If you had to name the greatest thing about Argentina, what would it be? 

You’ve certainly got a lot of choice. The Andes mountains, Ladislao Biro – inventor of the ball point pen, gauchos, writer Jorge Luis Borges, the tango, Eva Peron, rugby player Hugo Porta and Maradona to name but a few.

However, in current football terms, if you were asked the same question, chances are many of you would plump for Lionel Messi.

We would too, which is handy seeing as we are giving you a chance to win a pair of signed Lionel Messi football boots.

We’ve got a pair of the Argentine international’s Adidas F50’s, signed by the young superstar and ready to go to a new home.

To enter this great competition all you have to do is purchase any item from the Footy Boots Shop and your name will automatically go in the hat.

There’s no minimum price rule, and the competition is open up until 10th December 2008.

And, if you feel the need to go back and make further purchases, your name will be entered in to the competition as many times as you flash the cash.

Good luck.

Lionel Messi Fact File

Born: 24th June 1987

First club: Grandoli – coached by his father

Health: At 11 was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency

Spain: Left Argentina for a new life in Barcelona after the club guaranteed to pay his medical bills

Debut: 16th October 2004 v Espanyol

Number 10: Inherited Ronaldinho’s number 10 jersey after the Brazilian left for AC Milan

International debut: Sent off after just 40 seconds after coming on as a second half sub versus Hungary on 17th August 2005

Olympics: Was a gold medal winner in Beijing after Argentina beat Nigeria in the final 1 – 0. In front of a 90,000 crowd at the Birds Nest stadium, Messi set up the winner for Angel Di Maria

Competition Terms and Conditions

David Beckham will join Italian giants AC Milan on loan on 7th January next year.

The England midfielder, who is keen to add to his 107 international caps, sees the move as a way of guaranteeing his fitness during the MLS close season where he plays for LA Galaxy. It will mean that he meets Fabio Capello’s requirements that all players vying for international honours must be fit and playing regularly if they want to be included in any of his squads.

And the England boss, a former coach at Milan, thinks the move will work out well for both parties saying:

Milan have made a good addition.

At Madrid I left him out of the squad because he had signed a contract with Los Angeles but he continued to come on the field and train and I put him back in the team.

He is a very serious lad, very sensible, a professional. People think he is a playboy off the field, it’s not true at all.

AC Milan’s Umberto Gandini has confirmed Beckham will only remain with the club until he is required to return to re-join The Galaxy to train ahead of the new MLS season.

Speaking to Sky Sports News he said:

The deal is for as long as David wishes but I think he’s committed to MLS and LA Galaxy will bring him back after a couple of months I think.

I think he will have to go back to MLS by the time it starts and training before that. A final date has not been agreed yet, but obviously it’s down to MLS to decide.

Last week on Footy Boots, we reported on new research that was taking place to determine the cause of metatarsal injuries. Keen to learn more, we contacted Dr Iain Spears who’s leading the investigative team at the University of Teesside.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Dr Spears tells Footy Boots about the state of the research so far, what he hopes to achieve and, hugely importantly, his views on whether player safety is being sacrificed for style and branding.

FB: There have been many theories as to why these types of injuries occur. Do you agree with any of them or do you have your own opinion?

IS: There are a multitude of factors, many of which are described in already published medical research. All of these are logical.  However, they don’t explain what’s changed over the last 10 years in football.

Boots have certainly become more lightweight with a greater number of stud arrangements (including blades). In addition, the players tend to wear the shoes small so the boot is tight around the foot.  Modern footballers also receive new footwear more often. I’m not sure this is a great idea. The foot comprises many small bones and when weightbearing these bones move about relative to each other (up to 15 degrees).The new boots and the way the players wear the boots could over-restrict these boney movements which could interfere with the natural biomechanics.

For example, I did some preliminary analyses using the foot model. When you look down at your bare foot as you put weight on the forefoot it should splay outwards - this is natural and is your body’s defence against high forces. I ran the preliminary model in this barefooted condition and then again but restricted the outwards movement (as could be the case with new and tight boots). The stresses at the base of the 5th metatarsal, the common fracture zone, doubled as a consequence. This was quite interesting but the model needs extensive validation before anyone should take me serious on this one.

