Great players attract the light at major events and so do their shoes. On the lawn of the Porto Dragon Stadium in the Champions League final, there will be no shortage of stars. This is the opportunity for us to present to you the pairs of crampons that will make more than a young footballer dream in front of the television on May 29.
The football planet will stop turning when the Blues and the Citizens set foot on the lawn of the FC Porto stadium, something to delight the equipment manufacturers who will put forward their last gems at the feet of the men of Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola. Puma and Nike, which respectively equip the Skyblues and the London club, will be well represented with four pairs of Puma at the feet of the Citizens and 6 pairs of Nike at the feet of the Chelsea players. Adidas is also responding by placing itself at the feet of 7 of the 22 probable holders, while awaiting the official compositions.
Nike should be placed at the feet of one in two holders during this C1 final. A usual performance for the comma brand which represents 52% of the shoes worn in the 5 major European leagues according to a study by FootballBootsDB. If the Mercurial is the most popular shoe on the market, the Phantom GT will steal the show overnight.
Unveiled in August 2020, the Phantom GT is the heir to the Hypervenom unveiled in 2013 and worn by Neymar for many years. During this final, Mason Mount should wear the last lemon color of the Impulse pack while Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias and John Stones should sport the royal blue color of the Spectrum pack. Only the colors differ on these two pairs where we find Flyknit on the upper with technology ACC which would provide optimal ball control in all playing conditions.
As against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, Riyad Mahrez could illuminate the evening of the Citizens with his pair of Mercurial Superfly 8 and his Safari colorway which takes its heritage from the signature pair of Cristiano Ronaldo in the early 2010. If the ‘Algerian will be the only Manchester player to wear Nike’s speed silo at the start of the match, Christian Pullisic and Ben Chilwell will also sport a pair of Mercurial Safari, with a preference for the low cut of the Vapor 14 for the English international. On these latest generation Mercurials, we find the technology Vaporposite which is a mesh upper that would improve ball control and give the feeling of having a second skin as it is thin.
The silo of the defenders of the comma brand will be well represented in this 100% English final since Jorginho should wear the last turquoise blue color of the Impulse pack while Thiago Silva could wear the platinum color and his neon green touch of the Spectrum pack. Antonio Rüdiger should wear the Tiempo Legend 8 in a more classic white and blue color. Regardless of the color, we find the kangaroo leather that made Ronaldinho happy when he was Tiempo ambassador in the 2000s. The pair has nevertheless been modernized with the addition of the outsole. Hyperstability which is very light.
Just unveiled, the X Ghosted from the Showpiece pack could be worn for the first time by N’Golo Kanté and Timo Werner, ambassadors of the adidas speed silo. Germany international will try to make a difference thanks to the outsole SpeedFrame chrome and its insert Carbitex in carbon fiber which bring lightness. Andreas Christensen, who was preferred to Kurt Zouma in the semi-finals against Real Madrid, should wear the X 19.1 which is the penultimate generation of the silo.
If Paul Pogba wore the last color of the Predator Freak against Villareal in the Europa League final, it is the pink-purple color of the Spectrum pack which should be present at the feet of Edouard Mendy who will be the only player to wear this silo which is however the most popular of the German brand. In terms of technologies, we find the Demonskin which are small rubber scales placed on the upper in order to optimize the touch of the ball, in addition to bringing an original look to the pair.
Bernardo Silva will be the only player to wear a pair of Nemeziz.1 at the kick off of this final. The Portuguese genius has been wearing Lionel Messi’s silo for several weeks in its zebra color from the Superspectral pack. Prized for support and agility with its textile upper Tension Tape which envelops the foot, the Nemeziz could illuminate the meeting at the feet of the attacking midfielder Citizen. It could also be the last big match of the Champions League for this silo which is doomed to disappear according to some rumors.
Adidas’ oldest silo made a thunderous comeback last February with the Copa Sense, of which İlkay Gündoğan is ambassador. Author of an exceptional season, the German international has been sporting the pink and white color of the Superspectral pack since its release. In terms of technical characteristics, we find the legendary kangaroo leather that was on the first Copa Mundials worn by Franz Anton Beckenbauer. This leather is combined with new technologies SensePods, TouchPods and SoftStuds. Chelsea captain César Azpilicueta will wear the Copa Mundial 20 in a classic white-black colourway with visible stitching on the vamp.
Finally, the brand with the leaping feline will be wonderfully represented by the players of its most important club since Fernandinho, Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who could be preferred to Joao Cancelo, will wear the Puma Ultra 1.2 in a bright white color with stripes of retracted colors. From the Spectra pack, this pair highlights speed with its synthetic upper MatryxEVO designed with carbon filaments and aramid fibers (Kevlar®) for lightness, flexibility and resistance.
Ederson will defend the Skyblues cages with the Puma Future Z 1.1 of which Neymar is the ambassador. In the same colourway as the Ultra, this pair would offer ultimate ball touch and control thanks to its innovative mesh upper covered with a thin layer of GripControl Pro. The special feature of this silo comes from the adaptable compression band FUZIONFIT + which would provide optimal support as well as ideal support for explosive movements and changes of direction.
The official equipment manufacturers of Manchester City and Chelsea will therefore be well represented in terms of studs while adidas will be less present than usual. Little in sight at the end of the season, Raheem Sterling could still be the surprise of this final by highlighting the New Balance brand with its new custom Furon v6 +!