It’s never easy asking people to predict how new products will perform in the future but that didn’t stop nearly 2000 of you registering a vote in the latest Footy Boots debate.

Asked which of the latest football boots from adidas, Nike and PUMA would have the biggest impact, both immediately and in the long term, the result was incredibly close with the adidas Predator_X just edging out the Nike CTR360.

In the end, the Predator_X received 48% of the vote, the CTR 45% with the v1.10 from PUMA coming in with 7%.

Short term, it could be argued that in fact, the CTR360 has made the biggest impact what with goals and assists from the likes of Fabregas and Aguero but it should also be remembered that it was released a month before the new adidas model.

Against that, there are still a number of players yet to debut the Predator_X such as Steven Gerrard and possibly a few more who may make the switch from their current boots.

The name most closely linked to such a move is Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema who is rumoured to be swapping over to the latest adidas boot from his trusty adiPure II’s.

Similarly, to be absolutely fair to the v1.10, it is by design a speed boot and therefore will appeal to a niche market, hence it’s lower rating.

In any event, having tested all 3 new boots (Predator_X, CTR360 and v1.10) Footy Boots can report that they all perform in their own unique way and it’s unlikely that anyone will disappointed after purchasing them. As for performance on professional pitches across the world, it could be argued that the jury is still out.

This season’s Champions League is turning out to be one of the best ever. Unfancied teams are beating or holding the big guns, a number of past winners are struggling and some new names have cropped up to give the tournament a much needed breath of fresh air.

So, as the competition starts to hot up, we’re giving you the chance to pick the best XI from all of the current squads.

Based on Matchday Four, Footy Boots editor Andy Kay has complied our fantasy side and to say it’s controversial is putting it mildly.

Players from Rubin Kazan and CSKA are in while plenty of big names such as Lampard, Essien, Rooney, Benzema, Pato, Hulk and Ronaldinho are not.

Do you agree with his selections or has he got it wildly wrong? And if so, what would be your best XI? Let us know by commenting below.

Goalkeeper

Victor Valdes – Barcelona

It can’t have been easy for the Spanish stopper, standing around watching his team mates in temperatures of around -7c. But the mark of a good goalkeeper is being able to pull out all the stops after long periods of inactivity. Valdes more than did this with a number of crucial saves which allowed his side to take a vital point from the game.

Victor Valdes wears Nike Tiempo Air Legend II football boots.

Defenders

Cesar Navas – Rubin Kazam

Like Valdes, Navas was another Spaniard to shine on a freezing cold night in Russia. The Rubin Kazam defender had to be on his game throughout as Barcelona mounted attack after attack. It’s been a good competition so far for Navas who, but for a foot injury, could have been playing with English Championship side Ipswich Town this season! Who said metatarsal injuries were always a bad thing?

Cesar Navas wears adidas adiPure II football boots.

Hilton - Marseille

The Brazilian didn’t have too much to do at the back as FC Zurich were a bit powder-puff but a central defender who scores goals is worth his weight in gold. Hilton did just that as the French team moved to within a point behind AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Hilton wears adidas Predator X football boots.

Ashley Cole - Chelsea

It wasn’t an entirely comfortable night for the Londoners in Spain but Cole put in another solid display at left back. He was blameless for the host’s two goals and did little to damage his reputation as one of the best left backs in the world. The simple fact is that Cole is capable of performing live week in, week out. Unlike his Mrs!

Ashley Cole wears Nike CTR360 football boots.

Dario Dainelli - Fiorentina

The Fiorentina captain was relatively solid at the back but gets the nod (excuse the upcoming pun) because of his incredibly brave header which gave the Viola a 2 – 1 lead which they eventually turned in to a 5 – 2 win. Despite getting a face full of the Debrecen goalkeeper’s fist, Dainelli still managed to guide his header in to the net as the home team went second in Group E, a point behind Lyon but more importantly, 5 in front of third placed Liverpool.

Dario Dainelli wears Bikkembergs Tirosegno football boots.

Midfield

Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal

Is there nothing this man can’t do at the moment? Fabregas is in the form of his life and he prompted his Arsenal side to a convincing 4 – 1 win over AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium which puts the English team on the brink of qualification. Not only that but he’s scoring goals for fun lately and added a couple more in this game. Just brilliant.

Cesc Fabregas wears Nike CTR360 football boots.

Kaka - Real Madrid

Kaka pulled all the strings as he return to his former club, a sure sign of his commanding display was how quickly his warm reception turned to jeers as Madrid dominated the early proceedings. And it was from Kaka’s shot that Madrid were to take the lead as Benzema knocked in the parry from Dida. Just the kind of performance required by the Spaniards on what could have been a difficult night at the San Siro.

