The History of Speed – Mercurial Mark One

When our designers at Nike HQ first decided to pour their energy into developing the lightest boot in the world, there was only ever going to be one candidate to wear it. Brazil’s Ronaldo – the original ‘Phenomenon’. Winner of consecutive World Player of the Year awards in 1996 and 1997. Winner of the 1997 Ballon d’Or for Europe’s best player. Owner of a trophy cabinet so full of the game’s highest honours that it creaked under the strain of silverware. R9 was about to lend his talent, his vision and – most of all – his mind-blowing speed to developing the fastest boot of his generation.



Fast forward a few months, and the anticipation of the finished boot is too much even for the man himself. The official launch is still weeks away, but Ronaldo emerges from the lab with the very first Mercurial disguised as a Tiempo boot, wreaking havoc on Serie A defences before his opponents even know what hit them. As if that would have made a difference.



On French soil just a few weeks later, R9 uses the biggest stage in the world to announce the Mercurial’s official arrival. A ball drops 20 yards out. A foot flashes. The net bulges. And the marriage of the world’s greatest players and the world’s fastest boots has begun.