By Chris Wright

As we've seen before here on Pies, Umbro's hook-up with the soon-to-be-revived New York Cosmos has produced some pretty natty garb to date, so you'll be glad to know that their new 'Blackout' collection is ploughing a similar furrow.

The limited edition Blackout line has been designed to commemorate the day that Brazilian legend Carlos Alberto signed with the Cosmos back on July 13th, 1977, which also happened to be the day of the infamous New York City blackout.

Name: Carlos Alberto Tevez
Nick Name: El Apache
Birthday: Feb 5, 1984
Birth Place: Ciudadela, Buenos Aires
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Primary Position: Striker/Forward
Current Team: Manchester City, Argentine National
Youth Team: Boca Juniors
Previous Teams: Corinthians,
West Ham United, Manchester United
Carlos Tevez - Official Website
Bio & Stats Sources:
Manchester City's Bio - Soccernet's Bio - Wikipedia Bio - Goal.

Los convocados para formar la Selección Mexicana en la Copa América 2011 son:
No. Nombre Club1. Luis Ernesto Michel Vergara Guadalajara2. José Jonny Magallón Oliva Guadalajara3. Miguel Ángel Ponce Briseño Guadalajara4. Jorge Enríquez García Guadalajara5. Marco Jhonfai Fabián de la Mora Guadalajara6.

Deulofeu y las Flores Azules - AFR Podcast Ep12 iTunes / Soundcloud / RSS

Brazil legend Carlos Alberto leads us into the latest podcast saying hello to his "friends from A Football Report." Dominic Vieira and Eric Beard are the duo holding it down on the pod this time chatting from Lancaster University in England and Boston, respectively.

I could not find a better picture to represent the conditions of the Saudi football today better than this one
Saudi Arabia officially was the first team to exit Asian Cup 2011 after two defeats from Syria 1-2 and Jordan 0-1. It is not a big issue to lose a game or two, but, the way Saudi lost and the whole set-up of the team and the journey this team has taken since 1994 World Cup till today, is the real issue.

Bizarrely, Eric Cantona has returned to football as director of 'soccer' at New York Cosmos.

"I am very honoured to join the legendary New York Cosmos," said Cantona. "It's a big project, a wonderful project. The Cosmos are very strong, beautifully made, with a great past. It's kind of a mix between football and art.

The famous gap toothed grin will be a thing of the past as Brazilian superstar Ronaldo has announced his retirement after a storied career that has seen him revered as one of the games most iconic and gifted front men.

The 34-year old had his heart set on hanging up his boots at the end of the year with a Copa Libertadores medal being hoisted over his neck with Corinthians, however, dreams don't always materialise in a sport that can be cruel as well as kind – the aforementioned knowing that all too well.

Name: Carlos Alberto Tevez
Nick Name: El Apache
Birthday: Feb 5, 1984
Birth Place: Ciudadela, Buenos Aires
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Primary Position: Striker/Forward
Current Team: Manchester City, Argentine National
Youth Team: Boca Juniors
Previous Teams: Corinthians,
West Ham United, Manchester United
Official Website
Bio & Stats Sources:
Manchester City's Bio - Soccernet's Bio - Wikipedia Bio - Goal.

With the announcement of two high-profile exhibition matches, Reading United provided another example of its expanding national reputation.

Reading is set to play the United States Under-17 National Team on May 22, followed by the New York Cosmo's Under-23 team two months later. The Harrisburg City Islanders and Philadelphia Union are already scheduled to visit Exeter's Don Thomas Stadium in the coming weeks.

Posición: defensa central
Clubes: Santo Amaro (1982), Santa Cruz (1983-84), Guarani (1985-88), Sporting Lisboa-POR (1988), São Paulo (1989-91), Real Madrid-ESP (1991-93), Santos (1993), Vasco da Gama (1994-95), Fluminense (1996), Newell's Old Boys-ARG (1997-98), Flamengo (1998).

On July 13, Brazilian Carlos Alberto Torres arrived in New York City in the midst of a blackout. Not just any blackout, but the infamous 1977 blackout that was marked by extreme violence and looting in the Big Apple. Quite the warm welcome for Pele's former teammate at Santos FC, a member of the 1970 World Cup winning side, and widely regarded as one of the games best defenders.

The current sweltering weather conditions in New York City remind me a lot of 1977, especially the blackout of '77 that sent the city into terror and mass hysteria. The looting, rioting and threat of the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) created a terrifying time for anyone living in the city.

With a World Cup on the way and the 2016 summer Olympics on the horizon, Brazil is gearing up for a high-profile decade by hosting the planet's two largest sporting events. This brilliant decade in Brazilian sports will kick off with the 2014 World Cup estimated to bring millions of football fans into the country.

Football Team of the Decade: 1960s - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The 1960s just might be football's golden decade. George Best, Garrincha, Pele in his prime and much much more. Recently on the Total Soccer Show podcast, we picked our starting XI from the 1960s. None of of us were alive back then, but thanks to television, YouTube and brilliant books like Jonathan Wilson's Inverting the Pyramid, we were able to weigh the various options at each position and argue out the perfect starting XI to represent 10 of the most glorious years in the history of the beautiful game.