Football boots, as they are known throughout the world, are a booming industry driven by innovation, endorsements, and most of all, style. What works functionally for a player and what looks good on their feet can be very different, but the best boots throughout history have combined both to set trends around the world. Hundreds of versions of cleats are produced annually, but every year a few rise above to become iconic. Whether it is because of the players that wear them or a unique design, many of these boots have played a part in shaping the history of the beautiful game.

Footballers are very particular people when it comes to what they wear on their feet to play. Anything from the socks, the shin guards under them, down to the individual cleats that touch that ground can have an effect on a player’s touch. This is something that these athletes take very seriously, and each player has a different opinion on what makes a football boot great. For some it is comfort. For others, it is the feeling the ball has when it touches certain parts of the foot. Still, others consider style to be the most important factor.

Every year, millions of dollars are spent by companies like Adidas, Nike, Puma, and others in product testing, design, and advertising to entice players to buy the latest boots. Despite these ever changing innovations, some of the best-selling boots in the world were developed long ago. Whether your style is the latest fluorescent colored development project by Nike or the classic look of a pair of Copa Mundials, the important thing is to express your personal style and let the football do the talkingBest known as the boots that Zinedine Zidane used to lead France to victory when they hosted the 1998 World Cup, these were the fourth edition of Predators released by Adidas. The laces were arranged asymmetrically to provide a larger ball striking surface, a first for an Adidas football boot. The Accelerator was also the preferred boot of dead ball artist David Beckham and Alessandro Del Piero. The transparent red sole, made these boots instantly recognizable along with the curved three striped Adidas logo. Last year, Adidas re-released a limited run version of the Accelerator to satisfy the demand for these classics.