For Lionel Messi’s new boots, adidas have looked to the combat sports world for inspiration.
Messi is expected to debut the new adidas Nemeziz boots when he takes to the Vicente Calderón pitch for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Alaves.
Using a black and white, zebra design, the new footwear was apparently inspired by the protection martial artists typically look to gain from the process of wrapping their hands.
Messi was pictured wearing the boots at Barcelona training this week and Saturday evening will see him test their new features on the Alaves defence.
Other players who you will see sporting the new Nemeziz design next season are Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and Bayern Munich’s Renato Sanches.
“Part of our design philosophy at Adidas Football is to look back to help us look forward, something we’ve held true to with the design of Nemeziz,” said vice president of design at adidas, Sam Handy.
“The idea of torsion and taping is not a new idea, it is present in some of our classic products and in other fields, such as Martial Arts. It has been around for generations.
“Our design for this product was taking that idea, of the relationship between torsion, support and agility, and using it to support the most disruptive players in the game.
“Our main goal is always to provide the athlete with the tools to maximise their own creativity, and with this product we feel we have provided the structure and support that can help players like Messi, Sanches and Firmino reach their true potential.”
Boots in the black and white colour scheme above, entitled ‘Dust Storm’, are available to buy as of this Friday and Messi certainly sounds excited to try them out.
“Disruption is a part of my game. A player must attempt to make moves that their opponent isn’t expecting and needs to do so as quickly as possible,” Messi said of his new footwear.
“To be able to do that, you need complete confidence in your boots and the flexibility to move and adjust easily.
“The design of these boots is perfect for my game.”
