The Nike Total 90 design was a classic of the 2000s - let's look back at each version of the iconic boot
(Image credit: Getty)
The Libertines. Big Brother. Jose Mourinho. Nike Total 90 boots. All of these things sprung up from nowhere but they all defined the 2000s in one way or another.
You remember the high-octane Nike adverts, don't you? The ones where Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos would trade smouldering looks. Sure, the Mercurial boots were sleek, smooth and effortlessly cool. The Total 90s were a quirkier, bolder design, made for the passer, the artist, the player who demanded control in the team.
Eventually, Nike discontinued this classic. But what a run it had...
Nike Total 90 (2000)
Nike Total 90 (Image credit: PA)
The first Total 90 boots didn't really stand out as being too different. Black with flashes of colour, distributed sensibly within the leather panels, what was really so special about these boots?
Well, they were hugely influential. You'll notice the lacing at the side of the boot, with the tongue designed to cover the laces - just like Adidas were about to do with the Predator.
Plus, there was a TV ad that they featured in, with Francesco Totti, Edgar Davids and Lilian Thuram (among others) stealing a ball from a cyber-samurai-guarded museum, with Louis van Gaal playing the getaway driver. Because of course.
Nike Total 90 II (2002)
Nike Total 90 II (Image credit: PA)
This was the pair that everyone owned. The Air Zoom T90 II had potentially the most iconic marketing campaign in the history of the sport - the Cantona-fronted Secret Tournament, directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam - and the boots were just as great.
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Again, the side lacing returned with a colourful gradient strip down the side; a black/white pair were the main colourway with a beautiful white/crimson version for the flashier devils. Nike’s First Touch coating to enhance ball control and touch was used, while the lacing was thinner on this one.
Nike Total 90 III (2004)
Nike Total 90 III (Image credit: PA)
The tongue disappears on the boot, to make way for a huge, different-coloured instep and a giant "90" in a circle. This was Nike's era for thinking much further outside the box, picking designs and styles that would divide opinion but would be remembered fondly in the years that would follow.
This was when Nike would create an entire new, reinforced heel for the boot, add a unique phylon to reduce stud pressure and add comfort, while evolving the structure bars on the outsole. This was a huge hit - despite looking like such a weird design at the time.
Nike Total 90 Supremacy (2006)
Nike Total 90 Supremacy (Image credit: PA)
The first T90s with the boy wonder on board for the marketing. After all, Wayne Rooney had torn up the Premier League and Euro 2004 wearing the boots.
The 2006 versions of the Total 90s were stripped back but boasted louder colourways than ever before. Only subtle changes were made to the boot itself though - if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Nike Total 90 Laser I (2007)
Nike Total 90 Laser I (Image credit: PA)
A year later, new Total 90s dropped. It's perhaps not wrong to suggest that Rooney himself may have influenced them - the focus was as much on the foam target on the top of the foot for volleying, as it was on the softness of the instep for passing. For the first time, the laces were central.
Again though, the focus was precision. Nike veered away from TV ads to focus on going viral on the new-fangled "internet". It'll never catch on.
Nike Total 90 Laser II (2008)
Nike Total 90 Laser II (Image credit: PA)
A similar part of Total 90 Laser boots dropped a year later, this time with a sort of "T" down the centre, with the foam being either side, as you can see. Very similar other than that.
Nike did bring the commercial, though - this time "Take it to the next level" was the theme, with Arsene Wenger signing a lower league player, who gets royally humbled by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Nike Total 90 Laser Elite (2010)
Nike Total 90 Laser Elite (Image credit: PA)
The 2010 World Cup brought a uniform colourway for Nike in the form of the silver and orange boots that the Mercurial brand also used. There was more to the new Total 90s than just a bold new colour though - these were a big departure from the last couple of models.
The lacing was once more off-centre. The boots were almost cutaway on the instep, with pads for delivering pinpoint crosses. This would inform how the next couple of T90s would look and feel.
Nike Total 90 Laser III (2011)
Nike Total 90 Laser III (Image credit: PA)
Nike developed "shotshield technology", a specially designed upper and worked to improve the swerve of the ball for the next model of the Total 90. Wesley Sneijder and Wayne Rooney were still the players who'd done most for the boot in recent seasons.
The "T90" logo got a new look and added to the heel. The pads for precision were similar to the World Cup version and we got some fun new colours.
Nike Total 90 Laser IV (2013)
Nike Total 90 Laser IV (Image credit: PA)
This was to be the last pair of Nike Total 90 boots, as the company moved onto Phantom and Hypervenom brands, as well as the ever-reliable Mercurial boots.
There was a Nike Adaptive Shield was designed to boost power and swerve but aside from that, the tech stayed similar.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
