Nike’s Mercurial Vapor IVs have been one of the hottest football boots this year (from the original IVs to the Euro 08 edition), and now Nike have released a new version called Mercurial Vapor Rosa, in a fetching shade of pink.

Boots have been many colours over the years but pink is certainly a new one. To celebrate the boot release Nike have got a new video starring the mercurial Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich and France - a tribute to the iconic Pink Panther - which is a good bit of fun. You can check it out here:

Bayern Munich’s French superstar Franck Ribery has admitted that he is not immune to the pressure of being the go-to guy at such a massive club.

The prodigious playmaker has been an instant smash since his high profile move from Olympique Marseille in 2007, so much so that something sensational is expected from him every game - even when just coming back from a serious injury.

“It’s not easy, people expect a lot of me. It’s flattering but I can’t allow myself to relax,” said Ribery, who went on to admit that he is still not fully recovered from the injury that he suffered against Italy during Euro 2008.

“I have to say that it’s a heavy burden to carry. At the same time though, it shows I feel good here,” he said to France Football.

“I try to bring the maximum to the club. When I was injured at the beginning of season we had a lot of difficulties.

“Since I’ve come back we’ve been better. My return was good for the team and the coach (Jurgen Klinsmann).”

“The only worry is fatigue creeping in. The season is long and matches are coming along every three days,” he added.

“I’d like a breather at times, that’s the only concern I have at the club.”

Bayern Munich’s revival faltered after a costly 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday while top two Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim clinched narrow wins.

Bayern were on course for a sixth successive Bundesliga victory when they took a 2-0 lead with a Luca Toni tap-in and a Franck Ribery penalty, only for Gladbach to score twice in two second-half minutes to secure an unlikely point.

Bayern went ahead when Philipp Lahm took the ball forward down the left in the 21st minute, beat the covering defender and pulled the ball back to the near post for Toni.

The visitors made it 2-0 when Ribery won a marginal penalty decision midway through the second half and converted it himself.

Gladbach got one back in the 79th minute when Rob Friend was left unmarked to head home and on their next attack Roberto Colautti recovered from a clumsy Martin Demichelis challenge and crossed for Michael Bradley to nod in. /reuters

Written by Kevin Fylan @ Reuters Soccer Blog

The question of whether such-and-such a player is the world’s best tends to generate more heat than light, and a great many superlatives directed at Cristiano Ronaldo.

So, let me phrase this as carefully as I can: Just at the moment, is Franck Ribery the most influential player in Europe?

Ribery’s return to fitness, after his ankle ligament injury at Euro 2008, has coincided with Bayern Munich’s return to form, and of course, it’s no coincidence at all.

Juergen Klinsmann found his first couple of months as Bayern coach very difficult, as teams discovered they no longer had to treat the Ribery-less champions with quite such respect.

The Frenchman returned to the team with a tentative 45-minute run-out in a 1-0 defeat in Hanover. He looked a little more comfortable in the subsequent 3-3 draw with Bochum and sparked a memorable comeback with his first goal against Wolfsburg on Oct. 25.

His form has been improving ever since and he made it four goals in four games with a jaw-dropping winner in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Schalke.

He contributed far more than just another goal, though, as his beguiling balance and control threatened danger every time he took the ball forward, and at times made fools of Schalke defenders.

With Ribery in this form, Bayern are a team transformed. Rivals can’t afford to press too far forward against them for fear of being slaughtered on the counter-attack. It makes Bayern’s defence look much more comfortable (as much as they can be in front of a goalkeeper who does not catch crosses).

There may be more gifted players than Ribery, and, yes, Ronaldo springs to mind, but I’m not sure there’s a single player who makes so much difference to a league title race.

Messi in Spain? Certainly influential, but you get the feeling Barcelona could survive pretty well without him. Benzema at Lyon? Perhaps. But is there anyone else head and shoulders above the rest of their league?

French star Franck Ribery scored his fourth goal in four consecutive league games on Sunday to seal a 2-1 win at Schalke 04 to put defending champions Bayern Munich in touch with the leaders.

Despite missing the first five games of the season after damaging ankle ligaments playing for France against Italy during Euo 2008 in June, Ribery is back to his best and his first-half strike in Gelsenkirchen put Bayern third.

“That was world-class! You won’t see better than that,” pundit and Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer told German channel Premiere after watching Ribery.

Hoffenheim dropped to second in the table by virtue of their 1-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin on Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen took over as league leaders with a superior goal difference.

But with five wins from their last five league games, defending champions Bayern are now on 24 points just one behind Hoffenheim and Bayer.

Last month’s slump — which saw them drop to 11th in the table — now looks a thing of the past.

Bayern took the lead as early as the third minute when Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni, back from a rib injury, combined with Munich captain Mark van Bommel and fired home from close range.

Schalke replied almost immediately when striker Jefferson Farfan converted a pass from Brazilian Rafinha and slotted his shot past Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing after five minutes.

The best goal of the game came when Ribery linked up with Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto and scored on 31 minutes after some quick passing to give the guests the three points. /AFP