Soccer blog containing the latest football news and football boots or cleats, mainly concerned with Serie A, Inter Milan and the Brazilian national side.
If you’ve read some of my other posts about mercurial vapors, you’ll know that I’m still very fond of my white mercurial vapor IIIs and chuck them on from time to time. About 6 months ago I got some chewing gum stuck on one of the boots and I figured it would just come off eventually just from wearing them during training/matches. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case so I had to find a way to get it off myself.
The usual cleaning regime of a bit of hand soap and a soft toothbrush wasn’t doing it. Turns out the best way to get it off was using one of my car cleaning products from AutoGlym. The stuff you want is “Intensive Tar Remover” although I’m sure other companies make similar products. Just make sure it’s good quality stuff that is non-abrasive and fairly gentle too.
The problem with gum is it’s oil-based, sticky when warm and clings like mud on a stick. So using soapy water won’t do it, but the good thing about car products is they have to be gentle on paintwork so any solvents shouldn’t affect the MV synthetic either. Certainly did the trick for me and really well. About 10-15 seconds with a bit of soaked cloth took almost all of the gum off as the photo’s show. Now I just need to find a way to get the marks from other boots off! Let me know if you’re got any good boot cleaning tips and tricks.
Nike recently posted a video on their site which gives a rare look into their production and R&D processes of football boots/cleats. It’s fairly interesting to see how these boots are designed, made and put together. I wouldn’t mind knowing what glue they use to hold the upper to the bottom plate so I could restore my first Mercurial Vapors (which are still in pretty good shape considering I bought them in 2002! although I don’t use them that often any more). I might try taking the lace protector off my Mercurial Vapor IVs too as it’s probably the only element I don’t like about the design of the new boots. Anyone tried doing this yet? Or am I one of the few mad enough to do it?
Anyways, you can look at the video below or head over to the Nike site for a higher quality version. Check out this post for more cool ads/videos, especially the last one “Next level”, still the best ad I’ve ever seen. Brilliant.
The new Nike Mercurial Vapor 5 isn’t too far away apparently. I’ve been searching around for info about them and have managed to collate bits and pieces from a few different sources. Expert football’s forum has some pics and info although the early pics look mostly looks like the IV to me. The colour schemes don’t look great in those pics either.
There’s talk that the flywire technology would be part of the shoe which sounds good as that would help drop the weight even more and give good support. Soccer bible news show a pic of Drogba testing out some blacked out shoes which are apparently the Mercurial Vapor Superfly. Seems that the mercurial vapor V’s are based on these much like the SL’s that came out with the MV IV’s.
If they get the colours right then it’s still a worthwhile investment. Although I’m becoming less of a fan of the lace cover. The one on my MV4s has ripped a bit on one shoe and the MVs would look better without it in my opinion. Give me something like that nice, mostly white superfly boot on the footy-boots video (see below) and I’m sold but I get the impression the lace cover is there to stay on the vapor V’s at least.
[Above: Mercurial Vapor Superfly]
Pro-direct soccer have already got a March 2nd date for the official pictures of the vapor 5’s and are saying that it goes on sale in April. There’s also a good deal of detail in this footy-boots post. Can’t wait to grab a pair and write up another review.
So I’ve finally had a chance to thoroughly test out my new mercurial vapor IVs with a couple of matches so I thought I’d get round to writing this review. I’ve also taken pictures side by side with my old mercurial vapor IIIs (which are just over two years old now) so you can see the differences up close.
They are quite minor in fact, the obvious stuff includes the heel cup which isn’t as aggressive but still locks you foot in really well and more comfortably then before and I haven’t had any blisters yet either. The stud pattern is the same which is good as they work well and then there’s the lace cover that is supposed to allow a cleaner strike although I don’t think it makes any difference in that respect but it certainly keeps your laces clean!
The lace cover is a bit annoying in that it’s a little harder to put the shoe on and I dread the thought of ever having to change laces as it looks pretty hard to thread the lower parts. The visible carbon fibre under the sole is gone but I think it’s actually still there in the shoe, just hidden. There’s some that runs up the heel and if you fork out for the SLs then you’ll get the whole bottom part in carbon fibre. Although I’m not sure what other benefits the SLs have and if they’re worth the extra premium.
You notice immediately that the forefoot area is wider which is probably good for a lot of people that struggled to fit the mv 1,2 and 3s but for me it’s not so great as I have a skinny foot that suits the older narrow vapors. Still, tightening the laces a bit more resolves any of those issues. It does feel like the sizes are a little bigger though so be wary if you’re ordering online, I’ve always bought US 10.5 and had a snug fit from Nike but these are a tiny bit bigger. I could’ve gone with US 10 this time I think but it’s not a big difference. Just try out a pair first before putting down any cash.
During the match they were immediately comfortable and still have the great touch of the previous versions, the upper seems to be the same Tejin synthetic although perhaps a little stickier (but this may just be that they’re newer and my IIIs have worn off a fair amount already). Basically, if you liked the IIIs then you’re in for the same experience except the heel will be more comfortable, should be interesting to see what other colours are released around Euro 2008 time.
So I finally got my FG mercurial vapor IVs today after a mix up where I ended up with the wrong size and had to send those ones back!
I haven’t had a chance to test them out in a full game yet, I’ve just tried them on around the house. The first noticeable thing is that the forefoot is wider which many will be happy about, me not so much as my feet are fairly thin anyway so I’ve never had a prob with the vapors before. Underneath the studs are pretty much the same tried and tested formation nike’s been using for a while. It works well anyway and the only problem is sometimes if your body is quite low and the pitch is somewhat wet you can slip as the studs on the front are a bit shallow. If it’s a real problem then you’d probably get soft ground boots instead.
