All posts by h716a5.icu

We independently choose all products featured on our site. We may earn a commission when you purchase something through the links provided.

Meet the 22 products that exceeded our expectations this year

2022, a monumental year for football. On top of the beautiful game being bigger than it’s ever been before, our inboxes have been loaded full of top-tier products and drops.

From unmissable collaborations to re-releases of cult favourites, we want to share our insight into the best products the year has seen. We’ve shared a lot along the way, but this is our closing ceremony for the year of 2022. 

To bring the unforgettable year together, GOAL bestows you the best of ball design, kitbag essentials, football books, player collaborations, and so much more, all in one place. 

Introducing, the GOAL 2022 Product Awards.

The 22 Best Products of 2022

Honourable Mentions: Nike Flight UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Ball, PUMA Orbita La Liga 2022-23 Ball

With a new season came a new ball, and what a ball it was. Inspired by the very first Premier League ball used back in 1992, the new and improved – technology-wise – Nike Flight came with the very same colours, and bold graphics loved on the original. 

With a rich history and nostalgic design, the Nike Flight Premier League ball topped our vote, with the Nike Flight Women’s Euro 2022 ball not far behind. 

While the official match ball will set you back a fair few pounds, the replica ball comes in for just £20 at PRO: Direct Soccer. 

Advertisement

Honourable Mentions: G Form Pro-S Vento Shin Guard, PUMA Ultra Flex Sleeve Shin Guards

For weeks it felt like all we were seeing was the Solar Green of the adidas X Speedportal collection wherever we looked. From shin guards to boots, the X Speedportal line took over our screens, and rightly so. 

Synonymous for speed and reaction time, the X range is the top choice for those seeking a shin pad that feels like it's barely there. With a lightweight and perforated cushion design, these shin pads excel when you need to play at your full potential with nothing holding you back. 

Honourable Mentions: Reusch Attrakt Gold x Glueprint Ortho-Tec, adidas Predator Edge Training GK Gloves

Worn by the pros in 2022’s summer major tournament – the Women’s Euros – the match-quality PUMA Ultra Grip 1 gloves deliver supreme sensitivity, flexibility, and traction. 

Born to perform right down to the fingertips and paired with Liberty’s beautiful- and iconic – floral artistry, these gloves are a clear winner for 2022. 

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Honourable Mentions: adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Infinium Gloves, STATS Sports Apex Athlete Series App

While the Therabody Theragun may not be new news to anyone, 2022 saw the release of the 5th Generation PRO. 

The newest member of the Theragun family comes with an impressive bounty of new features like built-in guided routines and app connectivity, plus, a stronger motor quieter than ever before.

A kitbag essential – loved by the likes of Trent Alerxander-Arnold and Granit Xhaka – for muscle recovery, the Theragun PRO is the ultimate tool to help you find relief after those tough games. 

Sri Lanka Women defended 129 to register a crucial win – their first of the tournament – against Ireland Women in Mohali

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2016
ScorecardCaptain Chamari Atapattu set the tone for Sri Lanka’s win with a 22-ball 34•International Cricket CouncilSri Lanka Women defended 129 to register a crucial win – their first of the tournament – against Ireland Women in Mohali. Three run-outs and three wickets from Sugandika Kumari helped keep Ireland to 115 in the chase, thereby completing a 14-run win.Left-arm spinner Kumari, who returned career-best figures, removed Clare Shillington and Cath Dalton early before solid cameos from Cecelia Joyce (29), Isobel Joyce (24) and Laura Delany (29) took Ireland closer. With 43 required off the last five overs, a succession of wickets took the game away from Ireland. Kumari finished with 3 for 24.Earlier, Sri Lanka got off to a flying start after opting to bat. The openers – Chamari Atapattu (34 off 22) and Yasoda Mendis – added 45 in just 32 balls, of which Mendis contributed 9.Legspinner Ciara Metcalfe then dismissed both openers in the space of four balls to bring Ireland back into the contest. Metcalfe produced another double-strike in the 10th over to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 59 for 5. A 49-run stand between Prasadani Weerakkody and Eshani Lokusuriyage, who struck a 28-ball 35, resurrected Sri Lanka and helped them post a total of 129 for 7. Metcalfe also produced career-best figures to finish with 4 for 15.

