Top 10 Bling Football Boot Players

The Footy Boots Top Ten Bling list shows the players who like their football boots to be like their cars, watches and women: flashy, shiney and bling-tastic!

Who wears his Bling like a badge of honour and who was the original godfather of Bling? Only our list can tell you whose boots exude decadence and wealth - so let the Bling Begin!

10. Lee Dixon - What the Bling Was That?
Arsenal defender Dixon picked up a handsome fee for wearing Brook’s football boots (technically known as “wellingtons”), but in his first game wearing them, scored an own goal of exceptional quality as he lobbed his back pass over keeper Seaman from 30 yards out. We hope the Bling was worth it. Dixon proves that sometimes players put da bling-bling before everything!

9. Lionel Messi - The Next Big Bling
Widely touted as the next Maradona, Messi plays for Barcelona but Inter Milan have rumoured to have offered £71 million for a transfer, which could see his Bling level rise to the Bling of the World!

8. Stan Bowles - Lord of the Blings
The maverick player of the seventies, cheekily tried to secure twice the sponsorship money by wearing one Gola football boot and one Adidas football boot for an England game against Holland in 1978. The England star enjoyed a rock star lifestyle, blowing upwards of a quarter of a millions pounds on gambling yet still remains in the public eye as a football pundit and bling-tastic role model.

7. Alan Ball - Vintage Bling
Sixties player who was the first player to wear white football boots at the beginning of the 1970/71 season. They were made by Hummel, but Ball didn’t like them!”To be honest lads they were crap, like cardboard, so I got the young apprentices to paint my Adidas football boots white. It was great, till one day it rained and the black came through. A not too happy watching Hummel rep saw what I’d done so I said goodbye to the two grand.”

6. Frank Lampard - Bling Kong!
Wears personalised Adidas Predator boots with his name and team number stitched into them. Unconfirmed reports claim this is so Lampard knows which football boots belongs to him. We can confirm that stories that Lampard also has an “L” and an “R” stitched into his football boots are definitely, absolutely, positively untrue as Frank has known his right from left for several months now.

5. Djibril Cissé - A Bling of Many Colours
Mis-firing striker Cisse when playing for Liverpool, once came out in odd coloured boots. He changed after half time into a matching pair but into lime green football boots. Known to change his hair colour as easily as his football boot colour. Backs up the on the field bling with his H2 Hummer with Louis Vuitton interior.

4. Francesco Totti - Signor Bling
After the World Cup finals, Diadora produced the Maximus Italia Gold Special Limited Edition football boot, an all-gold football boot for the World Cup Winner which when worn, needs to be viewed behind sunglasses to avoid the excessive glare and shine.

3. George Best - Godfather of Bling
Best was the greatest player of his generation and as the first football millionaire, set the standard for the modern players in many ways. The Stylo ‘George Best’ football boot looked like a pair of bowling shoes, with a white stripe from top to toe on each side. His champagne lifestyle and love of the Bling eventually took over from the football, cutting his career short.

2. Ronaldinho - Prince of Bling
Ronaldinho had two special pairs of football boots containing eight ounces of 24-carat gold with real 24-carat gold applied to the Nike logo. The football boots feature a gold embroidered letter “R” and number 10, the shirt Ronaldinho wears for Barcelona, while the heel of the football boot is embossed with five gold stars in honour of Brazil’s five FIFA World Cup wins.

1. David Beckham - King of Bling
They cost him around £600 per pair and he wears a new pair every game. Adidas have made only 723 pairs and only in his size. He has even had feng shui symbols sewn into his football boots in a bid to improve his football performance.

The design which he helped with, is strongly based on David’s interest in Eastern mystic culture, saying “I’m very proud to wear these football boots because they represent the idea of yin and yang.”

They are personalised with stitching of the names of his three children, his initials, his favoured number 23 and Beckham’s printed signature for the ultimate Bling factor.

Beckham put the Bling-Bling into football boots as no one has done before and he reigns supreme as the King of Bling.

All Hail the King of Bling: David Beckham.

Can you add to our Top 10 list? Or have you pimped your football boots? Add a comment below, or send your pictures to bling@footy-boots.com.

Zinedine Zidane wears Adidas Predator Absolute Power and remains tightlipped

The football boots were not golden as we had hoped, but French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane played in red Adidas Predator Absolute Power football boots, and showed his golden touch was still there for all to see. In an event promoting the Adidas Predator versus Tunit campaign, Zidane thrilled a crowd of 20,000 fans in Chiang Mai, Thailand, displaying his magnetic ball control, slalom runs, drag-backs, stepovers and his famous Zidane Roulette. View image.

