Could adidas have revolutionised the future of boot design, by creating the World's first football boot with a brain! The adidas F50 adizero miCoach football boots are quite a phenomenal concept, here's the SoccerBible's full and exclusive look at the Black/Electricity/Warning colourway...
The sleek ultralight F50 adizero football boots are fitted with a Speed Cell chip which monitors and records your key performance data. It's a revolutionary concept, and one that has only previously been available to elite teams. Now, adidas have engineered a boot that will capture your performance data, such as; speed, average speed, maximum speed, number of sprints and distance covered.
How have adidas managed to do this? Well you might notice a slight addition to the outsole of the new adizero football boots, a cavity which houses the miCoach Speed Cell. Using 360 degree movement, the on-board memory stores all of your measurements during your game or training for up to seven hours. The stats can then be uploaded to the miCoach website, where they can be shared with friends on Facebook or compared to those of Leo Messi!
Three generations in and the adidas F50 adizero is continuing to break the status quo of modern boot design, and it's not the first time we've seen adidas revolutionise boot design for all time, just think what the Predator has done for the game. But the focus has shifted – as not only will the adizero miCoach perform on the pitch, but it will open a new dimension of individual performance analysis once the final whistle blows. Data can be monitored and evaluated to increase performance – a service usually only available to elite athletes!
The adidas F50 adizero miCoach acts as your own personal statistician, delivering precise information direct to your computer. The chip that sits inside the out-sole, will allow you to track and upload performance data including speed, max speed, number of sprints, distance, and distance at high intensity levels and time.
With interactive technology and data all around us, some might have speculated this could have been the natural progression for football boots, but surely this is dream territory and to pull it off it quite an achievement by adidas. The miCoach technology brings intelligence to the field of play, and allows you to understand your performance so you can train for your needs. Comparing your data to the World's top athletes and breaking your own distance and speed records, who knows you might just out-perform Messi!
The true win for adidas is that they've been able to install this technology, but not to the detriment of the adizero football boots, which have been an outstanding performer since their introduction in 2010. The reason they've been able to do this is because the miCoach Speed Cell is positioned in an area that needs stability, therefore the boot continues to be lightweight, stable and comfortable.
The construction of the F50 adizero miCoach soccer shoes is built around three key features – 'Sprintskin', 'Sprintframe' and the all new 'Sprintweb'. The newly introduced 'Sprintweb' – highlighted on these Black versions in the Warning colour, is an advancement on the TPU Bottom Frame from the previous adizero Prime. The 'Sprintweb' offers increased lateral stability and support, especially across the mid-foot, to transfer the forces from the out-sole to the upper.
The adiLite Twin material is retained for the 'Sprintskin' upper, as it's been a hugely successful single-layer synthetic which reduces weight and gives improved ball feel. For this new generation of the adizero, the upper has been given a more textured finish to improve ball control and touch.
The 'Sprintframe' outsole is still a revolutionary one-piece chassis; thin, flexible and lightweight, the 'Sprintframe' is the main source of the adizero's speed. Retaining the heel support, the Speed Cell cavity adds to the rigidity you need in the mid-foot area, whilst there is still plenty of flex where needed. The wider stud configuration increases traction and stability for movement, and the studs have been shaped to perform better under-foot during movement and turning.
But have adidas managed to keep the adizero true to what it is – a super lightweight boot. The new F50 adizero miCoach will weigh 173g with the Speed Cell chip fitted in the out-sole, but remove the chip and you're back to the standard adizero weight of a super slender 165g! Which means if you've done your maths, the Speed Cell weighs in at an impressive 8g, not bad for a component that records so much performance data.
You'll notice adidas have done away with the adizero Prime range, which makes this F50 now the top-end boot, which has had an impact on the price. Whereas the Prime retailed for around £210, you can now get the adizero miCoach bundle for around £200 GBP / €245 EURO / $270 USD, or you can purchase the boots without the miCoach package for around £150 GBP / €220 EURO / $200 USD. Available to pre-order from 30th September, the new adidas F50 adizero miCoach football boots will hit the shelves just in time for Christmas on 1st December.
They could be the most revolutionary football boot of all time, and give regular footballers playing at all levels the access to statistics and data that has previously only been accessible by elite players. Now you've seen the new adidas F50 adizero miCoach football boots let us know what you think. Share your thoughts with the SoccerBible community online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
