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.

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.

It wasn’t that long ago that seeing a player wearing a pair of white football boots was something of a rarity.

Indeed, the names of Alan ‘Gladys’ Hinton and Alan Ball are still talked about today after they famously donned white boots over 30 years ago. Take a look at Hinton’s entry in Wikipedia and the second sentence reads: He famously wore white boots. Bearing in mind that he had a 17 year long career and played for England three times, scoring once, that pretty much sums up the impact his footwear had at the time.

But now, white football boots seem to be all the rage – certainly if you check out the choices of the England team that played Slovenia at the weekend.

Of course, over recent months, England have always had a few players for whom white football boots were the norm. Captain John Terry has worn the England Speciali and the Speciali in White / Red. Frank, Frank Lampard is rarely seen without his trusty pair of adidas adiPure II Rome’s and Glen Johnson, Lotto’s biggest name player in the UK, is a familiar sight in his White / Black / Red Zhero Leggenda Tre’s.

Now, perhaps it’s something to do with the all white, Umbro kit but Terry, Lampard and Johnson were joined at Wembley by a whole clutch of their team-mates who decided that white was right.

Shaun Wright-Phillips took to the field wearing a pair of White /Black / Red adidas F50i’s, a decision that was replicated by second half substitute and goalscorer Jermain Defoe.

As the other substitutes came on, so the number of white football boots increased. Carlton Cole arrived in a pair of Nike Tiempo Air legend II’s in White / White (and you don’t get much whiter than that), while midfielder Michael Carrick strutted his stuff in the White / Black PUMA King XL’s.

Seven players out of the squad in white football boots is a decent number, and with a bit of poetic licence, you could increase that number to nine by including Ashley Cole in his White / Blue PUMA v1.08’s and Joleon Lescott in his White / Red Nike Total 90 Laser II’s.

So, out of that lot, what’s your choice of the best white football boot out of the current crop as modelled by England’s finest?

Let us know by commenting below.

When you’ve got a cast list that includes Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Fernando Torres and Michael Essien, it’s pretty clear that you must be doing something right.

That’s most certainly the case for the Nike Total 90 Laser II designers who  have now come up with a new version of the boot, a limited edition in a Silver / Red / Black colourway.

The boot will be on sale on 1st October and will cost around £120.

Nike Total 90 Laser II Tech Spec

Integrated offset lacing system provides increased boot to ball contact surface, minimising uneven ball strike and allowing greater ball control, accuracy and swerve.

Revolutionary V-Twin lacing system maximizes strike zone and optimizes fit allowing the true fit of a traditional football boot, without compromising the contact zone for ball strike.

Improved Shotshield technology on front of foot provides cleaner ball contact and superior control to allow the athletes to place the ball more accurately. The technology continues to utilise the precision ring technology used in its predecessor, providing increased accuracy through refined placement and design.

Teijin synthetic leather and engineered mesh work together to help protect the foot and maintain a constant temperature environment throughout a full 90 minutes.

Water resistant eVENT membrane enhances breathability and keeps the foot dry.

New high density outsole component supports and stabilises the planted foot when striking the ball.

Individually engineered hybrid studs are positioned for optimal traction and comfort, distributing pressure evenly across the foot.

An engineered sockliner provides improved arch and heel support whilst it’s unique anatomical design leverages multiple material densities to help distribute pressure and provide a tailored fit and feel from heel to toe.

Improved external heel counter cup provides added stability and works in combination with a molded foam package to create a superior feet and heel lockdown.

US Sales: click here

Given their penchant for neon coloured football boots like the Mercurial Vapor IV Citron & Berry and the Blaze Orange T-90 Laser II, it was something of a surprise to hear Nike announce that their intention was to have all their players playing in black football boots for the first couple of months of the new season.

Nike’s ‘Back to Black’ range

Back when Footy Boots first broke this story in July there was a massive difference of opinion – some seemed to disagree with the move, and were obviously looking forward to seeing Nike’s newest models in glorious techinolour; whereas others welcomed the nod to the old-school, grateful for giving their tired eyes a rest.

