As a salesman of soccer cleats, I can’t help but notice the amount of favouritism some customers have when they choose their new boots.
As a self confessed connoisseur of soccer cleats, I find this frustrating at times. So I’m going to preach about the less popular brands on the market and share what they have to offer.
Please remember, this article is based on facts and real life events and my opinion of course…..
First up, Puma Football.
My biggest frustration comes with the German brand Puma, who to me seem to be placed third in the world of soccer cleats behind the monster brands Adidas and Nike.
Puma Football have always had one foot in the door. Going back a few years they had the great Diego Maradona who wore the iconic Puma King, they’ve always been present but have never taken the hill.
What Puma offer today is three distinct silos: The EvoPower, EvoSpeed and King.
Many will argue that the King series has been on a downer ever since they remodeled it a few years back, but the shoe is definitely still available.
The great thing about Puma’s lineup today is that they focus themselves on their two Evo lines, marketing two specific groups instead of a generalised market. Their marketing campaigns reads “Choose Power” for their EvoPower, or “Choose Speed” for their EvoSpeed.
Ever since the release of the first EvoSpeed, they’ve been slimming down the weight and providing quality on every generation of the boot. The latest EvoSpeed 1.4 took things to another level with the SL variation which weighed in at 103 grams, the lightest book to ever be sold as an actual model and not to limited quantities, (for those thinking of the 99 gram Adizero, it was limited Edition).
The EvoPower is my personal favourite as Puma has held onto a concept that many brands have let slide, the idea that a shoe can make your shot more powerful. As a HUGE Adidas Predator enthusiast, cleats focused on power/accuracy while providing comfort were always my weak spot, and I’m not alone. So people with my taste will understand why Puma keeping a concept like this around is a great advantage over Nike and Adidas.
I would guess the issue with Puma nowadays is that many of the new generation are born into the world idolising players like Messi and Ronaldo, who wear Adidas and Nike respectively. Fair to say some people idolize Agüero or another Puma player, but not enough to walk up to a wall of cleats and pick out the Puma shoes which only take up 1/18 of the wall space, while Adidas and Nike take the majority. Add to that, if you look at the amounts of teams or leagues that are sponsored by Nike and Adidas compared to those sponsored by Puma, you realise I’m quite correct.
To wrap this article, a brand like Puma should be getting more attention nowadays. When I walk into a boot store I admit Adidas is my first choice and always will be, however Puma is strongly my second and many more people should think this way. I’m not saying go out and get only Puma cleats because they’re better than Nike or Adidas, however I believe if you go shopping for new boots you should definitely take a look and try on some Puma cleats. Their colourways are pretty solid and the quality is there, all at decent price ranges. So ask yourself, will you Choose Power or Speed?
