give my all.

Thank you mom and dad for not taking that away from me.

You see it all the time. An ultra-emotional mom or dad that can’t understand why the ref is out to get her child. “How can every call be against us?” It’s not the reality of the situation. It’s not even close to reality. The reality is that it’s a game. The kids are playing and could be having fun but there are a few parents that take it too seriously and push the level of competition way out of context. Whether it’s recreational or competitive, any child on the field is still learning about the game… and about life.

The other players, coaches, officials and parents all make an example of how to handle tough situations. And your child is learning from that example. Should your child learn to blame others first? That’s what the angry mom or dad is doing when they shout from the sideline. Or, should your child learn to overcome a tough situation with their chin up and pushing harder to come back and win the game. Even if they don’t win it is awesome to see a group of young players pull together when they’re down a goal and bust their collective butts to try to get that goal back. Have you seen the end of a match when the team that wasn’t supposed to win made a really close game of it and the other team shakes their hand with a sincere ‘good game’? It gives hope and pride to the losing team. It’s incredible that a losing team can have pride as they walk off the field if they feel they’ve done a good job. No one to blame. No refs to shout at. No other coach teaching dirty play. Just a hard game that tested the resolve of your young player and that kid rose to meet the challenge.

I beg all the angry parents on the sideline to let their kids play. Let them surprise you with their ability to rise to a challenge. Get out of their way. Your job is to lift your child up… not knock the other team down. At the end of the game say three things:

I love you.

I enjoyed watching you play.

Where do you want to eat?