BOOT SPOTTING: UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Saturday night saw the European season come to a thrilling close when English champions Manchester United played Spanish champions Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley.
Edwin van Der Sar had already waved goodbye to the Premier League last weekend but brought the curtain down on a wonderful career on Saturday. Unfortunately for the big Dutchman he didn’t sign off with a second European medal. van Der Sar played his final game in the new Adidas AdiPower Predators.
With Carlos Puyol injured, Barcelona’s captain’s armband was worn by Xavi. Xavi put in another outstanding performance as he and Spain teammate Iniesta ran Barcelona’s midfield. Xavi wore the new AdiPower Predator’s lead Blue/Electricity/Black colourway.
Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder Anderson was also in the soon to be released AdiPower Predators. Anderson didn’t get an opportunity to run out at Wembley but was picked on the bench.
Paul Scholes sat alongside Anderson on the bench but was called upon by Sir Alex with United trailing 3-1. An announcement is expected in the next few weeks as to whether Saturday was Scholes’ last game as the England midfielder contemplates retirement. Scholes came off the bench in a pair of Challenge Red/White/Dark Shadow Nike T90 Laser III boots despite warming up in a pair of the White/Black/Chlorine Blue colourway (above).
Nemanja Vidic was lifting the Premier League trophy last weekend but the United captain had to lead his side up the Wembley steps to collect the runners up medal this weekend. Vidic and Ferdinand both put in great performances, despite their goal being under siege for most of the second half. Vidic wore Puma’s classy looking White/Black/Snorkel Blue PowerCat 1.1 boots.
Eric Abidal recently returned from having a tumor removed from his liver. The French defender’s fight against illness was honored by Barcelona when he was handed the captain’s armband after the game. Abidal therefore lead his teammates up the Wembley steps and lifted the Champions League trophy. Abidal wore Nike’s Team Red/Metallic Silver Tiempo Legend III boots.
Javier Hernandez has surprised everyone with his outstanding performances this season. The young Mexican has become Fergie’s first choice partner for Wayne Rooney and was once again paired up with him for the Champions League Final. Hernandez has been in White Nike Tiempo Legend III boots since arriving at Old Trafford and wore the White/Volt/Black colourway on Saturday.
Adidas are one of the Champions League’s main sponsors and often use the competition to unveil new boots and apparel. We expected the AdiPower Predator to debut in the Final but they arrived a few weeks earlier. Adidas did however debut their new Anodized Purple/Electricity/Infrared and Electricity/ Anodized Purple/Infrared AdiZero colourways – and in the end it was the eye-catching boots that made the difference.
Dani Alves wore the new Anodized Purple/Electricity/Infrared AdiZero Prime colourway. The Brazilian fullback tore up and down the right flank and put in a great performance for the Catalan club.
David Villa was on the score sheet for Barcelona in his leather version of the Anodized Purple/Electricity/Infrared AdiZero boots. The Spanish midfielder scored the third goal of the game to kill off any chance of a comeback from United.
The night once again belonged to Lionel Messi. The Argentinean maestro was mesmerizing for Barcelona and always looked a threat. His 54th minute strike was a brilliant long range drive off his favored left foot and set Barcelona on their way to a resounding victory. Messi wore the new Electricity/ Anodized Purple/Infrared colourway which he will have exclusivity of in La Liga.
Our last boots spot doesn’t come from the UEFA Champions League but the MLS. David Beckham showed off his new Adidas AdiPower Predator colourway last week when he turned out in Gary Neville’s testimonial in a pair of Gold/Red DB AdiPower Predators. Beckham gave his new boots the perfect MLS debut as he set up his side’s winner with a trademark floating cross.
BOOT SPOTTING: UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Manchester United booked their place in the semi-finals with a composed display against Chelsea at Old Trafford. With the likes of Rooney, Ferdinand, Scholes and the Da Silva twins all switching to the recently released White/Black/Chlorine Blue Nike T90 Laser III we are a little surprised that Patrice Evra has stuck with his Challenge Red/White/Dark Shadow boots. (Although they do match the United kit perfectly.)
