Football has a habit of agreeing on its favourites. Ask someone to name the great adidas boots and the answers tend to arrive fully formed, whether that's the Copa Mundial, with its hushed, leather tones, or the Predator, classic rubber-finned upper.
Fair enough. They deserve their place. But speaking truthfully, neither of them have ever really been the boot for me. That honour, for those asking, belongs to the F50. Which feels worth saying out loud now that the F50 is fully back in circulation. It’s not just back, either, it’s properly present with new versions and new colours, all adorning the familiar (albeit-slightly-altered-from-day-one) shape.
And I’m happy about that. Not because football needs more nostalgia (although I’m sure all have memories of Djibril Cissé in the F50+ Spider, or Arjen Robben in those black and yellow numbers), but because this was a boot that has always been slightly overlooked.
Thing is, when adidas first released it back in 2004, just before that year’s European Championships, it wasn’t trading on its heritage, it was simply introducing something leaner, lighter and louder. You noticed it immediately.
The introduction of the +F50.6 two years later marked the first time players could properly customise their boots without ordering a new pair. From there came the F50 Tunit, the F50 adizero era and, in 2024, the F50 Fast Reborn – the silhouette’s full-circle return.
My pair, a birthday gift in 2004, were white with blue accents. I remember pulling them on and feeling like I’d skipped a step in getting dressed. I even scored wearing them, which was enough to turn any piece of kit into folklore in my house. From then on, the F50 carried a little bit of belief with it. Not magic, exactly. Just confidence.
There was no cushioning to hide behind with the F50s, or bulk to absorb mistakes. It was a boot that made you feel – even if you weren’t – cleaner, quicker, more decisive. If you were sharp, it amplified that and if you weren’t, it didn’t soften the truth.
Visually, it was a statement too. The colours, the shape, the attitude. It looked like football catching up with the pace it was being played at, seemingly clearing the way for faster transitions, wider broadcasts, more eyes.
Seeing it worn by players like Lionel Messi in the later years only underlined the point for me. The F50 in its modern form – which is now worn by the likes of Lamine Yamal, Florian Wirtz, and Trinity Rodman – still isn’t about power or control in the traditional sense, but more about immediacy and reducing everything to movement and touch.
The Copa and the Predator will always get the reverence. They’re the safe choices. But the F50 has always felt like the more interesting risk, and that’s why it endured.
Point is, it never tried to win everyone over, it’s more a boot that yearns to feel right to the people who wore it. And for me, it did. Especially the day I scored that goal.
You can shop the latest adidas F50s at Pro Direct now
