The Predator; From 1994 to 2012

The Adidas Predator has come a very long way since its introduction in 1994. With every new release, the Predator has advanced and the element has become less prominent yet more sophisticated.
The original Predator started out with a large bulky area of vulcanized rubber covering most of the upper, it had large wedges of the rubber on the main body of the element which stretched from the bottom of the laces almost to the tip of the toe! It also runs down the sides of the boot and around the heel almost completely encasing the upper in rubber. The tongue was like that of the Copa Mundial only with a pad of rubber on the tongue, with what looks like a pair of glaring eyes. I wouldn’t imagine that the rubber part had very good touch, however, the material used in the upper is kangaroo leather that has a crocodile skin look to it. There was no Powerspine or additional power element, the rubber itself was meant to increase control, power and swerve.
After the initial model, every predator preceding cut down on the size and bulk of the Predator element and making it better fit the foot. They also added power elements, whether it be a tungsten powder weight in the forefoot (Powerswerve) or the current Powerspine. But the purpose of the Predator has always remained the same, to increase power, control, and swerve on the ball. Lately the purpose has been leaning more toward increasing control over the ball.


The new Predator Lethal Zones is still geared toward the same purpose but in a more revolutionary way. Each of the zones has its own designation and is purposed toward a different goal. There is a dribble zone for quick touches, a kill zone where the ball is cushioned and controlled, a sweet spot where it creates speed in addition to spin, a drive zone for longer passes, and a pass zone on the instep. The power will still be there to a degree but what we are getting is a whole lot of control and ball manipulation. Isn’t that what every player wants out of a boot? A big change for the series will be that the upper will now be synthetic and there is no Powerspine (which always seemed gimmicky to me). All the extra elements are a welcomed addition in my book and I am looking forward to testing out the Absolion version of them when I get my hands on them.