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Created in 2017, the Nemeziz has marked the spirits in recent years by being at the feet of Lionel Messi. However, four years later, the silo is already saying goodbye. The opportunity for us to retrace the history and evolution of this pair which will not have had the expected success.
On the occasion of the release of the new generation of the X silo, Lionel Messi, who embodied the Nemeziz for four years, has just been “transferred” to the adidas speed silo: the X. He has elsewhere was entitled to a unique color that he will wear during the Copa America and which takes us back to the end of the 2000s. The release of the new generation of the X marks the end of the Nemeziz, which will have remained only four small years at the feet of the man with the 6 Golden Ball but also other players like Thomas Lemar. Before talking about the reasons that pushed adidas to abandon its most recent silo, we will first review the arrival of the Nemeziz and its evolution.
The birth of a revolutionary shoe
It all started in 2017 for the Nemeziz which was designed to replace the Messi silo, launched two years earlier and only worn by the Argentinian as well as a few promising young players. Coming in addition to the Ace and X silos, the Nemeziz was meant to be revolutionary with its construction consisting of bandages that wrapped the foot to provide the closest and tightest fit possible while allowing the foot to bend and flex. freely when changing direction.
Support yes, but not at the expense of agility, is the idea that the three-stripe brand wanted to bring out through this uniquely designed pair. After years of research and testing with more than 200 players, according to Sam Handy, creative director of adidas Football, the German supplier had come to the conclusion that a revolutionary new project had to be launched and this is how this pair of crampons with its 360 ° torsion band was created. The Nemeziz also drew its inspiration from martial arts since the fighters use bands to protect their joints during twists.
On this pair, we found the technology 360Agility Bandage System represented by bands around the ankle and the kick. This revolutionary technology has been enhanced by a version without laces allowing the Nemeziz 17+ 360Agility to become the second of its kind from adidas after the ACE 16+ silo, released a year earlier. This pair, embodied from its release by Lionel Messi, also stood out with its V-neck baptized Dual Lock Collar. At the front and at the back of the shoe, we found the bands 360Twist Tape which offered ideal support when moving sideways. On these bands stood technology AgilityKnit 2.0 which was present on the Messi silo and which offered a better grip of the ball. Finally, adidas had opted for a new outsole named TwistFrame, abandoning the famous plaque SprintFrame which notably made the heyday of the F50.
On the eve of the 2018 World Cup, adidas unveiled the second generation of its prized silo for agility and support. Unveiled in an orange-red color in the Energy pack, worn by all adidas ambassadors at the Russian World Cup, the Nemeziz 18 remained almost identical to the 2017 version. There was only the cut of the Dual-Lock Collar which had changed, being raised to the level of the inside of the foot and lowered to the level of the outside.
The 2019 version presented real innovations, starting with its new weaving structure, giving an unprecedented fit around the foot. The bandage system does not tighten the foot evenly on this new model, being for example flexible enough at the instep but rather tight on the sides to offer ideal support during changes of direction. The big novelty of the third generation of the Agility silo came from the outer plate Torsion System which replaces the Twist Frame. Separated in two, this sole provided support for the arch of the foot while respecting the natural twisting movement between the forefoot and the heel.
In 2020, adidas subtly unveiled the new generation of its agility silo: the Nemeziz +. Without communicating on it, the brand with the three stripes modified the shoes embodied by Lionel Messi by making slight technological and aesthetic changes. In particular, there were reliefs on the upper to improve the touch of the ball but also the inscription “Nemeziz” on the inside of the foot. This non-communication already questioned, at the time of the facts and during the months which followed, on the future of the pair and fed the rumors indicating that the Nemeziz silo could disappear.
At the beginning of June 2021, the brand with the three stripes presented the new generation of the X silo at the feet of Lionel Messi, thus announcing the abandonment of the Nemeziz silo, only four years after its creation. One can therefore wonder about the reasons which made Nemeziz not a great success and it turns out that there are several possible explanations, starting with the choice of the ambassador.
