Erling Haaland's Record Breaking, Match Worn Nike Air Zoom Mercurial Vapor 15 Elite Football Boots Used During The 2022/23 Treble Winning Season

Coming through the youth system, Haaland played at senior level for Bryne's reserve and senior teams. He then moved to Molde in 2017 (also playing for their reserve team), with whom he spent two seasons. Haaland signed with Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019, winning two league titles and one Austrian Cup. In December 2019, he moved to German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, where he won the DFB-Pokal in 2020-21. In the summer of 2022, he was transferred to Manchester City for a fee of €60 million (£51.2 million).

 

Haaland has won several individual awards and broken various records during his career. During the 2019/20 season with Salzburg, he became the first teenager to score goals in five consecutive UEFA Champions League matches. He was the top scorer of the Champions League for the 2020/21 season. In 2020, Haaland won the Golden Boy award, while in 2021 he was named Bundesliga Player of the Season and was included in the FIFA FIFPro World 11 in 2021 and 2022. With Manchester City, he has also broken Premier League records, including becoming the quickest individual to score two, three and four hat-tricks, and becoming the first player in the league's history to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games.

Haaland has represented Norway at various youth levels. In the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he won the tournament's Golden Boot, after scoring a record nine goals in a single match. He made his senior international debut in September 2019.

 

 

Here at BC Boots UK, we have managed to get our hands on one of the most sought after pieces of match-worn football memorabilia in the world - a pair of match worn boots from the man himself, the cyborg, Erling Braut Haaland. This right here is hot, hot, property and a neigh on impossible item to acquire... but that dream has turned into reality, as we present this remarkable collector's piece to you here within this blog, along with every detailed piece of information surrounding them. This particular pair are the Nike Air Zoom Mercurial Vapor 15 Elite model from the 'Lucent Pack' which was released by the American brand for the 2022/23 season. Haaland has famously been such a huge fan of this model & colourway, that he wore it for a long, long period of time which spanned across 6 months - namely from September 2022 - February 2023.

A prolific goalscorer, Haaland has all the attributes of a complete centre-forward. He uses his sizeable frame to hold play up effectively and involve others. He has the pace and clever movement to run in behind; he can dribble and create; and he can finish with both feet and his head. He usually comes deep to collect the ball to help his team build play, often looking to spread the ball wide for a teammate, before turning and sprinting towards goal. He sometimes comes too deep for the defenders to follow him, as such he has the awareness to turn on the ball and create from a forward-facing position. In the penalty area, he makes small, sharp movements to spot an opportunity for a teammate to attempt to find him in space, and can change the line on which he is running and accelerate into that space, making him extremely difficult for defenders to read.

 

 

Now, unlike many elite level players, Haaland has actually kept his custom boots very very close to the retail equivalent spec. The Mercurial Vapor 15 Elite features some revelutionary technology; for the first time in history Nike has developed a Zoom Air device in 3/4 length placed in the sole, which provides an extremely efficient and responsive settlement under the foot, which sends the player off towards the goal in rocket speed. The upper consists of the evolutionary Vaporposite +, which combines adhesive mesh with a premium material, which provides a unique fit and optimal ball control. Where this pair differ in the upper department is the overall shape, since this pair were specially made around a last (mould) of Haaland's feet, they are specifically shaped and crafted just for his measurements. The internal speed cage is made of a thin but strong material that holds the foot against the sole without adding extra weight, which helps to create a secure lockdown. The innovative Tri-star stud system used on the FG variant, which provides an exceptionally good grip in the ground during acceleration and quick changes of direction, is not used on Haaland's pair here since he predominately always opts for an SG variant for match and training use. The soft Flyknit material construction encloses the ankle, and ensures optimal support and stability for exposed areas. The upper is coated with Nike All Conditions Control, for optimal grip on the ball in all weather conditions.

 

Due to being born in Leeds, Haaland was eligible to play for England, but manager at the time, Gareth Southgate, stated Haaland only wished to play for Norway. Haaland was named by manager Lars Lagerback to the Norway senior team squad on 28 August 2019, to face Malta and Sweden in UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying matches; he made his senior national team debut on 5th September 2019 against Malta. On 4th September 2020, Haaland scored his first senior international goal for Norway in a 1–2 loss against Austria in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League B. Three days later, he scored a brace in a 5–1 victory against Northern Ireland. On 11th October, Haaland scored his first international hat-trick in Norway's 4–0 win over Romania in a Nations League B match, bringing his tally for the senior team to six goals in six matches played. During the September 2021 international break, Haaland scored five goals in three World Cup Qualification matches, including a second hat-trick for Norway in a 5–1 victory against Gibrialtar.

 

 

Further elaborating on the points above, of this pair having been made around a mould of Haaland's feet, the identification number seen written inside does indeed refer to that exact foot last, or mould, in which the boots were constructed around. Nike have been doing this with their elite level sponsored athlete's custom football boots for close to two decades now, this has been seen to be present in examples both with and without internal size labels. The pairs which do not contain any size labels tend to typically be vastly different to any regular specification of a particular boot model, they may feature entirely different upper materials, soleplates, or heel linings, among many other changeable details for the player. In the case of this pair of Erling Haaland's match worn Vapor 15's, the sizing label present states that he wears a UK size 9.5 (US10.5), however it is worth reiterating that this will not mirror a regular, mass produced pair in this same numbered size of this model, due to the custom shape for the player.

