Adidas’s long-standing rival, an American brand we’re all familiar with, took the market by storm in 2014 with a revolutionary pair of high-top boots for the World Cup. We all thought that Adidas would be ‘fuming’, racking their brains for a way to reclaim their position as the benchmark. And, of course, that’s exactly what happened. The German brand thought outside the box and didn’t follow the trend. It broke completely away from the norm and created the hugely famous adizero F50 99g, the lightest boot of all time.
New 2020 adidas X Ghosted
We’re starting with this introduction because it takes us right back to that glorious era, a no-holds-barred battle in which adidas staked everything on speed. The whole feel of the design is reminiscent of the lightweight F50 Adizero designs, particularly the 99g boot, right down to the inverted adidas logo on the tongue, although it is said to be inspired by the wings of the peregrine falcon, the fastest creature on earth. The X silo was born from the F50 line, so this launch feels like the silo has come full circle.
Ben Herath, Vice President of Design at adidas Football, said: “When the sporting world slowed down last summer, the need for—and the pursuit of—speed did not. We saw athletes at all levels continue to push their limits. This only reaffirmed what we have always known: speed is as important as ever in football.”
“And why did we decide to focus on speed? Because that’s what our audience told us they wanted through focus groups in cities around the world. To give them what they wanted, we worked with our designers and drew inspiration from the world’s fastest athletes, introducing new innovations to create the X GHOSTED, one of the fastest boots we’ve ever made.”
Technical features: adidas X Ghosted
The most significant technological advancements in terms of speed come from the introduction of the CARBITEX SPEEDFRAME, which efficiently transfers power via the revolutionary, dynamic carbon fibre plate within the SpeedFrame’s lightweight construction. The X Ghosted is the first football boot on the market to feature an integrated dynamic carbon plate.
Regardless of the colourway on offer, we have a new highlight in the form of the MIRAGESKIN TRANSLUCIDO case. This unique, high-performance layer is layered over a wire frame to create a seamless upper, which also provides stability and lightweight support. Its unique, ghostly aesthetic—as the name suggests—is semi-transparent, visually capturing the sensation it gives athletes.
Finally, one of those technologies that many of us have thought about during the hot weather; VACUUM FIT EXPERIENCE will be the star feature of the new adidas X Ghosted, as it allows players to feel air flowing in and out of the boot quickly whilst wearing it, creating a super-comfortable fit that supports explosive movements thanks to its close fit to the contours of the foot.
Clearly, it’s not a boot designed for everyone. Nor is it a boot that suits every foot or playing style… we’ll see over time. Adidas doesn’t want to mislead anyone and is very clear about the message it wants to convey with this product: to create a football boot that allows you to perform every move at top speed without any hindrance from excess weight on your feet or traction issues. What movements does it support? Naturally, sprinting at top speed, but this type of footballer doesn’t just run forwards in a straight line. They also change pace, accelerate and brake, and change direction. A speed boot for the new FOOTBALL
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