2011 – THE YEAR IN FOOTBALL BOOTS

For a year that didn’t contain a World Cup or a European Championship, 2011 has been a massive year for fans of football boots!

Here’s what we think people will remember 2011 as…

…The Year Puma Blew Up

I don’t think there is a reader of this site who hasn’t had something to say about Puma’s incredible rise to prominence over the last 12 months.

The German brand have gone shopping for top athletes like the rest of us pick a can of spaghetti hoops off the shelves; Arteta, Pienaar, Henry, Aguero, Toure, De Jong, Fabregas – the list goes on.

After re-vamping both the vSpeed series and the PowerCat Line, we’re expecting big things from the Puma camp in 2012.

…The Year Bright Became Boring

Sure, the last few years have seen us awash with football boots in the most incredible hues imaginable – but 2011 was the year of the bright boot.

The Messi Electricity/Infrared/Purple adiZero, the Volt/Retro Superfly III, the Fluo Green Puma v1.11 and the Orange Popsicle GT Pro II – all stand out on the pitch like no boots before them.

Sure, they look great on TV and they’re a perfect advertising tool – but it speaks volumes that a Black boot won the ‘Best Looking’ category at the Football Boot Awards 2011.

…(Almost) Everything Got a Bit Lighter

The year started with the ultimate gauntlet being thrown down as adidas revealed the adidas F50 adiZero Prime on New Year’s Day.

At 145g they are simply the lightest boots ever made, and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the year.

adidas released the lightest Predator ever in the adiPower (then beat that with the Predator SL) and even the adiPure had an SL version.

Other brands tried their best to follow suit as Nike dropped the weight of two of their biggest ranges (the Tiempo Legend IV Elite and Nike T90 Laser IV), Puma’s new PowerCat 1.12 was a drastic drop in weight from it’s predecessor. Even the Mizuno Morelia wasn’t safe as the 185g Mizuno Morelia landed in December.

…We Caught a Glimpse of the Future

adidas’ miCoach for Football, Under Armour’s E39 – both science-fiction levels of technology that allow real-time (or close to real-time) feedback on player’s performance that are available now.

3 years ago, the mere idea that we’d be able to use baselayers or football boots to measure things like speed, heart-rate or distance covered was unimaginable. Both became reality in 2011.

…The Year of the Playmaker

After becoming a storming success since launching in 2009, 2011 was the year everyone else played catch-up to Nike’s CTR360.

adidas revealed the new adiPower which – despite it’s name – was billed as a control boot, perfect for the needs of the playmaker. Puma signed Cesc Fabregas to front their PowerCat 1.12, Umbro released the Geometra, Joma’s Numero 10 was revealed – the number of boots designed in the mould set out by the revolutionary CTR360 is like nothing we’ve seen before.

What will you remember 2011 for in terms of football boots?

Let us know in the comments!