Kaka wears adidas adiPure II football boots.

Milos Krasic - CSKA Moscow

He may also be in the running for worst haircut of the week, but the Serbian international more than showed off his footballing credentials against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Any thoughts that Krasic and his CSKA team mates were going to be overawed were laid to rest as they raced in to a 3 – 1 lead, Krasic scoring one of the goals. Although United pegged them back to 3 – 3, Krasic will have enjoyed his 25th birthday.

Milos Krasic wears PUMA v1.06 football boots.

Yoann Gourcuff - Bordeaux

As boos rang around the Allianz Arena, Bordeaux playmaker Yoann Gourcuff and his team mates walked off the pitch safe in the knowledge that they had booked a place in the last 16 whilst also leaving Bayern Munich four points off send place in Group A. Gourcuff scored his side’s opening goal, could have had another and ran a tight ship in midfield when the German’s looked to get forward. Another good night’s work by the current French player of the year.

Yoann Gourcuff wears adidas adiPure II football boots.

Forwards

Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid

You won’t see two better strikes from one player in a game for a long time. The second half substitute rammed home a superb volley to give Atletico Madrid the lead against Chelsea then stepped up to plant a late free kick past the despairing Petr Cech to earn the home team a 2 – 2 draw. That’s what you call making an impact from the bench and the volley was worth the entrance money alone.

Sergio Aguero wears Nike CTR360 football boots.

Didier Drogba - Chelsea

Mind you, Aguero didn’t have it all his own way at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Didier Drogba marked his return to European action with two goals of his own. The first, a pretty routine header and the second, a fantastic solo effort that perfectly demonstrated his pace and power. Will need to keep it up if Chelsea are to go all the way this year. Much more helpful to his team when standing up as opposed to writhing around on the deck for no apparent reason.

Didier Drogba wears Nike Vapor Superfly football boots.

The new adidas Predator _X made its European debut last night in Matchday Four of the Champions League.

First off, it was clear that players had continued their preference of using the new boots in the White / Brown / Yellow colourway over the more traditional Black / White / Red by a majority of around 3 to 1.

But that said, it did seem that in total, the Predator_X boots were a little thin on the ground.

At Old Trafford, Wes Brown and Antonio Valencia wore the new boots for Manchester United versus CSKA Moscow as did Simao and Michaell Ballack in the match between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea (though it was the CTR’s and Superfly’s of Aguera and Drogba respectively that stole the show).

As far as we could make out, not one of the 22 starters at the San Siro wore the Predator_X though they did gain representation when Raul came on as a second half substitute for Real Madrid as they drew 1 – 1 with AC Milan. But adidas did get on the score sheet through the adiPure’s of Karim Benzema with Ronaldinho equalising for the home side in his own signature line.

Again, we struggled to see the Predator_X at the beginning of the match between Bayern Munich and Bordeaux though 76th minute sub Jussie wore them when he replaced Wendel whilst elsewhere, they were used by, amongst others, Helio Pinto of Apoel Nicosia, Sascha Riether of Wolfsburg and Hilton of Marseille.

Hilton scored in Marseille’s 6 - 1 demolition of FC Zurich

However, we should see some top adidas players in the new footwear in tonight’s Champions League encounters.

Dirk Kuyt could be a key player for Benitez and Liverpool tonight

In particular at the Stade Gerland in the game between Lyon and Liverpool with Ederson, Cissokho, Bastos, Kuyt and Voronin all having used the Predator_X last weekend.

Hilton image courtesy of uefa.com 

The last month has seen three of the biggest names in football boot manufacturing bring out a signature product.

At the end of September, PUMA came up with the first new boot of the current football season with the highly visible, and so we’ve learnt since, very impressive v1.10.

A week later and Nike added to their current collection with a brand new boot, the CTR360. What followed was one of the most impressive debuts ever of a new football boot as CTR ambassador Cesc Fabregas ran the show against Blackburn at the Emirates, setting up four goals and scoring one himself.

And this weekend, following their launch on Monday, the top names in the adidas stable will showcase the new Predator_X in the English Premier League and beyond.

At Footy Boots, we’ve been lucky enough to road test all 3 boots (v1.10, Predator_X, CTR360) and we can assure you that all of them perform.

Sure, there are a couple of design features on each of them that might grate but in the main, they each do what they say on the tin, even if some of us might question a few aesthetic aspects across the range.

