Adidas: “Imposible is nothing.”

adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer, part of Adidas Group. The company was named after its founder, Adolf (Adi) Dassler (das), who starting producing shoes in the 1920s in Herzogenaurach near Nuremberg with the help of his brother Rudolf.

The idea of the founder was as simple as it was brilliant. Adi Dassler’s aim was to provide every athlete with the best possible equipment. It all began in 1920, when Adi Dassler made his first shoes using the few materials available after the First World War.

Adolf Dassler was inspired by a single idea when he made his first shoes in 1920, at the age of just 20. His vision was to provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline. It was this principle that guided him right up until his death in 1978. 700 patents and other industrial property rights worldwide are proof of his permanent quest for perfection.

His first shoe, made from the few materials available in the difficult post-war period, was produced from canvas. A passionate athlete himself, from the very beginning Adi Dassler was in close contact with sports participants and was always present in person at important sports events. Adi Dassler focused his work on the classic disciplines of track and field. Athletes wore special shoes from his workshop for the first time at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the mid 1920s he was already experimenting with spikes.

Since 1970 FIFA World Cup with the football Telstar, adidas has been the FIFA official match ball supplier for every FIFA World Cup and designs the official match ball for every edition of the event.

Today, adidas products range extends from shoes, apparel and accessories for basketball, soccer, fitness and training to adventure, trail and golf. The adidas Group has more than 25,000 employees worldwide, with more than 2,000 working at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach. A team of designers, product developers and experts for biomechanics and material technology carries out research in Portland and at adidas’ second technology centre in Scheinfeld near Nuremberg.

Some of the famous soccer players who has been present in commercials of the company include Kaká, Rui Costa, Zinidine Zidane, David Beckham, Oliver Kahn, Miroslav, Klose, Lukas Podolski, Michael Ballack, Raúl, Zico, Michel Platini and Franz Beckenbauer.