Peter Hong of adidas Soccer Talks MLS, Guardiola and the Brand's New X and ACE Boots
Soccer is alive and well in America, and the Germans are leading the way.
As the soccer season explodes into life in the States with a fresh batch of European talent and adidas leading the charge with its new Ace15 and X15 boots, we caught up with adidas Soccer’s Senior Merchandise Manager to talk about how the brand is pushing things forward for the sport in America and beyond.
Do you see the growth of soccer in America and the new styles of boots that adidas are introducing going hand-in-hand?
Yeah it’s huge, MLS is the league of choice in the US, it’s the Premier League here. We couldn’t have been happier to have a partnership with MLS to launch these new revolutionary products. We have great assets on the field, with the amount of exposure, the number of cities and the size of the league, it’s just a great platform to tell our stories.
Do you see a big future in that? Do you see it growing in its two tier approach?
In terms of X and ACE? The game is constantly changing so we have to be aware of that and we’re going to be mindful of it. What we did just now in fall/winter 15 with X and ACE, it can happen again. As the game changes we are going to lead that change.
We have the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga in Spain and other high-profile leagues around the world that are part of the history of soccer. Do you feel that with adidas’ influence on it, Major League Soccer is going to increase to the same level?
Yeh, I definitely agree. In America, soccer is a little behind, it’s not the sport of choice yet for the mass young generation. But you can already see from viewership, from participation rates that soccer is a growing sport in the States. We see the trajectory going further and further up.
And the reception has been good so far?
Phenomenal, we couldn’t be happier.
“This is all completely new, revolutionary ideas and product creation.”
Could you tell us a little bit about the design of the two?
We have X, we talked to the experts and great soccer minds like Pep Guardiola and Thomas Mueller, cutting-edge strikers in today’s game. We’ve identified two players that you need to be successful, either the game changer – the player that does the unpredictable, the unthinkable or the playmaker – the player that controls the game like Ozil or Oscar even. We aren’t recycling any ideas from the old silos or anything we’ve done in the past. This is all completely new, revolutionary ideas and product creation. Completely new upper material, X skin. 3 layers. You have the skin material that provides really great comfort step and feel, then you have the base material with a carbon-fiber woven look, and then we coat it all over with NSG (non-stop grip).
ACE is the design for the player who wants to control and dominate the game. Again, we’re not taking anything from the old history books, we’re creating something completely new. Using a 3-layer engineered material structure, a skin material that’s very soft, the base material provides a structure to give the player control and then non stop grip coating. The outsole has a lot of contact points to not only provide control of your body on the pitch but also control of the ball. So everything we built into this product is all about control, controlling yourself, controlling the game, controlling the ball.
So you’re revolutionizing soccer and you’re making it easier for any player? You’re offering these two different personalities, making it easier for anyone who wants to get into the sport?
It’s not just that we have a boot for speed, a boot for energy. It’s not just about providing one USP, one benefit to the consumer, we want to provide them a host of benefits. This is built for that player who is a game changer, that game changer needs more than just a lightweight product, they need something that’s agile, that will lock them down, we’re providing even more to the athlete than before.
“You’re either ACE – the playmaker or X – the game changer.”
Would you say that then opens up soccer to anyone.This is a product that professionals can play in but at the same time for someone that’s just beginning and is interested in playing soccer, it’s an easy choice because you have two choices of what kind of player you want to be. It’s a beginner’s shoe and it’s a good gateway into the sport.
Yes, its just authentic. From our research and our studies that’s how it is in today’s game. The coaches are telling us, the players are validating that. You’re either ACE – the playmaker or X – the game changer. We’re really keen on providing intuitive concepts for the consumer to understand and latch onto and resonate with, “that’s me”.
Is it too early to ask about future colorways and future iterations?
Depends on the question. There’s definitely exciting things coming down the pipeline very soon.
