The American sportswear giant is bringing back the iconic silhouette – but not in the form that many people would expect
A cultural phenomenon has returned with the relaunch of the iconic Total 90 – a silo that became a movement, transcending boots, balls and kits. Nike has thrown it back to a defining period in football culture, rebooting T90 after 12 long years and transporting us straight back to the glory days.
The revival may not take the form many would have expected or hoped for, as Nike re-launch the Total 90 III as a streetwear sneaker rather than the football boot we are all clamouring for – but nevertheless, we can just be glad that T90 is back in our lives.
A timely riposte to the adidas Predator juggernaut that is dominating the football marketing sphere, Total 90 is back and we are here for it.
Getty Images SportNoughties football heritage
Total 90 is synonymous with one of football's great eras: the noughties. In the eyes of those who grew up on an appetite of peak Wayne Rooney, Francesco Totti and Fernando Torres, that is when football peaked – iconic names balling out with T90s on foot, wearing the iconic shirt template and weaving their magic with the T90 Aerow ball.
Its influence ran deep; notable GOATs Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho both wore T90s for a time before moving on to the adidas F50s and Nike Tiempo boots to which they are respectively indelibly linked in our minds.
Arguably the most iconic iteration of the boot arrived in 2004 ahead of the European Championship in the form of the tongue-less Total 90 III, instantly recognisable with the circled '90' on the instep and the panelled design that allowed for infinite colour combinations.
Back in the days when kit templates worked wonders, the accompanying shirts featured a framing stitch and pronounced dashes on the sleeves and collar. For the international federations Nike supplied, the designs marked the noughties era as the nonconforming circled front number made them all standouts between 2004-2006. Think Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2004.
As for the ball, the simple three-ring design of the T90 Aerow 1 was a huge hit – supplying countless with iconic moments in the Premier League, La Liga and even the Champions League.
AdvertisementAFPTranscending boots and balls
This wasn't just about boots, balls and shirts – Total 90 became a football culture movement that transcended the pitch having captured the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. It seems that is what Nike are trying to hark back to with their re-release, which comes in the form of a streetwear trainer rather than a football boot.
The tracksuits were everywhere; the advertising campaigns were unbeaten; the ball was everyone's go-to in the park or on the playground. This was perhaps the first sign of football's huge potential influence on wider culture that has been fully realised in recent years.
For football-crazed millennials, alongside Preds and Pro Evolution Soccer, Total 90 became such a recognisable accompaniment to growing up in the noughties. Pure nostalgia.
GettyWhat happened to Total 90?
It seems strange that such a strong cultural phenomenon could ever die out, but by the early 2010s, differing tastes, priorities and advancing technology saw Nike discontinue the silo.
We haven't seen a new Total 90 boot since 2013, with the Laser IV Nike's last drop before the sportswear giant shifted its focus to their new Hypervenom – itself since discontinued – and continuing to develop the iconic Mercurial.
On the pitch, the Total 90 had been all about power and precision, but there was a perception that elite players' needs were moving more towards speed, agility and touch, and the decision was made to render the T90 redundant.
Getty Images SportLong tease
Twelve long years later and Nike have seen fit to bring back the noughties icon, and it feels as though it's been a long time coming.
The marketing campaign has been interesting, with no standalone, polished advert packed full of their biggest stars to announce the return of Total 90 after such a long absence. Instead, the comeback has been drip-fed over a number of months.
Nike first teased the drop last summer, although that was hidden away on their SNKRS app. Netherlands legend Edgar Davids was then spotted wearing a pair in a five-a-side tournament hosted by rapper Travis Scott in November, before Nike revealed more incoming colourways a month later.
The American sportswear behemoth has also recently re-released Portugal's 2004 T90 home shirt having handed the duty of being the nation's kit supplier over to PUMA, as well as the iconic Aerow ball to mark the end of their 25-year partnership with the Premier League – all pointing to a wider comeback in the near future.