Football boot
Encyclopedia
Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
pitches
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
have studs
Cleat (shoe)
Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe, or on an external attachment to a shoe, that provide additional traction on a soft or slippery surface...
on the bottom to aid grip
Traction
- Engineering :*Forces:** Traction , adhesive friction or force in the context of vehicle** Traction vector, in mechanics, the force per unit area on a surface, including normal and shear components...
. Modern "boots" are not truly boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s in that they do not cover the ankle.
History
The first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
ordered a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526. The royal shopping list for footwear states: "45 velvet pairs and 1 leather pair for football". Unfortunately these are no longer in existence.
In association football's Laws of the Game, Law 4: Player's equipment deals with football boots. Until 1891, any kind of projection on the soles or heels of football boots was strictly forbidden. The 1891 revision allowed both studs and bars, so long as they were made of leather and did not project more than half an inch, and they had their fastenings driven in flush with the leather. Studs had to be rounded, neither conical nor pointed and not less than half an inch in diameter. The leather studs were originally hammered into the boots on a semi-permanent basis and players would have several pairs of boots with different length studs, but in the mid-1950s Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
introduced boots with interchangeable screw-in studs made of rubber or plastic for varying weather conditions. Football boots were originally heavy boots with protection for the ankle, and these remained the standard style of boot in northern Europe for many years where the boots needed to stand up to the rigours of use on muddy winter pitches. A lighter boot without ankle protection and resembling a studded shoe became popular in southern Europe and South America where pitches were generally harder and less muddy and this eventually became the standard style.
Timeline:
1800’s: During the 19th century football became extremely popular in Britain. People who played would wear their heavy and hard work boots to play. These were the first ever boots with the steel toed cap at the front and the long laces and ankle support. These boots also had metal studs or tacks put in them at the bottom so the players would have more stability on the pitch. In the later period of the 19th century the first ever football boot was designed, made of thick and heavy leather which ran right to your ankle for increased protection, the first boot weighed 500g and would double in weight when it was wet.
1900-1940’s: Between 1900-1940 football boots style stayed very basic. They remained so during the inter-war years, despite many famous football boot producers, such as Gola, Hummel and Valsport becoming evermore popular.
1940-1960’s: After the Second World War, the designs of the football boot changed dramatically and really started to make an impact on the game. The South Americans designed a more light and more flexible boot. This design was focused on increasing good control and better kicking power rather than a more protective boot.
1960’s: In the 1960s the football boot technology really took a huge step, which saw many football boots designed with a lower cut. These enabled the best players in Europe and South America to move faster and change direction quicker.
1970-1980’s: The 1970s and the 1980s saw many great advances and changes in the football boot design. The 1970s saw technology produce many more light boots and a variety of colours. In this decade, players started to get paid to wear a certain brand of boots. Finally in the
1980’s, probably the most popular and dominant boot in the world the Adidas Predator was designed.
1990-2000’s: In the 1990s this saw football boots introduce different types of studs to increase the balance of the player. The Predators once again dominated this era and a more flexible sole was introduced. In the first decade of the 21st century laser technology was introduced to produce the first fully customized football boot in 2006
Different styles for different sports
Depending on the type of surface, kind of sport and even the wearer's position or role in the game, different cuts of boot and particularly stud arrangements are available. For hard fields, amateur participants may wear a sneaker shoe or a plastic-stud boot (known as a "moulded sole
Sole
Sole may refer to:* Sole , the bottom of the foot* Sole , the bottom supporting member of the shoe-Business:* Sole proprietorship, a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner...
"); in most sports and positions this is adequate, although on a well-grassed or sodden field, a screw stud is recommended for more grip; these may be metal, rubber or plastic. Presently, boot designs are based on the criteria of speed, power, touch or control with some boots offering a combination of these.
For indoor soccer, indoor cleats are used. These come in many styles, some with studs and some without. They vary greatly from normal soccer cleats.
For rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, the screw-in stud (or in some cases a metal-tipped, moulded stud) is preferred, especially in the positions
Rugby union positions
In the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...
of prop, hooker, and lock, where more grip is required for contested scrums. These screw-in studs have to be completely of metal construction not plastic with metal tips, of a maximum length of 21mm. These boots are often heavier than appropriate for other types of football. One of the more obvious differences between football and rugby boots is the formation of the studs. Also, some rugby boots tend to have a high cut around the ankles. There are several types of rugby boot, meant for players in different positions.
Screw-in studs have been banned in some Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
leagues since the 1990s due to the frequency of severe injuries to players as a result of contact with the metal. In football, referees must now check all boots prior to kick off to check for damage to studs, to prevent injury. Before this time, preference between the screw-in stud was based primarily on weather conditions.
More recently, moulded soles with specially designed boots known as blades have moulded soles facing in multiple directions, theoretically to maximise grip and minimise ankle injury. Recently, however, "bladed" football boots have faced criticism from some UK sporting bodies for causing potentially serious injuries to players. English football club Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
have even banned its players from wearing boots with bladed studs after players like Wayne Rooney and David Beckham suffered repeated metatarsal injuries.
Association football markets and brands
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
, but in more recent years have become available in various colours such as blue, green, red, white, yellow, silver, gold and even pink. Big name companies such as Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
and the like have made an impact on the market with record sales. Nike's flagship shoe is the Mercurial Vapors worn by Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
, with other versions such as Total 90 football boot worn by Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
. German company Adidas are responsible for the Predator range worn by David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
, and Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
, as well as the long-surviving Copa Mundial
Adidas Copa Mundial
The Copa Mundial football boot was released in 1979, but designed for the 1982 FIFA World Cup games. Going through very slight changes since then, the Copa is made of 100% kangaroo leather upper for maximum ball control and comfort...
. The entire German national side wore Adidas boots during the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. English firm Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
produce the Speciali boot endorsed by John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
and Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
. Sunderland midfielder-cum-defender John O'Shea
John O'Shea
John O'Shea can refer to:*John O'Shea, Irish footballer with Sunderland*John O'Shea , New Zealand film director*John O'Shea *John O'Shea , Wales international rugby union footballer*John O'Shea...
wears the Concave football boot
Concave football boot
Concave Holdings Ltd is based in Toronto, Canada. The company is globally oriented with a principal office in Manchester UK, executive office in Toronto, and locations in the US...
- it is a Canadian company that claims to manufacture the safest football boot out of the current lot.
In recent times, the most successful of these companies is Nike, and their products enjoy great popularity among professional footballers; among Nike's endorsers are two-time FIFA World Player of the Year
FIFA World Player of the Year
The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...
Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
, aforementioned duo Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, striker Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
, and other popular players. Adidas, which has been providing football boots with screw-in studs to the German national side since the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
, have made their impact on the modern market by signing big name players as endorsers: players such as David Beckham, former France captain Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
and other successful players. Adidas sells with an image of technology and class in their boots which is key to their success. Both Chelsea and Manchester United had enjoyed long kit manufacturing deals with Umbro, but both teams signed recent deals with Adidas and Nike respectively.