THE BOOTS BLOGGER – Interview with Marco Michalzik
The days when football boots were locked away between games are over. For quite some time now, these shoes have become closer and closer to the world of sneakers. As much as they are about performance, they are also about great design, storytelling and famous players. There’s even a growing scene of people who like to collect football boots. One of the best known is Marco Michalzik from Düsseldorf, Germany, who’s also running the “Boots Blog”. We met him to talk about his gems and inspirations.
Hi Marco! Please introduce yourself …
Hey, Sneakers Mag, I’m a student at the Sport University here in Cologne and I’ve been working for the online retailer 11teamsports for a while. I also do “bootsblog”, my own platform about football with a focus on performance shoes. It’s a cool way to get around and get to know people from the world of football – including famous football players once in a while.
How does one become a “boothead”? Please tell us your collector story.
I’ve been passionate about football boots since my early childhood. I’ve started actually collecting around 2009. Suddenly I stopped throwing my beat up shoes away because of the great moments they would remind me of. My collection grew from year to year and so did the thirst to get all the latest releases. That same passion made me start “bootsblog” in 2012. All I was trying to do in the beginning was talk about what I was interested in and show it to everyone. The blog grew and has given me the opportunity to get in contact with brands and of course to try new shoes when they are available.
What’s collecting football boots like? Do you wear all of them?
Usually bootheads have two different collections – one to wear on the pitch and one to show. You can’t wear your boots on the pitch on a regular basis without affecting them. That’s the big difference to collecting lifestyle sneakers. Personally, I only wear a tiny fraction of my collection. Many of them are either worth a good amount of money or mean a lot to me. Sometimes it’s sad because you sure would be the king of the field if you’d be playing in 2002 Predator Mania’s!
Is there such a thing as a resell market for football boots?
There’s a growing community of collectors who like to talk about the boots or want to trade and sell. It’s still small and most of the collectors even know each other, although most of the communication happens online. Nevertheless, there’s also a growing resell market. Some people buy more limited releases and try to make some money – obviously not everyone is happy about this. Some of the older releases sell for more than 2000€.
What was the most you’ve spent on a single pair?
I once bought a pair of the Nike Mercurial SL for 1000€. Only 2000 pairs were produced in 2008 and I really appreciated it. It’s the most expensive boot I ever bought but at that time it was already worth more than 1500€ so I actually made a good deal! But it’s always nicer to make a good trade with another collector because both win.
What does a football boot need to have to be part of your collection? How important are the pro players wearing specific shoes?
The most important thing for me is the emotional bond to a shoe – this can be about a colorway I wore myself when I was a child or boots that were worn by legendary players for special occasions. Signature boots are always special! I also have to confess that nowadays the „limited edition factor“ plays a bigger role than it used to. When adidas or Nike release limited shoes I usually must have them in my collection immediately.
Do you have an all-time favorite?
That’s clearly the Nike Mercurial Vapor II. Some of the greatest players such as Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Christiano Ronaldo wore it on the pitch. It was one of the first football boots with an exceptional colorway that everybody loved. It was incredibly lightweight –especially for its time. When I saw Christiano Ronaldo playing it in a golden colorway during the European Championship in 2004 I was hooked. The shoe stands for amazing memories and stories
Let’s talk about sneakers: Do you also collect lifestyle kicks?
Over the last couple of years I also bought many sneakers and my collection is growing. I’m a huge fan of Nike’s flyknit and adidas’ primeknit technologies –comfortable fit and special look. I rarely miss an important release.
What do you think about lifestyle sneakers with an inspiration from the pitch or even the other way round?
It’s definitely great to see football-inspired silhouettes on the streets. Nike is leading this movement with their Nike F.C. collections and “Pitch to Pavement” idea. More and more football players want to express themselves not only on the field but also on the streets, so it’s just natural that players such as Mario Götze or Jerome Boateng wear Nike F.C. and sneakers off the pitch.
Marco, thanks for this great introduction to the world of football boots!
The interview is part of Sneakers Magazine #31 – GET YOUR COPY HERE!
