In a fascinating display of club loyalty, several Boca Juniors players were spotted wearing black-painted Nike Mercurial boots during their opening FIFA Club World Cup match against Benfica. They had manually blacked out parts of the boots to avoid any association with their eternal rivals, River Plate. Thanks to our partner Bootsclub.
Boca Juniors Players Wear Black-Painted Nike Mercurial Boots
Three Boca Juniors players sponsored by Nike: Kevin Zenón, Milton Giménez, and Carlos Palacios, all wore the newly released Nike Mercurial Vapor 16 'Fear Nothing' boots. The shoes feature a white-to-red gradient design, colors associated with River Plate, Boca's historic rivals.
As a result, all three players blacked out the red details on the edges of the boots to remove any elements that might be linked to River Plate.
While the customization was effective on the upper, the players could not hide the original colorway completely. The soleplate of the Mercurial 'Fear Nothing' is also red, but due to the plastic material, painting it would be ineffective. As a result, the red soleplate remained clearly visible during the match.
Reminiscent of Lyon's "Green Boots" Protest
This situation brings to mind a similar incident from three years ago involving Olympique Lyon. Back in 2022, many Lyon players were wearing the green Adidas X Crazyfast 'Game Data' boots.
Lyon fans famously protested this by displaying a banner in the stadium demanding the players stop wearing green boots, as green is the primary color of their own arch-rivals, Saint-Etienne.
Lyon Fans Want Players to Stop Wearing Green Boots
This act by the Boca Juniors players is another powerful testament to the passion of football rivalries, where even the color of a boot carries significant weight.
What do you think of the players' decision to paint their boots black? A great show of commitment to the club? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.