Yes, sports drinks now come in aluminium can form. The funny thing is that I was on my way to the car park in the shopping centre (the mall for the Americans) and I spotted the Powerade can above being sold in a vending machine. I thought it was a joke. But no upon looking closer at the machine, sure enough there was a sports drink in can form looking back at me. So what is a footballer to do when he sees his favourite sports drink in another form? He gets himself one of course.

So What Did I Like?

The first thing that got my attention were the colours. Being an avid supporter of the Australian Football Team, The Socceroos, I was attracted. And that’s the only thing that I liked really. The other features of this product were not great. There seems to be no logical reason to introduce a can version to Powerade. I can’t figure out the purpose of this design. So let’s talk about other things.

No Psshh Noise?

There actually was a small gas noise when I opened up the can, and it has non carbonated advertised. Other than that it’s the same old taste and I can safely say that I don’t think that this will catch on. Maybe the marketing department got their numbers right and knows what the consumer wants, but they’ve got one consumer that doesn’t approve the already great bottle design. Who knows this might take off, but I am not joining that band wagon. Do the sports drink in your country also give you the choice of can form? I would be interested to know. In the meantime, I doubt there will be Powerade cans being thrown around the football pitch in the not too distant future

On the 15th of May, Ronaldinho wrote a letter to the Brazilian Football Confederation stating that he would like to be left out of the Brazilian side chosen for the Copa America competition. In my opinion, it is about time that Ronaldinho took a break from Copa America because it has seriously started to weigh him down not only as a player, but it has started to weigh mentally. You can find the letter he wrote below:

CALL TO THE COPA AMÉRICA

Official Communiqué from Ronaldinho to the Confederação Brasileira de

Barcelona, 15th May 2007.

CONFEDERACIÓN BRASILEÑA DE FÚTBOL FAO.

Teams Department – Technical Commission

Mr. Américo Faria Rua da Alfândega,

nº 70 Rio de Janeiro- Brasil

Re: Call to the Copa América

Dear Sirs,

On the forthcoming call to sportspeople to constitute the Brazilian Football Team that will compete in the Copa América 2007, and considering the possibility that my name might have been chosen to form part of the said group, I would like to say the following.

You are well aware that in recent years I have developed an intense, uninterrupted physical activity and have therefore been unable to enjoy the recommended rest times, with the result that at times this situation can affect the high output required of me to comply with the professional commitments of my club, and particularly those of the Brazilian team.

During my whole time in the Brazilian team, I have always shown great satisfaction in serving it and a great sense of responsibility. To wear the yellow shirt for me is a reason for pride and love of my country.

I thank the entity for the full attention and respect it has always shown me, and due to the excellent, sincere relationship we have, I would ask you to understand my request to be left out of a possible call to the Copa América 2007.

I hope shortly to be able to serve the national team with the same pride and satisfaction as always, and am sure that the future still holds marvellous moments for me with the Brazilian team.

Yours faithfully,

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira

This means that Ronaldinho will enjoy a summer holiday for the first time in 4 years. He spoke at the recent Barcelona press conference saying:

I spoke with the CBF and explained that I needed to rest in order to be fit for next season. This year has been very hard. I didn’t have the chance to prepare myself with my team-mates. I’ve damaged myself and I don’t want that to happen again. You learn a lot at difficult times. We players live for the present and we have to demonstrate every single day that we deserve to be in this Club. I can perform better. I’ve scored a lot of goals but I haven’t had a run of good matches. Sometimes I haven’t trained because I didn’t feel well and I needed to do some strength training in the gym

Asked about his future with the club, Ronaldinho, once again, reaffirmed his position with the club and his intentions to stay for next season:

I’m not thinking about anything but Barça. I want to rest and prepare well to be with my team-mates next season in Barcelona. I’ve always said that I’m fine here.

And it is safe to say that issue can rest, for now. That means, Ronaldinho is set to keep playing with Barcelona and hasn’t expressed any dissatisfaction with the club. But if he were to leave, then I’m sure it would be for a good reason and I would support whatever move he makes. I’m not sure if you knew. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension of his original contract, so I think that would explain the questions surrounding his future.

To add to the fact that Ronaldinho is taking time off, it shows that he is being responsible for his performances on the field and has realised that he has not played up to scratch as he and many of his fans would like to see him. I know that this much deserved break will bring with it a change to recharge his batteries and get back onto the field next year with his team to do one thing… to Be Like Ronaldinho

It’s been at least 2 months since I bought these babies for around $280 AUD and they have been a great investment so far. I posted up this entry when I first got the boots and a reader has asked me how they’ve held up since. I know for a fact that this blog would be the best place to see what effect constant play has had on these football boots, because I don’t know of anyone else documenting their Ronaldinho shoes on the web Again, here is the link to the first post when the shoes looked flawless, and now some background knowledge before we analyse the pictures. Take the following into account:

• These boots were purchased 2 months ago
• I have been playing football 5 times a week, even 6 times
• Some fields I’ve played on have quite a few dust patches
• I have not used any other pair of boots, so far, to play with

Battered And Bruised

Ronaldinho gets a new pair of these boots everytime he plays and probably has 100 more pairs at home, lucky guy. See now I on the other hand, have access to only one pair. They look far different from the first time I put these babies on. I took this picture after I came back from football training, so there is grass everywhere and dust stuck to the shoes. The inside of the shoes still look the same, but that is to be expected. They have really held up well though, even if it’s only been 2 months.

Closer Observations

And observe closely we will. The image above displays the most used areas of the 10R boots. I have numbered key areas that are taking the biggest beating and I’ll talk about how each happened. Lets start with one.

1. In this area we can see the stress caused by doing a large amount of running and I can testify to that. We have been focusing on fitness for a while now. The stress caused by the running I have been doing has shown here, as the marks go right across the 10R logos on both feet. This is expected to happen for any shoe.
2. With the second area, we can see all the stretch marks over the insteps of the 10R shoes, which suggests overuse and change in weather conditions. The reason I have focused on this particular area of the right 10R boot, is because there is a small crack of an opening starting to form, where the big toe is. It is still very small and in the preliminary stages of opening up.
3. Finally, the third area shows the tip of the left boot. What I want to outline here is the very end, where there is a lot of dirt collected into this one place. There is not so much in the right 10R boot, but in the left the sole of the shoe has come loose at the end and has allowed for dirt and grass to get in. If you look at the first picture at the top, you can see the grass caught in the 10R boot. This is also because I like to slide the top of my foot across the ground when I want to stop running.

Conclusions and My Recommendation

If you’re after a great pair of football boots, do yourself a favour, go and get yourself a pair of these.  That is of course if you can afford them. So there are two thumbs way up from me for these great shoes and they will go the extra mile, from my first hand experience. The only thing that needs to be addressed is that they need to be looked after. But word of advice,  please don’t go out and buy them if you can’t afford them, because I know it didn’t do me any favours putting down that kind of money for these babies, only favours on the field