In riding the latest wave of Swoosh style and innovation, we set off for Milan as the Nike team put on a 'Science of Speed' exhibition to honour all-things Mercurial.
With the football world descending on Milan this past weekend for the Champions League final, Nike put on their own show in celebration of the brand’s history of speed and the new Mercurial Superfly V. In giving us a tour through Mercurial heaven, Nike dusted off some gems past and present, creating a wall to wall timeline of the boots 18-year history. On hand to tell the story of the Mercurial was Max Blau, VP Nike Football Footwear, and Jeongwoo Lee, Nike Football Footwear Design Lead.
Bringing the party, Nike invited their roster of legends including Fabio Cannavaro, Luis Figo, Paolo Maldini, Ronaldinho, Christian Vieiri, Gianluca Zambrotta and, of course, Brazil legend Ronaldo ― the original icon of the Mercurial 98. Sneaking in through the back door was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who duly grabbed a pair of boots, took a selfie with Ronaldinho and left. The players were later treated to an exclusive screening of the upcoming Nike film featuring Cristiano Ronaldo that will be released ahead of the European Championships.
A weekend long exhibition, members of the Nike Football App were invited to experience the space for themselves, with the opportunity to personalise their own Mercurial Superfly V’s on NIKEiD, take part in a virtual race against Cristiano Ronaldo and participate in training sessions led by FC Inter Milan coaches.
Find out more about the Mercurial Superfly V with Max Blau here.
Photography: Nathan Congleton
