Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
Good evening (unless you’re reading this Monday morning, in which case, Good Morning put the kettle on would ya) and welcome to the first edition of the World Cup Boot Recap. Your one stop shop for the skinny on what boot is making a splash at in the humid climes of Brasil. So let’s waste no time and dive into the big stories in boots on Day 1 of this month long festival of football we call the World Cup.
Nike Hypervenom Steals Show
The often maligned Nike Hypervenom silo had a banner start to their month long campaign being involved in 2 of the 4 goals in the host nations 3-1 win over the plucky Croatians. The boot which has pretty much been made for Brasilian talisman Neymar, were on his feet when he wound up from 30 yards out and beat keeper Stipe Pletikosa with an effort which would be best described as a daisy cutter. Later in the match Neymar and his Hypervenom’s took advantage of an appalling dive by Fred (who teamed up with fellow Jane Austin characters Oliver and Bernard) to convert a shakily taken penalty kick; which would turn out to be the game winning goal.
Also during the match I spied the Hypervenom’s on the feet of Brasil’s emotional goalkeeper (and Toronto FC loanee) Julio Cesar. Cesar has been splitting his time between the Nike Tiempo Legend and the Nike CTR 360 Maestri III series’, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him kicking off his World Cup campaign in a boot generally designed for agile attacking players, but then again, other than being stranded on an own goal, Cesar looked pretty agile throughout the match!
Oscar Shows Off His Predatory Instinct
If there was a man of the match in the opening match, and there was, there was only one choice. Gallivanting around the pitch like a character from Pride and Prejudice wide-man Oscar took the gong hands down. Heading into battle in the new Adidas Predator Instinct he didn’t put a foot wrong for the ninety minutes. From dangerous crosses and incisive through balls which were generally squandered by his teammates, Oscar was ticking away just like a metronome, it was almost like he was playing purely on instinct. His performance was so good it had me saying out loud that it would be unfortunate if he didn’t manage a goal. So imagine my surprise when the 22 year old received the ball on a counter in injury time and simply toe poked the keeper from 20ish yards out scoring his 10th goal for his country.
Oscar might not have been the most high profile player on the park today, but he certainly put in a shift well deserving of plaudits from everyone.
Jelavic First Player to Wear Warrior Boots in World Cup
I am sure it wasn’t the debut the US firm as looking for, but for a company who burst on the market just two short years ago today should be considered a banner day. On the feet of Croatian stiker Nikica Jelavic, Warrior Sports Skreamer II made it’s bow as the first boot from the company to be worn at the World Cup.
Jelavic lasted 78 minutes for the men in the checkerboard shirts, and was even the reason Croatia got off to their banner start on 11 minutes as his screwed shot-cum-whatever it was found it’s way onto the foot of Brasil’s left back Marcelo who dutifully turned the ball into the back of his own net, shocking…the world.
I’m expecting big things from the US company especially as I have Belgium picked to win the tournament and the brand will be on the feet of Vincent Kompany and the walking palm tree that is Marouane Fellaini.
Hulk Smashes New Mizuno Colourway
Lou Ferrigno lookalike Hulk was a wee bit anonymous on the left side of the Brasil midfield, however, one thing that wasn’t so anonymous were his Mizuno Morelia Neo’s sporting the brand new Brasil inspired Blue/Bolt/White colourway which I have to admit looked positively fantastic when pared together with the coulours of the big man’s kit. The big man only lasted 68 minutes, which was not enough time for me to get a complete view of the beauty of his new boots, so I am hopeful he’ll turn in a sterling performance in the next couple of group matches so those boots get the airtime that they deserve, it’s nice to see a boot which just looks the part, when it comes to being a fantastic piece of kit!
The Boot Golden Boot
Finally, this is something which we have been throwing around the office. At every World Cup, there’s always a Golden Boot winner this year it could be Neymar, maybe Messi, perhaps even Glen Johnson (kidding!). Either way it’s the player that gets all the plaudits, but we aren’t sure if that is fair. So, SC101 will be virtually handing out a Boot Golden Boot, that’s right, we’re awarding the boot which scored the most goals in Brasil, and after day one here’s the standings!
Nike Hypervenom Phantom: 2 goals
Adidas Predator Instinct: 1 goal
Adidas adiZero F50: -1 goal
So that is going to do it from Day One in Brasil. But what are your thoughts on the days events. Any big story in boots we missed? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!
