FeatureExplained: What goes in to making Liverpool players' customised adidas boots

This anatomical reality makes the use of the manufacturer's cutting-edge facilities essential in elite-level sport, where the finest of margins can be the difference between winning and losing.

With advanced technology and years of experience, adidas can craft bespoke boots for its affiliated Liverpool players with extraordinary precision – down to the millimetre.

"Comfort has a correlation with performance," says Michael Haley, senior manager for athlete product excellence at adidas.

Members of the Reds squad affiliated with adidas can take a trip to the global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany – aptly named the 'World of Sports' – for assessment.

Alternatively, Michael and his colleagues can bring their futuristic-looking tech to the AXA Training Centre.

The process begins with assessing each foot using a 3D scanner to capture all-encompassing data points – toe height, forefoot width and arch length, to list some examples.

Next comes a step onto a foot-pressure mapping device, which analyses how a player distributes weight across both feet.

This data, and working in collaboration with the club's medical team, is then used to fine-tune the boot design – not just for comfort but also for performance, injury risk mitigation and recovery support if applicable.

Across professional football, the trend among players is for boots to be snug-fitting as players search for maximum control and ball-striking sensation. Players all search for their own perfect fit to varying degrees, and any personal preference can be accommodated for.

Once done with the science, the process moves on to the aesthetics and making a boot feel even more personalised.

This often comes in the form of inscribing partner and children's names, as well as national flags. Manufacturing is so advanced, however, that even photos can now be etched onto them.

All that data gathered from this session is then sent off to adidas' made-to-measure factory in Scheinfeld, the same factory where adidas' iconic Copa Mundials and some limited-collection models are still made to this day.

Four colourways of a boot will be made for a player over the course of a season; adidas' current lead franchises include the iconic Predator and F50 boots, which are worn by a number of Liverpool players across the men's and women's teams.

They will typically receive four of each style per quarter – two designed for soft-ground pitches and the other two with firm-ground studs. Those who play on the international scene tend to go through more.

And perhaps the most impressive element of the entire process is the swift turnaround for these custom fits.

From measuring, to designing, to manufacturing and to wearing on the pitch, it's all done in 10 days.