Linking up with the Argentina squad ahead of the latest round of international fixtures, Paulo Dybala has given us our first look at the next-generation COPA, which looks to have had a fairly hefty overhaul from adidas.
The sleek, wavy, laceless (if that’s your inclination), adidas COPA as we know it now came into existence at the tail end of 2018, and it was a revolutionary new take on the iconic Three Stripes silo. But two years is high time for a refit in the world of performance footwear (barring the minor tweaks of the COPA 20), and so it is that the next generation COPA appears to be moving swiftly through the test phase ahead of a launch, with main-face of the silhouette, Paulo Dybala, giving us our first-ever look as he took the blacked-out prototype for a spin at the Argentina training camp recently.
First impressions are that, while still instantly recognisable as a COPA, the boot appears to have had a significant reworking on the upper. The main alteration looks to be a clean forefoot, without the seamless, quilted vamp. That would suggest that adidas have possibly veered towards a flush strike zone. The side of the boot still features a similar wavy aesthetic, albeit with the flow heading in a slightly different direction, from heel to forefoot. As you’d expect with Dybala, this is a laceless model, although you can guarantee that there will be a traditional laced version upon release.
Other changes appear to have taken place on the collar, with a new look to the entry point, while what little of the soleplate we can see also suggests that there may have been some work there, with what looks like a larger external heel cup It’s yet another radical overhaul for the silo, and a futuristic look once again, but we’ve come to expect nothing less from the COPA line, with its ability to evolve with the passing of time. Eyes peeled for more looks in the coming weeks.
Watch this space as more pros undoubtedly start trialling the new COPA...