Another theory is related to the amount of balance work players do nowadays. These exercises strengthen and condition the muscles on the lateral side of the lower leg and can reduce the risk of ankle sprains. However, some of these muscles insert at the base of the fifth metatarsal. Greater muscle strength usually means higher forces on the attachment site, which means greater stress in the 5th metatarsal.

When you watch the replays of Emile Heskey’s 5th metatarsal injury, it looks like he slipped and was about to go over on his ankle. Something stopped him and I suspect it was high activity of these peroneal muscles causing high stresses in this bone. Again, this is just a possible theory at the moment but the effect of strengthening the ankle stabilizers could be something we look at with the model.

FB: Is there a pattern as to when metatarsal injuries occur?

IS: They do seem to occur later in the season which would make sense in terms of what is known about stress fractures. Like all stress fractures, metatarsal fractures occur as the result of an imbalance between ongoing stress and bone remodelling. The remodelling process can break down as a result of over-stressing the bone and/or not providing opportunity for the bone to repair itself. In such cases the micro-cracks develop to such an extent that the structural integrity of the bone is weakened and is prone to crack propagation. For footballers prolonged periods of rest are not an option during the season and this micro-damage may accumulate and comes to the fore with fracture of the bone.

FB: How has football boot design contributed to the problem if at all?

IS: Quite honestly I’ve got no preconceptions but it is certainly something I’m looking forward to finding out using the model.

FB: Are manufacturers going for style at the expense of protection?

IS: I haven’t seen the budgets spent on research and development but some of the major footwear manufacturers were criticized of this a few years ago. I’m not sure this is the case now and there is a growing unity between manufacturers, footcare specialists and scientists. In fact we’ve already been offered help and advice from football manufacturers so I think they are taking this seriously.

FB: What’s your view on players using new football boots for virtually every game?

IS: I personally don’t like this concept (see above) and I know sports physiotherapists don’t like it either. There is a complex biomechanical interplay between foot and shoe which is delicate and in my view shouldn’t be changed unless necessary.

FB: Who will you be working with on this project?

IS: Prof Chris Nester and Prof David Howard from The Centre for Rehabilitation and Human Performance Research at Salford. My expertise is computer modeling of the foot and they can provide the data I need to validate my models. They’ve been working on foot biomechanics for several years and will be vital when we start to identity the problem and also devising the solutions. Also involved in the latter is an  orthopaedic surgeon and Prof Rome (Auckland University of Technology).

FB: What will be the main focus of your research?

IS: The main focus of the research will be to validate the model and then to assess the cause of metatarsal fracture. The Salford group have previously anchored markers onto peoples foot bones and then done motion capture (like you see in the creation of video games) of these people running. All this data will go into the computer model of the foot during strenuous activities. We can then use the model to start asking fundamental questions like “What happens to the stresses in the metatarsals if we tighten the shoe laces or increase the support underneath the longitudinal arch ?”. Further down the line, by modeling the mechano-biology, we’ll be able to ask “how long will the fracture take to heal if we do these rehab exercises?” The great thing about the computer models is that we can get the answers straight away.

FB: Do you already have any ideas on how to improve protection, without fundamentally changing the current style of football boots?

IS: In my view, with regard to the overuse metatarsal fractures, protection is not the issue. It is about designing the football boot to compliment the natural boney movements which would reduce the stresses and therefore the incidence of fracture. If this can be done then it’s a win-win situation because most players like to be able to feel the ball as they kick through it and with a non-invasive boot they would get that. However, protection against impacts like against the studs of the opponents foot is another issue and while it would be easy to protect against fracture, the players may not be so keen on the designs I’ve got in mind.

(Dr Iain Spears is a Reader in Biomechanics at the University of Teesside).

Tottenham Hotspur have announced that they are to leave White Hart Lane for a brand new 60,000 seater stadium close to their existing site.

