Welcome to the third edition of Boot Watch, our independent boot spotting. While our second edition of Boot Watch was quite a disappointment (at least for us), we've tried to bring our Boot Watch to another level this time. So let's let's get straight into 'Boot Watch #003', which includes more than 20 different boot spots.
The Unique Boots Worn in The FIFA Club World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup has kicked off this week. The competition includes quite unknown teams from around the world such as Congolese football club TP Mazembe and Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima And while their players may be not popular, the boots worn by these players are often much more interesting than the boots used by players of the European powerhouses such as Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid. We will take a detailed look at the most unique cleats worn in the 2015 Club World when all teams have played their first games (that will be not before December 17).
Takuya Iwata | Asics Lethal Stats SK
We could not resist and decided to nevertheless include one boot spot of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in this edition of our Boot Watch. Auckland City defender Takuya Iwata laced up in a red, black and yellow version of the Asics Lethal Stats SK Boot. Originally released in 2011 with a quite similar red and black colorway, the Asics Lethal Stats SK Football Boots are engineered for speed featuring a "premium, lightweight microfiber synthetic leather".
Unusual Boot Spots | The Usos (Wrestler Duo) and Dan Bailey (American Football Player)
After we kicked off things with the 2015 Club World Cup (football tournament), we continue with two original boot spots. WWE Wrestler Duo The Usos were spotted wearing a unique version of the Nike Mercurial Proximo X Indoor Boots, while Cowboys Kicker Dan Bailey laced up in Nike Mercurial Vapor Boots from 2008.
Premier League's Boring Boot Choices
The image speaks for itself. While the boots worn in lower-tier competitions are almost always quite interesting, the boots used in the biggest leagues of the world are getting more boring with every year.
Ryan Bertrand | Adidas F50 Adizero Neon Pink / Solar Blue
However, there are always some exceptions that confirm the 'rule'. One is Southampton's Ryan Bertrand, who laced up in the Neon Pink and Solar Blue Adidas F50 Adizero Boots in the past two Premier League matches. And as the boots worn by Ryan Bertrand were discontinued by now and also boast a striking look, they are definitely outstanding (at least in the Premier League).
Jose Mourinho - Adidas X 2016 Skeleton Boots
And as the players in the Premier League rather infrequently lace up in unique boots, we have to rely on 'The Special One'. Jose Mourinho, who already laced up in various different special boots this season, provided the biggest surprise this week as he wore a blackout version of the totally new, almost laceless Adidas X Skeleton Boots, which won't be released before Summer 2016.
Edoardo Goldarina | Adidas X Blackout
Whereas Jose Mourinho laced up in revolutionary blackout boots, Edoardo Goldarina of Palermo wore a custom blacked-out version of the Adidas X 15 Boots boasting the striking red laces of the Solar Red Adidas X 2015-2016 Boots that he used as base for his blackout cleat.
Players Lace Up in Old Adidas Messi Boots
While Adidas backed ten players to wear the signature boots of Leo Messi, Sion's Reto Ziegler and Olympiacos' Luka Milivojevic have chosen to wear Messi's Signature Boots for themselves. And as they had the free choice which boots to choose, they not laced up in the newest Messi boots but in old ones (Gold Adidas F50 Adizero Messi [Released in August 2014 and worn by Luka Milivojevic] and White Adidas Messi Pibe de Barr10 [Released in March 2015 and worn by Reto Ziegler].
Two other players who laced up in black Adidas X Boots last week were Andrija Zivkovic (Partizan) & Eduardo (Dinamo Zagreb). Zivkovic's Boots are real blackouts, while Eduardo's Boots boast a yellow Adidas logo on the heel area as they are actually no blackouts but almost identical to the Black and Solar Yellow colorway of the Adidas X 15.1 Boots.
Khouma Babacar | Blacked-Out Nike Mercurial Vapor X
Like Manchester City's Bony did last week, Khouma Babacar from Fiorentina also decided to black out the Wolf Grey and Hyper Pink version of the Nike Mercurial Vapor 10 Boots to create a 'brandless' boot. His boots nevertheless feature an eye-catching pink outsole with a Swoosh.
