There are way too many new boots coming out

On January 2, 2023, adidas released a reissue of the Predator Precision, a boot that made history and, objectively, is impossible to forget: the lace-covering tongue, the iconic Three Stripes applied to the side of the upper. And then: the release just before Euro 2000, David Beckham's skills. In short, there's little left to say about the cultural significance of this object. Two and a half years have passed since that reissue, and we can say that adidas’ creativity stopped there. In fact, that Predator Precision paved the way for an endless and tiresome sequence of countless reissues of boots released 10, 15, 20, 25 or even 30 years ago. After all, today every occasion seems like a good excuse to celebrate some unnecessary anniversary that no one really cares about — a clever diversion to cover up a glaring lack of ideas.

The adidas case

Focusing specifically on adidas, the cycle of commemorative reissues comes full circle (so to speak) — or, more precisely, finds yet another outlet — on May 6, 2025: the German brand releases a reissue of the iconic F50 adizero in two alternate versions, yellow and black, used during the 2010 South Africa World Cup. The release comes with the label Archive Pack — because now everything must belong to an archive, even a product launched for a sporting event that wasn’t even that long ago — it feels like just yesterday Shakira was singing Waka Waka. Ironically, it would’ve been a perfect edition to bundle with the Jabulani. Let’s remember that this yellow and black F50 adizero was worn by Diego Forlán during his memorable goals in that World Cup: the free kick against Ghana, the long-range strikes against South Africa and the Netherlands that fueled the first conspiracy theories against the Jabulani, accused of unpredictable trajectories for goalkeepers.

adidas hasn’t even hinted at any intention of launching a truly disruptive product on the market. No innovation, no fresh concepts, no desire for revolution: only an attempt to cover up the lack of creativity by clinging to nostalgia, which, from a marketing perspective, proves once again to be a safe yet effective strategy.

The Nike case

For Nike, the situation is only slightly different. The new — and countless — colorways no longer have the magnetic pull they had in the mid-2010s, not even close. And so, again, to gather a bit of attention, reissues seem like the fastest route. First, the Mercurial Chrome worn by Ronaldo O Fenômeno in 2002, then — more recently — the Vapor Dark Cinder worn by Cristiano Ronaldo on his debut with Sporting Lisbon. Then came adaptations of the Nike TN and Air Max 95 Neon, promoted by ambassadors such as Vinícius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé: releases whose appeal seemed to vanish even before making it to the pitch, as if the Swoosh had no intention of betting on what should be their headline products, boosted by the supposed immense pull of their generational talents.

So many releases announced at random, becoming imperceptible and lost among the various Mercurial Packs that differ only in a nuance of blue, a pink-coloured Swoosh, all lacking real character. At this point, keeping the Total 90 III reissue separate from the chaos of the performance boot market proves essential — but also revealing of Nike’s awareness that its performance segment ideas aren’t particularly clear. And let’s not fool ourselves, not even the BootsOnlySummer will be enough to justify Nike’s constant stream of releases.

The rise of emerging brands

Football boots have lost their associative identity. If, in the past — think of the golden era of Nike’s Mercurial line — a colorway was enough to immediately recall a player like Alexandre Pato or Zlatan Ibrahimović, today that connection is nearly impossible to replicate. Why should we care about seeing Florian Wirtz wearing the reissue of a boot worn by Xabi Alonso less than fifteen years ago? Herein lies the paradox: if industry leaders like Nike and adidas — with access to the most elite talents, those who make people turn on the TV and watch every touch — are stuck endlessly evoking the past through constant reissues that don’t even allow time to breathe, let alone evaluate a drop, emerging brands are taking a very different path. And though it should be countercultural by nature, this direction ends up adding yet another cog to the complex machine.

Starting with Sokito, which relies on athletes like Ola Aina and William Troost-Ekong, to Decathlon and Skechers, who have entered the football market by signing top players like Antoine Griezmann and Harry Kane, and even Under Armour, which recently made headlines by signing Fermín López and Achraf Hakimi — these brands, even without nostalgic heritage to exploit, seem to have a clearer idea of how to operate in the present. Adopting a low-profile approach, focusing on neutral colorways that appear to reject the aesthetic excess and glitz of Nike and adidas — just think of irrelevant boots like the F50 designed for Lionel Messi in Inter Miami colors. Yet, without a strong roster of elite athletes and while initially avoiding releasing multiple model variants and colorways, even niche-born brands will inevitably feed the same endless release cycle. One example? Under Armour, a brand only recently entering football, has already launched around ten colorways in the past year.