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Bendtner vs. Zlatan

DonJulio — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:39:05 GMT

Often football is most beautiful in its simplicity.

Sweden are 3 points behind Denmark. Win, and they could earn automatic qualification to South Africa.

Anything else sees them toughing it out in the play-offs. And that’s forgetting what happens in the other games.

Simple. Direct. Uncomplicated.

So both sides need goals. And each has a world-class striker poised to fire his team into the tournament. It’s Bendtner vs. Zlatan.

Get ready.

Strike fastest

DonJulio — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:54:10 GMT

Great players can Make the Difference almost immediately.

Within two minutes on Saturday, Ibrahimovic pulled off an audacious flick with the outside of his boot to spark a 5-2 rout of Atletico Madrid.

Zlatan doesn’t do tap-ins.

The Return of Zlatan

DonJulio — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:32:35 GMT

Just a few months ago, Zlatan said goodbye to Italy. He now returns looking to conquer Inter Milan with the Catalan Kings.

Barcelona go to Milan looking to defend Europe’s greatest prize. While the Italians are desperate to turn domestic dominance into European glory.

It’s a mouth-watering draw and a dream European debut for Zlatan at his new club. Get ready.

Train for 95-minute fitness

DonJulio — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:59:13 GMT

Push it every day in training. Give more than you think you’ve got. Because one day, when everyone else has run out of steam, your chance will come.

Like Zlatan’s injury-time strike against Hungary. It won the game. It keeps Sweden’s qualification hopes alive. And it proves the difference is made in training.

Can he do it against Malta tomorrow? Only a win will do.

Reset the scoreboards: The Spanish League begins

DonJulio — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:19:01 GMT

What has happened so far is past tense. We must forget about past titles, classification rankings or losses. All scoreboards are reset.

The 09/10 season was a milestone, but the League is the League again, a place, where the world’s best players compete to achieve victories.

Cristiano Ronaldo faces the first day with a blank page in front of him. He came to rewrite football history, to erase the past and leave his mark forever. Albiol, the new promise of Bernabeu will help him on this mission.

But there’s fierce competition waiting, starting with for example Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ready to record his name with golden letters in up to 6 tournaments, a champion who never tires of victory.

Furthermore, this year’s League will count on many selected candidates, who will be ready to make the difference throughout this season: Kun Agüero, who will recuperate Atletico’s fame; Bojan, who with just 18 years old has a record many players wouldn’t be able to obtain throughout their entire careers; Iniesta, who will demonstrate once again that he’s great among the greatest; Mata, who got rid of the reputation of ‘young gun’ and will lead his club’s attack and Navas and Luis Fabiano, who will checkmate the Spanish and European defenses.

The hopes of millions of people are in the hands of a few, those who achieved to get there.
No more tests. The first whistle sounds.

Make the Difference

Victorious from the start

DonJulio — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:11:22 GMT

From the training pitch to their first trophy, the season has yet to kick off and Barca have already claimed the Spanish Super Cup.

Zlatan's arrival and Guardiola's intensive pre-season training has so far proved lethal. The pride of Barcelona knows exactly what it takes to win and they’ll stop at nothing to win it all.

Train to Make the Difference – week in, week out

DonJulio — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:29:14 GMT

Starting the season strong is essential for professional players. Fast out of the blocks means an early season advantage. That’s why top coaches put such emphasis on pre-season training. But what about you?

When are you planning to hit peak physical condition? The weekend before your first match? Start tuning your body now and get a physical edge that gets you noticed from kick-off to final whistle.

From August 17th we’re dropping the Nike Football SPARQ Training programme on Facebook. Three sessions a week of pro-level conditioning drills created by top international coaches, Jens Bangsbo and Paul Winsper, who will also be on hand to provide pro tips and advice throughout the four-week programme.

Just hit Facebook, watch stars like Andres Iniésta and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar demo the drills – then get out there and sharpen your edge.

Nike Football training helps you build your strength making you harder to shrug off the ball. Helps improve your speed, making you as fast in the last 20 minutes as the first 20. And toughens your core muscles, helping you avoid injury. All the drills are done with the ball at your feet, so you’ll improve your touch as you build your fitness.

This is your season. Own it.

Get training

Want proof? Read Kilian's story.

Zlatan to reign in Spain

DonJulio — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:20:37 GMT

Europe’s hottest striker is set to swap Inter Milan for Barcelona.

Zlatan would improve any team in the world. Just imagine what he’ll do to the first ever team to achieve a Spanish treble.

Last season’s top scorer in Serie A, this season’s top scorer in La Liga?

Have your say on the Nike Football Facebook Page.

