While soccer has been around since the 2nd or 3rd century, people wore their leather work boots with metal studs hammered in the bottom until cleats came around in the early 16th century. King Henry VIII supposedly had the first pair made by Cornelius Johnson, similar to those below.
Luckily, the metal studs and absorbent leather cleats changed for the better in the late 20th century. With the growth in popularity of soccer around the world, soccer cleats became a more developed item. Cleats were created to make the skills of the top players better in the latter parts of the century, in addition to the changes for protection (riddance of metal studs) made earlier.
In the past couple years, Nike has become one of the top producers of soccer cleats. What makes these cleats so attractive? The companies today try to incorporate technology to decrease the weight of the cleat, while strategically advertising the product by naming the cleats after or having them worn by the world’s best players.
The flyknit technology of the Magista cleat is desirable because it makes the shoe like a sock, locking the ankle in place, making the shoe feel as if it is a part of your foot. The texture placed on the shoe enhances the control of the ball, and the fabric is made breathable and flexible, so that the shoe can appeal to many people.
References:
http://www.goldenshoesmovie.com/the-history-of-soccer-cleats-part-1/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/351504-history-of-football-cleats/
http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/product/magista-obra-ii-id/?piid=42950&pbid=706198491#?pbid=706198491
