The 10 Best Football Releases of 2021
Wed, Dec 22.21
With releases done for the year, we take a look back throughout 2021 and countdown Ultra Football's 10 best releases.
10. Adidas EQT Pack
Adidas dropped one of the cleanest boots of the year with the EQT inspired Predator Freak. The design on the boots combines the classic EQT colourway beautifully with the white upper, black Three Stripes and green rubber elements making these unmistakably EQT.
On the heel area is the famous adidas Equipment logo which debuted back in the 90s. The Predator logo sits on the top front and back of the extreme collar while the silver sole plate rounds off the design
9. Nike Barcelona Away
The vibrant purple on Barcelona’s 21/22 away shirt that’s created by the fusion of the classic Barca blue and red on the club’s gives a beautiful, modernised and pastel look for an away kit like never before – sticking true to the dynamic, creative and outspoken youth who are the pulse of the city, while also sending a message in favour of women’s empowerment.
8. Nike Mercurial Superfly Mbappe Flames
The Mbappé Flames takes inspiration from the young stars standing in the game. It's clear he's the hottest property in world football, with everyone after his signature next season. How do you portray that onto his latest signature edition? Simple. Flames. A design feature Kylian himself was keen to see implemented.
The flames in the design also relate to speed. He's one of the fastest players on the planet. His energy is electric and his feet are firing with goals tallying up with every game. He really is immense even at the young age of 22 - it feels like he's been around for ages.
7. adidas UCL Pack
Inspired by the official colours of the UEFA Champions League, adidas released the UCL Pack this year, which features two archive models in the Predator Pulse and the F50 Ghosted Prime, brought back to shine once again on the biggest club stage of them all.
6. adidas Arsenal 3rd
The design from the 95/96 season is revamped here, with the lightning bolt being replicated across the whole shirt in the same colour scheme as the original. The new design, which takes inspiration from 90s style and culture, also features a split colour adidas badge of sport – a call back to the EQT logos of the era. The shirt is a combination of a darker “Mystery Blue”, “Scarlett” and “Signal Cyah”
5. Nike Mercurial Dragonfly
The Mercurial is one of the most popular silos of all time and continues to change the game. The new Mercurial Dragonfly design focusses on the natural geometry of a Dragonfly’s wing as a guide to driving maximum efficiency with minimal weight. This has led to a super lightweight model which relays the pure essentials of speed.
4. Nike Tiempo Rawdacious
Nike introduced us to the new Tiempo Legend 9 this year, finally giving us the next gen of their iconic Silo. The rawdacious colourway provided the perfect canvas for a reworked Swoosh, inspired by the original and iconic Nike brand logo, created by Caroline Davidson way back in 1971.
3. adidas EA Sports Legends Pack
So let’s not kid ourselves here – the Predator is the attention grabber of the trio, with that luxurious golden tongue demanding that you fold it right down. Absolute banger. It’s a one-for-one remake of the 2004 original’s upper, sat on top of the current Predator Freak soleplate to keep the weight down. Modern day performance… if you dare wear them on the pitch!
So you came for the Predator, but you’re staying for the F50 adizero, and adiPure. Every part the class addition to the pack, adidas take it back to 2007 for the first ever remake of the adiPure series, faithfully recreating that luxurious leather upper. Those sleek stitch lines through the vamp, the clean white Three Stripes, all topped off with gold trim.
2. Kappa Venezia Home
The textured black base is embellished with impressive gold elements, inspired by the city’s gilded churches, monuments, and palazzi and the overall historical significance of gold in Venetian art and commerce going back to the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance periods. Most notably, the shirt features the gold stars of the iconic Basilica di San Marco arranged as a “V”.
1. adidas Messi X Speedflow El Retorno
Our favourite boot of the year has to be the adidas Messi X speedflow 'El Retorno'. There's been a host of unbelievable adidas x Lionel Messi football boots over his journey. With Messi having moved to Nemeziz in recent years, Speedflow marks a back to the future moment with arguably the games greatest ever player returning to adidas's speed silo. It's a huge moment.
It's also no surprise but very cool to see adidas paying homage to F50 with this release. Given F50 had been so successful in the past, the transition back to the iconic silo is sure to excite fans of the Three Stripes. Even if it's not called F50.
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