The Image Conscious in Football

With the recent release of Nike’s new football boot, as worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II Safari represents a garish fashion statement and one that many people will treat as farcical. The era of bright coloured football boots has been with us for some time now and has been more or less accepted within the game without cries of laughter and ridicule emanating from those watching. This new launch by Nike represents something new, an evolution you might say, in which boots will become emblazoned with patterns and individual designs. This development got me thinking about how football boots have progressed from a simple functioning design into the aesthetic conscious designs we observe today.

With the football boots players wear can be drawn a certain stereotype or categorization based on that player in light of the boots they’re wearing. I’m not saying it’s true for all circumstances, but on the whole you can determine that, for example, if a player is operating on the wing then they will wear a boot that’s lightweight such as Nike Mercurial Vapors or Adidas F50’s. A striker will be much the same as a winger, whether they put emphasis on dribbling or not will add some weight to which boots they wear. This also applies to central midfield players who will predominantly wear more robust boots, such as Adidas Predators or adiPures and Nike Total 90’s. If a central defender then traditionally in England you’d be expected to strap on a pair of Umbro boots, but in general defenders will opt for the ‘no-frills’ boots. Goalkeepers are a totally different type of mentality and can be extremely varied, largely due to their gloves being more crucial to their role.

Now I know I’ve made some quite all encompassing generalizations but it can be used and is done so by the majority of players. For when a player wants to portray an image of how they play, they must first refer to their own conception of themselves as a player and then seek which football boots compliment that conception. This process then expands onto the pitch where everyone will make some sort of assumption based on the image of the opposing player. Whether this assumption is confirmed or revised is based on how they play, but it comes to show how much of an image conscious sport football has become and even at grassroots with children wishing to emulate professionals by having their boots.

Players such as Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale and David Villa wear Adidas F50’s, whereas players such as Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard wear Adidas Predators or adiPure’s. The Nike contingent is made up of players such as Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo to mention a few. These players help to cement the form of player that wears which boot as everyone else will wish to copy the player, reflecting their position and style of play.

I remember when football boots used to cost little more than £50 when I was younger and as I grew up I saw the expansion of boot ranges that consisted of three different levels of the same boot and each having a different price tag dependent upon the quality of the boot. The higher the price tag, the better the boot as the marketing would lead you to believe.

At present there are five different forms of the Nike Mercurial Vapor, each having their respective price, with the top level costing an extortionate £274.99. This development has occurred over some twenty odd years and shows no signs of abating, especially when the belief that certain boots will enhance your abilities and cause you to improve. They may give confidence but stating this candidly, improvement comes from training, dedication and the player themselves and not which safari spotted boots they wish to pose in.

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