Preds and Becks: the leather and the legend The story of David Beckham and how his iconic adidas Predators came to define him

As dynasties go in the world of football boots, the adidas Predator is an icon among icons. Since launching 26 years ago, they have been worn by a pedigree collection of global superstars from Zinedine Zidane to Alessandro Del Piero. But no one wore them quite so elegantly and so loyally as David Beckham. From the release of the very first Predator right through to the last ball he ever kicked as a professional, he committed to playing for one brand and one style. For him, it was a career defined by the Predator.

It all started in Sydney. Ex-Liverpool midfielder Craig Johnston was coaching a youth team on how to curl the ball. He asked them to imagine their boots had the grip of a table tennis bat – in this innocent comment was the breakthrough. He raced home, cut the rubber material off a table tennis bat, and wrapped the strips around his boots with elastic bands. When he went outside to kick a ball in the rain, the ball squealed because of the extra grip. He knew he was onto something.

At the time, nobody else seemed to agree with him. Having developed his own prototypes, everyone he approached rejected the idea. It took a video of German legend Franz Beckenbauer training in them in the snow to convince adidas to sign the patent, and the Predator was born. Little did Johnston know that his invention would almost single-handedly save adidas from bankruptcy.

On his return home, his country took it as a betrayal. He became public enemy number one; fans booed him at every United away game and effigies of him were even hung outside some grounds. It was the career low point for Beckham. But over the next few years he fought his way back into the public’s affection and it made him the player he was – just as the boy was forced to become a man, the Predators were proving themselves to be special too.

The design of the Predator Accelerator was years before its time. It was bold and striking, featuring a translucent sole that spilt over the leather and three stripes wider than ever, decorating the boot like broad paint strokes. Adidas also rearranged the position of the laces so they were positioned on the outside of the foot, and although the “teeth” were more subtle this time, there was a much larger surface area on the strike zone with which they could take effect.

Beckham, for one, made full use of this. In the 1999 Champions League final, United trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 as the stoppage time board went up. Three minutes later, the final whistle blew on a Manchester United victory; two corners from Becks, two goals. History was made as they secured a historic treble, and Beckham had done it in a pair of Accelerators – if that extra strike zone in the design made the difference or not, it’s impossible to tell. But in those boots, he had come full circle; from the rock bottom of France 98, to the very top in Barcelona 99.

Predator Precision

Even in such a catalogue of greats, the Predator Precision stands out. Released in 2000, the adidas stripes were big, bold and proud, and made their way the whole way around the boot. They would go on to inspire the Sobakov sneaker, demonstrating a crossover into sneaker culture that few football boots can execute. Most significantly, they were the instrument Beckham used for his most important goal in a career that was blossoming into a symphony.

To England fans, Becks still had some making up to do. The team’s performance in France was deemed a catastrophic failure, and the brunt of that blame had fallen at Beckham’s feet – for a squad that held so much potential, a lot more was expected in 2002. Heading into the final game of the qualifiers against Greece, England needed a win to guarantee automatic progress into the main event. With Greece 2-1 up, the captain Beckham stepped up to take a 93rd minute free kick, and sent a signature curler into the top corner. Predator precision personified. And for Beckham, his redemption was complete. 

Predator Mania

At this point, it was clear both Beckham and the Predators were special. The Predator Mania, released in 2002 ahead of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, is still widely cited as the most iconic model in the collection. Like every iteration before it, it was ahead of its time; futuristic in its stark colour contrasts, with a protective heel, a longer tongue, and a much more streamlined design. Most importantly of all was the elastic loop that strapped the oversized tongue down – a signature, timeless Predator style.

At the same time, Beckham’s own mania was taking on a new level. Wearing the unique champagne colourway, his superstardom was overtaking anything that had been seen by a footballer before – he was the most wanted name in football, both for his exploits on the field and his astronomical commercial potential off it. Having won what would be his last league title with United in 2003, his fractious relationship with Ferguson opened the door to the biggest move of his career, and he officially became a galactico in the summer of 2003. 

It was the crowning achievement on a special career that had come to an end. The Predator survived another two years before being discontinued in favour of the ACE, but the shine and originality that had made it so appealing for so long had been lost.

Since retiring, Becks has paid tribute to the boot that he wore for his entire career. In 2017, adidas released a remake of the Predator Mania in Beckham’s infamous champagne colourway. Later that year, Becks released his first Predator capsule collection, featuring a remastered Predator Accelerator, the boot he’d won his only Champions League in. Two years later, to mark 25 years of Predator, Becks re-released the Precision, the boot in which he’d scored that legendary free-kick against Greece in, and, alongside Zidane, co-created the Predator 19. It’s a relationship that, thankfully, is still going strong.

In the very fabric of the Predator is David Beckham. From the very start, the storied Preds silo boasted extra grip, control, and curl through innovative technological advances, and in Becks they found the perfect player, one who took over the world both on and off the pitch. In 11 models over 19 years, they have seen him through every high and every low, and are as crucial to his legend as his inch-perfect free-kicks. Just like David Beckham isn’t just a footballer, the adidas Predators aren’t just football boots. They are much, much more.