Ladies and gentlemen, it is officially ‘squeaky bum time’. Some teams are looking to be champions, some settling for Champions League spots, others running away from the fear of relegation, it is certainly the most tense time of the season. Sadly, it might mean the season is nearly over, but we still have the boot spotting to see us through to the rest of the season! We never go for ordinary, predictable boot spots, and this week hammers home that fact. From boot switches to custom boots, check out the most interesting boot spots from the world of football this week!
Andy Carroll (West Ham) – Umbro Speciali IV
Andy Carroll seems like a bloke who always goes for white boots over black boots, especially with his history of boots this season. But the West Ham hit man has perhaps had a change of heart when it comes to his preferred boot colours, with Carroll switching to the recently released Black/Orange Speciali IV. We feel that when it comes to the Speciali, Umbro love to ensure the boot still has a heritage feel about it, and we love the traditional, and maybe borderline old school, vibe from the boot.
Cesc Febregas (Barcelona) – Puma evoPOWER 1 Camo
Remember the awesome evoPOWER teaser campaign that was run by the good people over at Puma? The Camo and Balotelli special ‘Stampa’ instantly caught the attention of the boot world, and it certainly generated the positive hype Puma were surely looking for. Strangely, Cesc Fabregas has made the move back to the Camo evoPOWER, despite sticking with the Fluro Peach/Ombre Blue/Fluro Yellow launch colourway for several weeks. Fabregas might have been looking for something a little different, considering the very high number of players who have been going for the headline evoPOWER colourway.
Mark Bridge (Western Sydney Wanderers) – Nike Hypervenom Phantom
Australia is always a place where we see a few boots on the pitch which are different from the rest of the world. Remember the players that hit the pitch in droves wearing the Reflective Pack? Well, it seems Mark Bridge is going against the wave of players opting for the Vibrant Yellow/Black/Volt Hypervenom by going for the Black/Lime/White/Silver colourway. The lead Hypervenom colourways have been a bit on the bright side of life, with Nike always making an effort to make sure their boots stand out on the pitch. But there is something about the contrast of black and white that we are loving with the new Hypervenom that we just cannot get enough of!
Luca Toni (Hellas Verona) – Lotto Stadio Potenza Luca Toni 10+
We love our loyal footballers who stick with just one club. Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (just kidding), but very rarely do you see players sticking to just one brand of football boot from the day dot. Luca Toni is one of those rare players, having worn Lotto boots for an outstanding 10 years. So to commemorate the achievements of the man, Lotto have crafted the limited edition Lotto Stadio Potenza Luca Toni 10+, restricted to just 500 pairs. It may look like your normal Stadio Potenza, but with a gloss finish and Luca Toni’s name on the heels of the boots, it is a nice little touch to the prolific striker.
Mahmoud Dahoud (Germany U18) – adidas Predator adiPower DB
To be honest, we feel the adiPower was arguably the very last adidas Predator that had the traditional Predator feel about it, and that is because of the PowerPulse technology built into the outsole of the boot. So it is handy that Mahmoud Dahoud has given us a nice little flash back to one of our favourite Predators of all time, but he has done it in the special gold Predator adiPower made for the very special David Beckham. The DB adiPower has one big difference between that and the regular adiPower, that being the DB adiPower being made from a synthetic upper as opposed to the Taurus leather found on the normal adiPower.
Leandro Damiao (Santos) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX
While the Nike Magista has arguably had the longest teaser period ever to build up hype for the boot, the Nike Tropical pack of Mercurials was quickly pushed into the limelight rather quickly. So much so that no contracted Nike players have been seen in the boot, meaning spots of the boot are restricted to players with pockets deep enough to get the boot. Leandro Damiao has given us a rare sighting of the boot, opting to go for the Black/White/Flash Green colourway. We were not too sure about what to think of the boot when it was first released, but we think the pack is starting to grow on us!
Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – Puma evoSPEED 1.2
He promoted the Puma evoPOWER at it’s huge launch event a few months ago, he wore the Puma King at the tail-end of the MLS 2013 season, yet he starts this MLS season in the Puma evoSPEED 1.2. Thierry Henry is definitely trying out all his options when it comes to his boots of choice, and we expected to see the Frenchman make the move to the Puma evoPOWER, considering Puma normally like to keep all their eggs in one basket when it comes to stars wearing their boots.
Theo Farley (Wycombe Wanderers) – Nike Tiempo Legend IV (Custom)
We never discriminate here at the Instep. We do not care if you are a player, referee, coach, if you have nice boots, we will show it off! We have to love the little custom job Wycombe Wanderers physio has done to his Nike Tiempo Legend IVs, giving his White/Blue/Yellow Nike Tiempo IV the blackout treatment. It looks like Farley has had his boots done by a pro, and we love the pops of colour provided by the blue laces and the yellow tongue. Classy, classy job all round!
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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