The next time you see Cristiano Ronaldo in Uefa Champions League action, expect him to be faster, quicker off the mark and showing even greater close ball control than before.
The reason? He’ll wear a new pair of boots. Nike’s newest innovation, the Mercurial Vapor Superfly.
The super lightweight boot will be launched on field by two of Nike’s top football athletes, Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, when Manchester United take on Inter Milan in England in their second leg Champions League tie.
Yesterday in Manchester, the boot was officially launched off the pitch and Kickoff.com was there to capture the excitement.
Talking to roughly 100 media representatives from all over the world, the Portuguese star explained that “speed, a good feel for the ball and comfort” are important for him.
While the Mercurial Superfly is lighter than all previous boots in its range, by his own admission Ronaldo says “it’s not the boots that dribble or score the goals, but they do help me a lot” as he tries to stay ahead of defenders.
While discussing the boot at the launch, the world’s best footballer sits comfortably on a couch in a conference room at Old Trafford. The big question with the Red Devils’ upcoming tie with Inter looming is: “Who will have the fastest feet in the new boot, Ronaldo or Zlatan?”
Ronaldo returns: “I’m not into comparisons, but I understand it’s good for the media and for advertising.”
Fortunately Ronaldo, along with other players like Alexandre Pato, Theo Walcott and Didier Drogba, worked very closely with the makers of the boot during the preparation period.
“The athletes give us constant feedback during the time that they train with the boot before it is ready to launch. The boot is made to fit their needs so we have to listen to them and understand what they want,” says the boot’s designer Andre Caine.
“Ronaldo told us that acceleration is key for him. He wanted a boot to help him turn away from defenders quicker and we believe we’ve give him a boot that will help.”
Ronaldo has trained in the boot since October. But very few would’ve noticed because the trial boot is blacked out and not the bright final product you see now. [Source: kickoff.com]