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 😉

Milestones – Adidas Predator Mania 2002

After the Accelerator in 1998 Adidas released Predator Precision in 2000, but they never got the same level as previous model did. So in 2002 Adidas released Predator Mania, which made its debut alongside FIFA World Cup Japan & South Korea. Also everyone remembers Zinedine
Zidane scoring that volley goal in Champions League against Leverkusen. Other big names using Mania was Beckham, Raul, Del Piero etc.  

The boot itself was made in kangaroo leather upper and of course Predator rubber fins to give the ball an extra curve. Adidas made the Mania with far eastern style in mind, which opened new markets in for example Asia. Adidas also added a rubber strap to keep the big red tongue in
place and used a two piece soleplate that reduced the weight. This is a boot that will stay in Adidas history and won’t be forgotten.

Also there was released a big bunch of different colour options!

Thank you for reading!

Milestones – Adidas Predator Accelerator

It is still regarded as one of the best boots Adidas ever produced. The Predator Accelerator was released in 1998 along with the FIFA world cup in France. The boot was advertised by some of the greatest players like Zidane and David Beckham. France won Brazil 3-0 and Zizou scored twice! 

This boot featured a re-engineered TRX outsole, asymmetrical lacing for larger striking surface, the rubber fins sewn into the leather gives a swerve when hits the ball. The boot’s weight about 300 grams and consists of several layers of high quality leather. Also in my opinion one of the few Predators that have a non-clumsy feeling when played in.

Adidas released this boot in four colours: Black/white/red, white/black/red, red/black/white and in a limited edition colourway called Electricity yellow.

Adidas Predator 1994 Fg

The original Adidas Predator released in 1994 was revolutionary in the way it managed to add
power and swerve to the kick thanks to the rubber fins!

It was Craig Johnston back in 1988, footballer from Australia, who was the key man developing
the first Predator. It was his idea to add the rubber fins, he compared it to table-tennis!

These boots became Adidas biggest revolution in history of football boots!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned I will soon write about the “Milestones in football boot history”.

Adidas Predator Mania Remake 2017

This boot was the main subject everyone talked about this week, the Predator Mania remake from the Adidas “Champagne Pack”. They were released the 3rd of May. I tired to buy a pair but again, third time a row with limited releases, didn’t manage to get to buy s pair… The boots was released at Adidas websitenaround 8.00 GMT and I queued 50 minutes until it said “Sold Out”. Then I got a new chance on Pro-Direct Soccer around 9.02 GMT and added a pair to my basket and paid, I were not over thrilled as I had been in the same situation many times 😛 6 hours later I get a mail from Pro-Direct Soccer saying “Sorry you missed out”… Nothing new here xD

As usually you find the boots on eBay, where people trying to sell the same boots that were released few hours ago, asking for a good profit ofcourse. Some of them will sell for a high price and some will probably end selling for closer to the retail price in few months. 

To cheer up a bit I took the time to photoshoot the original Adidas Predators with the real tongues! 

From the first Adidas Predator Rapier 1995 with folded tongue, ending with the Adidas Predator Powerswerve in 2008-2009.

Few of my favourites in the past years:

Adidas Predator Accelerator Sg, 1998 (Made in Germany with 8 studded soleplate)

Adidas Predator Mania Sg, 2002 (Made in Germany)

Adidas Predator Precision Sg, 2000 (Made in Germany and worn by Abelardo as central defender in Barcelona)

Adidas Predator Accelerator Sg “Made in Germany”!

My newest addition to the collection. Definitely one of the rarest Adidas Predator boots ever made, measured to meet the players foot size with high quality leather. The boots are made in Germany, public ones are made in Indonesia. 

Compared to the public releases these boots got a softer and thinner leather with more stiching, making them slightly lighter and stronger. Adidas also added a rubber strap to keep the tongue on place. Also the tongue is longer than normally and can be folded lower.

Most special thing about these are ofcourse the soleplate with 8 screw in studs, providing a better grip. 

Such a beautiful boot and really thankful for owning this pair in excellent condition!

Project À la @toffem!

So as you might seen on my InstaGram post I’m gonna have another project! 😎

The boots that are gonna be my project is the legendery Adidas Predator Precision Sg “Champions League” edition! I bought them for £50 and although they look really beat-up I think there is some potential left in them!

So my plan is to fully restore them and then play my final season game in them!

Obviously I need to begin with fully cleaning them. After that I need to reglue the soleplate in thosw places where it’s sligthly coming off, like in the toe area. Then they need a good new paintjob! 👌🏻

I will also add new laces to them! Then the final step is to replace the studs with new ones. As the studs are really worn down, all the way to the screw mechanism, this means that basically the only way to get them off is to saw them in half and brake them.

I’m looking forward to restoring them and hopefully to play the last game in them!

Stay tuned!

Adidas Predator Accelerator Sg

Found the missing original studs for the Adidas Predator Accelerator Sg 😏 The search for old studs like these are difficult as they only made these between years 1998-2004. They made these Adidas screw in studs in grey, black and white. Every stud has two adidas logos on them. 

Only for some proffesionals sponsored by Adidas and “Made in Germany”! These might be the rarest Predators to be found, definitely one of the best looking.

I try to create different and unique pictures in every photoshoot, this time I tried to kind of copy an old Adidas advertisment. Haha hope you like it and yeah it’s me on the picture.

Adidas Predator Accelerator Sg “Made in Germany”

So I haven’t added too many Adidas boots lately, maybe cause I haven’t really been a fan of the generations of Adidas 😕But now I recieved a boot that is definitely one of the rarest Adidas boots ever made, if not the rarest of them all… If you know, you know 👌🏻

The boots were only made for some chosen proffesional players and are made in Germany. The boots got higher quality leather and stitching. Also the huge upgrade on these is the soleplate with screw in studs!

The hunt after few more original studs starts now, so if you got any original Adidas screw in studs in grey from year 1998-2004 then send a DM 🙏🏻

Adidas Predator Precision Sg “Platinum”

One of my favourite boots of all time, the Adidas Predator Precision! As previous years Adidas used to release a new boot every Championship year. Adidas Predator Precision was released in 2000 during the Euro Cup 2000 in France. A major update from the earlier Predator models was that Adidas made the rubber fins thinner, more like rubber ribs that gave more swerve and power.

Adidas also added a fold over tongue which was locked to the boot with Velcro!

David Beckham was one of the big names that made this boot very popular. Everyone remembers the stunning last minute freekick goal against Greece in Euro 2000 wearing a white pair of the Predator Precision!

So what Adidas did was basically the first David Beckham signature boot, the Adidas Predator Precision Platinum Sg 2000! This boot was released in limited numbers and only in United Kingdom, France, Germany, USA and Japan. They were limited to 333 pairs in each country and they are individually numbered. They included a stunning presentation box made of aluminium, blocket and a holographic card with the same number as the boot!

I had been looking for these boots almost entire time that I have been collecting, since 2006. And finally last year I found a pair, numbered UK169/333.