​Adidas and Puma are among the most recognised sporting brands in the world, but neither might exist if not for a bitter rivalry between two brothers from Herzogenaurach a little-known village in Germany. In the 1920s, Adi and Rudolf Dassler started a small shoemaking business focusing primarily on hand-sewn athletic footwear. As their business began to flourish, the two brothers grew increasingly frustrated with each other and disagreed on everything including the future direction of the company. The feuding brothers spawned two of the biggest brands in global sport when Rudolf left to form Puma whilst Adi remained to rename his company Adidas.

Adi and Adidas went on to produce the 'Predator' a football boot based on a prototype concept from the former Liverpool and Australian footballer Craig Johnston, the revolutionary footwear introduced rubber patches to the top of the boot, designed to increase friction between the boot and ball.

Rudolf and Puma went on to establish the modern practice of player sponsorship with his company issuing promotional player postcards, they also pioneered some of the greatest boot technology to grace a pitch, including 'Puma King' which is steeped in almost four decades of history and is arguably the first football boot to become a household name.

Rivalling both Puma and Adidas for their share in the celebrity promotional boot market is Nike with their Mercurial Vapor, the boot favoured by many players for whom speed is a very important part of their game because of its lightweight design.