Six days to the CL Final and adidas gives us a peek at the next gen of TUNiT boot technology called the F50i which Lionel Messi will debut on Wednesday in Rome.
Do shoes make such a difference? Any player will tell you they do. Nano-seconds count, when it's all about performance.
Plus there's always the psychological factor. Not to mention protecting the metatarsals - just ask Wayne Rooney!
Let's look at shoe architecture for a second. I'd say adidas' philosophy of modular design is pretty impressive. It's like, er, what's the phrase I'm looking for? ... German engineering. Performance and aesthetics.
So what's Messi's shoe going to look like? The previous model of the F50 was pretty cool: players customize the boot according to personal preferences and weather conditions. This includes choosing the color of the upper. Prevailing weather conditions on the day of play also affect the choice of upper. There are five colors and three different materials to choose from. The first material is an easy-care, durable and non-absorbent synthetic. The second is a soft leather and the third the ultralight and breathable material.
As a next step, the player chooses between two different chassis. The chassis forms the interior of the shoe and holds the studs. The tuning options are a lightweight standard chassis for perfect stability and optimal distribution of stud pressure as well as an ultralight competition chassis for maximum flexibility in the forefoot and optimum breathability in combination with the breathable upper.
The selected chassis is then inserted into the upper and the studs can be screwed in from the outside. Three stud systems ensure a perfect hold and a good grip, whatever the conditions on the pitch. The patented adidas studs ensure optimum contact on all kinds of hard and artificial turf, as well as on various hard and soft natural turfs.
Finally, the player selects the insole to determine the boot’s degree of comfort and breathability. The premolded, soft and slightly cushioned insole as well as the somewhat thinner, perforated and thus extremely lightweight, breathable sock liner offer real comfort.
Heck, if they made a modular street-sole I'd clip it on and wear it to work! Cleats 2.0 - we've come a long way from this
Until Wednesday, then!
The CL Final could become the Battle of the Boots! Personally, I think CR has already lost that one.
I agree, Christian.
Adidas has always understood football better than Nike. Unfortunately, it's all about hype.
On the pitch, it's adidas or Puma, but never Nike!