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Off The Post gets to grips with the new Adidas Predator

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Rob Parker
 @ May 17th, 2011

New boots?

This evening I’ve joined a select band of elite football talent in test-driving the new Adidas Predator boots. Nani, Xavi, Robin Van Persie, Kaka and Steven Gerrard have all either taken to the pitch wearing the new footwear or helped in its testing.

Given that my footballing talent probably doesn’t quite befit the list of other players who have worn the boot so far, I had to take a bit of an Adidas history lesson to earn my three stripes.

It’s not hard to get nostalgic looking back at the evolution of the Predator. Even if you didn’t own the boot yourself, you will find associations with particular players or tournaments somewhere in the back of your mind. You can see the full array of Predators to date above.

The latest instalment sees a slimmed down Predator. At 230g, the new boot is 25 per cent lighter than its most recent predecessor. There’s a slight move away from the traditional Predator buzzwords of ‘power’ and ‘swerve’, and a new emphasis on control, of both the ball and the game.

As you can see, they’re also rather tasty.

Unfortunately, the boot can’t overcome certain drawbacks in the wearer. Like a desperate lack of fitness, for instance. OTP took the opportunity to prove this point in a special football bloggers match held this evening in the auspicious surroundings of Tooting and Mitcham FC.

Granted, I had a few nice touches and even a couple of decent efforts on goal as we lined up alongside bloggers from Caught Offside, Soccerlens, Studs Up, The Football Ramble, EPL Talk, Twofootedtackle and SB Nation. I’m just not convinced our efforts are likely to send Adidas scrambling back to the drawing board!

The new boots don’t hit the shops until June 2011, so we’re grateful to Adidas for the chance to join football’s elite and put the Predator through its paces early.

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