Kick-off for the new season is just around the corner, so here's a last chance to get a look at the football boots being worn in by your favourite players in preparation. There were a few more customised boots on show, as well as the brand new colourways, and we also clear up the debate around Leo Messi's boots...
Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid)
Nike CTR360 Maestri Custom
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
adidas F50 adiZero
A classy looking customised pair of Nike CTR360 Maestri football boots from Drenthe. We don't know what it is about green on football boots, but they always seem to look good, and it also looks like Drenthe could be sporting an Elite sole-plate.
If Anelka was still a Puma endorsed player, he could be forgiven for wearing adiZero's during training and preseason. But as he wore the adiZero during the Community Shield, we'd suggest his partnership with Puma was over.
Edu (Schalke 04)
adidas Predator X Custom
Yaya Toure (Man City)
Nike T90 Laser III
Edu's white-out adidas Predator X football boots are really effective and look great on pitch. It's surprising really that no-one, before Edu, has thought of wearing an all white version on the latest Preds.
The new colourway for the K leather Nike Laser III football boots is a good match for the Manchester City kit, as worn by new signing Yaya Toure. We also noticed the dynamic midfielder is wearing the regular sole-plate.
Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
Puma PowerCat 1.10
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
adidas F50 adiZero
Having seen Nemanja Vidic, and Michael Carrick, wearing the latest Puma PowerCat colourway during the Community Shield victory, we're convinced Puma designed this colourway specifically for the United players.
There has been a lot of excitement about Lionel Messi's black-out adiZero's. Unfortunately though, we can confirm he was just wearing his original blacked out adiZero I versions, as you can tell by the tongue that has slipped to one side, the leather stitching on the instep and the lacing system.
Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City)
adidas F50 adiZero
Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Nike CTR360 Maestri
It was interesting to see Adebayor tape up the laces of his adiZero football boots. We've not heard of any players having problems with their laces, and the positioning of Adebayor's tape is too high up to affect ball touch or strike.
Malouda tried out a whole variety of football boots during pre-season, wearing the Superfly II, CTR Maestri Elite, adidas adiPure III and the F50 adiZero's. But for the first competitive game of the season, he opted to stick with his original CTR360 Maestri football boots, although he has blacked them out.
Michael Owen (Man Utd)
Umbro Speciali
David Silva (Man City)
adidas F50 adiZero
Owen will be keen to make an impression with United after a frustrating first season. The prolific goalscorer was appearing in the Community Shield wearing the Umbro Speciali's, one of last season's boot successes which surprisingly hasn't received an update.
Manchester City fans must still be pinching themselves at the calibre of player they are now attracting, and here is another world class player wearing the sky blue kit. David Silva is another adidas F50 adiZero convert after previously wearing adiPure's.
Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)
Nike T90 Laser III
Milan Jovanovic (Liverpool)
Puma v1.815 Ferrari
Rooney will be looking to put the summer's debacle behind him, and concentrate on playing for Manchester United. Rooney featured heavily in Nike's advertising campaign for the Nike Elite football boots, but is himself opting not to wear the Elite versions.
The Puma v1.815 was a revolutionary football boot on its release - lightweight and packed with a host of innovative technologies, the Ferrari was a very popular boot amongst the pro's. They also have the added benefit that they perfectly match the Liverpool home strip for Jovanovic.
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea)
adidas adiPure III
Carlos Tevez (Man City)
Nike CTR360 Maestri
We've been surprised Paulo Ferreira has been wearing adidas adiPure III football boots, because Ferreira has been a long term Vapor wearer and even wore Puma PowerCat's during the World Cup.
We slightly suspected Tevez might return to wearing his white/blue Tiempo Legend I football boots on his return to Manchester. But he's stuck with CTR's, which he wore during the World Cup, and is opting not to wear the Elite versions.
If you've spotted any players and boots you think should feature in our boot spotting, mail us at: u2us@soccerbible.com putting 'Boot Spotting' in the subject field.
