Are Soccer Cleats Metal?

Using the right cleat during a soccer game is crucial when it comes to the performances of the players. A slippery cleat for example can severely affect a player’s performance.

With that in mind, a soccer cleat should give the player a very good grip when they are moving on the field, and it turns out that cleats with metal studs can do just that.

So to answer the question, are soccer cleats metal?

The bottom part of a soccer cleat is often made out of metal. The studs of the soccer cleat need to be strong and non slippery on surfaces like wet grass to make sure that the players do not slip, and metal seems to be a great candidate. 

However, some cleats have plastic studs that can still be very effective on hard grass surfaces. So why use metal cleats if plastic can do? Well, here is your answer:

Why use cleats with metal studs?

1- Metal studs provides better grip on soft grass

It’s true that the plastic studs of a soccer cleat can perform well on hard grass, however, when the grass becomes softer due to water or any other factor, then the plastic cleats might not be enough.

Metal studs are usually longer since metal doesn’t break as easily as plastic does. This means that the long metal studs can help you get your foot stuck very well into the ground to avoid slipping at any moment.

Remember that soccer is all about agility. Making instant changes in your movement on the field is very important in soccer, and to be able to do that, you should definitely be wearing a cleat that gives you a strong grip on the ground.

Metal cleats can give you that kind of grip, especially on the wet grass that is used in professional soccer fields.

If you don’t already know, the grass of a professional soccer field is usually watered before and during the halftime of a soccer game.

Why? The quick answer is because wet grass improves the flow of the game.

But regardless of the reasons, the grass is usually wet during a soccer game even if it isn’t raining, and this makes metal cleats the number 1 option for the players.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t find any plastic cleats on the field, but the majority will be metal when the field is wet.

2- Metal cleats usually last longer.

The durability of the soccer cleats might not matter a lot to the ultra rich soccer clubs that can buy a pair of cleats for each of its soccer players before every single game.

However, not all soccer clubs are ultra rich. In fact, many of the soccer clubs around the world are sitting on a very tight budget while trying to make it to the top level league competition of their country.

These clubs will have to save as much money as they can whenever they can, which is why they might prefer cleats that are more durable.

Metal is stronger than plastic and other materials used for the cleat studs. Which means that the metal cleats can last longer if they are well taken care of.

Cleats that last longer will very much be preferable by the soccer clubs that are struggling financially, and hence they are often preferred over the plastic cleats.

Are cleats with metal studs dangerous?

One thing that worries a lot of soccer players is the danger that might be imposed on the players when some of them are wearing metal cleats.

If these metal cleats hit a soccer player in the wrong way, the damage they might cause is scary to even think of.

So the question is, should you be worried too?

With all honesty, it all depends on the players you are playing against. If you are playing against professional soccer players, then you shouldn’t really be worried because these people know how to tackle, kick, and steal the ball from the opponent very well.

In other words, they know that they should never tackle using the bottom of their cleat (which is an instant red card by the way), and they know that they shouldn’t just do random kicks when they are trying to take the ball from their opponent.

However, if you are playing against amateur soccer players who are wearing metal cleats, then you better be careful.

New soccer players tend to randomly kick their opponent unintentionally while trying to take the ball from them, and they might also do some reckless tackles that might put them and their opponent in danger.

So in simple words, if you trust that your opponents aren’t amateurs, then you should feel relatively safe.

SUMMARY

Metal soccer cleats are extremely common in soccer especially among the professional soccer players. Metal is needed to make sure that the players do not slip on wet soccer fields.

As for the danger that might come with wearing metal cleats, it is usually minimal if the soccer players know what they are doing.