Zidane refused to answer questions about coming out of retirement to join David Beckham in the United States. “I’ve found a new world after retirement,” Zidane said at a news conference. “I’m very excited to experience new things such as playing in this match.”

Zidane can be seen next on 19th March at the Stade du Vélodrome in Marseille, France, alongside Ronaldo each captaining an international team - including Chelsea’s Didier Drogba - in a friendly in aid of the United Nations Development Programme. Nike and Adidas will be providing the sports equipment for the teams. With Zidane turning to the Adidas Predator Absolute Power football boot, was the World Cup the last ever showing of the breathtaking, all-gold Adidas Predator?

Didier Drogba grabs two goals as Chelsea win the Carling Cup

Chelsea hitman Didier Drogba proved to be the difference between the two teams as his clinical and exquisite finishing helped Chelsea to overcome Arsenal’s youngsters at the Millenium Stadium. The final was an action packed affair with 3 red cards, 7 yellows, John Terry unconscious and a mass brawl!

Drogba Boots

Arsenal were the better team for much of the match, with the midfield making their Chelsea counterparts chase shadows for much of the game. 17 year old Theo Walcott grabbed his first goal for Arsenal coolly bending the ball past Petr Cech on 12 minutes from a pass from Abou Diaby. But Chelsea regrouped and after only 8 minutes Michael Ballack’s chipped pass put Didier Drogba through with the striker slotting the ball between Manuel Alumnia’s legs for the equaliser.

The second half started with a horrific incident as John Terry was caught in the head by the football boot of Abou Diaby and left unconscious on the pitch for five minutes. Eventually, Ballack and Lampard, who had been made to look horribly pedestrian by the likes of Denilson, Diaby and Fabregas, started to punish Arsenal’s tired youngsters. Ultimately it was Drogba who rose to the occasion, heading Robben’s left-wing cross firmly past Almunia for the deciding goal. The game ended explosively as 22 players and both managers were involved in a brawl that lead to Mikel John Obi, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor all red carded with Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas being booked.

Didier Drogba Football Boots
Didier Drogba is at the peak of his game and takes his goal tally for the season to 28. Drogba wears the Nike Mercurial Vapor III football boot.

Read more about the Nike Mercurial Vapor III

The Carling Cup is being held this Sunday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

This Sunday’s Carling Cup is the first major trophy of the season and the first time two London teams have met in the final. Chelsea, travel without injured skipper John Terry - but are still seen as favourites as experience and quality should see them get the better of a young Arsenal side.

Arsenal’s kids have proved their credentials in the run up to the final, beating Liverpool, Everton and Spurs. Chelsea had an easier route beating Aston Villa, Newcastle and Wycombe but have suffered with injuries which will see an unfamiliar defence take the field on Sunday.

The game could see the return of injured Ashley Cole to face his former team mates, after having played in the reserves this week. Ashley has been cruelly dubbed “Cashley” and even “Greedy” (when with wife Tweedy) by Arsenal fans following his move across London, which still creates controversy on both sides of the terraces so we can expect high and hard tackles if he plays. Arsene Wenger will be sticking with the youngsters that have bought him to the final as a reward for their hard work and results, but who will win the battle of the kids versus the kings?

Our Verdict on the Match

The young lions from north London could well pull a shock result out of the bag, as they have the confidence of their manager and everything to gain from a roaring victory. But Chelsea have the superstar players to tame and shame the youngsters: in form Shevchecko will relish the chance to prove his worth on the biggest stage of the season so far, and a self-confident Chelsea could well see Arsenal’s young lions scampering back to North London, and Chelsea installed as the king of the concrete jungle.

Read more on the Carling Cup Final

Carling Cup Final - the build up to the Big Match

Arsenal’s stars lost 1-0 PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday and a good performance by the young gunners could be a jolt for the more experienced and established regulars of Arsenal’s top team whose age and recent lacklustre performances have seen them being questioned for the first time. Manager Arsene Wenger, ever the shrewd and calculating tactician, could even be using his faith and confidence in the youngsters as a smokescreen to protect his senior players from injuries in a game which is bound to be high on tension and tackles! Arsenal find themselves in the middle of another fixture pile up which sees them playing 2 games a week until the end of the season. The winning and qualification for the Champions League remains top priority above all else for Wenger and he is not scared to display this in his team selections, even in a game which would see a win guaranteeing European football next year, so expect to see Thierry Henry on the bench on Sunday!