Nick Browne made a half-century to go with 103 in the first innings as Essex staved off the threat of defeat after being made to follow on

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford09-Jul-2015
ScorecardArron Lilley took three second-innings wickets but could not induce another Essex collapse (file photo)•Getty ImagesA match in which the cricketers had frequently triumphed over the conditions ended early in mocking Mancunian sunshine. Bowled out for 203 in their first innings, Essex’s batsmen exhibited rather more backbone when asked to follow-on, although as Paul Horton pointed out in characteristically shrewd fashion, James Foster’s men were essentially being asked to bat out time on what was a second-day wicket.For while this game will be remembered for Steven Croft’s hundred and should be remembered for Toby Lester’s successful debut, it may also be recalled, perhaps with a slight shudder, for the 138.2 overs that were lost to the weather on the first three days.However, the showers should not detract from Nick Browne’s achievement in making 105 and 50 against Lancashire’s skilful bowling attack. Had it not been for Browne’s admirable obduracy and well-honed technique, Essex would have been dismissed for rather fewer than the mediocre 203 they managed in the first innings; had he not then made a half-century in 97 minutes second time around, Croft’s bowlers may have been given the oxygen of early success with no one knowing to what long-shadowed dramas that might have led.Browne was fortunate in that he found at least one other batsmen prepared to tough it out with him in Essex’s first innings, although there was little surprise that his companion in the Old Trafford trenches was that cold-eyed battler James Foster. The pair had added 79 in 29 overs when Foster was pinned on the crease by James Faulkner for a deceptively modest 14 half an hour after the start of Thursday’s play. Had the Essex captain been caught at slip by Croft off Faulkner for only 5 on Wednesday, Essex’s decline might have been yet more rapid.Even as it was, Faulkner bowled Greg Smith for 3, thus completing his personal five-wicket haul, before Lester had Graham Napier caught behind by Davies for 23. That was Lester’s third and last wicket at the end of a week he had expected to be spending with Lancashire’s second team at Headingley.And the cynics who maintain that there is no romance in this game should have seen the left-arm bowler’s wide-eyed wonderment after the match was over as he talked about the moment on Monday morning when he was told by Ashley Giles that he was in Lancashire’s XI to play Essex. Even his team-mates were touched by his delight when he uprooted Jaik Mickleburgh’s middle stump on Wednesday afternoon. “I’d be happy to bowl all day at Old Trafford” he said, when asked how difficult he had found the windy conditions.However, neither Lester nor the offspinner, Arron Lilley, could precipitate the sort of collapse that Lancashire needed in Essex’s second innings. Lilley removed Mickleburgh, caught at short leg by Croft for 37, and Browne, snared one-handed by Ashwell Prince at short cover off the leading edge for 50, in successive overs, but that was the summit of Lancashire’s achievement on this last day.The crowd whiled away the rest of the afternoon enjoying the warm sunshine on their backs as Lilley tried to make further breakthroughs under the gaze of the watching national selector James Whitaker. The spinner managed just one, when Ravi Bopara was neatly caught at short leg by Brown for 22. Matters were then left in the hands of Essex’s fourth-wicket pair, Liam Dawson and Jesse Ryder, who dealt capably with Croft’s attack during the final 18 overs of the game. Ryder’s self-denial was exemplified by his taking 30 balls to score his first run, which may be something of a personal worst. By then, though, nobody minded very much.

Mahmudullah will miss the entire series against India after fracturing his index finger on his left hand in training

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah will miss the solitary Test and three ODIs against India after sustaining a fracture on his left index finger during training. His availability for the T20s against South Africa is still unknown.Nasir Hossain has replaced Mahmudullah in Bangladesh’s Test squad. Nasir has played the last of his 16 Tests against West Indies in September 2014. He missed the three Tests against Zimbabwe and the two Tests against Pakistan.”Mahmudullah got hurt while training this morning,” Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said. “He was injured on his left index finger. X-rays have showed he has a fracture. He didn’t train thereafter. It takes about three to four weeks for this type of fracture to heal.”Mahmudullah’s fractured finger was strapped when he left the Shere Bangla National Stadium, to have his injury examined.

Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will only “finish” his remarkable career when his body begins to give up, says Portugal manager Roberto Martinez.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

All-time great showing no sign of slowing downContinues to star for club and countryWill not hang up his boots any time soonWHAT HAPPENED?

