Football boots in the spotlight.

Boots are even older than football

People have long kicked spherical objects for fun. The poor played barefoot, and in the early 16th century King Henry VIII was given a pair of boots. The gift was brought by the queen, paying the equivalent of 1,200 euros. But because of the price and weight, the leather swelled, the boots did not become popular. It is not even known whether the king wore boots.

Then not only men, but also women played football. The girls had heels with better grip, which gave the idea. In the 19th century, boots with spikes or nails driven into the sole became popular. But the studs led to injuries, the Football Association banned the old boots, allowing only leather-covered studs.

For a long time the boots were the same with six toes. Only creative people, like the Brazilians in the 1920s, decorated football boots with inscriptions in honor of the players, giving them memorable gifts. But soccer shoes have a special status. Millions of children all over the world dreamed of a ball and the lucky ones received real shoes.

The Germans changed the design

The future Nazi Adolf Dassler in the mid-1920s envisioned making sports shoes with spikes that could be unscrewed and replaced. They tried the shoes on runners, and in 1929 the company of Adi and Rudy Dassler released stock football boots. Don’t believe in the myth, as in the final world Cup-54 the Germans won only thanks to new boots.

The ears were removed much earlier, but the war stopped the plant. After the defeat, the Nazi Rudolf Dassler ended up in a prison camp, and Adi was in no hurry to let his brother out. The brothers quarreled and founded two companies, Adidas and Puma. From the beginning of the 50s they conquered the market. The models with high shinbones have disappeared, football boots have become lighter.

In 1966 there were recognizable models. And then the brothers’ firms realized that you can make billions. Although the Dassler brothers did not communicate with each other until their deaths, their companies agreed not to sign a contract with the legendary Pele. But Rudolf broke the deal.

Pele defiantly tied his shoelaces world Cup-70 to get his Puma boots noticed around the world. It took Adi Dassler nine years to take revenge on his brother. He invented the 12-stud kangaroo leather cleats, the most successful pair in football history. And only in the 21st century they guessed that modern technologies allow not to torment the kangaroo.

Adidas claims that about one in every hundred pairs are made from genuine kangaroo leather. Professionals still often play in leather boots, although there are polymers nearby of different qualities and characteristics that make running easy and comfortable.

Football players have a collection of football boots

Kroos has been playing in the same model for ten years. The Germans are supplied with their favorite, discontinued boots. This was done as part of an advertising strategy, although Adidas is no longer a German company, but rather a French one. The richest Russian woman’s ex-husband, Louis Dreyfus, was attached to her safety. “Puma”, by the way, is also in the hands of the French.

And a new round of industry development was given by the American company Nike, when the Brazilian Ronaldo wore a light Mercurial model. There were metal spikes on the sole, and now hybrids are used. Some spikes are metal, some plastic, sometimes oblong in shape. And the type of shoes depends on the position of the players.

Defenders use metal spikes for stability. Experienced players who touch the ball with their feet when dribbling sometimes ask to insert metal spikes inside the sole, and make plastic ones around the edges, it’s more pleasant for them. Modern boots are light in weight, but in terms of reliability they are noticeably inferior to their old colleagues.

Even the shoes Messi plays in look terrible up close, like a Chinese fake. But that also makes sense. Shoes break down faster, people buy new boots. In 1970 the first white boots were introduced and now colored shoes have become part of the advertising strategy.

Players “pump up” shoes

For superstars, custom boots are made, taking measurements, like cobblers do, making expensive shoes to order. Lower-level players are given regular shoes, but Kitman, the club’s kitman, has a special cooker and steamer to suit. Some footballers like to heat their boots to make them more elastic.

And the steam hydrates the boot, helping the foot adapt. An unsuccessfully matched pair of boots is stretched. They also often change the soles to special ones for a specific player. The services of specific masters are not expensive for millionaires Premier League and other famous leagues. Even special soles have appeared that “repel” dirt, but the lawn must be taken into account.

There are now surfaces where natural grass is interwoven with artificial fibers. You can play to the point of clogging the sole during a game in rainy weather and on a well-watered field. There are no trifles in football. Comfortable, lightweight and tailored to the specific foot, the shoes reduce the risk of injury on flat ground, allowing the player to reach their potential.

And next to it is an accessory, such as a watch and a belt. Arsenal newcomer Rice has about 25 modifications to football boots. And the other player Premier League paid £10,000 to change a regular sole. On average, a player owns three to five pairs of football boots per game.

Women need their boots

Men’s boots are not suitable for women’s feet. Habitual gaming shoes cause discomfort for 82% of female players. Illiterately chosen shoes have become one of the causes of frequent knee injuries in women’s football. It is necessary to take into account the structure of the foot, the limit loads on the joints and ligaments.

In the 19th century they broke each other by snagging on the metal inserts on socks. And now the footballers of the giants get angry if the companies whose shoes are being advertised ask for a change of shoes for PR reasons. Everyone has a favorite set of gear. You can illiterately choose the height of the spikes, and this will complicate field work.

Players are asked to rearrange tips, apply inscriptions. Messi has the names of his children and wife on his shoes. But there are “old school” guys. Alexander-Arnold often wears off-the-shelf stock boots. And there are capricious aesthetes. John Terry kept three pairs of boots: for warm-up, for the first half and for the second.

Superstition in football is also strong, so Liverpool’s Soboslai ran in children’s boots, rubbed his feet, but did not throw away his lucky shoes. At a high level, you can see your favorite boots repaired. And if the player has an unusual foot shape, it is sometimes more convenient to play in fake Chinese boots.

But more often than not, a football player has a personal contract with a shoe brand. Sniper Kane recently found an exotic boot maker. Professional shoes cost about 25,000 rubles, but any shoe in which a person enjoyed playing football is priceless.