Football's Top Ten Tongued Boots - Football News

Football boots are always evolving, as with the game new technologies are always being introduced with each brand looking to pull off an innovative conquest but sometimes things get left behind, things that we like and things that we want back! What we're mainly talking about here is the tongue, so here's a look back at our favourite boots to feature the iconic lace cover.

We get why the tongue has been retired by many silos; brands are trying to make their boots lighter than ever and any excess weight is chopped, which has resulted in the tongue becoming a dying breed. Some can argue that the tongue can reduce the cleanliness of a shot, fair enough, but we still miss it.





Yeah, there are a few boots left on the market that still feature a tongue, and we've included a few in this article but it's the boots such as the famous Predators that we've got a lot of love for. The Pred's tongue was the finishing touch, the trademark, we can't help but think the newer Preds just look a bit, well, naked without one. The tongue is like the bonnet of a car, the canvas for brands to slap their logo, to give the boot identity.





We've plucked out our two favourite adidas Predators, the Mania (2002) and the Touch (1996). Two of the best looking football boots of all time, a bold statement but one we're standing by. We know there's a lot of love out there for the Predator tongue, especially the elasticated one on the Mania and it wouldn't take a genius to realise that adidas would clean up with a re-release.

Sticking with adidas and two more classics to feature a tongue have to be the distinguished Copa Mundial and the World Cup 66. We know that a few players prefer to tuck the tongue under the laces on the Copa but you can't beat the old school look when it's folded out.





The World Cup 66 is one our favourite football boots regardless of the tongue, the blue soleplate makes it stand out as a winner for us. A beautiful limited edition release all topped off by a black leather tongue baring the famous adidas name. Perfection.

The PUMA King is another boot ditched the tongue on their newest model. To be fair their older models are still on the market but when it comes to heritage boots it's a brave move to get rid of the tongue, it swaps the retro look for a modern streamline feel but with players becoming obsessed with speed then we suppose it was inevitable that the tongue would start to disappear. If it stayed then PUMA could be excused of being stuck in the past, so offering players the older model and newer model is a top move.





The Umbro Speciali, like the PUMA King has also bombed off the tongue, when we think Speciali we think Shearer and Owen banging in goals in the famous boots but the new Speciali is tongueless and it's hard to make as much noise when your tongue has been cut off. In particular the Umbro Speciali Italia is up there with our top tongued boots, the Velcro tongue covered the laces and stayed firmly in place. If it's not broke...





The Tiempo Premier 94 was some football boot, and although the new Tiempo Legend IV actually looks decent without a fold over tongue the Premier 94 still remains our favourite Tiempo. It was a leather canvas for the famous swoosh and the 94 was also placed on it to give the Premier a unique design along with the 'NIKE' on the heel. Top, top boot.





Mizuno are one of a few brands that have stayed true to their tongue roots, their Morelia still dons a tongue and is possibly one of the reasons why it has remained so popular. Take the tongue off the Morelia and it starts to look like a competitor to the Neo. White tongue, black boot. A job well done. Long may it continue.





Two more boots that are still embracing the tongue are the Asics Testimonial and the Pantofola d'Oro Dream. The Testimonial is another tongued classic, massively popular on pitch in the 90's and early 00's Asics latest generation of the boot still sports the tongue to show a boot can be made fit for the modern game without sacrificing the tongue look.





Pantofola d'Oro are the kings of low key coolness, everything about the brand is rich in culture and quality and their Dream silo is the brand's trademark tongued boot. Beautiful handmade boots carved out of the highest quality leather which proudly displays the words 'Pantofola d'Oro' accompanied by three gold stars on the tongue.

Have you got a favourite new or old football boot that features a tongue? Let us know. Join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.