Adidas Handball Spezial

Released in 1979 as an indoor handball shoe, the Spezial was never really aimed at football fans, which is probably why they claimed it. Premium suede and a grippy rubber outsole built for quick turns on a court made it a dresser's shoe from Aberdeen to Arsenal. It also carries the modern terrace revival. Gary Aspden's SPEZIAL line brought the shoe back from the archive and grew into a whole range, and he has called the design utterly timeless, with a distinct link to working-class British football fashion. The current Handball Spezial is close to the original shape, so it is the safest way into the look for anyone who finds the Samba too common now.