I am the punishment of God… If you had not committed great sins God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you! Those are the words Puma have printed on the new evoPOWER tricks MB. The words mean a great deal to Balotelli, who also has them tattooed across his left chest. Where is the quote from? Read more here and find out.

That Balotelli is a unique personality is hardly a secret. This is something PUMA have chosen to acknowledge with a completely unique and exclusive signature boot for their Italian Icon, Mario Balotelli. The concept is built on their Tricks design, which has really marched onto the scene in 2014. Now Puma use the duality in the design, to represent the same duality in Mario Balotelli’s personality.

Balotelli changed to PUMA in the beginning of 2013 and has since then been one of the front men for the newly introduced evoPOWER. His first boot from PUMA was a unique evoPOWER, designed with newspaper cut-outs of his most controversial headlines, including the infamous ‘Why Always Me?’ But the reasons for why it is always about Super Mario are not hard to see. The notorious Italian never does anything halfhearted.

With this signature boot from PUMA, Balotelli has really put his entire personality into the design. On top of making the boots in the same colour as the Italian flag, PUMA have also incorporated several quotes, which are not just important to Balotelli, but represent his goals both on the football pitch and in his private life. On the lateral side of the boot you see the quote we started the article with and while that might be something you could imagine Balo saying, it’s actually not. It was said for the first time in the thirteenth century by the feared Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan. No, humility is hardly Super Mario’s strongest suit it would appear…

… And then again it might be. On the medial side of the boot Puma have placed three words, which Balotelli always strives to live by: Professionalism, Endeavour and Humility. We will be the first to admit this isn’t exactly the Mario we have come to know, since he was introduced to the football world. The words come from a medallion given to a young Balotelli by his foster mother, whom he loves dearly. It would seem there is much more, than just arrogance and indifference, to Liverpool’s prolific Italian striker.

This signature boot has naturally also been made completely “Balotelli-unique” by PUMA. Balotelli plays in a different variation of the Adap-Lite, which is closer to leather than the regular version we know. It has a rougher and suppler upper, which gives a different level comfort for the feet. At the same time PUMA have chosen to remove their EverFit Cage EXT, which you find on both their evoSPEED and evoPOWER. An interesting decision, which we aren’t sure how will affect the boots performance.

Under this special evoPOWER PUMA have however changed nothing and it is therefore still the innovative Gradual Stability Frame that sits and delivers great flexibility around the front foot, as well as excellent stability further up the boot towards the heel. It is therefore still the powerful strike that takes the front seat with the Puma evoPOWER.

As an extra element to enhance your strike, PUMA have also kept their Acci-foam pads, which sit around the instep. These pads help even out all strange bumps the foot might have, so you have an entirely clean strike surface. This is an excellent way to get a more precise strike and should help you greatly, when you look to get the best out of your hits at goal.

To finish off with we would like to share a little anecdote about Balotelli, just to underline the fact that he is far from your ordinary footballer and personality. When PUMA’s designers sat down to get to know Balotelli a little better, so they could find some inspiration for the design of this evoPOWER Tricks MB, Super Mario several times highlighted the fact that he does celebrate when he scores. “I don’t enjoy celebrating my goals – It’s my job”.

The new PUMA evoPOWER Tricks MB is Balotelli’s new signature boot and comes in a very limited amount, with just 400 pairs available. The duality of the design represents the same duality you see in Balotelli’s contentious personality. What do you think about the new boots?