Are you a football fan? Then find out how football boots have evolved over the years. It is that they have not always had the technology of the products of our online sportswear store. Could you keep reading and know his story?
Why are football boots essential?
Football shoes represent one of the most significant elements of the players’ equipment. Its function is so relevant that the best sportswear brands take up to three years to develop, design and evaluate a shoe before putting it on the market.
Its importance lies in that this is the part of the body most affected during games. The feet are responsible for moving the player around the field, keeping him firm and without falling, passing the ball and scoring goals. Therefore, they must be carefully protected.
This footwear has become increasingly modern and specialized after numerous investigations. Buying the proper football boots prevents injuries, improves mobility and agility, increases the player’s speed, grips him and adapts his footprint to the field of play in which he finds himself.
Discover how boots evolved two centuries ago
At the beginning of football, in 1863, those who this sport used work boots. Thprasedpractisedpractisedpractisedpractisedon was quite rustic and primitive since there were still no clear game rules. So the athletes moved around with these heavy, complex, tough-to-handle handle shoes.
These caused injuries to themselves and their teammates when they hit them during the game.
The characteristics of the first football boots were:
- Iron points or steel helmets. Which caused blows and injuries.
- Without mooring. This made moving difficult.
- Leather. They made the boots quite heavy, weighing up to 1 kg shoes a little more if they got wet.
Tacos arrive on the playing field.
In the same century, but around the year. …..r 1880, ankle boots with heels arrived. Knobre was incorporated into the shoes’ soles, allowing them to run on grass, prevent slipping in the mud, and prevent sticking to it.
They were still thick leather but had reduced their weight to ½ kg, although this increased if the shoes got wet.
The first brands are born.
In 1900, the Gola and Valsport brands were born. But despite the rise of the sport, efforts were focused on the two great wars. There were few advances, and by 1930, Chelsea Boots with laces were being used.
Later Adidas and Puma enter the market. Who were direct rivals and leading competitors in the football world until Nike made a presence and began the race to position itself?
Greater satisfaction for players
Between the 1940s and 1960s, with the war’s end, footwear began to be developed to provide greater satisfaction and comfort to players. These allowed better kick, range of movement and speed when running. They were characterized by being:
- More smalls.
- Light.
- Flexible.
One pair for many terrains
Thanks to the Adidas brand, in 1950, ankle boots with interchangeable threaded studs came onto the market. The shoes had rubber or plastic soles, and the studs were interchangeable. So you could use the ones you needed for each type of terrain.
This innovation allowed players to have only one pair of boots but different types of studs. Depending on the weather conditions and the field where the matches were held, they could be removed or put on.
Welcome colours!
The classic boots were black leather until the 1960s when some other colours were created. Although the range was not very varied, it was ordinary. A few years later, technology made it possible to adapt materials to the players’ tastes.
Invention, technology and sponsorship
Technological advances and continuous research into materials have led to the discovery of new elements capable of changing footwear as it was known until then.
Its design made it much more comfortable and provided the athlete with more excellent performance due to the reduction in weight and gear. In addition, the variety of needs it satisfied meant that players had to learn to choose football boots that fit their training sessions.
This was in the decade between 1980 and 1990. In the years, Nike, Adidas, Puma and Umbro firms began signing contracts with players to use their boots. And so start with the sponsorships to professional soccer players.
Personalized ankle boots, the fashion of the new millennium
Big brands advanced with the experimentation of new shapes of soles and studs. Achieving this with more flexible and lighter shoes for more incredible speed. In addition, laser technology is beginning to be applied to personalize the boots for the first time.
At the beginning of the millennium, the most representative models of 2000 came onto the market. Today they continue to modernize and be a reference. Those who became favourites in the world of football were:
- Predator, from Adidas firm.
- Mercurial boots from Nike.
Last generation
Football boots have reached another level in the last decade. Now, it is possible to manufacture shoes adapted to the athlete. Manufactured with pieces of various materials to protect the integrity of the player; that is, joining different parts for the plant, instep, tongue and pins.
Some features of the new generation of ankle boots are:
- They are designed according to the position played on the field of play.
- They are personalized and adjusted to fashion trends.
- Its weight was reduced to 200 gr. About. Although they have come to weigh 97 gr.
- Some have tracking chips to monitor the performance of athletes via the web or mobile devices.
In a few years, discover how football boots have evolved, as the history will surely be much longer and the future footwear much more enjoyable. Do you have any idea what they will be like? Let me know in the comments. Well, so far, it is incredible just the fact that they have decreased their weight so much.