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Kaká and the adidas Predator
Athens, 2007
Two years after Istanbul — after Milan led Liverpool 3-0 at half-time and lost — the two clubs met again in the Champions League final, in Athens. This time Milan won 2-0, and the player who had carried them there was Kaká, wearing the Predator Absolute.
The best player in the world
Kaká’s 2006/07 season is one of the great individual campaigns of the century. He scored ten goals in fifteen Champions League matches as Milan reached the final, gliding past defenders with a long, upright stride that made him almost impossible to stop on the run. At the end of 2007 he won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year — the last player to win the Ballon d’Or before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo shared it for a decade.
Why the Predator?
The Absolute — with its PowerPulse system shifting weight toward the point of impact — was a boot built for striking the ball cleanly at pace. For a player who scored so many of his goals arriving at speed from deep, it made sense.
Kaká’s Predators
- Predator Absolute (2006) — the 2007 Champions League final and the Ballon d’Or year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which boots did Kaká wear in the 2007 Champions League final?
The adidas Predator Absolute.
Did Kaká win the Ballon d’Or in Predators?
He won the 2007 Ballon d’Or after a season in which he wore the Predator Absolute, including in the Champions League final.
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