French international Mathieu Debuchy introduced us to a new boot brand this weekend, when he debuted a pair of Kipsta football boots. It came as quite a surprise though, when you consider Debuchy has worn adidas boots for the last 4 years...
For a little while this boot spot of Debuchy had everyone in our SoccerBible offices puzzled, even our dedicated boot fanatics struggled initially to figure out what boots were on show. The reason is Debuchy has been a dedicated adidas athlete for some time, so the initial thinking was adidas might have got a bit creative in concealing a new prototype boot. But that was until we spotted Debuchy's team-mate Gianni Bruno in training, a former Nike wearer, who was sporting the same boots.
It was analysing the pictures of Bruno which gave us a glimpse at a new logo that we'd not seen on football boots before. No Swoosh, Form Stripe of Three Stripes, but a small 'K' with what appears to be a ball, was this the return of Kelme or perhaps a brand like Munich or Patrick were reinventing themselves? Well the clue was in the location of the players testing the boots. Because based near Lille in France is sports company Kipsta, a modern brand founded in 1998.
The Kipsta football boots caught our eye as they are a unique looking new boot, but there are elements which remind us of boots that are already on the market. For example, the outsole is quite similar to an adidas Sprintframe, both in the firm and soft ground versions on show here, but perhaps more like a takedown version. Also, some of the perforations around the boot collar are reminiscent of an adiPure, which is what further sent us down the adidas route initially.
The upper appears to be a synthetic, and whilst we'd be tempted to say this is a speed boot, it does appear on the instep to be a print application that could be used to assist control and passing.
Perhaps Debuchy and Bruno are helping out a local brand with some boot testing, but if not and they've been signed up it's quite a coup for what is a very small brand in the boot industry. Especially if French international Debuchy does end up moving to the Premier League.
We'll be interested to see if Debuchy and Bruno remain in the Kipsta football boots over their regular adidas and Nike footwear. We'll also be keen to see if Kipsta really are stepping up their boot design and production, from being a relatively unknown brand to landing on the international stage!
Stay tuned to SoccerBible as we investigate further, and break any news regarding a potential new boot on the market. Having had a look we'd love to hear what you think? Share your thoughts online, on Twitter and on Facebook.