Yesterday, Sport-Locker.net sent Joe Buckee to the shiny new Pro-Direct Store in Carnaby Street for a showcase of 20 years of one of the game’s most iconic boots – the adidas Predator!
The new #LDN19 store, a mecca for all things football related, was transformed in to an interactive Predator museum, paying homage to 20 years of footballing memories, design and innovation.
The store walls were lined with a timeline of the Predator boots, starting with the original adaptation designed in 1994, originally designed by former Liverpool midfielder Craig Johnston. The boot was only manufactured by Adidas after Johnston, turned down by manufacturers elsewhere, took a video of Beckenbauer and Rummenige at Bayern Munich using the boots. And so the legacy was born.
The Predator Instinct range is the newest adaptation of the series, with the boot featuring large rubber zones to optimise control, as well as a gel pad pass zone designed to aid accuracy when passing.
Whilst the new range includes the bright and bold colour schemes we have come to know and love over the past few years, it was the relaunch of the classic predators and their red, white and black colour schemes which stole the show.
Adidas has capitalised on a nostalgic audience baying for a return to the more classic colour schemes and styles, and the release of the Black Out / White Out Predator Instincts as well as the limited edition Predator Eyes & Tongues boots are a masterstroke which will only boost the Predator brand.
But above all, it was the re-releases of the iconic Predators that took everyone’s eye. From the original ’94 boot that started the movement up to the ’02 version, it was the 1998 Accelerator that everyone was talking about.
The famous boot that ended David Beckham’s World Cup in 1998, and helped Zinedine Zidane win the World Cup for France was pride of place, and we can all see why.
(Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos of the re-releases – but stay tuned for a full reveal on Sport-locker.net in the coming weeks!)
Which adidas Predator football boot is your favourite? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
