Preds and Becks: the leather and the legend

As dynasties go in the world of football boots, the adidas Predator is an icon among icons. Since launching 26 years ago, they have been worn by a pedigree collection of global superstars from Zinedine Zidane to Alessandro Del Piero. But no one wore them quite so elegantly and so loyally as David Beckham. From the release of the very first Predator right through to the last ball he ever kicked as a professional, he committed to playing for one brand and one style. For him, it was a career defined by the Predator.

It all started in Sydney. Ex-Liverpool midfielder Craig Johnston was coaching a youth team on how to curl the ball. He asked them to imagine their boots had the grip of a table tennis bat – in this innocent comment was the breakthrough. He raced home, cut the rubber material off a table tennis bat, and wrapped the strips around his boots with elastic bands. When he went outside to kick a ball in the rain, the ball squealed because of the extra grip. He knew he was onto something.

At the time, nobody else seemed to agree with him. Having developed his own prototypes, everyone he approached rejected the idea. It took a video of German legend Franz Beckenbauer training in them in the snow to convince adidas to sign the patent, and the Predator was born. Little did Johnston know that his invention would almost single-handedly save adidas from bankruptcy.

The first Predators, released in 1994, were not too dissimilar from the boot we have grown to know and love today. Three rubber strips run vertically along the sides, with ridged “teeth” cut into the leather to provide more control and grip. Most importantly, the black, white, and red iconic colourway was born. At the time, they were nothing short of revolutionary. Bold, original, and visually striking; alongside their infamous strapline, ‘100% legal, 0% fair’, they entered a market of black and white all-leather boots and blew the competition out of the water.

At this point, a young David Beckham was yet to break into the Manchester United team. However, the attributes of the Predators – the added grip allowing more curl, in particular – were perfect for him. The Predators were looking for a superstar and they found one in the making.

Predator Touch

In 1996, with the Predator Touch, adidas released the first truly legendary model. The Touch combined the signature fold-over tongue with smaller laces, allowing the tongue complete coverage over them. It gave the boot a bigger strike zone, and even more grip and control than before.

Similarly, in August of that year, Becks scored his first truly iconic goal in the Predator Touch, a perfect 60-yard-lob on the opening day of the season against Wimbledon. He had announce himself to the Premier League, and so had the Predators.

At this point, it is only the Predators that can be deemed part of the ‘classic David Beckham look’. Before the United #7 jersey, before the quiff, before the tattoos, before the Calvin Klein underwear deal, even before Posh Spice, he was in a pair of Predators. They are the first ingredient in what would define the iconic David Beckham style.

That goal was the introduction of a special player, and that season, at 21 years old, he helped United retain the Premier League title as a first-team regular. Playing in the Predator Touch, Beckham had already made his name in England, but on the international stage his first tournament was beckoning.

Predator Accelerator

From the start of the World Cup to the turn of the century, it was in the Predator Accelerator that Becks would experience both the highest and lowest moments of his career. He entered the tournament as a celebrity, on and off the field; an undoubtable talent, a husband to Victoria, and the saviour of the national side. But while Zinedine Zidane, by this point the other Predator idol, was busy strutting his Accelerators across his homeland and leading his team all the way to their victorious final, Beckham’s tournament took a very different turn.

In the 47th minute of England’s Round of 16 tie with Argentina, Diego Simeone pushed Beckham to the floor in a challenge for the ball. While he was down, in an uncharacteristic flash of red mist, Beckham kicked out and his Accelerator made contact with the Argentinian. This led to a red card, and eventually the end of Beckham’s and England’s tournament.

On his return home, his country took it as a betrayal. He became public enemy number one; fans booed him at every United away game and effigies of him were even hung outside some grounds. It was the career low point for Beckham. But over the next few years he fought his way back into the public’s affection and it made him the player he was – just as the boy was forced to become a man, the Predators were proving themselves to be special too.

The design of the Predator Accelerator was years before its time. It was bold and striking, featuring a translucent sole that spilt over the leather and three stripes wider than ever, decorating the boot like broad paint strokes. Adidas also rearranged the position of the laces so they were positioned on the outside of the foot, and although the “teeth” were more subtle this time, there was a much larger surface area on the strike zone with which they could take effect.

Beckham, for one, made full use of this. In the 1999 Champions League final, United trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 as the stoppage time board went up. Three minutes later, the final whistle blew on a Manchester United victory; two corners from Becks, two goals. History was made as they secured a historic treble, and Beckham had done it in a pair of Accelerators – if that extra strike zone in the design made the difference or not, it’s impossible to tell. But in those boots, he had come full circle; from the rock bottom of France 98, to the very top in Barcelona 99.

Predator Precision

Even in such a catalogue of greats, the Predator Precision stands out. Released in 2000, the adidas stripes were big, bold and proud, and made their way the whole way around the boot. They would go on to inspire the Sobakov sneaker, demonstrating a crossover into sneaker culture that few football boots can execute. Most significantly, they were the instrument Beckham used for his most important goal in a career that was blossoming into a symphony.

