Global Football Boots Spotting - 30/04/12

Daniel Jones (Sheffield Wednesday) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII

For months prior to the Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII launch, there were numerous spots of black-out prototypes. Now, despite the overwhelming uptake of the Mango colourway, they're obviously not to everyone s taste! Sheffield Wednesday's Daniel Jones was one of the stand out boot spots having done a great job in blacking out his bright orange boots as his side beat Brentford 2-1.

Emerick Aubameyang (Saint-Etienne) Nike iD Mercurial Vapor VIII

Some players like to go that extra length to ensure their footwear matches up with their sides playing kit! Saint-Etienne striker Emerick Aubameyang gave us our first sighting of his Nike iD Vapor 8 football boots that had been designed in a great looking white and green colour combo. Nike's iD Vapor VIII boots come with a Teijin synthetic leather upper - something we might see hit the official retail release soon.

Winston Reid (West Ham) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII

Daniel Jones wasn't alone in giving his Nike Vapor VIII boots the black marker treatment. West Ham's Winston Reid did an equally impressive job, turning his bright Mango boots into some black beauties! For those wanting more of a darker look on their Vapor 8's, an official black colourway is expected to hit the new Vapor VIII range later this year.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich) adidas adiPure III

Schweinsteiger's boot choice continues to remain somewhat of a mystery. There's no doubt the German international is a serious fan of the adiPure III. But with two additional releases to the adiPure line - the adiPure IV and 11pro - we would have expected the Bayern Munich midfielder to have switched by now! Will adidas allow him to wear such an old boot in the Champions League final? Bayern were also in action wearing their rather smart new adidas away kit!

Danny Batth (Sheffield Wednesday) Nike T90 Laser IV

There was more black-out action from the Sheffield Wednesday vs Brentford game. Danny Batch made some design alterations to his Nike T90 Laser IV football boots in an attempt to disguise the Soar/Black/Silver colourway. It wasn't a bad effort from the Wednesday defender who has a has a lot of experience when it comes to blacking out his football boots!

Daniel Bruckner (Paderborn) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII

The Sail/Red Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII colourway is starting to get a little more game time now! Paderborn midfielder Daniel Bruckner put in his first performance wearing the Vapor VIII after wearing a variety of boots this season including the adidas Predator SL. We'll see how long the German remains in his latest boot choice!

Marvin Comper (Hoffenheim) Lotto Futura 500

Brands are constantly in battle for on-pitch presence with their boot designs. Despite not being the boot choice of many professionals, there are few boots that can compete with the immediate visibility of the green/blue Lotto Futura 500. Marvin Comper was in action wearing the unique Lotto speed boots during Hoffenheim's game with Nuernberg.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII

After a debut Champions League performance wearing the Sail/Red colourway that included a brace and a missed penalty, Cristiano Ronaldo was back in goal scoring form wearing his new Nike Vapor VIII boots. The Portuguese international opened Madrid's scoring against Sevilla as the Spanish side closed in on the league title with a comfortable 3-0 victory.

Sean Franklin (LA Galaxy) Nike Mercurial Superfly III Custom

Perhaps Sean Franklin has been on SoccerBible and drawn inspiration from our custom pair of Nike Superfly boots we gave away earlier in the season, as his boots look exactly the same! Of course, we know Franklin has taken inspiration from the LA Galaxy colours, but that said the resemblance is uncanny.

Angel di Maria (Real Madrid) adidas Predator LZ

We did wonder if di Maria would be sporting the last of the five Lethal Zones this weekend, but it appears that honour has been left for Nani and Nasri and the Manchester derby. Di Maria was still wearing his Predator LZ football boots which call-out the 'Pass' zone, which must be quite a relief for the player rather than wearing a brand new pair of boots every game.

Jo Kuffour (Gillingham) Nike Vapor VI Elite

Gillingham's Jo Kuffour is one of the few players in world football to still be wearing the Nike Elite football boots, designed specifically for the 2010 World Cup. The distinctive colours unified all of Nike's boots at the tournament, although we can't really see any resemblance to Gillingham's kit which would inspire Kuffour's choice.

James McClean (Sunderland) Nike ID Mercurial Vapor VIII

Sunderland's James McClean is one of the first players to custom design his own pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII's and wear them on pitch. The clean looking blue and white football boots are the opposite to the ones currently being exclusively worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, and we notice McClean has the Irish flag personalised on the side.

A.J. De La Garza (LA Galaxy) Nike ID T90 Strike IV

More customised footwear, this time being worn in the MLS by LA Galaxy's De La Garza. Not quite a top-end football boot, as NikeID's service will only allow you to create a Strike IV from the T90 range. De La Garza has gone for a white/silver/yellow combination, which is a subtle mix with the Galaxy football strip.

Seydou Keita (Barcelona) Puma v1.10 Custom

Keita has worn Puma football boots for some time now, but on random occasions he will wear a blacked-out pair or return to an old pair of v1.06's. Against Rayo Vallecano, Keita was wearing what look to be a pair of custom blacked-out Puma v1.10 football boots.