Back in the good ol’ days, players didn’t seem to travel at the pace at which the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Raheem Sterling are able to bolt.
But, then again, there were an awful lot more black boots back then compared to today.
Coincidence? Cristiano Ronaldo thinks not.
The Real Madrid superstar is one of the quickest players in world football and he believes that his ability to travel at breakneck speed across short distances is not down to the style of his footwear but simply down to his boot colour.
A fan of a flashier boot, Ronaldo tends to avoid the more traditional all-black everything when it comes to his footwear.
And there’s a very good reason for it, as a Nike executive has revealed that the Portugal captain believes brighter colours make him appear faster.
“It all starts with him,” Max Blau, the global vice-president for Nike Football Footwear, told Goal . “I think he’s amazing, but he’s the first to say ‘I can improve’. He says he can get better and will do his part, but he needs us to do ours too.
“That puts a lot of pressure on us. We have to come up with something to help him. That’s how we came up with the new Mercurial Superfly.
“Every player has their favourite colour, and it’s been scientifically proven that the colour of the boots activates chemicals in the player’s mind.
“When you feel better, you play better. The main reason of the colour is to give confidence. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t like to wear black boots because he says black looks slow and he wants to feel fast.”
Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live:
