Big Match Striker

Supermassive Games have launched their brand new football game Big Match Striker in ‘open beta’ trial phase and readers of Buzzin Football are invited to become one of the first ‘founders’ of the game during trials over the next couple of weeks.

This is a new type of game for real football fans. It’s a free to play downloadable PC game, challenging player’s football knowledge, club management strategy and team tactics. Players invite their mates and enter leagues, answering daily updated questions from the top four tiers of the English Football League, as well as historic and wider football trivia.

‘Founders’ of the game will be rewardedwith a special trophy identifying them as a founder member of the game, claiming ultimate bragging rights, as well as other rewards such as in-game currency, Smackers.

Players succeed by answering a selection of both constantly-updated and historic football questions from English football’s top four tiers, keeping the game concurrent with the real-life action.  Players can win possession and tackle the opposition by responding quicker to questions, requiring a decent level of football knowledge and quick thinking.

The reward for winning matches is gaining fans and in-game currency. This can be strategically used to buy players, upgrade stadiums and even install burger vans to attract more fans and progress to the league’s higher echelons.

Watch the Big Match Striker trailer here:

Visit the Big Match Striker game’s community website with full game features, news and download link.

One suggestion is that the England players have frozen and cannot perform because the expectancy is so high.  But watching England’s first two draws against USA and Algeria you would be forgiven for thinking they had been replaced by look-a-likes.

Wayne Rooney couldn’t control the ball, Steven Gerrard running round like a headless chicken and Emille Heskey??? Well, maybe all the players except Emille Heskey haven’t played as well as they can!

Of course, if England beat Slovenia with a hatful of goals then all this will be forgotten and instead the hype will swing completely the other way.  The media will once again be touting England as likely winners of the competition and the surviving members of the England 1966 team will be wheeled out to give their opinions on how Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and player manager John Terry will feel when they are crowned champions of the world!

The truth is that England are amongst the top eight best football playing nations in the world and are therefore expected to get to the quarter-finals in South Africa at the very least. Anything less and the trip to South Africa will be deemed a disaster.

While criticism for the England team performances, Fabio Capello’s strict regime, and debates on whether our footballers are even good enough continue Domino’s Pizza has launched a competition on Facebook to find the current squad’s best lookalikes. Maybe a look-a-like England team could play better than the real players!

To enter the Footballer Lookalike Competition, fans can upload a picture of themselves or their friends via the events tab of the Facebook fan page of Domino’s Pizza UK. Every week, Domino’s will hand out free pizza vouchers to the best Lampard lookalike, Defoe double or other imitation of one of Fabio Capello’s chosen 23. Meanwhile, Facebook users can vote for their favourite picture too by clicking ‘like’ under each picture. After four weeks, the public’s favourite will win a free pizza party (worth £100) for the final.

Football fans can also compete for the Domino’s Cup in the online football game On me ‘ead. Prizes include 25 Domino’s Pizza Parties, each worth £100, and various discount codes. Players have to head footballs from one side of the screen to the other, without letting them hit the ground.

So, will England turn it around?

C’mon England! Do it for Bobby Robson and do it for Frank Sidebottom!

Three Shirts on my Line! Home, Away and Goalie!!!

A:3K is a unique and ultimate football challenge, bringing together six of the most exciting players currently playing in England and Spain and putting them through a series of challenges to determine the winner.

The players who will battle it out for the crown are Manchester United and England talisman Wayne Rooney, Real Madrid and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Arsenal and Spain star Cesc Fabregas, Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard and Barcelona and Spain hitman David Villa.

The event takes place at London’s prestigious O2 Arena on July 17th allowing fans to witness the breathtaking skills of their favourite players in the comfort of a theatre.

In fact a theatre is a fitting venue for this gladiatorial sports exhibition, designed to test the fitness levels as well as the skills of the players involved.

Each of the footballers will be put through five challenges;

Power: designed to test which of the contestants can strike the ball hardest

Curve: Will test the players accuracy when shooting on goal

Precision: Another accuracy test, this one relating to crossing of the ball from distance

Control: Will see how well the players contend with receiving a pass and using the ball effectively

Attack: Which will see the six contestants take each other on in an everyman for himself challenge

There will be no points awarded for diving skills in this tournament!

The player winning most points during the five challenges, will be crowned the A:3K King!

If you fancy some football with a difference and seeing some of the hottest headed players in a more relaxed atmosphere, A:3K tickets are now available for this unique event.

A:3K tickets are offered by viagogo where every A:3K transaction is 100% guaranteed to be safe and secure. As well as making it easy and simple to buy A:3K tickets or sell A:3K tickets, viagogo ensure their safe and prompt delivery with online tracking.

It happened at a Tesco FA Skills session where young players are trained by profesionals.

