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Are Laceless Soccer Cleats Good?

Are Laceless Soccer Cleats Good?

For years, soccer players have continued to enjoy the game with their lace soccer cleats. Decades ago, no one ever thought of playing a soccer game with laceless cleats.

Who can blame them? Laces help to hold soccer cleats firmly to the feet. With all the running around and kicking, soccer players felt safer tying the shoes in place with laces.

However, innovations have changed the design of modern soccer cleats. Soccer equipment manufacturers have designed laceless soccer cleats as an alternative option to lace cleats.

Some soccer players have played with laceless cleats. A good example is Paulo Dybala; one of the top-rated professional soccer players known to wear laceless cleats.

At the 2018 UEFA Champions League Group Stage match against Manchester United at the Allianz Stadium, he stepped onto the pitch in laceless cleats.

Before you jump into the laceless soccer cleats to play soccer, endeavor to learn if your performance will decline or improve during the game. So is laceless soccer a good option to consider?

This article sheds more light on laceless soccer cleats to help you decide if it’s something you need to try out for your next big soccer game.

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Read more: Can You Play Soccer With Football Cleats?

Are laceless soccer cleats good?

While laceless soccer cleats are yet to go mainstream in the world of soccer, it is still gaining lots of interest among soccer players.

If you walk into a soccer cleat vendor shop, you’re sure to find laceless cleats hanging around.

While some players still have their reasons why they are not comfortable playing soccer with laceless cleats, some top players are already enjoying the game with the innovation.

In simpler terms, the love for laceless soccer cleats is subjective to the respective soccer player. There are players open to change and cleat innovations while others are used to tying laces to keep cleats firm on their feet.

Before we delve into the benefits of laceless soccer cleats it’s important to point out that cleats, whether laced or laceless, do not improve your shooting skills and talents. What they do is help improve the performance of skills and talents.

EVERY LACELESS FOOTBALL BOOT FROM WORST TO BEST

Benefits Of Using Laceless Soccer Cleats

Many players have their doubts as to whether laceless soccer cleats would allow for the same level of performance that laced soccer cleats offer.

Whether it’s a matter of preference or a practical comparison between these two types of cleats, as already stated, the decision is more subjective than facts.

Here are some of the top benefits of laceless soccer cleats.

1. Convenience

When putting on soccer cleats, much of the time is spent tying up the laces. This may not seem much of a big deal for some people but for others, especially now when we live in a world promoting convenience, they would rather focus on other things than spend the time tying boots.

Laceless soccer cleats are a convenient way to slip in cleats and move on to play. In all honesty, they serve the functionality of convenience and do it well.

adidas Predator Freak .3 Laceless Firm Ground Red/Black/Solar Red 8.5 (mens)
  • Laceless mid-cut soccer cleats made for play on firm ground
  • Compressive fit in a laceless construction
  • Coated mesh upper is soft and durable; 3D-printed Demonscale strike zone for ball grip

Last update on 2023-11-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

2. Better striking surface

Laces are tied or knotted on the top surface of cleats in laced cleats. This can offer some level of disturbance (although not significantly) to shooting and passing performances.

Without the laces to worry about, the entire top part of cleats has better contact with the feet; moving the ball in the exact direction the feet intended. This is because it offers a better feet-to-ball contact than any laced soccer cleats can boast of.

3. Streamlined look and feel

Even if you’re not a fan of laceless soccer cleats, you cannot deny how aesthetically appealing it looks without laces. The streamlined look gives the impression like you’re playing with your foot.

The same can be said about its feel. Since the idea is to let the cleats have a resemblance with the feet, this offers a better feel of the ball.

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Latest Technology

There are no laceless soccer cleats that were not created with heavily invested technology. This is because, to keep them firm on the feet, a combination of materials and designs have to come into play.

Anyone can make laced soccer cleats but it takes a genius to design laceless soccer cleats that maintains their functionality.

Lightweight

Since laces are not included on the cleats, the entire weight of the cleat is reduced. Although laces may not seem to have significant weight on cleats, the material used, especially in combination with modern technology, allows manufacturers to create laceless soccer cleats.

