The football boot market is awash with choice. Several brands of varying sizes jostle for position with the technology reaching a place where high-quality, comfortable options are in no shortage.
However, the biggest and most established manufacturers still enjoy significant dominance, with many opting for these almost by default. While it is hard to go wrong with an elite boot by a Nike or Adidas, these are not necessarily the best quality options available to you if you are looking for a new football boot and are certainly not the most comfortable.
This honour belongs to a brand that many know of but relatively few have tried – Japanese brand Mizuno and more specifically their Made in Japan range of football boots.
Read my in-depth review of the Mizuno Morelia 2 Made in Japan boots
Regardless of whether it is a new film, new album or new football boot, marketing plays a huge role in how products are received, and therefore perform, in terms of sales. Brands that are able to pour huge amounts into marketing their products with things such as endorsement and clever advertising invariably reap the benefits of this and together, Nike, Adidas and Puma are estimated to have a market share as large as 97%.
This has been achieved thanks to years of good storytelling paired with good football boots. So many of the very best players to play the game, those who have made many of us fall in love with it, have been seen in the boots of the three biggest brands and that is no coincidence.
By contrast, Mizuno do very little marketing in Europe and have a far shorter list of big players on their roster. Over the years, the likes of Rivaldo, Hulk, Thiago Motta, Ever Banega and, most recently, Sergio Ramos have been seen in Mizuno but this pales in comparison to the hall of fame of the three biggest brands.
For these reasons, Mizuno wasn’t really on my radar before I began collecting. Like many others, my love for football boots was strongly tied to my favourite players, legendary moments and big tournaments. However, it wasn’t long after I did begin collecting and learning more about boots and brands outside of the big three that I became aware of Mizuno’s reputation for some of the best and most comfortable pairs.
I was sceptical initially, part of me thinking that it would be odd for a brand that is far from unknown to have such good quality products and not be more widely recognised. My hesitation was heightened by the price of boots from Mizuno’s MIJ range which retail for more than boots by Nike or Adidas. Eventually, I took the plunge.
On watching a review by the popular boot expert JayMike in which he referred to them as possibly one of the best lightweight football boots ever made, I bought a pair of the then newly released Mizuno Morelia Neo Beta III Made in Japan. I could instantly feel the quality.
The Morelia Neo Beta III and the Neo Beta IV that have since replaced it are leather speed boots. This is very rare with speed boots generally being made from synthetics to make the boots as light as possible and although a good pair will also be comfortable, comfort is certainly not the top priority for a speed boot, so a boot like the Neo Beta III that was able to combine the comfort of leather, generally considered a ‘heavier’ material, with the sleekness and lightness of a speed boot was something that was really impressive and the boot was one that I enjoyed wearing straight away.
Certainly, in terms of speed boots then and now, no other brand can compete with the level of comfort on offer from the Neo Beta MIJ series. Suffice to say, I was happy with my purchase.
With that model most people should opt for half a size smaller than their usual which I didn’t do, so I probably wasn’t even able to enjoy that particular boot at its best. It wasn’t long until I tried another pair.
I put them on and instantly recognised that I had never worn a boot as comfortable. The fact that it was a one-to-one remake of an almost 20-year-old model and felt better than anything I’d worn before was genuinely shocking.
Lolade Jinadu
In 2020, Mizuno released a limited-edition remake of the Wave Cup Legend, the boot worn by Rivaldo at the World Cup in 2002. As mentioned, I was impressed with my first Mizuno purchase, but it was at this moment that I was truly converted.
I put them on and instantly recognised that I had never worn a boot as comfortable. The fact that it was a one-to-one remake of an almost 20-year-old model and felt better than anything I’d worn before was genuinely shocking.
I frequently switch between pairs, but these became as close to a go-to pair as I had at the time. In terms of elite football boots, the ‘floor’ (i.e. the worst options available) is fairly high so these will vary and rarely be ‘bad’ football boots.
What struck me most when I wore the Wave Cup, and some later pairs was that the ceiling was a lot higher than I had realised. The Mizuno Wave Cup Legend Made in Japan was not the most comfortable boot I had ever worn for very long.
In 2021, the brand released the Morelia Ultra Light, a slightly updated remake of a boot released in 2000. Mizuno had shaved some of the weight and refined the boot for modern use.
I can honestly say that I have never worn anything like it before or since and when I think of the best football boots that I have ever worn that pair is very high on the list and in terms of the most comfortable boots I’ve ever worn, nothing from any other brand comes close.
Models like the Wave Cup and the Morelia SL are, however, very much old school. The ‘best’ is of course highly subjective and the performance characteristics of modern boots are the result of modern technology so will always be lacking in older pairs.
Much of the most advanced tech is saved for the speed category and the responsiveness of a modern speed boot like the current Puma Ultra Carbon or Nike Mercurial Superfly 10 is unlike anything from previous eras. Naturally, Mizuno have their own.
The Mizuno Alpha was released in late 2022 and is a synthetic, super lightweight speed boot very much in keeping with the conventions of this category but with the added emphasis on craftmanship that sets Mizuno apart. Boots like the Wave Cup, the Morelia SL, the Morelia Wave that was my next Mizuno purchase and the Morelia II that is my most recent, are boots that display the care and skill that has gone into making their boots for decades.
I can honestly say that I have never worn anything like it before or since and when I think of the best football boots that I have ever worn that pair is very high on the list and in terms of the most comfortable boots I’ve ever worn, nothing from any other brand comes close.
Lolade Jinadu
With the Alpha, the brand is showing that not only can it compete when it comes to ‘futuristic’ boots aiming to showcase the cutting edge of the latest in boot technology but that they are able to deliver on a level that is difficult for other brands to match in this area also. Although the power of endorsement and brand visibility cannot be underestimated, it would be impossible for brands like Nike and Adidas to retain their positions at the top of the market if they did not continue to release products that performed to a high level.
Both Nike and Adidas’ current ranges feature excellent football boots and, in the Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate and Ultra 5 Carbon, Puma have released boots that will feature on many ‘best of’ lists at the end of the year. In terms of quality of materials, craftsmanship and comfort, the Made in Japan range from Mizuno simply occupies its own space.
Mizuno is a massive brand in its own right and appears to prefer to retain more of a niche presence in the market in Europe especially. The price of boots is simply too high for most people to be willing to experiment and sticking with tried and tested brands and models is understandable and will likely serve most people well.
Those who do opt to try a Mizuno pair, though, will be richly rewarded.
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