Adidas has loaded up on stars, including Timothée Chalamet and a grip of soccer legends from past and present, for its new World Cup short film.
Titled “Backyard Legends,” the five-minute short sees the Oscar-nominated actor putting together a “legit” team for three-on-three street game against a local side. On his side are current stars Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Trinity Rodman. Their humble opponents are said to have defeated David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero in a 1996 match shown via flashbacks.
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In the audience for the present-day game are Lionel Messi and Bad Bunny, and cameos can also be seen by Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Pedri, Florian Wirtz and Santiago Gimenez.
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“I used to dream of playing with these guys — you know, I was playing at Pier 40 as a kid, thinking about Beckham’s free kicks, Del Piero’s goals, and Zidane’s volleys — doing my own versions,” Chalamet said in a press release. “I love this game, so it’s unbelievable to be doing this with Adidas, captured with the best to ever do it. I’m a traditionalist, I don’t know soccer, I know football, and I can’t wait for this summer’s World Cup.”
Ahead of the film launch, Chalamet had been spotted wearing Adidas sneakers — including the Stan Smith and Samba — several times while courtside watching the New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs, He also began teasing the short film on social media Wednesday while saying his “socc-football” dreams were coming true.
Florian Alt, Adidas vice president of Global Brand communications, said of the short film: “Everyone remembers that feeling: playing for the joy of it, no pressure, no expectations. With ‘Backyard Legends,’ we celebrate that freedom. It’s a reminder that self-belief and playfulness are the real winning mindset. As our athletes and federations take to the biggest sporting stage this summer, we know that pressure is part of sport, we hear that directly from them. While we encourage competitiveness, our ambition is to inspire everyone, to disarm that pressure through playing free and believing, ‘You Got This.'”