Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
But there’s more: namely, 30 years’ worth of innovation and technology. And you’ve got to love the tech jargon: the CONTROLFRAME 2.0 which increases stability or the moulded HYBRIDTOUCH 2.0 upper that ensures the boot is as lightweight as possible. Plus the strips of STRIKESKIN rubber, a modernised variation of the OG’s pads which bent the ball’s trajectory in goalkeeper-terrifying directions.
Jude Bellingham, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Trent Alexander-Arnold are among the current chosen ones enhancing their skills in the latest model. Though the famed red-and-black Predators are the most iconic, they aren’t necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing. That crown is reserved for adidas’ recently revealed Core Black Predator 24 that released earlier this month in all its stealthy glory.
Over the last three decades, the Predator has tormented opponents in various guises, including the chunky-striped Accelerator of 1998 and the streamlined, tight-fitting Mutator from 2020. There have been 19 types, and the Predator 24 has taken the best bits of the original and fused them with today’s forward-thinking innovation. Which does make you think: imagine how good the likes of Goldenballs and Zizou would be nowadays.
As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But what if something could just be better, without having to be broken? What if something deserves an upgrade despite consistently setting high standards down the years?
Of course, my knees are shot to bits nowadays (I’m a dad now, you see), so actually slipping into a pair of adidas Predator 24s isn’t going to happen any time soon. But, as luck has it, adidas has also released an off-pitch version of the Pred too, which means everyone can get in on the action.
Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
But there’s more: namely, 30 years’ worth of innovation and technology. And you’ve got to love the tech jargon: the CONTROLFRAME 2.0 which increases stability or the moulded HYBRIDTOUCH 2.0 upper that ensures the boot is as lightweight as possible. Plus the strips of STRIKESKIN rubber, a modernised variation of the OG’s pads which bent the ball’s trajectory in goalkeeper-terrifying directions.
Jude Bellingham, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Trent Alexander-Arnold are among the current chosen ones enhancing their skills in the latest model. Though the famed red-and-black Predators are the most iconic, they aren’t necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing. That crown is reserved for adidas’ recently revealed Core Black Predator 24 that released earlier this month in all its stealthy glory.
Over the last three decades, the Predator has tormented opponents in various guises, including the chunky-striped Accelerator of 1998 and the streamlined, tight-fitting Mutator from 2020. There have been 19 types, and the Predator 24 has taken the best bits of the original and fused them with today’s forward-thinking innovation. Which does make you think: imagine how good the likes of Goldenballs and Zizou would be nowadays.
As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But what if something could just be better, without having to be broken? What if something deserves an upgrade despite consistently setting high standards down the years?
Of course, my knees are shot to bits nowadays (I’m a dad now, you see), so actually slipping into a pair of adidas Predator 24s isn’t going to happen any time soon. But, as luck has it, adidas has also released an off-pitch version of the Pred too, which means everyone can get in on the action.
Back in the day, whenever a player from an opposing team rocked up wearing a pair of bona fide adidas Predators on a brisk, waterlogged Sunday morning, you knew they meant business. Typically paired with a copious amount of sock tape, the smallest shin pads you’ve ever seen and, more often than not, an Alice band, the adidas Predator was, and still is, a football boot synonymous with both creativity and tenacity. The Predator, put bluntly, has always been a force to be reckoned with.
Since its inception in 1994, the adidas Predator has delivered more than flair-obsessed Sunday league workhorses, though. It has also been a boot responsible for tailoring some of the most memorable moments in football at large.
Take that Zinédine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final, David Beckham’s inch-perfect corners which launched Manchester United’s 1999 final comeback, or the seemingly endless series of Alessandro Del Piero free-kicks and Steven Gerrard blasters through the 2000s.
The point is, the adidas Predator is more than just a football boot: it’s a vehicle carrying a plethora of memories and moments and one that, even 30 years later, still holds the same prowess as it did back then.
That’s why, in celebration of its three-decade lifespan, adidas has revamped the Predator with various nods to the past, employing a handful of colourways and styles akin to the boot’s late-1990s and early-2000s halcyon days.
Aptly titled the Predator 24, adidas’ nostalgia-laden modern-day take on an undeniable classic is much more advanced than the OG. Sure, you still have the strap-down tongue, the wrap-around three stripes, and those extra-grippy rubber patches (which, despite their intention, did not make my free-kicks any whippier).
