Adidas brought some of the world’s best footballers together to launch the revolutionary new adidas adiPower Predator football boots, at a fantastic launch event held in London the SoccerBible was in attendance to report back to our fans...
Globally renowned players gathered together at The Old Truman Brewery in the heart of East London to take part in a special event watched by a crowd of fans and global media. Decorated with Predator grafitti art and a host of new and old Predator incarnations, the setting was fitting of the new Predator's - a football boot classic with an ultra-modern twist.
As the media gathered, attention was drawn to the stage with it's seven vacant stools in front of a wall decorated in adiPower Predator football boots. There were plenty of rumours and excitement over who might be attending, before adidas finally unveiled the line-up. The players were introduced one at a time to a rapturous applause, led out by Robin Van Persie followed by Riccardo
Montolivo, Nani, Jack Rodwell, Fernando Llorente, Jonjo Shelvey and star attraction Kaka!
Every player gave us a run down of what they thought of the new Predators, once again led by Van Persie who said of the new boot: “The new adiPower Predator is perfect for controlling the ball. If you have a good first touch and good ball control then you are able to own the game.”
Van Persie's fellow Premier League Star Nani added: “I wore the new adiPower Predators for the first time at the weekend when we won the league, so I’m hoping they act as a good luck charm in the UEFA Champions League final as well.”
We were beginning to see good banter develop between the players, who for some were meeting each other for the first time, especially with Nani constantly making Kaka laugh! A great reminder that the players are human like the rest of us, they just happen to be super talented at football!
To celebrate the launch adidas created a series of unique skill based challenges for the players to attempt. A variety of tasks were set up across a purpose built skills arena which saw the players test their accuracy and control.
An enthusiastic host (Reggie Yates of Radio 1), who reminded us of the first Preds back in 94 which everyone was desperate to own so they could curve the ball, was joined on stage by Predator Kev as they introduced the players. There were cheers from the crowd, but as you would imagine there had to be a pantomime villain, and thanks to an Arsenal biaised presenter who had just bigged up RVP, it was Nani who got a few comedy boos!
The players were split into two teams with Nani, Shelvey and Kaka versus Llorente,
Rodwell and Robin Van Persie. There were various targets such as oil drums, basketball hoops, windows, tyres and gongs, but it was the two strikers Llorente and Van Persie who covered themselves in glory striking the most objects and showing off their technique and accuracy.
The second part of the event saw the players take on competition winners from the audience in a bespoke game of “football paintball”. It was as crazy as it sounds and led Real Madrid and Brazil star Kaka to comment:
“It was fantastic to get involved and be able to interact with the fans. The football paintball was like nothing I’ve ever done before it gave us players a great chance to show off just how accurate the adiPower Predator is!”
As you would imagine, it wasn't long before there was carnage as balls dipped in paint were flying everywhere, which became hilarious when the players turned on each other! But ultimately, it was the players who had the last laugh as the usually quite reserved Kaka hit a ball into the crowd to cover everyone in paint!
The event was a great spectacle and brought together some of the best footballers on the planet, all of whom were happy to showcase their talents in their new adidas adiPower Predator football boots.
Stay tuned to the SoccerBible as we bring you more from the adiPower Predator launch event, including exclusive player interviews. And why not let us know what you think of the launch event and the new adiPower Predator football boots with the SoccerBible community online, on Twitter and on Facebook.