From an analytic point of view; this was always going to happen. One of the big manufacturers was going to hit a point where there they couldn’t do anything more with the colouring on boots until the introduction of new models – a colourway critical mass if you like. This has probably come sooner than expected as with the advent of services like NikeiD, many people can just go out and buy the boots in the colours they want.

Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly

But have Nike made a bad move in terms of timing by launching their ‘Back to Black’ campaign?

The dawn of a new season is one of the key times in the football equipment market – with players of all levels and ages making their mind up and taking the plunge on a new pair of boots for the next 9 months, so surely as a company you’d want your product to be as obvious and bold as possible?

Looking at some of the prominent goal scorers from this weekend’s EPL action, Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor   and Wade Elliott were all playing in a blistering blue adidas combo- Defoe & Adebayor in the f50i’s and Elliott in adiPure.

The striking adidas f50i

Other brands are going against Nike and moving away from black boots in a bid for getting noticed. Umbro are pushing the new White/Red Speciali (being sported by the rejuvenated Darren Bent), Under Armour are being represented by Danny Murphy’s White Dominate Pro’s and Peter Crouch is giving Puma plenty of camera-time in gold v1.08’s.

Umbro’s latest Speciali

Interestingly, from a scientific point of view the most ‘apparent’ colour to the human eye on the visible light spectrum is Green; however given the contrast to the grass that the beautiful game is played on very few green boots make it to market (only the ‘Unseen Green’ Puma v1.06 and f50.8’s in ‘Slime Green’ spring to mind)!

So, while Drogba, Rooney and Robinho were honouring their sponsor’s wishes by lacing up in Nike’s darkest, perhaps it players like Keane, Torres, Bendtner and Carlton Cole who opted for the more vibrant shades who’ll be doing them the biggest favour!

What’s your opinion? No-one’s going to think Nike are going to be in financial trouble over this move, but do you think they’ve made their football boots a little less attractive to buyers? Or, do you think that as long as Rooney, Drogba & co keep bagging goals that’s all the motivation people need to buy Nike boots? Let us know!

Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand are joined by some of their Manchester United team mates to tell us what their pledges are for the forthcoming season.

The new Premier League Ball for the 2009/10 season, known as the T90 Ascente, is the subject of Nike’s latest campaign  featuring Manchester United players Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Danny Welbeck, Patrice Evra and Darron Gibson.

The Nike sponsored footballers are making their pledges for the forthcoming season and have penned their pledges permanently on a new Premier League Ball.

See the Manchester United and Arsenal stars making their pledges on our Football Boots TV video channel.

Five more goals than last season, win every 50-50 ball, never lose your man.  What’s your pledge?

A lot of us football boot enthusiasts—myself included—love to debate over boots and their manufacturers, and much time has been spent examining and arguing over which ‘brand’ is king.

Now, imagine a game where players were not divided by club or country, but instead by their allegiance to their boot manufacturer. A one-off game, or perhaps a tournament, to decide the best boot company based on the athletes which have chosen to support that ‘team’. Who would the companies choose to field in such an important game?

This week on ‘From The Sole’, I decided to have a go at arranging three Fantasy XI’s (as we love to do around here) based on such requirements. I gave heavy-hitters adidas and Nike their own squads, and also put together a ‘world brand’ side that encompasses the rest of the boot makers: Puma, Lotto, Mizuno, Umbro, Reebok, Diadora, Kappa, Lotto, and Under Armour.

The results were naturally three very impressive squads that I attempted to pick with teamwork, technique, and chemistry being the most important factors.

Team adidas – aka the ‘Triple Stripes’

GK: Edwin Van Der Sar (Predator PowerSwerve)
LB: Philip Lahm (adiPure II)
CB: Per Mertesacker (Predator PowerSwerve)
CB: Martin Demichelis (Predator PowerSwerve)
RB: Jose Bosingwa (adiPure II)

Jose Bosingwa

Defense: Edwin gets the nod over Petr Cech, who’s seemed shaky at times for Chelsea in 08-09. The monstrous 6’6” Mertesacker is chosen at the back to dominate in the air. Lahm, a promising (and already world-class) wingback, and Bosingwa, who had a great season with Chelsea, are also chosen along with the experienced Demichelis.

