We are all used to seeing top international footballers flashing their bling when out and about.

Gold chains, designer watches with diamonds aplenty, flashy earrings and huge jewelled rings. If it’s expensive, they’ve probably got it. Or two of them. And one for the wife.

And now Spanish manufacturer Kelme have taken things to a brand new level with the release of a range of football boots and training shoes that, shall we say, dazzle.

The boots and trainers are embedded with Swarovski crystals and are going for around £350 a pop.

They’ll be available soon from Kelme and, should you happen to be in Austria anytime soon, you can go and see them all on display at Swarovski’s Kristallwelten Musuem.

Of course, Kelme have a reputation for producing football boots at the luxurious and expensive end of the market. You may remember ‘The One’ boot, a limited edition boot of which just 500 pairs were made to order.

‘The One’ was constructed from 90% Shark leather (good in the wet then) and retailed at around £300.

After shark leather and crystals, we await to see what Kelme will come up with next. Perhaps a boot for Barcelona players which will stop them from being so appallingly bad the next time they face champions Real Madrid.

Introducing the Puma King XL, the relaunched football boot from Puma celebrates 40 years of existence.

There are few football boots that stand the test of time and have an iconic reputation. Football boots that have been adorned by some of the best footballers the world has ever seen, football boots that are as highly rated today as they were decades ago. When you think of this select group of football boots, the Puma King proudly stands as one of the legends in football boots.

Puma King XL

The Puma King celebrates its 40th birthday this year. First introduced in 1968 as the “King Eusébio” to honour Portugal’s legendary Mozambican-born soccer star Eusébio da Silva Ferreira who was the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup.

Over the years, the King became a legend and was worn by legends. The world’s greatest football stars wore the King including Eusébio, Brazil’s Pele, Argentina’s Maradona and Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff.

This month the Puma King will be re-launched worldwide with a limited edition collection to celebrate its 40th birthday and will be worn on-field at Euro 2008 by Italy’s Massimo Oddo and Germany’s Thomas Hitzlsperger.

The Puma King was born when Eusébio, after scoring nine goals at the 1966 World Cup, worked with Puma to develop a signature football boot which debuted two years later.

It featured increased ankle protection, soft, subtle leather and exceptional ball control. The appeal of the Puma King and the marketing around it was so powerful that consumers were no longer purchasing just a product – but a state of mind and a sporting image as well.

Worn by Eusébio, Pele, Maradona and Cruyff, the football boot became synonymous with reliability and success, selling millions of pairs over the past four decades.

The Puma King will be relaunched worldwide in May and the limited edition Puma line will be available in a special Rio red colourway with gold trim inspired by ruby, the traditional 40th wedding anniversary gift.

The Rio red colour is also seen in the national flag of Portugal, the country Eusébio represented at the World Cup. The special collection will be printed with the years “1968-2008” under the iconic King logo to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Puma King.

For the traditionalists amongst you the black-white King collection will arrive in stores one month later. The football boots will feature MCMLXVII logo on the sole.

Puma King XL Tech Spec

The Puma King XL (XL stands for Roman numeral “40”) football boot stands for quality, heritage and tradition. The newest edition includes classic lines and traditional styling, but with updated materials, enhanced features and new design details.

With raised bead line, toe overlay and lateral stability insert inspired by the Eusébio boot 40 years ago, the new King XL is executed with today’s best production technology. Super-soft, ultra-thin full-grain leather is complemented by a high-density silicon heel counter and conical firm ground stud construction for optimal stability and maneuverability.

The upper is embossed with a leaping cat logo on the vamp and King logo on the lateral side – with the limited edition version featuring the “Eusébio 68” signature.

The limited edition collection football boots will launch in selected stores May 29, 2008 with the traditional black-white products hitting retailers globally on June 28, 2008.

Four down and two to go. Footy Boots is challenging the stamina of Arsenal legend Perry Groves as he continues his exhaustive set of football boot video tests.

With football boot manufacturers on edge around the world to see if Perry gives their product the thumbs up, this week it’s the turn of Puma execs for the cold sweat treatment as our Footy Boots expert tries out the V1.08.

Admittedly, our Perry may not have the build of some of the athletes in the Puma V1.08 ad, (Samuel Eto’o is probably the only player who comes close) but he was still willing to give it a go nonetheless.

To see what he thought of the V1.08, all you need to do is click here.

With this season’s domestic football drawing to a rapid close, it’s time to start thinking about getting in the mood for the Euro’s.

What better way to warm up for the summer spectacle than to refresh your memory with some of the special moments from the past?

To celebrate the upcoming UEFA European Championships ESPN Classic will be screening 28 of the greatest ever Euro fixtures in EuroMania. Featuring matches from 1972 - 2004, fans can relive all the highs (and lows) as they go on a journey through Euro history, and celebrate one of football’s major competitions. EuroMania is on ESPN Classic, Sky Channel 442 every night at 10.30pm from the 6th May onwards.

See the Disco Fever Video.

WIN A PAIR OF NOMIS FOOTBALL BOOTS!

This month ESPN Classic have teamed up with Nomis to offer you lucky people the chance to win a pair of their new 120 GBP / 150 EURO football boots.

For your chance to win the Nomis football boots, answer the simple question here.

Europe’s top footballers, who sadly don’t include any from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland or England (cheers Steve) now know which ball they’ll be playing with at Euro 2008 should they qualify for the final.

It’s called the Adidas Europass Gloria and was unveiled by Adidas Chairman and CEO Herbert Hainer who presented it to Uefa President Michel Platini.

The suffix Gloria is surprisingly to all of us at Footy Boots not taken from Laura Brannigan’s platinum selling single from 1982 (shame that) but it instead stands for the fame and glory that will be enjoyed by the winner of the tournament.

In eight white circles, the national flags of Austria and Switzerland have been integrated into the silver ball design. The twelve black dots contain the Henri Delaunay Trophy as well as graphic designs typical of all the nations that have won the trophy since the European Football Championships began.

Like other leading Adidas balls, the Europass Gloria is is constructed out of 14 panels using revolutionary Thermal Bonding Technology. This combined with the new PSC-Texture surface structure gives it perfect handling characteristics and allows the players exceptional ball control. The unique outer skin improves power transmission, creates greater swerve and increases accuracy on the pitch, in all conceivable weather conditions.

Adidas has supplied tournament balls to Uefa and Fifa since 1970 and this year was the official ball manufacturer for the African Cup of Nations.

Rumours that the ball in 2018, should England win the right to host the World Cup, will be called the Tracey have so far been unsubstantiated.