Creative Soccer Culture

Global Boot Spotting

On a weekend where the first silverware of the English season was lifted we've looked back on the past seven days to pick out our selection of the players wearing the latest, custom and most throwback football boots.

Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens) Nike Mercurial Vapor IX

Nike dropped the Mercurial Fast Forward collection in the build up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Four colourways landed on the Mercurial Vapor IX, each paying tribute to previous iconic Mercurial designs. The pair worn here by Masoud Shojaei were inspired by Ronaldo's MVIII from 2006.

Vincent Kompany (Man City) adidas ACE 16.1

Vincent Kompany's heroics saw Manchester City ease to their first trophy of the season by brushing aside Arsenal 3-0 at Wembley. Kompany was on the scoresheet wearing the adidas ACE 16.1 leather edition – a boot that he's stayed in since it was discontinued in favour of the Predator series.

Alfie Mawson (Swansea) adidas X 17.1

Swansea centre-back Alfie Mawson has created his own laceless version of the adidas X boot by simply removivg the laces. The one-piece construction used to make many boots right now means that players can just slip them on – especially those players with wider feet. We've recently seen Marco Reus do the same with his PUMA Future boots.

Kamaleddin Kamyabinia (Persepolis) Nike Mercurial Vapor XI

There was bespoke creativity on show in the AFC Champions League this week as Kamaleddin Kamyabinia was wearing his customised Nike Mercurial Vapor XI design. The Persepolis man has matched up his home colours with a smart red and white colourway.

Haris Vuckic (FC Twente) adidas COPA 18.1

The COPA 18.1 hasn't been supplied to adidas professionals as an on-pitch option. The Three Stripes have pushed the Predator, Nemeziz and X on the pro scene, but the leather COPA will always have a strong demand. Haris Vuckic proving that the iconic silo isn't just for veteran Sunday League players. Far from it, these days.

Raymone Amenan (Ivory Coast) PUMA evoSPEED 1.3

Raymone Amenan took things back to 2015 this week as the Ivory Coast international wore the PUMA evoSPEED 1.3 "Dragon" edition. The design was inspired by the Japanese dragon and added more fire to the PUMA Graphic series.

Sara Yuceil (PSV Eindhoven) Nike Mercurial Vapor XI

The most customised boot in the professional game has to be the Mercurial. Hundreds of players have taken to Nike iD to put their own spin on the speed silo – some players go for smart colourways to match their home kits, or some go for the almighty bold vibe, like Sara Yuceil's red and yellow wrap.

Todd Cantwell (Fortuna Sittard) PUMA Future 18.1 NetFit

All of PUMA's leading Future 18.1 NetFit players are currently wearing the bright "Fizzy Yellow" launch colourway. But, before that was launched PUMA dropped a limited run of black and yellow designs to build hype around the new silo. Todd Cantrell snagged a pair to wear this weekend.

Adrian Mierzejewski (Sydney FC) Nike Tiempo Legend V

A member of the most infamous Nike Tech Craft Pack, the "Canvas/Volt" collection took a different direction from the usual all black Tech Craft series. This colourway worn by Adrian Mierzejewski dropped in November 2015 with a very mixed reaction.

Memphis Depay (Lyon) Under Armour Spotlight Pro

Memphis Depay switched into a camo edition of the Under Armour Spotlight Pro on Sunday for Lyon's 1-1 derby draw with Saint Etienne. The Dutchman has recently been wearing the yellow edition but switched things up for the big clash.

Author
joe.andrews

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