Towards to the end of last year we met some of the world’s biggest football boot collectors, who gave us some insight into their football boot collections. We are now ready to bring the series into 2016 with one of Unisport’s very own boot nerds; Niclie. Hear how his collection started here.

When and why did you start collecting football boots?

Ever since I started to play football, the boots were always the most important part. I remember going to all the sport stores after school and on weekends, just to look on, feel and try out new boots. However, the real collecting started first in 2008. Due to heart conditions, I had to quit playing football and since I had the love for football boots, this was a great way to stay in the game, so to say. It all started with the Nike Mercurial SL Carbon.

Have your ambitions on collecting boots changed throughout the years?

Yes, it has. In the early years, I was trying to grow my collection as big as possible, with all sorts of football boots. But in the last couple of years, I’ve tried to narrow down the collection, and try to get only the most rare and unique boots. It’s not always about quantity, it’s also about quality.

Which is your favourite boot in your collection?

Easy decision… Even though I like some of my prototypes a lot, the Mercurial SL Carbon is almost too good to be true. The mix of the carbon and the pink swoosh. Wow…

Where do you put all the boots?

I actually keep them in my living room, on a shelf. The collection has outgrown the shelf though, so I might need to get another one. Let’s see what my girlfriend says about that…

What type of boots do you have a particularly special love for and why?

My passion for unreleased prototypes, samples and presentation boxes has grown a lot. It’s just something special about it. You know it were never released to the public, and most times they are even more limited than the limited edition boots on the market. For example, the Nike Mercurial CR7 Galaxy Samples where the Swoosh was actually in chrome first. But when the boots released on the market, it had a standard matte silver Swoosh. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to get hold of these type of boots though, so you have to hunt them down.

Do you have any fun stories about any particular boots or anything related that would be fun to share?

Yeah, I actually ordered the first Nike Mercurial Vapor IX CR7 Limited Edition from Unisport. A year or so before I actually started working here. Now this might sound a bit cheesy, but since Unisport had such a fast delivery I was one of the first in the world the receive the boot and that was quite cool. If we switch things around, I’d love to hear the story behind my mystery Nike prototype boots, but I don't know who would tell it, haha.

Prototypes, ultra limited editions and unique display cases - Niclas has the lot! Remember to follow his growing collection on Instagram. His handle is @niclie.