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Updated FIFA 14 cover keeps it Real with new shirt for Bale
We wondered what the ramifications might be for the FIFA 14 Euro-cover, given it pictured Premier League superstar Gareth Bale in a Tottenham shirt amid rumors of his impending transfer to Real Madrid. Sure enough, one record-breaking €100 million deal later - that's around $133 million - and the cover for the unreleased game is out of date - or, it was. Despite the game only being two weeks away, EA Sports was able to whip a new cover that correctly reflects Bale's status as the latest Galactico; check it out in full after the break. This isn't the first time EA Sports has pulled a switcheroo like this; fans of the other type of football no doubt remember the Madden NFL 09 cover of Brett Favre in a Jets shirt. The former Green Bay quarterback signed for the New York team just five days before the game was due. That's not enough time to do a Bale-like swap, so EA Sports concocted a printable PDF cover, which seems kind of ludicrous some five years on. Anyway, all's well that ends well as far as FIFA 14 is concerned, as long as Lionel Messi doesn't suddenly decide to quit football and become a ballet dancer (he'd be a very good ballet dancer, we're sure). The game has a demo out ahead of its September 24 arrival on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, and it'll be out on both next-gen consoles too. Don't forget, Xbox One Day One pre-orders in Europe will nab it or Forza 5 for free.
Adidas builds intelligent soccer cleats that can outwit even Joey Barton
Impoverished football soccer clubs, with their massive stadiums, billionaire owners and millionaire star players have it awful hard, you know. If a club wanted a statistical analysis of the team's movements over the 90 minutes (more if Sir Alex Ferguson is involved) then it needs to spend big on a ProZone statistics system. That's all due to change, thanks to Adidas' new adizero f50 miCoach -- an "intelligent football boot" that includes a space for the miCoach Speed Cell, a tracking device that works like a souped-up Nike+iPod. The chip records your speed, sprint times, distance, step and stride rates, stores it for up to seven hours and pushes it over WiFi or USB to the device of your choice. You'll be able to share your stats online with friends via Facebook and compare them to pros like diminutive pitchman Lionel Messi, diminutive Welshman Gareth Bale and the, ah, not-so-diminutive Emmanuel Adebayor. A pair of boots, Speed Cell and dongle will require your bank account to shrink to the tune of €245 ($330) and will hit the stores in November -- just in time for you to sit indoors during the snowy January transfer window. %Gallery-135206%
