After such a huge success last season, the SoccerBible Gospels Awards returned to honour the best football boots and gear from the 2009/10 season
The shortlist of nominees were drawn up from the football
boots and gear on general release that the soccer-loving public (thats us
and you!) were able to buy during the 2009/10 season. That
meant no place for new comers like the Nike Elite series
or even the brand new adidas F50 adizero, who both
just missed the cut for these awards.
However that didn't put off literally tens of thousands of football boot mad fans from over 200 countries worldwide casting their opinions and votes. So without further delay, we present the winners for the 2009/10 SoccerBible Gospels...
Speed Football Boots Winner: Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II!
The reigning champion in the speed boot category was the Nike
Mercurial Vapor SL, and the latest incarnation in the Mercurial series takes over the title as the SoccerBible readers favourite speed boot. Amassing 37% of the votes in this category, the Superfly II held off competition from it's older brother, the Superfly I (28%) and the adidas F50i TUNIT (18%) to take top spot.
Power Football Boots Winner: adidas Predator X!
The reigning champion in the power boot category was the adidas Predator PowerSwerve Rome Edition so fittingly the subsequent Predator X release takes over the crown as the fans choice for power. The tenth release in the iconic Predator series was the most speculated
and controversial to date, but still did the business and pulled in 43% of the votes.
This was a close one, with the Mizuno Wave Ignitus sealing 2nd spot with an impressive 39% of the votes. And had the voting not closed before Honda's sensational Mukaiten free-kick at the World Cup, we wonder if the Predator X would still have reigned supreme!
Heritage Football Boots Winner: adidas adiPure III
The reigning champion in the heritage boot category was the adidas adiPure II and once again the newer model took the spoils as your choice of heritage boot. The third release in the adiPure series are still as popular as ever,
with a whopping 45% of your votes. This was more than double the votes of the second placed Nike Tiempo Legend III (22%), ahead of the Ronaldinho Dois (15%) and Umbro Speciali (11%).
We reckon it is thanks to that all important mix of classic style, superb comfort and no
nonsense performance that put the adiPure III on the top of so many of your lists.
Special Edition Football Boots Winner: Nike Tiempo 94!
Last years champion, the Nike Mercurial SL hands over the title to another Swoosh stable mate the Tiempo 94. If like us you love a bit of retro football
boots, the Tiempo 94 was definitive must have collectors edition and it seems you agree, as the Tiempo 94 marginally beat off the Puma v1.10 Kehinde Wiley boots by just 2% (32% to 30%) to be your Special Edition boots of 2009/10.
Best International Football Shirt Winner: Puma Africa Unity Kit!
The majority of the international shirts on offer were released at
the tail end of the season obviously in time for the World Cup. The
reigning champion in the Football Shirts category was the England Home Shirt by Umbro but it was the original and unique Africa Unity Kit from Puma that just won out, beating Nike's Portugal Away shirt by just 1% of the votes. It was so close we had to count it twice to be sure!
The revolutionary Africa Unity Kit is the world's first continental
football kit and although it didn't make it onto the pitch during the World Cup, will certainly be remembered for its' message as well as design.
Best Viral Advert Campaing Winner: Nike Lace Up, Save Lives.
The newest Gospel category pitted the brands big advertising campaigns head-to-head for your votes.Early on it was clear there was only going to be one winner, and that was the Nike Lace Up Save Lives advert. With a massive 54% of your votes backing the (NIKE) RED campaign to raise awareness of the global fund to
fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa this funny viral ad
certainly heightened the cause and inspired us to launch our Global
(RED) Laces Gallery
SoccerBible Readers Football Boots of 2009/10: Nike CTR360 Maestri!
So here it is. The big one. These are the football boots YOU voted as your choice of Boot of the Season for 2009/10 - the Nike CTR360 Maestri. With 47% of your votes the CTR360 reigned over the Nike Mercurial Superfly I (28%) and the adidas adiPure III (21%) to take the coveted title.
When Nike introduced us to the new concept of a fourth "control" silo,
we have to confess to being a little sceptical. For there was already
the TIempo collection to appease creative, all-round players - or so we
thought. The CTR360 Maestri blew both us and you away with all-round performance,
soft, comfortable upper and immediate response. The CTR360's have become
so much part of the fabric now, we wonder how we ever got on without them!
So there you have it, the Gospels wrapped up for another year. We want to thank all of those who took the time to vote in any or all of the categories, and are already looking forward to next year's installment featuring the likes of the Nike Elite Series and adidas adiZero and new boots not even released yet!