Dunga snipes at Neymar and Alves

The new Brazil boss criticised certain behaviour displayed during the World Cup and commented on crying after losing a game, saying: "We're macho, men don't cry". "The main focus has to be the Brazil national team. When you give a press conference on international duty you give it in a Brazil cap. (...) You have to market the beautiful game", said the coach in an interview on 'Globo' TV's programme 'Fantastico'.
One of the players who gave press conferences during the 2014 Brazil World Cup wearing one of his sponsor's branded caps was Neymar.

Dunga made a direct reference to the young Barcelona striker and Daniel Alves for changing their hairstyles midway through the tournament. In Dunga's opinion, they should have done it "before or after the tournament". The new Brazil boss also said that "people should talk more about what I do on the pitch and less about what I do off it".

In another interview, this time published in Brazilian weekly newsmagazine 'Veja', Dunga also criticised those Brazil players who cried during some of the tougher times at the 2014 World Cup. "Tearful scenes like those witnessed during the game against Chile promote a negative image of football. We're macho, we like to think that men don't cry, although we respect everyone", he said.

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Real Madrid sell £20m worth of James Rodriguez replica shirts

Real Madrid have reportedly sold an incredible 345,000 James Rodriguez replica shirts since the arrival of the World Cup star.

The Colombian completed his £63m move earlier this week and was unveiled at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night. According to Spanish newspaper Sport based on figures from Euromericas Sport Marketing, in the 48-hours after, £20m worth of shirts were sold.

Gerardo Molina, Professor Emeritus in Sports Marketing was quoted by Sport as saying: "The expectation is that the player (James) will sell product at the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo who has sold over one million shirts since arriving at Real Madrid".

The sales ensure a quick return for Real Madrid on the huge fee they paid Monaco for the striker. The combination of Rodriguez, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale is one that has certainly caught the imagination of fans of the Champions League holders, if not the wider football community.

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Peru's soccer jerseys hailed as "best of all time"

Peru’s soccer successes have been few and far between, but they sure know how to dress.

The world cup blog in the online edition of the American magazine The New Republic described Peru’s soccer team uniform as the best World Cup uniform of all time.

“Was this the best World Cup uniform of all time?” Miles Kohrman mused in his blog. “If there was a trophy for dressing well, Peru would walk away with it.”

Besides the traditional World Cup awards, the World Cup blog “Goal Posts” has decided to grant another award, for the best World Cup uniforms of all time.

“Peru’s red sash is a thing of beauty. Really, just look at it. Simple, elegant, timeless, regal, polished, sashed,” Kohrman noted.

Likewise, the blog’s followers can check out two photos of the national team; one at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, and a more recent photograph featuring Claudio Pizarro, Jefferson Farfan, among other soccer players.

The said design was first used at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, after three different variations of the uniform in the early 1930s.

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U.S. soccer jersey is suddenly haute fashion for fans

Soccer is suddenly hot in the United States, and so is the U.S. team’s official jersey. “It’s been hard to keep them on the shelves,” said Allan Rojas, a spokesman for Academy Sports + Outdoors. The red, white and blue jersey, sometimes likened to a Bomb Pop frozen bar, was created for U.S. Soccer by Nike and unveiled in April. Worn with red shorts and red socks, it’s the away uniform of the U.S. men’s and women’s teams.

The companion home uniform — which the U.S. men are wearing for today’s World Cup game against Belgium, has a collar and resembles a golf shirt. Academy, headquartered in Katy, started stocking $90 jerseys before the World Cup started. Many stores have since sold out, Rojas said.

“I think the U.S.A. jersey resonates with the country, so customers feel a sense of pride when they wear it,” Rojas said. Will sales soar even further if the Americans beat Belgium and advance to the quarterfinals this afternoon? Will the jerseys be moved to the discount rack if Team USA loses? All Rojas would say in response was, “At this point, we’re really looking forward to today’s game.”

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