Glory is granted to those who risk everything…

 

Fashion and football (by football we mean soccer) at first thought sound like polar opposites. Reality is that football and fashion are knitted together very well. If you watch and follow football, primarily european football, you know that teams tend to look dapper and fitted while traveling. Not only is fashion and style incorporated off the pitch but on the pitch as well. We constantly see sponsors such as Nike and Adidas duel out to see who delivers the best kits and training jerseys.

This year Nike took the the off the pitch look to another level by releasing a commemorative collection called Nike F.C.

 Lets take it back to the world cup of 1994… The location: a sunny summer day in Southern California inside the historic Rose Bowl of Pasadena where the following was stated – “Glory is granted to those who risk everything.” Nike F.C. was created to commemorate the willingness to win by players like that of Ronaldo, Figo, Cannavaro whom played with the utmost talent, passion, and did the necessary to ensure their team a victory by putting it all on the line while playing.

This Past April, Nike Sportswear unveiled the Nike F.C. collection using players like that of Jack Wilshire and Neymar to carry on the tradition… consisting of french terry pants and shorts, Nike F.C. logo t-shirts, a N98 jacket, crew neck sweatshirts, tiempo 94’s and a dri-fit jersey. All of which are stamped with the Nike F.C. logo which has  “Sem risco não há vitória,” the Nike F.C. motto embroidered on a crest on them which means without risk there is no victory in Portuguese.

The Fall Nike F.C. fall collection looks equally as promising. Paying tribute to the French capital and its clubs, the collection is shot in Paris with players Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from PSG carrying the torch. The Collection will consist of the historic N98 track jackets again as well as polos, tech knit N98, pocket tees, and much more including the Winger GF Jacket which is now available on Nike.com. The rest of the collection currently has no release date but is set to be available at Nike Sportswear retailers sometime this fall.

Illuminating ways | enlightening minds

-ih3

After 24 Years, Deutsche Fussball Wins Its Fourth Star

32 teams. 64 matches. More than 5,760 minutes of only the best football the world has to offer, and it all ended with a familiar footballing power reaching glory through its youth. Germany defeated Argentina last night at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro’s Estádio do Maracanã. We were blessed by the football gods with quite the match, as both sides evenly attempted to settle the score, both keeper fought tooth and nail to keep their nets untouched, and the stalemate took more than the regular 90 minutes. This was the third consecutive final that needed additional time, and it did not disappoint. Die Mannschaft, after 23 minutes of extra time, prevailed as substitute Mario Götze scored in the 113th minute of additional extra time. Götze, commonly known as the future star of German football, replaced the now legendary Miroslav Klose, and became the first-ever substitute to score in a FIFA World Cup Final. Despite Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli’s questionable decisions during the match, and despite Lionel Messi and Los Albicelestes’ best efforts, Germany finally won its fourth star, its first since Italy 1990, and joined Italy as the nation with the second-most amount of World Cup trophies. More than millions of fans took the streets as Germany became the first European team to win football’s highest prize in a tournament held in the American continent. The end of the tournament rewards were also a point of debate for fans, as Lionel Messi won the FIFA Golden Ball, as the tournament’s best player. Colombia’s sensation, James Rodríguez, took home the FIFA Golden Boot with 6 goals in 5 matches. Manuel Neuer easily won the FIFA Golden Glove award for the tournament’s best goalkeeper, despite superb performances by Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa and Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas. Brazil 2014 may be over, but it definitely has left a lasting memory on us. So we can only hope that the next 1,430 days go as quickly as possible, for Russia 2018. Until then, Deutschland… ist die Weltmeisterschaft.

 

-E.Fuentes

The Round of 16 is Here

After an amazing Group Stage that we all witnessed, the Round of 16 has finally arrived!!! The best sixteen teams in the world will now enter a knockout type of tourney, all the way until the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final in the Estádio Maracanã of Rio de Janeiro, on July 14. The impressive feat here is that there is a strong Latin American presence this time around, as the European juggernauts fell short. We will have two South American wars as host nation and five-time world champion Brazil faces Chile, the team responsible for eliminating defending world champions, Spain. The other South American battle pits both Colombia and Uruguay for a spot in the quarter finals. Colombia flawlessly surpassed expectations and won their group in convincing fashion. Meanwhile, Uruguay needed a goal from their captain Diego Godín to qualify as second place of Group D, thus eliminating another European powerhouse in Italy. Other matches that sum up the Round of 16 are a completely surprising encounter between Costa Rica and Greece. The winner of this maych will make the quarter finals for the first time in either team’s football history. France will take on African Cup of Nations champion, Nigeria. Algeria will take on the task of facing Germany, a huge contender to life the trophy this time around. Mexico will face another heavy favourite in the Netherlands. Argentina will take on Switzerland, and Belgium will face the United States, as they surpassed Portugal on goal difference. As always, let us know your picks and talk some football to us. You know the Team Illustrát is definitely open for debate. And may we all keep witnessing amazing matches as the World Cup continues in Brazil.

-E.Fuentes

Latin America at Brazil 2014

What an amazing World Cup we have been able to see so far. The even better story is how our teams representing Latin America have excelled so far. For starters, highly ranked and touted Colombia defeated Greece and Ivory Coast en route to qualifying to the Round of 16. Another team that has been newsworthy of their accomplishments was Chile, who eliminated reigning world champion Spain and sealed its spot to the later stages. The big surprise is Costa Rica, who defeated former world champions Uruguay and Italy while eliminating a lackluster England. Costa Rica qualified for the Round of 16 for only the second time in its football history. For more news or if you want to start a debate or conversation with us here at Illustrát Collection, talk with us on twitter @illustrat_co. After all, we are all football fans!

-E.Fuentes