Andrea Pirlo is the pinnacle of footballing cool. The personality, the beard, the way he effortlessly patrols the pitch bossing games with his intelligent playing style. And now it's time to raise a glass for the man himself. Like a fine wine the Italian legend has matured with age and it's exactly that where Nike have found the inspiration for his signature limited edition Tiempo Legend 6 boot.
Nike have looked towards Pirlo's passion away from the pitch for his debut signature line – winemaking. Pirlo's history with il vino goes back to his childhood. No, he wasn't sat on a park bench with is hood up playing Avicii on loudspeaker out of his iPhone on a Tuesday night, swigging and spitting from a bottle of Tesco's finest. This ain't half term in England. Pirlo spent his upbringing harvesting grapes at local vineyards, which led to a genuine passion that his family built upon by opening a winery called Pratum Coller.
To celebrate Pirlo’s dual careers as a footballer and winemaker, Nike has crafted a limited edition Tiempo Pirlo, with an upper that features premium Alegria leather in a merlot colourway inspired by the juice of the grape. Similar to Pratum Coller’s logo, four gold stars appear on the boot’s heel counter and plate to honour Italy’s World Cup titles and the Italian flag also appears on the lace aglet.
As a nod to Tiempo’s heritage and the process of producing wine, 'Aged Since ’94' appears in metallic gold on a genuine cork sockliner and also on the polka dot shoebox. The boots are packaged similar to a bottle of wine and include an additional performance sockliner for added class. In an age where LadsLadsLads, b*nter and #baretekkerz poison the game, Pirlo brings an element of sophistication to an often tacky society. The thinking man's footballer. The godfather of football. A cultured curator. We'll take the bottle.
Want a pair? Get them here from September 19.
