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Lightness Makes Greatness

DonJulio — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:49:19 GMT

Lightness makes greatness, and with the new Nike national team kits re-writing the rules for elite apparel, players will be even better prepared to write history in South Africa.

The new jerseys cool the body 7 percent more than the previous incarnations; it's 13 percent lighter and stretches 10 percent more to create one of the most permeable DriFit fabric that's cut to fit better than ever before.

"It's not about light weight," Design Director for Football Thom Walker says. "It's about the right weight."

What weight remains comes from the 8 plastic bottles used to create each of the 100 percent recycled polyester jerseys. Laser-perforated mesh on the sides and a full-mesh back drop some weight and ensure cooling where the body needs it most. Bonded, instead of stitched, seams ensure maximum athlete comfort.

From the unique, perforated numbers and lettering to the Inner Pride graphic on the inside of each federation crest, not a single design element was overlooked, creating a custom and considered design for each nation. The new kits ensure athletes and fans alike will be able to get every ounce out of their own performance.

Explore all the new national team kits on Nikefootball.com from March 3rd.

Zlatan gets Wired for Speed

DonJulio — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:24:23 GMT

With Inter Milan’s crunch encounter with Manchester United just days away, Zlatan Ibrahimovic got the training ground delivery he’d been waiting for – and the one that United’s defenders had been dreading. To the untrained eye, it may look like an ordinary boot, but hidden beneath that prototype black paint job is the fastest footwear known to man: the Mercurial Superfly.

Press play to see the boot’s journey from the finest raw materials all the way to the feet of the world’s fastest players.

See the Mercurial story
Explore the boot

Behind the scenes:

Pato On Point

akqa — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:38:58 GMT

Every Brazilian from the time they pop into the world dreams of scoring for the national team.

Well, on Wednesday, March 26, Pato's dream became a reality. The 18-year-old striker laced up his orange Vapors before the match as a Serie A star. He unlaced them afterward as an international superstar.

Pato's killer instincts earned him a goal on his debut for the full senior side. And, what a goal it was. The stunning strike won the game for Brazil and certainly won over his coach, Dunga, who had some glowing words for his young forward.

"He knows how to score a goal," said Dunga. "Pato is in the style of Ronaldo."

Dunga will now be hard pressed to keep this new phenomenon out of his starting eleven, as Brazil prepare for some tough World Cup qualifiers this summer.

But with speed, skill and an assassin's eye for goal, why would he want to?