As we enter the month in which the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A join the Bundesliga in a return to action, there’s no shortage of new releases, custom creations, special editions and throwback classics on display. It’s Monday, it’s Boot Spotting, let’s go…
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) Nike Mercurial Superfly VII
Jadon Sancho scored his first senior career hat-trick on the weekend as Borussia Dortmund hammered bottom of the table Paderborn 6-1, and he did so in the newly released Mercurial Superfly VII from Nike's 'Neighbourhood Pack'.
Mateu Morey (Borussia Dortmund) Nike Phantom VSN II
Sticking with Dortmund, and Mateu Morey came on during the game in the Nike Phantom VSN II from the 'Neighbourhood Pack'. The design of the pack sees zip codes that highlight key neighbourhood football hotbeds in Europe and South America embedded within.
Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach) Nike Phantom VNM
High-flying Borussia Mönchengladbach overcame Union Berlin 4-1 on the weekend, and attacking midfielder Lars Stindl played his part in the Phantom VNM, wrapped in the ”Metallic Bomber Grey, Black and Red” look of the 'Neighbourhood Pack'.
Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) Nike Tiempo Legend VIII
Jerome Boateng completes the 'Neighbourhood Pack' line up, wearing the Nike Tiempo Legend VIII in Bayern's training session prior to their game, showing off that lightning Swoosh – a disjointed take on the standard Nike logo, modernising it with a more aggressive aesthetic – that's debuted across the pack.
Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich) adidas X 19.1
Bayern Munich continued their almost inevitable march towards the Bundesliga title with a 5-0 win over Dusseldorf, and Benjamin Pavard contributed the second goal in the romp in the adidas X 19+ from the recently released 'Uniforia Pack'.
Miralem Pjanić (Juventus) adidas Predator Mutator 20+
We've already had a glimpse of the COPA and Nemeziz from the 'Uniforia Pack' on the feet of the pros over the last few weeks, and now that the pack has launched officially, we complete the set with the Predator 20+ on the feet of Juve's Miralem Pjanić. Juve are stepping up their training with Serie A set to resume on 20 June, and the 'Uniforia Pack' will be on full display across Europe for football's return.
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) adidas Predator Accelerator
Arsenal's Mesut Ozil is always a fan of a throwback, a fact he showed off when he laced up in the Copa Mundial when training resumed recently. This week saw him return to his favoured Predator though, as the German laced up in the rerelease of the 'Electricity' Accelerator from 2018.
Rob Holding (Arsenal) Nike CTR Maestri II
Arsenal's training ground was one of the places to be this week for boot spotting, as players looked to show off some throwback flavour for the return to training. Rob Holding opted for the Nike CTR Maestri II in that "Challenge Red/White colourway" from 2010.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal) Nike CTR360 Maestri III
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been enjoying mixing bis throwback flavour up over the last fortnight, and this week he took things back to 2012 by lacing up in the third generation Nike CTR360 Maestri football boots. The CTR is arguably the most popular Nike control boot of all time, but it was replaced by the Magista in 2014.
Ruben Neves (Wolves) Nike Tiempo Legend VIII
Heading across country to another team that are gearing up for the return of the Premier League, and Wolves' Ruben Neves turned up in the Nike Tiempo Legend VIII "Dazzle Camo" edition. It features the word "Tiempo" distorted across the entire boot, and there were only 888 released. That was for the 8th generation boot, released on the 8th day of the 8th month. Tidy.
Adama Traore (Wolves) Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII
Adama Traore showed off his new Mercurial Vapors this week, customised by the Nike by You service. The design combined a purple base with turquoise accents, finished off with some personalised writing on the underside graphic that reads "Beast 37". Apt.
Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolves) Unreleased Nike Blackout Boot
Completing another Premier League hat-trick, and Morgan Gibbs-White became the latest player to show off the mystery blackout Nike boot that we've seen players testing out, first prior to lockdown, and now in greater numbers, leading to speculation that we're likely to see whatever this boot is sooner rather than later...
Declan Rice (West Ham) adidas adipower Predator
West Ham's midfield enforcer, Declan Rice fancied a jaunt back to 2012, pulling on the adidas adipower Predator. Rice has been known to enjoy the odd throwback, having been seen previously in the Nitrocharge 1.0 from 2013. At the time of release, the adipower Predator's were the lightest versions of the iconic silo ever.
Calogero Rizzuto (FC Erzgebirge Aue) Nike Mercurial Vapor X CR
Paying homage to the great man, FC Erzgebirge Aue's Calogero Rizzuto played in his side's 3-0 loss to Heidenheim 1846 in the "Metallic Silver" Nike Mercurial Vapor X CR from 2015.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Nike Mercurial Superfly VII
Speaking of the great man, Ronaldo trained in the Nike Mercurial Superfly VII "Dream Speed 2" this week. Nothing unusual there, right? Well actually, a closer look reveals an interesting detail on the underside; CR7 has opted for some special studs from French brand SMARTPOWER. These studs are not circular, as you'd normally expect, and are designed to offer more acceleration, lateral stability, thrust and unparalleled comfort. 'Coz he needs more of an advantage...