The club, who’ve been based in the London Borough of Haringey for the past 109 years, are planning to build their new stadium on land adjacent to the Lane. The scheme, named as the Northumberland Development Project, will include leisure facilities and housing.

Explaining more about the project, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said:

The Northumberland Development Project will deliver a world class scheme and substantial new investment for Haringey and our supporters.

It represents a significant step in the growth of the club, with a proposed stadium capacity of 60,000 and would provide state-of-the-art facilities, important public space, new jobs and homes and a significant boost for the local economy.

It would also enable us to provide a new base for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation so that its award winning programmes can continue and have an even greater impact in the local community.

Tottenham Hotspur is proud of its roots in Haringey. We have been in the Borough for 126 years and the club is inextricably linked with this part of London. We believe that this scheme has the potential to create a truly inspirational environment for the club and the community as well as acting as the catalyst for the uplift of the wider area.

The Tottenham board pushed ahead with proposals for a larger stadium with a season ticket waiting list of about 22,000 but were conscious of the importance of remaining in the Haringey area.

Other sites were considered but ultimately it was decided their current location, plus land adjacent to it, was the most suitable option.

Tottenham announced their plans whilst also releasing details of their latest financial results. For the year ending 30th June, turnover was up 11%, revenue was up from £103m to £114.8m with net debt of £14.6m though that figure includes property acquisitions.

We’re warming up a theme here on goalkeeper glove classics. This week - the uhlsport Cerberus Supersoft Rollfinger goalkeeper gloves. A bit of a mouthful to say, but that’s often the first condition of a classic goalkeeping product…

uhlsport of course – decades of goalkeeping heritage – has more than a few classics up its sleeve. The pink and white gloves worn by Shilton and Zenga in the 1990 World Cup, for example, must be one of the most requested gloves for a comeback ever.

But the glove in question this week, the Cerberus Supersoft Rollfinger model, was probably a bit of a surprise for those German gurus of goalkeeping products.

It’s one of those gloves that no doubt makes the guys who develop uhlsport’s latest and highly innovative technology shudder. Years spent on new innovations, cash ploughed into the latest developments and marketing budgets thrown at new releases in the manner of a Coleen Rooney shopping trip… And then a glove like this comes along without any of that really, and threatens to steal the show.

Finger protection technology? Nope. Uhlsport Absolutgrip foam? No. Contoured palm for improved hand flexion? Nooo. Fancy embossed backhand?? No! No, the Cerberus Supersoft Rollfinger goalkeeper gloves strip it down to the basics – but the essential basics. Really nice foam, a great fit, the ever popular rollfinger glove cut and – let’s be honest – a price that keepers at all levels of the game can afford.

Obviously, the Cerberus Supersoft Rollfinger goalkeeper gloves do include a huge amount of technological development that we tend to take for granted these days. The performance quality of the Supersoft latex foam palms, and the comfort of the uhslport rollfinger glove cut, that has been many seasons in development, for example. Similarly, the lightweight materials employed in the construction of the glove backhand.

The gloves were first released at RRP £29.99 (possibly going up a few quid in coming months thanks to inflation). But it’s clearly not all about price. A fine seal of approval came, we believe, when the Chelsea supremo and uhlsport endorsee Carlo Cudicini took to the gloves and wore a slightly customised version of them in last season’s Chelsea first team games. They’re flying off the shelves…

GLOVE SPEC: UHLSPORT CERBERUS SUPERSOFT ROLLFINGER GOALKEEPER GLOVES

GLOVE CUT: Rollfinger cut
PALM TYPE: Supersoft latex foam
FINGER SUPPORT: N/A
FASTENING: Bandage with comfortable hook and loop fastener-closure-system
CONDITIONS: Dry/damp, soft ground
PALM LENGTH: Wrist length

MANUFACTURER’S COMMENTS:   

uhlsport’s Supersoft latex produces excellent gripping characteristics in dry and damp conditions thanks to a unique, micro-porous foam construction.

