As sneaker and soccer culture continue to collide, companies have recently looked to be even more literal than our namesake by turning to the pitch for the inspiration of their latest kicks. I’ve dug through the archives and selected what I believe are the best sneakers that have not only been inspired by soccer, but by cleats themselves.
See if you agree with my choices and if I missed anything on the list, please feel free to mention it in the comments!
Honorable Mention: Nike Kobe 8 Mambacurial
As dope as the Neymar AJ V Low is, nothing compares to the Kobe Mambacurials which were inspired by the premiere colorway of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX. An all-time favorite amongst KTTP founder Curtis Brown, the Mambacurials don’t quite make the list of the top five, but certainly deserved a mention.
#5: Nike Air Footscape Magista
The Magista, first introduced prior to the last World Cup, ushered in a new era of innovation and technology on the pitch by creating a flyknit, high cut boot engineered for a better touch and fit. For those that own or have held the Magista, what makes it unique among its flyknit soccer family is the hexagonal-shaped texture that is woven within the flyknit. Coupled with arguably the most comfortable Nike tooling, the Air Footscape, the Footscape Magista makes the list by how perfectly the two seem to go together, when on paper, they should probably never work.
#4: Adidas Ace 16+ PureControl UltraBoost
Adidas finally got into the mash-up game this summer by giving their top tier cleat, the Ace 16+, the ultimate lifestyle treatment by giving them the ever popular UltraBoost tooling. No doubt an idea brought forth by former Nike Football Design Director, Denis Dekovic, this silo might be taking an indirect shot at Nike’s 2014 ultra-limited HTM Superfly release by also releasing in sparing locations and in very limited numbers. Instantly selling out and highly coveted by adidas soccer and Boost aficionados alike, the Ace 16+ PC Boost was a surefire win for the three stripes and left fans salivating for the next drop.
#3: Nike SB Zoom FC
First released in the prime of Nike Skateboarding hype days, the Zoom FCs are, to my knowledge, the very first cleat/sneaker mash-up. It takes a very keen and knowledgeable eye to recognize these as valid for the criteria as the cleat they’re modeled after, The FC, are extremely rare. Go ahead, Google for them. You’ll waste hours upon hours looking for them like I did researching for this post, only to come up empty. To be honest, the only reason I even know they exist is because I have a pair. Coming from soccer roots, at the insistence of longtime team rider, Gino Iannucci, Nike SB updated and released the silo in 2003 to better suit the needs of a skateboarder. As it turns out, the Zoom FC also ended up being great for indoor and if you ever wonder why or how Nike Skateboarding and Soccer got together in the first place, this shoe was the start.
#2: Adidas Busenitz
When Nike SB decided to retire the Zoom FC, Adidas Skateboarding decided to pick up where they left off by converting one of their most beloved soccer silos, the Copa Mundial, into the Busenitz to serve as team rider Dennis Busenitz’s signature shoe. Since it’s inception, it’s gone through several awesome iterations including Pro and Boost versions, keeping up with technological and fashion trends. It consistently maintains the title of Adidas’ most popular and versatile skate shoe, and with a price point under $100 for non-Boost versions, the Busenitz kill it when it comes to cleat-inspired kicks.
[… this brings me to the most iconic street soccer shoe, the Adidas Samba. Most of you would expect me to put this as #1 but after HOURS of research, I couldn’t find any example of the Samba being a cleat nor any cleat that may have inspired the Samba. The closest pair that I could find were a vintage style called the Adidas Lightning, but I just couldn’t quantify these as the inspiration as I could find no record of when they were created. Per adidas, the Samba was created in 1950 to serve as an indoor soccer shoe and meant for hard and frozen surfaces. So as they had always originated as sneakers and never as cleats, I couldn’t add them to this list. So with that being said…]
#1: Nike Free Mercurial Superfly
In 2014, when the revolutionary Mercurial Superfly was unveiled in Madrid adorned by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, all were amazed and dazzled by the new “fastest boot ever.” There were whispers and intrigue alike, but it wasn’t all at the feet of the Ballon d’Or winner; some of it was at the feet of CEO Mark Parker as he received questions from the press:
What was he wearing? Did Nike really convert their brand new, high tech, elite cleat into a wearable street sneaker? Was this a special make up that was meant only for Mr. Parker? Questions upon questions arose with nothing but this solitary photo to leave us in suspense. Then, nearly two months later on the eve of the Mercurial Superfly release, Nike announced that the Free Mercurial Superfly HTM would release alongside the cleats for the grand opening of Nikelabs worldwide. For the first time ever, a flagship soccer cleat would be able to be worn both on AND off the pitch, at the same time. And thus began the revolution! Beyond being technologically advanced, the Free Mercurial Superfly, with a Nike Free 5.0 tooling, yields a spectacularly sleek silhouette that not only gives you the look, but the feel of a Ferrari for your feet. The classic HTM colorway introduced the world to the sneaker, but the successes of its performance on the pitch as well as the high praises received in the modern fashion world are what keep us coming back to it and making it the greatest cleat-inspired sneaker thus far.