World Cup 2014 Jersey Kit Suppliers Round of 16

Posted on June 27, 2014 by thesoccercrusader

The group stage is over and half of the teams are going home. The top kit suppliers lost half of their teams, but some of them, may lose all their teams after the round of 16 – we are thinking about Puma. It would be an early exit, but that would be in part because of signing off the smaller countries. Of the five smaller jersey manufacturers only Burrda and Lotto are still in the game.

 

World Cup 2014 Kit Suppliers - Round of 16

World Cup 2014 Kit Suppliers – Round of 16

 

The top two contenders, Nike and Adidas lost 5 and 4 teams respectively, but both have a couple of really good teams that can carry them all the way to the final:

 

Nike:                                                                                   Adidas:

Netherlands                                                                    Germany

France                                                                               Argentina

Brazil

 

We don’t know who will make it to the final, but we know one thing: the knockout stage will be an exciting spectacle, equally on the pitch and off the pitch. And we can’t wait for Saturday.

 

Disclaimer: Brand names, logos and trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners.

 

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World Cup 2014 Kit Suppliers: Group Stage – the Brand Wars

Posted on June 25, 2014 by thesoccercrusader

As with every big soccer tournament, there is another war going in the background: the fierce rivalry between the kit suppliers. Who will win this year? From TV time & eyeballs, to selling shirts, boots and other gear, there is a lot at stake here: essential branding benefits, image and bragging rights. And this war will not stop anytime soon. The kit suppliers will rather look at capitalizing on their marketing dollars invested in the World Cup – maybe the biggest show on Earth – and look to maximize their ROI (return on investment).

 

8 Kit Suppliers for the Group Stage

World Cup 2014 Kit Suppliers Group Stage

World Cup 2014 Kit Suppliers Group Stage

 

This year we have 8 kit suppliers, for the 32 teams qualified. For comparison, at the last Euro 2012 tournament, we only had 4 kit suppliers for the 16 teams qualified. What brand will survive at the end of the group stage?

 

Disclaimer: Brand names, logos and trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners.

 

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Europe Wins vs South America Wins @ World Cup

Posted on June 24, 2014 by thesoccercrusader

Who is better at the World Cup historically, Europe or South America?

 

10 wins for Europe vs. 9 wins for South America. 

A quick look at the World Cup statistics is enough to find the near perfect balance, with Europe just a notch up, 10 vs. 9 wins for South America.  The equilibrium is not due to either side catching up with the other, it has been around from the beginning, the winner switching continents almost every other tournament.

World Cup Europe Wins vs S America Wins

World Cup Europe Wins vs S America Wins

 

 

Two wins in a row

No side (meaning no continent) has ever won 3 tournaments in a row, therefore, if this year any country from Europe is crowned, it will be a first, since the last two winners were Italy and Spain. In this way, with a winner from Europe, we will have another first: no European team has ever won a tournament in South America. Is this going to happen? How about Brazil? Will the home country allow it?

 

 

Home country advantage

Of the previous 19 tournaments, the home country has won in 6 occasions. It is definitely an advantage, especially when the hosts are one of the soccer powerhouses, but it may not always help you –  sometimes the pressure is so big, that playing at home could work against you.

 

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MLS, the hypothetical Division One

Posted on December 7, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

Now that the 2012 season is over, we could only ask ourselves, who was the real champion? Was it LA Galaxy, or San Jose Earthquakes? Who was the worthy, definitive, ultimate champion? I bet you would not point to either LA Galaxy or San Jose Earthquakes, let alone Houston Dynamo! They didn’t even finish in the top three in their respective conference.

But what would have looked like a single hypothetical Division One? Here is what we get to when we combine the final standings of the two conferences in one single table:

2012 MLS Final standings

MLS, the hypothetical Division One

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The Four Major Sports that MLS beat in the last three years

Posted on October 31, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

We asked ourselves what are the trends in stadium attendance for the major sports and how is MLS performing on such a dimension.

 

To our surprise, we found out that in the last three years MLS’s average stadium attendance per game increased at a pace more than double than all the other “Big Four” major sports in the U.S.

 

% CHANGE IN AVERAGE STADIUM ATTENDANCE PER GAME

% CHANGE IN AVERAGE STADIUM ATTENDANCE PER GAME

 

So, what would you say is the up-and-coming sport in the U.S.?

 

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MLS vs the “Big Four” major sports in the U.S.

Posted on October 28, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

We continue our series on comparing MLS to other leagues. Today we are looking at the stadium attendance comparison.

 

As we have seen recently, MLS fairs decently, in terms of attendance, with many other established soccer leagues. But, how about competing against the four mainstream domestic sports here in the US – how well is MLS doing? In a way, it is amazing that MLS has already reached this level of popularity. It’s a tough market, no question about it, however, there is definitely interest in the sport! And to prove the naysayers wrong, MLS is on par or even better than the NHL or NBA when it comes to average league attendance. Take a look:

 

MLS vs NFL MLB NHL NBA

MLS vs NFL MLB NHL NBA as of October 2012

 

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Comparing MLS’s Attendance to Other Soccer Leagues

Posted on October 22, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

If you just wonder how MLS’s attendance is comparing to other soccer leagues, the answer is – it fairs pretty well. Considering that it is so much younger than its counterparts, in Europe and elsewhere, it lacks the historical dimension and the deeper meaning. To its credit, MLS has been able to establish strong relations with regional fan bases and is able to attract decent crowds to most games. Here is a comparison to just a handful of soccer leagues:

 

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2012 – The Best Year of MLS?

Posted on October 21, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

If you haven’t paid attention, this year, the 2012 Season, is on track to become the “Best Year of MLS” – again! After last season was, at its time, “Best Year of MLS”, we will record another one. With average attendance well over 18,000 so far, it will beat last year’s numbers of 17,870.

Historically speaking, after starting with a bang, in 1996, recording an average attendance of 17,400, MLS experienced a drop in the number of people coming to the stadiums.  The bottom was hit in 2000, with only an average of 13,756. Although they bounced back, their average attendance only reached the level of that first year in 2011. These numbers are the more encouraging as we have more teams now, and more games played. And we haven’t even started the playoffs yet.

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Battle of the Jersey Kit Brands @ EURO 2012 – the Winner, Adidas

Posted on July 3, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

The full bracket for the EURO 2012 is here: the winner is Adidas, again, as it becomes a good habit (or great planing from their part).

 

The Jersey Kit Brand Winner @ EURO 2012

The Jersey Kit Brand Winner @ EURO 2012

 

Disclaimer: Brand names, logos and trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners.

 

 

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Gems in MLS

Posted on July 2, 2012 by thesoccercrusader

With the EURO 2012 over, many of the soccer fans in the US will switch their attention to the MLS, although many of them discount the competition. I believe that it is a big mistake, as there is a lot more quality here than you might think. Take this game for example:

San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 LA Galaxy, with the San Jose team coming back from two goals down to win.

 

 

Compare this game to what we saw at the EURO 2012. Don’t you think this was more entertaining than most of those games in Europe? Give a chance to MLS and watch their games too!

 

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