Article of footwear having heel portion with knitted component

An article of footwear comprising:

• a sole structure;
• and
• an upper coupled to the sole structure, the upper comprising:
• a forward portion formed of a first component and a heel portion formed of a second component, the first component being separate from the second component;
• the forward portion and the heel portion being joined to each other along at least one seam;
• the heel portion comprising a heel knitted component of unitary knit construction, the heel knitted component having a first knitted zone associated with a first amount of stretch resistance and a second knitted zone associated with a second amount of stretch resistance;
• and
• wherein the first amount of stretch resistance of the first knitted zone is larger than the second amount of stretch resistance of the second knitted zone.

An article of footwear comprising:

• a sole structure;
• and
• an upper coupled to the sole structure, the upper including a lower edge that is disposed adjacent the sole structure, the upper including a collar defining an opening to a void within the upper, the collar defining an upper edge of the upper that is spaced away from the lower edge, the upper also comprising:
• a forward portion including a forward knitted component of unitary knit construction;
• and
• a heel portion including a heel knitted component of unitary knit construction, the heel portion having a first knitted zone, a second knitted zone, and a third knitted zone, the first knitted zone associated with a first amount of stretch resistance, the second knitted zone associated with a second amount of stretch resistance, the third knitted zone associated with a third amount of stretch resistance;
• wherein the first amount of stretch resistance is larger than the second amount of stretch resistance, and the second amount of stretch resistance is larger than the third amount of stretch resistance;
• wherein the third knitted zone partially defines the collar and the upper edge, wherein the first knitted zone partially defines the lower edge, wherein the second knitted zone is cooperatively surrounded by the first knitted zone and the third knitted zone, the heel knitted component including a first edge that is joined via stitching to the forward knitted component on a medial side of the upper, the heel knitted component further including a second edge that is joined via stitching to the forward knitted component on a lateral side of the upper.