With the baton of being an England striker and wearing Umbro Speciali football boots now passed onto Andy Carroll, after previously being held by Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, Umbro have released a stylish update befitting of their iconic range.
The Umbro Speciali has played an integral role in football around the globe over the last 20 years, and can account for over 775 top-flight goals. But the boots' reach goes beyond goalscoring, as they are currently being worn by Portuguese defender Pepe and we imagine this new colourway would look great with the Real Madrid kit.
Like all successful long-standing boot ranges (such as adidas Predator and Puma King), the Umbro Speciali is a boot that hasn't remained in the past and has been updated to perform for the 2012/13 season. With a host of new features, let's take a look at the new Speciali 3 Pro a boot built for today’s player after the classic look.
In an effort to reduce weight and maintain quality, the Umbro Speciali III utilises a combination of full-grain leather and microfibre upper materials. The forefoot and instep comprise of full-grain leather, ensuring the Speciali's famed quality and comfort, while the rest of the boot is made from a microfibre to help shave some grams off the weight.
The Umbro Speciali 3 Pro football boots benefit from unique stitching patterns serving the boot in a multitude of ways. To maintain and shape the leather across the toe-area, to retain the 'A' frames which provide good fit across the midfoot, and to create the new Control Zone on the inside foot, designed to absorb excess energy quicker for better ball control.
The new lightweight TPU outsole offers excellent forefoot flex, through the flex-zone across the toes for great toe-off and acceleration. Whilst Umbro have been able to engineer the outsole almost as a two-piece, thanks to a reinforced bar running the length of the midfoot to the heel. The heel ensures stability during fast movements, whilst a new injection insole offers further mid-sole and heel support.
Umbro have redesigned the Speciali III sole-plate, so it now features four newly introduced blades under the heel in place of conical studs, but retaining the conical studs under the fore of the boot. This is probably the most popular configuration we see in the boot market, and is utilised across speed, power, heritage and control boots.
It's no secret Umbro are currently a part of the Nike family, so an overhaul of a heritage boot (much like we've seen with the Tiempo) doesn't come as a surprise. Possibly in the future we can look to an even more radical overhaul of the Speciali, but it would be interesting to see the reaction of the traditionalist fans.
The new White/Black/Pewter Umbro Speciali 3 Pro football boots will be launched on July 15th, but are available to pre-order now to make sure you're first to get your hands on a pair. The latest addition to over 20 years of iconic heritage, the new Speciali's are expected to retail worldwide for around £82 GBP / $130 USD / €98 EURO.
Now that you've had your first look at the White/Black/Pewter Umbro Speciali 3 Pro football boots, let us know what you think! Share your thoughts and join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