So, that leads us on to today’s poll which is this:

Which brand’s new footwear will have the biggest impact on the game in the immediate and long term future?

Of course, it might be too early to tell. adidas haven’t even got their boots seen on a pitch as yet and each boot has been tailored to a different market be it speed, control, power etc. But with such a high source of knowledge, expertise and opinion available to us through Footy Boots readers, it’s a question we’re going to pose anyway!

Make your selection below and then qualify your argument by commenting below.

And ensure you come back to Footy Boots on Monday morning as we’ll be reporting on which players turned out in the new Predator_X and which colourway they chose.

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It has to rate as one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history.

The Kings of Europe, unbeaten in the competition this season and with six wins out of seven and one draw in La Liga, going down at home to the tournament newcomers.

But that is exactly what happened at the Nou Camp last night as Barcelona were humbled by Rubin Kazan of Russia.

Added to that, the man who scored the winning goal is something of a Nike football boot journeyman.

Karadeniz (left) enjoys the win at the Nou Camp

Chances are that not many people will have Gokdeniz Karadeniz in their Champions League fantasy teams but he might feature more heavily now after he finished off a superb breakaway move to stun Barca as the visitors completed a 2 – 1 victory.

Karadeniz wore the Nike Vapor SL last night, the Citron / Charcoal / Silver boot matching nicely with Rubin Kazan’s all green strip. But looking back at his choice of footwear over the past year or so, it’s clear that the Turkish international likes to swap around. Back at the end of September, he turned out in the Vapor V Max Orange / Abyss / Silver colourway for the Champions League encounter with Inter Milan while his boot of choice towards the end of the Russian league campaign was the Nike Vapor III.

For the record, Karadeniz joined the Russian champions in March 2008 from Trabzonspor for around €8.5 million. At the time, he said he was looking for a club that could offer him greater chances on a bigger stage. Last night, he took that chance with aplomb to send shock waves around Europe.

Karadeniz (number 61) celebrates winning the Russian title with team mate Alan Kasaev

Indeed it was a night of surprises in Europe with 31 goals scored in the eight matches. In Group E, Liverpool were beaten at home by Lyon while Fiorentina won a thriller away to Debrecen 4 – 3.

Sevilla have already qualified from Group G following their 3 – 1 win in Stuttgart and Rangers embarrassing 4 – 1 home defeat by Unirea Urziceni.

Arsenal have had their lead at the top of Group H cut to just a single point after they conceded a late equaliser away to AZ Alkmaar with Olympiakos now the London side’s main challenger after a 2 – 1 victory against Standard Liege.

And Inter are bottom of Group F after they were held to a 2 – 2 draw by Dynamo Kiev. Barcelona are still top despite their surprising defeat.

Additional images courtesy of uefa.com

There have been some highly visible boot launches of late. PUMA brought out the v1.10 closely followed by the introduction of Nike’s CTR360.

Nike CTR360 Maestri

The Superfly and Vapor V have new colourways and on the horizon we have the eagerly anticipated reveal of the adidas Predator X, a new colourway for the Speciali plus new football boots from Mizuno and Reebok.

And, with the World Cup just around the corner, the flurry of new football boot activity will only get greater as the kick off in South Africa gets ever nearer.

Despite the current economic situation, it seems that the football boot market has escaped the down turn which has been great for us and probably not too bad for you!

But it got us thinking. Even with such a healthy, ever expanding product range to choose from, which football boots remain out there, doing a job from times past?

Naturally, the adidas World Cup and Copa Mundial still have a part to play.

Indeed, Belgium’s Emile Mpenza was twice on target in the Copa’s against Turkey recently. And let’s not forget that Argentina’s Mario Bolatti was wearing the adiPure I when he sneaked home that late goal for Diego Maradona’s side against Uruguay on Wednesday. Additionally, we are not too far away from a retail sales date for the Tiempo ‘94.

adidas adiPure I

But what other ‘old style’ football boots are still getting some serious wear time? That’s where you come in.

We’d like to know which players have bucked the trend of wearing the very latest models, colourways and designs in favour of something that would look more at home in a football version of the Antiques Roadshow.

Find anyone still wearing these and we’ll give you a prize!

Lets us know who you’ve spotted playing in ‘bygone boots’ by posting a comment below. It doesn’t matter if they are internationals, top league players or even lower league players that we might not be too familiar with. And if you’ve got a picture of them, even better.

We’ll keep an eye on your comments as they come in to see if there’s a clear favourite or if the choices are relatively random.

