Here we go again! It is Monday, and that means we kick off our week with the traditional round of boot spots courtesy of your mates at The Instep. There were some big boot spots this week, a few sneaky prototype boots have been doing the rounds, while there were some sweet boots that made their way onto football pitches around the world this week. Check it all out below.

Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – Nike Mercurial Vapor X (Custom)

Eden Hazard Chelsea custom Vapor X edited

We have always found it strange that so many Nike players have opted for the Vapor X over the Superfly IV, and Eden Hazard is one of those players who has stuck by the Vapor X for the past 12 months or so. However, we noticed this week that Hazard’s Vapor Xs are not quite what they seem out to be. His boots feature the same carbon fibre outsole from the Superfly IV instead of the usual nylon sole plate. It does tend to lead us to thinking that Hazard’s main beef with the Superfly IV could be one of the Dynamic Fit Collar or the Flyknit upper, and it could be that many pros share the same sentiment as Hazard given the large exodus to the Vapor X.

Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – adidas Prototype

Mesut Ozil Arsenal blackout adidas edited

There are changes ahead for adidas, and calling it a change is probably understating the whole thing. With rumours circulating that adidas are putting everything in place to trash all four of their boots and start again with a clean slate, it’s a crucial year ahead for the three stripes. Ozil is amongst a number of players seen testing blackout prototype boots this week, and we can make out a few plastic overlays on the upper of Ozil’s boots that may provide extra grip on the ball. Time will tell whether adidas’ big gamble will pay off, but hey it is something to be excited about if you’re a boot fan!

Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough) – Puma evoSPEED 1.3 F947

Albert Adomah Middlesborough PUMA EVOSPEED 13 F947 edited

Credit to Albert Adomah, the man definitely follows his trends. Either that or he’s a massive evoSPEED fan. Actually, scratch that, it may be more like the bloke is a massive Ferrari fan. The Middlesbrough winger has stuck by with Puma’s last Ferrari-inspired release for a number of years (the V1.815 released back in 2009), but in the week Puma brought a little bit of that Italian stallion back to their football boots, Adomah has been snapped up in those very boots. There is only 947 pairs of Adomah’s boots available, so we have a feeling he may have stocked up on them so he can continually bring them out over the next few seasons.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Inter Milan) – adidas Gloro

Zdravko Kuzmanovic Inter adidas Gloro edited

Sure, the adidas Copa Mundial will forever be a classic, but it feels like adidas are trying to nudge it out of the limelight a little bit with the adidas Gloro. We always thought players would opt for the old-school Copa over the Gloro, but we were proved wrong by Kuzmanovic who has picked the new Gloro as his boots of choice. Making the switch from the Tiempo to the Gloro, it is surprising to see a professional footballer going for a boot that can undoubtedly be seen on the ‘value’ end of the boot spectrum.

Darwin Ceren (Orlando City) – adidas F50 adiZero Crazylight

Darwin Ceren Orlando Pirates F50 CL edited

Kaka is not the only Orlando City player wearing an interesting pair of adidas boots. Darwin Ceren has gone for one of the most lightweight options available on the market in the form of the F50 adiZero Crazylight, the boot that somehow shaved 20% off the weight of the regular F50 adiZero. It is always good to see players go for a boot that is not perhaps the most orthodox boot release, kind of like our next boot spot…

Maksim Kanunnikov (Rubin Kazan) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX

Maksim Kanunnikov Rubin Kazan Tropical Vapor IX edited

It is normally a Puma or adidas thing to release boots that are not really well represented amongst the professional ranks, but Nike were guilty of dipping their toe into that category in releasing the Tropical Pack Vapor IX. Made up of three colourways inspired by the rainforests of Brazil, the boots were rarely seen amongst the professional scenes. Maksim Kanunnikov has given the boots a mini revival though, bringing out my personal favourite colourway of the pack in the blue version of the Tropical Vapor IX.

Bersant Celina (Manchester City U21) – adidas F50 adiZero TRX

Bersant Celina Manchester City U21 diff F50 edited

So when was the last time we saw someone go with two different boots at one time? I thought that stopped being cool a little while ago? Anyway, Bersant Celina has had a go at the craze that was made mainstream by Benoit Assou-Ekotto a few years back. The Manchester City youngster has gone for the last generation F50 adiZero with, of all boots, the F50 adiZero Prime released way back in 2011. It shows how far the F50 has come, especially if Celina wore the Prime with the current generation F50. Hard to believe the Prime was out 4 years ago, that was the first ever pair of boots I got in this writing gig…

Lior Refaelov (Club Brugge) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX (Custom)

Lior Refaelov Club Brugge custom Vapor X edited

Thought Paul Pogba would be one of the only blokes in Europe to have the nerve to wear a gold pair of boots at the moment? Yeah, Lior Refaelov does not think so. The Club Brugge attacking midfielder has hit up NikeiD to create his flashy gold Mercurial Vapor IXs, and they actually do not look half bad if you ask us. As bold as they are, if they look good, we really do not mind…

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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