One week to go, one week to go, one week to go! The Premier League season is just around the corner, as teams get their final pre-season friendlies done and dusted, football fans are excitedly waiting for next week’s start to the EPL season. But while we have a week to go, there is only one way to kick start your Monday, and that is with a SoccerPro boot spotting! We pick out only the best boot spots from this week’s games, from boot spots to retro boots to customised boots, check out what will have the boot world talking this week!

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – adidas Predator Instinct

Steven Gerrard Liverpool Predator Instinct edited

It was arguably one of the most surprising boot switches of the 2013/14 season, but the past week has seen Steven Gerrard in something that feels ‘right’ to us. The Liverpool legend has made his way back into the Predator range, after one season in the Nitrocharge 1.0. Many have commented on how the Instinct is a flashback to the Predator of old, and perhaps Gerrard making a return to the Predator is a testament to that.

Dani Alves (Barcelona) – Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly I (Custom)

Dani Alves Barcelona SF I edited

From one player trading in their adidas Nitrocharge 1.0 to another, headline Nitrocharge endorser Dani Alves was rather surprisingly snapped up in the retro-tastic Nike Mecurial Vapor Superfly I whilst training for Barcelona this week. We are not sure whether it will be a permanent switch from Alves, perhaps it is just a case of Alves wanting to pull something out from the archives of the Barcelona boot room, but it is probably a sight that adidas would rather not see. Considering adidas are in the midst of launching the next generation Nitrocharge, losing two of the high profile wearers in the space of the week is never great news…

Alessandro Del Piero (A-League All Stars) – adidas adiPure 11Pro (Custom)

Alessandro Del Piero A-League All Stars custom 11Pro edited

You have custom boots, then you have the absolute definition of custom boots. Australian artist Daren Dunn gave Alessandro Del Piero’s blackout adiPure 11Pro his trademark touch, with his boots featuring special Aboriginal Australian designs. Del Piero is a man known to love a good blackout, so it is certainly a sight to behold that the Italian legend has finally got a splash of colour on his feet. This is not a one-off, we have seen some of Daren Dunn’s works on the feet of the A-Leagues biggest stars, and with the A-League season not too far from kicking off, we will surely share some of his special art over the coming months.

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) – Puma PowerCat 1.10

Gianluigi Buffon Italy Powercat 110 edited

My colleague Andrew always raves on about how quality a boot the Puma evoPOWER is, and while Gigi Buffon has been flying the flag for the evoPOWER at the World Cup, he has made the rather surprising change to the old school Puma PowerCat 1.10 for Juventus’ tour of Asia and Oceania. Released way back in 2010, maybe Gigi left his evoPOWERs back in Italy, or it could be a sign of dissatisfaction towards the evoPOWER, we will never really know…

Nicholas Morton (South Hobart) – Nike GS

Nicholas Morton South Hobart Nike GS edited

You have got to love a limited edition boot spot, and not many boots fit the phrase ‘limited edition’ quite like the Nike GS. The pride of many a boot collector (including yours truly), Nicholas Morton brought out the Nike concept boot during South Hobart’s FFA Cup fixture against Tuggeranong United. From personal experience, the Nike GS is far from the most mind blowing boot when it comes to performance on the pitch. However, the true genius with the GS is Nike putting together a fully functional football boot using environmentally sustainable products. Plus it impresses the pants off people when you wear them!

Paul Pogba (Juventus) – adidas Predator Instinct

Paul Pogba Juventus Predator Instinct edited

Is it just me or is the Predator Instinct being taken up very, very well by the professionals? We saw Pogba bossing it for Juventus last season in the Nike CTR360 Maestri III (and reluctantly wanting to switch from the ‘Reflective Pack’ CTR360 might we add), but the up and coming Frenchman has made the switch to the Predator Instinct during Juventus’ pre-season games. Pogba put away a classy volley against the A-League All Stars in the Predator (and celebrating that goal as cool as Mario Balotelli would), so it seems Pogba is getting pretty comfortable in his boots for the new season.

Joel Robles (Everton) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX (Custom)

Joel Robles Everton custom Vapor IX edited

We say it every few weeks: oh how we would love it if Nike released a whiteout version of their boots on a regular basis. Sure, we saw the Nike ‘Reflective Pack’ last season, but it seems those boots were not quite enough for Joel Robles. The Everton shot-stopper has hit up NikeiD to customise his own pair of Nike Vapor IXs, adding the reflective pattern on the heel of his Vapor IXs. An awesome, awesome boot customisation from our point of view!

Simone Pepe (Juventus) – adidas Nitrocharge 1.0

Simone Pepe Juventus Nitrocharge edited

Okay, we know that our boot spotting this week is a bit heavy on the Juventus side, but those Juventus boys wore some mighty impressive boots this week! While we are not expecting a proper release for another week or so, Simone Pepe has managed to get his hands on the next generation Nitrocharge 1.0 in the Black/Metallic Silver/Neon Orange colourway. We broke down what to expect with the new Nitrocharge a few weeks ago, but it is one release we certainly cannot wait for at SoccerPro HQ!

 

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