Football Boot stories

Discussion in 'Soccer Boots' started by Pangu, May 13, 2017.

  1. Pangu

    Pangu Member

    Jan 4, 2004
    Australia
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    #1 Pangu, May 13, 2017
    Last edited: May 13, 2017
    @JayMike-DK just posted a video talking about old football boots that hold fond memories and after watching it, i thought this would be the best place to hear some great football boot stories!

    Mine is the Predator Precision, my first ever high end boot. Every time i see that boot or wear it, i cannot help but wear a great big smile on my face. The velcro tongue holder never worked great but i thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Then there was the traxion sole plate with red studs! i still have my original pair and since 1999 i have now got Beckhams silver with red elements, slate blue in fg and sg and also the original colour way in four different pairs! The nova mundial was also a pair that i enjoyed wearing.

    I remember going to the shops one day when winter was setting in and i somehow convinced my mum to buy me a pair of SG's, she asked if i wanted the champions league precisions in white and i said, nah i would never be able to pull white off and went for a black pair of nova mundials, how i regret that decision now!

    Without a doubt, the Adidas Predator Precision was the boot that kicked off my obsession for football boots.

    [​IMG]

    As you can see from the stripes, i am clearly a right footer!

    I would love to hear some stories you guys have!
     
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  2. jihado86

    jihado86 Member

    Dec 2, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    #2 jihado86, May 13, 2017
    Last edited: May 13, 2017
    Nice story Pangu !!

    I don't remember exactly my whole boot history, but I think my first boot was Lotto, I was really young, maybe 10 years-old. And I don't remember exactly the silo, it was 1996 so maybe Lotto Stadio, it had a classic look, black, and I think the logo was green. I wasn't in a team back then, but I played with it with my friends, we were playing everywhere :D, streets, any open area, etc ....
    Then in 1999, my father brought for me a pair of boots named Jordache, he was a coach and he just came back from Saudi Arabia, the boot was black with white details, one thing I remember about it, is that the sole-plate was mainly white, even the studs, and they were exactly like Copa Mundial's studs. I used that boot during college's championships.

    in 2002 I joined my local team, U17. My father gave me his old boots, I don't remember exactly what they were, maybe Adidas Profi, maybe Copa, maybe something else, I don't remember.
    During that year the boot got ripped in the front area, so I borrowed an other boot for some games, it was a popular boot locally back then, I don't know if you heard about it, the brand name was Look, the boot is of course black, it had details similar to the adidas stripes but colored in white and dark green. Local teams were buying those boots for their players.

    After that, I didn't follow a carrier in football, I left when I was 18 to concentrate on my studies, but football remained a hobby, of course the frequency of playing was decreasing with years, until university when we started playing once a week, for that, I had an Adidas boot designed for AG, but we were playing on sand :D. I had an other pair of that boot in 2013 that I used until recently. The boot is very similar to Mundial Team, I searched the whole internet for a picture or a name but I couldn't find anything, it has these words written in the sole-plate "special tartan", it's french for "special for artifical turf". And it had Traxxion written in the sole-plate side.

    And finally, I bought the Kaiser 5 Liga and the Umbro Speciali Eternal this year. That's it.
     
  3. naruto16

    naruto16 Member

    Aug 13, 2005
    when i started getting into boots i started with the vapors 3. then the 4,5,6. u get the idea. i had the superfly when they launched. i felt like the coolest kid in town with the shiny boots. nowadays however. i have lost some pace and everybody and their grandparents have a pair of shiny vapors so i am back to my roots weaeing my old trusted pulses and manias. i feel cool again. lol
     
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  4. derbyyank13

    derbyyank13 Member+

    Nov 8, 2008
    Niigata, Japan
    Club:
    Derby County FC
    This thread is a top idea.

    I have several but I'll pick just one for now...

    I remember back in 2004 for my senior year of high school my parents told me they would buy me my first pair of high-end boots. I was really stoked about getting the brand new Adidas F50s. It seemed so much better than every else in the market and I left the Eurosport magazine page open downstairs on the kitchen table so my parents knew which ones I wanted. I went into Total Soccer (which was an amazing store full of awesome people that I ended up working with a few later at my old job - but I am straying from the point) and went to pick them up and

    They were sold out already.
    I didn't know anything about release dates.
    They told me they were getting more in 2 weeks and they would hold a pair however my dad told me he wouldn't wait.
    I then thought - oh these Valsports look cool (they were the Unas if anybody remembers that model)
    The manager took over from the other employee and explained why the Valsports were a poor choice (durability, fit, weird heel) and then the next hour explaining to me about football boots and what one should look for in a boot. By the time he was done the store had been close for 45 minutes. I left with nothing and the guy had no problem with that.

    The next day I went in again and within 10 minutes the same guy had figured out the perfect boot for me in terms of fit and style - the Mercurial Vapor Ks in Black. It was my first ever Vapor and by far the best.