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is still going strong at 38 years of age, with nobody in world football bettering his return of 54 goals for club and country across the calendar year of 2023. The all-time great is showing no sign of slowing down, with the expectation being that he has several years left at the very highest level.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ronaldo has suggested in the past that he will play on into his 40s, providing that he steers clear of serious injury, with there no desire on his part to consider retirement. He has worked relentlessly to keep himself in peak physical condition, while demanding nothing but the best from himself and those around him.

WHAT MARTINEZ SAID ABOUT RONALDO

As long he retains that hunger and fitness, Martinez sees no reason why Ronaldo would give any thought to hanging up his boots. Portugal’s head coach has told when asked when the all-time great could call it a day: “Cristiano will finish the day he decides that his body cannot give him what he wants on the pitch. At the moment he still wants to win everything. There are no other 38 year olds that can give you the level that he gives physically in two international games within a space of three days.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo is working on a contract at Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr through to 2025. He is expected to grace Euro 2024 with his country, while playing on towards the 2026 World Cup, and will continue to enhance international records in the men’s game that have already seen him earn 205 caps and score 128 goals for Portugal.

Alloy Lequay, former director of the West Indies Cricket Board and former president of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board, died on Sunday at the age of 90

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2015Alloy Lequay, former director of the West Indies Cricket Board and former president of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board, died on Sunday at the age of 90.Born in Port-of-Spain in 1924, Lequay had a distinguished career as a sports administrator and a Member of Parliament. He contributed to the setting up of a national cricket academy in Trinidad & Tobago – the Frank Worrell Cricket Development Centre, which opened in 2002 as a first-of-its kind facility in the region. He also led the national governing body of table tennis.For his contributions, Lequay was presented with the Gold Chaconia Medal of Trinity, T&T’s second-highest national honour, during the government’s 1988 national awards ceremony, and was also declared one of T&T’s 50 Sporting Legends during the country’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations.WICB president Dave Cameron extended his condolences and, through a press release from the board, praised Lequay’s contributions to the game.”On behalf of the directors, management and staff of the WICB let me pass on our deepest condolences on the passing of Alloy,” Cameron said. “His achievements in the board room were enhanced by his intuitive leadership and wide management skills, and we know that these feelings are shared by all who knew him and worked with him during his years with the T&TCB and WICB.”

Luis Suarez has been cleared to take in a reunion with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, with Gremio confirming the striker’s imminent departure.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Veteran frontman has impressed in BrazilSet to be released from his contractFree to join ex-Barca team-mates in FloridaWHAT HAPPENED?

The veteran frontman will be bidding farewell to Brazilian football at the end of the calendar year, with an early termination of his contract being agreed. Suarez will then be free to head to the United States and link up with former Barcelona team-mates Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at MLS side Inter Miami.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT RENATO SAID ABOUT SUAREZ

Renato Gaucho has told reporters when asked about bidding farewell to Suarez – who has hit 26 goals through 51 appearances for Gremio: “Are we going to miss him? Certainly, without a doubt, he is very loved by everyone. I had the pleasure of working with a great professional, one of the best in the world, fourth highest scorer in the world. This void will remain for the next year, because it's not easy to find someone of his talent and ability. When you find someone else, it's unfeasible to bring him in financially. Unfortunately, as I said before, it was very difficult for him to stay. Everyone wanted it, but only he could reverse this decision. Unfortunately, he will leave and there will be this vacuum in Gremio's attack. Then it's up to the board and president to try and find another striker. It was a great pleasure, not only for me but for the whole club. A guy who always gave himself, an exemplary professional.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Renato added on the impact that Suarez has made during his time in Brazil, with the 36-year-old still boasting boundless energy and a desire to win at all costs: “It's a great sadness for everyone. He arrived at the beginning of the year, he has helped us a lot, the fans were enchanted with him. He is an extraordinary professional on and off the field. He arrived quietly, he was letting go, playing, accepting the games. I often wanted to take him out of training or a game, but he wanted to continue. He wants to play every game and it doesn't hurt."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR SUAREZ?

Suarez will take in his final home game as a Gremio player on Sunday, against Vasco da Gama. His last outing will be away at Fluminense on December 7, with a path then being cleared for him to take in a short break before potentially joining up with Messi and Inter Miami for pre-season training ahead of the 2024 MLS campaign.

