Adidas Reveal Spain and Germany Away World Cup Kits

The World Cup always brings an influx of new kits, cleats, and gloves as companies try to make every single team's equipment memorable in case they win the tournament. Recently Adidas revealed the away kits of two big contenders for this year's tournaments, and they've both taken a darker look, especially the Spain kit.

The black body with neon design is an interesting choice, most reminiscent of referee kits. Germany on the other hand have a Flamengo-esque combination of red and black horizontal stripes, with a slightly more defined collar than the Spain jersey. Both of these teams will be debuting these jerseys in upcoming friendlies: Spain against Italy at the Vicente Calderon Stadium and Germany against Chile, both on March 5th.

Although these are simply friendly matches, there might be some incentive to prove something (especially for Italy) after the latest FIFA rankings were updated today. Italy moved down to eighth after Switzerland jumped up to sixth, and Spain and Germany remain in first and second untouched by the movement in the top fifteen. Portugal moved up to fourth, while England was bumped down two places to fifteenth after USA and Chile leapfrogged the three lions.

With Adidas getting ready for the big tournament in Brazil with its announcements, if you're planning to go to Brazil for the World Cup, it's important you be prepared. From knowing the cities, stadiums, and travel packages, there are many ways to ensure you get the best deal for the best experience. Here are some top tips to save money and have the best World Cup experience possible in Brazil.

Conte's Juventus Nearing Scudetto after Defeating Inter Milan

Antonio Conte’s march to the scudetto continues forward after Juventus’ 3-1 win over Inter Milan. The current Italian champions were dominant in their performance, only slightly ruffled by Rolando’s goal following Juve’s inability to properly clear an Inter corner. Even if the late consolation goal brought some vitality to the nerazzurri, the result was inevitable after their timid display.

In a way it seemed inevitable from the very start. Inter Milan were without Cambiasso, Guarin, and new signing Hernanes, forcing Mazzarri to pick a midfield of Kuzmanovic, Kovacic and Taider. With the outstanding trio of Pirlo, Vidal, and Pogba, the Juve midfield quickly took control of the match. It was Pirlo who dismantled the Inter defence with his picked out pass for Lichtsteiner to head into the far post.

 It seemed fitting for Lichtsteiner to score, his relentless pressing forward on the right side paired with Asamoah on the left kept Inter Milan uncomfortable in possession, and unable to widen their attacking play. The dependence which Mazzarri’s sides on their wide players led to a rough match for Inter, the neutralized pair of Nagatomo and Jonathan were completely ineffective throughout the match.

Two more goals by Chiellini and Vidal were enough to put away any possibility of an Inter comeback. The only positives for Mazzarri came with the introduction of two new signings, the midfielder Botta and the former Torino defender D'Ambrosio both put in good performances. D'Ambrosio helped steady the defence, and Botta provided additional creativity and decisiveness going forward, so much so that he's rumoured to have a place in the starting lineup next week against Sassuolo.

With Roma's match against Parma suspended, Juventus is temporarily nine points clear ahead of the giallorossi. Antonio Conte's meticulous preparation and relentless hunger for improvement is pushing his team to important heights. However what remains to be conquered is Europe, and the tenacity of this bianconeri side will have to be proven against Trabzonspor later this month in their Europa League tie.

Juan Mata Transfer to Ease Manchester United's Troubles

There's a definite sense of building frustration in David Moyes as his starting season at Manchester United has disappointingly unlucky. After failing to defeat Sunderland in their Capital One Cup semi-final, this season looks to be one barren of trophies for Manchester United.

The Champions League is an unrealistic expectation (even if Manchester United should be able to beat Olympiakos), and the Premier League will be a desperate scrap for fourth place against Liverpool, Tottenham, and Everton - all of which are currently above United in the table. All of these sides are hungry for a strong finish to the season, and if you have an idea of who will come out on top you can head over to Betfair football betting to place a wager.

With league and cup troubles mounting, there's some hope for David Moyes as the January transfer window could bring in that creative player which Manchester United is missing (or has on the injury list). Juan Mata looks set to complete his move from Chelsea for an estimated sum of around 40 million Pounds, and some are suggesting that the Spaniard could already make his debut against Cardiff City.

Even if this is a move well-orchestrated by Jose Mourinho (keenly pointed out by Arsene Wenger), by getting rid of a player he's not using to opposition he has already played against twice in the league, it's the type of signing which can re-invigorate United's lifeless campaign. This new signing will ease some of the pressure on David Moyes, and lift some of the creative burden from young Januzaj's shoulders. When also considering that Wayne Rooney could be leaving the club this summer, the 25 year-old Spaniard is starting to look like what could be a pivotal signing for Manchester United.

Moyes will have a few tactical dilemmas to work out, as fitting Juan Mata into United's system could be difficult as Rooney and Robin van Persie look set to return from injury in the coming weeks. The likely solution seems to be a 4-2-3-1, with Mata, Rooney, and Januzaj supporting the lone striker van Persie. Whether or not Mata will be operating in the central number 10 position is questionable, especially seeing how strong Rooney has looked in that role.

The versatility of Rooney, Mata, and Januzaj offer other tactical alternatives, especially in the likely situation that Robin van Persie is forced out due to another injury. While Moyes could bring in Welbeck to replace the Dutchman, a more dynamic and creative solution could be to use Rooney as the central forward with Kagawa slipping into the supporting trio. Perhaps the biggest dilemma for Moyes will be figuring out which two holding midfielders will work best to provide adequate cover for his forwards. With Fellaini returning to training these past few days, pairing the Belgian alongside Carrick or Fletcher could provide Moyes with a fairly balanced formation.

Just how crucial Mata will be to Manchester United's remainder of the season is yet to be seen, however if the player can play similarly to the pre-Mourinho-return days at Chelsea then Moyes will have something to look forward to in the coming months. 

Writing and Website Update

Over the past while, I've been slightly neglecting this blog due to a variety of different commitments I've had to maintain. A lot of these commitments are new websites which I'm writing for, and planning a new layout (which is still a far ways away) for Soccer Wrap Up. In the future I'll be making an effort to post at least once a week on SWU, and hopefully with guest contributions this blog can return to having consistent and up to date news and analysis of the soccer/football world.

In the meantime, I've linked my latest articles for the three websites I write for. Give them a read if you're interested, and any comments or criticism are greatly welcomed. You can also keep an eye on those sites for future articles of mine, and for the top quality news and analysis they continuously offer.

World Soccer Talk: Liverpool Held to a Draw after Rodgers' Tactical Misstep
Soccerly: Five Lessons from Seedorf's Victorious Debut
Soccerlens: Inter Milan Struggles as Thohir Must Rebuild

Furthermore, I'm also keeping a small Tumblr going at Loving that Soccer as well as my other blog History of Notes, where I write about music, games, and movies.