Have we hit a slight down period in the boot world? Sadly, after a massive 2-3 months of releases, the boot world has hit a slight lull. All of the manufacturers are happy with the wares they have released into the world, but will this be a prolonged lull? Of course not! Especially coming into a World Cup! So while we wait for the companies to ramp up the production line once more, we can always count on a decent array of boot spots to please ourselves on a Monday! In the true Instep tradition, our boot spotting is the first to hit the web every Monday, but what caught our eye this week? Check it out now.

Craig Bellamy (Cardiff) – Warrior Sports Superheat

Craig Bellamy Cardiff Warrior Sports Superheat edited

We have not seen too much of you lately Mr. Bellamy, yet it seems you make a return in a brand new pair of boots! The Warrior Sports Superheat makes a rare appearance, and it’s first appearance in the Premier League for that matter. Warrior’s attempt to break into the speed boot market has perhaps not run as smoothly as the prior releases of the Skreamer and Gambler boots, but there is no doubt that the Superheat catches the eye out on the pitch!

Kevin Prince Boateng (FC Schalke) – Nike Hypervenom Phantom

Kevin Prince Boateng Schalke Hypervenom edited

First it was Robert Lewandowski, then it was Barcelona’s Corelias last week, now it is Kevin Prince Boateng who has somehow got their hands on the unreleased Black/Blue/Yellow Nike Hypervenom Phantom. It seems certain markets have released this colourway earlier than others, and it is not the first time we have seen it happen. Remember when there were some pros in England and Australia wearing the Black/Blue/Pink CTR360 Maestri before they were formally released? It seems we are looking at a similar situation this time around.

Andy Carroll (West Ham) – Umbro Speciali IV

Andy Carroll West Ham Speciali 4 edited

With Umbro now owned by the Iconix Brand Group, the progress that the label made under Nike with their player signings are now sadly close to fully depleted. However, Joe Hart and West Ham striker Andy Carroll have remained loyal to Umbro, with Andy Carroll making a return from injury rocking the whiteout edition of the Speciali IV. There is still the odd player in Europe who still sports Umbro boots, but it has been quite a while since we have seen a new set of colourways from Umbro. We wonder if they have anything planned for the lead-in to the World Cup…

Callum Reilly (Birmingham) – adidas Predator LZ II

Callum Reilly Birmingham Predator LZ edited

After the release of the (ahem) outlandish colours released as a part of adidas’ Samba pack, adidas has been a little more on the mellow side with the releases we saw between Christmas and the New Year, with a few classy blackout and whiteout releases thrown into the market. One of those releases was the Black/Berry Predator LZ II, a boot that is a far cry from that bold green colourway that adidas first launched onto the market 8 months ago. Callum Reilly is the first we have seen in the new colourway, and I must say I don’t mind this blackout LZ with the pop of berry that makes the boot that little bit more interesting.

Jonathan Walters (Stoke City) – Nike Tiempo Legend V

Jonathan Walters Stoke Tiempo IV edited

At last, we finally have a player in the Premier League wearing a pair of boots from the Nike Reflective Pack! With all the players going after the boots from the Nike regular releases, Jonathan Walters has broken away from the rest and gone for the White/Blue Tiempo Legend V. It seems Jonathan Walters is a bit of a fan of jumping between boots, the Stoke midfielder has also been seen showing off the white Copa Mundial, the F50 adiZero and the Predator LZ all in the past month…

Mohammad Amin (Iran) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX (Custom)

Mohammad Amin Iran custom Vapor IX edited

I think you guys know us well enough by now. We always have to have at least one player wearing a customised pair of boots! It seems that the Mercurial Vapor IX is arguably the most popular customised boot, and you do have some awful customised boots, the vast majority end up looking very easy on the eye. It seems Mohammad Amin has certainly tried to go for a cool summer look with his NikeiD Mercurial Vapor IXs, even though, okay I will be the one who says it, it kinda reminds me of the Current Blue/Volt CTR360 Maestri III released just over 6 months ago…

Renee Rollason (Sydney FC) – adidas Copa Mundial

Renee Rollason Sydney FC white Copa edited

The white Copa Mundial was a limited edition release? It seems the professionals do not care, which kinda breaks my heart as someone who sadly missed out on the special white Copa Mundial. But there is no denying the class of the white Copa Mundial, and it is something that Renee Rollason seemingly could not quite resist herself. While the black or the white Copas are all about class, it seems adidas are ditching that ‘class’ tag with their next release of Copa Mundials…

Allan Marques Loureiro (Udinese) – Nike Hypervenom Phantom (Double)

Allan Marques Loureiro Udinese double HV edited

A boot spot where a player is wearing two different types of boots? Damn, that is a winner in our books! It seems Loureiro cannot quite decide which colourway he prefers, with the Udinese hit-man opting to wear both the Hi Vis and the new green Hypervenom. Granted, it could be a case of Loureiro having one broken boot and reaching for one of the boots as a temporary solution, or perhaps he is like Hernane who wanted to be a little different in wearing two different adiZeros, who knows!

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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