NHBSOCCER

The ‘FLY’ is back in Superfly!

The season is back amongst us after a wonderful World Cup in Brazil, which saw a European side win in a South American country for the first time ever. Now it is back to business for all the major European leagues, apart from Italy, who have kick started their 2014/15 campaigns. 

As we have become accustomed to, a new season often means a new boot.  I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the new revolutionised Nike Mercurial Superfly. The Superfly name has been re-invented after the last edition, which in my opinion, did not live up to the name or the price tag!

Nike have recently introduced a new type of material that is taking sports designers by storm and putting Nike’s products into a league of their own; Flyknit.  This latest invention is a breakthrough in sports technology and will change the way we make football boots in the coming years.  Long gone are the leather days - I predict that Flyknit will be the future.   

Nike have stated their aim for this design was to achieve a boot which felt like an extension of the lower leg, causing no distractions for the player. Flyknit has enabled Nike to create a football boot using a one piece upper.  The material is knitted together allowing the players foot to fit in to the latest Superfly like it would if you are wearing a sock. The boot is enhanced with brio cables, similar to the fly wire cables used on the previous Superfly models, brio cables have allowed the boot to give a better fit to the foot and really make this boot snug.

With the World Cup behind us Nike have now released the Stealth Pack II. I, along with others, love a traditional black boot.  Although the latest technology makes for a better performance from the athlete, I always tend to shy away from the bright colour models that Nike release first to create an impact on the industry.  Therefore, I was really pleased when I saw that Nike were also planning on releasing a black, soft ground version of the Superfly model -  especially as I am based in the UK and the weather is so unpredictable!   

When I first received the boots, I was stunned by the attention to detail in comparison to other Superfly models and impressed with the way that the thick brio cables stand out of the boot, giving players full confidence that when they pull up this snugly fitting boot it will work in unison with their foot.  In addition the letters ACC (All Conditions Controlled) reiterate that whatever the weather, players will get an equal amount of grip on the ball for maximum control, an addition that I feel really does work.

When putting the boot on for the first time, I found that the one piece fit, like the high heel line feature, takes a little getting used to. 

But I think after 2-3 training sessions I will never want to put these Superflys down.