Top: Puma EvoSpeed; Left: Nike World Cup Pack; Right: Adidas Battle Pack
With the FIFA World Cup taking
priority in the sports world this past summer, the top sports companies in the world
competed on creating the best soccer cleats to be worn by the stars of the world’s
favorite sport. International soccer icons such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi who
represented Adidas, Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal who sported Nike cleats, and
Italy’s Mario Balotelli who wore Puma gear, were just some to name a few. As
the world’s greatest soccer stars battled it out on the pitch in front of millions,
the “Big Three” (Nike, Adidas, and Puma) of soccer cleats duked it out behind office doors working to
create the best of the best for millions of people to wear.
When I think of Adidas, I automatically think soccer.
Historically Adidas has always been paving the way for soccer. For the 2014
FIFA World Cup, Adidas presented their Battle Pack which consisted of four
cleats based of their signature styles and then one pair created by no other
than Lionel Messi himself. One thing I really liked about the Adidas Battle Pack was
the coordinated color scheme between all the cleats which was primarily white
and black with a highlight of orange. Being an Adidas fan myself and in need of
a new pair of cleats before the start of my 2014 fall season, I was really
interested in getting a pair of cleats from the Battle Pack so I ended up
buying the Predators. These cleats rank high up on my list of all-time favorite
cleats because they are very spacious (which I love because I have wide feet),
they have a soft touch with the ball, and are very durable. When it comes to soccer, Adidas always creates
cutting edge and reliable cleats, and with their Battle Pack I think they hit
the jackpot.
Instead of just enhancing their
original signature styles of soccer cleats like Adidas did, Nike took a new
step forward in trying to become the front runner of the soccer world as they introduced
what would be their cleats of 2014 FIFA World Cup. The bold neon green and cherry red colors of
their game-changing Magista and Mercurial cleats lit up the field. Personally, I
really like the style of Nike’s newly designed line of soccer cleats. One big
difference they have with other competing cleats is their addition of the sock
sleeve to the shoe. When I first saw the addition of the sock sleeve I thought
it was really ugly and it made it look as if you were wearing basketball shoes out
on the field, because the cleat extended high up on your ankle. But, the more I began to
see them, Nike’s new line of cleats began to grow on me. The only big issue I have
with Nike cleats is that they are made very slim so they are hard for me to
wear. Honestly if Nike were to create those same cleats but make them a little
bit wider like those of Adidas cleats, I would probably be a bigger Nike soccer
fan because I really like the design and style of their new line of cleats.
Last but not least of the “Big Three”
of soccer cleats in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was Puma. In the years leading up
to the World Cup, Puma hadn’t been making as much noise in the cleat industry like
their competitors, Nike and Adidas. But when it was time to shine on the world’s
biggest stage, Puma pulled through with their introduction of the evoPower and
evoSpeed cleats. One thing that put
these cleats apart from the any other seen during the World Cup was that fact that
each individual cleat within a pair was a different color, with the left cleat
being a light blue color and the right cleat being dark pink in color. In my
past experiences with Puma cleats I found these cleats to be more stylish in
design than those they have created in the past few years. If I could get a
second pair of cleats that weren’t Adidas, I would probably go with Puma’s
evoPower’s over any of Nike’s cleats. With a great showing during the 2014 FIFA
World Cup, I think Puma is heading back in the right direction for soccer
cleats and has the possibility create some of the outright best cleats in the world.
After reviewing each of the companies’
cleats, I have concluded my ranking of whose cleats had the best performance during
the 2014 FIFA World Cup which is as follows: 1) Nike, 2) Adidas, 3) Puma. But based on my needs in a soccer cleat, which
primarily focuses on comfort and durability and is based off my past
experiences with each brands’ cleats, I would rank the cleats in the following
order: 1) Adidas, 2) Puma, 3) Nike. Even with that being said, I feel that it
is hard to come out and say who takes the crown in creating the best cleats of
the 2014 FIFA World Cup, because I think that it comes down to the personal
opinion of each individual to decide on what they are looking for in their
cleats.
