Football News : Football Boots, Apr09

Football News - Nike wars! - 29/04/09

Editor — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:53:00 GMT

We've had the adidas battles now it's time for the Nike wars! Looking ahead to tonight's UEFA Champions League semi-final between Manchester United and Arsenal, we've picked out the four key players as Cristiano Ronaldo, Theo Walcott, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas, all Nike football boots wearers...

Cristiano Ronaldo - Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots

United fans will be hoping the Portuguese wizard will be at the top of his game to exploit a weakened Arsenal defence. Cristiano Ronaldo is once again the current Premier League top goalscorer, and after two goals at the weekend following his incredible strike against Porto he is in a rich vein of form.

The Superfly's talisman, Ronaldo benefits from a boot designed specifically for speed! Nike have been able to make a lightweight football boot thanks to their Flywire technology, which acts like the cables of a suspension bridge to support the foot and add strength to the boot.

The material of the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots is made from a teijin synthetic like the Vapor IV football boots Ronaldo wore for a year, and will be so familiar with when it comes to the boots response to ball touch and feel.

Theo Walcott - Nike Mercurial Vapor V football boots

Theo Walcott is probably the player United fans are the most worried about! If they remember how the pace of Aaron Lennon terrorised their defence during the Carling Cup final, and combine this with a return to form for Walcott following his injuries.

In the last round Walcott scored a delicate chip against Villarreal after bursting beyond their defence. Demonstrating the fit and feel Walcott enjoys from his current football boots, the Nike Mercurial Vapor V football boots after he turned down the Vapor Superfly football boots.

Walcott prefers the Vapor V football boots because although they do feature some Flywire technology, the boots teijin material does have more freedom to adapt to the wearers foot.

Wayne Rooney - Nike T90 Laser II football boots

Rooney is enjoying a great season and a great run of form for Manchester United, he is not only finishing the ball brilliantly but he is also supplying goals for the team. Playing Arsenal will be a big-match occasion that Rooney will love, his work rate is always excellent but the passion of the occasion will surely spur him on that extra yard.

Rooney's quick football brain ensures some great touches and ball distribution, and to achieve this Rooney will be wearing the Nike Total 90 Laser II football boots. Opting for the stand-out tour yellow colourway, Rooney benefits from Nike Lasers ShotShield and precision ring technology.

Made from a more dense material, the ShotShield and precision rings cover the optimum striking and passing area of the boot, to provide a more aggressive and accurate contact.

Cesc Fabregas - Nike Tiempo Legend II football boots

Arsenal have recently discovered a new dimension to Cesc Fabregas' game, by freeing him up from his midfield duties through playing two holding midfielders. This allows Cesc to push forward and contribute to the attack, just as he did with devastating effect against Middlesbrough.

Fabregas has made himself a key player for Arsenal after playing in Nike Tiempo Legend football boots for the past few seasons. The Nike Legend football boots are all about touch, class and comfort, they are a dream boot for a teams playmaker, who also gets up and down the pitch.

The upper of the Nike Air Legend II football boots is made from a comfortable supersoft kangaroo leather, uniquely stitched to maintain the boots shape and performance. Performance is further improved by Air Zoom cushioning beneath the insole to ensure comfort and shock absorption throughout an entire game.

Football News - Nike & adidas football boots join 300! - 28/04/09

Editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:07:00 GMT

Nike football boots and adidas football boots have become true heroes of the game, by breaking the 300 barrier for Premier League goals this season!...(read more)

Football News - PFA Player & Team of the year - 27/04/09

Editor — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:15:00 GMT

Manchester United's Ryan Giggs has been voted Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year, after a season wearing Reebok Sprintfit Lite Pro football boots. Giggs was the only Reebok player to be voted amongst the eleven players in the team of the year, which also contained four Nike players, three adidas, two Puma and one Lotto football boots wearer.

Long term Reebok football boots wearer Giggs won the PFA player of the year award for the first time in his career, despite performing consistantly for the last 17 years! However, Giggs has come in for some criticism after only starting 12 Premier League games, but in his defence we found this quote from Welsh legend Neville Southall: "Ryan is a Rolls Royce footballer and you don't take your Rolls Royce for a drive everyday....You only take it out of the garage for special occasions"!

The Sprintift Lite Pro football boots Giggs is currently playing in benefit from a teijin microfibre upper and are made from a one-piece upper material, the same as a Nike Vapor.

