BOOT SPOTTING: SOCCER AID 2012

This weekend saw the 4^th instalment of Soccer Aid. Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes’ brainchild is a charity football match between teams made up of celebrities and World Cup legends, to raise money for the UNICEF foundation. As usual it was England vs. The Rest of the World with some big names featuring this year. The game was played at Old Trafford in front of 67,000 fans and saw some familiar faces return to the Theatre of Dreams as ex-United star such as Edwin van der Sar, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam and Teddy Sheringham made appearances. Here is a look at some of the boots that featured.

The standout performer for the Rest of the World , despite a host of star players such as Fredrik Ljungberg and Clarence Seedorf alongside him, was Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno. Pizzorno showed his Italian flair wearing a pair of Pearl Pantofola d’Oro Lazzarini boots. He also scored the goal of the game with a deft chip over David Seaman.

The Rest of the World relied on some star Hollywood power. Gerard Butler wore one of our favourite boots – Adidas’ White/Blue/Black AdiPower Predator colourway. The ‘300’ star spent most of the evening on the right wing locked in a tough battle with comedian Paddy McGuinness.

We were really hoping to see funny man Will Ferrell hit the back of the net so that we could see his celebration – which he said would get him immediately deported. Ferrell’s evening came to end when he limped off with a leg injury but still found the time to sign a few autographs on the his way down the tunnel. Ferrell wore the St George collection Umbro Speciali III.

With Umbro being the kit supplier to the two teams most of the celebrities wore St George collection boots. Rest of the World captain and ‘The Damned United’ star Michael Sheen opted for the GT II Pro along with JLS member Aston Merrygold.

Woody Harrelson was the unlikely hero for the Rest of the World in 2010 when he slotted home his penalty to give the ROW their first Soccer Aid victory during the penalty shoot-out. Harrelson won it for his side in Umbro Stealth Pro boots but couldn’t help his side this team wearing GT II Pro boots.

Robbie Williams almost missed playing due to a back injury but the England skipper played through the pain and came off the bench to inspire his team to victory. Williams looked good at left back whipping in a few dangerous crosses wearing Speciali III boots.

It was a return to Old Trafford for Edwin van der Sar. The Dutch legend only retired at the end of the 2011 season so it was no surprise that he looked sharp and kept a clean sheet. Van der sar wore Adidas AdiPower boots and gloves while playing for Manchester United and returned in the Black/Warning colourway.

Teddy Sheringham was another ex-United player on the pitch. Sheringham showed good fitness leading England’s attack. Sheringham, wear Nike Tiempo Legend III boots did clatter into Gordan Ramsey which resulted in the celebrity chef being taken off in a stretcher.

A few players didn’t make it through the whole game with one of the first to fall being pop star Olly Murs. Murs had the better of Gordan Ramsey, beating him for pace a few times, before pulling up with a hamstring injury. Olly went for a rather unflashy pair of Adidas Copa Mundial boots.

England ran out 3-1 winners on the night despite going down 0-1 early on. It isn’t the European Championship trophy but it is a piece of silverware. Perhaps Roy Hodgson needs to add a bit of pop power to his England squad if he wants to be successful in Poland and Ukraine.