DMF: Xavi (Predator PowerSwerve)
CMF: Steven Gerrard (Predator PowerSwerve)
LMF: Robin van Persie (Predator PowerSwerve)
RMF: Lionel Messi (F50i)*
AMF/SS: Kaka (adiPure II)
CF: David Villa (F50.i)
* Messi has opted for a pair of F30’s over the F50’s.

David Villa

Mid/Attack: A passing based offence is coordinated by maestros Xavi and Gerrard, the latter of which can add a lot to the attack in the final third as well. Van Persie plays best when surrounded by other talented individuals, and will provide a strong left-footed cross while Messi terrorizes the right side with his dribbling abilities. Kaka’s crafty touch and Villa’s merciless finish round out a deadly and tactical attack.

Notable Exclusions: Frank Lampard, Daniele De Rossi, David Silva, David Beckham, Petr Cech, Michael Ballack, Dimitar Berbatov, Marcos Senna, Gabriel Milito, Ashley Cole, Gonzalo Higuain

Why? Lampard is excluded, as he can’t seem to find the right rhythm with Gerrard when they play together. Ballack too is left out, as I don’t feel he’d fit in as well with this passing-based flow. I chose Villa over Higuain, as I think Villa is a little more accomplished.
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If there was a Footy Boots award for managers, Fabio Capello would have a pretty decent collection by now.

The Italian generally gets things to go his way and after a sticky 20 minutes against minnows Kazakhstan in Almaty on Saturday, his England side restored order and ran out winners 4 – 0 to make it 6 wins out of 6 in World Cup qualifying so far. That’s likely to be 7 from 7 by Wednesday with Andorra the visitors to Wembley for the next qualifying game.

Another goal, similar in quality and technique, from Wayne Rooney would doubtless delight the London crowd and show them close up why the Manchester United striker has won this week’s Footy Boots star prize.

Although some of the game didn’t run for him, as has been the case of late, Rooney was always busy and hugely energetic and it was his stunning overhead kick, perfectly showcasing his Nike Total 90 Laser II’s, that ended the game as a contest 18 minutes from time.

Before that, Gareth Barry had opened the scoring with Emile Heskey grabbing a second before the Aston Villa man earned the 78th minute penalty which was converted by Frank Lampard.

Four goals for England, 2 from adidas, 2 from Nike, another 3 points and yet another tick for Capello to add to his ever impressive CV.

The modern football boot often claims to suit specific playing types and specific player positions. Fast strikers, exceptional wingers, midfield dynamos, all seem to have a wealth of football boots structured and advertised for those positions. But, what about defenders?

Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris and Bobby Charlton 1973. Chopper Harris is regarded as one of the toughest defenders of all time, an ideal candidate for our defenders football boot.

We’ve already seen the success that companies have enjoyed by associating player styles to specific boots; Air Legend II’s and Fabregas, Predator PowerSwerve’s and Gerrard, the list goes on. Could coupling the endorsement of a world-class centreback with a completely new pair of football boots designed specifically for his job on the pitch be another smash success?

Currently, three options from three manufacturers offer a glimpse of what a defender-oriented boot could offer, but none of these strive purely to be the choice of the back-line athlete.

Nike sponsored Fabio Cannavaro; Cannavaro opts for a set of Total 90 Laser II’s, a versatile and popular all-around choice, though their image is namely power and attacking due to the play of their best-known user, Wayne Rooney.

Cannavaro’s Total 90 Laser II

Umbro’s talismanic endorsee John Terry has been wearing the SX Valor II, but are these boots really aimed at back-line players? Haven’t they lost a little credibility after the 2008 Champions League slip?

Lastly, there are the Puma v-Konstrukt III, worn and advertised by Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic. While these are certainly the closest I’ve come to seeing a “pro-defender” model, with their emphasis on protection of the foot and safer ball control via a ‘glove-like fit’, in my eyes these also fail to set themselves apart as a premium must-buy for back-line types.