 

On 10th May 2022, Premier League club Manchester City announced they had reached a deal to sign Haaland after activating his €60 million (£51.2 million) release clause. The deal was formalised on 13 June, with City announcing that Haaland would be joining the club on 1 July on a five-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 30th July, playing 90 minutes in a 3–1 defeat to Liverpool in the 2022 FA Community Shield. On 7th August, he scored two goals on his league debut in a 2–0 away victory against West Ham United. On 27th August, Haaland scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Crystal Palace, and scored his second, a perfect hat-trick, four days later in a 6–0 win against Nottingham Forest, making him the quickest individual in Premier League history to score two hat-tricks, beating the previous record by 14 matches; he was later voted Premier League Player of the Month for August, his first month playing in the league, a division renowned for being the toughest in world football. 

 

 

The shape differences further continue into the heel area of each boot. Whilst these details are only small and noticeable upon close inspection, perhaps not to the naked eye at first glance, they do make a world of difference for the player. This is especially when they are the selected tools of use at the elite level of the game, on the world's biggest stage. The measurements in this area indicate that the heels of Haaland's pair have been made around 6-8mm lower than that of a standard retail version Vapor 15 Elite, upon comparison. The reason that the measurement above is not exact, is because they actually differ from the left to the right boot. You may have noticed in the picture above, that the 'Mercurial' logo on the left boot is lower than the one on the right boot. This is due to the fact that the heel construction of the right boot comes up higher than the left. These very fine details show the extent to which player sponsors, such as Nike with this example, go to in order to cater to their world star athletes, ensuring that their product enhances the performance of the player to the highest level. The FlyKnit collar is also made slightly lower than what you'd find on the retail version.

 

On the 6th September, he made his UEFA Champions League debut for the club, scoring two goals against Sevilla and becoming the first player to score 25 goals in 20 Champions League appearances. On the 2nd October, Haaland became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in three successive home games in City's 6–3 Derby Day win against Manchester United, in which he got two assists along with his goals. He also became the quickest player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks, doing so in just eight league games and beating the previous record of 48 league games, set by Michael Owen in 1998, as well as halving Alan Shearer's record of scoring three hat-tricks in a 10-game spell in the 1994/95 season. On the 28th December, Haaland got a brace in City's 3–1 away win over Leeds United, taking his tally to 20 in 14 matches, and became the fastest player in history to reach 20 Premier League goals, beating Sunderland's Kevin Phillips' record by seven appearances. On the 22nd January 2023, Haaland scored a fourth hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers, giving him a total of 25 Premier League goals after just 19 games, thus surpassing the top scorers of the previous 2021/22 season, Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min, who both scored 23 league goals across the entire season. On the 14th March 2023, Haaland scored five goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, tying Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano for the most goals scored in a single Champions League match. In doing so, he also reached 39 goals across all competitions for Manchester City, breaking the club record for most goals scored in a single season which was previously held by Tommy Johnson, who scored 38 goals in the 1928/1929 season. Additionally, he joined Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to score at least 10 goals in multiple Champions League campaigns. 

 

 

Nike have finished this custom pair of Air Zoom Mercurial Vapor 15 Elite's off for Haaland by adding the personalisation detailing of 'BRAUT HAALAND' along with the national flag of Norway to the lateral side of each boot. Interestingly, Haaland has kept this same personalisation on his boots since the Mercurial Vapor 13's he wore back at Salzburg. Where a lot of players like to add meaningful phrases, family member's names, certain dates etc, Haaland likes to keep it simple here. As well as Braut being Haaland's middle name, it is also the surname name of his mother - Gry Marita Braut. 

  

 Often likened to a machine, and nicknamed 'The Cyborg', Erling Haaland has the pace and power to match any Premier League defender imaginable. Excellent on the break and extraordinarily deadly when given space to run beyond an opposition’s defense, Haaland also thrives with his back to goal. This is an area of his game that people often assume, without watching him, that he would struggle with in a Manchester City system that relies so heavily on possession-based football and every single player taking part in the process. Haaland's pace & power combined when in possession of the ball is simply unmatched in world football, levels above any other player in his position. 

 

 

It's for certain that you do not need us to tell you just how rare this match worn piece is, simply gold dust in the collector world, During the record breaking 2022/23 season, Haaland wore a minimal amount of pairs throughout the season, with the Vapor 14's he used on his debut for the Sky Blues being brought with him from Dortmund, followed by this exact pair and another of the Lucent Pack Vapor 15's which were susequently followed with Nike shifting Haaland into the Phantom GX line, of which he wore a handful of pairs, in the first of which he put 5 goals past RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League. During just his first season in English top flight football, Haaland smashed multiple individual records.

On the 3rd May, in City's return fixture against West Ham, Haaland scored his 35th league goal of the campaign, surpassing Shearer and Andy Cole's joint record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season. A week later, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He won by a record margin, earning 82% of the vote ahead of Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard and becoming only the fourth player to claim the award in their debut season. He would also go on to be voted PFA Players' Player of the Year by his colleagues in August. Haaland won his first trophy with Manchester City after they clinched the 2022/23 Premier League title on 20th May. By assisting Phil Foden's goal in a draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on 24th May, he reached 44 combined league goals and assists, thereby equaling Thierry Henry's record for most total goal contributions in a 38-game Premier League season. Haaland's debut season in England earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, after finishing as the league's top goalscorer, and the European Golden Shoe, given to the top domestic scorer in Europe. With 36 goals in 35 appearances, he set the new record for highest number of goals scored in a Premier League season.

 

With 12 goals, Haaland finished as the top scorer of the Champions League season for a second time, joining Messi as the only players to accomplish this feat twice before turning 23. Erling would be subsequently named the UEFA Men's Player of the Year in August 2023, ahead of Lionel Messi and Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne. This particular season will go down in history as the greatest debut season of all-time and with Haaland being a certain future Ballon d'Or winner, this match-worn piece capturing the achievements accomplished will only appreciating over time.