Backhand: YCAP® TR is an exclusive uhlsport foam for glove backhands. Highly flexible due to soft foam construction and formed using 3D Thermo rubber foam, YCAP TR promotes excellent surround grip.

High competition glove: perfect fit and maximum flexibility.

Diego Maradona has stunned the football world by announcing that he’s been offered the job of coach to the Argentine national side.

Maradona, often touted as the greatest player the game has ever seen, claims that he’s been in talks with the Argentina Football Association and that those discussion are due to continue this week.

The post is currently open after Alfio Basile resigned earlier this month after a World Cup qualifying defeat to Chile.

Maradona, now 47, said:

The offer attracted me a lot. As soon as it is confirmed I will start working.

The idea is to start working immediately after the official announcement with the players who are in Argentina and then take the first plane to talk to the ones in Europe.

As yet, there’s no official word from the AFA.

As captain, Maradona led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 but he was sent home from the 1994 tournament for drugs offences and since retiring has battled drink, drugs and weight problems.

Dan’s the man?

Just imagine for a moment that you were the top man at a public company. After 2 or 3 years of relative stability, you decide to dismiss the chief executive and replace him with a continental style management system. Twelve months on, and your favoured trio have made a complete balls up of everything. Productivity is down and worryingly, you are now lagging behind a number of companies that you normally outperform. Chances are that the shareholders to whom you answer would get rid of your appointees and probably you as well. Of course, Daniel Levy doesn’t have to worry about such annoyances. Despite being the man who took the disastrous decision to dismiss Martin Jol, who delivered back to back 5th place finishes in the Premier League, and coming up with the idea of replacing him with Ramos and Poyet with Comolli more powerful than ever as Sporting Director, he remains as chairman of Spurs and managing director of ENIC. Interestingly, the man to who he has turned to save Tottenham’s season, Harry Redknapp, doesn’t hold with many of Levy’s European style ideas. When taking over as manager, ‘Arry made it perfectly clear that he’d be picking the players he wanted at the club and it would be the chairman’s job to go out and buy them. Levy’s grand plans have been removed at a stroke. And there are many in the English game who’ll be thinking about time too.

Doh - Dowie

Iain Dowie’s appointment as manager at QPR was always a strange one. With the club’s mega rich owners and grand plans, Dowie didn’t seem, well for want of a better phrase, sexy enough. And sure enough, 12 games in to the new season, he’s gone. Not good enough apparently. This is despite having a more impressive win ratio with Rangers than with any other club he’d previously managed. Just goes to show that tons of cash can’t buy you common sense or indeed patience. Getting a club out of the Championship isn’t like a qualifying lap in Formula One – it doesn’t happen in a matter of seconds. It takes time, dedication and planning. Messrs Briatore and Ecclestone might just have to get used to that.

Kiss me quick

What is all the fuss over players kissing their shirts and club badges? What’s the argument - that it incites rival fans? Absolute tosh. Everyone in the game knows that modern players are over paid mercenaries who have about as much loyalty to their fellow man as a female black widow spider after a bunk up. It’s an empty gesture, to find favour with their own fans, nothing else. As for the opposing mugs on the terraces, you’d imagine for instance, that Everton supporters might have guessed by now that Wayne Rooney isn’t one of the family any more after he left the club, joined another one, took to wearing a red shirt not a blue one and insists on helping his new side beat his old one a lot. Do they really only get it when he kisses the Man Utd badge?

Role Model

It’s ridiculous for Joey Barton to speak at this stage about becoming a role model for kids, not matter how surprisingly eloquent his interview was when he came up with the idea. He’s done far too many bad things in his career to even begin to go down that road. But, and boy it’s a big but, if he keeps his nose clean, stays off the booze, ditches the unsavoury hangers-on, delivers on the field and keeps his fists to himself for the next 3 or 4 years, then people might just start listening to him. Everyone deserves a second chance. This Barton’s fourth or fifth. If he takes it, it just might become one of the most incredible stories the game has ever known.

