Adidas trumps Nike: Sponsoring the top sides in FIFA world rankings
Adidas has dominated the Fifa World Rankings with kit deals in place with three of the top five nations.
Messi played a major role in Adidas' 'All in or Nothing' campaign
This will soon rise to four when Belgium (5th) enter a new partnership with the tri-stripe producer later this year.
Nike only backed the Netherlands (3rd) in the top five but has the most teams in the top twenty with Brazil (7th), France (10th), Portugal (11th), Greece (13th), USA (15th), Croatia (17) and twentieth placed England.
Official Fifa partner Adidas provided kits for six of the world’s top twenty teams.
Major dividends will likely follow their backing of the World Cup finalists, the winners Germany and second place Argentina - although it was Nike sponsored Mario Gotze who scored the winning goal.
The world is a stage. Make it yours. #riskeverything pic.twitter.com/heaPC5bEDn
— Nike Football (@nikefootball) July 13, 2014
The German sports-wear producers also provides kits for Colombia (4th), Spain (8th), Mexico (18th) and Bosnia Herzegovina (19th).
Outsiders in the battle for dominance is Puma, who has agreements with three teams, Switzerland (ninth), Chile (twelfth) and Italy (fourteenth). Finally, Lotto has Costa Rica (sixteenth).
The world's best players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, were competing both on and off the pitch with sponsorship deals at Nike and Adidas respectively.
On the commercial front, Nike’s ‘The Last Match’ featuring Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Ibrahimović and Iniesta received over 65m views on YouTube.
Addidas’ ‘The Dream: all in or nothing’ ad, featuring Messi, Alves, Suárez, Özil and Robin Van Persie had only 38.5m.
It’s a team game, but an entire nation wins. #allin pic.twitter.com/6YPe0Ph9qL
— adidasfootball (@adidasfootball) July 13, 2014
Adidas which was the most talked about brand at the World Cup with over 1.59m conversations likely comes out the winner. This is despite American rival Nike starting stronger before the tournament. However, in the same way vuvuzelas defined the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Brazil 2014 will be remembered for Puma’s outrageous footwear,‘Tricks’.
NEW ARRIVAL ~> ~PUMA EVOPOWER BLUE PINK FUTSAL ~PUMA EVOSPEED TRICKS ~GOALKEEPER GLOVE PUMA BLUE PINK pic.twitter.com/fi2ZBpRIvt — PUMA EVOPOWER #Ready (@SportyShopID) July 12, 2014The pink and blue odd boots were adopted by Mario Balotelli, Cesc Fàbregas, Sergio Agüero, Marco Reus, Radamel Falcao, Olivier Giroud, Gianluigi Buffon, Yaya Touré and many more.
On the boots' design, Mario Balotelli, said: “I have to be honest, the first time I saw the Tricks boots, I thought the PUMA guy was mad. But when I realised he wasn't, I was already excited. The evoPower looks cool in these special colours it is definitely unique.”
It’s a bad day when Mario Balotelli can call someone else mad.
Nike will likely make up for lost ground however after the announcement of its new £70m-a-year sponsorship deal with Manchester United.