Soccer Cleats 101 » Umbro Speciali

Just Arrived – Umbro Speciali R Pro

bryan — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:48:37 +0000

Just arrived in the door for review comes this pretty tasty new release, the Umbro Speciali R Pro. These were released right around January of this year, with the likes of Michael Owen and Darren Bent sporting them in the EPL since. Umbro don’t tend to advertise much here in the US, so you might not have heard much about them yet – but I can assure you that they are a quality boot designed to deliver at the highest level on hard ground surfaces (they are a HG boot).

The guys at WeGotSoccer.com sent them over for review. But, I have since found that they are tough to find anywhere, with soccer.com the only place I could find a good deal for them. They currently have a White/Lime Green colorway for $93.

Michael Owen Receives Unique Umbro Specialis

bryan — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:15:51 +0000

Michael Owen has been a key figure in many of Umbro’s campaigns over the past 10 years. Well, as a reward for his loyalty and also to celebrate his 30th birthday, Umbro fulfilled his wish to have a picture of his horse, named ‘Speciali’, placed on the sole of the Umbro Speciali cleat! Owen recently mentioned to the Umbro team that he would like a design like this, and they were glad to be able to give them to him for his birthday. We have seen Umbro run some interesting design competition in the past few months resulting in very unique releases! But I think these ones win for ingenuity.

Check out the rest of the story on Umbro’s blog.

Umbro Speciali Limited Edition

bryan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:28:56 +0000

Umbro are next to join the Limited Edition club with the release of this rare Speciali release. The Speciali has been worn impressively by the likes of John Terry and free-scoring Sunderland striker Darren Bent. This version comes in a pretty bold Royal/Fluorescent Citrus color that will be very noticeable on the field. The Speciali fits into the comfort boot range, one of those cleats that is easy to break in and offers great responsiveness without having any fancy add-ons. Add to this the fact that they are made from a super-soft Kangaroo leather and they weigh a pretty tasty 9.2oz, there is a lot of potential in these.

I reviewed the Umbro Speciali a few months back and enjoyed wearing them. I am not a huge fan of the new color and don’t think I would pay out to get a pair. But, I am sure there will be some big Umbro fans out there who are interested in getting their hands on a the Limited Edition version.

Umbro Speciali Design Competition

bryan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:48:05 +0000

Umbro are again running a cool ‘Customize your Speciali’s’ competition for aspiring cleat designers! To enter, all you have to do is design how you want the sole of the Umbro Speciali to look. If your design is selected as the top design, it will be worn by the likes of England’s John Terry, Portugal’s Deco and Wilson Palacios from Honduras. You will also get a free pair with the unique design.

This is a similar competition to the one that Umbro ran last year, where 3 designs were chosen to be worn by players in the Premier League. You can scroll through the current selection of images to get some ideas from what other are designing. If you do decide to enter, let us know what the name of your design is so that we can check it out!

An Amateur’s Perspective of the Umbro Speciali

bryan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:08:34 +0000

This is what it is all about, and exactly what I enjoy seeing when reviewing soccer cleats! Below is a two part series taken by amateurs who want to share their opinion on a soccer cleat, and in this version the Umbro Speciali. Art Director Stephen Owen and Benjamin Rose are the creators, and they bring a simple viewpoint on Umbro’s latest release. Check them out and enjoy!

Also Check Out:
Umbro Speciali Review

Umbro: Customize Your Speciali

bryan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:47:55 +0000

Voting closed, and 10 finalists were selected on November 5th 2009!!

There is a great competition involving designing a soccer cleat going on over at Umbro. Umbro is giving aspiring designers, or creative soccer players, the opportunity to design the soles of the Umbro Speciali. 11 lucky winners will have their personalized cleats created as a one off for them, with the judges for the competition being John Terry, Michael Owen, Gael Clichy, visual artist Stuart Semple. Owen, Terry and Clichy will then pick one of the winning designs to actually wear in a Premier League game! Creating the cleats is really easy, and it takes less than 5 minutes to upload.

If you are going to create a pair, take some time to create a design rather tan just jumping in. From my point of view, keeping the design light and not too flashy is the way to go. After looking through around 20 pages of designs, the one of the right is the one I am picking to be one of the cleats selected. It gets right to the point! If you have a favorite, or decide to enter a design let us know so we can vote for you! If you want a pair of Speciali’s, but are not an up and coming soccer cleat designer, you will have buy yourself a pair!