2014 Boot Predictions - Football News

The year 2014 is teeing up to be a big one for football, any World Cup year is surrounded by an added buzz and for brands the World Cup is the perfect platform to make a statement, to be different and to showcase their innovations and style. With that in mind we've come up with a number of predictions that we reckon we might see in the next 12 months.

We look forward to a huge landmark for the adidas Predator as the famous boot celebrates it's 20th birthday, another set of signature boot releases, new technology and the possibility of old technology returning. It's all set up to be one of the most exciting years yet for the boot industry and here are a few things we're tipping to see on pitch.



Running Tech In Football | Used in virtually every other sport apart from football, Flyknit has been rumoured to make an appearance in football for a couple of seasons now and we reckon 2014 could be the year we see it introduced to the beautiful game.



Retro Re-releases | Nike last year launched a limited edition version of the 1998 Mercurial, a boot to celebrate 15 years since R9 wore the first ever pair. The Swoosh have already dropped another '98 inspired design on their Mercurial Vapor IX and we're expecting that theme to continue on the road to Rio.

Signature Boots | The two obvious players spring to mind here - Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. Nike and adidas will no doubt extend their respective players signature collections as they go head to head in the World Cup. All eyes will be on the world's top two players and there's no way either brand will miss an opportunity to lace them up in something unique.

Neymar Exclusive | Brazil's golden boy Neymar is tipped for big things in his own back yard this Summer. Brazil's World Cup hopes are in the hands of Barca's number 11 and if the boy does good we wouldn't be surprised to see him in an exclusive HyperVenom colourway in the latter stages of the tournament.



Predator 20th Anniversary | Not a hard one to predict this, the 20th birthday of one of football's most famous boots won't pass by unnoticed. Arguably the most anticipated release of 2014, there's no doubt adidas have something special lined up but exactly what, is anyone's guess.



Tournament Packs | Again, it doesn't take a genius to predict this but if you look back at the past World Cup and European Championships Nike especially have served up a theme across their silos. Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012, the pack has become synonymous with these tournaments and we're expecting that to continue into Brazil.



Elite Level Boots | We're tipping elite level boots to make a return this year. It takes something pretty special to better a top end boot and it normally arrives with a heavier price tag and much in the same way Nike used carbon fibre sole plates on their Elite collection we're expecting something similar.

What are you predicting for 2014? Let us know. Join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.