Home
Mesut Ozil has been a revelation for Arsenal this season, notching 16 assists and dazzling spectators with his audacious vision and technique. So, how does one of the Premier League’s greatest talents improve his game? By eliminating the one thing that’s holding him back: his boot's laces. On Saturday, Ozil will become the first Premier League footballer to wear laceless boots when he debuts the Adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol cleats.
Adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol cleats:
Photo: @adidas_ES | Twitter
According to Adidas, the cleats require no wear-in time, featuring an “upper that molds perfectly to your foot the instant you slip it on.” The laceless forefoot is designed to enable you to control the ball in all conditions, without edges or overlays, ensuring that that the ball stays “glued to your feet.”
“My whole career I have tried to minimize the impact of laces on my strike and ball control,” said Ozil at the boot's launch. “I revealed to Adidas in 2014 that in the changing room I knot the laces over and over again and then tuck in the ends, that way they do not interfere with my touch. When they came to me last year with the laceless boots, it was like they have created my dream product.”
No more laces, check out #ACE16Can't wait to make an assist in them!#BeTheDifference pic.twitter.com/oRGcWvmX9L
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 19, 2016Mesut Ozil is a player who should probably be playing with a handicap, like steel toed cowboy boots or Crocs, to level the playing field. Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen admitted that “it’s a joke” how good Mesut Ozil is. If the Adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol cleats prove to be of any sort of benefit to Ozil, the Premier League title is certainly Arsenal's to lose.
Latest Boot Releases in the World of Football:
Lionel Messi’s Special-Edition Ballon d’Or Boots:
Photo: @messi10stats | Twitter
Lionel Messi commemorated his Ballon d’Or triumph with a pair of platinum boots from Adidas. He debuted the cleats during Sunday’s 6-0 romp over Athletic Bilbao, scoring the first Barcelona goal from the spot.
Another day, another goal, another Ballon d’Or in the life of Lionel Messi.
PUMA evoPOWER 1.3:
Photo: @FourFourTwoSG | Twitter
While the Adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol boots are marketed towards those whose game is all about creativity and touch, PUMA’s latest evoPOWER boots are “calling the power hungry, those who choose ‘dare’.”
Shooting flares at a goalkeeper, Mario Balotelli shaving people’s heads, bashing a ball out the window of a moving car with a mannequin’s leg - it’s a crazy lifestyle that the good people at PUMA wholeheartedly condone.
This weekend, players like Cesc Fabregas and Olivier Giroud will debut the latest edition of the cleat.
