Boot spotting: 3rd September

Are we all a little disappointed that it is the international break next week? It is not going to quite fill the void of regular season football, especially if we have more weeks of football like we did in the week just past. Soccer Reviews has dug up the best boot spots from this week’s action, from customised boots to limited edition boots, take a look at the hottest boot spots from this week’s football action.

Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) – adidas Predator LZ DB

Could Edin Dzeko be a secret David Beckham admirer? We have only seen the occasional player in the DB trademark Predator LZ, and Edin Dzeko is a part of a very select group of EPL players who have been seen wearing the Pink/Black/White Predator LZ DB. Adidas release DB trademark colour ways once every few months, and considering the DB LZ was released before the start of the season, we are anticipating an updated boot in a month or so.

James McClean (Sunderland) – Nike GS

While Neymar is the only officially sponsored Nike athlete who is allowed to wear the limited edition Nike GS, it does not stop other athletes from wearing the boot. James McClean is the only other athlete we have seen wearing the Nike GS (apparently a football in Asia has also been seen wearing the GS, but we are yet to see photos of him). We will have our own first impressions piece on our own pair of Nike GS this week, so keep an eye out for that.

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) – Puma EvoSpeed I

Perhaps one boot swap that has flown under the radar is that of Mikel Arteta. While the Spaniard has remained with Puma, he has made the move from the Puma King SL to the EvoSpeed I. He did wear the V1.11 last season, but he is one of the first athletes we have seen sporting the new Orange/Charcoal/Green EvoSpeed I. Are we going to see more players wearing the orange colour way now that Arteta is wearing them?

Miller Bolanos (Chivas USA) – Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II (Custom)

It is very strange to see what happens when footballers add masking tape to their football boots. While some footballers may use it to cover up the logos on their football boots when they are going through contract negotiations with their sponsor, we cannot quite work out why Miller Bolanos has applied tape over the Nike tick of his safari Mercurial Vapor Superfly II. If Bolanos was sponsored by Nike, he would be using more updated boots than the Superfly II. Perhaps Bolanos is waiting for the new signature CR7 Mercurial that will be released in a few months.

Clive Hackett (Northampton Town) – Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII (Custom)

While we have seen the odd customised Mercurial Vapor VIII, we must admit that Clive Hackett’s customised Vapors are definitely a clean looking boot. White Vapors are always a good looking boot, and Hackett might have gone with this mindset in creating his pair of White/Red/Black Vapor VIIIs. Customised Vapors come with the leather-like finish we have seen on the newer Mercurial models, which are more durable than the suede-like finish on the early Vapor VIII models.

Andy Johnson (QPR) – adidas Predator LZ

We think that the new White/Black/Infared and Gold/White/Black Predator LZ colour ways that have been released for the start of the 2012/13 season have really flown under the radar. It seems a lot of footballers are avoiding the two colour ways in favour for either the launch colour way Predator LZ or the Red/White/Black colour way that it was released in tandem with. Andy Johnson is actually the first EPL player we have seen in the White/Black/Infared colour way, and it is strange to see so few players in the new boots.

Nouha Dicko (Blackpool) – Puma EvoSpeed I

While the White/Red/Limoges Puma EvoSpeed I has been an absolute hit with many footballers, we have not seen many players in the alternative colour ways of the boot. Nouha Dicko is the first footballer we have seen in the Black/White/Orange EvoSpeed I, which is surprising considering the colour way was released around the start of the EUROs in conjunction with the launch colour way White/Red/Limoges EvoSpeed I.

Miller Maruško (ND Mura 05) – Nike CTR Trequartista II

We always love it when we see footballers wearing mid or low range football boots. It does not happen to often, but Miller Maruško of ND Mura 05 has opted for the CTR Trequartista II over the more popular CTR360 Maestri II, which is noticeable looks-wise by the placement of the blue section of the boot being further back on the Trequartista than it is on the Maestri. The other big difference is the lack of a Kanga-Lite upper on the Trequartista model.

Danny Batth (Wolverhampton) – Nike T90 Laser IV (Custom)

Blacked out boots are normally a challenge for us to decipher, but Danny Batth dropped us a big hint here with just a look at the soleplate of his boots. It is clear that Danny Batth’s boots started life as a pair of ‘Clash’ T90 Laser IVs, and we must admit Batth has done a very thorough job in blacking out his T90 Laser IVs.

That is it for this week’s boot spotting, what was your favourite spot this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.