The Onion Bag Soccer Shop Blog

Print Room Top Ten

2009-09-25T15:00:00.005-04:00

Everyone knows The Onion Bag is the place to get your soccer jersey customized, but not everyone knows what the most popular customizations are at our shop and at OnionBag.com. This is a list of the top sellers since the beginning of the 2009/2010 season. Some of the names might surprise you, some are on the list because of the hood the shop is in (Antonio and Jozy) and the others are well, the usual suspects.

Here is our Top 10 print requests during August and September; the jerseys depicted are not necessarily the top sellers but are a combination of sales across home, away and third kits.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Kaka' (Real Madrid)

Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

Jozy Altidore (Hull City)

Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)

Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (FC Barcelona)

Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal)

Let us know what you think of the list and we'll do another one in a few months after more of the new jerseys become available.

San Cuauh y San Paco Memo !!

2009-09-25T14:35:00.000-04:00

New Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Memo Ochoa NaCo Tees available at OnionBag.com

adidas MLS 2010 soccer jerseys

2009-09-10T10:11:00.003-04:00

Major League Soccer will play it's 15th season in 2010 as exclusive kit supplier Adidas enter into year five of a ten year partnership with Major League Soccer. Several MLS teams will be receiving an all new wardrobe courtesy of the '3 Stripes' while others will have to make do with last years outfits.

Adidas 2009 uniforms were an all around hit and therefore really didn't need tweaking too much, which is exactly what has happened with the 2010 uniforms. No radical departures for any teams as such.

All teams will have home short sleeve and long sleeve authentic jerseys available, priced at 110.00 and 120.00 respectively. Replica jerseys are available in home and away colors and are priced at 70.00.

Authentic jerseys feature the United States flag as they did this year while the replica jerseys do not.

Chicago Fire: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
CD Chivas USA: Home- NEW. Away- No change.
Colorado Rapids: Home- No change. Away- No change.
Columbus Crew: Home- NEW. Away- NEW. (nice black with yellow pinstipes)
DC United: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
FC Dallas: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Houston Dynamo: Home- No change. Away- No change.
Kansas City Wizards: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Los Angeles Galaxy: Home- NEW. Away- No change.
New England Revolution: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Philadelphia Union: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Real Salt Lake: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Red Bull New York: Home- NEW. Away- No change.
San Jose Earthquakes: Home- NEW. Away- NEW.
Seattle Sounders: Home- No change. Away- No change.
Toronto FC: Home- No change. Away- No change.

All new adidas 2010 MLS jerseys are due for a 2/25/10 release date and will be available at OnionBag.com

We wish we could show you the jerseys, but we've already had a run in with adidas Germany this year for releasing the Hamburg jerseys too early ! Feel free to ask us anything regarding the 2010 adidas MLS catalog in the comments section below.

Chamone ! Whee-Hee ! Who's Bad ?

2009-06-26T14:08:00.004-04:00

Michael Jackson Tribute USA Soccer Jersey.

Goodbye Lextra... Hello SensCilia

2009-06-20T18:02:00.004-04:00

2009 brings us a new player in the licensed printing game. In reality, it's an old technology under a new moniker. Sporting ID have introduced SensCilia, their own brand of what was formerly known as Lextra. SensCilia will be what is used to make the official Premier Leauge names and numbers, sleeve badges, club badges, and much more.

Up to 2009, Sporting ID (and Chris Kay before that) were a licensee of Lextra. In 2009 both the license agreement and the patent protection expired and Sporting ID moved forward with their own branded "lextra" material. SensCilia is made by electrically manipulating tiny multi-colored fibers to stand on end and then applying a layer of adhesive to one end. Originally created by Lextra and Fiberlock in the United States, Sporting ID has made the term "Lextra" synonymous with authenticity and official player issue transfers. Now they hope to do the same with SensCilia.