Showing support for your nation is common across the globe and so international football shirt manufactures have an important role to play in “the beautiful game”.

This week has seen the extension of Puma’s partnership with the Egypt national teams. Speaking after the arrangement was announced, which sees Puma remain sponsors until 2014, the Egypt Football Association (EFA) President, Samir Zaher said.

“The new sponsorship deal will see Puma paying us 800,000 Euros every year. We will also receive 200,000 Euros in case we win any title.”

The current Egypt shirt is part of Puma’s v1.08 collection which was launched globally last January, featuring lightweight moisture-wicking materials, mesh layers and welded-technology in its performance apparel pieces.  Egypt, the 2006 and 2008 MTN Africa Cup of Nations winners, have progressed to the final group stage of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, where they will meet Algeria, Rwanda and Zambia.

If Egypt progress through the qualification rounds they are likely to join Brazil in the next World Cup. The South American’s have also announced a new sponsorship deal during this past week. The Brazilian football federation (CBF) revealed a six-year, US$90 million sponsorship deal for all the national football teams with one of the country’s major banks, Itau.

Itau will sponsor the Brazilian 1st national team, the Olympic Selection, Under-23, Under-20, Under-17, Under-15 and Women National team. The contract will last for six years, until 2014, including the period of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

“In Brazil, football is more than a sport. It is a symbol of national culture” - declared Antonio Matias, vice president of Itau.

At domestic level, Brazilian star Ronaldinho has proved a marketable success at his new club AC Milan. The club has already sold 18,000 Ronaldinho, number 80, shirts in less than three months, which is 40% above the club’s average. The side has also seen a rise in sales of all the sponsorship space at San Siro. The Rossoneri’s match day gate and season ticket sales have increased tenfold as has all merchandise and other incomes related to the Brazilian.

Adriano Galliani told La Gazzetta Dello Sport. “We bought Ronaldinho for the team first and then for marketing reasons, which comes second but it is linked.”

For further football shirt information head over to www.FootballShirtCulture.com now!

By James Bailey

Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning season for Manchester United in 2007 / 08 has seen him named as the FifPro World Footballer of the year.

Ronaldo’s 42 goal heroics gave him the edge over 54 other players who were on the shortlist.

As well as Ronaldo’s individual award, Manchester United were also represented in the FifPro team of the year with the Portuguese international joined by team mate Rio Ferdinand.

Speaking after receiving the honour, Ronaldo said:

To be recognised by my fellow players is amazing.

I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches and everyone involved at United and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support.

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and Chelsea and England captain John Terry also made the team, along with AC Milan midfielder Kaka and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

FifPro World XI:

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Spain/Real Madrid)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid); John Terry (England/Chelsea); Carles Puyol (Spain/ Barcelona); Rio Ferdinand (England/Manchester United)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (England/Liverpool); Xavi (Spain/Barcelona); Kaka (Brazil/AC Milan)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona); Fernando Torres (Spain/Liverpool); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United)

Manchester City’s samba party has gone a bit flat of late.

After their 6 – 0 demolition of Portsmouth last month, Mark Hughes’ side endured something of a slump with league defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Wigan and just a draw away to lowly Newcastle.

But it all came right for them at the weekend with a 3 – 0 victory at home to Stoke City with Robinho, in his Nike Mercurial Vapor IV’s hitting a hat trick.

Robinho fired in the opener after being picked out by Ched Evans after 14 minutes.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart made a couple of decent saves to ensure City retained their lead going in to the break and they managed to double their advantage two minutes after the restart when Robinho slotted home his second of the game after fine work from substitute Danny Sturridge.

After Hart’s excellent work in the first period, it was his opposite number Thomas Sorensen who was now under pressure and he produced two outstanding stops to deny the Brazilian. But he was powerless to stop Robinho from completing his hat trick when on 72 minutes; he calmly finished after more good work from Sturridge.

Robinho’s performance and that of his team mates got this reaction from manager Mark Hughes:

I thought we were excellent, and not only in the attacking sense because defensively we were rock solid. We were prepared to stand up to the battle that Stoke will always give you.

