Half the reason the adidas Handball Spezial blew up is color. The Samba mostly lives in black and white; the Spezial shows up in browns, deep navies, wine reds, greens and pinks that make it feel like a different shoe in every colorway. Here's our guide to the Spezial colors in the collection, what each one does best, and which to buy first.
Black and neutrals: the daily drivers
If this is your first Spezial, start here. Black cow suede with white leather 3-Stripes and a gum sole goes with everything you already own, and the suede keeps it from reading as a plain black sneaker.
Ready to pick? Shop the Handball Spezial collection.
If you want black without the white striping, the Wonder Quartz tones the contrast down. On the women's side there's a black pair cut to the women's last, and the dark alumina is the neutral workhorse, warmer than grey, easier than white.
For a softer neutral on the women's side, the Off White/Wonder Mauve pair (KK0927) pairs shaggy off-white suede with mauve 3-Stripes, gold Spezial lettering and a basket-weave tongue over a speckled gum sole.
Navy and blue: the archetype
If you asked someone to draw a Handball Spezial from memory, they'd draw a blue one. It's the colorway that ties the shoe back to its 1979 handball-court origins. The Night Indigo is the current best version of it, deep indigo suede, cream leather stripes, and a darker gum sole that keeps the whole palette grounded.
For the summer-weight take, the light blue and gum is the same idea turned up in brightness. If you want the straight-down-the-middle version, the collegiate navy with clear sky and gum is as close to the 1979 template as the line gets, and the Colombia blue leans sportier.
Reds and maroons: the rich tones
This is Spezial territory the Samba can't touch. Deep, suede-rich color that photographs beautifully and ages even better. Scarlet red is the loud one and maroon is the wearable one, maroon behaves almost like a neutral once it's on foot, in the same way a deep burgundy does.
Here's the red on video, so you can see how the suede actually reads in the light.
Watch the red Handball Spezial on TikTok
Want something further out? adidas has run the Spezial in brighter reds and pinks on the women's last too; browse the full collection for the rest of the range.
Where's the brown Spezial?
Fair question, because brown is the colorway search spikes on every autumn, and chocolate suede over a gum sole is the warmest version of the terrace look. Here are the two brown routes worth knowing.
The first is the Handball Spezial x Liberty London, a brown laced pair from adidas' run with the London print house:
The second is the Handball Spezial Loafer, the same suede and the same gum sole, built as a slip-on rather than a laced shoe. The silhouette is different, but if brown suede is what you're after it scratches exactly that itch. Our Spezial Loafer review covers how it fits versus the laced pair, and the full Spezial collection has the rest of the range.
The football collabs
adidas keeps using the Spezial as a canvas for national-team makeups, and they're some of the most interesting color stories in the line: Spain in red, navy and gold, Mexico in white and aurora ivy, Argentina in black and white. adidas makes them for a tournament cycle and then moves on, which is most of their appeal.
If that's the lane you like, browse the Spezial collection and read our World Cup 2026 collection guide for what adidas is doing with national-team kit this cycle. The Liberty London pair in the brown section above is the same idea from a different direction, print instead of flag.
Which colorway should you buy first?
Black if it's your only pair. Navy or indigo if you want the classic that people who know the shoe will clock. Maroon or red if you already own the safe one and want the Spezial to actually do something in an outfit.
Whichever direction you go, check fit before ordering. The Spezial is true to size for standard-width feet, and half a size up if your foot is wide or you wear a medium-to-thick sock, it's the roomiest of the classic terrace models, and our sizing guide covers it. For deeper dives, we've got a full men's Spezial buying guide and women's Spezial guide, and if you're a colorway person generally, the Samba colorways guide is the companion read.
Every colorway, verified
Popular colorways attract fakes first. Every Spezial we sell is authenticated in-house at our Portland, Oregon warehouse, Verified & Shipped. Browse the full adidas Handball Spezial collection.
— Anthony from West Coast Deals