Super Light. Super Strong. Supersonic

Back in 2004, the brief given to designers and engineers at Nike HQ was simple: stop at nothing to innovate the fastest football boot the world has ever seen.

Four years later, the 100% carbon fibre Mercurial SL concept boot makes its debut on Europe’s biggest footballing stage. And if it’s good enough for the fastest man on earth you know it’s the right shoe to take one of the quickest players around to the next level. That’s why 190 grams of pure pace will be gracing the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo in Moscow on Wednesday night.

A carbon fibre plate, engineered in Germany. An injection moulded outsole from South Korea. A carbon fibre upper, hand-moulded in Italy. No corner was cut in the making of this boot. The only things getting trimmed were the hundredths of a second it takes the very best players to get to the ball, strike it, and run to their teammates to celebrate.

You won’t see this shoe on the shelves of your local sports shop. Watch from the stands and it’ll look like a blur on the feet of the world’s fastest players. But step frame by frame through the action on Wednesday night, and you might just catch a fleeting glimpse as the winning goal is fired home.