Jose Mourinho: Restless.

I have more trophies, more money and more desire... My career is always incomplete.

Gazza: An English Lion.

It's never been easy been to be an England fan, but there's nothing you can do about it and there's little we would change about it. Despite the lack of trophies in the cupboard, we have had some absolutely brilliant players through-out the years - Lineker, Charlton, Keegan, Shearer, Owen, Beckham, Scholes - all world-class legends. But one player that England fans probably love more than most is Paul Gascoigne. Gazza. Not only a world class talent, but an incredible man. He loved nothing more than playing for his country, he had no problems showing it. He brought new meanings to phrases like "he wore his heart on his sleeve" or "played like it was his last game".



In time for Euro 2012 Umbro interviewed Gazza on some of the best and proudest moments of his career (and all the myths, which unlike Balotelli - are all true). After years of hardship (money, drugs and drink abuse) it is great to see Gazza looking so well and to see, still, how immensely proud he is to be English and have played for his country. Gazza is a man who is difficult to define and put into a box, but the following words and phrases seem to do a bit of justice. Hero. Legend. English Lion.

And you never need an excuse to watch this:

Nike: My Time Is Now.

It's been a little while since I've posted an advert on here, but a Nike ad almost always requires some attention. Their latest spectacle, My Time Is Now, arrives just in time for the Euro football tournament this summer. It appears to be the pinnacle for the My Time Is Now campaign, as Nike are taking it upon themselves to bleed the new talent into the world of football. This ad features some of European football's greats, Ribéry, Sneijder, Ronaldo up against the new kids on the block Neymar, M'Vila, Götze, and a few more hundred hopefuls.



This ad was inevitably going to be compared to Write The Future, Nike's last big ad for the 2010 World Cup. Does it stack up? For me, not quite. It is shot in a very similar style, which perhaps lacks a bit of imagination, it's not as funny as WTF and is completely focused on the pitch and the stadium surroundings. WTF featured Rooney (who doesn't feature at all, nor does any England player apart from a split second of Wilshere and supposedly Welbeck) in a caravan, Homer Simpson and Youtube. MTIS only features Lebron James, who feels a little out of place. Plus Neymar - the star of the ad - isn't European, didn't that occur to anyone? This is all not to say I didn't like the ad, I just expected better I think, it just feels like a Write The Future - Lite.

The Fans On The Pitch.

The other night I watched Moneyball and it got me thinking about the romance and stories that happen in sport. For those who haven't seen Moneyball, it is based on the American baseball team Oakland A's who used players who were the best based on their stats. They made the team based solely on probably and value, hardly the most sexy or romantic of words. Behind many of the greatest sporting moments are statistics, often simply out scoring your opponent, or becoming an all time goal scorer. But sport is so much more than that.

Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you some of sports greatest moments, there should be a section of the Internet separated off to that, right along side Beiber and cat videos. Yet, this week has brought romanticism in sport up front seeing the return of 2 undoubted football legends, Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry. Seeing Henry score the winner on his second debut for arsenal, where he is the all time leading goal scorer, was a beautiful and story worthy moment. Yet what got me was his reaction, the genuine passion and joy that burst out of him in a 3rd FA cup match against Leeds.



In an age when the players earn more in a week than the average fan does in half a decade, players motivations and  level of passion is often called into question. Henry said in his post match interview that he scored that night as a fan, the first time he has ever felt that. Imagine scoring the winning goal for you favourite team for a second. Beyond incredible. Players are always pretty happy when they score, fans always are. Yet there are few occasions that spring to mind of a player scoring as a fan, the unbrididle joy and emotion, it's more than a winning goal, more than a bonus, more than a step towards a golden boot. When Beckham scored against Argentina and Greece, he did it not only for the England football team, but for the nation, every person felt themselves in his shoes as he stepped up, we screamed together.

Nike: The Ronaldo Generation.

Some player change the game, the stand out against a hundred other players on their team and all the others. And from those free, one defines a generation. Ronaldo defined a generation.

We are all more than aware that we are in the Lionel Messi generation, but as a kid, when I learnt to love the beautiful game, idolize my favourite players and got the ball at my feet, it was all about Ronaldo. He was the man. The tricks, the dribbles and most importantly, the goals. Watch and learn.



I really like the fact that Nike's tribute to the great man avoids clips of him and shows the impact his game had on the outside world, on the kids, the fans, the game. Like many idol, his fall from grace was not that pretty, but remember the man for what he was and what he did. He was a great. He changed the game, the best game that there is.

Nike: Andres Iniesta

This is the new Nike advert featuring the little known, one of the best players in the world, Andres Iniesta. It's not anything especially new from Nike, but the technical ability of both the advert and the Spaniard is something to be admired.

Nike: The Cage.

After linking this video and then watching it, I just simply had to include it. It’s incredible. The players in there (not that many of them are still playing), the skill, the attitude, the filming and the simple cheekiness of it all is just perfect. One of my favourite ads of all time and the reason I wanted to get into the business. Great advertising, but more importantly great football.

Vive Le Nike!

I love Nike ads. There's no doubt about it, when I was younger I would watch The Cage adverts over and over, memorised by the talent and skill on display by some of the world's greats. Not knowing it then, this was when my love for advertising started. It is the very essence of advertising, watching something because it appeals to you, it interests and entertains and as a result of that you might remember the brand and like it a little more. Nike (along with Adidas) have produced this essence in their ads time and time again.

Vive Le Football Libre is not their greatest advert but it still combines the Nike formula. This formula appears to combine the passion, skill and determination of the the beautiful game right from the parks to the 70,000 seater stadiums, it doesn't matter if you're a kid or a superstar, it's all about the passion. (Note the part where all the seats flip up, wonderful shot.)

Fifa 11: A Must Have

As it always is, the new Fifa looks like a must have.

Hat-tricks anyone?

We all know how good Lionel Messi is. Incredible is the word you're after. As highly as I rate the likes of Ronaldo, and in particular Rooney, they simply cannot match Messi's individual skill and threat that he possesses from almost any area of the pitch. I'm looking forward to a Barca - Man Utd Champions League final, a true clash of the titans.



And as highly as I rate League One top scorer Rickie Lambert, I cannot quite say he is as good as Messi, but he'll do for Southampton just fine. Check out the stunning third goal of his hat-trick from the weekend against MK Dons. Click here.