The pre-season is definitely in full swing now! With the majority of the big clubs on pre-season tours around the world, it means that everyone is pulling out their new boots for the upcoming season. And that only means one thing to us: boot spots! We have had everything this week in the world of boot spots, from customised boots to retro boots and a few boot switches, and The Instep is where to go to get the best lowdown on this week’s biggest boot spots. Take a look at the boot spottings that will have the boot world talking this week…

Robin Van Persie (Manchester United) – adidas F50 adiZero TRX (Custom)

Robin Van Persie Manchester United F50 adiZero custom edited

It was arguably the biggest talking point in the boot spotting world last season, but it seems that we may have reached a conclusion to the Robin Van Persie saga. The Dutchman has been seen in the pre-season wearing F50 adiZeros (a boot he actually wore a handful of times last season), and he brought out the Infared/Running White/Black adiZero for his first game in United colours when they took on the A-League All-Stars. Van Persie’s adiZeros actually have a customised outsole. The soleplate has been borrowed from the Predator adiPower, but the single triangular stud in the middle has been left behind. Van Persie is actually the first player I have seen wearing the third generation adiZero with a customised soleplate, which makes this boot spotting all the more interesting.

John Terry (Chelsea) – Nike Tiempo Legend IV

John Terry Chelsea Tiempo Legend IV edited

The pre-season is that little bit more exciting with all of the stars wearing their boots for the new season, and John Terry has finally made a switch from his trustworthy Umbro Speciali III Pro which he has been wearing since the 2011/2012 season. The defender flirted with the T90 Laser range last season, but he has decided to stick with the Tiempo for the new season. In retrospect, it does not come as much of a surprise. When Terry lost his Umbro contract last season, he kept on sticking with the K-Leather Speciali, and the Tiempo is a very similar boot to the Speciali, hence why it does make sense that he has chosen the Tiempo.

Joe Hart (Manchester City) – Umbro Speciali IV Pro

Joe Hart Manchester City Speciali Pro IV edited

Umbro endorsers are dropping like flies these days, especially since Nike sold the Umbro brand to the Iconix Brands group. Joe Hart and Andy Carroll are arguably the only ones left for Umbro, and the Manchester City keeper has been seen in the new Black/Lava Pink Speciali IV Pro. Umbro has rolled out a universal black and lava pink colourway onto their three boots for the start of the season, but it will be interesting to see if anyone will be seen in their new GeoFLARE boot, considering the lack of Umbro wearers these days.

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) – Nike Tiempo Legend IV

Branislav Ivanovic Chelsea Tiempo Legend IV edited

It looks like the Nike Tiempo Legend IV will be the dominant boot in the Chelsea back four come the start of the season. Ex-T90 Laser IV endorser Branislav Ivanovic joins John Terry in being the latest in the Nike Tiempo Legend IV, meaning Terry, Ivanovic and Ashley Cole will be flying the flag for the Tiempo range at Chelsea next season. Ivanovic, like Terry, was also spotted in the odd training session wearing the Tiempo last season, but he wore the T90 Laser IV from the ‘Clash’ collection when playing for Chelsea.

Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) – adidas F50 adiZero (Custom)

Lukas Podolski Arsenal F50 adiZero custom edited

While nearly every F50 adiZero endorser has been seen in the new Infared/Running White/Black colourway, Lukas Podolski has gone down a different path. The striker has been seen in a custom whiteout version of the F50 adiZero during Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia, despite been seen in the infared colourway whilst playing for Germany just after the end of the season. His boots differ slightly to the whiteout colourway that was formally released to the general public, with Podolski’s boots have a red detailing on the three stripes that does not appear on the normal version of the boot.

Abdoulaye Faye (Hull City) – Nike Mercurial Superfly III

Abdoulaye Faye Hull City Superfly II edited

There is nothing quite like a throwback retro boot spot, and we love taking a look at the Superfly hitting the pitch again! The Superfly series was put on ice by Nike in 2012 (but there is a rumour going around that Nike may be bringing the Superfly back soon), and Abdoulaye Faye has been seen in the second colour way of the popular CR7 series that divided the masses when the boot was originally released simply because of the bold nature of the boot. Nike will release another CR7 Mercurial in October this year, and the ideal behind the next CR7 Vapor is certainly unique to say the least!

Francesco Totti (Roma) – Nike Tiempo Legend IV (Custom)

Francesco Totti Roma custom Tiempo IV edited

Francesco Totti in a pair of blackout leather boots is hardly news within itself, but it seems that the old gentleman of Roma has in fact updated his footwear, and it does appear that Totti is not wearing your stock standard pair of boots. For the first time, we have noticed that Totti’s boots (which have been blacked out in a very amateur fashion might I add) have the orange piping that appears on the launch colourway of the Tiempo Legend IV. The leather stitching is similar to the stitching on the Tiempo, but Totti’s boots have been customised with a fold-over leather tongue and a different stud configuration. It looks like a cross-over of the Tiempo IV and the old Tiempo 94 with the fold-over tongue, but they are certainly different to the boots Totti was wearing last season.

Nattaporn (Singha XI) – Unknown

Nattaporn Singha Thailand unknown edited

There are quite a few boot companies that produce boots purely for the Asian market, and it seems Nattaporn (okay, I will admit, I may have giggled a little when I saw his name) is wearing one of those very boots. His boots certainly stand out on the pitch, but we have no idea when it comes to what his boots actually are. They seem to feature a synthetic upper, but do you know what the boots are called?

Nick Blackman (Reading) – Nike HyperVenom Phantom (Custom)

Nick Blackman Reading custom HyperVenom edited

We love it when footballers go out of their way so they can call their football boots their own, and Reading’s Nick Blackman has certainly done just that with his unique pair of HyperVenom Phantoms. Blackman posted a photo of his unique HyperVenoms on his Instagram page (which is where we got our snap of the boots), but the photo was mysteriously pulled down a few hours later. We are guessing Blackman grabbed the all white HyperVenom from NikeiD, and then he did his paint job from there. We hope that Blackman brings the boots out for Reading in the Championship next season, because his boots certainly look terrific!

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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