Confirming one of the most hyped rumours of AW18, adidas have officially revealed a new chapter in the book of their most iconic football boot silhouette of all time. Introducing the laceless Copa 19+. These ain't your dads boots anymore, they ain't your coaches either. These are next gen.
Rumour had been rife over the last few months that the mystery black laceless leather boot that had been seen on the feet of many pros across Europe including Paulo Dybala, would actually turn out to be the next iteration of the Copa, so the hype around this drop had been majorly fuelled. Now, all is out the bag, and what we're looking at here plays with all sorts of senses.
The important thing is that the Copa DNA still exists here; the focus of the Copa 19+ is still on ball touch, and to that end the premium K-leather upper – an essential component of previous boots carrying the Copa name – is still present. But it’s at this point also that the Copa 19+ begins it’s reinvention, redefining touch for a new generation.
First up we've got 'Fusionskin' – touted by adidas as ‘a revolution in the process of leather treatment, turning leather into a technology’. You wouldn’t think it when you look at the boot, with its unique, wavy vamp, but it’s actually seamless and also less permeable, meaning a cleaner contact zone and less water uptake – the perfect answer to the benefits of its synthetic and knitted rivals.
It also doesn’t hurt that the look of the boot is such a radical department from previous Copas, making the distinction a marked one. This is still a Copa, but it’s a Copa for a new generation, make no mistake.
The adidas Copa 19+ doesn’t stop at touch, calling out fit and movement as the other key benefits. In what has to be one of the biggest departures from the Copa we all once knew, you won’t find a tongue on this boot – not in the traditional sense at least. Instead a monotongue construction offers an adaptive and sock-like fit. That “sock-like fit” expression is a familiar one these days, but it’s not one that you’d usually associate with a leather boot, and that’s what differentiates the Copa 19 from the Predator, X and Nemeziz. The designers have been at pains to point out just how different this boot feels on the foot compared to those other three.
The Copa 19+ will first be seen in a champagne colourway that, let’s face it, instantly conjures images of the Predator. Interestingly, adidas have only included the Three Stripes on the insteps of the boots, adding to the clean aesthetic of the lateral view and the general sense of mystique surrounding the boot. It’s certainly unlike anything else that’s been seen before.
Yeah, they'll be met with some initial resistance; adidas wouldn't be doing their jobs right if they slipped by unnoticed, but we're getting this on record right now. Serious growers, these. That and they're exceptionally soft. Majestic.
Pick up the adidas Copa 19+ football boots from prodirectsoccer.com