John Terry once again had to console his charges as Chelsea’s European dreams fell to pieces. We had spotted Terry in the new White/Red/Silver Umbro Speciali R in training and we were glad to see him giving them a run out at Old Trafford.
Another player who we expect to be in the Speciali R is Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson (right). The England stopper trained in them ahead of Spur fixture against Real Madrid tonight.
Dawson’s teammate Younes Kaboul has returned from injury and is a great boost for Harry Redknapp. Kaboul has stuck with a pair of the original Nike Superfly boots. Kaboul usually opted for the Vibrant Yellow/Black/Gold colourway but was spotted in a pair of CTR360 Maestri II boots in training. We will be on the look out as to whether the French defender is about to make a switch.
Spurs will have to produce a miracle and comeback from a 4-0 deficit if they want to progress to a semi-final show down with Barcelona. The Madrid players look very relaxed at their training session and we spotted four players in white-out Predators. Kaka, Di Maria and Carvalho were all in the yet to be released Predators as well as young midfielder Sergio Canales (left).
Real look set to go through and meet Barcelona in the semi-finals. Barca overcame Shakhtar Donetsk to book their place in the semi-finals. Barca is full of Adidas sponsored attackers with the likes of Messi, Villa, Alves and Xavi all Adidas wearers. They do also have plenty Nike men including Pedro Rodriguez who was in the new Superfly III.
Shakhtar Donetsk put up a brave fight but were no match for the Catalan club in the end. Tomas Hubschman work hard all evening in a pair of Adidas Predator Absolute boots which were released back in 2006.
EXCLUSIVE: ADIDAS FINALE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WEMBLEY FINAL BALL
Adidas have unveiled the official 2011 UEFA Champions League Finale which will be used in the Final to be held at Wembley Stadium.
This Adidas match ball is one of the most advanced footballs ever, made using the best of technologies and features built-in super lightweight thermal bonding panels to offer the footballer true flight and less drag in the air.
The ball features Scarlet Champions League star motifs with Silver lions and Warning detailing. It also has a Warning Champions League star motif in the centre with ‘Wembley London Final 2011’.
This is the third Finale Ball along with the original White/Midnight Blue/Cyan Finale 11 and the Orange/Black/Cyan HI-Vis ball.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BOOT SPOTTING 7-8 DECEMBER 2010
We really enjoy a good boot spot here at TRW and we have some great boots for you from the final round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
We start on Tuesday night at Old Trafford. Brazilian midfielder Anderson has had an interesting year with injuries, bust ups and car crashes. His energy in the midfield has been a boost for United. His brilliant performance against Valencia was capped with his second goal for the club. Anderson run the midfield in a pair of Electricity/Poppy/Black Adidas Predator X boots.
Barcelona are firm favorites to win this season’s competition and have had everyone fighting to avoid being drawn with them in the Last 16. Barca handed a debut to young defender Andreu Fontas against Rubin Kazan. The 21 year old Spaniard had an interesting choice of boots as he wore a pair of Blue Beauty/White/Silver Adidas AdiPure III boots for his first start.
On the subject of Adidas AdiPure boots… the new AdiPure IV made their debut on the feet of a few players. FC Twente star Theo Janssen wore the new White/Black/Splash colourway for their fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.
Vedran Corluka was an easy start at Spurs before injury forced him to the sidelines. His place has since been taken by Alan Hutton as Corluka has found himself on the bench. The Croatian was handed a rare start against Twente and made his return in a pair of Puam Diego King Finale boots. Luuk De Jong is the Twente player and was another to debut the new AdiPure IV.
AC Milan’s veteran midfielder Clarence Seedorf also sported the new White/Black/Splash AdiPure IV colourway in their game against Ajax. Seedorf made his 265th appearance for AC Milan against the team he began his career with 18 years ago.
Ajax attacker Miralem Sulejmani seems to be a boot enthusiast. The Serbian was spotted in a pair of Nike Safari Superfly II boots when Ajax played Real Madrid but chose an older pair of Silver/Black/Red Nike Vapor III boots for their game against AC Milan.
Another player who switched to an older version of the Nike speed range was Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. The Ivorian began their game in a pair of Cherry/Obsidian/Silver Superfly II boots but ended in a pair of Volt Yellow/Black Superfly boots.
