It is Monday people, and that only means one thing to boot fans. That’s right, The Instep is here to get your week underway with your traditional boot spotting round up. With a few new releases, a few boot switches and one or two rare boots being spotted on pitches around the world this week, we are here first with the sum up of the week of football that was from a boot spotting point of view.

Dani Alves (Barcelona) – adidas F50 adiZero TRX

Dani Alves Barcelona F50 adiZero edited

The Dani Alves boot switching saga takes yet another twist! So just to recap, the Brazilian star has so far this season worn the F50 adiZero MiCoach, a blackout version of the same boot, then he wore the Nike Mercurial Vapor X followed by a blackout version of the Vapor X. He then took things up a notch with the Mercurial Vapor IV last week (which, for the record, is a boot I have not seen in years until he wore it last week). But he has now switched back to the F50 adiZero in the new Supernatural colourway. Could it be an end to the story? We will keep an eye on the situation. P.S. Neymar, take your hand off Alves’ knee son, I think it is making him uncomfortable…

Mario Balotelli (Liverpool) – Puma evoPOWER 1 MB45

Mario Balotelli Liverpool Puma evoPOWER MB45 edited

It seems we are getting weekly boot launches at the moment, but I am definitely not one to complain, because it makes the weekly boot spotting that much more interesting each week! Mario Balotelli was this week privileged with a signature boot to call his own, an honour that Puma does not normally bestow to their athletes. The evoPOWER MB45 follows the ‘Tricks Pack’ design template, and the boots come together to create the Italian national flag. Limited to just 400 boots, we wonder if we will see any other footballers rocking the rather awesome boots.

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) – Nike Mercurial Vapor X

Raheem Sterling Liverpool Vapor X edited

It is always interesting when you see which players wear the Magista or Mercurial with the Dynamic Fit Collar (ie the Obra and the Superfly) and those who opt for the boots one step down from the top tier boots. Raheem Sterling has finally made the switch to the Laser Orange Mercurial colourway, but he has decided to go with the Vapor X. This is despite the young gun opting for the Superfly IV since the start of the season. The number of players opting for the Vapor X seems to be rising weekly, with players like Hazard, Ibrahimovic and Ribery being those who have gone against the Superfly IV.

Lazar Markovic (Liverpool) – Mizuno Morelia Neo

Lazar Markovic Liverpool Morelia Neo edited

We have not heard a peep from Mizuno as of late. Which is a worry, because Mizuno have produced the boot that myself and my sidekick Andrew love to wax lyrical about: the Mizuno Morelia Neo. However, Mizuno have decided to give the boot a new facelift in the form of a Red/White/Black colourway. Lazar Markovic has had the boot fast-tracked to him, and it presents a lovely match with the Liverpool home kit as well.

Andy Carroll (West Ham) – Nike Hypervenom Phantom

Andy Carroll West Ham Hypervenom Phantom edited

Big Andy is back! Hard to believe he was valued at 32 million quid back in the day by Liverpool too…but after months sitting on the sidelined with injury, the big fella made his return to the pitch via the bench in West Ham’s draw with Villa. But he is back in a new pair of boots too, trading in his Umbro Speciali IV for the Hypervenom Phantom. That leaves Umbro desperately short of professional representation amongst Premier League players, with Tony Hibbert and Andre Wisdom being the EPL players left flying the flag for Umbro.

Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham) – Nike Mercurial Vapor II

Clayton Donaldson Birmingham Vapor III edited

Nice to see these little beauties hit the light of day once again hey? Clayton Donaldson gave us a flashback this week as he pulled out the Nike Mercurial Vapor II, which was launched way back in the day. Football boots have come a long way since then, with the Vapor II breaking ground as the lightest boot on the market. Plus it was about the time that Nike had some fella at Real Madrid headlining the range by the name of Ronaldo who was kicking a football alongside Raul, Van Nistelrooy, Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Robinho. Those were the days…

Igor Vetokele (Charlton) – adidas F50 adiZero TRX (Custom)

Igor Vetokele Charlton custom F50 edited

I cannot help but think that the ‘Battle Pack’ design template is arguably one of the most polarizing templates we have ever seen from a football boot brand. While some (including yours truly) found the triangular print to be a bit too aggressive, there are a few out there who love the edginess of the range. It seems Igor Vetokele is one of those players, and he has gone as far as making himself a Red/Black/White custom F50 adiZero sporting the very same print. It reminds us of the very same colourway that adidas released last year for the last generation F50, so we think we can see where Vetokele drew his inspiration from!

Scott McDonald (Millwall) – adidas Predator Instinct Accelerator

Scott McDonald Millwall Predator Accelerator edited

We think there is a bit of a battle going on at Millwall when it comes to who has the flashiest pair of boots. We showed off Shaun Williams and his adiPure 11Pro Crazylights last week (we got a shout-out on Twitter from the lad too, that was nice!), but Aussie Scott McDonald has definitely put up a contender for best boots at the club this week. The striker has managed to get his hands on the adidas Predator Instinct Accelerator, arguably one of the most-wanted football boot releases of the year. However, for those of you who missed out on the Accelerator remake, adidas has got one release lined up between now and Christmas that I am hoping Santa gets me for Christmas this year…

That is it for our boot spotting today. What was your favourite spot this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

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