Boot spotting: 1st June

It’s officially the first day of summer (or the first day of winter for me), either way, it’s worth cracking open a new boot spotting for the occasion! We’ve seen loads of players changing boots since the end of the season a few weeks ago, and while some may have been predictable, there’s been some unexpected players and some reluctant players who aren’t changing to the boots they’re expected to wear. Let’s take a look over the best spots from the pre-Euro matches and training sessions.

Wayne Rooney (England) – Nike Kanga-Lite T90 Laser IV

Even though we’re not going to see Wayne Rooney until later into EURO 2012 as he serves out his international suspension, it’s surprising to see that the face of the T90 Laser range not wearing the boot he’s probably supposed to promote at Polkraine. Even though many stars have made the switch to the various boots of the new ‘Clash’ collection from Nike, Rooney hasn’t been one of those players. We wonder whether he’ll make the switch before he plays for the Three Lions in Polkraine.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – adidas adiPure 11Pro

One boot that has had trouble in making a real impact on the market has been the adiPure 11Pro. It didn’t get the best rating in our recent review of the boot, and many stars have been ditching the adiPure range in their droves. The lack of a kangaroo leather upper is thought to be the main reason behind the exodus, and even Bastian Schweinsteiger, the headline player of the range, has been wearing the adiPure III more often than the adiPure 11Pro since the release of the new boot. While he is now in the adiPure 11Pro, it’s interesting to note it’s not in the Blue/Infared/White EURO 2012 colourway.

Juan Mata (Spain) – Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly III

Perhaps one of the more surprising boot switches so far has come from Juan Mata, with the Chelsea star ditching the Vapor VIII he ended his Chelsea season with in favour for the Granite/Purple/White/Red Superfly III. For all we know, he could be reacquainting with a favourite pair of boots that Mata left in Spain before heading off to England, but it’ll be interesting to see whether Mata will go for the K-Leather Mercurials that will be released after the Euros (shhhh, it’s a secret).

Phil Jones (England) – Puma PowerCat 1.12

Nike have their ‘Clash’ collection, adidas have their boots decked out in blue, infared and white, and Puma revealed their EURO 2012 boots this week, with their boots making an appearance in a flashy White/Ribbon Red/Limoges colourway that has been spread across the brand’s boots. This week also saw the release of the new PowerCat 1.12 SL, but Phil Jones isn’t one of those players who’ll be wearing the lightweight Puma, opting for the regular version instead as evidenced by the white soleplate.

Fabio Borini (Italy) – Nike CTR360 Maestri II Elite

It’s not a secret that any footballer with a contract with any of the companies get customised football boots, but it sometimes leads to access to boots that aren’t available to the general public. Borini’s CTR360 Maestri II Elites are an example of that, and while quite a few players are wearing carbon fibre versions of the boots, they aren’t going to go on general sale. It’s an interesting move by Nike to allow so many players to wear carbon fibre versions of the boots.

Fernando Torres (Spain) – Nike T90 Laser IV

While Wayne Rooney hasn’t been wearing the T90 Lasers that Nike would prefer him to be wearing, they’ve been fighting the same battle with Fernando Torres for the past few months now. Torres has been continually wearing the White/Orange/Black T90 Laser IV launch colourway, even though it’s the very same colourway he debuted when he made THAT horror miss at Old Trafford. Torres has always had a fancy for white football boots, so we could see the Spaniard wear the boots when the new season starts.

Nagai Kensuke (Nagoya Grampus Eight) – Mizuno Morelia Neo (Custom)

When the Mizuno Morelia Neo was released in it’s Green/Black/Red launch colourway, the bright pair of boots polarised the football boot community. It’s one of the more ‘out there’ colourways that the normally conservative Morelia range has been seen in, but they obviously weren’t bright enough for Nagoya Grampus Eight’s Nagai Kensuke, who put some bright red laces onto his green Morelia Neos. He probably should have just kept the green laces they came with…

Zvjezdan Misimovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – adidas Predator LZ

We’ve seen two Predator LZ colourways so far, and both colourways are fairly bright on the pitch. Zvjezdan Misimovic could have had the same thought, and the lucky Bosnian has managed to get a hold of the blackout Predator LZ colourway that is only available to the professionals. We saw this very colourway on Xabi Alonso last month, and it isn’t going to be formally released until about this time next year.

That’s it for today’s boot spotting. Don’t forget to hang around for the next instalments of the best boot spots soon. What was your favourite boot spot today? Share your thoughts below on today’s boot spotting.