Retro football boots are seemingly making a bit of a comeback judging by Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Njabulo Blom.
Check it out!
What's the story?
After English ballers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham wore some new generation adidas Predators and Njabulo Blom wearing the Copa Mundials, is it safe to say that retro boots are making a comeback?
Football boots look completely different to what they did 30 years ago, with various technological advancements making boots lighter in weight, less studs in many cases and of course, more colourful than the what was worn in the 90's.
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Let's take closer look at Blom, Bellingham Trent embracing tradition and rejecting modernity...
Jude, Trent Blom bring back that retro feeling
In early September, Bafana Bafana midfielder Njabulo Blom rocked a classy pair of adidas Copa Mundial boots to training at St Louis City SC.
The Copa Mundial boots were released in the 1970's and are known as the best selling boots of all time, worn by icons like Zinedine Zidane and the late Diego Maradona.
Although Blom didn't wear these boots to a match, he received plenty of attention on social from his MLS club for dusting off a classic pair.
More recently, Real Madrid's English sensation Jude Bellingham took to the field in the UEFA Champions League, wearing the next Gen adidas Predator boots, resembling his idol Zidane.
He scored in Los Blancos' 4-2 win over Napoli in Europe's elite club competition but wasn't the only English baller to rock these new Predator boots before they were released today.
Trent Alexander-Arnold recently joined the adidas family and wore a pair of Predators, during his Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Manchester City last Saturday.
adidas unveiled the special-edition Predator today, celebrating 30 years of the iconic boot.
The fold-over tongue makes a welcome return on the "Predator 30," with only 1994 pairs being made available – the year the iconic adidas boot franchise launched.
Take a look:
Read: Njabulo Blom Rocks The Best-Selling Boots Of All Time
The return of the classics?
Trends in football are cyclical, just like music, fashion and other forms of art. Things that were cool in the 90's to early 2000's are being embraced once again by Gen Z and millennials.
Take vintage football jerseys craze for example, they've become their own fashion statement with non-football fans also surfing the retro jersey wave.
With boots on the other hand, it would make it difficult for most players to wear what was worn before their time. From the 60's, boots were made with leather, offering plenty of protection for players' ankles.
As time went on, boot manufacturers offered less protection and made them lighter to help the players move around easier on the pitch.
In the 90's, according to empowerband.com, the introduction of rubber, plastic onto leather upper set the tone for modern-day boots.
"[We] started to see a rapid change in football boot design while the leather thickness still offered some protection," reads an article from empowerband.com.
Things completely changed in the 2000's when more synthetic materials were used in the upper boot, which became popular as it was lighter and less costly probably cheaper to manufacturer, who continue to market boots as faster and less strenuous to wear.
Boots became thinner on the upper with synthetic and flynit materials becoming the norm, as metal studs also starting to make inroads in the manufacturing process.
Take a scroll through the gallery to see Blom, Jude and Trent's boots:
Have your say...
Will retro-style boots make a comeback?
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