New Balance and adidas have unveiled the exclusive boots that two of their star players will wear during the Africa Cup of Nations.
07 January 2022
- Written by David del Río
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in two days’ time, and Liverpool strikers Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah are two of the tournament’s main attractions. This is a situation that both adidas and New Balance are well aware of, so they have seized the opportunity to launch two exclusive editions – one from each brand for their respective players – thereby scoring the first goal of the tournament against their competitors.
Although they are different brands, and the boots have absolutely nothing in common, there are certain details they do share. In both cases, we are looking at a change of colour, with no technological alterations. Furthermore, both adidas and New Balance have opted for eye-catching colours – the sort that leave no one indifferent – for these exclusive football boots.
We’ll start by taking a look at Mohamed Salah’s exclusive adidas X Speedflow.1 football boots. The Egyptian player is the star of this tournament. With 16 goals in 20 Premier League appearances, he is one of the world’s most in-form players, if not the most. There is no doubt that Egypt’s chances of winning the Africa Cup of Nations hinge on the winger’s talent, so all eyes will be on him throughout the competition. For this reason, adidas has decided that Salah should stand out from the brand’s other players during the tournament, so they have given him the chance to wear his own exclusive adidas X Speedflow.1 football boots.
There’s no doubt that these adidas football boots will turn heads. With their bold design and a pattern that strongly resembles the F50 adizero boots worn by Leo Messi during the 2014 World Cup, we’d go so far as to say that it’s exactly the same design.
But when it comes to colour, that’s where any resemblance between those F50s and these X Speedflow football boots ends. Red and gold share the limelight equally. The former is found across the entire PrimeKnit section, which forms the upper, and also takes over the central section, creating a red line that runs across the entire middle of these adidas football boots. The rest is taken care of by the gold colour. The inner and outer parts of the shell, along with the external heel counter, are clad in the colour that represents victory, all set against a white background that brings clarity and brightness to the two main colours.
But adidas hasn’t been the only brand keen to dress one of its star players in style. New Balance has followed suit and decided to design a pair of exclusive New Balance Furon football boots for Sadio Mané. The Senegalese striker is another of the tournament’s stars, and his national team is one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
New Balance has imagined that moment when a continental champion Sadio Mané lifts the trophy in front of thousands of camera flashes from media outlets around the world, and in that scene, the Liverpool winger simply cannot wear just any old pair of football boots. That is why the Americans have set to work with the aim of offering their footballer something different, exclusive and unique, and from this come these new New Balance Furon football boots, exclusive to Sadio Mané. “The Lion’s Roar” is the name chosen by the brand for these boots, referring to the nickname given to the Senegalese in the world of football. Furthermore, this animal features in the design of the Furon boots exclusive to Sadio Mané, as the heel clearly displays an image of the animal beneath the initials SM and the number 10.
For the rest of the design, New Balance has chosen orange as the main colour, using it to cover the entire upper. Blue and red serve as complementary colours, both appearing on the heel area to mimic the marks left by a lion’s claws. These colours also feature on the forefoot, forming the New Balance logo.
Finally, we turn our attention to the outsole to take a closer look at what is perhaps the most personalised feature of these New Balance Furon football boots. Here, we find three illustrations of Sadio Mané celebrating goals. Whilst it’s true that there are no references to the star of this exclusive edition anywhere on the upper, the brand makes up for this with these three illustrations on the outsole.
These are the two most significant exclusive releases we’ll see at the Africa Cup of Nations. New Balance with Sadio Mané and adidas with Mo Salah: two brands partnering with two footballers who will be fighting for the same goal – to lift the trophy. Both boots are now available in-store and on the Fútbol Emotion website.
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