How a pair of football boots changed the adidas aesthetic

The ball spins quickly and defies the laws of physics. It spins around itself to stay at the right height without losing tension and to land in the corner under the right-hand post. The curved, almost golf-like trajectory of Trent Alexander-Arnold's right foot in minute 19 of Liverpool's game against Fulham, as if it had been wrapped in a scarf before the shot. And the silky grain of TAA's right-footed spinning top is due not only to the phenomenal footballing skills of Juergen Klopp's winger, but also to a shoe that was developed almost 30 years ago by tying the rubber of a table tennis bat to the shaft with a band. The DIY invention of a former Australian footballer became a style legend, a technical revolution and ultimately a model that permanently changed the adidas aesthetic and saved the company from bankruptcy. And now, almost three decades later, they are back in the spotlight on football pitches played on by today's greatest talents without having missed a single day.

adidas Predator's history

The adidas Predators not only represent a glorious chapter in the history of athletic footwear, but with their introduction and subsequent changes, they also marked a frontier for what football players began to use on the pitch. One romanticised story has it that former Liverpool midfielder Craig Johnston came up with the idea for the design while coaching a team of boys who complained about not having enough control of the ball in the rain. In reality, both adidas, Nike and PUMA had initially rejected the proposal because they felt it was too far removed from the standards of football boots at the time, which had never been radically changed in decades. The difference between a football boot used at the 1970 World Cup and one fitted instead just a few years earlier at Italia90 was imperceptible and related to the quality of the leather used and the shape of the studs. Pelé and Maradona, for example, used practically the same boot, although their careers spanned almost three different generations.

The adidas Predator, on the other hand, represented a Copernican revolution and transformed the football boot into a technical, futuristic and chameleon-like tool. No longer craftsmanship, but industry, research and development. And then the colours. These seemed to have been banned from players' feet for decades, perhaps for fear that they would get mangled in the dirt and on the muddy pitches. But in the early 1990s, Technicolour needed new incentives, and the finally manicured turf made the task easier for technical and creative footballers. When the first in a long line of revolutionary shoes was launched in 1994, adidas began incorporating red detailing in the heel and midsole. in 1995 they became even more prominent in the Rapier version, made famous by a campaign featuring Paul Gascoigne, and the following year in the adidas Predator Touch, also available in an unprecedented - at least for the time - red and white colourway.

Like its cinematic counterpart, the Predator hunted by Arnold Schwarzenegger or Danny Glover, the adidas version became bigger and flashier over the years, with the tongue folded over the laces to overcome opposing defences. In 2000, the Precision was launched with interchangeable studs, but the big hit was yet to come, arriving at one of the most important moments for football aesthetics, the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, when adidas introduced perhaps its most recognisable model. The iconic Predator Mania silhouette, polished and tapered like the claws of a velociraptor, was available in colours of pure aggression. This attitude immediately won over the most flamboyant and spectacular footballers of the time, who became the perfect testimonials for football boots that pointed straight to the future.

adidas Predator's Testimonials

Beckham scored the goal that made him instantly famous when he beat the Wimbledon goalkeeper with a lob from midfield at Selhurst Park. He was wearing a pair of adidas Predator Touch, originally made for Charlie Miller, the Scottish midfielder of Glasgow Rangers. But after that game, Becks became the new face of English football and adidas, closely followed by Steven Gerrard, Zinedine Zidane, Michael Ballack, Kaka and many others who made a shoe model synonymous with a modern, fast, intense and fashion sport that represents a complete break with the past. Of course, the Predator line has evolved over the years, partially abandoning the original invention of Craig Johnston and his table tennis racket, venturing into laceless, knitted and increasingly lightweight models that resemble others. The adidas example had jumpstarted the rapid football boots development, which produced a kaleidoscope of shapes, colours and patterns to enhance athletes' performance and style on the pitch.

Almost thirty years after the first model, adidas has decided to return to the past and reverse the parabola that characterised the Predator model until now, releasing a new version: the Predator 30. Combining details and inspiration from the entire adidas archive, the Predator 30 tells a story that has already become a legend and inspires a new generation of football players. In fact, the testimonials chosen by the Three Stripes to wear the latest model on the pitch were not yet born when adidas launched the first edition. Trent-Alexander Arnold and Jude Bellingham are not only talented and already strong, but more importantly they know the heritage of the shoes they wear and how it has shaped their passion for the ball since their first steps.

It's a complete dip into nostalgia, a marked departure from the model's philosophy, which has always had the future as its horizon. However, it is a decision that fits perfectly with today's football shoes scene, which seems to have lost the urge to innovate and change, relying instead on the familiar. Of course, the Predator 30 has all the qualities and features designed for performance on the pitch, from the Strikeskin technology that improves grip and control over the ball, to the Hybrid Touch upper inherited from the Accuracy version that provides more stability on the ground, but the tongue on the laces, the elastic band that was originally intended to hold the rubber and the completely free instep tell of a very specific moment when everyone wanted to bend the ball like Beckham or hit the volley like Zidane. The Predator 30 are only available in examples from 1994, the year they were first released, and allow us to relive that excitement.