After six years of development, Australian innovation the Zygo football boot, with the Deztruct model, is available in Australia for the first time.
Zygo’s boots have come a long way since they were first conceived in 2004 by an Australian sports marketer.
Once considered by UK’s FourFourTwo magazine as one of the ten craziest football inventions ever, Zygo has been testing a0nd perfecting its boots and its patented technology for several years, finally debuting its innovation in an A-League game during the summer. Wearing them was Joe Keenan, midfielder of Adelaide United.
Con Hatzilias, director of Zygo, wanted to create a new boot for both professional and amateurs, and to aid juniors developing their skill. In 2007, the Zygo technology was licensed to a sports brand called Canterbury NZ but the license came to an end in 2009.
Inspired by the human fingerprint, Zygo’s boots have special energy pods placed in key areas where contact with the ball takes place. These energy pods act as a spring providing extra energy to the ball. They also add extra grip and amplify swerve and spin.
The shoe has an inner and outer ring design. These rings are strategically positioned on the shoe and form suction-like cups or octopus tentacles which open and glove the ball upon impact. A solid inner peg sits in the middle of the circles sending additional power and acceleration to the ball.
When the ball hits the surface of the shoe, the rings hug the ball from the impact. This means that the ball is momentarily held or supported on the outer surface of both rings, which leads to the players benefiting from greater control with improved feel and grip because the ball is able to stay on the foot that little bit longer. This leads to better performance due to greater control.
As the ball is redirected by a kick, the outer surface of the rings retracts to its initial state, transferring energy to the ball.
This technology was tested at the School of Exercise Science at ACU University and at the Progressive Sports Technologies lab in Manchester.
The Deztruct is Zygo’s footwear new model. It weighs 310g and has three energy zones. The boots are now being trialled by several A-League players with the hope of having brand ambassadors for next year’s league.
This year, for the first time, Zygo’s football boots are finally available to the general public in Australia, at its online store.
