As a football-obsessed 12 year-old in the Brazilian coastal city of Santos, Neymar Jr. would spray paint his football boots gold. Now Nike has created a stunning new gold version of the Brazilian star’s Hypervenom boots for him to wear during the rest of the tournament. The boot will be available on www.nike.com from June 26th.

The original Hypervenom Phantom boot was launched by Neymar Jr. in Rio de Janeiro in May 2013 and made an immediate mark when he lit up his home country in the Confederations Cup.

“When we met with Neymar he told us that when he was 12 he used to spray paint his boots gold. He said that he always wanted a pair of gold boots but that he couldn’t find them anywhere. So we took that insight and decided this summer would be the perfect moment to create this boot for him,” said Denis Dekovic, Nike Football Design Director.

“The biggest challenge was getting the gold tone perfect so it had the right spray-painted look,” Dekovic said. “We worked closely with Neymar to get it as close to how he remembered the color when he would apply it as a kid. We’re all delighted with the results and can’t wait to see it on pitch.”

This special version of the Hypervenom Phantom features a unique sock-liner detail of a gold spray paint can and the Hypervenom boot graphic .

The Nike Football design team created the Hypervenom by first looking at trends among strikers in today’s game.

“The Nike Hypervenom is a response to the way the game is changing. Players want to be quicker, not just in a foot race, but quicker with the ball at their feet in small spaces. They need to create chances from nothing. The Hypervenom was designed to help combat today’s faster defenders by allowing strikers that extra split-second in the box,” said Dekovic.

NIKESKIN UPPER

The design team knew that the product had to re-examine the way boots were being created.

“Traditionally a new boot will focus on an evolution of the fit, the upper material or the sole plate and stud configuration. The Hypervenom features new solutions for all of these areas,” said Dekovic.

The Hypervenom’s upper is created using the new NIKESKIN system. This execution of NIKESKIN features a soft, supple mesh bound with a thin polyurethane film, and is finished off with Nike All Conditions Control technology (ACC) to provide the same level of foot-to-ball control in both wet and dry conditions.

“Mesh delivers an amazing level of comfort and feel. The athletes asked us to deliver a boot that gets as close as possible to the feeling of playing barefoot,” Dekovic said. “Mesh takes us a step closer to doing that and the All Conditions Control finish keeps the mesh dry.”

PERFECTED LAST AND OUTSOLE

The Hypervenom also features a new foot last, removing excess materials to place the foot closer to the ground and ball.

Nike worked with some of the world’s top podiatrists to create a decoupled outsole that increases the player’s ability to make that important first step away from the defender. A groove in the forefoot helps to quickly activate the first metatarsal, the bone that defines reaction time of the foot’s first movement.

The chassis of the outsole features compressed nylon for a high-response plate that helps deliver strength while being incredibly light. The stud configuration and length is designed to allow for faster penetration of the surface, and ultimately a quicker release – all innovations designed to help players create space faster than ever before.