Introducing: The adidas Copa Nationale
Introduced for the new decade, the adidas Copa Nationale boasts a silhouette that combines elements from the brands famous Copa Mundial football shoe with contemporary skate-driven performance elements added in, such as the brand’s visionary Adiprene interior structuring and the revival of the classic cupsole for a more modern vibe. Inspired by adidas’ rich history of creating ground-breaking football boots, the Copa Nationale is crafted using high grade materials which, much like its use across its older, pitch-based Copa Mundial sibling, have been placed in key areas to deliver the best level of quality for athletes regardless of sport-specific setting.
First unveiled in 1979, the adidas Copa Mundial was originally made for the 1982 World Cup which took place in Madrid. Appropriately named after the Spanish translation of ‘World Cup’, the Copa Mundial remains one of the best selling football boots in history and throughout the years has been reimagined numerous times while still retaining core details and an iconic aesthetic. Built with the same attention to performance as every football boot within the brands extensive library, the silhouette of the new, skate-specific Copa Nationale is noticeably slimmer with a secure lace fastening that reduces any bulk or fuss to ensure nothing stands in your way when on the move. Snapped up by no-nonsense pro-skater and adidas team-rider Mike Arnold for a neon-trimmed Terrex inspired collaborative release in April this year, as part of the brand’s ever-expanding Rider Series initiative, the Copa Nationale hosts striking similarities to like minded skater and long-time adidas collaborator Dennis Busenitz’s Vulc II and Original shoes, which also turn to the classic Mundial for inspiration with their exaggerated tongue and streamlined silhouette. Mixed materials and an all-together familiar aesthetic place the Copa Nationale into the contemporary limelight, whilst their casual composure and the sculpted, performance-enhanced outsole puts them on par with other new-century designs such as the Matchbreak Super and the 2018 launched 3MC.
Following on from its debut in royal blue and yellow, and from Mike Arnold’s reflective after-dark reimagining, the Copa Nationale returns to Flatspot in two refreshing gum-soled colourways of core black and crisp white, both ornately styled with metallic silver trims. As commonly seen on football boots for added strength in its structure, wave top-stitching flows across the brushed-suede toe vamp of the Copa Nationale with an additional TPU tip installed for further protection. On either side of the foot, curved synthetic line overlays flow from directly underneath the front panel and add drama to the design on top of curved, silver-edged triple-stripe decorations for a more aerodynamic feel across the model. The cushioned and contoured tongue boasts twin-layer construction to assist in providing a snug fit, with a padded fabric base layer and a small centralised crisp-white adidas trefoil emblem peeking just above the edge of the curved-leather top section. Throughout the interior is a dense breathable mesh lining and a super-soft EVA heel insert has been added at the rear to help shield the foot from repetitive impact. For a more coherent look, each colourway features an innovative angled heel brace, seen in either a semi-translucent shade of white or a block-suede interpretation on the core-black version, a trim that matches the tone of the upgraded triple-stripe decals across the sidewalls. Printed ‘adidas’ branding and a single trefoil logo is displayed across the brace, a neatened sign-off that certifies another key abrasion area with a mindful protective shield. Similar to the oversized ‘90s style Liberty Cup and the court-side revived Tyshawn, the layered-material outsole supplies a more sculpted sense of structure and inter-dimensional traction, with the TPU top segment, the underlying rubber and the exterior-positioned pivot points providing grip-focused tread suited to any terrain.
Hosting a playful light vs. dark juxtaposition, these new-season adidas Copa Nationales remain ever loyal to their multi-terrain Mundial roots. Honouring legendary founder Adi Dassler and the brand’s exceptional track record for performance-orientated profiles, adidas once again manages to hit the nail on the head when it comes down to combining archive-revived aesthetics with contemporary, cross-culture creativity.
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