Lionel Messi, not the best of marketing products
The most plausible reason for the failure of the Nemeziz silo probably stems from the fact that Lionel Messi was the headliner. If there is nothing to say about the talent of the man with the 6 Golden Ball on the green rectangle, he is however far from an ideal ambassador and even less that of a pair who had to do its proof in the eyes of football fans at a time when the adidas Predator and the Nike Mercurial still dominated the market, having convinced entire generations for several decades. It is also not a surprise to see a silo put forward by the Pulga with a short lifespan since the silo dedicated to it had already lasted only two years between 2015 and 2017.
Despite his 215 million subscribers on Instagram, Lionel Messi is much less seller than Paul Pogba who has yet “only” 44 million subscribers on this social network. The Frenchman is now a player who, in addition to being good on the pitch, is a pure marketing product. The Predator is doing wonderfully today with the Manchester United midfielder as the main ambassador. Among other brands, the difference is even more obvious. Whether it is Nike or Puma, the two entities benefit greatly from the brand image of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar who are players on which children want to model themselves, from the style of play to the style of dress.
It’s simple, Lionel Messi is not a seller. Off the pitch, the Catalan number 10 is very discreet. It is only his talent that speaks and that makes him an ambassador. If he hadn’t had such a level of play, adidas undoubtedly would never have trusted him to showcase his products on such a large scale. Especially since in addition to lacking aura off the field, the native of Rosario had to face competition … from silo X of adidas.
Characteristics too close to the X
With all major football equipment manufacturers, there is a speed shoe. Nike a la Mercurial, Puma a la Ultra and adidas a la X. The Nemeziz stood for agility and between those two athletic characteristics there was only a tiny step. Even though it is primarily marketing, the giants of the industry have succeeded in convincing consumers that there are shoes specific to positions or to game profiles. At Nike, the Mercurial is for example the shoe of the attacker, the Phantom is for its part recommended for ball control, and therefore for midfielders, while the Tiempo has become the shoe of defenders following the retirement of Ronaldinho who embodied it in the 2000s.
At adidas, there were therefore four silos with the Predator, the Copa, the X and the Nemeziz. The Nemeziz and the X were sort of competing in the speed niche. The number of silos also plays an important role in the success of each of them and having four is a lot. In 2020, Nike for example merged the Phantom Vision and the Phantom Venom to create the Phantom GT, which is today highlighted by Kevin de Bruyne. The goal of this operation? Delete a silo. Today, adidas is doing the same by abandoning the Nemeziz which is very close to the X. The “mutation” of Lionel Messi towards the speed silo of the brand with the three bands shows that the two pairs were very close. , who has worn the legendary F50 for a long time, which is the ancestor of the X.
A mixed design
Another reason for the failure of the Nemeziz: its design. The shoe that Bernardo Silva also wore is indeed peculiar to say the least. Let’s say that with these bands all around the foot, it was not a mat. Its original style could greatly please or, on the contrary, repel consumers. Originality can sometimes pay off, but in a new silo, it’s quite daring. The Predator, for example, is very successful with its particular look due to the Demonskin technology on the upper, but it is a shoe with a great history and which has already convinced many consumers, in addition to being put forward by Paul Pogba who has an equally extravagant style. The Nemeziz, which is surrounded by bands reminiscent of the bandages of boxers, does not correspond to the image released by Lionel Messi.
The Argentinian has the image of someone simple and sticks much more to a more classic shoe, whether in terms of cut, materials or even colors. Moreover, the number 10 of Barça has always played with Nemeziz who included laces while the pair put forward by the brand with the three stripes mainly differentiated from the others because they were not supposed to have them. This fact should not be overlooked in the lack of success of the Nemeziz. By becoming the new ambassador of the X, the Pulga finds a pair that really matches it.
In short, the Nemeziz was not put in the best possible way to achieve resounding success with the presence of the X which had similar characteristics but perhaps if Paul Pogba had embodied it in place of Lionel Messi , the story would have been different. Anyway, the Nemeziz has said goodbye and Lionel Messi will wear his brand new pair of Xs during the Copa America which starts on June 13th.
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