With Wayne Rooney out injured, England are expected to play Gabriel Agbonlahor and Peter Crouch up front in their final World Cup qualifier against Belarus at Wembley.

Rooney, who has enjoyed fantastic success for the national team in the Nike Total 90 Laser II, has a calf injury which means the Aston Villa and Spurs strikers have a chance to shine, as do Nike and PUMA.

Agbonlahor has made only two starts for England so will be eager to grab his chance wearing the highly visible Vapor Superfly. Crouch meanwhile has a decent scoring record while representing the 3 Lions in the PUMA v1.08.

Speaking ahead of the match, England coach Fabio Capello said:

We need to play other styles, style A, B, C. I want to see some players in different positions.

Sometimes, during the friendly games, we’ve changed it. But we need to practise other styles. I want to see some players in different positions.

When I decide the squad, I decide always different styles that I can play with it with the players who will be with me. Why wouldn’t they have that capacity?

Meanwhile, in the pick of today’s other games, it’s crunch time in South America with Argentina desperately looking to qualify automatically for South Africa next year.

The Argentine’s have endured a poor run under Diego Maradona but got back on track with a last gasp win over Peru last time out.

But it won’t get any easier for them tonight with an away game to Uruguay. The home team has lost just once in front of their own fans recently and will be confident of recording a win which will take them through.

In what is the oldest South American derby, the first game between the two sides took place in 1901 (and many believe that it was the first international to take place outside of the British Isles), it could come down to one piece of magic.

For Argentina, this could just be the stage for Lionel Messi in his personalised F50i’s. The Barcelona player, like many of his international team mates, just hasn’t been able to deliver consistently for the national team under Maradona but, as the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

As for Uruguay, nothing would please them more than getting one over on their age-old rivals. And in Diego Forlan, they have a proven goalscorer who has already netted 7 times in qualification thus far. Interestingly, it’s a win-win situation for adidas as Forlan also wears the F50i, though he prefers the White / Black / Red colourway.

It’s going to be some game in Montevideo and Forlan knows it saying:

It’s not nice having to play the decisive game against Argentina. It’s where my girlfriend and many of my friends are from, and I had a great time there as a player. But that’s just how things have turned out and we need to win. It’ll be tough but all we’re thinking about is reaching South Africa.

Whilst a few countries like Brazil, England and Spain can go in to their final two World Cup qualifiers safe in the knowledge that they have already made it to South Africa in 2010, the situation isn’t as clear cut for a number of other sides.

Their matches this weekend and next Wednesday will determine whether they too will be part of the greatest tournament in the world.

Footy Boots looks at a few players who could make all the difference for their team mates, coach and population at large.

Argentina v Peru / Uruguay v Argentina

There’s a religion in Argentina called ‘El Diego’ that has 100,000 members such is the popularity of former World Cup winner Diego Maradona. But following a 6 – 1 hiding in Bolivia followed by 3 successive defeats, Mardona has his work cut out to get his side in to the mix for next year’s final’s.

It’s not that they don’t have the talent – far from it. Just that Maradona has failed the get the best from his squad. So step forward Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona forward, in his custom built adidas F50i’s must make a contribution against bottom side Peru on Saturday and away to Uruguay on Wednesday.  But even 2 wins might not be enough. It could be the play-off’s for Argentina or worse still, four years of national mourning!

Russia v Germany

This is a straight shoot out between the Russian’s and German’s in European qualifying Group 4. Whoever wins will top the group going in to the final matchday and with Germany at home to Finland and Russia away to Azerbaijan, Saturday’s game is the important one.

Both coaches have called on their sides to keep a clean sheet so the actions of the forwards is going to be crucial. Germany have Miroslav Klose, currently in third place in the Castrol Performance data. Klose is expected to wear the Nike CTR360 Maestri.

Meanwhile, Russia’s top scorer is Roman Pavlyuchenko. He may be struggling at White Hart Lane but he’s hit 5 goals in qualifying so far. Back in September against Wales, Pavlyuchenko played in the adidas F50.9 Rome but has been training this week in the F50i.

Ukraine v England

A strange game to choose perhaps seeing as England have already qualified whereas the best Ukraine can hope for is a play off spot. But one player will certainly be fired up for the game – Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko. His stay in the Premier League with Chelsea never really worked out and only today the Daily Mail newspaper included Shevchenko on their list of the 50 worst striker‘s ever to play in the EPL. At number 8 in case you were wondering.

