Shevchenko Reebok Football Boots

Andriy Shevchenko, the £30 million high profile signing by Chelsea, could be changing boot sponsors, yet again.

Shevchenko, who was wearing Japanese football boot brand Mizuno at the 2006 World Cup, has been seen wearing Reebok football boots at the Chelsea training camp in Los Angeles.

Ulkranian Shevchenko, had been involved in the development of the Lotto football boot, Zhero Gravity, before his switch to Mizuno. In April this year, Shevchenko was said to have signed a three and a half year contract with Mizuno, which would see him contracted with Mizuno until 2009.

Reebok, recently purchased by Adidas, look to be making waves in the football boot market, recently signing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry who wears Reebok football boots.

Nothing has been officially confirmed regarding Shevchenko’s football boots yet, but the tell tale signs seem to be there.

14th August Update: Reebok Football Boots - Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry has played his first game in Reebok football boots.

Thierry Henry flew back from a holiday in the USA, to take part in Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium. Henry, who scored in the game, was wearing a pair of Reebok football boots for the first time.

It was thought that he was under contract with Nike until August, when his new 9 million pound contract with Reebok ‘kicked in’. However, playing in his first game at the new Emirates Stadium, Henry was wearing a pair of all white, Reebok football boots.

You can view the Reebok Pro Rage - Football Boots here and order the Reebok Pro Rage football boots here.

Recent Video - Thierry Henry - Me and My Game

With football boot material becoming softer and softer, some may question the need to ‘break in’ their new football boots. However, following this guide, which will help the boots to become more comfortable and quicker.

Breaking In Your New Boots

Warning: It’s not a good idea to wear your brand new football boots in a competitive game.

1. Soak the boots in warm water. Do not use very hot water as this can melt the adhesives used on the football boot.

2. Wearing football socks, sit in the bath for twenty minutes with your boots tied as you would tie them in a game. This helps the boots to mould to your foot shape.

3. Next time you have football training, take your new football boots, along with an alternative football boot.

4. For a period no longer than twenty minutes, wear your football boots during training, ideally with the football boot upper dampened. Also, rub Vaseline on your foot, this willhelp prevent blisters.

5. Continue wearing your boots to training for progressively longer spells, until the football boots feel very comfortable.

6. Always stuff your football boots with old newspaper to help mould the boots and keep the shape. Alternatively, by a shoe stretcher from a shoe shop.

Following this guideline will help prevent injury and blisters, when introducing a new football boot.

Also see: Caring for your Football Boots and Caring For Synthetic Leather Football Boots

Synthetic leather football boots are becoming more and more popular. Nike have the Mercurial Vapor’s, Puma the V1.06 and Adidas +F50 TUNiT.

In fact, nearly all of the major football boot manufacturers now have a synthetic upper football boot, but how do you clean these boots which are not made from leather?

Follow the instructions from the first series, Caring for your Football Boots. However, you do not want to use any abrasive brush or cloth on the football boot upper.

Also, do not use any oil, Dubbin or nourishment on your synthetic leather football boots. Synthetic leather football boots can be damaged if you use a detergent or a polish.

With your football boots becoming a more and more expensive investment, it’s important to understand the best ways to look after your football boots and prolong their life.

The football boot is a footballers most important piece of equipment. Ensuring your equipment is in good working order, can only help improve your game.

Over the course of the next few days, I will be giving you a series of guides to help you care for your football boots.

Series 1 - The Basics

1. After playing, always loosen your laces to allow you to remove your boots without using excessive force.

2. Remove loose soil by brushing the football boots with a stiff brush. Do not use a wire brush, instead try and use a brush with a natural material.

3. Wipe the football boots with a damp cloth to remove smaller particles of soil. Do not use a cleaning agent to clean your football boots.

4. If the football boots have been used in wet conditions, you can use an old toothbrush to remove soil that has been trapped in small grooves.

5. Stuff the football boots with newspaper to maintain shape.

6. Allow the football boots to dry in a natural heat.

Warning: Drying the boots with heat can cause the football boots to become stiff and the adhesives can deteriorate. Stiff boots are far more likely to rip and are weak. Deteriorated adhesives can make joints weak, such as the join between the upper and the sole plate. Additionally, heat drying your football boots can cause your soleplate to warp.

7. Once dry, grease the studs. This will prevent rusting if the boots are screw-in, it will also help prevent soil from sticking to the studs.

8. If the boots are leather, they can be polished to retain their colour.

9. After allowing the polish to work in, typically 24 hours, the boot should be protected by a Dubbin or natural leather oil. Dubbin or oil, helps keep the football boot waterproof and the leather supple.

Warning: When cleaning football boots with synthetic material, do not use a Dubbin or oil.

10. If changing or cleaning studs, add a slight lubricant to the stud thread to prevent any rusting if moisture gets in. Ensure the stud is tight, but not too tight to damage the thread. (Too much lubricant will reduce the friction and prevent the stud from properly tightening).

Update: The new Nike Tiempo II is now launched, see the latest article- Nike Tiempo II

The Nike Air Legend football boot has been on the market for some time now (February 2005), but it continues to be one of Nike’s best sellers. It is also a firm favourite with several professional footballers.

Due to it’s longeivity on the market, the Nike Air Legend football boot is available in a variety of colourways, giving you a great selection to choose from

The Nike Air Legend, has a rare look. In today’s market, wear style and colour is all the craze, the Nike Air Legend manages to merge a classic, traditional look, with a modern feel.