We now have the new 2009/2010 Premier League Champions sleeve badges to be worn by Manchester United. These badges, that say 08/09 Champions, feature sublimated Premier League word mark throughout the gold satin layer. Look for this "4-D" variation on 3-D badges to become more common, with the UEFA Champions League sleeve badge already sporting a subtle design in the background layer. Click here to view item.

The Onion Bag CL Final Watch Party

2009-05-07T14:08:00.002-04:00

All welcome ! Crispy fressssshhhhh Harp, Guinness and Sam Adams (+ others) on tap.

Soccer Is A Lonely Sport (In America)

2009-04-15T22:02:00.002-04:00

Today we got yet another spam at the old Onion Bag which made me wonder, is soccer the loneliest sport in the USA? I mean, it seams every other week we get an offer for the latest and greatest contraption that allows you to kick a ball, dribble, or practice throw-ins... BY YOURSELF. I say 'in the USA' only because I've yet to run into anything similar in any of the foreign countries I have visited on business. That doesn't mean they don't sell it there, I'm sure they do. This is America after all and we'll find a way to get these products sold all around the world. Remember, we invented the genius concept of selling you stuff you don't really need!

Surely you've seen the infomercials on your favorite soccer TV channel. Tie a rope around your kids waist, and have him go kick the ball around by himself in the backyard while the rest of his playmates throw a football or baseball around. What's the matter Timmy? No one around to kick the ball back to you? Don't worry little fella, through the wonder of modern science we've invented an elastic rope that will make you forget how unpopular you are. Are you kidding me? What ever happened to a nondescript wall somewhere? Somehow I highly doubt the Cristiano Ronaldo's of the world ran around as a kid with a ball tied around their waists. Notice the caliber of soccer "stars" they get on those commercials. Kenny Cooper anyone?

The endless amount of new gimmicks out there sold under the guise of improving your soccer ball kicking skills is astounding. My favorite is the Soccer Wave, not sold at the Onion Bag in case you were wondering. Here's the concept, your kid doesn't have a friend or brother to kick the ball around with, but luckily for just $189.99... ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE DOLLARS AND NINETY-NINE F'ING CENTS....he or she can kick a ball against a giant plastic curve that returns the ball. It's beyond words at this point. The only interest I have in seeing one of these in action is seeing the idiot kid who catches a ball unexpectedly in the face.

The new one on the boob tube is a small five sided basket that you kick the ball against and it bounces back at you. It slices and dices, and when you are completely bored with kicking a ball against the side of an oversized waste paper basket, you can turn it on it's side and it becomes a soccer goal! Genius! I bet they got this idea from those resourceful ghetto children who turn wire garbage cans on their side to use as soccer goals. Hell, those ghetto children might even work in the factories that put together these pieces of crap!

Today's spam though was from yet another company selling you a ball on a string. Quoting their email...

The NEW Jimmy Ball, Technique Training Ball is a sure success for your Retail Soccer Store. With a store POP display featuruing U.S. Star Kenny Cooper you are guaranteed to move product.

Did you read that? Guaranteed to move product! The innovation here is that you don't necessarily need to tie it around your waist, you an also make a noose out of it! Looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen if you ask me.

What's most depressing is that someone somewhere in America actually buys these crappy products. I can honestly say though, at The Onion Bag, we have never had a request for one of these items. What's next? Trying to sell us helmets for soccer? Woops....

Just outside the Holland Tunnel

2009-04-12T18:12:00.003-04:00

Just saw this outside the Holland Tunnel on the way back to Jersey City. Apparently it has been up since January.

Emelexista

2009-04-08T14:53:00.005-04:00

Club Sport Emelec are based in the beautiful Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil. The club was founded by a New Yorker, George Capwell. An electric company executive in the United States, Capwell founded the Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador, (Em-El-Ec) an electric company in Guayaquil, and decided to start an amateur sports league for employees of the company. The first sports played at the club were baseball and boxing, with Capwell himself playing as the catcher. It's well known that Capwell didn't care much for Futbol and only after unrelenting pressure from the company employees was the soccer team formed in 1929.