The days when football boots were locked away between games are over. For quite some time now, these shoes have become closer and closer to the world of sneakers. As much as they are about performance, they are also about great design, storytelling and famous players. There’s even a growing scene of people who like to collect football boots. One of the best known is Marco Michalzik from Düsseldorf, Germany, who’s also running the “Boots Blog”. We met him to talk about his gems and inspirations.
Hi Marco! Please introduce yourself …
Hey, Sneakers Mag, I’m a student at the Sport University here in Cologne and I’ve been working for the online retailer 11teamsports for a while. I also do “bootsblog”, my own platform about football with a focus on performance shoes. It’s a cool way to get around and get to know people from the world of football – including famous football players once in a while.
How does one become a “boothead”? Please tell us your collector story.
I’ve been passionate about football boots since my early childhood. I’ve started actually collecting around 2009. Suddenly I stopped throwing my beat up shoes away because of the great moments they would remind me of. My collection grew from year to year and so did the thirst to get all the latest releases. That same passion made me start “bootsblog” in 2012. All I was trying to do in the beginning was talk about what I was interested in and show it to everyone. The blog grew and has given me the opportunity to get in contact with brands and of course to try new shoes when they are available.
What’s collecting football boots like? Do you wear all of them?
Usually bootheads have two different collections – one to wear on the pitch and one to show. You can’t wear your boots on the pitch on a regular basis without affecting them. That’s the big difference to collecting lifestyle sneakers. Personally, I only wear a tiny fraction of my collection. Many of them are either worth a good amount of money or mean a lot to me. Sometimes it’s sad because you sure would be the king of the field if you’d be playing in 2002 Predator Mania’s!
Is there such a thing as a resell market for football boots?
There’s a growing community of collectors who like to talk about the boots or want to trade and sell. It’s still small and most of the collectors even know each other, although most of the communication happens online. Nevertheless, there’s also a growing resell market. Some people buy more limited releases and try to make some money – obviously not everyone is happy about this. Some of the older releases sell for more than 2000€.
What was the most you’ve spent on a single pair?
I once bought a pair of the Nike Mercurial SL for 1000€. Only 2000 pairs were produced in 2008 and I really appreciated it. It’s the most expensive boot I ever bought but at that time it was already worth more than 1500€ so I actually made a good deal! But it’s always nicer to make a good trade with another collector because both win.
What does a football boot need to have to be part of your collection? How important are the pro players wearing specific shoes?
The most important thing for me is the emotional bond to a shoe – this can be about a colorway I wore myself when I was a child or boots that were worn by legendary players for special occasions. Signature boots are always special! I also have to confess that nowadays the „limited edition factor“ plays a bigger role than it used to. When adidas or Nike release limited shoes I usually must have them in my collection immediately.
Do you have an all-time favorite?
That’s clearly the Nike Mercurial Vapor II. Some of the greatest players such as Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Christiano Ronaldo wore it on the pitch. It was one of the first football boots with an exceptional colorway that everybody loved. It was incredibly lightweight –especially for its time. When I saw Christiano Ronaldo playing it in a golden colorway during the European Championship in 2004 I was hooked. The shoe stands for amazing memories and stories
Let’s talk about sneakers: Do you also collect lifestyle kicks?
Over the last couple of years I also bought many sneakers and my collection is growing. I’m a huge fan of Nike’s flyknit and adidas’ primeknit technologies –comfortable fit and special look. I rarely miss an important release.
What do you think about lifestyle sneakers with an inspiration from the pitch or even the other way round?
It’s definitely great to see football-inspired silhouettes on the streets. Nike is leading this movement with their Nike F.C. collections and “Pitch to Pavement” idea. More and more football players want to express themselves not only on the field but also on the streets, so it’s just natural that players such as Mario Götze or Jerome Boateng wear Nike F.C. and sneakers off the pitch.
Marco, thanks for this great introduction to the world of football boots!
The interview is part of Sneakers Magazine #31 – GET YOUR COPY HERE!