Watch and listen to Frank Lampard at the end of this short clip. It reminded me of playing football as kids in the middle of the street.

marcel desailly

Premier League sponsors Barclays are currently running a global fans competition to find the ultimate match day experience of Barclays Premier League football.

The Barclays  ‘Around the World in 90 Minutes‘ competition is looking for fans to come up with their own best match day experience outside of the football stadium and they are hoping to receive a response from fans from all corners of the globe.

The Barclays Premier League is the most popular domestic league in the world reaching more than 500 million homes in over 200 countries. There are literally millions of fan experiences when it comes to watching the beautiful game, whether it be particular pre-match rituals, going to extraordinary lengths or travelling extreme distances to watch their team play. To date, entries have been recieved from as far afield as Guyana, Macau and Greenland.

The competition itself is being judged by Chelsea and Liverpool legends Marcel Desailly and Ian Rush, and the fan with the best match-day experience will win a trip for two to watch their favourite Barclays Premier League team play live in the UK.

To take part in the competition and to share your own matchday experience, visit the Barclays football website and check the details. Hurry though as closing date for entries is this Friday, April 9th!

Extreme Football

FIFA World Cup 2010 sponsors Castrol have taken the sacred game of football to new extremes with their own brand of Extreme Football, designed to take the sport into the Extreme Sports Arena.

Castrol ambassador Martin Keown and his former Arsenal team mate Nigel Winterburn were selected to put two university teams through their paces with football matches taking place on ice and sand.

Filmed against the glamorous backdrop of Basingstoke’s Planet Ice, the two teams under the weathered eyes of two Arsenal defensive stalwarts took to the ice for a bone crunching showdown that yielded eight goals. The first encounter was followed by a trip to the South West as the teams descended on a windswept and rain soaked pitch on Weston Super Mare’s beach front to once again tackle football in its most extreme.

Martin Keown said of the extreme experience:

“The week was one big experiment; we took good players and threw them into extreme situations that would push them to the limit. Both days were shot in extreme cold and the players’ bodies really suffered. They may have been cold and wet but this whole exercise really helped to bring them together as a team and show you what real football fans will put themselves through for their love of the sport.”

and Winterburn added:

“This was a hilarious week. To begin with I didn’t believe it would be possible but having seen it in practice everyone had a great laugh and the players loved the challenge. Both the ice and the sand took football into an extreme environment that I have never seen before and should be really interesting for football fans ahead of the World Cup.”

The project was shot in November over a one week period and the results are currently being shown as a four part series on Sky Sports and Sky1, between December 5th and 20th. All four episodes can be viewed online at Castrol Edge Extreme Football.

Brilliantly edited and I think really funny!

zidane inspired predator x from adidas

The latest in a long line of Adidas Predator football boots, the PredatorX has been unveiled today, described by the manufacturer as the ‘ultimate powerboot.’

The most famous boots in the world have been in production since 1992 and for the 10th generation of the footwear adidas has created the most evolved Predator ever under the guidance of a true legend in the game who knows all about power – Zinedine Zidane.

A revolutionary centre to the boot called the Powerspine reduces the reflex of the underside of the foot, minimising the energy lost when a player strikes the ball, transferring this energy to ensure maximum connection with the ball.   The result of this innovation is an additional 7% extra power versus the previous generation of Predator™ boots.

Sadly my playing days have long since passed, but I can’t help wondering if the latest product from Adidas would have beniffited me at all. I doubt it very much but I am none the less intrigued by a football boot that has been designed to ‘add swerve and control’ through bespoke technology.

Speaking at the launch of the boots Zidane said;
“Having worn Predators throughout my career, I’ve always been amazed with the continued product development and what each new version of the boot bought to my game. With Predator X, I’ve been working with adidas to help lend my football experience to their product knowledge to truly deliver the next step in boot technology. The Powerspine innovation ensures the boot will strike harder than any boot in the market.”

Predator X

The new boots will be available in the ‘classic’ colours of black, red and white and an ‘alternative’ colouring of white, yellow and black.

Top adidas sponsored footballers across the World will be wearing the boot from November onwards including Steven Gerrard, Karim Benzema, and Michael Ballack.

The Adidas Predator X football boots go on sale on November 14th, so parents can start saving now!

The children – all of whom have successfully taken part in the programme – joined the England midfielder and Skills Programme ambassador Lampard at Wembley, where they got to showcase their talents under the shadow of the stadium’s famous arch and take part in a special skills session, before departing with the Chelsea star on the official England team bus.

The FA Tesco Skills Programme gives 5-11 year olds of all abilities the opportunity to develop their football technique under the watchful eye of The FA’s Skills Coaches, through after-school activities, free holiday skills sessions and roadshows, as well as providing specific support to teachers in primary schools across England.