Luca dives in two footed again. Following his article A Problem With Nike Football , he gets in amongst it to share what Nike are doing to address their Pro’s concerns with the Hypervenom II.
Nike have acted to address the issues involving their Hypervenom silo.
Many players stepped into their international training camps recently sporting all sorts of bespoke versions of the Hypervenom, many of which boast the first generation’s upper.
Nike’s biggest issue with their Hypervenom II came with the upper. Several of their professionals might have disliked the Dynamic Fit Collar, but Nike was smart enough to offer the Phinish model which offered a low cut, one-piece, no-tongue upper alternative.
The upper of the second generation Hypervenom was Nike’s idea of an “improvement” on their original NikeSkin. They kept the same name for it but altered everything about it. It doesn’t take a scientist to see the large difference between the two upper variations.
What Nike have done to placate their stable of stars is simple and very intelligent.
They’ve created a Hypervenom which comes with the technology of the 2nd generation Hypervenom, but with the upper of the first generation.
The soleplate remains the same, you get the honeycomb upper, the brio cables, and the flyknit tongue and dynamic fit collar.
Many players like Sturridge, Kane, and Barkley have all opted for these changes, as they must have preferred the first generation’s upper.
What Nike is doing is actually very smart, a good move from their part I have to say!
Why? because they’re keeping their professionals happy whilst sticking true to the Hypervenom. Yes, they made a huge mistake by switching the upper and adding the mid-cut design, but instead of losing some of their key Hypervenom players to other silos, they’re giving them a combination of both generation Hypervenoms.
Overall, bold and a good move from Nike. I can’t see them offering this to the public, but at least they’re keeping their picky professionals in the silo.
Who knows, maybe Neymar might come back to Hypervenom with these changes. Perhaps Nike could learn: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