So Shevchenko, now back at Dynamo Kiev and wearing the Reebok Valde Pro, will be doubly keen to show that he’s still got it. Two wins for Ukraine would be enough to take them in to 2nd spot above Croatia.

Republic of Ireland v Italy

The Republic are in an extraordinary position of still being able to win Group 8 but also missing out all together. But a positive result against Italy on Saturday will guarantee Trapatoni’s men 2nd place at least with the final positions coming down to Wednesday’s games when the Republic host Montenegro and Italy the Cypriots.

At least the Republic goes in to the Italy clash with a striker in rich vein of form. Robbie Keane, who wears the Nike Total 90 Laser II, has scored 6 times this season, 4 of those coming in a 5 – 0 home win for Spurs over new boys Burnley.

Honduras v USA

Another Spurs player could be instrumental in this game, the much capped Wilson Palacios. The Honduran ace has played in every EPL game for Tottenham this season and has helped his international side to pick up 9 points from their last 4 games.

The USA currently tops the group with 16 points, with Mexico on 15 and Honduras 13. San Pedro Sula is the venue for tomorrow’s encounter between the Hondurans and the USA who will be without star striker Clint Dempsey.

Palacios, in his Umbro Speciali’s, will be hoping that he, along with the likes of David Suazo and Carlos Pavon can put one over on the States and continue their fine progress towards South Africa 2010.

With only two matchdays to go in the 2010 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Wayne Rooney continues to dominate the Castrol Index with a rating of 9.59.

The England striker, who wears the Nike Total 90 Laser II, was at the heart of England’s 5-1 demolition of Croatia in their last qualifier during which the Manchester Utd striker scored a goal and also got an assist.

Top scorer with nine goals, the 23-year-old’s performances have contributed to England’s 100% record in the qualifying games thus far. Rooney has been clinical, converting almost one third of the shots he has attempted (30%). And he’s been creative as well with five assists to his name.

Cyprus striker Michalis Konstantinou (Castrol Index 9.21) is a surprising second in the Castrol Index. All-time top scorer with the Cypriot national side, the adidas Predator wearer has been involved in half of Cyprus’ goals in the 2010 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers. With three goals so far, he has also found the target with an impressive 85% of shots (11 of 13).

Completing the podium is Germany’s Miroslav Klose (Castrol Index 9.16). He has been involved in more goals than any other German player, scoring six and setting up Lukas Podolski’s crucial opening goal against Russia in October 2008. Executing three quarters of passes in the final third, his influence on Germany’s forward play has been indispensable. Klose is also expected to wear the new Nike CTR360 Maestri football boot at the weekend  in the crunch game against Russia.

Meanwhile, the Castrol data shows that Joe Hart, recently called up to the England squad as a replacement for the injured Paul Robinson, more than justifies his place.

While David James has made it clear that he is determined to continue at the age of 39, citing the success of former Italy stopper Dino Zoff who won the World Cup aged 40, the figures would suggest that Hart is very much a contender in Fabio Capello’s squad for South Africa with 3 clean sheets this season, a 100% catch record and a 90 minutes per goal conceded.

Some of the best players on the planet will turn out in World Cup qualifiers this weekend wearing the new Nike CTR360 Maestri football boot in international competition for the first time.

And having examined a number of training sessions in the days leading up to Saturday and Sunday’s action, it looks like Germany and Spain are leading the way in CTR360 clad squad members.

The German’s, who are away to Russia in Group 4, have at least three players who look like they are planning on wearing the new Nike footwear. Stuttgart’s Cacau, youngster Marko Marin of Werder Bremen along with the highly experienced Miroslav Klose have all worn the new boot in training for what is sure to be a crunch game. Germany currently leads the group with 22 points, just one ahead of the Russian’s. The winners will almost certainly progress while the losers will doubtless face the play-offs.

There are no such concerns for Spain who have already qualified for the tournament in South Africa next year. But, like Germany, they have three players in their squad who have taken to wearing the CTR360 ahead of the match against Group 5 basement boys Armenia.

Andres Iniesta is of course one of Nike’s biggest names and has already worn the boot playing for Barcelona. He’s joined by Barca team mate Sergio and the man of the moment, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas who made such a spectacular debut in the boot, inspiring the Gunners to their 6 – 2 win over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

Like Fabregas, Florent Malouda has already hit the back of the next in the CTR360 and will be hoping to do so again for France as they look to wrack up the goals against the Faroe Islands in Group 7. The French still have a chance of winning the group but they need Serbia to slip up at home to Romania then away to Lithuania next week.

