adidas F50 adiZero II

Following the success of the original 2010 F50 adiZero, adidas released an updated version of the boot for the 2010/11 and 2011 seasons, commonly referred to by fans and retailers as the "F50 adiZero II" or "adiZero Prime" generation, which Lionel Messi wore through one of the most decorated stretches of his career at Barcelona. Rather than a full silo reboot, this generation refined the original adiZero's construction while expanding the colorway program significantly, giving Messi a rotating wardrobe of exclusive pairings across the year, most notably an orange "Warning" colorway and a purple "Anodized" pairing worn in Barcelona's 2011 Champions League final win.

The updated adiZero generation rolled out across 2011, with SoccerBible documenting a wide "adiZero Prime" colorway collection through the year, capped by an October 2011 retrospective piece cataloguing the season's releases. Messi's personalized orange "Warning/Black/White" pair was his primary colorway through the second half of the 2010/11 season, during which Barcelona won La Liga and the Champions League. For the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 28, 2011, Messi wore a striking "Anodized Purple/Electricity" version, released to coincide with the final itself. Coverage from Soccer Cleats 101 (May 29, 2011) described this as a personalized pair with bespoke modifications beyond the standard retail version. The generation continued into the 2011/12 season before giving way to the miCoach-equipped and Ballon d'Or special editions covered separately in this archive.

This generation retained the core adiZero philosophy (an extremely light, minimalist speed boot) while adding refinements over the original 2010 model:

• Continued use of the single-layer synthetic Sprintskin-style upper and the thin, one-piece Sprintframe outsole chassis for minimal weight (boots in this range remained in the roughly 165g–170g class, i.e. about 6 ounces).
• A full-grain adiLite leather upper option, which Messi personally preferred over the stock synthetic, offering a softer touch and more natural break-in while adidas kept the boot's overall weight close to the synthetic version.
• A redesigned, more padded heel counter on Messi's personal match pairs, a bespoke modification not available in retail versions, made because, in the words of contemporary coverage, "players continually chop at his feet," requiring extra protective cushioning in that area.
• Continued asymmetric lacing and externally-biased stud placement carried over from the original adiZero, aimed at maximizing clean ball-strike surface and traction for quick acceleration and direction changes.
• Personalized detailing sewn or printed onto Messi's match-worn pairs, including an Argentine flag, his name, and squad number, details not included on the mass-retail version of the same colorway.

Messi's signature colorway for the bulk of this period was "Warning," a vivid orange/black/white combination that became one of the most recognized boots of his early prime. SoccerBible's October 2011 colorway retrospective explicitly credits this pairing to Messi, noting "Lionel Messi broke records wearing the original Warning colourway, sending Barcelona to La Liga and Champions League glory." For the 2011 Champions League final specifically, Messi switched to an "Anodized Purple/Electricity" pairing, a deep metallic purple upper with volt-green electricity accents, chosen for the occasion of European football's showpiece match. Other colorways released across the wider adiZero range that year (worn by other adidas athletes rather than Messi) included Black/White/Electricity, White/Pink/Cyan, and Blue/White/Slime, the latter described by SoccerBible as "the most popular colourway since the boot's launch."

adidas continued to lean on Messi as the flagship face of the F50 adiZero franchise through 2011, tying colorway drops to major moments in his and Barcelona's season rather than to a single World Cup campaign as in 2010. The Champions League final pairing in particular was framed by contemporary press as a statement piece: Soccer Cleats 101's coverage of the Wembley final pair noted Messi "wore them last night with absolute style while proving beyond doubt that he is the best player in the world right now," reflecting how each new Messi colorway was treated as a mini media event in its own right by boot-focused outlets. SoccerBible's later retrospectives also credit this stretch with cementing the idea that Messi's colorways would consistently outperform on the pitch. The piece notes the boot "scored two goals in the 10/11 UCL Final" and had "topped the 10/11 Premier League and Primera Division goal scoring charts" among wearers generally.

The signature moment of this boot generation was the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 28, 2011, where Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1, with Messi scoring one of Barcelona's goals while wearing the Anodized Purple/Electricity pairing. That season also saw Barcelona retain the La Liga title, with Messi as the club's talisman and top scorer, continuing to wear the orange "Warning" colorway through the majority of domestic fixtures. This period cemented Messi's second consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or / World Player of the Year window (he would go on to win the award for 2010, awarded in January 2011, and again for 2011, awarded in January 2012), underscoring why adidas invested so heavily in exclusive colorways for him specifically during this stretch.

The 2011 adiZero generation was a refinement year rather than a reinvention, and it produced two of the most recognizable boots of peak Messi: the orange 'Warning' colourway he wore while tearing through La Liga, and the Anodized Purple pair from Barcelona's Wembley Champions League final win over Manchester United. Messi's personal pairs were quietly bespoke: leather upper, extra heel padding because opponents kept chopping at his feet, which retail buyers never got. Fans at the time gushed over the looks and the sub-6oz weight, and today the Warning and Wembley pairs sit high on collector want-lists, though the 'adiZero II' name itself is a fan convention rather than official adidas naming.