Icons of Tomorrow
Icons of Tomorrow: Leo
Beckham had Selhurst Park. Zidane had Hampden. Gerrard had Anfield on a December night.
Leo has a local pitch, a ball at his feet, and a pair of Predators. Every icon on this site started somewhere. This is where Leo starts.
The Player
Leo is 12, and football runs his week. He plays for more than one team, so there is always another match coming. One kit bag that never quite gets unpacked.
He’s a deep-lying creative midfielder — the player who drops in, takes the ball under pressure and decides where the game goes next. Technical feet, a calm first touch, and a range of passing that runs from quick one-twos to long, raking switches of play. Every touch looks like it has a plan behind it.
The Boots
Leo is a Predator man through and through. His current pair: the Predator 25.
The Predator 25, Leo’s current boot. Image: adidas
For a passer, it’s the right boot. The Predator has always been built on one simple idea — grip the ball, control it, strike it exactly where you mean to. It’s the same idea Craig Johnston had with a table tennis bat more than thirty years ago, and it’s why Leo wouldn’t lace up anything else.
Leo’s Predator Hero
Leo’s Predator hero is Jude Bellingham — and it shows. Bellingham’s box-to-box drive, his creativity and his hunger to make things happen are exactly what Leo brings to his own game: always available, always looking forward, always wanting the ball.
It’s a fitting link. Bellingham is the face of the modern Predator. Leo is wearing the same boot, on a local pitch, learning the same craft.
What Comes Next
Beckham was 21 when he lobbed Neil Sullivan from the halfway line. Bellingham was 19 at his first World Cup. Leo has plenty of time — and plenty of matches every season to get there.
Watch this space.
Every Predator icon started as a young player who loved the boot. Know a grassroots Predator player? Get in touch — with a parent or guardian’s permission for anyone under 18.
Related: All Predator Icons · Jude Bellingham · Craig Johnston