The football boots with the best representation in the PFA team of the year was the Nike T90 Laser II football boots, with Fernando Torres, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand. Interestingly, despite the Laser featuring Nike's ShotShield technology both Evra and Ferdinand are defenders, which is a testament to the comfort and upper performance of the Nike Laser.

Along with the three Nike Laser football boots, there was Gerrard's adidas Predators and Vidic's Puma v-Konstrukts which meant there were five power football boots in the team of the year. Following the power football boots was speed football boots with four players thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Anelka, Giggs and Young.

But which football boots and players do you think have performed well this season? Why not check out our Gospels awards to give your vote for the best power and speed football boots of the season...

SoccerBible's adidas adiPure II Special Edition Football Boots

SB Editor — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:22:00 GMT

Here at the SoccerBible, we love our boots as much as you so imagine our surprise and excitement as a mysterious package from adidas arrived marked "Top Secret"...

Our excitement turned to jaw-dropping awe as we opened up the box to find a special pair of personalised pair of adiPure II football boots, sent from our friends at adidas! These unique adiPure's have come from the global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany and naturally we had to share these with our SoccerBible fans too.

Created just for the SoccerBible, we suggested the idea of some one-off boots when we were invited to adidas' headquarters last month (more on that later!). So imagine our surprise when we opened the package to reveal our suggestion had come to life in this striking colourway! We just love the contrasting colours of the black and yellow and of course special "SoccerBible" inscription to the outside of each boot, where normally the adiPure logo is placed.

As with all adiPure II boots, the k-leather upper is super-soft and undeniably supple, making this the perfect boot for the creator and magician in the team. The clean instep also features the adiPure logo, and this has been set in the vibrant yellow colour stitching rather than matching the colour of the leather in a standard adiPure. Like these boots? Then head over to our Gospels awards section to cast your vote for best Special Edition boot of the season, amongst many other categories.

As you'll no doubt agree, these boots would certainly stand out on any pitch! Currently these special adiPure 2's are taking pride of place in the SoccerBible boot Collection Room at the top of the pile. The boots were created using adidas' miadidas service, so many thanks must go to all involved at adidas who have done a superb job with these awesome boots.

Football News - Nike Mercurial performs - 20/04/09

Editor — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:32:00 GMT

Both Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots and Nike Mercurial Vapor V football boots turned in a performance during the weekends FA Cup action. At the SoccerBible we've been trying to figure out if one boot is superior or more popular, but with both boots turning in excellent performances and goals it appears the discussion rages on!

Not normally known for his pace, Drogba was constantly putting Arsenal's defence under pressure wearing the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots. Drogba scored the winning goal, by out-sprinting the Arsenal defence and rounding the keeper to put Chelsea into the FA Cup final. So does Drogba's performance, thanks to the support and lightweight Flywire technology, inspire you to become a Superfly fan?

Despite some confusion we can confirm that Theo Walcott is representing Nike Mercurial Vapor V football boots. Similar to the extremely successful Vapor IV football boots, the Vapor V boots have been advanced with Flywire technology but are less radical than the Superfly. The Nike Mercurial Vapor V football boots retain the responsive Teijin synthetic upper, but with additional "speed touch" coating helping ball control, touch and feel. Walcott is clearly a fan of the Vapor V after striking Arsenal into the lead, but is this a boot that appeals more to the traditional Vapor fans out there?

The SoccerBible Gospels 2008/09: Vote for your Boot of the Season!

SB Editor — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The campaigning has been hard fought, the votes counted and now we can reveal the winners of the inaugural SoccerBible Gospels, the football boot awards where YOU get to have your say for the host of football gear categories on offer.

Honouring the very best of football boots from the 2008/09 season, from the early summer releases of 2008 right up to the most recent editions. Thousands of votes poured in from over 200 countries, making the Gospels a truly global awards by SoccerBible fans for what they feel are the worthy winners. So without further interruption, here are the winners YOU voted for:

Speed Boot Winner: Nike Mercurial Vapor SL Citron

The ninth colour option release for the Vapor IV, the Citron SL's were arguably the most popular of all the Vapor IV editions and won the Speed boots category with twice as many votes as its nearest rival!

This contender from Nike's Mercurial speed series saw the launch of this vibrant Citron green colourway. Nike set about promoting this boot with a striking "pack" mentality - over one Champions League gameweek these football boots were every where, from Ibrahimovic to Ronaldo, Ribery to Arshavin. The SL (SuperLight) versions were even more popular, as players in nearly every domestic league upgraded to this colourway (and some still are today!).