This year the club is celebrating it's 90 year anniversary, playing in the atmospheric and compact George Capwell Stadium. Emelec last won the Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A in 2002 but managed a runners-up position in 2006.

George Capwell Stadium and the Boco del Pozo supporters group.

For more information on the interesting history of Emelec we highly recommend the Emelec fan site Emelexista.

Since 1991 George Capwell Stadium has seen two increases in capacity.

At The Onion Bag Soccer Shop you can buy Emelec soccer jerseys past and present. Made by Diadora the Emelec soccer jersey is a must have for all Emelexistas. We have just received the new 2009 Emelec Home and Away jerseys which are available for purchase for 64.95.

2009 Diadora Emelec Home soccer jersey at OnionBag.com

Hillsborough 20th Anniv. Tribute

2009-03-29T12:43:00.002-04:00

On April 15 1989 over 25,000 Liverpool fans travelled to Hillsborough to support their team in the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Ninety six of them never returned.

This song commemorates
next months 20th anniversary of the disaster

Sung by

A few of the 96 Deceased's Relatives

The Kop Choir

Kenny Dalglish
Phil Thompson
John Aldridge
Bruce Grobbelaar
Howard Gayle
Alan Kennedy

Various Artists

John Power - The La's
Peter Hooton - The Farm
Nick Kilroe - Echo and the Bunnymen
James Walsh - Starsailor
Rob Taylor - Troubadours

The Damned United

2009-03-26T14:40:00.003-04:00

The Damned United is a film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd about Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United. It was produced by BBC Films and Left Bank Pictures, with additional funding from Screen Yorkshire and Columbia Pictures. Sony Pictures Entertainment distributes the film. The film was originally proposed by Stephen Frears but he pulled out of the project in November 2007. Tom Hooper took his place and film was shot from May to July 2008. It will be released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2009.

The publishers of the novel on which the film is based were successfully sued by Irish midfielder Johnny Giles who wrote, "Many of the things Peace talks about in the book never happened and for that reason, I felt it necessary to go to the Courts to establish that this was fiction based on fact and nothing more."

However, most people portrayed in the book had died by the time of the book's release and were unable to take similar action. The book includes a scene with Brian Clough in the Leeds management office burning Don Revie's desk. There is no factual basis for this. The Clough family have expressed disappointment at the publication of the book. The film has already been criticised by Clough's widow, Barbara.

Check out the clip below ...

Gazza is back

2009-03-16T15:54:00.002-04:00

Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne has spoken of his battle with alcohol and revealed that he nearly died last year after his heart stopped three times while he was in rehab. In an interview broadcast today on Sky News, Gazza admitted that last year's sudden rumours that he had died were a lot closer to the truth than the public realised.
"My heart failed on us a few times," he said, adding that his illness had caused his father, John, to collapse. Gazza also describes the day he tried to kill himself.
"I had just had enough," he said. "I had had enough of everything, you know." "I rang my sister just to say, I am going to run a bath. I think she might have had a clue, I don't know if it was a plea for help."
"And I just said, look, I am in the bath and I will always love you, or something like that, and put the phone down. I laid in the bath and just felt myself dropping off and I remember just getting ready, like dozing off, and then the police burst in. About six police dragged us out of the bath."
The footballer, whose former clubs include Newcastle United, Tottenham, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, said only four months ago he was drinking 30 cans of Special Brew every day, but had been helped through his problem by his belief in God.
"I just thank Him for today you know, if I don't drink I just say thanks, thanks for not letting me have a drink today."
Gascoigne said he had learned to control himself around alcohol. "I can be around it now because all I have got to do is remember my last 'drunk'," he says. "If I remember my last drunk, which I can't — well I sort of can, getting fed with a spoon because I had the shakes that bad." Gascoigne, a gifted footballer whose career was marred by alcohol and violence towards his ex-wife Sheryl, has endured a love-hate relationship with the British public.
Speaking of his attack on Sheryl, he said: "If you are sitting in a restaurant and somebody calls your mum a whore, which she did, and for no reason, I don't like that – and yes, I got hold of her arms and I did put my head against her head, I didn't headbutt her but I threw her to the floor, and I was disgusted with myself for what I did.
"I went to therapy; I sat with 15 to 20 women and told them exactly what I did. I got punched by a few women for doing what I did, but I took the punches and I accepted it. It is the one thing I ever did in my life, and I get hammered for it."
The interview, in the company of his father, sister Lindsay and two young nephews, showed the former player having a kickabout on the beach. At one point, he says proudly: "No one is ever going to be as good as I was."

