Milestones – Nike Mercurial Superfly I 2009

The release of Nike Mercurial Superfly I in 2009 was truly a beginning of something big.

Nike had a big launch for the boot at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo as main character to advertise the new Superfly. The Superfly I was a product of 2 years of engineering and designing, Nike did also work around many professional players feedback to create this boot.

The new technology in the Superfly I was called “Flywire”. This Flywire technology allowed Nike to reduce weight without losing strength. You can compare the Flywire technology with cables in a bridge, it supports players foot were needed. The boot weighted only 185 grams and back in 2009 that was very light. Nike added the Tepex carbon fibre soleplate to the boot which really made the Superfly I unlike any other boot on the market.

Nike released a very limited edition of the Nike Mercurial Superfly I Fg called “Wear It Proud”. They were originally made for Ugo Moyne and the English rugby team to celebrate their new purple away kit. Each boot was handmade in Italy and individually numbered from 1 to 70. Rumors tell that 30 pairs were given to the rugby team members and only 40 pairs sold to public.

My pair is numbered 55 out of 70.

Thank you for reading!

Kind regards Toffem

Milestones – Nike Mercurial SL 2008

Nike wanted to create the lightest and fastest boot in history. Nike spent 3 years creating a boot with no financial- or time limitations. In 2008 Nike released the Nike Mercurial SL (Super Light), weighed 190 grams.

The boot is almost entirely made of carbon fiber with a soleplate made of 7 layer carbon material, this to give strength and flexibility.

Nike released the boot in FG-soleplate limited to 2008 pairs and in SG-soleplate limited to 500 pairs. Cristiano Ronaldo wore the boots in Champions League Final 2008 in Moscow against Chelsea FC. The game ended 1-1 in fulltime, C.Ronaldo scored Manchester United only goal. Manchester won on penalties 6-5 and making them the Champions of 2008.

Thank you for reading!

Toffem

Milestones – Adidas Predator Powerswerve 2008

Regarded by many as the last proper Adidas Predator made. So what did Adidas change to make the PredatorPowerswerve so good?

Let`s start with the fact that Steven Gerrard said that the Predator Powerswerve was his favorite ever in the Predator range, that says quite lot about the boot. Adidas did also change the original rubber fins to “Predator SMART Foam” to give extra power and swerve. The soft foam reacts to the impact and kind of bounces back the effect straight to the ball.

Adidas did also create a “Power Pulse” system in the innersoles, by adding a chamber to the innersole filled with 30g metallic powder. So when kicking the ball the powder shifts forward in the chamber which increases the power. Adidas proved this in tests and the boot was said to create 3% more force and 8% more swerve than the Predators before. This popular boot was released in 2008 and there were more than 20 different colors available. Biggest stars to wear these were Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Michael Ballack and Daniele De Rossi.

Thank you for reading. More to come as always 😉