The History of Speed – Mercurial Vapor I

The original Mercurial caused the kind of stir a shark makes in a fish pond. And with its standard-bearer R9 still ruling the world four years later, the new Mercurial Vapor was the most highly anticipated boot ever to emerge from the Nike Lab – in time for the showpiece event of 2002.

With the world’s attention turned towards Korea and Japan, Terry Gilliam’s Cage Tournament ad offered the first glimpse of Ronaldo’s long-awaited new weapon – and sent chills down the spines of defenders who knew they were about to meet their match.

Never mind the eye-catching haircut – the gaze of the fans never shifted from R9’s feet as he laid down the tournament performance of his career. Eight goals in seven matches. A brace in the biggest final of all. And a record-breaking fifth world title brought safely back to Brazil. There was never any doubt whose name would come out of the envelope when the 2002 World Player of the Year was announced.


While the appreciation of R9’s fans was still echoing around the globe, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo was quietly building a reputation to match that of his Brazilian namesake. He pulled on his own pair of Mercurial Vapors to thump home his first ever Man Utd goal, laying down the warning that giving him a free kick on the edge of the box is like chalking up a free United goal on the scoreboard. It didn’t take long for opposition defences to sit up and take note.