Vladimir Dyadyun | Nike Mercurial Vapor IX Reflective
Rubin Kazan's Vladimir Dyadyun laced up in the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX Reflective Pack Boots, creating our favorite boot and kit combo of the week.
Abel Tamata | Nike CTR Maestri III
Yet another player who laced up in old Nike boots was Groningen's Abel Tamata, who opted for the now discontinued Nike CTR Maestri III Boots.
Anton Kanibolotskly | Adidas Predator AdiPower
And yet another player who didn't opt for the latest boots but instead chose a classic pair of football boots was Anton Kanibolotskly. The Shakhtar Donetsk player stood out on the pitch against PSG this week wearing a white, black, light blue and hi-vis yellow colorway of the Adidas Predator AdiPower Boots. Released in 2011, the Adidas Predator AdiPower Soccer Boots are made for ultimate kicking power and accuracy, like every classic Predator Boot.
Róger Cañas | Adidas X Eskolaite Chrome
The Adidas X Eskolaite Chrome Cleats used by Róger Cañas are designed with only one aim in mind: Make a bold statement.
Denys Harmash - Whiteout Adidas F50 Adizero Leather
Maccabi's Denys Harmash laced up in one of the cleanest pair of football boots this week. Combining a white upper with light grey details, the Whiteout Adidas F50 Adizero Kangaroo Leather Boots Edition worn by the Ukrainian midfielder are just pure class.
Alper Torpuk & Stefan Johansen | Custom Adidas Ace and Blackout Nike Mercurial Vapor X
Let's continue with two unique boot choices we've seen in one picture. Fenerbahce's Alper Torpuk opted for a blackout version of the Nike Mercurial Vapor X Boots, while Stefan Johansen created his own version of the Adidas Ace Boots using Adidas's customization service miadidas.
Has Kolo Toure Left New Balance?
Kolo Toure was spotted wearing the Adidas Ace Boots for the first time in this week's Europa League clash against FC Sion. And while he had worn Adidas Boots until he joined new Balance in December 2013, it seems like that the 34-year old defender is without a contract now.
So, what is with Adnan Januzaj?
Another player who was with New Balance but has opted for other boots is Adnan Januzaj. And while he has been wearing the same blackout boots for weeks now (Blackout Nike Mercurial Superfly Academy Pack), we decided to include him in this week's boot spot to bring at least a bit clarity in the whole issue. While he is definitely not happy with New Balance's Boots and therefore opted for other boots, it still looks like that he is not a completely free player as he seems to be not allowed to showcase the boots of other brands. But we neither are aware of the exact contractual situation. So that's it for now.
Antoine Griezmann | Next-Gen Puma evoSPEED SL
Let's round off this week's Boot Watch with three 'next-generation boot spots'. We decided to start with the boots worn by Antoine Griezmann. Atlético Madrid's Antoine Griezmann surprisingly showed off the next-gen Puma evoSPEED SL Boots in the Champions League this week. You can find out all you need to know about the 'not-really-new next-gen' boots here.
Neymar | Next-Gen Nike Magista Obra
This is not a really a new boot spot. However, after we originally thought that Neymar was wearing 'Completely Modified Nike Hybrid Boots', we know now that he was actually wearing the next-gen Nike Magista Obra II Cleat. And soon after we published our article even the first leaked close-up picture of the boots suddenly appeared.
Claudio Marchisio | Next-Gen Nike Mercurial Superfly
We conclude Boot Watch #003 with the cleats worn by Claudio Marchisio. The Italy international became the second Juventus player to lace up in a blackout version of the next-gen Nike Mercurial Superfly after his teammate Caceres already showed off the same boots two weeks earlier (All details and info here).
Have we missed any interesting boot spots this week? Let us know in the comments below, and check out also the 10-years old boots worn by Hleb in the 2015-16 Champions League Group Stage which we almost missed to mention in our article.