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UEFA Direct spotlight on the 'boot-iful' game

The latest edition of UEFA's official publication UEFA Direct gives the lowdown on the history of football boots, and why they can say so much about the player who wears them.

A young Liverpool player cleans senior players' boots as part of his duties in the early 1980s
A young Liverpool player cleans senior players' boots as part of his duties in the early 1980s ©Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Remember when you got your first pair of football boots, and the glow of pride that you felt in wearing them?

The latest edition of UEFA's official publication UEFA Direct focuses on football boots and their history, explaining why a player's boots can say as much about them as the shirt on their back, and highlighting the superstitions, emotions, passion and precision that can make a boot more than just a piece of kit.

With UEFA EURO 2016 still fresh in the memory, UEFA Direct's technical supplement, The Technician, hears from the man who took his team all the way to the title – Portugal coach Fernando Santos. He talks in depth about the preparation, tactics and spirit that brought him and his team their first major international trophy.

Staying with national teams, UEFA Direct looks at the state of the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, which have already provided a wealth of talking points as the battle hots up for a berth in Russia in 2018.

Elsewhere in UEFA Direct 164:
• UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis looks ahead to an exciting 2017
• How the UEFA GROW programme is having a positive impact on national associations' development
• Bulgarian football is boosted by a brand new national technical centre
• A review of the recent UEFA European Under-21 Championship draw in Poland
• Far-reaching decisions by UEFA's Executive Committee to close 2016
• News from the UEFA member associations

UEFA Direct 164 is available in English, French and German