How The Nike Clash Collection Stormed Euro 2012
They entered the European Championships as Nike's third consecutive tournament collection, following in the footsteps of the EC08 and WC10 packs. They left Poland Ukraine as the undisputed stand-out boots of Euro 2012, having scored 60% of all 76 goals with a stunning total of 46.
From Mario Balotelli's net-buster against Germany to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's technically perfect strike, each of Nike's Clash silos created their own moment of Euro 2012 history. And with all four of Nike's colour-block designs owning every TV screen across the world, even your girlfriend would have been asking about Ronaldo's pink boots ...
One boot in particular stood out at the tournament, as the Nike Mercurial Vapor Clash football boots were worn by players contributing no less than 21 goals, more than double of its nearest Clash rival! Thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mesut Ozil and Juan Mata adding to the goal tally, Euro 2012 belonged to the Mercurial.
It was a record-breaking tournament for the Nike Clash Collection, with each of the four boots claiming the top five positions in the goal scoring charts. On top of this, T90 Laser IV wearer and Spain striker Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot with his combination of goals, assists and minutes on pitch. The Chelsea man beat Mario Gomez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli, Mario Mandzukic and Alan Dzagoev to the award.
The Nike Mercurial stormed to the top of the goal scoring chart from day one of the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Mandzukic, Michael Krohn-Behli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were just some of the names that contributed to the Vapor's total of 21 goals.
The CTR360 wasn't only one of the best looking boots on-pitch, but also one of the most talked about thanks to the antics of a certain Italian. Mario Balotelli was one of the tournaments best players, famous for his brace against the Germans. In total CTR players found the back of the net 10 times, taking it to second in the goal-scoring chart.
For the Nike Tiempo Legend, there was one player whose performances defined the style of the boot. Andrea Pirlo's masterful displays throughout the tournament were influential in Italy's route to the final. The Italian veteran scored his only goal of Euro 2012 with a classy free kick against Croatia. Andriy Shevchenko said a likely farewell to international football, scoring a fitting brace in Ukraine's opening game.
The T90 total may have been higher if Wayne Rooney was available for selection in England's first two group games. Even so, the Nike T90 Laser IV netted 7 times with Fernando Torres scoring in the final to complete his hat-trick of Euro 2012 goals. It finished the tournament in fifth place, just two goals behind the adidas f50 adizero.
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In other wins for Nike, Fernando Torres picked up the golden boot, while Spanish supremo and CTR360 wearer Andres Iniesta was awarded with the Player of the Tournament award. The inspirational Barca man - who was man of the match in the final - was selected by UEFA's technical committee following Spain's history 4-0 victory over Italy.
After Nike's overwhelming success in Euro 2012, attention now turns to Brazil 2014. New boots, new colourways, new designs and new players. Intriguingly, it will be the first international tournament where Nike heavy-weights Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar meet. How will Nike utilise their two biggest stars on the planet?
