Remember the famous French protest football team of 1968? They famously resigned from the national team over their threats to ditch the three stripes in favour of an unnamed competitor. Shunned by UEFA, they were forced to play games under the guise of their home nation, against other unrecognised nations yet to find official affiliation.
It was in one game against a displaced Cuban XI in Miami when they really made their mark. Decked out in the characteristic tricolour uniform, replete with trefoils in the right places, their famous trio of attacking players announced themselves to the world, each scoring a hat-trick in a 9-0 win. First was Henri Rouge, the dashing centre forward, think of Olivier Giroud without the skin regime. He completed the perfect hat-trick when he nodded in a rebound after his strike partner Christophe Bleu had seen his shot palmed away by the home goalkeeper Antonio Montana. Bleu himself then scored his third direct from a wind-assisted free kick, before departing the arena with a limp.
Finally, a late addition to the squad was Florida-based maverick Jean-Pierre Blanc, who took advantage of his tiring opponents and showed them a clean pair of (Cuban) heels to notch a quickfire treble.
It is based on this famous one-off fixture this new release from adidas is based. In recognition for the spirit of independence and peaceful protest, the shoes have been named after this outspoken trio and released in limited quantities at hand-picked stockists around the world.
Down the road, Oi Polloi have them.
I made that story up btw. They’re just called those names because of the colour they are. I just didn’t fancy writing the usual formulaic press-release fodder. Sorry if you believed it.
Bag a pair here and tell them you bought them because of our tall stories.
