KNOW THE GAME (EPISODE 0NE)
Hi guys, welcome to my first post on “KNOW THE GAME” series. This series will be all about mind riveting facts and happenings in soccer. Today, I’m going to explore the evolution of soccer boots, otherwise known as cleats. Do ensure you read to the end because it’s going to be a doozy! Without any further ado, let’s delve into it.
–1800s
Whilst soccer had it origin in the 2nd and 3rd BC, it wouldn’t start gaining momentum until 12 century in England. Then, soccer was very rough and marred by violent. The least of the impact was damages to the town and the soil, and the worst will be death causality. Little was known about how the participant dressed or what type of shoe they wore. However around 1525, the first evidence of type of boot they wore surfaced. It was found in the collections of King Henry VIII. Looking at sample picture below, it is easy to deduce why its called a boot, as it is basically a work boot with neatly arranged stud modification. This boots looks nothing like the soccer boots we grew to know this days. It’s made of typical rigid leather and also had steel toe cap. Obviously this would be the best boot only the rich could afford and I imagined majority who can’t afford this would settle for their work boots and would had a stud of some sort to increase its grip. This types of boot goes had little to no modification till late 1800.
1900 – 1938
Soccer boots as we know it today started taking shape since the 1900s. Company started seeing an opportunity in boot making. Around 1905, Hummel, Gola and Valsport came into existence. This boots showed a tremendoius development from the earlier known boots. Although, still made of rigid leather, It was a bit lighter (unless when soaked in water), had much lower cut, the design had just six studs and iron steel toe cap were removed to reduce injury inflicted by boots. Around 1925, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory joined the show and produced boots that had changerable studs.
1940-1960
Noticed I skipped 1938 and 1939 ?.. That is because little happened during those years since the world had nothing better to do than fighting wars. Anyways, post-war, The dassler brothers was dissolved and each of the brothers established the Puma and Addidas inc. around 1948, Puma produced “Puma atom boot” that had plastic and rubber studs instead of the usual metal. The boots produced in this era was now more about showing players ability and less about protection. Therefore, it was lighter, more flexible and better agility. In this era, boots have similar colors usually (black and white or gold).
1960s – 2000
With Puma and Copa Mundial boots dominating the market, a major modification from the earlier models is the introduction of colours. Boots now comes in colours other than the tradition black and white/gold patches. The boot were more lighter with makers making extra effort to increase comfort, durability and performance. In the late 70s, things began to make more sense, players began getting sponsorships to wear a certain companies logo. In the 1990s, Addidas dropped their iconic boot “the predator” which was definelty a game changer. It had a rubber striking elements along the upper toe side. First timer a boot will have something other than a leather. Later 1999, Nike dropped their “Nike Mercurial warmer” which was widely adopted during the 98’ world cup.
2000s – Now
Around 2006, we witnessed the release of laceless boots which albeit unique, was for the most part pretty bad, as it slips off players leg far too easily. Personal customization and the use of blades instead of the usual studs, also grew tremendously. Digital technology wise, recent boots can now be implanted with chips and tracking device to record activities and performances for later analysis.
The future
Hmmm.. why don’t you tell us what improvement you would like to see in soocer boots in the future. Drop your comment below and stay tuned for next episode of “KNOW THE GAME”.
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