After Madrid took the honours for a third straight year in Kiev, we look back at the best performers over the course of a gripping competition

AFPAlisson | RomaThe Brazilian was ever-present in Roma's thrilling run to the Champions League semi-finals, establishing himself as one of Europe's elite goalkeepers in the process. His inspirational performances led former Roma coach Roberto Negrisolo to compare him to both Dino Zoff and Lionel Messi, and also led to links with Liverpool.AdvertisementGetty ImagesDani Alves | Paris Saint-GermainWhile PSG might have fallen short once again in the Champions League, their veteran right-back gave his all in every single game. Alves chipped in with two goals from defence and generally caused havoc down the flank, although his talents were not enough to avoid last-16 defeat to Real Madrid.Getty ImagesNicolas Otamendi | Manchester CityOnly the dazzling Mohamed Salah found the key this season to dismantle Manchester City's defence, led by a rock-solid Otamendi. That quarter-final reverse was a rare blemish on what was a near-perfect season for the Argentine, who marshalled Pep Guardiola's backline throughout their record-breaking campaign.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyMats Hummels | Bayern MunichHummels proved why Bayern were so keen to repatriate their former youth-team star with a stellar season after completing a move back from Borussia Dortmund.

Four months after the death of Phillip Hughes, a homespun idea conceived by the Ireland allrounder John Mooney and his father-in-law has become the first instance of additional protection for the back of the head and neck in an international match

Daniel Brettig27-Feb-2015Four months after the death of Phillip Hughes, a homespun idea conceived by the Ireland allrounder John Mooney and his father-in-law has become the first instance of additional protection for the back of the head and neck in an international match.Mooney had intended to wear his invention, which is effectively an adjustable rear grille, in his side’s opening World Cup match against West Indies, but an unrelated helmet problem delayed its unveiling until a narrow victory over UAE at the Gabba. Mooney only made two from six balls, but in his 14 minutes at the crease the innovation turned plenty of heads both in Brisbane and around the world.The question of additional protection for the area Hughes was struck on had been on Mooney’s mind for a while before, due to another incident involving his cousin in a club match earlier last year. But the horrible footage emanating from the Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November made him decide he could wait no longer.”I played in a club game last year where my cousin got hit in a similar area. So the thought had been in my mind beforehand, but when I saw Phil getting hit I was adamant I was going to do something,” Mooney told ESPNcricinfo. “I bat quite low down in the Irish team and I bat at the death where I have to take on the short ball pretty much every time and get hit on the head quite a lot.”So it is an area that worries me and as a cricketer and a father as well, it’s a dangerous sport, and as soon as that happens [you think about it]. My father in law is an architect and he’s quite good working with his hands. So we got talking and with a few coat hangers one evening we designed the guard. Then we got a local bloke who works with steel to make us up a couple of prototypes and basically that’s where it came from.”It was late November when Phil got hit and it took us about a month to get a working product made that fitted the helmet perfectly and was comfortable to wear while training. We had a tour to Dubai in January where I first started using it, and from the first day I put it on there was no impingement on any shot I played, and I haven’t taken it off my helmet since.”Mooney is calling it the “gorget”, a seldom-heard term for a critical part of medieval suits of armour that protected the neck and throat of its wearer. “It’s exactly the same as the grille of the helmet, you don’t notice it much,” he said. “It might add a bit of weight but not much at all. You could pick up two helmets, one without and one with and it wouldn’t make any difference to the feel really.”It doesn’t really impinge at all. We had to try to come up with something that protects the back and sides of the neck but something that meant you had a free range of movement. It is a design you can adjust, you can adjust how far up your neck or the helmet that you’d like it, so some people might have different shaped necks and shoulders.”It can be put on pretty much any helmet that’s on the market at the minute and it can be fully adjustable to your needs and it will work for people of most sizes. The most important thing is that it doesn’t make the target much bigger, it’s not something clunky where if the ball hits it it will fly for four leg byes or anything like that.”Attitudes to helmets had perhaps become a little too lackadaisical in recent times, and comfort or budget had often been more critical factors than the strictest adherence to safety. Mooney agreed that the typically conservative, even superstitious mindset of many cricketers had been shaken by the fate that befell Hughes, meaning many would be more open to the concept of additional protection.”Cricketers are very conservative about what they wear and sometimes borderline superstitious as well, but when it comes to safety I think every cricketer will look to something like this or similar to improve the safety of the game,” he said. “With the innovation of new shots being played, scoops and all this kind of stuff, you need this kind of protection, because injuries are happening as we speak and they’ll continue to.”Players are aware bowlers are bowling faster and they’re going to have to protect themselves adequately. I hope the players can start to look at it and take it on board for the extra protection around the neck area. I’d love to talk though it with a couple of the Australian guys because it is something quite close to them from the unfortunate thing that happened to Phil. Our assistant coach Matthew Mott who has worked with the Australian cricket team, he loved it and thinks it would be a great idea as well.”For now Mooney is the only man able to wear the gorget as it has not yet been fully tested or certified for use. But the process by which such certification will arrive is in motion, and he is hopefully it will be ready in time for the 2015 English season – he is also looking for investors or equipment manufacturers to aid its development.”It’s going to take between three and six months, ideally I’d like to have it out by the start of the English season. It’s something that can’t be rushed, it just has to be done the right way,” Mooney said. “I’m doing it all by myself, it could be rushed through quicker if I had a company on board who were quicker at getting through that process, but as of yet I’m still trying to find an investor to take it on and work with me on that.”It’s had to take a bit of back seat because I’m concentrating on my cricket and it’s hard to juggle the two at once at a World Cup. My wife is working to set up a website and a Facebook page and stuff like that for it. But because it is a piece of protective equipment we can’t get it into the shops until it is certified.”Several other versions of neck protection are emerging on the market, including by the major global helmet supplier Masuri.