When we got the ball back we broke with real purpose and could have won by an even bigger margin.

We need to win consistently and if we play like that, then it’s possible. We need to be solid defensively, which we were, and the way we play we will always create chances.

Robinho was named as man of the match and that’s now 6 goals for the Brazilian in his Mercurial Vapor IV’s since his move from Real Madrid.

Order the Mercurial Vapor IV football boot here

League Two side Accrington Stanley have called for the use of blades on football boots to be banned after two of their players suffered serious injury.

Earlier this week, Phil Edwards was stretchered off during Stanley’s game with Shrewsbury Town after his leg was badly gashed by an opponent wearing bladed boots. Edwards was unable to walk after the incident and his injury required 8 stitches.

It was the second injury that bladed football boots had caused the club. Goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin was ruled out for several weeks last month after he was gashed in the leg.

Now the club’s assistant manager has called for action. Jimmy Bell said:

Phil has got an horrific gash behind his knee.

I’ve looked at the video and it was an accident but again it`s because of the blades.

Something needs to be done about them because we had this with Ian Dunbavin. They’re very dangerous.

Meanwhile, in more positive news, new research could be carried out in to the relatively recent spate of metatarsal injuries.

England know all about how damaging these can be with the likes of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney both injured in the run up to the last two World Cup’s.

As reported on Footy Boots previously, there are many theories as to why this type of injury has become so prevalent of late. These include the players punishing schedule, combative training, the use of artificial surfaces in training and of course football boot construction.

Now Iain Spears, reader of Biomechanics at the University of Teesside has decided to look in to the problem more closely.

Announcing his decision to investigate further, Spears said:

They appear to be overuse injuries which occur more frequently towards the end of the season.

Many Premiership players wear new boots for every match. The manufacturers want to see their boots looking good and their logos as clear as possible on television.

We’ll look at the differences in the stiffness of the sole or of the material making up the outside of the boot. It may be that modern lightweight materials make players more vulnerable.

Another possibility is you can reduce pressure by changing the alignment of the studs.

Spears has teamed up with other researchers to create simulations of the impact on the foot of different types of boot and is applying for funding to ramp up his research.

Accrington Stanley programme image courtesy of www.stanleyprogrammes.co.uk

Wayne Rooney is a man in form and he returns to his old stomping ground on Saturday looking to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his 100th club goal.

The Manchester United ace, who celebrates his birthday on Friday, has notched an incredible nine goals in his last seven games and who would lay a football bet against him netting against his old club Everton?

The Croxteth-born striker has scored twice for United against the Toffees at Goodison Park in August 2005 and April 2007 and he is hoping to notch again this weekend.

Rooney said:

For obvious reasons, Saturday is a big game for me.

It is always nice for any footballer to score 100 goals and if can do that at Everton, where I started and at Goodison, where I scored my first Premier League goal, it would be really pleasing.

But it wouldn’t really matter if it was my first or my 100th, it would still be really sweet.

Rooney burst onto the scene at Goodison Park when he was just 16 and managed 17 goals in two seasons with David Moyes’ men. Sir Alex Ferguson was alerted to his potential and snapped him up in the summer of 2004 for a fee of £20million rising to £30million.

On his United debut he laid down his intentions with a stunning hat-trick in a victory over Fenerbahce and Rooney has now moved on to 82 career goals for United.

Rooney is arguably in the form of his life for both club and country after netting four goals for England in the last two games against Kazakhstan and Belarus. On Tuesday Rooney was at his sparkling best as he netted in United’s 3-0 Champions League demolition of Celtic and he will have Everton firmly in his sights.

By Phil Tomlinson

Officials at AC Milan say negotiations for David Beckham to join them on loan are progressing well.

The England midfielder finishes his MLS season with LA Galaxy this weekend with a move to Italy being planned for January next year.

A spokesman for Beckham said nothing had yet been agreed although it’s thought that the 33 year old has an agreement with his American club for such a deal to take place.