Respect Ray Winstone

2009-03-16T13:40:00.003-04:00

Ray Winstone plays his part in The FA's Respect programme as he challenges the role of parents in spoiling football for their children. Check the video below ....

England Pep Talk

2009-03-13T19:29:00.000-04:00

AndamosArmados: OnionBag.com For Champions League Jerseys

2009-03-11T11:49:00.007-04:00

Andamos Armados is a site from Mexico that features the latest cool stuff from clothing and music to pop culture.

Translated from the site:

The day before yesterday marked the return of Champions League, which is without a doubt the most competitive tournament in the world. We saw the defeat of La Vecchia Signora of Italy, the smashing victory of Bayern, and among other results the suffered draw for the Yellow Submarine.

So we ask ourselves: Where can we find the jerseys for these teams?

They are at OnionBag.com and they cost between $82.95 and $85.00 US.

The article highlights our Ronaldo #7 Nike 08/09 Manchester United Third jersey among others. Click here for the full article at AndamosArmados.com.

Complex Blog says "Onion Bag our go to spot"

2009-03-11T11:39:00.004-04:00

Complex Magazine's website suggests you get in the Champions League spirit now that we're at the interesting part of the tournament. They highlight Juventus and Barcelona among others.

"Our go-to spot in the U.S. for soccer kits is the Onion Bag, mostly because of its diverse selection and authentic name and number sets."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thanks Complex!

OnionBag.com Mentioned on MagliaVerde

2009-03-11T11:30:00.005-04:00

Palmeiras here, nice to meet you

OnionBag.com got a nice mention on this Palmeiras blog, Maglia Verde. The site is all about the green Palmeiras shirt, and other related Palmeiras apparel. We had done a write up on the new Palmeiras jacket from adidas here.

Cahill's Son

2009-03-09T15:57:00.001-04:00

No rolling round on the floor either - just like his Dad !

Italy 2009 Confederations Cup Jersey

2009-03-08T16:06:00.003-04:00

Found this online from an Italian website. The shirt is supposed to be a bit of a throwback to the old days. Uh... ok.. The initial press release from the FIGC said it would have a V-neck, I was picturing one of those really wide V-necks like they wore back in the day. This shirt doesn't look too retro in my opinion. It just looks plain, which is not to say it doesn't look nice, it just doesn't look particularly historic.

Blacklists, Drug Dealers and Proprietary Brands

2009-02-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

A Snapshot of America de Cali's New Licensed Collection

This article is something I found on www.arteysportweb.com and thought it was worth translating. Only in South America.

This article should have been about the presentation of the new apparel range by a football club. A few loose details regarding this news have piqued our curiosity, and that's how in the past few days we became determined to investigate the details of a complicated set of events, intimately related to the recent history of a city, a country and international politics.

We told ourselves that if we hadn't been so curious, we could have limited our report to the routine: America de Cali (Colombia) presents a new collection for the upcoming season, with the peculiarity of counting on very different designs for the games used in the national championship of Colombia, and the ones to be used for Copa Santander Libertadores.

America de Cali jersey made by NAS for the Colombian Copa Mustang

For some time now we have been asking about the brand on the America jerseys. We thought it was curious that a club of America's size wouldn't be in business with an important international brand to distribute their licensed products. Not only because America has a decorated history and an undeniable popularity, but also because they are the reigning champions of the Colombian league and have also made a relatively successful return to international competition. We assumed the brand we saw on their jerseys during the last Copa Sudamericana were of some local brand, surely a well known company within Colombia. We weren't entirely wrong, but there was much more to the real story.