    Total Soccer closed within the next year, but I still have the boots because I won my second state championship with my HS while wearing them.

    I do still crave to have an original F50 - maybe I will finally pick one up this year - and I always wonder what might have been given that I was a die hard Vapor fan boy for the next several years.

    Anyways long story short. This is when I first properly learned about footie boots.
     
  5. Pangu

    Pangu Member

    Jan 4, 2004
    Australia
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Those K Leather model vapors looked awesome, i believe they might have been a US exclusive? They defintely didn't make their way to Australia. I think there was also a k leather t90 that Tim Howard wore when he was at United.
     
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  6. derbyyank13

    derbyyank13 Member+

    Nov 8, 2008
    Niigata, Japan
    Club:
    Derby County FC
    I'm not sure. I wanted the white ones but I got convinced to get the black ones. Yeah the K leather T90s were amazing and I wanted those but that's another story!
     
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  7. newone88

    newone88 Member

    May 2, 2006
    San Francisco
    I think I told my story here before but here it is again.....
    When I was a kid, in the early 80s (yes, I'm old and some of you have not been born yet), I used to visit my dad's company after school to kill time. There was a big sports store on the same block. I used to stand outside for hours looking at some of the displays and I was fascinated with the Adidas world cup SG. Something about that soleplate made me mad in love with that cleat. Also, many players wore them during the 1982 world cup tournament.
    upload_2017-5-15_11-52-48.png
    upload_2017-5-15_11-54-43.png
    Where I grew up, we played on sand and dirt and we did not play with shoes unless it was on the local club ground or at school. I asked my dad to buy one for me but he said that I did not need one since I did not play on grass. My older brother who played on the local team wore the FG version. Did not buy one till I was 17 and started to play on wet fields.

    The other cleat was the Puma King. Again, it was the early 80s and was idolizing Maradona who wore Puma kings. It was an early morning before going to school when my older cousin gave me a special gift. He knew the team manager for a big club (not my local club) and he gave me a full uniform (shirt, short and socks) and cleats. I was in seven heaven. The uniform was very basic Puma kit (yellow and black trim) and the cleats were black and yellow puma king. They matched perfectly and I was sooooooooo happy that I wore them to school that day :)

    upload_2017-5-15_12-0-39.png
    upload_2017-5-15_12-22-53.png


    my love with boots was up and down after college and there was a period of time when I had a fallout with the game (just a different period of my life).

    My love for boots got reignited once I started to coach my son few years back.

    Sorry for the long ramble.
     
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  8. appleCORR7

    appleCORR7 Member+

    Jul 3, 2004
    UK
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    IMG_7656.JPG

    These are my favourite boots and for a different reason maybe to everyone else's. I play football at a local 5s centre and one afternoon was having a kick about on my own (I do that quite a bit to practice certain drills or freestyle) and I noticed I and had an audience as I left the pitch a lad a few years younger than me asked if he could look at my boots as he'd never seen them in the shops before so I said sure. We got talking and after that initial conversation about boots a few times a week rain or shine he'd come and kick a ball with me. A few weeks later Nike had sent me the next colourway (I can't remember which) so I decided to give him the red pair he had originally seen me wearing that led to our first conversation (luckily he had small feet) I've given away lots of boots over time I don't need them all and others sometimes do but this isn't about that it's about what these boots lead too. Years later we are still going strong he's more like a little brother to me than anything. Calling me for advice, advice about how he's played in a game or just to have mutual person to moan about how United should be playing! but out of those simple Red boots I become Godmother to his son. And for me that gift is way better than a pair of boots! He's waiting for surgery in his ACL and has to have some kind of knee construction which will take place next week. And yup, I'll be there supporting him. It's amazing what football can bring your way when you are least expecting it.

    I was unsure about posting this story because I'm sure you all have your head in sick buckets by now (you are all fine to get them out now) icon wise for me as I've said a lot in the forum recent the Accelerator, Precision & Mania were up there when I was starting out I loved David Beckham and everything he did and soon it wasn't enough just to have one colourway I wanted them all! All the ones Becks had & I was lucky I got them. I will always look back on those boots with fond memories. Tongue down as low as it would go looking down at my feet and thinking nothing or nobody could stop me with boots looking like that.

    As for any boot in general it brought me here I've been on this board for 10+ years and a lot has change since then. But I do have a few friends for life that I've met on here. Friends who helped me get an Arsenal ticket for my young nephew. One friend who is just bonkers who cracks me up whenever he texts. JC who sent me a pair of leather Puma V1.06 that weren't available in the U.K.

    Football and boots give us so much and they have given me plenty to be greatful for. So as long as I can keep playing and rocking the coolest boots I'll be happy!

    appleCORR
     
  9. derbyyank13

    derbyyank13 Member+

    Nov 8, 2008
    Niigata, Japan
    Club:
    Derby County FC
    This an awesome story. What an incredible thing to happen. Also shows that you never where things might lead just by being kind.

