NIkefootball India

In total control

ManishTilwani — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:46:22 GMT

The CTR360 is the ultimate control boot. Developed for players who pull the midfield strings. Players who specialise in killer through-balls. Players like Cesc.

On Saturday, Cesc wore the CTR360 for the first time, getting a chance to see how the boot would improve his game.

Over 90 minutes Cesc gave a stunning masterclass in the art of midfield play – setting up four of Arsenal’s six goals and netting one himself. No arguments who made the difference.

Want to dominate the game like Cesc?

Explore the CTR360

Start training now

Rise above it

ManishTilwani — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:12:03 GMT

Sometimes, build-up threatens to overshadow the game.

The rookie manager challenging his former master. The once-beloved player returning to face his former fans. The first genuine Manchester-wide title tussle for years.

But amid a swirling cauldron of screaming fans, Man Utd proved the benefit of keeping cool and playing the game, not the occasion.

When all was done, the red half of Manchester walked off with their 61st Derby win.

Ronaldo rewrites history

ManishTilwani — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:58:46 GMT

Didn’t take him long.

After just four games in the white of Madrid, Cristiano has stamped his name in the club’s record books. Last night he became the first player ever to score in all of his first four games for the club.

Who knows what he’ll do in the next 34.

More Milestones for Rooney

ManishTilwani — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:46:05 GMT

For all the luck that plays into the game of football, it won’t alone take you to a championship. So sure, Wayne Rooney’s 25th goal for England, capping their 5-1 victory over Croatia on Saturday, was due in large part to a goal keeper’s blundered clearance, but lesser players would be caught off guard by the mistake without the controlled reflexes to do something with the gift. Not Rooney, whose 76th minute point-blank bullet came with the precision of a man taking no prisoners. It was his ninth goal in this qualifying campaign, a new record for England.

With two games left to play, Rooney and partners sit at the top of the group, and already booked for South Africa.

Dead ball – buried

ManishTilwani — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:40:03 GMT

Sometimes you get a whole game. Sometimes a cameo. But when Ribery came on for Bayern, he took centre stage.

His inch-perfect free-kick put the German champions 3 up, kick-starting a 5-1 drubbing. Some players only need a second to make the difference.

Nice wins nothing

ManishTilwani — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:23:30 GMT

What is nice? What’s it ever won? Let’s see its medals.

Ribery knows that nice never Made the Difference. To yourself in training. To the weaknesses in your game. To every last opponent.

Better than a Derby

ManishTilwani — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:48:05 GMT

Back and forth action featuring the precise passing of Arsenal and the muscled management of Manchester United. Fans got what they asked for in the first meeting of the season for two English powerhouses.

A 20-meter strike from Andrei Arshavin, Arsenal’s newest all star, finds the upper 90, powering through the keeper’s hand to start the scoring. A solid penalty from Wayne Rooney, Manchester’s now unquestioned offensive leader, brought the match even. It was edge of your seat madness for 90 minutes.

The red devils took the lead with their second goal in a 5-minute span, which sealed the home victory for Rooney and crew, and left Arsenal forced to look forward. The rematch in London, exactly 5 months from now, will again put the players in the pressure cooker, right where the fans want them, with a much better idea of how the league table is shaking out. January 30th can’t come soon enough.

Baichung Bhutia’s one hundredth

ManishTilwani — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:26:11 GMT

Baichung did it! Baichung Bhutia is now the first Indian player to compete in 100 international matches and as if to reaffirm his standing, the national captain scored the winning goal in his 100th match against Kyrgyzstan. The current Nehru Cup has added a new feather in his cap, an achievement that would seem unsurpassable, given the rigour of the sport. Baichung began his international career at the age of 19.

Whilst the Baichung stadium in Sikkim stands as tribute to this great player, in our hearts and minds, Baichung is Football and Football is Baichung.100 and counting!

