Nike Football Great Britain

Master the Four Rs of Football

gareth.nettl — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:31:44 GMT

Becoming the complete player means nailing the four Rs – Receiving the ball, Releasing the ball, Retaining the ball and Running with the ball.

Watch Nike Academy coach, Dean Smith, run his players through the essential drills as they continue their progress.

Test against the best

DonJulio — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:59:18 GMT

Brazil, five-time winners of football’s greatest prize. The most successful team in the competition’s history. The perfect test for a promising England team.

Brazil face England this weekend. It’s the perfect chance for each side to test their potential as they continue preparations for South Africa.

Who will come out on top?

Have your say on the Nike Football Facebook page

The moment you train for

DonJulio — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:24:58 GMT

Lassana Diarra is used to defying the odds. Not the tallest, the largest or the strongest, he’s carved a role for himself in Les Blues midfield, from sheer determination and committed training.

Every second of his preparation will be tested, if he gets his chance to show what he can do against the Irish. There’s a spot in South Africa at stake.

Watch the video to see Lassana in training.

Keane has France in his sights

gareth.nettl — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:54:30 GMT

The Republic of Ireland are potentially just 180 minutes away from a place in South Africa next year. But it’s a tough 180 minutes.

Standing in their way are former joint world and European champions France. But eyeing them hungrily is Robbie Keane – desperate to play on the world’s biggest stage.

Can Robbie shoot the French down?

A battle for first

DonJulio — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:37:10 GMT

Before you wade into combat, you must be prepared – mentally and physically.

Rooney is ready. Ready to take on the in-form blues and ready to take United to the top of the table.

Prepare for combat.

Ignition point

gareth.nettl — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:29:19 GMT

Sometimes the most important goal is not the winner.

Six minutes left, 3-1 behind. All heads down. Except one. Scholes rose high to nod in the cross, instill belief in his team and ignite the comeback.

Minutes later, they were level and through to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition.

SEE THE MAN UTD PAGE

Bitter rivals, sweet victory

DonJulio — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:05:56 GMT

Cesc stands in the centre circle. His first North London derby as captain. His team 1-0 up. Time to kill the game.

The match re-starts. Cesc bursts out of the traps. Steals the ball, dances past one player, two, three. Then, with the goal at his mercy, calmly strokes the ball home.

SEE CESC'S PLAYER PAGE
SEE ARSENAL'S PAGE

Super Mario smashes it

DonJulio — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:44:54 GMT

Sometimes you witness the precise moment a promising talent moves up several gears into the major league.

For the man they call Super Mario, it happened in just 48 minutes. Last night, Balotelli scored two, created one and won the penalty for another. He even had to be dragged away from taking the spot kick by the regular penalty taker. Balotelli is not lacking confidence.

Watch the video to see how Balotelli hones his touch and dribbling.

Will his skills and growing confidence be enough to book him a ticket to South Africa?

SEE MARIO BALOTELLI'S PAGE

Get Master Control on your iPhone

DonJulio — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:39:17 GMT

Master Control is a dedicated Nike Football training iPhone app, created to help you tighten your control.

Developed by the coaches at Barcelona, Master Control features video training drills from Iniesta, tips from Pep Guardiola and Signature Moves from Cesc.

You can watch all the videos on your iPhone so you can practise game-winning control on any pitch.

Download the Master Control app from iTunes and start training.

Nike Academy – Take on Forest and triumph

gareth.nettl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:45:47 GMT

The Nike Academy’s latest challenge was a tough match-up against Nottingham Forest’s U17 squad. The players were ready but the proof would be on the pitch. And with the recent Brighton draw still fresh in their mind – nothing less than a win would satisfy.

From the start it was clear the Academy were hungry, applying pressure and forcing their way into Forest’s area. A deadly combination of clever touches and inspired teamwork, gave the boys a 4-0 lead going into half time, with David Knight, Lee Brennan and Kyle Fraser-Allen getting on the scoresheet. Forest fought back in the second half to make it 4-1, but an impressive long-range effort from Dubi Ogbonna put the game out of reach and gave the Academy a well earned 5-1 victory.

Check out more about the Nike Academy here.

Can you stand it?

DonJulio — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:44:17 GMT

Pressure. It changes everything.

On Sunday, Fernando was only 80% fit, burdened with expectation and desperate to end a four-game losing streak for his club.

But when your back’s against the wall, there’s only one way to go.

El Niño burst into the box, shrugged off his man and fired into the roof of the net.

Pressure – tastes good.

Nike Academy – Physical conditioning

gareth.nettl — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:04:48 GMT

Being nifty on the ball means nothing unless you can match it with the physical capabilities to stay strong throughout the game. That’s why Performance Director Jon Goodman has stepped in to put the lads through their paces – working on drills to increase endurance, improve reaction speed and boost athleticism.

The Academy’s recent match against Brighton & Hove Albion was an eye-opener and showed how fitness can make the decisive difference between victory and defeat. As the season moves forward, the opposition and challenges get tougher...

The team now must up the tempo and prove they have the right mix of technical, tactical and physical skills to take their game further.

Next up Nottingham Forest.

Cesc takes control on Facebook

DonJulio — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:31:54 GMT

Want to know the secret of Cesc’s game-winning control?

On Thursday 22 October at 6:30pm, he’ll be taking over the Nike Football Facebook page.

It’s your chance to see behind-the-scenes photos, hear his football insights and ask your own questions.

So we need you to get involved. Post your questions to the event wall. Cesc will pick his favourites and answer them on the night.

Join the event

Always forward

DonJulio — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:20:37 GMT

After Brazil’s draw last night, they can look ahead to 2010.

Once they touch down in South Africa, there will only be one thing on their minds – progressing through to the final and lifting world football’s greatest prize.

Think they can do it?

Cesc Fabregas: Total Control

DonJulio — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:42:55 GMT

At the heart of the game stands the playmaker. The one whose first touch is already the start of the second. Who creates space out of chaos. Who sees runs no-one else sees or imagines. The one to whom precision is the norm and the spectacular expected. The one the other players look back to when their shot hits the net.

Watch Cesc take total control.