Boot spotting: 16th January

Kick off your week in the best way possible, with the latest and greatest boot spots from this weekend’s football action. This weekend saw the debut of the adiPure 11Pro and several new Umbro colourways. But which pros decided to ditch adidas’ latest boot creation? From Europe to Australia and Sudan, check out this weekend’s hottest boot spots!

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – adidas micoach F50 adiZero

With a third Ballon D’Or awarded to the Argentinian superstar, it was only fitting that adidas made a boot fit for football royalty. The regal Gold/White/Black micoach F50 adiZero can only look right on the world’s best player, and he showed off his new boots and the Ballon D’Or trophy prior to Barcelona’s cup game against Real Betis.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – adidas adiPure IV

The biggest boot news this weekend was the release of the new adidas adiPure 11Pro, which has shed k-leather in favour for the more durable Taurus leather. This was a big call by adidas, and perhaps it hasn’t fallen too well with Lampard, one of the headline players for the adiPure range. He stuck to the tried and tested adiPure IV this weekend, but could we see Lampard make the switch any time soon?

Oscar Cardozo (Benfica) – Nike T90 Laser IV 

The Red/White T90 Laser IV could be a perfect match with many kits around the world, but the Kanga-Lite colourway hasn’t seen too big a player uptake, much to our surprise. However, Oscar Cardozo managed to see that it could be a perfect match with his Benfica kit, and it definitely is a brilliant match! Cardozo scored two goals and got himself red carded against Vitoria Setubal on Saturday.

Marcelo (Real Madrid) – Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII

We know that the Vapor VIII is going to be a massive boot when it gets launched later this year, and Nike appear to be going at great lengths to make sure that the boot is given heavy tests before it is released to the public. Marcelo is another player who is wearing Vapor VIIIs disguised as the new Midnight Purple Superfly III, along with others such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Clint Dempsey.

Juan Manuel Vargas (ACF Fiorentina) – Umbro Geometra Pro

The Umbro Geometra Pro is starting to pick up more and more player support, as players are starting to use the k-leather control boot. Surprisingly, we’re starting to see quite a bit of this support coming from mainland Europe, even though Umbro are based in England. The Geometra Pro is a perfect boot for the CAM Vargas, which will allow him superb touch and control.

Bradley Johnson (Norwich City) – Nike CTR360 Maestri II

We believe it’s the best CTR360 Maestri II colourway on the market, and I’d go as far as saying it’s my favourite colourway from the past 12 months (that’s saying something), but not too many pros have been spotted in the Dark Shadow/Volt CTR360 Maestri II. But Brad Johnson pulled out the spectacular colourway this weekend, making him the third player behind Robert Huth and Mario Balotelli who have been spotted wearing the new colourway in the EPL.

Harry Kewell (Melbourne Victory) – adidas adiPure 11Pro

So while Frank Lampard didn’t debut the new adiPure 11Pro, there were still players from around the world who wore the new boot this weekend. Danny Allsopp and Harry Kewell became the first players who wore the boot after it’s official unveiling as they wore the adiPure 11Pro against Adelaide on Friday night. After wearing the blackout version of the boot in training, it’s a sign that Harry Kewell has now moved on from Nike to sign up with adidas, the brand which he wore during his time at Liverpool.

Mohammed Admad (Sudan) – adidas micoach F50 adiZero

Mohammed Admad must have a very good friend working at adidas, as the Sudanese footballer has somehow got a hold of the yet to be released Black/White/Electricity adidas micoach F50 adiZero. Expected to be released in May prior to Euro 2012, there could be a possibility that Admad is wearing a fake pair of these boots. We really aren’t too sure how he managed to get his hands on these!

Jose Flores (RCD Mallorca) – Mizuno Wave Ghost

It’s not too often we see retro Mizuno boots, and the Wave Ghost is certainly a boot that we don’t see too often. With an upper called Kuraray, it was a combination of k-leather and synthetic leather. This was intended for fantastic ball feel as well as being lightweight. In the end, it didn’t become a big boot, but it’s still good to see them on the feet of Flores. Thanks to Soccer Reviews reader Guilherme Cerqueira for the spot!

Yassine Chikhaoui (Tunisia) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IV SL

Any football boot connoisseur will have a soft spot for the old Mecurial Vapor IV SL, back when the Mercurial range was the best speed boot on the market. Some people still hold onto their old Vapor IV SL boots, and Tunisia’s Yassine Chikhaoui has done incredibly well to keep his Vapor IV in such good condition! I’m sure a lot of people would pay big money to have a pair of Vapor IV SLs like Chikhaoui!

That’s it for this week’s boot spotting. What was your favourite spot this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below