In the end they had it right: the world semi-finals, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, will be a double derby between the two sportswear giants. Nike – 20 billion euro turnover – will appear on the shirts of Brazil and Holland, Adidas – 15 billion turnover – on those of Germany and Argentina.
And so the two main sponsors (Adidas has been the official partner of the FIFA World Cup since 1930 and has signed the balls for all editions), who they already share 70% of the world market (36% to 34% for Adidas), grab the decisive phase of the competition, after having already made the maximum effort from the start by investing in 19 of the 32 world teams (10 Nike, 9 Adidas).
This despite the two respectively most demanding sponsorships having been eliminated in the quarterfinals: the Americans had in fact spent a good 42,6 million euros to steal France away from Adidas after 42 years, while the German brand believed strongly in the Colombia of the star James Rodriguez offering 26 million euros, the same figure estimated for Germany.
Puma, the great defeat of these World Cups, didn't quite arrive in the quarter-finals: the German brand, acquired by the French luxury group Kering, had staked almost everything on African teams (all with the exception of Nigeria, branded Nike) and on Italy and Uruguay, for which it had invested 20 and 2,6 million euros respectively . As we unfortunately know, the Azzurri's adventure ended prematurely, and Celeste's too a little further on.
He did honor to the feline brand, which in this football World Cup will also be remembered for the two-tone boots (one blue, one pink) also worn by some players of Prandelli's national team, only the tale of Algeria, for the first qualified for the round of XNUMX. On the other hand, even second-rate brands such as Puma have carved out more space for themselves Burrda, a Swiss company that spent 4 million to dress Belgium and was repaid with the quarter-finals, and the Italian Lotto, who mockingly sponsored Costa Rica, executioner of the Azzurri and great revelation of the tournament.
