The rivalry between adidas and PUMA through Pele's boots

It is 1970, all eyes are on the one and only great player wearing Brazil's yellow jersey, Pelé, pseudonym of Edson Arantes do Nascimento. All normal, one would think, he is one of the strongest and most feared players in the world, and it is normal that the eyes of the spectators, and the not-yet-so-modern electronic ones, frame and pay close attention to the green and gold number ten. This alone is one of the many demonstrations of how that player was the first true planetary football superstar, the only one to win three World Cups as an absolute protagonist and to defeat the Nazis in a reverse kick. O'Rey invented football that did not exist before, but went even further, becoming the object of desire of every possible brand and sponsor. And it was from that kick-off, from that spasmodic anticipation, from that gesture, that he managed to change some dynamics that we thought impossible, such as the relationship between two sponsors and two brothers, Adi and Rudolf Dassler. 

That match marked the definitive break of the non-belligerence pact between the two famous brothers, owners of adidas and PUMA respectively. Rudolf Dassler had succeeded in convincing Pelé to call the referee's attention to his boots at the start of the match. As the video shows, the green and gold champion before the whistle blows bent down and took a few seconds to lace up his boots, a pair of PUMA King. A gesture that the cameraman, also said to have been hired by Rudolf, does not miss, keeping his lens fixed on the hands and shoes of the Brazilian genius. A marketing move that in the 1970s could undoubtedly be described as genius and from which PUMA was able to reap more than a few benefits.

From that moment on, in fact, PUMA's sales skyrocketed thanks to its champion, a rather simple move but one that, given the blazon and importance of a player like Pelé, is destined to be remembered to this day. A move which, however, obviously also had its downsides. As mentioned between adidas and PUMA, there was a pact not to bet on O'Rey, to avoid a bidding war, which would not have been good for either company, adidas or PUMA. An agreement that in fact set fire to the relationship of the two brothers, sending up in smoke any possibility of reconciliation between the two, giving the second act of a feud that still knows no end in Herzogenaurach.