The OG adidas Predator is Back (Kinda)
When the adidas Predator first hit shop shelves in 1994, it caused quite a splash. The boot looked unlike any other, covered in rubber fins across the upper designed to help with ball control and generate more swerve when shooting.
This original Predator was the starting point for adidas’ most famous line of football boots, worn by all-time greats like David Beckham, Alessandro Del Piero, and Zinedine Zidane (and, more recently, the likes of Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Now, it’s back but not quite as you remember it.
To celebrate 30 years since the OG football boot was released, the Samba ‘94 has been turned into a sneaker for everyday use.
The sneaker retains the most iconic features from the Samba ‘94, such as the triangular rendition of adidas’ three stripes and protruding panels to help control a football (although, these are a lot less pronounced than on the original boot).
The sneakers even have small, rubber studs on the bottom as you’d expect to find on AstroTurf boots, however, they are made strictly for casual wear only — flappy-tongued football shoes of this ilk are more fashionable than ever.
A trend spearheaded by Wales Bonner and her adidas Samba collaboration, five-a-side footwear is popping up everywhere from Reebok and Botter’s latest collaboration to the sneaker line of Scandinavian high fashion label Acne Studios.
Seeing this trend pick up pace, adidas is making the most of it by re-issuing its most famous boots as sneakers. Earlier this year, it released the adidas’ Predator Mundial sneaker (a fusion of two famed on-pitch boots) together with Japanese retailer Atmos and followed it up with the adidas Predator Freestyles, a take on the boots worn by David Beckham for the 1998 World Cup.
The adidas Predator ‘94, however, is the most historic of the lot. This is the model that launched what is arguably football’s most iconic line of boots.
