Every single person in this world has different views about any topic or item, and this definitely applies to the world of football boots.
Today, I’m going in depth about 3 major thoughts and misconceptions, not in any particular order, that people have about today’s boots in general. This article is completely from personal experience and knowledge from selling boots, to wearing them myself.
Boots don’t make you a better player
This will forever be my number one though towards boots, they do not make you a better player. The entire article can be written on this subject but I’m taking a moment to speak of it solo. They will not enhance your ability to shoot or control the ball better, a lot of the boot market is focused on marketing techniques and the population is under the impression that what ever the brand markets the boot for, they will provide.
What do I mean? Well let’s take the Puma EvoPower shown in the photo above, it is straight up marketed to increase the power behind your shot, it literally says so in the name! Personally, I can tell you from wearing a pair of EvoPowers, my shot did not get more powerful. Indeed, whenever I really struck the ball perfectly it felt better doing so in these boots rather than let’s say a Copa Mundial. However, that did not make my shot more powerful, it simply made it feel great that 1 time out of dozens of shots.
Same goes for a pair of lightweight boots, once again I’m going to use a Puma boot, (nothing against Puma just good examples) the EvoSpeed silo. With the name Speed branded in, it’s exactly like the EvoPower and manipulates people to think it will somehow make them faster. Ever since the release of the Adizero F50, people have been obsessed with lightweight boots. The lighter, the better! However, wearing light boots will not exactly make you the fastest player on the field.
In the end, it’s all about the players mentality while wearing the boots. If the boots you wear perform to your exact preferences in terms of what you like, then you will perform better. That is my final opinion on this. I’ve worn dozens of different styled and diverse marketed boots, in the end I love a comfortable and responsive boot. Weight doesn’t concern me, grip and stud pattern don’t concern me, and color really doesn’t matter. If the boots provide exactly what you like and want in a boot, then you will possibly perform better simply because you feel more confident. Brands can tell you that science back up their boot, but in the end it’s the players skills and mentality.
Ankle collars do nothing
This one really comes straight from selling boots, as a boot salesman and boot enthusiast there is nothing that grinds my gears more. This topic can somewhat fit under the recent one however I felt it needed it’s own spotlight.
Since Nike revolutionized the game with their first ever mid-cut knitted boot, the Magista Obra, the raised ankle design has taken over the market. 3/4 of Nike’s silos offer a mid-cut variation which they called their dynamic fit collar, Adidas’ boots don’t have the same style or height but their mentality remains similar as they try and lift their cuts above the ankle, and Puma has also fallen in.
“Sorry Sir, but what exactly does the sock part do?” That is my eternally favourite question from clients (sarcasm), and my response to them has changed from time to time. My personal favourite is when I compare it to the spoiler on the back of a car, it’s just there for looks and not performance. Now people are going to criticise me for saying that, but the only benefit these raised collars provide is a different sensation and experience. They will not offer protection, they will not make you more agile, but they may stop artificial rubber from going in your boot.
Not to mention you’re paying a hefty premium for these boots, when they first started they were only offered on the high end models, but even now on take down variations they are marked higher and if anything are made with cheaper material so the concept becomes even more useless. Other than a cool look and a somewhat sock-like feel and fit, the raised collar does not enhance your performance.
There is no Boots by Position
This photo should explain it all to you, and once again this falls into what I said in the first topic. What ever you are comfortable in, what ever provides the feel you want, that is what you should wear.
For years now, ever since the original Predator days , brands have marketed boots to provide certain qualities and people then believe those qualities are associated with certain positions. “Sorry Sir, my son is a goalie what hoes should he wear?” Well, he should wear what ever he feels comfortable in! Take the young Gigi Donnarumma shown above, he is a keeper and probably has to deal with rough situations where he’ll get stepped on, however he wears Puma’s lightweight silo: The EvoSpeed. Why? He’s comfortable in them, he enjoys what they provide as a boot and decides to wear them.
Brands purposely choose and pay their professionals to wear what they want them to wear, and the population notices this. You see men who control the midfield like Ozil or Pogba in the laceless Ace PureControl, and automatically connect their talent controlling the ball with the boots they wear. It’s completely normal, as this is a part of business and a part of marketing. However do not think that because you’re a striker you should wear light boots to be fast or as a defender you should wear durable and protective boots because you get stomped on. A defender can wear Vapors, a striker can wear Copa Mundials.
And end the rant. Well there you have it, 3 major misconceptions that today’s population suffer from. There are still some topics like laceless being better than laced or expensive boots having to last longer than cheaper boots, however those can be saved for entirely other individual articles.
If you want to see more of this type of article or want to hear about those other topics, let us know in the comments or contact the site. Hope you enjoyed the article.
