First off, when I say camouflage I don’t mean that Ronaldo will be running around the football pitch in army camo flavoured boots, rather that his boots are a new technology aimed at disguising the movements of his feet….that kinda camouflage, hehe.

In essence the new Nike CR Mercurial Vapor Superfly III gives the defender the impression that his feet are going to move in the opposite direction than they actually appear to be.
Pretty darn sneaky if you ask me!

It seems that the Nike team has taken what it has learnt from the World Cup and incorporated visual tomfoolery to confuse its enemies. During the World Cup they used an orange detail which was used for identifying other teammate’s feet when they were in the thick of it! This was a pretty cool feature if you consider how difficult it is to spot players in your peripheral when you are moving at pace, blinded by sweat and adrenaline is pumping through your veins. This is of course double-edged because your enemies will see you coming as well! 

The Nike CR Mercurial Vapor Superfly III has gone the other route though and focussed its design on confusing an attacker that is already in close proximity. The array of crossed pinstriped lines and thicker stripes all look very different depending on what side of the wearer you are on. The asymmetrical appearance of the design comes together in such a way that it confuses the eye and makes quick judgements that much more difficult to assess. This raises the question: just how fair is it to have a boot that causes an optical illusion of movement? Together in such a way that it confuses the eye and makes quick judgements that much more difficult to assess.

In my opinion if one team is wearing them, then the other team should as well. Teams should all be on an equal ‘playing field’ and using tricks like this seems rather underhanded.
With Ronaldo urgently trying to snatch the title of ‘world’s best footballer’ from Messi, this really does smack of desperate measures.

So, in your opinion, do you feel that this is fair to the other teams…or do you feel that all is fair in love and WAR….and let’s be honest professional football certainly qualifies as war, hehe.
The Nike CR Mercurial Vapor Superfly III is one seriously thought provoking weapon, which is probably going to spark some controversy!

Game on :) 

Duncan