ABSTRACT
The game of soccer is the most watched and played sport on earth, and it still grows in popularity. From a scientific point of view, coaching, game analysis, physiological demands and medical considerations were of primary interest in soccer-related research. In a review, based on 370 scientific papers, Shephard (1999) summarized the research on anthropometric, physiological and medical aspects of male and female soccer players. Surprisingly few research results were published to date on how the type of footwear, ball properties and field surface conditions influence the game. Only recently, the more frequent use of artificial turf triggered a discussion on how this playing surface changes the game and the injury incidence in comparison to the traditional natural grass. Entering the keywords ‘running shoes’ and ‘soccer shoes’ into a PubMed (NHL) literature search, approximately eight times more scientific articles are found originating from running shoe studies. This is a surprise, because footwear in soccer has to fulfil many more functions in comparison to the role of running shoes. Running shoe research concentrates primarily on the prevention of overuse injuries with little emphasis on performance. From soccer shoes, players expect primarily a performance enhancement. This footwear has to provide adequate traction for acceleration, stop, and cutting movements on a variety of dry and wet surface conditions. Furthermore, handling of the ball requires special upper material constructions to guarantee a good touch of the ball. Against running, many more injury risk situations are encountered during playing soccer. Therefore, protective shoe features for avoiding skin cuts, preventing ankle turns and knee injuries should be part of modern soccer shoe constructions. In this chapter, we want to summarize and discuss the influence of soccer shoe construction on performance and injury protection.
