With a 20 year legacy on the pitch, the Nike Tiempo is one of the most dominant brands in football.
Since launching at USA '94, the Tiempo has been synonymous with control, power and durability. The premium boot is one of the few silos on the market to stay true to its roots in leather manufacturing and has been made iconic after gracing the feet of players like Ronaldinho, Carlos Tevez and Carlos Puyol.
Launched in Munich at the end of November, the Nike Tiempo Legend 6 brings a new level of innovative craftsmanship to the storied silo. The 6's new construction provides a near-seamless leather upper and a modernised tongue is now integrated with the laces for increased solidity, performance and comfort.
In football, creating a boot that lives in harmony with both style and performance – and works for both the design team and the athlete – is paramount. For an inside look at how these two needs co-exist, we heard from Nike Football's design director, Nathan VanHook, and Bayern Munich star – and Tiempo athlete – Jerome Boateng.
The View from the Design Room: Nathan VanHook
With seven years experience at Nike, where he worked in Sportswear, Training and ACG, Nathan VanHook has already been hailed as Nike's "next great sneaker designer" and made the move to football in 2014.
The man who designed the Air Yeezy 2 talks to Complex on the design process behind Tiempo Legend 6:
"I love football because it’s a blend of the highest-performance product but also the style – the football players push style more than any other type of athlete.
In general, with Nike sportswear, you’re trying to create product that people will lust after but also feel super comfortable in. High-performance product is wearable and the design team have done an amazing job on this of creating product that is super comfortable, performs at the highest level and is super modern.
With the Tiempo 6, the most exciting innovations come with the building and the moulding, and how that’s all automated and done in a very unique method – there’s hardly any seams in the boot so when you see the guys put it on, it looks so sleek but it still has that Tiempo comfort and durability."
"It’s interesting because the more we talk to the kids – and even players like Jerome Boateng – they say ‘we love our boots, we cherish our boots and they make us feel good’ so I think anything you can do to add personalised touches to product helps to strengthen that sentiment, which is why we’ve added the ability for people to add custom-print to the sole plate.
I think the Tiempo player loves that first touch and there’s something special about leather. You see now with our four silos that just came out in the Tech Craft pack, players still love leather! Even if you wear the Mercurial and the Magista – you still want to have that opportunity to player in leather – and the player that loves Tiempo loves to know what the boot’s going to do at all times, it’s something tried and tested."
The View from the Pitch: Jerome Boateng
As the beating heart of Bayern Munich's defence, Jerome Boateng is one of the most dominating defenders on the planet. But playing in a team that favours possession-based football means Boateng also needs to feel comfortable with the ball at his feet, which has inspired the Tiempo Legend 6's 'start the finish' philosophy – the Tiempo is for players who start attacks.
The only player on the planet who has both won the World Cup and been signed by Jay-Z reflects on the design process and what players really need in a football boot:
"The conversations I had with the design team were very detailed – they mainly focused on the tongue, the heel area and even the laces.
I need that perfect touch on the ball, particularly for passing. Quality fit is also important, as this allows for secure changes of direction.
For a young defender, I think that the game has moved on — now we want to contribute everywhere. Coaches want the defender to score, cross and assist. You have to work with both feet. This requires a lot of training… I trained in [Tiempo Legend 6] when it was still an all-black prototype. It felt really good even then."
Tiempo Legend 6 will be available via the Nike Football App on November 29 and on Nike.com December 1. The boots will be available for NIKEiD customization beginning November 30th via the Nike Football App, December 1 on Nike.com.