After wearing a few different models from Kappa at the beginning of the 2000's, America de Cali switched to a Mexican brand named Keuka in 2004. Then in 2007 they switched again, this time to a brand called FSS ("Fabricamos Su Sudadera", translates roughly to "We Make Your Jersey"). We have mentioned in previous articles that FSS is a sporting goods manufacturer from Bogota founded in 1987, and have been suppliers to some of the world's biggest brands (for example, the Reebok Colombia home jerseys are in fact made by FSS for Reebok). In the past few years the company decided to launch their own brand.

The relationship between America and FSS remained strong in 2008, even when the club decided to experiment with their own brand. This new brand was called America Sportswear, more commonly known as ASW. The new jerseys displayed the ASW logos, yet the design and the manufacturing of the jersey were still in the hands of FSS. The fans received the new jerseys with moderate approval. Most were happy with the design and quality of their club's new in-house brand, but some were unhappy and called for what they felt was absolutely necessary: a club as big as theirs should have the logo of an international brand as an irrefutable sign of prestige. Even though their protest was debatable, they even went as far as creating a user group on Facebook to organize their demands.

The opposition voice of the fans becomes furious

2009 started off with strong rumors of a possible deal between America and Adidas, rumors probably founded on the new contracts signed by Millonarios of Bogota and Atletico Nacional of Medellin with the three-stripe brand, as well as the urging of their own fans. Although no one from the club took it upon themselves to either deny or confirm the rumors, the fact was that America had began their participation in the Copa Mustang of Colombia and the Copa Santander Libertadores wearing new designs for each tournament. Both were made by their own brand, designed and manufactured by FSS. ASW though was gone as the club was forced to create a new label due to legal problems. The new brand would be called Nuevo America Sport, or simply NAS. Disillusioned by the latest twist in this story, the fans became unanimous in their rejection of the new shirts: the shirt was described as "horrible", "atrocious", "unjust" and much more. Exagerated? Maybe, if we take into account what those so-called prestigious brands sometimes come up with.

The question naturally was, what were the legal problems that forced America de Cali to invent a second proprietary brand? The Colombian press barely mentioned the change offering up only minor details. In any case, when we started investigating the issue we ended up finding unforseen twists and turns that took us by surprise.

Maybe our readers in Colombia already are familiar with the whole story, and what follows is simply redundant, but to the rest of us that only have a basic understanding of Colombian football, it was a shock to learn America de Cali is on the "Clinton List" by the government of the United States. What exactly was the Clinton List? Not exactly a shopping list for the new US Secretary of State. It is an official black list of companies suspected of having economic ties to the drug cartels of Colombia. Created during the Bill Clinton presidency and official named the "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List" (SDN), the list is published and maintained by the Foreign Affairs department of the United States Treasury Office, and was voted into law on the 21 of October, 1995. The law was written by senators Paul Coverdell and Dianne Feinstein as part of a group of measures to combat drug trafficking and money laundering. Those appearing on the list are not allowed to have business in the United States, and American companies doing business with them are subject to punishment.

Of course, just because someone is listed on the Clinton List it doesn't mean necessarily they have done something illegal, but what is a fact is that if you are on the list it is almost impossible to conduct business in almost any country. For example: a great number of banks, especially those that operate in many countries, participate in international agreements to block the transfer and laundering of funds related to terrorism or drug trafficking. Therefore, almost all the international banks refuse to do business with anyone named on the Clinton List, which in turn makes doing business for those named to conduct business in the absence of, for example, a legitimately registered bank account. It's because of these obstacles that America de Cali, since being added to the list in 1998, has been tied up in numerous legal and economic conflicts that have seriously damaged the club's finances and public image.