Innovating for Defenders

There is room for improvement. Defender oriented football boots would need to feature some innovations purely directed towards the backline player, and strive harder to be the first choice of the last line of defence. I came up with a concept that aims to do this:

Firstly, this boot would feature a bright, distinctly coloured heel to help linesmen better detect an offside. Contrasting with the pitch and the rest of the player’s football boot, this addition would make for an easier sightline for linesmen making that tricky call. Sounds gimmicky? It would be a hit with defenders looking for anything that might give them a slight edge and get that offside call.

Secondly, such a boot would be relatively heavier than others on the market, making it better for “hoofing” balls out of the danger area and avoiding disastrous soft-touches that result in own-goals, or clear breaks for opposition strikers. Additionally the heel counter would be stiff to enhance the durability of the boot and keep the feet of the player safe during all those firm tackles and scrambles in the box. These attributes would make for a heftier football boot that could be marketed as tough, reliable, and gritty… just like an ideal defender.

The football boot of choice of Nemanja Vidic, the Puma v-Konstrukt III

Thirdly, I’d suggest the new boots would be built with ‘shot shield’ technology and off-centre lacing to help eliminate the possibility of a miss-touch or a loose boot at the worst possible time. These minor details may seem trivial, but in front of net, no chances can be taken.

Lastly, a proper name would be required to emphasise this imaginary football boot’s lofty aim to be the #1 choice of defenders worldwide.

Fellow Footy Boots contributor Andy suggested one I rather liked – the Row Z’s – nicely capturing the defensive mindset of the boot.

Stick it in the stands son!

My personal choice was something much less creative – the Zero – a name purely with strategic marketing in mind, my imagination already having filmed the commercial: “Zero Chances. Zero Goals. Zero Regrets. Zero.”

Regardless of how the imagination runs away with such an idea, this seems to be an area on the pitch where players have yet to been offered a boot to call their own. What would you name such a creation? Or better yet, what would you include in your defender-based design? Let us know by using the comments section below.

Two games played and both Champions League semi finals are on a knife edge.

Chelsea’s brave defensive display earned them a draw at Barcelona but they’ll have to be careful at Stamford Bridge as an away goal for the Spanish side will see Chelsea needing to score twice.

By the same token, Arsenal will have to overturn Manchester United’s 1 goal advantage at the Emirates, whilst a goal there for Sir Alex Ferguson’s  team means the Gunners will have to find the net 3 times.

That aside, what we witnessed this week were 4 very good sides, all with collective and individual brilliance.

Which got us thinking – what would be our Champions League, semi final fantasy XI?

After much debate, argument and shouting, the Footy Boots office was split. The boss had his choice:

Alumina - Nike Total 90 Laser II

O’Shea - Adidas adiPure II  Ferdinand - NikeT90 Laser II  Terry - Umbro SX Valor II  Evra - Nike T90 Laser II

Yaya Toure - Nike Tiempo Legend II  Anderson - Adidas Predator Powerswerve   Fabregas - Nike Tiempo legend II

Messi - Adidas F50.9 TUNiT  Ronaldo - Nike Mercurial Superfly

Drogba - Nike Mercurial Superfly

The rest of the office came up with this:

Cech- Adidas Predator Powerserve Rome

Alves - Nike Mercurial Superfly  Terry - Umbro SX Valor II  Ferdinand - Nike T90 Laser II  Evra - Nike T90 Laser II

Iniesta - Nike T90 Laser II  Yaya Toure - Nike Tiempo Legend II  Giggs - Reebok Sprintfit Lite Pro

Messi - Adidas F50.9 TUNiT  Rooney - Nike T90 Laser II  Ronaldo - Nike Mercurial Superfly

So, do you agree or have your own opinion?

Use the comments section below to let us know how your fantasy side shapes up and we’ll poll the votes for each individual player and publish the definitive XI on Tuesday.

It may have taken a dodgy penalty to get Manchester United on the score sheet, but once Cristiano Ronaldo had buried the spot kick, Wayne Rooney took over and guided the Premier League leaders to a stunning come back win over Spurs.

