The Air Max-ification of Nike's Legendary Soccer Shoe
What happens when an iconic football boot meets an equally famous Air Max model? The Nike Air Max Joga Bonito is born.
Nike basically mashed the Mercurial R9 cleats and the Air Max 95 together to get the Joga Bonito. But this Swoosh soccer crossover hits different, as it references the 2006 Nike "Joga Bonito" commercial which starred soccer greats like Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldo Nazário. It's easily one of the best soccer ads ever. Depending on who you ask, some might even call it the greatest of all time.
The name "joga bonito" means "play beautifully" in Portuguese, which is very fitting for the Air Max model. It's admittedly more street-ready than game-ready, but it is quite nice-looking.
It features crisp wavy uppers like the Mercurial model, topped with Nike's unmistakable Swoosh logo. Meanwhile, underfoot, it has the Air Max 95's thick Air-cushioned soles.
That's not the only thing it borrows from the classic Air Max sneaker, either. For the latest drop, the Air Max Joga Bonito slips into the classic "Neon" outfit, one of the Air Max 95's original colorways, which several Nike models have temporarily donned over the years.
Priced at $180, the "Neon" Air Max Joga Bonito sneaker is scheduled to release on Nike's SNKRS app on August 1.
It's another nice soccer crossover for the Swoosh collection, which includes Tiempo-style Cortez sneakers and Total 90s with Shox tech. Seriously, no one does crazy-clean soccer hybrids quite like Nike.
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