The heel cup has had a big change. It doesn’t fully cover the heel as it did in the IIIs but still has the most important locking points so it’ll probably be fine. I liked the heel cup introduction in the IIIs although it did take a little getting used to as it was quite stiff to begin with. I got the vivid blue/anthrite colour which is basically black until light hits them and then you get some bluish/green specs reflecting the light back. I prefer white shoes but couldn’t be bothered waiting till they (if they) release them. My IIIs have almost given up on me after 2 years of weekly service, so I needed news boots fairly quickly.
I’ll be putting some pics up later to compare them with the IIIs and I’ll write up how they go during the game on the weekend.
Nike have officially launched their latest viral ad campaign at the site www.whoisthefastest.com (which redirects to a skysports page with a feel much like the usual nikefootball.com site). The ad puts Aaron Lennon and Gabriel Agbonglahor through their paces on a test circuit where they have to weave through slalom poles with and without the ball.
It seems like it will be a challenge to anyone who thinks they can beat the pair in another well planned campaign that is sure to attract a lot of attention. Check out the website for the videos although I found the raw footage more interesting to watch as it was less flashy. You can find that over at SoccerLens.
Lennon was fastest overall but Agbonglahor was faster in getting to the ball. I’ve embedded the same videos from SoccerLens for your viewing pleasure.
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So I finally put in an order for a pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor IVs today after spending some time trying to decide what boots to get next after my Nike Mercurial Vapor IIIs finally started to show signs of wear and probable failure some time not too far away. The IIIs have pretty much been the only boot I’ve used for the last two years (and I don’t have an off-season as I keep playing friendlies the year through). They’ve held up like no other boot I’ve had, usually I only get a year out of a boot and need to fix them up regularly with araldite (don’t laugh, it’s great stuff!). The IIIs required no maintenance and almost always cleaned up like new, although some challenges left marks that no amount of scrubbing could remove.
My only complaint is perhaps they were more durable than my feet! I’d end up with blisters on my toes, heels and balls of my feet if I didn’t use band-aids or strapping constantly. Perhaps I should follow in Christiano Ronaldo’s footsteps (sorry, bad pun) and wear some shoes that are two sizes smaller (I kid you not, read the article). Apparently your touch is a lot better which I guess makes sense but I’m not about to ruin my feet for a better feel of the ball. I have a friend that wears shoes a size smaller than usual although he tells me that the leather usually accommodates this after a short while and moulds much better to your feet. He’s a small, scrawny guy but has one of the most powerful kicks I’ve seen and can dip the ball like no one I know so I’m sure he knows what he’s on about.
Anyways I’ve got a pair of anthracite/vivid blue vapors (mostly black looking, the orange was a bit loud for me) probably a week away and can’t wait to try them out. I’ll be sure to report how I find them, just with I could’ve grabbed those Mercurial SLs but the price was a little insane. Hope I made the right choice as I haven’t actually tried a pair out and I was pretty pleased with the Adidas powerswerve’s I tried out recently but I’ve generally preferred Nikes so I’m not to worried.
I had the chance to try out a pair of the new Adidas predator powerswerve boots today. I haven’t used a pair since the predator pulse boots from a couple of years ago that I own but I was pleasantly surprised with the powerswerves. They’re part of the new Adidas range along with the adiPURE boots in use by Kaka’ and Gerard.
Although I wasn’t able to use them during a match as they belonged to the keeper on my team, I was able to get a bit of shooting practice in them. Until you put them on they’re quite flimsy and don’t feel like they’ll support the foot all that well but they are quite comfortable once laced up. They seem to have gotten the materials and design right on instep as the first thing you notice is a clean strike with good contact and excellent accuracy. The powerswerve does live up to it’s name as you can get some nice spin with them, it’s just a shame I couldn’t try them out with all the other important parts of the game. I still think I’m leaning towards the mercurial vapor 4s for my next boot but we’ll see, might try to borrow the powerserves for half a game. I’ve also heard that the new F50s are due out soon but they haven’t impressed me since switching to the tunit chassis. Nice concept but it doesn’t seem to work in my opinion.
The boots were created with help from Zidane after he finished uphis playing career at the 2006 world cup. That says a lot about the boot and that you should expect excellent control as he was one of the best trappers of the ball in the game. Apparently the powerswerve can impart 8% more swerve and 3% more power than the previous predator. It builds on the same golf and tennis technology utilised on the predator pulse by adding well-placed weight to the front of the boot for extra power.
Enjoy some Kaka’, Gerard and Messi silliness in the ad below.
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Continuing on with my posts of late (such as the Nike Mercurial SL Vapor IVs), I found an interesting video about the research that went into the nike mercurial vapor III. A bit late with the vapor IVs coming out very soon but I was good to watch and this is still my favourite boot (who knows until I try the IVs out). Basically them monitoring Henry as well as the Ronaldos performing various movements that occur in games.
I have another video I found which is just a Nike ad for their mercurials. It’s Ronaldo shooting hundreds of balls to show how many goals he’s scored since strapping on his first pair of mercurials in 1998. I still remember those shoes and have always lusted over them but never ended up getting a pair myself.
Below is some footage of Kaka’ in the new adidas adiPURE boots talking about some tactics and also a spot of blindfolded juggling. Impressive stuff.
Since the video is him talking in Portuguese I’ll translate what he said. “The first thing you have to do is have good ball control, as when you can control it you have the chance to do anything you want. The second thing is to not play with your back to the defender, when you have your back to them you lose the feeling of where you are and where the goal is. When you turn to face you are localised and know where the goal is. Then you can take on the defender with a dribble, lose his marking and do the play you desire.”
