West Germany and the Adidas AdvantageHard as it may be to believe in 2010, there was a time when Adidas was anything but a household name. In fact, the company began with just one man, Adi Dassler (hence the comany's name: Adi + Das, and seen at right fixing some boots) tinkering with shoes and cleats.
In 1954, Adi had designed shoes with replaceable cleats, which could be modified during a game to best fit weather conditions and the consistency of the pitch. The West Germans contracted Dassler to create boots for the entire team in anticipation of the '54 World Cup.
Having fought their way to the final game, West Germany faced the near undefeated Magnificent Magyars of Hungary, a team that had handed severe defeats to both England and Uruguay, and is largely considered one of the greatest sides to ever play the game. In addition to reinventing the way soccer was played after World War II, the Magyars were led by the Galloping Major, aka Ferenc Puskás, a man who, among other accomplishments, scored 514 goals in 529 games.
Yet to the disadvantage of the Maygars, who were considered by all to be the match's sure fire winners, a torrential downpour took hold of the day. The West Germans replaced the spikes on their Adidas boots with ones designed specifically for play on wet, slippery pitches, and ran circles around the befuddled Hungarians, who were skidding and falling across the pitch like penguins on ice.
Thus one of the great defeats in the history of football can be, at least partially, attributed to football. Another consideration was the Mygars brutally physical leadup to the final and Germany's relatively easy path in. And yet the fact remains that Adidas played a large part in World Cup history in 1954.
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