MLS players and their cleats: Answering common questions about footwear with Atlanta Uniteds equi

For professional soccer players, footwear presents a plethora of factors to consider from sponsor restrictions to what to do with the mountain of old cleats.

Atlanta United head equipment manager Paul Dillon is an expert on everything related to what MLS players wear on their feet. Before joining the 2018 MLS Cup champions, Dillon spent time in the same role with the Jacksonville Armada of the NPSL, after a brief stint with U.S. Soccer.

He shared the answers to questions the average fan might have about the footwear of professional soccer players, and, in doing so, provided a glimpse into a significant aspect of the modern game that often isn’t considered by the casual observer.

What do players do with all those shoes?

“Brad calls them his boats,” Dillon said about Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan’s pet name for his size-13 cleats. “Brad flies through shoes. I’ve never seen someone go through as many pairs of cleats as he does. It’s ridiculous. And the amount that Nike sends him is absurd.”

Atlanta United gives away or donates up to 15 pairs of Guzan’s old cleats each season. That number nearly doubles with smaller sizes for other players. Dillon said that some of Atlanta United’s homegrown players gather shoes that they’ll then distribute to kids in their neighborhoods.

Additionally, players occasionally give their matchday shoes to a lucky fan as they walk off the pitch. Michael Parkhurst, who entered Atlanta United’s Decision Day match against New England in the 80th minute wearing brand new Nike cleats, gave them away to a young fan after the game.

“A lot of the South American guys, when they go back to their home countries, they’ll collect a box and I’ll put shoes away to the side during the year,” said Dillon.

In August, MLS and Fox Sports sideline reporter Jillian Sakovits sent a tweet asking her followers to donate cleats. Sakovits was heading to a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan with the Catalyst Foundation for Universal Education and Kickstart Joy. The latter organization’s mission is to use soccer to enrich the lives of displaced youths. It was created by former NYCFC midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy.

“(Sakovits) had a massive mission trip over there so we hooked her up with three or four bags of old shoes,” said Dillon. “Smaller shoes, used shoes. Some shoes that guys maybe used once or twice. A lot of guys, once they know they’re not going to use them again and they’re coming off the field and they’re in a good mood, they’ll take them off and give them to the fans. It probably goes farther than they actually realize in terms of what it means to people.”

Both Parkhurst and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez have contracts with Nike and plenty of spare shoes. Gonzalez Pirez has sent boxes full of cleats to his native Argentina.

“In my first (MLS) year, I took shoes back to all my friends that I grew up with,” said Gonzalez Pirez. “They played in the local 11-against-11 leagues. I gave them a bunch of shoes. I took gloves from Brad (Guzan) and Alec (Kann) for the goalkeepers. Now they all use first-division Nike cleats. Honestly the economic situation in Argentina isn’t at a point where players can spend money on that. It’s a small gesture but it helps a ton.”

What types of restrictions do shoe sponsors place on players?

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

“When you have a sponsor like Nike, they tell you what color to wear (for games),” said Parkhurst. “When a new colorway comes out that’s what they want you in. That’s part of the sponsorship. Usually they give you a little bit of time to break them in. And you’re expected to be in those for games.”

Matchdays around MLS showcase a plethora of multi-colored cleats and a range of styles. Adidas is the official supplier of the league, its clubs and academies — a deal that will run through 2024. However, gone are the days when the vintage look of the Adidas Copa Mundial was the boot of choice for so many players, although some players have pulled them off in recent years. Toronto’s Jozy Altidore and MLS free agent Federico “Pipa” Higuaín have the standing to defy Adidas’ stipulations and wear Copas during a match. Parkhurst shared a locker room with Higuaín for three seasons in Columbus.

“Pipa used to wear the old Copas,” Parkhurst said. “You have to be pretty big time to get away with that. You have to have that stature. But he used to do it. I don’t really know how it works with Adidas since they want you in their newest stuff. If you don’t have a sponsorship, the league expects you to wear Adidas.” This requirement was confirmed by an MLS spokesperson.

Dillon said that players without a shoe contract are expected to wear blacked-out cleats. So while Altidore’s former teammate Sebastian Giovinco made the all-black cleat part of his trademark look, Atlanta’s veteran midfielder Jeff Larentowicz does so to avoid any issues with MLS. Larentowicz is a footwear free agent at the moment, and has chosen to wear Nike cleats on matchdays, while Adidas has released a new version of the Copa to which Atlanta’s Pity Martínez has taken a liking.

