Awesome Soccer

Time to hit up your favorite Japan shopping proxy. adidas’ luxury brand Y-3 teamed up with the Japan Football Association to create a collection based on the theme of the 2024 national team’s uniforms: fire. The jerseys are definitely the highlight of the bunch, with large, fiery graphics printed all over the retro shirt and shorts.

The guys from How Ridiculous are always looking for new ways to entertain us with stupid stunts. This time, their antics aren’t quite as destructive as sticking stuff into a giant blender. Instead, they headed to a ski jump at the Utah Olympic Park and turned it into an impromptu soccer field with a goal at the bottom. How many balls can one goalie keep out?

Writer/director Taika Waititi takes a break from big-budget superhero movies with a return to indie form. Next Goal Wins is a lighthearted underdog comedy about a coach (Michael Fassbender) who reluctantly relocates to American Samoa to help fix the world’s worst international soccer team.

We love watching videos of old things being made as good as new. In this clip, Old Things Never Die got their hands on a vintage mechanical soccer game, disassembled it, sandblasted off the paint and rust, fabricated custom replacement parts, and painstakingly repainted its playfield and players.

A Brazilian soccer fan turned up at World Cup 2022 wearing one of the coolest costumes we’ve ever seen. The entire outfit is covered with colorful mirrored tiles cut into triangles, making him look like a shiny, low-poly, cel-shaded version of himself. He looks like a real-time CGI effect. Turns out he has a friend.

The full flavor of Grand Old Parr 12-Year-Old Blended Scotch Whisky is smooth as David Beckham’s off-field swagger. Fellow soccer star Sebastian Lletget (currently with Major League Soccer FC Dallas, and formerly the LA Galaxy) is an Old Parr fan so they partnered to create the perfect cocktail for soccer watch parties.

Connect 4 is usually played with a small, tabletop game grid. But the guys from How Ridiculous prefer to super-size things. A while back, they made a version of the game that was played by shooting hoops. Now they’ve built a version that’s played by kicking soccer balls into it. It requires some serious accuracy to play and win.

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have teamed up to purchase a football club in Wales. In order to greet the local fans, they hired a translator to relay their messages in their native tongue – and it doesn’t go as expected. Keep an eye on FX for their documentary series about the team and their involvement.

Before the scourge that is COVID-19, Tame Impala used to play to packed venues. But here they jam out to an audience of exactly none (except the camera crew). They staged this surreal and intimate mini-concert in an empty football stadium to promote the launch of FIFA ’21.

No soccer team has sponsored NASA yet. It’s a shame, because as Jefferson’s Apparel shows, the partnership would make for a sweet soccer jersey. This custom made jersey uses authentic Nike Dri-Fit jersey and has embroidered NASA and USA flag patches.

Woodworker Frank Howarth has a thing for spheres, so it only makes sense that he would craft a wooden replica of the iconic, pixel-patterned adidas Telstar 18 football used in the 2018 World Cup. We don’t recommend kicking or heading this ball, though.

This hilarious World Cup commercial spot for KFC South Africa pokes fun at players who make a big show out of minor injuries. Though in this case, the goal is a red card for something other than a free kick. (Thanks Alex!)

adidas teamed up with soccer legend David Beckham to create three updated versions of one of Becks’ favorite cleats – the Predator Accelerator. This triple black sneaker variant has a kangaroo leather upper, Primeknit sock and Ultraboost sole. Drops 11/17/17.

“Well that’s probably the best highlight of this game so far.” During a recent UK soccer match, a beagle decided to run on the field and join the festivities. It took more than 7 minutes to round up the energetic dog, but he certainly kept the fans amused during the long timeout.

Vladimir Zhilenko’s video is in Russian, but you don’t need to speak the language to admire his craft as he builds a wooden soccer ball replica. It required lots of geometry and patience, but the result is impressive. Sanding the edges into a sphere had to be so satisfying. Skip to 2:02.

It’s not on the level of Maradona or Messi’s reincarnated run, Zlatan’s long-range arrogance, or Arsenal’s Wilshere special. But this goal from Spanish soccer squad Las Palmas is also one for the ages. The build-up, the pass, the shot. It’s all here.