Mini review
Adidas Samba Nua (Liverpool)
Color: Red/White-Green-Gum
Intended use: Indoor football or Casual streetwear
Upper: Natural/synthetic leather, Suede, fabric lining.
Midsole: Die cut wedge EVA
Outsole: Combination of white and gum rubber.
Weight: 348 gms for a half pair of UK10/US10.5
Price: INR 4699
RATINGS (on a scale of 10):
Fit and Comfort: 6.5
Cushioning: 5
Durability (for street use): 5.5
Grip: 8
Value for money: 6
Style quotient: 7
Overall: 6.33
Likes: Bright red colorway with prominent placement of the Liverpool logo, tough upper construction, rock solid heel counter.
Dislikes: Expensive for what it is.
SUMMARY:
An adaptation of the best selling Adidas Samba, this shoe is one in a part of a four football team shoe series. Great colors and materials, but it comes at a hefty price. Might be worth a try if you are a Liverpool fan. And this shoe was designed to be used on indoor courts, so the gum rubber outsole trades durability for great grip and traction.
Published: November 8, 2008
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Few shoes have been released in as many and diverse variants as the Samba. The Samba is also Adidas's longest running model in production and is probably the best selling Adidas shoe of all time. Since the history of Adidas and the Samba are somewhat intertwined, let's dig around in some history first. In 1924, two brothers, Adolph and Rudolph Dassler, went on to form a fledgling sports shoe company in Germany called the 'Dassler Brother Sports shoe company'. They went on to make sports shoes for a variety of sports, but football being strong in Germany and Europe, it would not be wrong to say that eventually developed a key competency when it came to making shoes for football. In 1949, the Dassler Brothers split, each going on their own way, with Adi and Rudolph Dassler forming Adidas and Puma respectively. Adolph Dassler, being a trained shoemaker, was known for his many firsts in the athletic shoe industry - Adidas was the first to come up with molded rubber cleats in soccer boots, and was also the originator for the now common screw-in metal cleats. When he observed that the players were struggling to find grip on icy, frozen pitches in European winters, he came up with a soccer boot called the 'Samba Special' which was a high ankle leather boot with a crepe rubber outsole. The unique thing about this boot was that there were three 'suction' cups beneath the heel, the toe area and the ball of the foot. These suction cups helped in getting a better grip on frozen ground, and that was how Adidas Samba was born. The Samba has since evolved to becoming a indoor Soccer shoe which is worn by players as well as street casual adopters. The Samba is still very much of a Euro-Asian sneaker and I have not seen many in the United States, which remains the bastion of Basketball inspired sneakers.
Though the Samba sold today is quite different from the original design, it is still inspired by the classic silhouette and comes in a multitude of variants, like the burgundy Samba 67 shown below, the Samba'85, the Classic, Millennium and now the Samba Nua.
The beginning of the Samba story: The very first Samba special - a sturdy ankle length soccer boot without cleats. The crepe rubber outsole had three suction cups meant for better grip for use on icy, frozen football pitches. The rounded toe bumper was designed to protect the foot while kicking around.
The evolution of the Adidas Samba: The 1967 Adidas Samba - though it shares the same design language as the original Samba, notice how subtle changes have crept into the upper - thicker three stripes, change in the outsole design, and the cut goes from a mid to lo.
The present day Samba Classic: This is the Adidas 'Original' version of the Samba available today. It borrows styling cues from the original Samba Special - three symbolic and functional suction cups on the forefoot of the shoe, and a modified and an elongated wing shaped toe bumper, which now comes in Suede leather.
The Samba Nua is inspired by the Samba Classic, but it is more of a prosumer version, for lack of a better word. Even in Adidas' own classification, the Samba Nua is not considered an 'Original', and is more part of a performance team merchandise, so they come packed in the regular black performance Adidas shoe box instead of the blue and white Originals box. The Samba Nua is one in the part of the four football team series Samba Nua sold in India. The red version we review today is the Liverpool version, and the rest are AC Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid. I liked the Liverpool color the best, so that's what I bought for my review!
The Samba Nua ('Nua' means new in Irish) is strongly inspired by the Samba Classic but is reinforced in terms of construction and materials to be able to better perform while playing indoor soccer. Perhaps the most important change is in the outsole. While the classic version has an all around gum rubber cupsole, the Samba Nua uses a combination of solid white rubber, gum rubber and die cut EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate foam). The bottom of the sole, which comes in contact with the wooden floor, is made of grippy tan colored gum rubber, while the toe bumper, heel area and edges of the outsole is constructed using solid, hard wearing white rubber, so it increases durability. The Samba Nua also has a shorter tongue than the classic, but still retains has the molded, soccer boot type. Additional reinforcement is provided in the front; the suede toe bumper extends till the first white stripe and underlays the whole length of it, making that area stronger. In the midfoot area, the white and green EVA foam gives much needed cushioning. The Samba Nua also reminds me of another Samba variant, the Samba Millennium, which came in around five team colors, Liverpool included. But the Samba Nua has been updated with a much sturdier construction and a sleeker look, so I can safely say, that shoe for shoe, the Samba Nua is a better deal.
I did not take the Samba Nua through the rigors of indoor soccer wear testing, but I certainly did fit try them and also played around for a few minutes with a regular sized football. As expected of an indoor soccer shoe, the shoe feels snug and extremely well fitting. When you put these shoes on, it gives you same re-assuring feeling you get when the door of a solidly built car closes with a solid thunk. The gum rubber outsole is extremely grippy and should do its job well on wood or on Macadam's finest with equal ease. The heel area has a molded heel counter sandwiched between the leather and the lining, which helps keep the heel in check, whether you are running around on the indoor court or just doing your stuff on the streets.
The sole of the matter: The base is made of grippy gum rubber and the alternating back and front directional lugs aid in great grip on the floor and the ball. Notice the 'non-marking' callout on the circular pivot area in the sole. This means the shoe will not leave any grip or skid marks on wooden floor, and this is generally a footwear requirement for wooden indoor surfaces, like the ones for futsal or squash. The white rubber borders makes adds durability to an otherwise less durable gum rubber outsole.
I love the use of the red, green and white Liverpool color scheme throughout the upper of the shoe. The Liverpool logo is screen printed on the outer side of each shoe, while the white adidas stripes makes good contrast with the red leather upper. The white stripes has 'We're Liverpool' printed on them in silver color, and there is a green strip of EVA foam in the midsole -all the colors seem to blend in perfectly.
The logos - The Liverpool logo, the 'We're Liverpool' thing on the white three stripes and the molded Adidas football logo on the heel all point to a true blue soccer shoe.
The Samba Nua is a very competent shoe and looks great as a soccer casual too, so if you are an EPL fanatic and a Liverpool fan in particular, this shoe might be the thing for you. I bought this shoe at least a month ago, but I still hope you can find this shoe in the Adidas stores. Now only if Nike could come up with a Man U, Arsenal and a Juventus version in one of their soccer flats...
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though m not a liverpool supporter i lyk the shoe!