Adidas = Football

Very prominent on most of the footballing stars of teams playing at the FIFA World Cup are one of the most recognizable trademarks of the world, the famous three stripes of Adidas on their equipment and gear. Being the largest brand in planet football, Adidas, since 1949 has supplied the German national team with shoes and equipment and in 2005, partnered with FIFA and became its official supplier of equipment, clothing, footwear and other goods for the period 2007 to 2014.

Before Adidas came into existence, Adolf Dassler, who was born in Herzogenaurach, Germany on November 3, 1900, together with his brother Rudolf, fuelled with their drive and passion to provide athletes with specially designed shoes founded the Dassler Brothers Sport Shoe factory in 1924. With Rudolf concentrating on sales and administration, Adolf was responsible with production and development and by 1925, obtained patents for a running shoe and for a football boot with nailed leather studs.

Their footwear made debuts at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, a German athlete was the first to win a medal wearing Dassler's shoes, claiming the bronze in the 100-meter sprint. Then at the 1936 Berlin Games, no fewer than 40 gold medals were won by athletes shod on their shoes, including four golds by the legendary Jesse Owens of the US.

The outbreak of World War II almost doomed the business as the brothers were drafted into the German military along with most of their workers. After the war, the brothers separated with Rudolf starting his own sporting goods company and would also gain world prominence under the name Puma.

After the split, Adolf renamed the company by combining his nickname "Adi" and the first three letters of his surname, "Das", thus Adidas was born and in 1948, the famous three stripes became its trademark. The big coming-out party came when he supplied the German, Austrian and Swiss national teams for the 1954 FIFA World Cup and the boots worn by them were almost half the weight compared to those worn by their opponents, a major advantage which contributed immensely in the German's victorious campaign.

Many players then preferred the traditional moulded-studded soles that offers protection against the rock-hard pitches of yesteryears that when it rained during the finals, the German team got an advantage as they used slim nylon screw-in studs that was much lighter in the rain soaked pitch, which became even more apparent as the game wore on.

The quality of the boots were the talk of the players after the 1954 Finals and the Adidas market continued to expand that at the 1970 FIFA World Cup, 85% of all the players wore Adidas boots, making the tournament a monumental success for the company.

Still produced almost unaltered, used and enjoying great popularity today are two models that made their debut at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina - the "Copa Mondial" with molded studs, and the "World Cup" with detachable studs. I particularly remember that time in Don Bosco when a Salesian brother, who also plays good, had one of those and he was very sikat on the field with his Adidas. These models survived subsequent fashion trends and technological design advancements and has been the choice of many in the pro leagues. This year's edition of the FIFA World Cup will be the 28th birthday of these models and there are some global stars running on the pitches with the tried and tested design.

Scheinfeld, a small town near the Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, continues to produce the two models and also hand produces the shoes of the supernovas of the sport. Beckham, Zidane, Ballack, Kahn, Kaka, Cisse, Riquelme, Lampard and a host of others get their customized models direct from the factory. These guys receive new pairs every game, and in Beckham's case, it bears the name of his sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. For international matches, the English flag and fixture are added to his shoes. Records at the plant have the exact mould of the players' feet for the shoe experts to come up with precision-made models anytime their stars needed them.

Adolf Dassler died on September 6, 1978 of a heart attack at the age of 78. Employing more than 17,000 people worldwide, and under the chairmanship of Herbert Heiner, his legacy continues to live, expanding to manufacturing balls, clothing and accessories making Adidas the largest brand as far as football is concerned.

E-mail: [email protected]