So you ask, is the accusation of the club's involvement with the drug trade based in some kind of factual evidence? For now it appears that way. Everyone in Colombia knows that the most powerful men in the drug cartels have always maintained close ties to the biggest football teams in the country, with few exceptions. Everyone remembers, for example, that Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, heads of the feared Medellin Cartel, were the men behind Atletico Nacional and Millonarios respectively. The power of these rich and powerful men became evident in the 80's and early 90's when they didn't think twice about buying off, threatening, or even assassinating players, referees and club directors. The sensational signing of football stars and their success on the field made people forget those "incidents" and helped cement the incredible popularity of the drug lords.

That's the way things were until recent years when the influence of the organized drug cartels in Colombian football, while still have an effect, began to diminish considerably. After the iconic Pablo Escobar's death in 1993, and the subsequent demise of the Medellin Cartel, the control of the drug trade moved to the guerilla groups, primarily the notorious FARC, who until that point had only used the narcotics trade a secondary form of generating income.

In any event, after all these years for America to be the only Colombian team named on the Clinton List can be attributed to the history of two brothers, Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, founders of the Cali Cartel, one of the biggest organized drug cartels in the country rivaling (and in some cases surpassing) the Medellin Cartel.

The brothers came to America formally in 1979, and with their generous checkbook the team was able to capture some of the best players in all of South America. That began the most successful period in the club's history winning five Colombian titles in a row from 1982 to 1986. We all remember of course, that they made it to three Copa Libertadores finals in 1985, 1986, and 1987. (Editors Note: In 1986 they lost to none other than River Plate!)

The Cali Cartel though was unable to escape the crisis crippling the drug cartels. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, alias "The Chess Master", was the first of the big drug lords to be captured alive on June 9, 1995. Shortly after, on the 6th of August, his brother would also be arrested. Several other high ranking members of the cartel would also be either captured or killed in the following months. The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 15 years in jail, reduced to 7 on account of good behavior. It was clear that the jail was a farce, since the brothers continued to operate their crippled empire from their cells. Regardless, they couldn't avoid being placed on the Clinton List that very same year, and all businesses that listed the brothers as participants also got thrown on the list, including Corporation Deportiva America de Cali.

The new NAS jersey for the Copa Libertadores debuts in a loss.

When the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were about to be set free, new charges were brought up against them in US courts. The political climate didn't favor the brothers: the new president Alvaro Uribe was determined to end once and for all the power of the old cartels as well as the paramilitary guerilla groups. So Uribe decided to expand the denominated "Plan Colombia" initiated by his predecessor, Andres Pastrana, that oulined how the United States government would assist their Colombian counterparts with money and military equipment with the objective of defeating the drug cartels and paramilitary groups. In return, amongst other things, Colombia vowed to reinstate the law that allowed extradition for trial of drug traffickers and other criminals indicted in US courts.

Both Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela were extradited in late 2004. They were charged and convicted by the United States Justice Department, although in exchange for their confessions to the majority of their crimes they were given the "reduced" sentences of 30 years each, as well as offering to drop the charges against 28 other family members who were indicted. Among them was Juan Miguel, son of Miguel, who had taken over administration of America, even though he was not registered formally as part of the club's corporation. Despite the charges against Juan Miguel being dropped, America de Cali continued to appear on the Clinton List.

It was not enough even when in 2006, from his cell in the USA, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela announced in a written document his complete and total departure from anything to do with the club. A similar declaration by Juan Miguel last August was also futile. So long as the current corporation exists, there is nothing that can get them removed from the Clinton List. The National Colombian Narcotics agency, a governmental group that legally seized 4% of the shares in America, threatened on more than one occasion to remove the rest of the share holders, which would imply a legal take over of the club. They never were able to make this happen.