We love interesting boot customizations and they don’t get much better than Mahamadou Diarra’s. The Real Madrid midfielder has had this Mali inspired colourway for a while now. We wonder what interesting name this colourway would have been given, had it been an official release?
We were hoping to spot a pair of the new Nike CTR360 Maestri II boots on someone but couldn’t find them. They did appear on young Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire during Arsenal’s training session on Tuesday. Hopefully we will see them littered across Premier League fields this weekend!
Our last boot spot is one that has had a lot of airtime already. Werder Bremen’s Per Mertesacker was spotted in a pair of blacked out boots during their training session on Tuesday. The theory is that these could be the yet-to-released new Adidas Predators. They have been dubbed ‘Predator Kinetics’ and this is a rumor we will neither confirm or deny. We have had the privilege of seeing the new Predators and can tell you that they are going to be awesome.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BOOT SPOTTING 23-24 NOVEMBER 2010
The UEFA Champions League returned this week and we have some great boot spots from Tuesday and Wednesday night’s action.
We start at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea fielded a pretty unknown line-up. Carlo Ancelotti gave starts to Gael Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma, Josh McEachran, Patrick van Aanholt as well as Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge. The interesting part of the team’s line-up was the fact that Turnbull, Sturridge and Paulo Ferreira were the only three players not to be wearing Nike boots – something we are sure Adidas would like to address – seeing as they are the club’s kit supplier.
Braga secured a surprise 2-0 win over Arsenal at home on Tuesday night, thanks to a brace from Matheus. It was his teammate Alan who caught our eye however. The Brazilian’s full name is Alan Osório da Costa Silva and he turned out in a pair of Red/White/Black Puma V1.06 boots. The V1.06 aren’t known for their durability so it is impressive that there are still a few pairs floating around. We think the Red/White/Black colourway did a great job complimenting his kit.
We have featured Cristiano Ronaldo debuting his new Safari Superfly II boots in the La Liga and on International duty – so we thought it was only fair to feature the boots’ Champions League debut. Ronnie wasn’t the only person debuting them however. Ronaldo had competition from Ajax forward Miralem Sulejmani. Ronaldo had the last laugh however, as Real Madrid brushed Ajax aside with ease, putting 4 past them – two of which belonged to Ronaldo. (The Safari colourway also made an appearance on Wednesday night on the feet of FC Copenhagen striker Dame N’Doye)
Our next three boot spots happened on Tuesday during training. First, Manchester United winger Rayn Giggs made his return for the Red Devils on Wednesday night. He wore what has become his traditional White/Black/Athletic Yellow Reebok Instante Pro boots but it was his choice of boots on Tuesday that caught our eye. Giggs has yet to turn out in a pair of Instante Pro II boots but donned the Silver/Blue colourway during training. We wonder whether he is wearing a pair in as he readies for a switch.
The second player wearing an interesting pair of boots in training was Spurs hot shot Gareth Bale. The Welshman was spotted in a blacked out pair of Adidas AdiZero boots. We know Adidas are preparing to release a ‘mark II’ version of the AdiZero soon but these just looked like a pair of the current versions blacked out. Perhaps Bale was just wearing his prelaunch pair of AdiZeros or maybe they are the new ones… what do you think?
The final boot spot from Tuesday comes from within the Manchester United camp again. Bebe has had a few opportunities in a United shirt – mainly thanks to the injuries to Giggs and Valencia. The Portuguese winger has played all his games in Nike Superfly II boots but was spotted in a pair of Parachute Purple/Ebony/Tender Shoots Puma V1.10 boots. Manchester United is a Nike sponsored club so we wonder whether Bebe was just given Superflys to wear when he arrived – but is now looking to join Puma? Bebe didn’t make it onto the pitch, so we will keep a close eye on him to see what he wears if he gets some game time in the Premier League this weekend.
United’s rivals, Rangers put on a good fight as they looked to secure at least a point against the English giants. Unfortunately for Rangers, a late penalty denied them a point. We were pleased to see Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch wearing Puma Diego King Finale boots.