Outside of the European action, many eyes will be on Diego Maradona’s Argentina who have slipped to 5th place in the South Americam group. But they’ll be relatively confident of overcoming bottom side Peru in Buenos Aires. Javier Mascherano is expected to play in the CTR360 having given them a try in Liverpool’s 2 - 0 loss to Chelsea last weekend.

And keep an eye out for Lucas on Sunday as Brazil play at altitude against Bolivia. Lucas was another to use the CTR360 in Liverpool’s game at Stamford Bridge.

Have you see any other international players training in the CTR360? If so, leave us a comment below.

In terms of boot debuts, it probably stands out as one of the best of all time.

While other players in Europe got a first chance to turn out in the new Nike CTR360 Maestri on Saturday, Cesc Fabregas showed them just how to do it with a stunning display in Arsenal’s 6 – 2 win over Blackburn Rovers 24 hours later.

Although the Gunners twice had to come from behind, Fabregas was simply sublime. Showing off all 3 main qualities of the CTR360 boot – receiving the ball, controlling it and then distributing it – the Spanish international ran the show at the Emirates.

He started by providing an assist for Thomas Vermaelen to score Arsenal’s first equaliser before two slide rule passes set up further goals for Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin as the home team went in to the break 3 – 2 up.

Fabregas then got on to score sheet himself with a sweet left foot volley before twice being involved in a sweeping move in which he ultimately set up Theo Walcott for Arsenal’s fifth.

Fabregas was an integral part of the CTR 360 launch day on Thursday so the Nike top brass in attendance at the Emirates must have been purring over his performance. A quite brilliant display.

Also on Sunday and again in the English Premier League we saw Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano and Lucas play in the new Nike boots though it wasn’t an afternoon to remember for the pair as the Merseysiders went down 2 - 0 to Chelsea with Florent Malouda scoring one of the goals in, you’ve guessed it, the CTR360.

West Ham’s Valon Behrami donned the Nike footwear in the 2 - 2 home draw against Fulham whilst in the Bundesliga, Stuttgart’s Sami Khedira and Arthur Boka tried them out though none too successfully as their team was well beaten 2 - 0 by Werder Bremen. Interestingly, Boka changed in Tiempo’s for the second half. Italian fans were also treated to a sight of the CTR360 as worn by Napoli’s Marek Hamsik in the 2 - 1 loss away to Roma.

On Saturday, another of Nike’s big names, Andres Iniesta, turned out in the new boot along with team mate Sergio Busquets as Barcelona overcame Almeria 1 – 0.

While back over over in Germany two other CTR360 wearers also enjoyed winning afternoons. Gonzalo Castro was part of the Bayer Leverkusen side that beat Nurnberg 4 – 0 while Sven Bender’s Borussia Dortmund took the spoils with a 1 – 0 victory at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Nike CTR360 launch day - a pictorial history.

After meeting at a central London hotel, we are transported over to the Emirates.

Still not sure it was a good idea to ask Martin Woods of Arsenal security the best way to get to White Hart Lane!

A quick tour of the stadium, this is the away team dressing room.

Our man felt the need to visit the showers, probably best not ask why!

Cesc Fabregas, the best thing to come out of Spain since rioja, tapas and…more rioja.

The CTR360 on display, as per the official video.

Then its off to the Arsenal training centre at London Colney.

Is Arsene here? I’ve got a great trick to show him.

The boots still look great even after having our sweaty feet inside them.

The end of a very enjoyable and informative day. Cheers Nike!

Pictures by Chris Spurgeon

It’s been a week of first’s on Footy Boots. First to show you the official images of the Nike CTR360 Maestri, first to provide an in-depth wear test review of the boot and now, first again as we get the views of Cesc Fabregas who will be wearing the CTR360 from this weekend.

As part of the VIP audience invited to the launch day of the CTR360, one of the highlights for us was listening to the Arsenal and Spain star who was actively involved with the evolution of the new football boot.

Fabregas was on stage with his good friend and countryman, Sky Sports La Liga expert Guillem Balague who began with a few question’s about the boot itself.

GB: Two of the key characteristics of your game are control and passing. Does it help to have Nike develop the CTR360 boots that are based on your style of play?

CF: Definitely. I think now I’ve been training with them for a few weeks. They feel really comfortable, and it’s great that they can do some special boots for players like me. We pass a lot the ball, with the internal part of the boot or the external part, and for the control it’s really good, so we are really pleased with it.

GB: How does it help you to control the ball?

CF: Well, it has some new things that they have introduced in the boot. Especially for when you kick the ball with the middle of the foot you don’t have the tongue there, you know, and they put some things in the external part as well for the control of the boot. It makes it softer, and I think it feels really good and I’m excited about playing with it.

GB: One of the fascinating things about boots is that every player in different positions use different boots. Do you think that’s how it should be?

CF: Well, yes I think so, because every player has different characteristics of play. You can have players like Theo (Walcott), you know, who is really quick, probably who will need a lighter boot. Me, I don’t need that. I will always be slow!. But every player is different, really.

GB: Nike is presenting, an online training programme called Nike Football+, (read more on this at the foot of  the interview) and you’ve been involved in creating some of the content around a signature move, called a 180- degree cushioned turn. Can you tell us about the move?

CF: Well, in midfield you need a lot of movement. You have to be asking for the ball all the time, looking for the ball, and in my position I have to be moving all the time. So you first move the defender outside, then you come back and ask for the ball. And in this one or two seconds that you win, you’ll create the time to turn on the ball. This allows you to get past your opponent because he lost those one or two seconds. After you can play your team mate in with a simple pass.

GB: Football isn’t just something where you go out into the pitch and play. You have to practise these moves, don’t you? You have to work at it.

CF: Yes, definitely. You always have a level of instinct, but definitely you have to train a lot. You have to know what you are doing, you have to know when you are doing it, and trying always to make the right decision is difficult.

GB: Do you think the idea behind Nike Football+ is a good one where young footballers are able to insight and advice from players like yourself, Iniesta, and the Barcelona coaching staff?

CF: Yes, it’s great, because I think if you look at professional footballers and they show you how to do things you can learn something from it, I think it’s really good. I used to do that as well, you know, when I was really young. And we are happy that we can help some young talented players as well.

GB: What do you do specifically to train, and improve your touch and your control?

CF: At Arsenal we do a lot of drills with mannequins. You know, always one twos, one-touch, control. The boss likes it a lot. We are a team that, of course knows where every player plays but if the striker can go in midfield, the midfielder can go as a striker. There’s always a lot of movement.

GB: Do you use the space of the training pitch?

CF: Yes, we play a lot of five against two, or sometimes you play seven against three, things like these, always in small places where you don’t have time to think. And it helps a lot after, when you’re in the game.

GB: Is it fair to think that maybe young footballers don’t realise how much work you put into becoming you?

CF: Well, yes. You have to have luck, definitely, but you have to spend a lot of hours training, improving at what you are maybe not as good, trying to be better at what you’re already good at. And yes, you have to have someone as well that tells you how to do it!

GB: Because of the way you’ve developed and trained as a footballer you can play in different positions in midfield and even in the attack, and you do so with Spain. Which position do you prefer?

CF: It is difficult. Probably the one I’m playing now is where I feel most comfortable. I’m still getting there, you know, to be at my best in that position. Because I think it’s different, when I started at Arsenal: we were playing 4-4-2, I was one of those two in the middle so I could come very deep to get the ball and when I was young it was really good for me because I had more time from deep positions to link with other players, to move forward from deep.

Now my position is higher up on the pitch, sometimes I don’t touch the ball as often as I used to touch, so I have to be patient. But I know I’m in this part of the pitch where I can do dangerous things in terms of giving the final ball, and I have more time to go to dangerous positions, you know, to score a goal as well. I feel more freedom in that position.

GB: You’ll be playing at Blackburn Rovers on 4th October. It’s the first time you’ll be using the boots in an official game. How important is it, both the touch and control, with teams that don’t give you much space?

CF: It’s vital. Because when you play against teams like Blackburn, for example, they put a lot of pressure on you, especially in midfield. They know that if they let us play we can be dangerous, and it’s really difficult to play against them because they are always quick. They mark tight and if you are not quick with your feet and with your control it’s going to be difficult.

Check out the CTR360 video here.

Nike Football+

For the first time ever Nike will deliver an enhanced product experience in football through the CTR360 Maestri football boot.

October will see the launch of the Nike Football+ service. Included in all CTR360 Maestri boots will be a unique user code that when entered online at www.nikefootball.com will open up a realm of unique user content and tools designed to provide access and insight to the very elite level the game. The goal is simply to enable the passionate players to be better trained by directly delivering knowledge and content from the teams and athletes Nike partners with. It’s also to ensure athletes are better connected to each other and also their own data.

More details around the specifics of Nike Football+ will be released in October.

Nike has long catered to a variety of players; those of pace have the Mercurial, those of Power; the Laser and if you’re focusing on touch there’s the Tiempo.