Last update on 2023-11-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Drawbacks Of Using Laceless Soccer Cleats

Like with all things, there are some drawbacks to laceless soccer cleats. These are some of the reasons why it is yet to be universally accepted by many soccer players.

1. More expensive

With the level of technology put into building these cleats, manufacturers are going to have to still find a way to make a profit to stay in business. For this reason, laceless soccer cleats are generally more expensive when in comparison with their counterparts.

2. Lesser feet lockdown

There’s no denying that laceless soccer cleats may have a natural feel but it seems more restrictive to different types of feet. No matter how perfect fit soccer cleats might be, there are times when players may need to tighten the grip of the cleats.

The inability to adjust the cleat fit seems to be a major drawback for laceless soccer cleats. It takes the control out of the player’s hands, leaving them to use other methods to tighten the feet grip in the cleats.

3. Leather stretches

Not all cleats are made from leather but this doesn’t mean a good percentage isn’t. Leather, by its natural characteristics, expands and stretches over time.

Without laces to adjust the fit on the feel, leather laceless soccer cleats lose their functionality and become useless with time.

Using Laceless Soccer Cleats in Some Variants of Soccer

Soccer has several variants to the game and feet protective equipment plays a vital role since the game is played mostly with the foot.

Since laced soccer cleats have been mainstream in the sport since it became an official sport, let’s see how well the variants of the game have accepted – if at all – laceless soccer cleats.

1. Association Football

Association football is the popular soccer played by 11 players on a standard pitch. Some of these pitches are made with artificial turfs while the rest are grown naturally. If you participate in associate soccer, you need to play the game with professional cleats alone.

While the primary function of cleats is for the protection of the feet, it must not take away from the performance of the player. Are laceless soccer cleats good for associated soccer?

Some professional soccer players have taken the bold step of playing with laceless soccer cleats and have performed remarkably well with them. It is safe to say that laceless soccer cleats have a place in association football and may become the go-to cleats in the future.

Top soccer equipment manufacturing brands have a collective of laceless soccer cleats to give players more options to choose from. This goes to show it has been accepted by the game.

2. Futsal

Futsal exists as a mini version of association football. Unlike the latter which is played by a team of 11 players, futsal is played by a team of 5 players.

With fewer players on the pitch at any given time means the size of the pitch is way smaller than what is obtainable in association football. Do laceless soccer cleats have a place in Futsal?

Yes, it does! There are different collections by top brands made specifically for playing on Futsal pitches. Futsal players can enjoy the convenience and simplicity of using these laceless soccer cleats.

some people are playing on the futsal field

3. Beach Soccer

As the name suggests, beach soccer is played on sandy pitches. It is a soccer variant officially recognized by FIFA. The general idea of play may be similar to other variants of soccer – like goal scoring, substitutions, player positions, etc. – but they play by different rules.

Since its playing environment, which is sand, is soft to the feet and not slippery, players are mandated to play without shin guards, socks, and soccer cleats. Do laceless soccer cleats have a place in beach soccer?

Well no offense to laced or laceless soccer cleats but cleats, in general, are not allowed in the game.

Some people are playing beach soccer

4. Street Soccer

This is an unofficial variant of soccer. Let’s just say it’s a term that is used to describe all informal types of soccer. It’s probably the first way you played the game.

It is played at backyards, school courts, or any other space that allows for an agreeable number of players to move around. Depending on the surface of the makeshift pitch, players wear appropriate footwear.

Are laceless soccer cleats used in street soccer? As official footwear, no! There are no known top manufacturers producing laceless soccer cleats for this game.

Players do not need to invest so heavily to play this type of soccer. Although it’s not against the rules of the game to play in them, it’s just not a common sight to see on a street soccer pitch.

Some people are playing street soccer

Conclusion

Laceless soccer cleats are gradually becoming a new trend in the world of soccer. They offer everything convenience, aesthetically appealing streamlined look, better striking surface, and enhanced technology.

As more and more prominent professional soccer players move towards laceless soccer cleats, there’s a probability it could go mainstream in the sport. If you’re still doubtful about using these laceless soccer cleats, this article helps examine their functionality in professional soccer.