In 1924, a couple of young German men named Rudolf and Adolf Dassler opened the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.
The company began working with life from their parents’ houses, and the brothers had to take turns pedaling a stationary bicycle to power some of their equipment.
None of them would then have imagined that their legacy would still go on almost 100 years later. And not only do the siblings continue to find two of the largest manufacturers of sportswear on the planet.
Adolf, or Adi, started adidas – an abbreviation for Adi Dassler.
Rudolf meanwhile founded Ruda in 1948. Inspired by the puma cat’s power, agility and perseverance, Ruda soon became PUMA – which now employs more than 13,000 people worldwide and has a net worth of $ 5 billion. .
#FIGC has officially announced Italy’s new # PUMA away kit for 2021, released as part of the brand’s “Only See Great” project. https://t.co/6tvirAVIpf#Azzurri # Euro2020 #EuropeanCh Championship pic.twitter.com/bJfRuDYWwO
– footballitalia (@footballitalia) April 22, 2021
Football has no small role to play in the company’s rise from a local shoe factory to one of the world’s largest sportswear manufacturers.
And when PUMA is strongly represented at yet another European Championship, with ten of the 40 exhibitions to be produced from its humble beginnings, the euro has its own story to tell because PUMA is a multinational sportswear heavyweight.
Atom soccer shoes were soon started in production and used by West Germany in their first post-war match against Switzerland. It started a long connection between PUMA and club football in Europe.
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Switzerland hosted the 1954 edition and qualified from their group after a 4-1 victory against Italy before they lost (7-5!) Against Austria in SF.
The final is called “The Miracle of Bern” after West Germany came from behind to beat favorites ??. pic.twitter.com/7PgJayj7e2
– ????????????? – Craig King (@FootballSwissEN) April 27, 2021
It took a while before PUMA products adorned the euro. While Brazil’s Pele and Portugal’s Eusebio embraced the king’s boot directly from the bat, it was not until Johan Cruyff took a stand on the PUMA brand that the mainland of Europe really began to take into account.
The 1974 World Cup was a huge win for PUMA. Because while adidas took over as the dominant kit manufacturer, Cruyff, who had an exclusive agreement with PUMA and knew the rivalry between the two companies, refused to carry it.
Instead, he had a special two-strap kit made, which he carried all the way to the final with his tailor-made kings.
He wore the same outfit at the 1976 European Championships as the Netherlands – all but Cruyff still wearing adidas – finished in third place. It gave PUMA a fame that they embraced, and the platform to continue and compete with the industry giants for years to come.
Rudolf (Puma) & Adi (Adidas) Dassler were siblings and bitter rivals. In the 74 ‘World Cup, Adidas delivered the Dutch outfit, but Puma made Johan Cruyff’s boots. The team jerseys all had Adidas three stripes – except Cruyffs, he refused and had only two stripes on the shirt pic.twitter.com/UjjXUtZfn1
– Bands FC (@_Bands_FC) October 19, 2018
A similar issue arose with Germany’s Lothar Matthaus, who got stuck with his PUMA boots despite intense pressure from the German FA to wear adidas. Matthaus wore PUMA when he scored against the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 1988 and then won the World Cup and Ballon d’Or as a PUMA athlete.
The first instance of a PUMA kit growing up to the euro came in 1996. It was a rather low-key introduction, but Bulgaria and the Czech Republic wore PUMA kits on the big stage, and the latter carried the logo all the way to the final, where they lost to Germany. Important Czech players at the time – such as Pavel Nedved – became the first players to bring PUMA to a European audience on the mainland, and it really stuck.
At the turn of the century, some of the biggest football names in the world stood in line to try. The acquisition of world champion Italy – whose goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has worn PUMA gloves throughout his career – took things to a new level.
Juventus defender with Buffon at the end of the match. ? ⚫⚪ pic.twitter.com/UUa98yC4dR
– Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) 13 May 2021
Italian jerseys sold faster than any other PUMA kit ever sold in Europe before the 2004 European Championships … even if the tournament did not go exactly according to plan for Giovanni Trappatoni and his team.
But the Italians have stuck to PUMA ever since and carry it on in seven major tournaments – including Euro 2012 when they finished second.
PUMA’s innovative products continue to dazzle to this day. While France failed in the Euro 2016 final, Antoine Griezmann was seen sporting PUMA tricks all the time, winning the Golden Boot and the Player’s Award tournament.
? #OnlySeeGreat pic.twitter.com/hbh7ObC2uG
– PUMA Football (@pumafootball) April 17, 2021
At Euro 2020, five of the 20 teams will have PUMA kits, while players in almost every squad will wear boots that originated in a German factory almost 100 years ago.
Not too bad, considering.
