adidas goes all out to stand above the crowd of FIFA World Cup advertising the with “the greatest football story ever told, Backyard Legends. The five-minute film, created by new agency, Lola USA, directed by Mark Molloy and produced by Smuggler, is led by Timothée Chalamet, with a cast of stars across movies, music and football, that includes Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Trinity Rodman, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Bad Bunny…with cameos from Balon D’or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Pedri, Florian Wirtz and Santiago Gimenez.

And it’s quite a story too. Chalamet organises a neighbourhood match against a legendary street football trio said to have gone unbeaten for 30 years – a cinematic production turning neighbourhood lore into a global football story and highlighting the dual role of football as culture and sport.

The film “celebrates the joy of free play and sets out to remind football fans around the world that every pitch, from backyards to the world’s biggest stage, can create a legend,” adidas stated in its campaign blog.

Backyard Legends underlines adidas’ current You Got This message, inspiring athletes everywhere to bring freedom and joy to every game. It triggers nostalgia with its soundtrack, adds ‘90s street and terrace style, plus analogue tech and era-defining hairstyles, and blends cutting edge CGI with modern VFX to create younger versions of ‘90s icons, Beckham, Zidane and Del Piero.

The campaign reminds the world that “the backyard is where pressure disappears and legends begin. Because whether it’s a cage pitch, a parking lot, a patch of grass or the World Cup stage, the game belongs to those who play free.”

Florian Alt, vice president global brand communications at adidas, commented, “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. This is important for professional and grassroots players alike; in every sport, in every part of the world. The game isn’t defined by the stage, the crowd, or the cameras. It’s defined by those who play free, where everyone can create a legend.”