Nike Tiempo Legend 9

The Nike Tiempo Legend is a classic in the history of football, both because of how long they’ve been around and because their design and materials still transport us back to the football of yesteryear that we miss so much. But nothing could be further from the truth, because however much we associate these football boots with the classic style, the new Nike Tiempo Legend 9 is packed with new features.

Let’s start with the upper. Naturally, and as you’d expect, these new Nike Tiempo Legend 9s are made from genuine leather. High-quality kangaroo leather covers the entire upper of these football boots, providing the comfort, structure and ball feel that only leather boots can offer. But that’s not the only feature of the upper on these new Tiempo 9s, as one of the main innovations is the foam padding that Nike has incorporated into the areas we use to strike the ball. These provide extra cushioning in the areas of the foot where we make the strongest strikes, so whilst we’ll have slightly less feel for the ball, the impact will feel much more comfortable and less harsh. 

Moving on to the heel, we find one of the parts of these football boots that isn’t made from natural leather, as Nike has used a synthetic material for this area with a fabric-like finish that will provide structure and support whilst we’re wearing the new Nike Tiempo Legend 9. This is the area that raises the most doubts for us, as we feel the support might be excessive as well as too rigid, but this is something we won’t know for certain until we take the Tiempo Legend 9 onto the football pitch.

We’re still talking about synthetic materials in these new Nike Tiempo Legend 9s, and we’re moving on to the upper to discuss the FlyKnit that shapes it. We know this is the area where the boot exerts the most pressure on the foot, and all brands use stretchy materials here that adapt to the shape of the instep, thereby providing a secure fit and comfort. Nike brings us its unmistakable FlyKnit, a material it has been working with for several years and which has yielded such good results for the American brand. Another new feature compared to the previous generation is that this stretchy fabric does not wrap around the entire foot, as was the case with the Nike Tiempo Legend 8; this means there is one less layer of material inside the boot, resulting in greater lightness and a better feel for the ball.

Finally, we’ll look at the outsole, although the changes Nike has made to this part of the Tiempo Legend 9 are minimal. We have the same stud configuration as in previous generations: a combination of laminated and conical studs that allow for quick, effortless pivoting. We know that this outsole is popular with both professional footballers and the average Tiempo Legend user, which is why Nike has retained the same plate from the previous generation when designing these new football boots. The only change is that the two rear studs are now fully laminated, a modification we consider more aesthetic than functional. 

Technical features: Tiempo Legend 9