A hint of what was to come was sadly lacking in the first half in which Tottenham scored twice. First Darren Bent slammed in a cross from Vedran Corluka before Luka Modric popped in Aaron Lennon’s cross from the right. Half time and 2 – 0 to the visitors.

United needed a bit of help and they got it from referee Howard Webb. Well behind the play, he awarded the home side a spot kick after incorrectly ruling that goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had brought down Michael Carrick. It was an awful decision, vehemently protested by the visiting players and their manager Harry Redknapp. Webb though stood firm and Ronaldo converted the chance.

The rest of the second half belonged to Rooney and his Nike Total 90 Laser II’s in the Yellow / Black / Midnight Fog colourway.

First he hammered home a chance from outside of the penalty box, then it was his cross from the left that set up Ronaldo for his second and United’s third.

Rooney made it 4-2 when his volley from Ronaldo’s delicate cross just evaded the desperate attention of Jonathan Woodgate and it was former Spurs player Dimitar Berbatov who scored the fifth after his initial header had been saved by Gomes.

The win put United 3 points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table with a game in hand. And Rooney maintains that the title is United’s to lose saying:

We know that we are in a great position and it’s only ours to throw away now. We knew as soon as we scored we could get three of four.

It was a brilliant comeback. The first half was too slow and we had to quicken up. But in the end it was comfortable.

Wayne Rooney was recently voted as the Nationwide England Player of the Year 2008, and to celebrate this award Umbro have created a unique image featuring Rooney walking the city streets accompanied by three proud lions.

Rooney in the New England Kit

Rooney is the first forward to win the award, which is voted for by England fans on the Football Association’s official website, after playing in eight of England’s 10 games in 2008 and scoring five goals, all in competitive matches. Wayne now boasts a very respectable goal ratio approaching one in every two games for England.

Rooney won his 50th cap when England defeated Ukraine 2 - 1 in a World Cup Qualifier at Wembley last Wednesday. His skill, determination and dedication was roundly applauded by England fans as the team continued their impressive record in World Cup Qualifiers.

Previous Nationwide England players of the year include Steven Gerrard (2007), Owen Hargreaves (2006), Frank Lampard (2005) and David Beckham (2003).

Wayne Rooney Football BootsWayne Rooney wears the Nike Total 90 Laser II football boots.

Rooney is currently wearing the Total 90 Laser II in the White Black Red colourway - Order Yours Now.

Wayne Rooney is statistically the top performing player in the 2010 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers, according to new statistics.

Capello may have just labelled him a ‘crazy guy’ when the England camp gathered this week, but Wayne Rooney is vital to England’s success as he is statistically the best player in Europe.

The Evidence

Four match days into the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and England are sitting comfortably at the top of Group 6 with a 100% record, mostly thanks to the ebullient forward Wayne Rooney.

England have scored 14 goals and Rooney has scored or set up nine of those, meaning he has been directly involved in more goals than any other player so far in the qualifiers, which explains his Castrol Index score of 9.25 out of 10.

Rooney is joint-top goalscorer with five goals along with Belgium’s Wesley Sonck who lies second in the table, only 0.02 points behind the Manchester United striker.

The Portuguese midfielder Nani, Portugal’s top scorer in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, makes up the podium (9.11). Belgium, Germany and Northern Ireland are the only countries to have multiple representatives in the CastroI Index Top 20.

Capello’s England play Slovakia in a friendly on Saturday, before England facing the Ukraine in a World Cup Qualifying match on Wednesday.

With Europe’s best player on board, how can England fail?

The Castrol Index is an innovative way of using technology and statistics to objectively analyse player performance by ranking a player’s contribution to a team’s overall play in terms of scoring and conceding goals. Read the Castrol Index Explanation.

Wayne Rooney Football Boots

Wayne Rooney wears the Nike Total 90 Laser II football boots.

Training with the national squad, Rooney is currently wearing the Total 90 Laser II in the White Black Red colourway - Order Yours Now.

