It would be nice to be in the position of a Premier League footballer player like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney who practically get a new pair of football boots thrown at them almost every week, along with the likes of Beckham, Ronaldo and Messi.
Not many of us have that luxury and actually have to pay for our footy boots, so are the latest football boots, for example Adidas Predator, actually worth paying over 100 for and do they improve our game?
I have played football competitively since I was 9 years old but it was only from the age of about 13 or 14 when I began to understand the importance of a good pair of boots. When I was about 16 I bought myself a pair of Adidas world cup and although they were a quality boot they were too narrow for my feet.
Lesson number one learned sounds obvious, make sure the boots fit. I tend to by boots now that are a little bit tight because after a few games in the rain they stretch a bit.
Next I discovered copa mundial which were a dream pair of boots as long as you were playing on a decent surface as they only came with a molded stud. I always thought they were like slippers that you could play football in, as they were so light and comfortable. The leather was of high quality which I believe is reflected in the improvement in quality of your touch and control of the ball and as there was no excess weight from a metal stud they definitely helped my game a lot.
Since then I think that the high end adidas boots just keep getting better and better although only slightly as the quality now is so good that it must be hard to improve significantly I a short period of time. my latest boots are the adipure. I’ve had about four or five pairs over the last few seasons and for me they are similar to copa’s but with studs which is more suited to the english pitches and weather.
I am yet to sample a pair of Adidas predators so would like to know how they perform and if the technology that is used in them really works.
In my experience then I think that a quality boot is definitely worth investing in as long as they are right for you and are suited to your own particular style of play.