What did footballers wear on their feet in the 1980s? Black leather, mainly – with screw-in studs, a bit of kangaroo skin and very little else going on!
The boots everyone remembers
Adidas Copa Mundial. It came out in 1979, I think, and it was everywhere by the 1982 World Cup. Soft kangaroo leather upper, black with the white stripes, and it’s still on sale today, which is more than you can say for most things from the 1980s (the Wikipedia page has the full history).
Puma King. Even older – it had been around since 1968 – and worn by Pele, Cruyff and Maradona, so no pressure on your Saturday morning left back. Black upper, white formstrip, and it’s the boot most people picture when they think of retro football.
Umbro, Mitre and Hummel. Umbro was the British one, with the Pro and the Speciali, and Mitre and Hummel made boots too, usually a bit cheaper. If you weren’t a First Division star, this is more likely what you were wearing.
What they were made of
Leather, either kangaroo or calf, which felt brilliant on the ball and soaked up water like a sponge. A wet pitch in January meant a boot that weighed a LOT more by half time.
Studs screwed in, so you could swap long ones for the mud and short ones for hard ground, if you owned a stud key and hadn’t lost it. Moulded soles were for firm pitches. The soleplates were thick and stiff, because pitches back then were rough, and you wouldn’t want to be stamped on with them.
What colour were they?
Black. Total number of colour choices on offer: one.