Based on the concept of a “lightweight, flexible, barefoot feel,”
Morelia boots(Made in Japan) are created by skilled Mizuno artisans dedicated to individually
handcrafting each boot. The meticulous production process begins with kangaroo leather selection,
followed by careful cutting, sewing, lasting and finishing touches.
Morelia football boots-Japanese craftmanship at its best.
The first Morelia developer: Toshiyasu Yasui
Established in 1906, Mizuno is a comprehensive manufacturer of sporting goods with over 100 years of history. With its 30th anniversary this year, the Morelia has a particularly deep history, standing out among the many Mizuno products. For this piece, we talked to the Morelia’s first developer, Toshiyasu Yasui.
The first thing Mr. Yasui said during the interview was, “When I first joined the company, in all honesty, I was not satisfied with Mizuno soccer boots” With such a strong feeling for soccer boots, Yasui was assigned to the department in charge of soccer boots after joining Mizuno.
He had just one thought about soccer boots. This was to create “Quality that could be worn on top playing fields around the world”. The long road to complete the Morelia began with Yasui’s most important point “the ultimate fit”.
After completing his two-year training period, Yasui commuted daily to the Nagata area of Kobe, famous for shoe production, to become an apprentice shoe designer. Those efforts bore fruit and the Yanmar Diesel (currently Cerezo Osaka) soccer team and FC Bayern Munich (amateur team) reviewed prototypes that were highly praised. However, he was still not satisfied that this was a boot that could take on the world.
Yasui says, “I was really impressed with the technique of the Brazilian players. To take on the rest of the world in soccer, Japanese players first needed to make technology a part of themselves. I wanted to make soccer boots to help them do just that.”
The catalyst for this was when he met Musashi Mizushima, the first Japanese athlete to become a professional soccer player in Brazil, in the prestigious Sao Paulo FC. This was at the end of 1983.
When Yasui met Musashi, the Morelia concept of a lightweight, flexible, barefoot feel was solidified. Musashi told him that “Above all, I want a lightweight boot that can easily be folded and put in a pocket for taking with me. And I want the sensation of playing barefoot.” Yasui wanted to develop a new soccer boot with the attitude that “If it sounds good, I’ll try anything.”
Musashi, when trying the prototype Morelia described it with the single word “miraculous”. When thinking back on this, Yasui muses “When I think about it now, it’s pretty strange that we were able to create such an innovative boot.” He reminisces about his true feelings when completing the Morelia, saying, “Both Musashi and myself were young and his dream became my dream, which was probably what gave life to the project.”
Yasui also talks about modern soccer boot production, saying, “Of course there will always be demand for profits and new products. But the main thing I want people to remember is that such a soccer boot could not have been developed without the supported of many people for 30 years. Above all, I just wanted people to wear good soccer boots.”
Switching gears a bit, the following comment was written in a Mizuno questionnaire: “I let my son wear his first pair of Morelia boots.” When reading this, Yasui cherished the thoughts of all these players all the more, and used these thoughts as the next step in Morelia evolution.
The Morelia series now consists of the Morelia II with the concept of a lightweight, flexible, barefoot feel, and the Morelia Neo that further advances that concept with the latest technologies. We hope that the incredible comfort and sensation of playing that has been built up over 30 years can be experienced by ever more players in the days to come.
Mizuno Corporation
Morelia developer
Toshiyasu Yasui
Planning and Design Dept: Shunsuke Aoi
Mizuno is a comprehensive manufacturer of sporting goods with over 100 years of history. With its 30th anniversary this year, the Morelia has a particularly deep history among many Mizuno products.
In 2014, Aoi, who has helped plan a number of soccer boots, was tasked with overhauling the Morelia II. soccer boots are the weapon and partner of a soccer player. Aoi, having spent time with a large number of players, thoroughly understands this concept. For this very reason, Aoi thought “I should ask domestic players who use the Morelia II ‘what should be changed, and what shouldn’t be changed?’” and carried out a survey with all contracted players in Japan. Amazingly, he returned to Mizuno headquarters with virtually blank questionnaires. When asking contracted players again, he was thoroughly convinced that they were happy with the boot as is.
However, there were a few who thought the Morelia II would be better if it was a bit lighter. When Aoi saw the direction the Morelia II was taking, the planning and development teams united in setting their sights on reducing the weight, and eventually achieved a lightweight 45 g. However, Aoi talks about another important factor in the Morelia aside from its lightweight form.
“Even if something is changed, other aspects must be carried on. It’s lighter now, but what if that had adversely affected the fit? There’s no excuse for that kind of result when it comes to those players that have continued to choose the Morelia.”
The Morelia series now consists of the Morelia II with the concept of a lightweight, flexible, barefoot feel, and the Morelia Neo that further advances that concept with the latest technologies. These two soccer boots have truly passed on the ‘player first’ concept in an unbroken line from the original developer, Mr. Yasui down to modern day developers of the Morelia series. Try the Morelia series for yourself and experience the maturity these boots have gained over the past 30 years.
Global Footwear Product Headquarters
Planning and Design Dept.
Shunsuke Aoi
