Unfortunately we didn't play yesterday, we gathered 12 people (we play 6v6) but we couldn't find an other vehicle to transport us so, review about the Speciali postponed
So, yesterday was the "debut" of my Speciali Eternal Pro AG. Here's a short review. - Touch of the ball is great, due to the leather quality and thickness. Most of my shots were accurate, of course a boot doesn't increase your accuracy, but it gives you the comfort to shoot at your potential accuracy. Same goes to long passes. - AG studs were great, I felt comfortable during some rotation movement and change of directions, something absent in the Kaiser 5 Liga because of it's long studs. Conical studs are good for AG, but when they're long they don't give you the complete freedom to move, of course that also depends on the quality of the turf, the turf we play in is somehow dry and scratchy more than usual, I only feel comfortable moving with the Kaiser 5 when it's raining, otherwise, the studs sometimes make frictions with the turf. All that was absent with the Speciali Eternal AG. - The A-Frame, now this was not only a gimmick, it even was the opposite of what it was intended to be. I felt a big space in the A-Frame area, both feet and both sides. This manifested mainly when I change direction, I feel like my foot was rotating inside the boot. I wore a very thin sock, so that's maybe a reason, next time I'll use a thick one and see. - Fit, aside from the A-Frame issue, every thing was great, the heel were locked perfectly, the forefoot also, I have a Greek shaped foot so there's always space in my big toe area, if I buy a smaller size (half down), my second toe would be bent and hurting. Overall, good experience. If not for the A-Frame thing that bothered me, I would consider it even great.
Agree with your comments about the studs - I find FG studs to be too long for AG pitches. Interestingly when I first played in my Specialis the heal area felt a bit loose - but this problem seemed to magically solve itself once I had played in them for a couple of hours and the leather started to mold to my feet. I've actually only played in mine for 3 hours so far, because I don't play on AG pitches very often, but I'm really looking forward to wearing them again. They are great boots!
I playerd two seasons plus some extra games in my Eternals. Great boots. Also had issues first few games with the heel being to wide/slipping, but after few games it resolved itself. Never had issues eith a-frame. But i did buy extra long laces and tied them around midfoot like i did on my kaiser 5s, just like the old school laces like that. Also, the hg/fg pattern was great on grass and 3g pitches.
Well, tonight was my 2nd game with the Speciali, I wore thicker socks and I firmly laced the boot, and the difference is very big, I didn't feel my feet moving inside the boots, that gave me a really great experience, now I started to explore the greatness of this boot.
Pretty gorgeous looking shoe. I've seen skeptics which makes me hesitant to pull the trigger but they look so good that I might just...
Speed and Touch: All You Need. Medusae II - 21.07.17#Medusae2AllYouNeed pic.twitter.com/0ptmHKG6YJ— Umbro (@umbro) July 18, 2017
So we think special editions and limited releases are expensive and getting out of hand... Check out how much the Accerator Yatto celebrating the 20th anniversary of Endo's career. That is around 800 US dollars
It might be time to give Umbro another look. This supposed to be a remake of the 98 Speciali. I tried their Speciali Eternal and didn't love them, however these look a lot better. Of course, I think I got the sizing wrong last time around...haha That tongue with an elastic strap anyone?
i had them maybe like in 2001 or so..... i find the heel and rear rather bulky and the toe a bit narrow but the design/color is CLASSIC! reminds me of Shearer, M.Owen, McManaman......
Hahaha, Umbro successfully sabotaged adidas' plans to be the first to release a laceless leather boot. Medusae 3
yeah they really look great, I know all the new stuff isn't my cup of tea, as I'm an old school guy, but when I see something good I say it, and this Medusae looks really good, and seems to perform good.
I like the look of those - Don't think I'd wear them because sadly I've been completely converted to synthetic boots and even when I do occasionally wear a leather pair I'm quick to go back. I was also thinking most Umbro boots look awful - but wow, they've pulled out all the stops with that slick design. appleCORR
I wonder what they have done to improve fit... obviously fit is a common complaint of laceless boots and the leather might overstretch
That's a really good point actually. You'd have to get a pretty snug fit with them. Lets face it Adidas struggle to get a decent fitting synthetic boot so I'll be impressed if Umbro has nailed this. appleCORR
I'd still be willing to try these out. Maybe a tighter fit will compensate for the stretching? Or maybe it's a leather that won't stretch as much