Beckham last played in Europe for Spanish giants Real Madrid who he helped win La Liga in his final season before moving to the USA.

AC Milan technical director Leonardo said:

We are looking to see how we can do it. I think it is a real possibility for us.

We tried to sign Beckham two or three years ago. We had a good relationship with him then and that has been maintained.

It is about understanding his situation at Galaxy and that he has this time free to play and train.

We are thinking about his needs in terms of practice and playing. He needs to continue with that. It is very important to him.

Beckham is just two caps away from equaling Bobby Moore’s England outfield record of 108. However coach Fabio Capello has stated that he will only pick players who are regularly in action.

It’s understood that Milan are planning to finalise the deal and make a public announcement later this week.

Lego, bacon, Carlsberg (probably): the world would certainly be a worse place without the creations of Denmark.

That list of three slightly unglamorous exports – the first things we could think of as we asked ourselves what we knew about the Danes – sadly probably reveals more about our intellectual shortcomings than about the achievements of the Danes. Nonetheless, for all our ignorance, one thing we do know is that in the football world, alongside tidy passing football and the Laudrup brothers, Denmark is rightly associated with great goalkeeping.

The Danish national team, proudly lining up with SELECT footballs.

Probably, a lot of this is attributable to one goalkeeper in particular, the inimitable Peter Boleslaw Schmeichel - the original ‘Great Dane’ - who is one of a very small number of people impressive enough to be able to carry off that middle name. Not enough people today remember how good Schmeichel was: in one of the early seasons of his career in the Danish top flight, for example, Schmeichel helped his side to the 6th best defensive record in the league – only to see his side relegated from the division anyway!

But in Denmark, goalkeeping is by no means a subject on which Big Pete has had the last word. And with Denmark’s SELECT brand, hugely popular in Denmark and successful across continental Europe, particularly as a producer of goalkeeper gloves and footballs, the tradition of Danish goalkeeping continues in full force.

Danish international Stephan Andersen, wearing SELECT goalkeeper gloves in a Brondby game.

Content on their separated island, many people in the UK won’t have encountered SELECT before. So in this article, we take a summary look at SELECT, and see why it is one of Denmark’s biggest and most successful football brands.

As befits a great goalkeeping brand, SELECT was founded by a goalkeeper, and not only any goalkeeper. Eigil Nielsen, once the star goalkeeper for the Danish national football team, created the company way back in 1947. According to SELECT, under Nielsen’s guidance it pioneered many of the inventions in the football industry, including the first lace-free ball and 32-panel ball. And SELECT has grown hugely, now selling more than 2.0 million balls a year around the world and still growing.

The SELECT Brilliant Super flagship professional match ball.

SELECT is known for quality, and really seems to pride itself on a commitment to producing top performance high end products. See its public statements on its footballs, for example: “We offer the best warranties in the industry. A 3-year warranty for stitching and shape for our Pro series balls and a 2-year warranty for our Club series balls.”

In goalkeeping, SELECT’s goalkeeper glove range for the 2008-2009 season features five key adult models, and two junior models, and we’ll be looking at them in more detail in future weeks. SELECT has endorsements at the highest level, recently well profiled by Karim Zaza for AaB in their Champions League group game against Manchester United. Zaza wore the top of the range SELECT 88 goalkeeper gloves.

SELECT also have Danish international and Brondby keeper Stephan Andersen as a proud endorsee of the goalkeeper gloves, as well as Rune Pedersen of Lyngby, Jesper Hansen of FC Nordsjælland and Steffen Rasmussen of AGF –all keepers playing in the Danish Superliga.

While perhaps not matching Nike, Adidas and co. on pure popularity stakes, SELECT continues to focus on the quality of its products, and keeps a large number of loyal followers for that very reason. Now available in the UK for the first time, SELECT goalkeeper gloves and equipment should attract the attention of keepers looking for performance and quality, and are produced with an obvious disregard for bling. We’ll look in more detail at the SELECT gloves over future weeks – you’ll hear it here first.