Performance: The outersole features a fibreglass shank and toe for lightweight rigidity. This is a relativley light boot, offering good touch and control.

Comfort: This is where this boot really excels. Built with a kangaroo leather upper, which provides superb touch and softness. The folded mesh tongue provides ventilation, whilst the velcro ensures it’s not flapping. The visible Zoom Air in the innersole provides protected shock absorbtion.

Players: Joe Cole, Ronaldinho, and Cesc Fabregas wear the Nike Air Legend football boots.

Price: £80 - £90

Verdict: Well priced football boot, offers great comfort and classic style.

Germany’s striker Miroslav Klose finished top scorer at the World Cup 2006 with five goals. Klose followed in the footsteps of other German winners of the Golden boot award - Edmund Conen (1934) and Gerd Muller (1970).

The Werder Bremen striker, currently linked with Newcastle, scored five goals. This is the lowest number of goals in 44 years that wins the golden shoe award.

Klose has now scored 10 goals in World Cup finals, five behind Ronaldo, four behind Muller and one less than the German manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

Eight players each scored three goals at the finals.

They were: Hernan Crespo of Argentina, Fernando Torres of Spain, Thierry Henry of France, Maxi Rodriguez of Argentina, Lukas Podolski of Germany, Ronaldo of Brazil, David Villa of Spain and Zinedine Zidane of France.

View all the previous Golden Boot winners here.
Klose Football Boots

Klose wears Adidas football boots. He used the Adidas World Cup football boot at the World Cup.

The Adidas World Cup football boot has been a favourte of professionals for several years now. Traditional in looks, the Adidas World Cup football boot is now made from Kangaroo leather and weighs in at 240g.

Ever wondered how a football boot is made? How it is designed? What materials and why?

Richard Kuchinsky works for Hummel, he maintains a blog and provides a fantastic insight into the development cycle, with some great pictures and content.

What’s more, you can see some of the Hummel football boots that are due for future release.

Visit http://pullover.blogspot.com

Zizou’s Golden Football Boots Fire France to the Final

Zinedine Zidane, written off as too old for anything other than retirement a few weeks ago, is now a match away from being a World Cup winner, again.

Zizou, as Zidane is called by his team mates, has been gracing the World Cup in a pair of Adidas +Predator Absolutes football boots. What is unique about these football boots, is that they are completely gold in colour.

Zinedine Zidane’s gold football boots are not available to buy, although if France were to win the World Cup, I feel sure Adidas would bring out a commemorative boot in his honour.

You can read a review about the Adidas +Predator Absolutes here.

In a crowded market, led by huge companies with established brands, it can be a daunting task trying to make a mark. That’s the intention of Nomis, a football boot manufacturer who first released football boots for sale last year.

Based in Brisbane Australia with a UK base in Chester, Nomis was founded by Simon Skirrow. Skirrow is no stranger to football boots. He is a former Vice President of Adidas and co developed the Predator with Craig Johnston.

Nomis, the name is an acronym of Simon, have developed football boots that they claim use technology that protects players from injury, a topic that has featured highly on this blog (boots to blame).

The Nomis football boots feature an elevated heel with additional support. A ‘nomud’ feature, which claims to reduce the amount of dirt that sticks to the studs. Possibly the most popular features are the Wet/Dry Control systems. This Wet Control system creates more grip in the presence of water. Grip being a key ingredient required for top quality performance. The Dry Control System claims to give up to 16 times more grip in dry conditions!

Their football boots are all made of kangaroo and bovine leather. These leathers have been known to provide excellent comfort.

Nomis currently have 6 soft ground boots and 9 firm ground boots on the market. This list includes the Nomis Glove, Nomis Instinct and Nomis Flare. It also includes the Nomis Women’s Spark, football boots made especially for women (see images).

Look out for a review on the Nomis football boots, just as soon as I can get my hands on a pair.

The Golden Boot trophy is awarded to the football player scoring the most goals at the World Cup finals. The award is presented immediately after the Final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Here is a list of the previous winners of the trophy and the countries they represented;

1930 World Cup Venue Uruguay
- Guillermo Stábile (Argentina)

1934 World Cup Venue Italy
- Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia), Edmund Conen (Germany), Angelo Schiavio (Italy)

1938 World Cup Venue France
- Leonidas (Brazil)

1950 World Cup Venue Brazil
- Ademir (Brazil)

1954 World Cup Venue Switzerland
- Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)

1958 World Cup Venue Sweden
- Juste Fontaine (France)

1962 World Cup Venue Chile
- Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Drazen Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Vavá (Brazil), Garrincha (Brazil)

1966 World Cup Venue England
- Eusebio (Portugal)

1970 World Cup Venue Mexico
- Gerd Müller (Germany)

1974 World Cup Venue Germany
- Grzegorz Lato (Poland)

1978 World Cup Venue Argentina
-Mario Kempes (Argentina)

1982 World Cup Venue Spain
- Paolo Rossi (Italy)

1986 World Cup Venue Mexico
- Gary Lineker (England)

1990 World Cup Venue Italy
- Salvatore Schillacim(Italy)

1994 World Cup Venue USA
- Hristo Stoitchkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia)

1998 World Cup Venue France
- Davor Suker (Croatia)

2002 World Cup Venue Korea / Japan
- Ronaldo (Brazil)

Update:

2006 World Cup Venue Germany

- Klose (Germany)