To England fans, Becks still had some making up to do. The team’s performance in France was deemed a catastrophic failure, and the brunt of that blame had fallen at Beckham’s feet – for a squad that held so much potential, a lot more was expected in 2002. Heading into the final game of the qualifiers against Greece, England needed a win to guarantee automatic progress into the main event. With Greece 2-1 up, the captain Beckham stepped up to take a 93rd minute free kick, and sent a signature curler into the top corner. Predator precision personified. And for Beckham, his redemption was complete.

Predator Mania

At this point, it was clear both Beckham and the Predators were special. The Predator Mania, released in 2002 ahead of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, is still widely cited as the most iconic model in the collection. Like every iteration before it, it was ahead of its time; futuristic in its stark colour contrasts, with a protective heel, a longer tongue, and a much more streamlined design. Most importantly of all was the elastic loop that strapped the oversized tongue down – a signature, timeless Predator style.

At the same time, Beckham’s own mania was taking on a new level. Wearing the unique champagne colourway, his superstardom was overtaking anything that had been seen by a footballer before – he was the most wanted name in football, both for his exploits on the field and his astronomical commercial potential off it. Having won what would be his last league title with United in 2003, his fractious relationship with Ferguson opened the door to the biggest move of his career, and he officially became a galactico in the summer of 2003.

He scored on his Real Madrid league debut, this time wearing a unique gun-metal grey colourway. Here was the world’s most iconic player, in the world’s most iconic boots, playing for the world’s most iconic football club – the parallels between both Beckham’s and the Predator’s lifelines are clear, and this peak of their incredible dynasties is hard to match.

Predator Pulse and Absolute

Becks’ marketability and worldwide stardom was proving more and more fruitful for adidas, and at this stage they capitalised on his unprecedented success by releasing special DB limited edition Predators. First of the Predator Pulse in 2004, then two years later, of the Predator Absolute, released ahead of the World Cup in Germany. Both featured exclusive colourways and his legendary free-kick stance silhouette on the tongue. Predators hadn’t stopped breaking ground just yet.

It was in the Predator Absolute that Beckham won his only league title with Real Madrid. Over four seasons, that La Liga triumph in his last season and a Spanish Super Cup victory in his first would be his only silverware, in a spell that was marred by managerial fallouts with Fabio Capello. He might have been the biggest footballer on the planet, but his Madrid career didn’t hit the heights he would have dreamed of. So, in the only manner befitting Becks and his Preds, he looked to conquer new worlds and take the game, the icon, and the boots to a whole new audience.

Predator Powerswerve

If you could choose one man to try and popularise ‘soccer’ in America, it would be David Beckham. In 2007, he moved stateside to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy; a man whose football was fit for Hollywood could now call it his home. That same year, adidas released what many believe to be the last true Predator.

Produced in over 20 colourways, the Powerswerve was the first model that Becks had a personal, genuine influence on designing. They introduced Climacool technology, which alongside the Smartfoam and Dynamic PowerPulse technology offered up a combination of comfort, control and power; a staunch reminder of the original manifesto: 100% legal, 0% fair.

With Zidane retired, this was the first boot that Becks was the unmistakable icon of. In the Powerswerve, David had a new canvas on which to advance the legacy of the silo he had become synonymous with, and in the MLS, David had a new canvas on which to paint footballing magic; a mission to both improve the standing of MLS in the European context, and also to bring soccer to the forefront of American sports.

It was a big job to undertake, especially as he was nearing the end of his career. In 2008, Becks marked his 100th international cap with a special gold pair of Powerswerves, and in 2009, he slipped them on for his last appearance in an England shirt.

Predator X and LZ

As Beckham’s career drew to a close, so did the Predator’s. Before his two loan spells at AC Milan, where he featured in a star-studded midfield with Kaká, Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo, the Predator X was released to mark the 10th Predator incarnation. The design was the enemy of the purist. The fold-over tongue was gone, replaced with a larger foam area and the laces hidden at the top of the boot. Along with the Predator LZ, released two years later, they are the most forgettable models.

Beckham made his last professional appearance on a football field playing for Paris Saint-Germain in a pair of Predator LZ. In his ten end-of-season appearances for the French side (where he pledged to donate his entire salary to a children’s charity), he picked up a Ligue 1 winners medal, making him the first Englishman to win a league title in four different countries.

It was the crowning achievement on a special career that had come to an end. The Predator survived another two years before being discontinued in favour of the ACE, but the shine and originality that had made it so appealing for so long had been lost.

Since retiring, Becks has paid tribute to the boot that he wore for his entire career. In 2017, adidas released a remake of the Predator Mania in Beckham’s infamous champagne colourway. Later that year, Becks released his first Predator capsule collection, featuring a remastered Predator Accelerator, the boot he’d won his only Champions League in. Two years later, to mark 25 years of Predator, Becks re-released the Precision, the boot in which he’d scored that legendary free-kick against Greece in, and, alongside Zidane, co-created the Predator 19. It’s a relationship that, thankfully, is still going strong.

In the very fabric of the Predator is David Beckham. From the very start, the storied Preds silo boasted extra grip, control, and curl through innovative technological advances, and in Becks they found the perfect player, one who took over the world both on and off the pitch. In 11 models over 19 years, they have seen him through every high and every low, and are as crucial to his legend as his inch-perfect free-kicks. Just like David Beckham isn’t just a footballer, the adidas Predators aren’t just football boots. They are much, much more.