Rafa Benitez has been under major pressure at the helm of reigning European champions, Inter Milan. He will owe Esteban Cambiasso a debt of gratitude after the Argentinean enabled Inter to scrape through with a win over FC Twente. Cambiasso was wearing the recently released Black/White/Electricity Predator X colourway.
Gareth Bale has been grabbing all the headlines recently. His fellow winger, Aaron Lennon, has the ability to be as good but has yet to rediscover the form he showed last season. The diminutive winger looked to be getting back to his best on Wednesday night however with a fine display against Werder Bremen. Lennon was on fire down the right providing two assists in his pair of Cherry/Silver Superfly II boots.
ADIDAS UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HI-VIS BALL
Adidas released a special High Visibility version of the Finale ball which was used in last night’s UEFA Champions League fixture between Rubin Kazan and FC Copenhagen. Due to the snow, a white ball is hard to spot so Adidas unveiled this Orange/Black/Cyan version to help:
The ball is called ‘PowerOrange’ and was made, and will be used specifically, for fixtures played in snowy conditions.
BOOT SPOTTING: UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
This week, the UEFA Champions League began the second round of the group stage and we were handed some great fixtures to enjoy.
Gareth Bale put in one of his best ever performances when Spurs went to the San Siro to play Inter Milan. The Welsh winger followed that up with another fine display on Tuesday. Bale was brilliant down the left flank providing assistance for Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko. Bale and Pavlyuchenko were both in the new Intense Green/Pink/Black Adidas AdiZero colourway.
Manchester United ended as 3-0 winners when they travelled to Turkey to take on Bursapor Kulubu. Bursapor forward Turgay Bahadir looked sharp and was on the end of one or two goal scoring chances. He was in a pair Lionel Messi Gold/White/Black colourway AdiZeros.
The last AdiZero spot is Spartak Moscow winger Aiden McGeady. The ex-Celtic start used to be a Puma wearer in his Hoops days but is another player to have crossed over to the AdiZero. His choice was the Cyan/White/Pink colourway.
Theo Walcott retuned to Europe after a long spell on the sidelines. The England winger was on the score sheet for the Gunners – who have been very impressive in Europe this season. Walcott wore the Cherry/Obsidian/Silver Nike Superfly II boots.
Another player in the Cherry/Obsidian/Silver Nike Superfly II colourway was Crisitiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid forward made what should be his last appearance in the the colourway before he changes into his new Nike Safari CR boots. Ronaldo is expected to change to his new eye-catching signature boot this weekend when Real Madrid host Atletico Madrid.
Two interesting boot spots came from the Liverpool training camp. Captain Steven Gerrard seems to be done with his custom Mi-Adidas Black/Gold/Red colourway as the Liverpool midfielder was spotted wearing the new Black/White/Electricity Predator X colourway.
The second interesting spot from Liverpool was Spanish striker Fernando Torres. Torres has been a signature T90 Laser wearer for years so we were surprised to see him in a pair of Nike Tiempo Legend III boots. Torres was spotted in a pair of Tiempos in the images used to launch the new Liverpool kit a few months back. It will be interesting to see if the Reds star has decided that a change was needed or if this was just a once off in training.
ADIDAS: DANGER MAKES LEGEND
Adidas launch an innovative new online football game, using Facebook; Danger Makes Legend.
How it Works
Danger Makes Legend is a map based game which is played online through social networks and puts users ‘fast’ skills to the test. The game celebrates the UEFA Champions League tournament where users have the choice to choose between twelve European Champions League cities, including London, Madrid, Milan and Barcelona to start building their legend.
The idea is to lay down a territorial challenge to other players online, by selecting your favourite football moves. The game merges video game with real life experience as real territory is conquered through a map-system similar to Google Maps.
Players join the game to challenge each other in one-on-one combat to prove who has the ‘fast’ skills needed to rule each city. The offensive player selects three offensive moves and the defender responds with three defensive moves. All moves are played out in video. Whoever wins, claims the other player’s territory.
The game hooks into Facebook connect and allows you to challenge your friends – and foes – online. Your progress is charted and your trophies and badges won in battle are displayed through the social feed and user wall on Facebook, spreading the game out online to recruit new players.
Play the game here: