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Adidas vs Puma

Two brothers started making shoes in their mother's laundry room. Twenty-eight years later their feud split a German town in two.

Runtime
13:40
Chapters
9
Spans
1920 – today
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the bomb-shelter line? family legend.

the first machine ran on a bicycle01:39

The odd beginning

It started in

their mother's laundry room.

Two brothers started making shoes in their mother's laundry room. Twenty-eight years later they couldn't stand to be in the same room, and their feud split a German town, a World Cup and the entire sneaker industry in two.

This is the story of adidas and Puma: the war, the split, the Miracle of Bern, the Pelé "pact", and the third runner who quietly stole the whole race.

Frames from the film

A flat map of one small town, split by its river into two halves.
A flat map of one small town, split by its river into two halves.
Two brothers in a laundry room, one pedalling a bicycle that drives a machine.
Two brothers in a laundry room, one pedalling a bicycle that drives a machine.
An adidas runner and a Puma runner on a red track while a third runner reaches the tape.
An adidas runner and a Puma runner on a red track while a third runner reaches the tape.
Searchlights over a dark town at night, tagged "family legend".
Searchlights over a dark town at night, tagged "family legend".

Chapters

  1. 00The Town of Bent Necks0:00
  2. 01The Laundry Room1:02
  3. 02The War Inside the War3:11
  4. 03The Split5:31
  5. 04The Miracle of Bern7:18
  6. 05The Sons8:33
  7. 06The Third Runner9:57
  8. 07Peace?11:28
  9. 08The Verdict12:41

A note on accuracy

Some famous parts of this story are legends, and the film says so. The bomb-shelter line, the Pelé "pact" and the price paid for the three stripes all come from family accounts and later books, not documents. Jesse Owens wearing Dassler shoes in 1936 is widely reported but has never been independently verified. Neither brother invented the screw-in stud (German Patent and Trade Mark Office). Dialogue is dramatised.

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Sources

15 cited
  1. 01Neue Deutsche Biographie: "Dassler, Adolf" (J. Lesczenski, 2022)
  2. 02Neue Deutsche Biographie: "Dassler, Armin A."
  3. 03K.-P. Gäbelein, "PUMA – Der Sportartikelhersteller…", Frankenland 3/2015
  4. 04DPMA (German Patent and Trade Mark Office): screw-in stud history
  5. 05Adi & Käthe Dassler Memorial Foundation: chronicle
  6. 06Olympics.com: Lina Radke, 1928
  7. 07Barbara Smit, Pitch Invasion (2006) / Sneaker Wars (2008)
  8. 08AFP via The Local (2016): "a football strip feud that divides a town"
  9. 09Puma: 2009 Peace One Day match
  10. 10History News Network (H. Blutstein, 2021): Mexico City 1968
  11. 11Christian Science Monitor (1982): Nike overtakes adidas in the US
  12. 12adidas Annual Report 2025
  13. 13Puma FY2025 results
  14. 14Puma: Anta Sports becomes largest shareholder
  15. 15Nike FY2026 results

adidas, Puma and Nike are trademarks of their respective owners. Logos are shown for identification only. This is an independent documentary, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies.

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