    The last line is especially important for all of us I think!
     
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  10. kiongsm

    kiongsm Member+

    Nov 25, 2004
    Malaysia
    my first pair or serious boots = adidas world champion (a variant of world cup SG)...1984!!!!!

    back then in the mid-80s, most pros in the English top league wear 4x2 SG boots - thus the great influence!

    then it is the moulded adidas la plata - made in West Germany! (black-white-red - sounds like predator huh!) = top seller in my town, shops don't even need to display them, just go in, ask for la plata in your size; and the shop-owner just pulls it out from the stacks of boxes

    since started working, i'd tried and owned and played in adidas copas, predators, puma kings, kelme, nike premiers, T90, umbro speciali, diadora brasil Italy

    but the last 15-18 years, mizuno and asics were the only choice ;)

    finally nowadays, the morelias MiJ has freed me from having to choose anything else.....ha ha ha (sorry guys, sound a little more "bias," pardon me ;))
     
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  11. appleCORR7

    appleCORR7 Member+

    Jul 3, 2004
    UK
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    See I've said it on here loads before I've never ever worn Asics or Mizuno. Worn pretty much everything else (even Nomis & what a state they were!) I love the diversity boots on here. You kind of get the impression that kids growing up on now won't look past Nike or Adidas when it comes to book selection.

    appleCORR
     
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  12. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    my dad got me a pair of the original air jordans when i was an infant, so i'm putting my shoe addiction on his shoulders. i don't have it quite as bad as a few of you, but i do like a new pair of kicks when i get the chance. i wear dress shoes to work all week, and i've got a nice selection of sneakers, trainers, and boat shoes too. thanks, dad. when it comes to soccer boots though, my mom was the enabler. she was a flight attendant when we were real little so she was always gone traveling. when we got a little bit older, she wasn't working as much, and i think she'd buy us stuff to try to make up for being gone so much when we were younger. either that or she really does just hate money like my dad says. lol. anyway, around middle school i really got into expensive soccer boots.

    i think it all started with the original mercurials in blue and black. that pair started a run of blue and black shoes that culminated with my all-time favorite pair: the adidas accelerators. not the predators. just the black and blue accelerators with the "feet you wear" sole. i loved that concept. i had a few pairs of "feet you wear" that just seemed to fit my feet so well. anyway, i saw some kids wearing the accelerators at a soccer camp over the summer, and i knew i had to have them for the fall season. i didn't even look at the predators at the shop because i wanted the blue ones. i didn't think i needed any gimmicky rubber strips to make me play better either. it must have been the start of 7th grade when i got those shoes, but i loved them so much i kept wearing them for seasons after that. i think i even crammed my feet into them a few times my freshman year of high school when i'd long outgrown them. i retired them when they got too tight that spring. i forget what i was wearing at that point - probably a pair of diadoras or lanzeras. that spring i played with a new club, and a few of the guys were wearing a newly released predator. i knew they'd be my next pair: predator precisions, another of my favorites.
     
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  13. An Unpaved Road

    An Unpaved Road Member+

    Mar 22, 2006
    Club:
    --other--
    The year was 1994 and I was in need of a speed boot to speed up my game. So I got my first "real" pair of boots--the Copa Mundial. A few months later I noticed my ball control was lacking, so I turned the Copas into a control boot by wearing the tongues folded down super low. In 1995 I attached a sock to my Copa. :thumbsup:
     
  14. derbyyank13

    derbyyank13 Member+

    Nov 8, 2008
    Niigata, Japan
    Club:
    Derby County FC
    You should try Mizuno. Just once at least.
     
  15. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    it's funny to reread this after i bought the precision remakes for this season.

    my wife just said something along the lines of "those better last you several years" talking about the new precisions. i smiled and said "yes, sure, beautiful," knowing full well i'll be in the market again sooner than that.
     
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  16. Shrapnac

    Shrapnac Member

    Feb 19, 2007
    New Jersey
    The Adidas Predator Absolute is what really got me into football boots. Part of that is that it coincided with me getting a decent job and having disposable income to burn on nonsense.

    The thread below was the first time I posted on these forums, in February 2007.

    https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/adidas-predator-absolute-thread-5-all-related-posts-here.482087/

    For whatever reason almost all of the pics I posted are still up in that thread. I'm not sure if that's tied to my account and only I can see them or I haphazardly picked an upload site that doesn't delete old content.

    I posted a lot of pictures of my Absolutes on this site, some of which that got picked up on outside sites unbeknownst to me which were used at the time for reviews and such. I probably had seven or eight different colorways of the Absolutes.

    Looking back now my entire boot identity, for lack of a better term has totally changed. I've been playing in Mizuno Morelia Neos almost exclusively since they were released. I've dabbled in other boots, Mizuno Basara, the Puma King SLs that are in my profile picture, but I always go back to the Neo.
     

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