Chelsea’s Build Up

Chelsea has been in the news this week after having announced losses of £80 million. On the pitch, they drew 1-1 with FC Porto in the Champions League. Injury news dominates Chelsea’s build up with inspirational captain John Terry out with an ankle injury forcing a defensive reshuffle which will see an untried lineup face Arsenal’s young attack. Welcome news for Chelsea sees keeper Peter Cech in goal and an in-form Andriy Shevchenko, who has finally found his scoring football boots having scored five goals in his last seven matches including the equaliser at Porto. A win for Chelsea will see them lift the trophy for the fourth time and for the second time in three seasons.

In all meetings between the two clubs Arsenal lead with 67 wins to 47 for Chelsea, with 50 drawn matches. Recent results point to a Chelsea win as the Blues are unbeaten in eight against the Gunners, but only after we know the teams would we dare to predict a score!.

Teams from:

Chelsea: Petr Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien, Wayne Bridge (or Ashley Cole); Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, John Obi Mikel (or Arjen Robben); Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Justin Hoyte, Kolo Toure, Philippe Senderos, Gael Clichy (or Armand Traore); Gilberto, Denilson, Abou Diaby, Francesc Fabregas; Jeremie Aliadiere, Emmanuel Adebayor (or Julio Baptista)

View the Carling Cup Final article.

Frank Lampard - his last chance to shine?

There has been lots of talk about Frank Lampard, and we have not weighed in with our opinion - until now. Sunday’s Carling Cup Final with Chelsea taking on Arsene Wenger’s kids, could be a turning point for Chelsea midfielder Lampard, who may be the King of the Bridge, but whenever he pulls on an England shirt, becomes more of a pauper feeding on the scraps left behind by Gerrard!

As he stands eye to eye with the young midfielders of Arsenal, Frank will be craving a good performance, as being shown up by the likes of Denilson, Theo Walcott or Jeremie Aliadiere could damage his reputation beyond Cardiff into even Steve McClaren’s clouded eyes. Lampard has become an untouchable fixture in the England team, as Beckham was under Swedish-stud Sven-Goran Eriksson, but as England’s qualification for Euro 2008 is in the balance, Lampard is not our choice to lead England to glory. Whilst at Chelsea he’s protected by Makelele and Essien, for England there is no such luxury and there would be no place for Frank in a pacey midfield consisting of Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves.

Lampard is said to be keen to teach Arsenal a Carling Cup Final lesson (Read more), let’s hope he’s not eating his words on Monday morning!.

Read more about Frank Lampard’s Football Boots

Puma V3.06 Football Boots by Alexander Gogin

The Puma V3.06 is a mid range football boot that shares its design and many performance features with the more expensive V1.06.

Despite a significant price difference of around 50GBP, the two models can be distinguished by the upper material and the use of a cheaper plastic material in v3.06’s sole plate instead of fibre glass.

Comfort: The football boot features a decent comfort and fit. It has an anatomically shaped heel counter, as well as a soft suede-like leather in the heel, ensuring a pleasant, blister-free experience.

The synthetic upper is also very supple and moulds quickly to every curve of a player’s foot. However, like with any other football boot, there are some comfort related issues, too. Due to designers’ aspiration to decrease the shoe’s weight, the insole was chosen to be made very thin, causing strong pressure from the studs on certain parts of the foot. This might become particularly uncomfortable when wearing the SG version of the football boot.

Performance: Weighing in at an astonishing 7.5 oz, the V3.06 is one of the lightest football boots on the market and has only been outrun by its “big brother”, the V1.06. A thin synthetic material with a very close fit not only provides an increased feel of the ball, but also, quite surprisingly, adds some power and swerve to the shot.

The upper absorbs very little water as well. However, despite all of these advantages, the football boot offers little protection against a hard tackle - the thin synthetic and light heel counter simply weren’t designed for a rough game. The same heel counter also offers little stability in sharp turns.

The V3.06 features an innovative side lacing system, which is not actually that impressive in reality: the football boot starts to feel loose about 15 minutes into a game and usually has to be re-tied about every 20-25 minutes. The insole, already mentioned above, is not fixed and often slips to the side.

Overall, Puma is facing a lot of work if they want the V-series to reach a good performance level.

Sizing: The football boot runs about half a size smaller in length and is quite snug throughout.

Price: From £40

Return of the man in the Golden Football Boots - Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane is back in action this weekend and the question we are all asking is will he be wearing his famous golden boots the Adidas Predator Gold? Zidane will be playing in a charity match in Chiang, Thailand along with star players from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The event is sponsored by Adidas Thailand.

The French striker will play for 20 minutes in the first half with one side, and then switch sides to play for 20 minutes in the second half for the opposing team in an event to raise funds for a local Aids charity.

