Should Nike relaunch the original Total90?

It was in the year 2000 when Edgar Davids, Joseph Guardiola, Luis Figo, Lilian Thuram, Hidetoshi Nakata and other superstars stole a ball protected by a robot samurai from the Colosseo Quadrato in EUR. Now this Roman palace is the headquarters of Fendi and Nike's mission to turn football into an action movie spectacle seems to be over. This commercial was the first in a long line featuring the world's greatest footballers and a new model of Swoosh soccer boots that would make history. In fact, the Total90 soon became the shoe of the decade, from The Cage's 3vs3 to Ronaldo wearing it over his shoulders at the 1998 World Cup awards ceremony. Then the recognizable model with the oversized number on the upper was gradually watered down by Nike designers until it disappeared into the Beaverton archives.

In the meantime, adidas has just relaunched one of its most famous football shoe model, the Predator, with resounding success. And this adidas strategy, as we have seen, is diametrically opposed to that of Nike, which instead launched the Air Max Mercurial TN earlier this year. But the disruptive force that nostalgia exerts on today's sportswear market should make all brands rummage through their archives to see which model is still the most relevant today. And no one can compete with Nike, which has so far left the field to its perennial rival adidas. A situation that makes us wonder if Nike shouldn't simply bring out iconic models again, the first of which should of course be the Total90.

An overhaul that would encompass not only the iconic boots, but the entire T90 line from the jersey templates to the ball design. Like Louis Van Gaal himself, he explains the importance of the mission in the commercial describing the new ball as even rounder and more powerful - it's rounder - and therefore even better suited to the tricks that become the soul of Joga Bonito! There's no doubt that Nike's choices have radically changed over the years, moving away from marketing closely tied to the star system of its top athletes to more organic marketing tied to stories and communities. These strategies have not always proven successful, such as the complete abandonment of wholesale, which detracts from the appeal of the swoosh.

A return to the brand's origins, when every commercial instantly became the most watched and replayed by young fans, and when football shoe releases were authentic celebrations. And when footballers wore certain shapes that still spark fantasies and desires today. So should Nike please everyone and reissue its most iconic models, with fan service such as has accompanied the Jordan 1 and Dunk releases in recent years, or continue to create new projects, new designs for new generations of footballers and fans?