Inter Milan Away Kit 2011-2012

Last night, Inter Milan unveiled their new away kit for the upcoming season. The new kit features an all white body, black collar and a diagonal sash going from top right to bottom left. The sash is split through the middle, so that the top half of it is royal blue and the bottom half is black. The shirt was inspired by the shirt worn in the 1964-65 hugely succesful Inter season, which included the national championship, the champions league championship and the club world cup championship. In addition, the shirt has Nike dri fit technology, and features a very faded argyle pattern that is only visible through close contact. The shorts are pretty plain, with a blue stripe going down the sides of an all white body. The socks are also all white, with a blue nike swoosh. Below are some pictures of the new kit.

Sash and short stripes kind of clash. Or am I just crazy?

Look closely for the argyle.

Inter posing on some really tall building

Some more argyle

Overall, this is one of the nicer kits ive seen this offseason. The polo shirt collar is incredibly classy, and the diagonal sash is very sleek and original. But while this kit is very, very cool, it completely differs from last years away's. While last years away shirt was very modern and full of flair (giant dragon anyone?), this years shirts are classy and old school, with the polo shirt collar, a sash and an argyle pattern.

However, while I love this years away shirt, the way the whole kit is put together doesn't really appeal to me as much. The all white look would look better with last years home shorts, and the sash sort of clashes with the stripes on the side of the shorts (see picture above of player model for proof). Overall, this is a very nice kit, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Bayern Munich Third Jersey 2011-2012

Bayern Munichs new adidas third jersey features a black backdrop, with a red and white stripe stretched across the chest and white adidas sleeve stripes. The tricolored crewneck collar is red, white and black, and the edges of the sleeves have bands of red and white encircling them. Bayern have retained their T-Mobile sponsor, and the words Mia san Mia (we are who we are) are written on the inside of the collar. In addition to all of this, the shirts feature adidas clima-cool technology, to keep the wearer cool and comfortable. Below are some pictures of the new shirt

Overall, I think this is a very nice shirt. While it is not in the same league as the Bayen Munich's red and gold home shirt, the third shirt offers a nice, clean yet sleek feel. I like the color combination, and the stripe along the chest looks very classy. I do think the collar looks kind of awkward and out of place though. Regardless, Bayern will look good trying to repeat a  champs league finals appearance from 2 years ago. Maybe this time they wont choke.

Everton Home kit 2011-2012

As Everton are my second favorite team in the premier league, behind Arsenal, I always look forward to seeing how they will be dressed for the upcoming seasons. This years le coq kit has the same deep blue background as last years kit, but has a new polo shirt collar, with the inside hem and part of the collar colored gold. The short are all white this year, and the socks are blue with a gold band encircling the top. Pictured below are some images of the new home kit.

                 

                  

This years Everton kit is not much different from last years, but the new changes make it better. I love polo shirt collars on jerseys, and the addition of gold gives the kit a very elegant feel. Le Coq really came through this year with Evertons new kits.

Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona

After weeks of waiting and wondering, we have finally found out where Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez will play in the 2011-2012 season. Today, Barcelona beat out other suiters Manchester United and Manchester City  to sign the prodigal Udinese winger for 26 million pounds. While Sanchez will not start over Lionel Messi, David Villa or Pedro Rodriguez, this is great news for Barcelona, as they have a world class forward option to back up their big offensive 3. With Sanchez waiting in the reigns, more rotation will be available for Barcelona, something the club has lacked over the past few years. Sanchez to Barcelona is also good news for Arsenal fans, as it is not as likely that Barcelona will spend 40 million for another backup player, especially after just spending 26 million. But with Sanchez going to Camp Nou, the European Champions have upgraded from having a great squad to an unreal one. Good luck Mourinho!

Porto Kit 2011-2012

Porto's new home kit resembles last years, but has some small differences. The new home shirt features full thick white and blue stripes, all white sleeves as opposed to striped sleeves, and a white, V-neck collar. The nike swish is  blue, as opposed to last years orange swish, and one major difference is that the main sponsor is MEO in a new black sponsorship square (last year was TMN). TMN is now featured on the sleeves, and a new Super Bock sponsorship is featured on the back. The shorts are all blue, with last years white stripes down the side being scrapped. Pictured below is the new home jersey.

No complaints here. I love the clean white and blue design, and I think the discussion of the Orange is a good thing. I never really loved the white, blue and orange color scheme that the Portuguese champs used last year. In addition, the classy all blue shorts look alot nicer without the white stripe running down the side. Score one for the away strips

The new away jersey is a polar opposite to the home one. Instead of being a classic old school design, the new away strips are some of the most creative ones i've ever seen. They feature a black backdrop, with a crew-neck collar and a creative blue and purple zig-zag design reminiscent of Slovenia's world cup strips. TMN is featured on the away kits, with white lettering in a sky blue box, and this time MEO is pushed to the sleeves. In addition, the shorts are all black. Pictured below is the new away kit.

I simply love the new away kits the all black gives a very sleek feel, and the zig zag design looks superb. Purple and blue are my 2 favorite colors, and the creative way nike incorporated them into this really makes me happy. Score 2 for the away kit. In addition, both kits have nike Dri-Fit technology, which keeps the wearer cool and comfortable by drawing sweat from the body.

Napoli Home Shirt 2011-2012

Last week, Macron unveiled Napoli's new home shirts. Tee shirts retain last years sky blue backdrop and Lete sponsorship, but they have a new polo shirt collar and a new MSC sponsorship underneath the Lete one. In addition, the sleeves feature a thinner white striped hem. Below is the new Napoli strip.

Overall, there is not any improvement or decrease from last years kits. I always loved Napolis sky blue colored kits, and this years polo shirt collar adds a classic, clean feel. However the extra sponsorship makes the shirt look a bit too cluttered, and I don't love the strange triangle design beneath the collar. Its still a pretty solid shirt though, although I think Cavani would score 25 goals if he were wearing a smock.

USA's loss is sad for Americans, but think positively....

As a diehard USA mens fan, it was very hard to see a USA team lose, even if it was the woman instead of the men. I had started following the tournament shortly after it began out of boredom, and was slightly surprised by the quality of the women, even compared to the men. So by the time the US rolled to the finals, I was reasonably excited for the big game. And when Alex Morgan found the back of the net for the first time, I actually was pleasantly excited. Unfortunately for me, Japan equalized, and I had to wait until the middle of extra time, when Abby Wambach's powerful header soared into the goal. At that moment, I went nuts, jumping up and down and throwing everything within a 5 foot radius of me. De Ja Vu came a calling though, and the  Japanese equalized again and eventually won on free kicks 

After that, I found myself very disappointed with my newly beloved national team. They let up goals twice after they seemed locked in to win, and they missed the first THREE penalties of the PK shootout. However, after thinking about it more, I realized what a great story Japan's Cinderella story really was. Following Japans earthquake and typhoon crisis, the asian country really did not have much to be happy about. Yet, their woman's national team upset the first 2 seeded teams in the FIFA rankings (USA and Germany) and found themselves with a tournament win that not only uplifted themselves, but a whole nation of millions. So yes, I am upset about my countries heartbreaking loss, but I have come to terms with the fact that Japan needed this one more than the USA, and that this story is one of the greater Cinderella stories in sports history.