See all the nominees for the Best Speed Football Boots 08/09

Power Boot Winner: adidas Predator Rome Edition

The adidas Predator Rome and Nike white/blue Lasers battled it out right til the last, but in the end it was the Predator Rome which just edged the voting.

The Rome collection was designed by adidas to celebrate the 2009 Champions League final, and upon release were instantly seen being worn by Robin Van Persie and Dimitar Berbatov. Incorporating all the technology of the adidas Predator PowerSwerve football boots, the Rome Editions feature a soft leather upper with SmartFoam technology, and a PowerPulse tungsten powder chamber to give this boot increased ball spin for accuracy and power.

See all the nominees for the Best Power Football Boots 08/09

Heritage Boot Winner: adidas adiPure II Black/White

A classy category to win, the adiPure II football boots won by a large margin which could be down to them finding many top fans in the form of Frank Lampard, Xabi Alonso and of course Kaka, who all enjoy the soft feel, ball touch and control these premium boots offer.

Now we're the first to admit we loved the original adiPure boot, for it's modern take on a timeless style. It is fair to say we were apprehensive about the launch of the follow up, but now we can confidently say we love these boots! The classy leather upper and new wrap-around style tongue/heel counter are just two examples of why this boot deserved your vote.

See all the nominees for the Best Heritage Football Boots 08/09

Special Edition Boot Winner: Nike Mercurial SL

The Nike Mercurial SL football boots were a clear winner, and what has not already been said about this fantastic boot? Originally a concept from Nike's labs to test the boundaries of speed, the Mercurial SL was not expected to make it to the public. However, once Cristiano Ronaldo stepped out onto the drenched Moscow pitch last May, demand for this full carbon-fiber boot has not relented. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a pair early on and were hugely impressed with the weight, flexibility and strength these boots offered.

Despite such limited numbers available, the Mercurial SL did enough to be your Special Edition Boot winner.

See all the nominees for the Best Special Edition Football Boots 08/09

Top Scoring Football Boots (Premier League): Nike Mercurial Vapor

Thanks to such players as Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho the Nike Mercurial Vapor football boots reigned supreme in the Premier League. However, the adidas Predator football boots pushed them all the way courtesy of goals from Steven Gerrard and Robin Van Persie, but the Vapor boots held on to scoop this prestigious award.

Top Scoring Football Boots (Serie A): Nike Mercurial Vapor

It looked like the Nike Vapor had this one sewn up, but we did wonder whether the Predator could make a late push for the title, through Marco Di Vaio and Adrian Mutu. Bu thanks to goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabrizio Miccoli and Mauro Zarate the Nike Mercruial Vapor football boot's secured the title of Serie A top scoring football boot.

Top Scoring Football Boots (La Liga): Nike Mercurial Vapor

Dominating the Primera Division were adidas football boots outscoring Nike Vapor and Nike Laser football boots by quite some margin. The adidas Predator took the accolade of Primera Division's top scoring football boots, thanks to goals from Raul and Alvaro Negredo, with the closest challenger the adidas F50 series.

Football Winner: adidas Finale Rome

This offiicial matchball for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome wasn't just a winner for Barcelona, but was also a clear winner in the Gospels ball category.

The adidas Finale ball features a Roman burgundy colourway with gold detailing, celebrating the occasion are mosaic figures from key sporting values such as speed, teamwork, justice and power featured in each star! For performance this adidas ball has an all-over pimpled surface to give extra grip and longer ball contact, and to prolong durability the panels have been thermal bonded together.

Having supplied matchballs for major FIFA and UEFA tournaments since the 1970's this ball lived up to the high standards adidas and was a deserved winner.

See all the nominees for Best Football of the Season 08/09

Football Shirt of the Season Winner: England Home (Umbro)

The new England home shirt was completely different to what everyone had been expecting, perhaps the reason it was the winner! Umbro worked in top secret with the FA, and surprised everyone with a real vintage design. Featuring a new England crest reminiscent of a 1950's England shirt, the new clean and crisp all white shirt is tailored to work in harmony with popular modern base layers.

Nostalgia, heritage, timeless style and class. The new England shirt clearly pulled at your heart strings.

See all the nominees for the Best Football Shirt 08/09