Article of footwear incorporating a knitted component with an integral knit ankle cuff

A soccer shoe having a plurality of ground-engaging cleat members, the soccer shoe comprising:

• an upper, comprising:
• a knitted component, the knitted component extending into a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, a lateral side, a medial side, and an instep area extending across an overfoot portion between the lateral side and the medial side, wherein the instep area is joined through knitting to each of the lateral side and the medial side of the upper, and further wherein the instep area and an ankle cuff have at least one knit course in common;
• a stretch padding zone extending from the lateral side of the upper to the medial side of the upper at the instep area of the upper, the stretch padding zone having a greater resistance to stretch along a longitudinal direction of the stretch padding zone and having a relatively lesser resistance to stretch in a lateral direction from the medial side to the lateral side, the stretch padding zone sharing at least one course in common with each of the lateral side and the medial side, the stretch padding zone comprising a pair of edges, the pair of edges being distinct from a perimeter edge of the knitted component and extending in a non-parallel orientation toward the forefoot region;
• the ankle cuff formed of a unitary knit construction with the knitted component;
• and
• a plurality of lace apertures in the knitted component that are disposed along the instep area on each of the lateral side and the medial side of the upper.

A soccer shoe having a plurality of ground-engaging cleat members, the soccer shoe comprising:

• an upper, comprising:
• a knitted component, the knitted component extending through a forefoot region, a midfoot region, a heel region, a lateral side, a medial side, and an instep area extending between the lateral side and the medial side on an overfoot portion of the upper, wherein the instep area is joined through knitting to each of the lateral side and the medial side of the upper, and further wherein the instep area and an ankle cuff of the upper have at least one knit course in common;
• a stretch padding zone extending from the lateral side of the upper to the medial side of the upper at the instep area of the upper, the stretch padding zone having a greater resistance to stretch along a longitudinal direction of the stretch padding zone and having a relatively lesser resistance to stretch in a lateral direction from the medial side to the lateral side, wherein the stretch padding zone shares at least one course in common with each of the lateral side and the medial side;
• the ankle cuff which comprises a unitary knit construction with the knitted component;
• a plurality of outer lace apertures located on the lateral side and the medial side of the upper along the instep area;
• and
• a plurality of inner lace apertures located on the lateral side and the medial side of the upper along the instep area, wherein the plurality of inner lace apertures are positioned more towards a center of the instep area than the plurality of outer lace apertures.