With those bases covered many have questioned where the long-rumoured new Nike design would fit into Nike’s silo – and now it’s loose we know that the designers have crafted a boot for the centre of midfield. It’s a bold move as it’s a fairly niche market; so how well does it do that job? And will it cater for any other position?

Comfort / Fit

I won’t be the only one who’s a touch wary of the fit of Nike boots; the last two incarnations of the Vapor line have been notoriously abrasive on the heels, and even my old faithful Tiempo Legends left me blistered after the first wear.

I’m thrilled to report that there’s not a hint of any of this transferring over to the Maestri, Nike have clearly taken on board the criticism levelled at them and made what is arguably their most comfortable boot yet.

One feature worthy of note is the way the design of the Maestri copes with the addition of the ‘Pass Pad’ on the instep. When you slip on the boot for the first time you’ll feel it pressing onto the arch of your foot, but after literally seconds, the sensation of pressure disappears as the memory foam around the pad moulds to the arch – it’s impressive stuff that makes me wonder whether more boots will implement this technology.

Nike have also invested a decent amount of time and thought into the sole of the boot, with the liner feeling similar to the ArmourFoam found in Under Armour’s line – but with the addition of 2 gel-like zones under the heel and ball of the foot.

Durability

Nike have opted for something completely unique for upper of the CTR360; a new material dubbed ‘Kanga-Lite’.

As the name suggests, it’s a synth-kangaroo leather that aims to be lighter than the real deal, without compromising the qualities that make K-Leather so well suited for football boots.

The upper of the boot has sort of a ‘foamy’, distinctly artificial feel (anyone who’s ever held a pair of those abhorrent ‘Crocs’ sandals will know what I mean). Also, whilst retaining much less water than natural leather, it doesn’t have that grippy feel you get from a leather upper, especially in the wet.

That’s not to say it’s not without its benefits – first of all, it is lighter. In fact – it’s remarkably lighter than you’d expect a boot of this design and shape to be.

It also feels near indestructible – Nike have come up with a process that allows the boot to be entirely produced without stitching (except for two superficial seams above the toes, which I think are there to allow the upper to bend properly along the toes), which probably explains the ‘unnatural’ feel I was getting at before.

More importantly it means that even though there are several features on the boot – they are all integrated seamlessly into the upper.

Nike have also added ‘pods’ to of extra-concentrated memory foam to key areas of the upper to help in controlling passes; but with them concentrated above the outside of the boot and around the ankle I’d say these pods do just as much to add another layer of protection to the most commonly clattered areas of the foot.

Feel

There have been a couple of interesting design decisions that affect the overall feel of the boot.

The feel of the upper has a little bit of resistance when bending your toes but this is only a minor quibble.  In fact, it’s nothing that a few wears won’t get you used to, and the aforementioned ‘foamy’ feel to the upper means it compresses nicely to any foot shape or size when running.

Moving on to the ‘Pass Pad’ on the instep of the boot – I’ve been notoriously dismissive of gimmicks like this on boots before, but on the Maestri I’ve got to say it works. The reason being its simple design doesn’t offer any lofty claims of more spin or power; it just offers a firm surface to hit passes off of. Like the vamps on a Predator or Wave Shinken, it again serves as a great reminder on where the best place is on the foot to slide through a short pass or quick one-two.

Another decision made to enhance passing is the lacing system. Whilst every boot and its cousin have offset laces that run down the outside of the foot, the Maestri’s leans in towards the inside of the foot. This provides support to the instep and keeps the boot snug to the arch and big toe.

Also on the upper are the aforementioned ‘pods’ of material around the laces and outstep, which are a nice addition that take the spin and pace off of awkward passes.

Conclusion

The CTR360 is a boot that has been engineered as opposed to made.

The ‘all in one’ upper will certainly not appeal to everyone. I don’t see the Kanga-Lite winning over many leather-lovers for the sake of a few grams and it’s low cut, modular appearance is almost futuristic, which will probably put off the ‘heritage’ crowd.

Which is a bit of shame, as I think the Maestri is great all around boot – despite being aimed at the midfield maestro there’s not a single position in the spine of the team that wouldn’t benefit from it.

For all its focus in finesse passing, the feel of the upper and pods around the laces make these awesome boots for leathering clearances and coupled with added protection, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few defenders donning these.

And is there any striker on any weekend league pitch that wouldn’t benefit from a boot that compliments their first touch, has stud configuration designed for quick turns and a pass pad that also doubles as a reminder you can side-foot it in from close range, as opposed to blazing it over with the laces?

Check out the CTR360 video here.