“Adidas is a bit more strict with what they require their guys to wear,” said Dillon. “They require their guys to be in the most recent color for matches. Nike’s a little bit more lenient. Just as long as their guys are in their product.”

Dillon explained the process by which Adidas outfits and supplies MLS players.

“The way Adidas works is if the guys are contracted, they’ll send them three new pairs of boots when they come in: two firm grounds, one soft ground. If you’re not wearing Adidas you have to wear blacked-out boots. That’s why we’ve got Jeff in blacked out Nikes. Pity’s the only guy that’ll wear Copas. He didn’t wear Copa until he got here; the current Copa. He used to wear Nemesis. He used to wear Predator. He showed up and said ‘I want to try those.’ We’re going on 10 months and he loves them. He flies through cleats. He probably goes through a pair every two weeks to be fair.”

How do players break in their cleats?

“It’s crazy that you expect a cleat to be exactly the same when they change colors,” Parkhurst said about breaking in new boots. “But sometimes it’s just a little different. A little bigger. A little tighter. The stitching is just a little bit off that we can notice it.”

Breaking them in is a tedious process. It’s a time when a player’s particular quirks tend to reveal themselves. Parkhurst said he doesn’t usually have a hard time getting used to new cleats, but that for some of his teammates, it’s more difficult. “Sometimes you don’t feel as comfortable. In which case you train in your older cleats and you just play games in the new ones.”

The old-school tradition of showering in new cleats has been replaced by new technologies like the hydrocollator — a machine that uses steam to soften and stretch new cleats. Dillon called it a “fantastic tool” and said that the prototype was created by the Seattle Sounders, who now sell the device to other MLS clubs.

On gamedays, Atlanta’s players place their cleats inside the hydrocollator about 10 minutes before taking the field for warmups. Tito Villalba, who Dillon said should wear a size-nine cleat but prefers a boot that’s a half-size too small, will place new cleats inside the hydrocollator for as long as it takes to get the right feel.

Atlanta United has two hydrocollators at their training facility, and another one at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And the players take full advantage of them.

“It’s a great tool and the guys love it,” said Dillon. “It’s funny, Julian Gressel actually puts his dress shoes in there on game days. He says it softens them up and makes his feet feel better.”

What happens when there’s a footwear emergency just before kickoff?

Atlanta United were minutes away from kicking off their 2018 Supporters’ Shield decider at Toronto FC’s BMO field and Guzan had a problem. Something didn’t feel right. The players were well into their pre-game warmups when Dillon heard the veteran goalkeeper scream his name.

“Paul! Paul!’ (Guzan’s) yelling at me from 50 yards away,” recalled Dillon. “I come sprinting over and he’s like ‘We’ve got to switch these (cleats) after warmups.’ I think he was slipping a little bit. Me and him always have the conversation on matchday if we play on grass. We’ll set something in stone and five minutes before warmup ‘No, I want to change this.’ It’s gotten to the point where it’s comical, but I expect it now.”

Dillon has grown accustomed to dealing with last-minute footwear emergencies. Before a game at Seattle in 2017, Dillon had Nike rush a pair of all-ground turf cleats over for Parkhurst. The former captain had forgotten his match cleats for the Sounders’ artificial surface at CenturyLink field.

“We called Nike,” Dillon recalled. “They shipped them to the hotel. It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. Literally the FedEx truck pulled in as the team was loading the bus. They grabbed (the shoes) from the FedEx guy. Got on the bus. Came straight to the stadium. It was something else.”

How superstitious do players get with their cleats?

Josef Martinez’s laceless boots (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)

Goalscorers can be ritualistic when things are going well. An in-form striker won’t fix what’s not broken. Case in point, Josef Martinez.

The Venezuelan has been on a tear the last two seasons, scoring 58 regular-season goals. In 2018, Martinez scored in nine straight matches before breaking the MLS scoring record against Orlando City. He set another record in 2019 when he scored in 15 straight. During both stretches, Martinez refused to change his cleats.

“He won’t practice in them,” Dillon said. “He’ll just play games in them. Obviously that’s a bit of a superstition. He wore the same style and color last season when he went on a streak. That was kind of cool when he broke the record. He wears a (Nike) Mercurial Superfly. They have laces in them, but he takes the laces out. He plays with no shoe laces. The cleat’s pretty tight but I’ve never seen anyone do it. But obviously he’s doing something right.”

(Top photo: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)