Thankfully, the games keep coming, and with them also come plenty of new and upcoming releases. And they’ve been on show this week alongside some nice throwback style and some special edition sauce. It’s Monday, and it’s time for some Boot Spotting…
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) PUMA Future Z 1.1
PUMA's big names have started to roll out in the 'Game On' colourway of the Future Z this week, and Marco Reus has continued his trend of wearing the Future silo without laces, something we saw Brandon Williams doing with the prototype of this boot. As with the previous Future, the Future Z is not a laceless boot by design, but that FUZIONFIT+ mid foot band seems to be helping Reus and also James Maddison to use it as if it were.
Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) https://www.prodirectsoccer.com/c/puma-game-on-collection/
Joining the all-new Future Z in PUMA's 'Game On' pack was the Ultra 1.2, dressed out in a new corresponding colourway. It dropped this week, over a week after the Future Z launched, ensuring that all attention was on the next-gen boot when it dropped. Antoine Griezmann gave the new colourway its debut in Barca's 2-0 win over Elche this weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Nike Mercurial Superfly VIII
Another big boot to get its debut this week was the next generation Nike Mercurial 'Dragonfly', with Cristiano Ronaldo lacing up in the Superfly VIII variant for Juve's 2-0 win over Bologna. Interestingly though, the debut only lasted for the first half, with the Portuguese swapping into his Dream Speed 3 Mercurial Superfly for the second half.
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) adidas Predator Accelerator
Aymeric Laporte made his long-awaited return from injury this week in Man City's 3-1 FA Cup win over Cheltenham, and he did so in the monotone masterclass that was the adidas Predator Accelerator from the 'Eternal Class' pack.
Jamal Lowe (Swansea) Nike Mercurial Superfly VII
Kylian Mbappé has already shown off his latest signature style, inspired by the close relationship of his career trajectory with that of NBA superstar LeBron James. And now it's down to the likes of Swansea's Jamal Lowe to show off the double Swoosh style of the 'Chosen 2' Mercurial Superfly, which he did in his side's comprehensive 5-1 win in the FA Cup.
Eric Garcia (Manchester City) Next-gen adidas COPA
This week we got the 'Superlative Pack' from adidas, with the Three Stripes unveiling the all-new Predator Freak. But notable by its absence in that pack was the COPA, with a new generation for that silo also expected anytime. And Eric Garcia has given us another glimpse at the launch colourway, which looks to pair the black base with a gold soleplate and heel cup.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Adidas Nemeziz.1
The adidas Nemeziz got a colour-up for the 'Superlative Pack', and Leo Messi made the switch into the new look, which came complete with his own signature details, including his 'M' logo on the heel.
Jan Hochscheidt (FC Erzgebirge Aue) adidas Predator Mutator 20+ HR
We may have got the all-new Predator Freak this week, but we'll never tire of the Adidas Predator Mutator from lats year's Human Race collaboration. In our opinion the best look that the Mutator got, and FC Erzgebirge Aue's Jan Hochscheidt wore it in his side's 1-0 win over VfL Osnabrück.
Andi Zeqiri (Brighton) Nike Mercurial Vapor Jogo Prismatico
With Neymar not having any need of his last signature edition Mercurials since his headline switch to PUMA, Brighton's Andi Zeqiri has picked up the baton and run with it, lacing up in the colourful look that came out back in April of last year for his side's FA Cup win over Blackpool.
Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) Nie Phantom GT TC
You might not recognise him under all those layers (cold up north you know), but that's Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, and on his feet are last year's Phantom GT from the 'Tech Craft' pack. The design paid homage to the original Nike Tiempo look from the 1994 World Cup, with the leather upper riding in on that orange soleplate.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) adidas Nemeziz.1
Anthony Martial doesn't seem any closer to deciding upon his next boot, despite many believing he had settled on PUMA, having been seen in blacked out versions of the Ultra in recent weeks. But this week he pulled on the 'Precision to Blur' colourway of the new adidas Nemeziz, suggesting he still hasn't made a firm decision.
Valentin Mihaila (Parma) Nike Hypervenom Phantom I
Bit of a throwback from Parma's Valentin Mihaila, who played, and scored, in the Nike Hypervenom Phantom I from the 'Intense Heat' pack, which was originally launched in 2015. Despite his goal, Parma lost the Coppa Italia round of 16 match 2-1 to Lazio.
Ross Barkley (Aston Villa) Nike Mercurial Superfly GS
Nice bit of Greenspeed action courtesy of Ross Barley this week, who pulled on the 2018 release for training. Sadly he didn't wear them in Villa's match with Newcastle, with the midfielder reverting to his standard 'Daybreak Pack' Mercurial Vapor. Shame.