While America hangs in legal and economic limbo, different plans have surfaced to try and get the club taken off the Clinton List in order to return to normal financial and institutional operations. The plan that seems to have the most steam is the one proposed by the current mayor of Cali, Jorge Ivan Ospina Gomez. The mayor wants to create a new corporation to replace the current one, and whose shareholders must show they have no ties to the Orejuela brothers or any other drug lords. To do this, Ospina needs to gather at least 2000 new share holders for the new corporation, to be named Nuevo America de Cali, and he must accumulate at least one million dolars in capital to avoid impending bankruptcy and negotiate the debt with the municipality valued in the billions of Colombian pesos.

Ospina confirms the support of the governor of Valle de Cauca (the state which Cali is the capital of) as well as the US ambassador to Colombia, who has suggested this plan would be a good way to start getting the club taken off the list. After a transition period of 8 months, during which the municipal government of Cali would assume administration of the club, the new share holders would gain control of the new corporation and assign a new management board. The major hurdle of course is to convince the current share holders to relenquish their shares, which is difficult to say the least.

Since Ospina proposed this new plan last January, and with a dramatic call to save the club to all the fans, the future remains clouded. Their coronation in the last Copa Mustang tournament and the return to Copa Santander Libertadores have given new hope to America fans, but will hardly help solve the deeper problems facing the club. With this complicated panorama, it would be wise not to expect any superstar signing, or agreement with any international brands. Maybe NAS isn't to the liking of the fans, but today America de Cali has very different priorities.

PostScript: Fans of America de Cali claim one last relative of the Orejuela's is among those share holders refusing to give up control for the formation of a new corporation. The fans say the drug cartel's remaining members want to rule the club from the shadows, without regard to the club's financial situation.

The 159 from Port Authority

2009-02-10T19:05:00.003-05:00

So you live in New York City and you can't find a decent soccer shop, and you think New Jersey is too much of a pain in the arse to get to ?

Wrong. Just get your self down to the Port Authority on 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, and hop on the 159 to nearby North Bergen, and visit The Onion Bag Soccer Shop, it takes about 20 minutes depending on traffic, but there's plenty of things to see out the window, plus you can catch some great food in any of the hundreds of restaurants we have nearby our store.

Hopside Down Beer Mug

2009-02-06T11:34:00.001-05:00

From their website:

Fred likes to glug his beer right from the bottle, but Mrs. Fred is appalled. So Fred went out and did something about it – he created this bottle-in-a-glass as an homage to real men like him. Hopside Down is hand-blown, precisely crafted, and unexpectedly deluxe. Since the bottle is double walled, it's insulated and prevents your hands from warming up the beer, keeping it nice and frosty like it should be!

Now if only we could get one of our friendly bar tenders at one of our all-too regular hang outs to switch out all the pint glasses for these beauties.

Build Your Own Table Football Game

2009-02-04T12:53:00.002-05:00

If you have got a lot of time on your hands, as many more of us seemingly do these days, you can build your own Foosball table. Your end result probably won't compare to the better store bought Foosball table's, but if you build it yourself you can surely configure the playing surface to your advantage.

Goodison Redevelopment & The Everton Stadium Presentation

2009-02-04T12:03:00.001-05:00

Visit blackwidowinternet.com/everton to view an outsatnding presentation that was developed for the Keep Everton In Our City campaign group for use in the public inquiry into the proposed relocation of the Everton football stadium to Kirkby.

Most Hideous Soccer Jersey Around?

2009-02-03T17:11:00.005-05:00

Feast your eyes on this one from Real Potosi in Bolivia, taken during their game against Palmeiras in 1st Round of Copa Libertadores last week. Palmeiras took the first leg 5-1 in case you were wondering.

I can't figure out what is worse on this shirt, the manufacturer's name dizzyingly repeated all over the sleeves, or the fact they have 4 major sponsors on the front of the jersey. In case you were wondering, the shorts also have several sponsor logos on them.

Here's some more pics:

Editors Note: Taking a closer look, it would seem Real Potosi played in a different shirt (possibly last season's) for the second half of the game. They were down 3-0 at the half, maybe they blamed the distracting soccer jerseys.