Powered by Castrolfootball.com

Most of the larger boot brands will often boast that they’ve had the consultation of the biggest names in football in developing their new boots.  The paying public is told why a football boot is made for a particular player or players and, should you buy it, why it will make you play like them.

However, I’m sure I’m not the only one who watches some players and thinks one of two things;

1. That the football boot they’re wearing really is perfect for the player, or

2. That there’s another football boot out there that they really should be playing in.

Starting the list of players in the former category, Theo Walcott is the very definition of the values of the Mercurial Vapor line; a low-profile, sleek unit built with only speed in mind. Both the Vapor and Walcott might not have the best touch and accuracy around but I don’t think that bothers their fans - it’s all about reaching top speed as fast as possible and leaving the opposition wondering what just happened.

Theo Walcott’s Vapor IV

Next is a player that’s been the flagship of his football boot since it’s first incarnation: Wayne Rooney and his Nike Total 90 Lasers. For clarification, I’m not talking about the sleek Air Zoom Total 90’s- famously favoured by Luis Figo - I’m talking about the Lasers; tuned for power and accuracy, a real heavy hitter who’s courted a fair share of controversy; that doesn’t care too much about being the first to the ball, more about taking the rough and tumble and powering the shot to where it needs to to be. All of that could be said of both the player and the boot.

As a player who’s career has had to be reinvented so many times  the perfect match for the Adidas F50’s has to be France and Sunderland’s Djibril Cisse. As Cisse played through his Liverpool career he opted for the first incarnation of the F50. Following his horrific leg break and loan move to Olympic Marseille, Cisse found a his boots, too, were undergoing a revision - now branded as TUNiT’s. Now, both the football boot and the player are notorious for their capabilities for speed, clean strike of the ball and last but not least their outrageously customisable uppers.

Cisse prefers them red, but here’s the latest F50 from Adidas, the Rome

Now for more comparisons, but this time football boots and players who, barring lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals, would share a special kinship with some of the boots on the market today.

Paul Scholes is, to me, a pair of Umbro Speciali’s. Both are now stalwarts in their respective fields, and whilst certainly might not be to everyone’s taste, command a huge level of respect from their peers. Scholes is a player who has witnessed some of the best talent in football come and go around him and, despite the old addage about old dogs and new tricks, has taken little touches and pieces of play from his peers and added them to his game. Much in the same way that Umbro has seen many ideas from the bigger companies being implemented to their products, and quietly tweaked and refined their forgotten flagship into a classic boot with modern touches, continuing to be some of the best in their class.

The Umbro Speciali

Looking across the Manchester United midfield is the illustrious Cristiano Ronaldo. The ‘Best Ronaldo of All Time‘ has a long standing love of the Nike Mercurial line, which dates back to when they were known by most as the ‘R9’s (a bit fateful given the recent results of a certain poll), so I’m sure I’m going to stir up some controversy by comparing the Portuguese winger to a pair of Concave PT-1’s. Over the last 18 months both have caused massive divide in the football world, moreso than perhaps any other player or boot. Whilst plenty won’t buy into the hype of either, there’s many out there who have no qualms about tipping their hats to someone who’s trying to do something a little different, be it stepovers or hunks of plastic. Coincidently, Concave are launching a new all-white colourway in time for the summer and rumours will inevitably suggest the Cristiano will be doing the same!

Cristiano Ronaldo is actually a Concave boot -surely you can see the resemblance?

Now, simply because I don’t want to the the only Footy Boots writer to not have any say on the Nike Mercurial Superfly, I present Michael Owen - the human Superfly. A hefty investment as the most expensive boot on the marketplace and the best paid player in the Premier League; It would seem both share a risk of potentially ruining themselves after a minimal amount of time on the pitch. Should that risk pay off, however, the opposition will find themselves with a tricky, speedy handful with only one objective in mind.

There’s plenty more comparisons out there and I’d love it if you’d drop a comment with some of your ideas - I honestly never knew the Footy Boots community was so massive until I saw nearly 5,000 votes in the recent Ronaldo poll!

So get involved and have your say on not just this, but all of Andy, Alan, Omar, Matt and James’ articles!