Messi’s feet get a second skin - adidas SprintSkin

Sept. 13, 2009 - PRLog -- adidas, Lionel Messi and Emmanuel Adebayor teamed up to present the new F50i football boot. Pioneering technologies and outstanding design made for the perfect football boot for players who can decide a game with their brilliance and inspire their teammates.

“I’ve never felt so good in new football boots. The extremely thin shell, with its fantastic colour and youthful style, allows me to play to my full potential on the pitch. Perfect contact with the ball is essential for me,” says an enthusiastic Lionel Messi.

adidas has made further improvements and added new technologies to the well-known F50 TUNiT™. The F50i is the first football boot with a single-layer upper, the new SprintSkin. The SprintSkin envelops the player’s foot like a second skin. The synthetic material is both supple and water-repellent and always provides a perfect fit. The single-layer SprintSkin further reduces the weight of the boot without compromising on the stability that is so crucial for the footballer.

Top players from all over the world will be sporting the F50i in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010™.

The new F50i football boot will be available at adidas Sport Performance stores across the Middle East from September in cyan, black and white.

Others players endorsing the F50i in addition to Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) and Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City) include: David Villa (Valencia CF), Samir Nasri (Arsenal FC), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole (Chelsea FC), Arjen Robben and Lukas Podolski (FC Bayern Munich), Johan Vonlanthen (Red Bull Salzburg), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur) and Steven Pienaar (Everton FC).


The F50i and TUNiT™ technology

The new F50i also features the proven TUNiT™ technology, so it remains as easy as ever for footballers to create a football boot tailored to their individual needs from various individual components.
This unique boot is the fifth generation of the F50 and boasts the outstanding modularity of TUNiT™ technology, the innovative SprintSkin, a thermobonded lacecover and TRAXION® technology.

Players can choose from several uppers, two different chassis, two different insoles and three types of stud.


The upper

The F50i allows each player to customise his football boot according to personal preferences and weather conditions. Players can choose from three different materials. The first is the supple, easy-care and water-repellent SprintSkin synthetic upper in cyan and black. The second is the conventional leather upper in black or white and the third the ultralight and breathable CLIMACOOL® upper in cyan.

The synthetic upper also features a thermobonded lacecover. The lacecover increases the contact area between boot and ball and reduces the effect of the laces on ball control. The lacecover also prevents water from getting into the boot.


The chassis

Another customisable feature is the interior of the boot. Players can choose from one of two different chassis to which the studs are subsequently attached. The comfort chassis offers perfect stability and stud pressure distribution, while the ultra-light lightweight chassis additionally offers maximum flexibility in the forefoot area and significantly reduced weight.


The studs

The chassis selected is inserted into the upper and the studs can be screwed in from the outside. Three types of stud featuring TRAXION® technology ensure perfect hold and grip, whatever the conditions on the pitch.


The insole

Finally, the player can also determine the degree of comfort and breathability of the boot by his choice of insole. Both the premoulded, softly cushioned comfort insole and the slightly thinner, perforated and therefore extremely light, breathable insole offer a snug fit.


The heel element

In addition to its modularity, the F50i, like its predecessor, features a semi-transparent heel element, which combines with the boot’s steel-blue appearance to produce an exceptional design. The transparent TPU provides a further reduction in the weight of the boot and an improvement in stability and flexibility thanks to its different degrees of hardness. The material in the heel section, where a high level of stability is required, is particularly strong and sturdy. The closer it gets to the forefoot, the softer and more flexible the material becomes. The result is a highly modern, lightweight and flexible football boot for every player.