Zidane and his Adidas Predator Gold were last seen at last year’s World Cup final in Germany. Recently rumours have seen Zidane being linked with a move to the US MLS league, in particular Chicago based Fire and New York’s Red Bulls, but nothing has been confirmed.

We’d love to see Zidane lace up his football boots again, just so we can see his magic footwork again and to remind the world that he was not just a player who head butted an opponent, but was at his peak the best player of his generation, whose footy boots were a joy to watch.

Read the Predator Absolute Overview

View Zinedine Zidane’s Gold Football Boots image.

Craig Bellamy swaps his golf shoes for football boots and tees up Liverpool for the next round of the Champions League.

Craig Bellamy silenced his critics with a goal and assist which helped Liverpool to a monumental 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League. It was Barcelona’s first home defeat in Europe since April 2003 and only their second loss in 20 matches in the competition in the last two seasons. By beating Barca, Liverpool became only the second English team to beat them at the Nou Camp in a game which was hailed as the battle of the champions.

Bellamy Boots

Bellamy had earlier this week been fined a reported £80,000 following his swing at fellow Nou Camp scorer John-Arne Riise at an Algarve golf course last week. But swapping his golf shoes for Nike Tiempo Ronaldinho’s proved a sensible choice, as Bellamy headed home for Liverpool from a Xabi Alonso taken free kick. Bellamy even celebrated the goal by practising his golf swing! Barcelona had gone ahead in the 14th minute after some trademark footwork by Ronaldinho released Gianluca Zambrotta on the left. Zambrotta darted forward sending in a cross for Deco to arrive unmarked and head inside the far post for the first goal of the match.

The tense second half provided a shock for the Barca fans as Bellamy’s sparring partner John Arne Riise smashed home a right-foot shot into the roof of the net for a Liverpool winner with 74 minutes of the game gone. Bellamy of course provided the pass for his new chum Riise to score which made the storyline complete.

Liverpool were worthy winners as Barcelona were a poor shadow of the side that were winners of the competition last season, and Liverpool will be highly confident of emerging through this incredibly tough tie to reach the Champions League quarter finals when they play the second leg on 6th March.

Bellamy rounded the night off by saying “I’m still gob-smacked.” - a feeling his team mate Riise knew only too well last week!

Craig Bellamy Football Boots

Wild man Craig Bellamy kept his Nike Mercurial Vapor III’s in the locker room and went to the field against Barcelona in Ronaldinho’s signature football boot, the Nike Tiempo Ronaldinho.

Order this football boot - buy now

The Mizuno Morelia Wave football boot. A professional football boot from Mizuno. By Nick Tan.

Mizuno is a Japanese boot manufacturer founded in 1906. Having sponsored Shevchenko and with Patrick Kluivert on their books, Mizuno clearly take their football boot business seriously.

Mizuno Morelia Wave

The Mizuno Morelia Wave football boot is made in Japan. It’s what we consider a high end football boot. Made from the finest Kangaroo leather. Interestingly, each piece of kangaroo hide is only used to make two pairs of football boots and no more. This detail extends beyond the leather, with fine attention to detail. The football boots are available in black or a limited edition white colourway.

Weighing in at 250gram, these football boots are light for an all-natural leather football boot. The leather uppers do not have any padding between the leather and the lining and this helps make the football boot light in both wet and dry conditions.

The K-leather does not over-stretch and maintains its shape well due to the stitching pattern. So when purchasing a pair of these football boots, get a good fit, they will mould to your foot but will not expand too far.

The football boot has a narrow fit and does not suit players with a wide foot (Mizuno makes football boots for wide feet in the lower series). The fit is extremely firm and even in wet conditions, the football boots held the feet firmly within.

The heel has a unique material that grips extremely well. The studs may be considered oddly shaped, resembling baseball cleats, as most manufacturers do not make the shape of the studs this way. My guess is the outer sole are made to these specifications due to the general playing surfaces in Japan, where the football boots are manufactured. Most non-professional teams play on very dry sandy pitches and that explains, a very hard and durable, one piece moulded sole that resemble baseball cleats was needed. The upper and lower of the boots are held together by all three methods of putting a shoe together - stitching, gluing and riveting are all used to build this pair of football boots.

Verdict: I think only two things would discourage a buyer of this wonderful pair of football boots - price and its narrow fit.

Ryan Giggs’ late free-kick sparked controversy on the touchline and could result in serious repercussions for Lille.

Manchester United claimed a priceless first leg Champions League lead at Lille. However the game will be overshadowed by the controversy that included the Lille coaching staff attempting to haul their players off the pitch before the game ended and disturbing crowd scenes, which included tear gas being fired at the Manchester United supporters.

