Diadora Squadra Backpack

I have this bag for both of my sons. The mesh front ball pocket lets them easily recognize wether they left their ball on the field after practice without me having to force them to inventory the bag before we get to the car. The side pockets are deep enough for a cleat and a shin guard each or a water bottle and a bag of personal snacks on each side. The top compartment is great for gloves, a balaclava or a skully. The interior compartment is roomy enough for cleats, socks and shin guards even with the ball compartment filled. On game day I still have room to shove assorted food items, keys, compact umbrella's and all manner of jackets and small blankets into these bags. It has exceeded my reasonable expectations.Update 2013: I reviewed this bag shortly after purchase last year(September 2012). After over one year of use, both bags are still going strong, though a bit ditrier than when first purchased. My boys are not easy on gear. These bags have been tossed, dropped, dragged, kicked and stepped on. All zippers and pockets are intact and showing no tell-tale signs of future failure.For those of you who have more demanding expectations and are planning a soccer tournament at the pinnacle of Everest, ruck marching your youth league through the Panamanian jungles, or rapelling over Victoria Falls with full kit in tow, I'll share the following; My primary goal with this bag purchase was to empower my kids to be more responsible for their gear. The main aim was that they not lose their soccer balls every season.Well, my 7 year old managed to leave his ball at a field because he had stuffed his similarly colored jacket into the ball compartment. So, be warned, this bag is not perfect and is no substitute for personal responsibility. Lucky for him Santa was already replacing his favorite ball with a hand stitched beauty he admired online. There may be other bags out there that are better, but I count this particular bag as a organizational savior for my parental sanity, while trying to cram in dinner, homework and practices. Anything that makes life easier is a winUpdate August 2016: Four Years of hard use later...The ball compartment has started to tear at the top where it meets the inner bag compartment. Thats it, no holes in the bag, no broken zippers, no ripped straps, no other problems whatsoever. I retired the bag last month, as my youngest wanted his team bag with coordinated uniform coloring and his number on the back. However, just last night as he was trying to shove his ball into the narrow ball compartment of the team bag after camp, I asked him if he wanted his old bag back for practices and keep the team bag for games. He sighed, looked up and said yeah, then looked down at his new bag with disdain. This thing is the Soccer equivelant of a U.S. Army A.L.I.C.E. Pack, 1 each, it won't die.

First off, I paid for two-day shipping. I purchased this on Sunday and Monday was Veteran's Day. I was told it would arrive Wed but I got it a day early so that was cool. The color is a true dark navy. The pic is more of a royal blue but the actual is much darker.I read some of the other reviews and one said the pouch doesn't fit a size 5 ball and another reviewer said it does. And indeed, it does. There was another review that said the cleats don't fit in the side pouch and this was important for my son. This is what we found: my son wears a size 7.5 and the cleats *do* fit in the side pocket but they have to be put in horizontally, like shoebox-style. The shin guard then go on top of the cleats. The cleats do not fit vertically (too tall for the pouch, and perhaps what the one reviewer tried to do). I'd question fitting anything bigger than a size 9 cleat but it doesn't mean the cleats can't go in the backpack. In fact, I know I will find my son's in there from time to time. No biggie.The other thing we discovered when using the cleat pocket is that the ball has to be put in *after* the cleats otherwise the cleats won't fit (shin guard can go in last). And the ball must come out first before getting the cleats out. It's not a hassle. just has to be done orderly to work the best. The pouch on the opposite side is a bit taller than a 16 oz water bottle and could fit 2-3 waterbottles.The soccer ball does take up most of the lower backpack but there is enough room on top of the ball for sweatpants and sweatshirt. The cool thing is that the ball pocket has an inner lining as does the side for the cleats so a dirty ball and cleats will not touch what's inside the backpack. Overall, we're happy with the purchase. It does mean things may need to be sometimes gently "jammed" in at times so if that's no big deal, this works. And, it's a great price and really good quality.

One frustrating thing for me when I am buying soccer gear is fishing through most of the reviews that are based on children using it. Don't get me wrong, it's great that kids are playing and parents are encouraging it but it is just hard to find appropriate reviews for myself. So I will preface this by saying that I am (as of this review) a 40 year old 220 lb man who plays in a co-ed rec league.This is a great bag. Several other reviews referred to it as small which is rather baffling to me. This bag doesn't seem small at all, in fact it seems quite roomy. A size 5 ball fits in the mesh area with ease. The side pocket for cleats is not huge, but I can fit my size 11 Diadora Brasils in there. My running shoes that I take off before games don't fit in that pouch after I remove the cleats but it's not a big deal. My shin guards easily fit in the other side pocket. There is a small front pocket up top where I put my wallet, giant cell phone and keys. There is still plenty of room if I wanted to throw a granola and/or protein bar or two in there. Once the bag has all of that stuff in it, ball, cleats, shin guards, small items, there is still tons of room in the main compartment. I easily throw in a towel, extra pair of shorts, extra shirt and a small stack of half cones and there is still room left! I've also have biked to practice and threw my giant bike lock in there with room to spare.The bag is very sharp and is seemingly well made. I've only had it a week or so now but I love it and highly recommend it for everyone, including adults.