Chris Cooke scored a superb maiden first-class century to keep Kent’s attack at bay and guide Glamorgan to 329 all out on the opening day of the Division Two match at Canterbury.

Press Association31-Aug-2014
ScorecardMitch Claydon finished with 4 for 47 but it became a frustrating day for Kent•Getty ImagesChris Cooke scored a superb maiden first-class century to keep Kent’s attack at bay and guide Glamorgan to 329 all out on the opening day of the Division Two match at Canterbury.Cooke, the 28-year-old South African-born batsman, was last out for 171 after holding Glamorgan’s first innings together against a Kent team still with an outside chance of promotion and aiming to win three of their last four Championship games.It always looked like being Cooke’s day after he was dropped on 2 by Adam Riley at second slip, off Darren Stevens, and overall he batted for 214 balls and struck 18 fours and a six.Riley’s miss was hugely costly for Kent, who would have had their opponents 15 for 4 had Cooke been dismissed. As it was, Cooke and Jim Allenby put on 62 for the fourth wicket to begin Glamorgan’s recovery from 7 for 3.Allenby made 44 from 44 balls, leading a counter-attack with eight fours, but it was not until Dean Cosker joined Cooke in an eighth-wicket partnership of 118 in 32 overs that Glamorgan moved into a position of comfort following their decision to bat first on a good pitch and in warm, sunny conditions.The 36-year-old Cosker’s two-hour 45 from 104 balls was only seven runs short of his career-best, and his determined resistance gave Cooke the opportunity to go past his previous first-class best – 96, also against Kent, in June – as well as hauling Glamorgan up from a distinctly under-par 183 for 7.Mitch Claydon led Kent’s bowling effort with 4 for 47 and it was he who ended Cosker’s resistance in his second over with the second new ball.Claydon also added the tail-end wicket of Michael Hogan, bowled swishing, to those earlier of Jacques Rudolph, caught at first slip for nought during an opening spell of 5-4-1-1, and Allenby, who was caught behind thin-edging an attempted pull.Stevens supported Claydon well, starting with a new ball spell of 10-4-15-1 and having Gareth Rees caught at the wicket for 3 as he tried to force away square on the offside. Later, in the second over after lunch, Stevens saw David Lloyd, on 7, drive him straight to mid-off.It was only right at the end of Glamorgan’s innings, when Stevens was hit for 16 runs in an over by Cooke, that he was collared.Robbie Joseph – making his first Championship appearance since the end of June – removed Will Bragg leg-before after the batsman had struggled through 41 balls, and Matt Hunn won an lbw appeal to send back Graham Wagg for 18 after he had driven offspinner Riley for six and four in the space of three balls.Riley did have the consolation of taking Cooke’s wicket, when he drove high to Hunn at long-off, but only after he had batted for five hours and displayed a range of strokeplay unmatched by any other batsman.Before that, indeed, Riley’s only success on a chastening day for the highly-rated 22-year-old, was when Mark Wallace – having contributed 24 to a sixth-wicket stand of 58 with Cooke – lifted a drive to short extra cover.