Ryan Giggs - Football Boots

Ryan Giggs fired Manchester United into a half way point lead in their Champions League tie against Lille.

Giggs, wearing Reebok Pro Rage football boots, hit an early free kick into the net on 83 minutes. The Lille defence were organising their wall, when Giggs curled in the free kick.

Fury
Following Giggs’ controversial goal, the Lille coaching staff attempted to haul their players off the pitch in protest. Several Lille players began walking towards the dugout after the restart, following the goal.

Embarassingly, the Lille players collected themselves together and resumed play.

Crowd Chaos
Of more concern was the chaos that took place in the stands. Lille stadium staff were slow to react to the volume of United fans funnelling into one section of the stadium.

Some United supporters were forced up against a fence, whilst others begged for an additional gate to be opened.

Several United supporters were concerned, no doubt fearing the worst like the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. French police appeared to respond as if there was a security concern by firing tear gas at the away fans.

Eventually order resumed, as did the game.

Ryan Giggs Football Boots

Ryan Giggs has been a long term partner of Reebok football boots.

Ryan Giggs currently wears the Reebok Pro Rage football boots.

Order this football boot from Reebok direct - buy now

Chelsea and Czech national goalkeeper Petr Cech has got sponsors arguing over his headgear once again.

Petr Cech fractured his skull with an almost career-ending head injury, suffered back in October. In the Premiership game against Reading, he slid to reach a ball, the knee of Reading midfielder Stephen Huntand struck Cech on the head, resulting in the head fracture.

Cech now has a metal plate in his head and is still taking medication. He now wears protective headgear to reduce the chance of further damage.

Gentleman’s Agreement
Cech reached a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Canterbury of New Zealand, who makes the protective headgear, to keep the logo as Cech wanted to demonstrate his thanks for the prompt help that Canterbury offered him when he returned to football.

The Czech national team’s kit sponsor, Puma, now want the logo covered in future games. Although Puma allowed Cech to wear the headguard in the International game against Belgium, they are now trying to force Cech to wear their own branded headgear in the future.

Cech has been wearing the headgear when playing for Chelsea, and Adidas, Chelsea’s kit sponsors have expressed similar concerns to those of Puma.

Puma and Adidas are now trying to negotiate a compromise with Cech.

Financial results shows how much money is in football today.

Chelsea announced the good news that they had only lost £80 million last year, a snip in the Abramovich ocean. Chelsea are also freezing Premier League ticket prices for all non-corporate buyers, including season and matchday tickets for members, youth and senior citizens. Chief executive Peter Kenyon said the club would also reduce ticket prices for Champions League and domestic cup matches.

Read the Chelsea Financial Results article.

Player Earnings and Bonuses
Chelsea’s results highlight player contracts and earnings, and the amount of money that the clubs are having to spend to keep them in the lifestyles they have become accustomed to. Almost half of all clubs income goes to paying wages, ranging from top earners Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack picking up £130,000 a week each to bottom of the table Watford with Marlon King, their top earner, picking up £12,000 a week.

Premiership players are still a way off the City where six-figure salaries are topped off with bonuses, which totalled £8.8billion last year. Several mega-rich financiers picked up bonuses of more than £40million each which would make even David Beckham consider a career change.

Puma leaps ahead
Away from the premiership, football boot maker Puma saw profits in the 4th quarter of 2006 fall by 26% despite a jump in sales of almost 38%. Costs at the German sports goods firm surged as it spent more to improve its outlets and branding diversity. Puma expects sales in 2007 to be even better, so is upbeat about its performance and future, even though there are plenty of rumours around the market that its bigger rival Nike is interested in buying Puma.

Puma is also working hard to compete with its German rival Adidas this year as there are no high-profile sporting events, unlike last year when World Cup soccer winners Italy wore Puma. It is also a key supplier to many African teams including newly signed Morocco (Read more). Puma’s sales totalled £1.6 billion last year as it opened new stores and spent money developing markets in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. It still lags behind the global strength of market leader Nike, which had sales of nearly $8 billion in 2006.

Sponsorship deals, endorsements and salaries reaching new heights, football as a business is turning over billion of pounds of business a year, yet investment in grass roots football gets relegated to the reserves. With England struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 are we already seeing the results of a lack of investment in the English national team?

Fixtures for the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

The following ties will be played on the 10th and 11th March.

The home club is listed first.

FA Cup quarter final draw

Middlesbrough or West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United or Reading

Arsenal or Blackburn v Manchester City

Chelsea v Tottenham

Plymouth v Watford