Pictures courtesy indianfootball.com

Make the Difference

ManishTilwani — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:59:43 GMT

You can stop at enough
And go no further,
Satisfied with being just
Another name on the teamsheet.

Or you could be their worst nightmare.

The one who can
Turn a game in an instant.

Who gladly takes the penalty
In the 90th minute.
Who not only bleeds for his team,
But bleeds into them.

The one that sees the pass
That no one else sees, makes the
Tackle that turns desperate
Defence into decisive attack.

Who turns doubt into belief.
A bus ride home spent in silence,
Into one spent in
Deafening celebration.

Be the one that they
Worry about days before kick-off.

Be the one they want
Injured in the warm-up.
Who blurs the line
Between hate and respect.
Who can never be stopped,
Only feared.

Make your mark
On each and every game.
Today. Tomorrow. In training.
Next Saturday.

TRAIN FOR THE DIFFERENCE ON FACEBOOK

T-90 Ascente Testing – Man Utd

ManishTilwani — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:54:30 GMT

Date: 05.02.09
Location: Carrington
Weather conditions: Very cold and windy. Conditions ranged between cloudy, snowing and sunny. Temperature range 0-1C without wind chill. Well below freezing with wind chill. 0-20 mph winds throughout.
Pitch conditions: Good, short grass.
Players and staff: Full first team, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Wes Brown, Edwin Van der Sar, Ben Foster, Rafael da Silva, Tomasz Kuszczak.

Tester’s notes: Freezing cold. And more snow. Balls topped off to 12.5psi.

Team session: 15-mins shots on goal from 20 yards. 8 vs. 2 one-touch keep-ball drill. Fast, one-touch session.

Shooting session: Players hammer the ball, Rooney hits hardest – like a sledgehammer: “Feels nice to strike. Especially when you strike it true.” More finishing drills. Shooting from 3 different spots. Players love shooting with it. All-around accuracy improvements.

Brazil stakes its claim

ManishTilwani — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:25:34 GMT

A second half display of poise and relentless attack showed exactly why
you should never write off the world's most notorious cup winning side.

Two first half goals by Dempsey and Donovan showed a US team intent on
damaging the Brazilian's hopes early on. Tim Howard kept the US hearts intact,
until just after half-time when Luis Fabiano turned on the flair and netted
two, putting the game level and his name on the Golden boot.

A passionate display by Donovan, Davies, Dempsey, Oneywu and Howard wasn't
enough to keep the Brazilian onslaught at bay, with the third and final goal
finished when it mattered most.

With twelve months to go, Brazil have staked their claim on South African soil.

We are European Champions. We are one.

ManishTilwani — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:42:07 GMT

Barcelona strode into the Stadio Olimpico, on a mission to become Europe’s greatest. Led by Iniesta, they claimed every ball in midfield, virtually passing Man Utd into submission as they took down another of the giants of the game.

Lifting the greatest prize in club football means that in Pep Guardiola’s first season as manager, Barcelona have become the first Spanish team ever to win the treble of the league title, the Copa del Rey and now Europe’s biggest prize.

Barcelona were never just 11 on the pitch. Instead, Europe’s finest came together on the night that mattered most.

CR7 hits pay dirt as the world looks on

ManishTilwani — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:31:46 GMT

Christiano Ronaldo was awarded with yet another piece of silverware: the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
His fans love him and his sheer determination and passion drive him to victory.

Episode 2: Whatever it takes

Nikefootball_India — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:05:00 GMT

Determination is the ultimate talent. Hard work is what it takes to play top level football.

Bootcamp Drill of the Week: Back to Back

nike_in — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:47:45 GMT

Two goals in fifteen seconds. It’s every striker’s dream.

See Klaas Jan Huntelaar take on Bootcamp’s ‘back to back’ drill, and find out how the explosive combination of pure pace and deadly striking prowess helps him take his game to the next level.

And remember: if you’re not gasping for air at the end of this drill, you’re not doing it right.