Adidas Predator Return for 2018 World Cup - What to Expect?
With the exciting news that the Predator will make a return for the 2018 World Cup replacing the Adidas Ace range, we can already start to gather and piece together some of the information we know as to what we can expect for the returning Predator.
The first thing that we would like to point out, is that Adidas revealed that for the 2014 Brazil World Cup they had been working on the World Cup colorways and boot silos for over 3 years prior to their release. With this information, we can estimate that Adidas has most likely been working heavily in secret on the 2018 World Cup boots for a while now.
In terms of the new Predator model though the story is a bit different as it was not planned from the start. What is actually occurring is that the Predator coming back is basically a name change of the Ace than a fully planned return of the Predator line. What i mean by this is that it is known that adidas had all intentions to keep the Ace silo going for the 2018 World Cup and beyond, having no intentions of replacing it. However, after seeing that the Ace range was underperforming in sales for adidas, and with the added factor of the ongoing hype and love for the Predator, they decided to kill the Ace in favour of the return of a fan favourite.
What this effectively means, is that the boot itself that will be released under the Predator name but it is basically just a modified version of what adidas would have released for the Ace range. Adidas started the design process for the 2018 silo back in late 2015 when they had no intention of returning the Predator, so most of the designs for the new 2018 model were designed for an Ace, not a Predator. So for the die hard Predator fans expecting Adidas to bring christmas early and release a true Predator model with a leather upper, rubber power fins and a classic tongue, i'm afraid you will be bitterly disappointed. You can expect the boot will follow on with the style of the adidas Ace had but possibly with more power based features on the upper.
Adidas has now less than a year till the start of the 2018 tournament so most of the decisions and designs done for the boot have already been done and were done for the Ace. They can only change so much in this time frame to make it more of a Predator.
There have been a few boot sightings recently of boots that could be prototypes of the 2018 model, the most recent being Ivan Rakitic’s boot spotting in February. However the most interesting is actually a boot that leaked late last year on EIAL’s youtube channel. The boot was designed to be in the Ace range however doesn't look similar to anything that has been released by adidas yet and also is not similar to anything that has been leaked or spotted being worn by players. The boot that we see here fits perfectly into the timeline of the adidas design and prototype phase for making a boot for the world cup. We also have exclusive knowledge that this model's first design and prototype phase dates back to October 2015, which coincides with the 3 year process adidas had for the 2014 world cup boots.
The boot surfaced online after the Ace 17 models were more or less finalized, so it is certain that it was not a prototype for the Ace 17 range. We believe as we mentioned in the article that it is most likely an early prototype for the Ace 18, however as now the Ace 18 will actually be the Predator, this gives us a look at what we can expect be released under the Predator name. The boot has power inspired elements that we can see as being features of the new Predator model. The boot’s sole also features exposed thick Boost with no other material separating the foot to the outside of the boot. This is something that we have not seen before and it seems likely that it would be the next step after adidas introduced boost into the Ace 17+ model. Boost is also even featured in the external heel counter which has also never been seen before on an adidas boot.
It's only a matter of time before we start to see prototypes with the actual Predator branding on it however you can expect that it will be something similar to this model. Unfortunately the 2018 Predator will not go back to its classic roots and will be full of new innovation from Adidas. Its definitely a good thing for a boot to have groundbreaking innovation like the full exposed Boost sole however i'm sure that it will disappoint a lot of people that the Predator wont go back to its original ‘Predator’ roots. A lot of people share the opinion that adidas killed the Predator after the 2010 World cup when they removed the tongue and leather upper so it will surely not please them to see a Predator coming back with barely any original Predator elements however it makes sense for adidas to keep going forward with innovation and leave the Tongue and Leather to remakes and special editions.
What do you think of the upcoming Predator model? Do you think adidas should have the 2018 model go back to its original Predator features or keep it moving forward with a futuristic and new design? Let us know in the comments below.