Superfly does it again

DonJulio — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:04:39 GMT

Another week, another double – that seems to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s motto these days. Zlatan made it four Superfly goals in two games on Sunday, notching a penalty and an utterly exquisite chipped finish as he led another Inter drubbing at the San Siro. Measure that in goals per minute, and you’ve got the kind of figures that keep defenders awake at night.

Everyone knew they were fast, but even the biggest fans of the new Mercurials couldn’t have expected them to dominate 60-seconds of the weekend’s Arsenal vs Newcastle showdown quite so decisively. All Gunner fans saw was a streak of red and silver as Andrei Arshavin whipped in a killer free-kick for Nicklas Bendtner to finish at full stretch on 57 minutes. Before the clock had struck 58, Obafemi Martins’ opened his own Superfly account, rampaging the length of the field to smash his own debut goal in the new boots.

Two goals. One minute. That’s Superfly scoring speed.

See the Mercurial story
Explore the boot

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:

CR7 vs Zlatan: Superfly Face-Off

DonJulio — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:35:41 GMT

The lightning-fast feet of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will light up one of the biggest games of the season as two of Europe’s elite clubs clash head-on.

And to give their game an injection of turf-burning speed, CR7 and Zlatan will be the first players in the world to wear the new Mercurial Superfly.

The boot is the product of obsessive design and development over the last 10 years of speed. Revolutionary Flywire technology at the heart of the Superfly make it even lighter and faster – giving both players deadly pace. Never before has the evolution of a boot been such big a part of an athlete’s onfield armoury.

With 15 goals each already this season, CR7 and Zlatan have a total of 30 strikes between them. And from the moment they lace up their Superflys for a double European debut, the race for number 31 is on.

It’s all on the line.

The Challenge

akqa — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:56:36 GMT

How badly do you want to be a footballer?

Sign up for Nike Bootcamp.

Inside The Vapor IV

akqa — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:41:51 GMT

True innovation comes from true insight. And, for the research and design team behind one of the most innovative boots to ever grace the pitch, there's no truer insight than this: short ten-meter bursts of acceleration are the single most frequent action in football.

So, how can the Mercurial Vapor IV maximize acceleration? Well, that's what we intend to find out, as 365 takes you "Inside The Lab."

Come with us as we pull back the curtain to expose Nike's most elaborate and ground-breaking efforts in the department of SPEED.

"The research process on the Mercurial line, for me, is synonymous with research on speed," says Senior Nike Researcher, Erez Morag. "It was clear that the game is changing and becoming faster; therefore, the importance of speed has increased with those changes in the game."

It's no secret that lighter boots equal faster feet. So that's where Nike's football footwear team started. They deconstructed the art of speed and broke the Mercurial down into each of its separate components and analyzed every aspect of the cleat; if it could be paired down, it was.

An anatomically contoured speed test was developed to shave off some grams, while providing better fit and stability. A revolutionary new lightweight synthetic upper, called Teijin, was utilized to conform to every curve of the foot. And, topping it all off is the lace shroud, which aims to reduce drag, while providing a smooth playing surface.

One of the biggest boosts to acceleration is the use of an asymmetric traction system, which is designed to more fully align with the principles of foot structure and function. Also helping acceleration is a carbon fiber heel counter, which stabilizes the boot at high speeds, while pods strategically placed in the heel reduce unnecessary movement of the foot within the shoe.

Depending upon which color you choose, orange or black, either a carbon fiber or glass-fiber internal chassis gives the shoe tremendous structural strength.

"In the end, we wanted to create some of the lightest boots on the pitch," says Tom Minami, Nike Football Footwear Designer. "And, we wanted to provide the fastest players with a weapon that is technically advanced and aesthetically disruptive."

What the football footwear team created is the ultimate lightweight performance beast that eats up split-seconds and spits out goals.

And, speaking of goals, since the Mercurial Vapor IV made it's debut on January 12 the goals have been flowing. Here's a sample of the damage done by just a few of the athletes wearing the new boots: Mercurial Vapor Stats: Cristiano Ronaldo (19 goals), Pato (8), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8), Didier Drogba (7), Franck Ribery (6), Robinho (4), Theo Walcott (2) and Nicklas Bendtner (2)

Christian Ronaldo has taken to the boots like gasoline to fire and scored 10 goals in his first 7 appearances and leading Manchester United's charge as they remain threats for the double.

At Nike, the story of innovation never rests, never stops and never looks back. Today the MVIV weighs in at 230 grams, and the featherweight Mercurial SL tips the scales at 185 grams. Tomorrow's Vapor V? Well, just keep checking back here, and you'll know as soon as we do.