Our boot-spotters are on the road again tracking down the best current boot spots from around the globe. With Euro 2012 now part of the history books, clubs have returned to training and are playing their first pre-season friendlies. Here's a look at the best boots on show...
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Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII Clash
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Most of us will know Xherdan Shaqiri as a Swiss international (top flag = Switzerland) but as his Nike Vapor VIII boots show there's a lot more to his family's origin. Shaqiri was born to ethnic Albanian parents (bottom left flag = Albania) from Kosovo, then Yugoslavia (bottom right flag = Kosovo)! OK, we'll let Wikipedia take most of the credit for that.
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Shane Duffy (Everton) Nike T90 Laser IV Clash
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Everton's Shane Duffy gave his T90 Laser IV Clash football boots a Tiempo make-over, blacking out the green half of his Nike boots for Everton's pre-season friendly against Morecambe. The centre back showed some good line work on his customised boots!
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Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund) Nike CTR360 Maestri III
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We're not sure how you go from testing what we expect to be an unreleased adidas silo to wearing the CTR360 Maestri III in the space of one week! Sven Bender – the Borussia Dortmund player who was recently spotted wearing an unidentified adidas boot – was in action wearing the perfectly matched CTR360 Maestri III football boots with an SG Pro sole-plate during his sides pre-season fixture with Club Brugge KV.
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Charlison Benschop (Brest) Puma 'Razzle Dazzle' Camo
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Here's something we didn't expected to see – a professional footballer wearing the special edition 'Razzle Dazzle' Puma Camo test boots! Thankfully our SoccerBible boot-spotters rarely miss a trick, and were amazed to see Brest forward Charlie Benschop wearing the limited edition Puma boots during his sides pre-season friendly with Lorient.
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Henri Lansbury (Arsenal) adidas Predator LZ DB
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Arsenal's Henri Lansbury is somewhat religious when it comes to following Beckham's footwear. He gave us another example of his addiction to DB boots during Arsenal's pre-season fixture against Belgian champions Anderlecht wearing the Pink/White/Black Predatror LZ boots – a match in which he scored the only goal.
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Kalif Alhassan (Portland Timbers) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII
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This will be the Mercurial Vapor VIII colourway that most of Nike's Mercurial roster will kick off the 2012/13 season wearing. Expect to see some Vapor players beginning to wear the Black/Volt colourway during pre-season. But with the MLS in full swing, Portland Timbers winger Kalif Alhassan has already landed himself a pair. The boots to reach European shores in the coming weeks ahead of an August launch.
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Andre Santos (Arsenal) Nike CTR360 Maestri III
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Arsenal's Brazilian full-back Andre Santos put his new Nike CTR360 Maestri III football boots into competitive action for the first time during Arsenal's Memorial Cup pre-season tournament at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton. The hotly anticipated boots will launch later this month ahead of the 2012/13 season.
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Samir Carruthers (Aston Villa) adidas f50 adizero miCoach
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Here's an adidas colourway we haven't seen too much of. The Black/Silver/Lime adizero miCoach football boots haven't received a lot of attention since their recent launch, but looked great on the feet of Aston Villa's Samir Carruthers during his sides pre-season fixture with Burton Albion.
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Luis Suarez (Uruguay) adidas adizero RS7 Pro
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Adidas won't want Luis Suarez wearing the adizero RS7 Pro when he returns to the Premier League next season, or when he competes in the 2012 London Olympics. The adizero RS7 Pro was originally a rugby specific boot, but has since received player uptake from footballers across Europe. Suarez is known to favour the leather upper adizero, which makes this switch even more surprising.
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Florent Balmont (Lille) Puma PowerCat 1.12
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We're a little lost for words when it comes to the new Umbro Lille away kit. At least for Florent Balmont it's a good match for his Puma PowerCat 1.12 football boots. The French midfielder was spotted wearing Puma's Euro 2012 colourway during his sides pre-season friendly match with Ligue 2 side Le Havre.
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Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan) Nike CTR360 Maestri III
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Nike haven't held back with the distribution of the new CTR360 Maestri III. A countless number of professionals across Europe have been given a pair ahead of their official release. With such a radical redesign, Nike may have allowed more time for players to become accustomed to the new features. Inter Milan's Fredy Guarin was another player putting the boots into action at the weekend.
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If there are any players & boots that you've spotted and think we should feature, mail us at: u2us@soccerbible.com putting 'Boot Spotting' in the subject field.