Soccer cleats are produced by many different companies that make different styles and have different benefits. The most popular company that produces soccer cleats is Nike. Nike has four main styles for their shoes: Mercurial, Hypervenom, Magista and Tiempo. Each one of these shoes has a different goal in place; Mercurials are for explosive speed, meaning to be quicker on the field. Hypervenoms are for finishing, meaning to be able to finish around the goal better. Magistas are for unstoppable playmaking, meaning that it would help an athlete become the playmaker of the team and start the attacks. Tiempos are for dominating touch, meaning it will help give the athlete better touches on the ball.

“I prefer Nike cleats because they feel good and they hold up better than Adidas,” sophomore Grace Hellen said.

The other top company is Adidas. Adidas has a lot of different types of cleats, but their most popular line of cleats are the shoes inspired by Lionel Messi. Messi has the 16+ Pureagility, the 16.1 and  the 16.3. The 16+ Pureagility does not have laces, which will help to decrease bad touches when a player tries to trap with the laces or when a player shoots with their laces. The difference between the 16.1s and the 16.3s is that there is a different texture on the outside of the shoes.

Most people prefer Nike cleats just because of the brand and who it sponsors, famous soccer players like: Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Wesley Sneijder, Wayne Rooney and Landon Donovan. These are just a few f the most popular; Nike also sponsors a lot of professional teams, as well as the USA team.

Athletes tend to side with Nike, they trust and like the style of their shoes.