World Cup 2002 Trainspotting: Football Footwear
by R. Sanborn Brown
"Roberto Carlos runs 11.7 kilometers in a match": Nike.
"When Rivaldo kicks the ball there is the same amount of stress exerted
on his heel that a long jumper experiences when landing": Mizuno.
Analyzing data collected from star players, sportswear makers are in fierce
competition to develop and improve soccer footwear. What initially spurred
this on was FIFA, according to an article on the Science page of the Asahi Shinbun.
Following the 1990 World Cup in Italy — in which a mere 2.2 goals per game were scored, and was thenceforth dubbed "the most boring World Cup ever" — FIFA feared for the popularity of the sport itself. In a move to remedy this, FIFA made an appeal to the makers: "for the purpose of mass-producing goals, please improve the quality of equipment."
At the beginning of the 20th century, studs (‘cleats’ in American
English) made of leather were used on football boots. From these early
days of football up until Italy 1990, the materials and design used in
making soccer shoes had evolved into lighter, easier to wear boots featuring
molded plastic studs and kangaroo skin. Other improvements included: a
special coating applied to the outer side of the shoe to increase the
level of friction for kicking with the outside of the boot; for kicks
with the instep, which require precision and touch, soft kangaroo skin
alone is used; and for kicking in the middle of the boot, when power is
all important, the makers have developed a coating that is applied like
a series of thin lines for hardness.
The actual design of the studs, however, had remained for the most part
unchanged. Following FIFA’s request, though, sporting goods manufacturers
began experimenting with different shapes and configurations in stud design.
The first wedge-shaped studs, for example, appeared in 1996, which were
made by Adidas expressly for that year’s European Championship. "Compared
to the traditional cylinder-shaped stud, which comes into contact with
turf at a ‘point,’ a wedge-shaped stud boasts a much broader
area and is more resistant to slipping," according to Adidas Japan
Senior Product Manager Naoaki Morishita.
At the end of last year, Japanese sportsmaker Asics came out with its latest model cleat--the "Tigreor"--that features a "twin level" stud design: set on top of traditional cylinder-shaped studs are arrayed a series of smaller wedge-shaped studs. When they come into contact with pitch, these wedge-shaped studs plow into and then cut the turf, with the second level digging deep into the soil. According the maker, tests were run to compare the Tigreor’s grip strength with that of the maker’s previous model, the "Lugo," which was fitted with traditional cylinder-shaped studs. They measured the force placed on the shoe that was absorbed by the studs—the so-called "projection area"—and found that the grip of the new model was considerably greater than that of the Lugo. According to Asics Research Engineering Institute’s Yoshikuni Takagi, with the new model the area that comes into contact with turf is, in terms of both forward and lateral direction, some fifty percent greater than that of a traditional boot outfitted with cylinder-shaped studs.
Mizuno recently brought Rivaldo to Japan and had him go through a series of stress tests in order to design a specially-tailored boot for the Barcelona FC and Brazil star. Using a sensor attached to his heel, the company measured the pressure that was brought to bear on the foot and ankle when kicking and feinting every one hundredth of a second. Mizuno decided then on the placement and size of the studs used on Rivaldo’s boots based on analysis of the results of these tests.
Last December, Nike unveiled its latest model football boots. From the tip of the shoe to the arch, there are four rows of wedge-shaped studs, each of which plays a different role. The front row, for example, is employed for quicker acceleration, the second row for feinting and turning, the third for greater power when sidestepping.
Adidas will bring out its next generation shoes at the end of February. These new boots will attempt to wed design and technology to match the conditions of three different pitch types: soft turf, pitches with hard ground underneath grass, and hard surfaces. The company will design its boots geared to one of the three above pitch types, and will introduce original technology suitable to the specific playing conditions.
