New Balance's latest boot release for Raheem Sterling has a bus seat pattern, referencing the long journeys made by him and his sister to attend training growing up.
Raheem Sterling NB "Route to Success" Furon V7
The bus seat pattern was seen on football kits throughout the nineties and has reappeared in recent years as part of the throwback trend, but New Balance are the first to apply it to a pair of boots. Created for Raheem Sterling, the pattern was chosen in recognition of the sacrifices he and his family made growing up in order to play football and ultimately arrive at where he is today.
Sterling would take three buses across London five times a week to train with QPR, accompanied by his older sister, hence the bus seat pattern covering the upper of the boot. The soleplate references the three specific bus routed he used to take while his sister also gets a shoutout. "Route to Success", the name of this edition of the boot, is printed on the heel.
In terms of tech the boots are the same as the original version of the New Balance Furon V7, which was released in September. Sterling wore the boots as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at the weekend and will continue to use them in upcoming games.
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What do you think of the NB "Road to Success" Furon V7 boots? Comment below.