Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
Right before the World Cup final kicked off, Adidas released an awesome one-of-a-kind video showing Messi vs Messi doing a rondo warm up. Combining real footage of the Argentinian forward from 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018, adidas makes the impossible, possible. Created using the latest in artificial intelligence and VFX, the film showcases the last 18 years of the world’s greatest player, celebrating his achievements in an unexpected way.
Complete with his haircuts, Argentina shirts and adidas boots across the previous five tournaments, historical and present-day footage of Messi was used to produce the different, de-aged versions of him. This was then applied to body doubles to allow the ‘impossible’ warm-up to come to life.
What Soccer Cleats Has Messi Worn At Each World Cup?
Of course, it is the boot part the piqued our interest. From left to right as seen in the picture below, here is a rundown of the pairs that Messi has worn at each World Cup.
2006 World Cup
In his first World Cup, Messi wore a pair of F30 TUNiT in an Argentinian white/blue colorway. What made them special was the custom text placed on the side – “La mano de Dios” meaning “The Hand of God” as a tribute to Diego Maradona.
2010 World Cup
In South Africa, Messi stuck with a pair of F50 adizero in the iconic Chameleon Purple colorway. Messi stated “I am amazed at how light the new F50 is; I can barely feel them on my feet. Speed on the pitch is a really important part of my game and wearing the world’s lightest boot will hopefully make me faster and enhance my performance during the most important games of the year!”
2014 World Cup
Headed to Brazil, Messi stuck to the F50 adizero range, but this time he got his own signature pair as part of the Battle Pack. Adidas added blue and white across the top of the boot, inspired by the Argentinian national colors.
2018 World Cup
By the time the tournament in Russia came around, Messi had switched into the Nemeziz 18.1 silo, and wore the standard issue neon green colorway. They were detailed on the side with his son’s name, Thiago.
2022 World Cup
And then there was the latest tournament, where Messi won wearing what could be one of the most significant pairs of all time – the X Speedportal “Leyenda” edition. The design is inspired by the adidas F30 boots that he wore at the 2006 World Cup. They feature a stretchy PRIMEKNIT collar for adaptive support, ultralight comfort and ease of entry. They are also made with a series of recycled materials, the upper features at least 50% recycled content.
