Year In Review | Nike Football - Football News

As 2013 comes to a close we're taking a look back at what Nike had to offer in another innovation smashing year for the Swoosh. From limited edition boot releases to one of the most epic launch events we've ever attended, Nike have a reputation for pulling out all the stops to deliver ground breaking culture and products and that was taken to the next level in 2013.

As always with Nike, they're constantly looking forward and have a whole new collection of exciting projects lined up for the new year but a quick look over our shoulder shows they've set the bar high. Here's our Nike recap of interviews, events and product highlights from an electric 12 months of Nike action.



January | Mercurial Vapor IX - Nike kicked off the year in spectacular fashion by landing their ninth generation Mercurial Vapor. Redesigned to take explosive acceleration to the next level Nike had used a completely new upper on the model called Speed Control texture with the inspiration coming from the pattern found on golf balls. A bold new logo on the instep of the boot replaced a Swoosh to create huge brand presence for Nike.



January | Mercurial Vapor IX CR7 SE - In line with the Mercurial IX launch Nike dropped a signature version of the boot for their star man. Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible achievements of 2012 were acknowledged with a limited edition boot. Only 100 pairs were released worldwide, one of which Ronaldo wore himself. Bold CR7 lettering replaced the Nike branding on the instep and each number represented a personal milestone including goals scored, trophies won and appearances.

January | SB Meets Theo Walcott - On the back of the Mercurial IX launch we sat down with Theo Walcott to see what he thought about his new boots. Walcott, who started his Arsenal career in the Vapor III told us " I saw this boot a while ago (before release) and I've been dying to get in a pair to be honest. It's just getting better every year". The England man went on to say "These catch your eyes straight away. The Vapor definitely suits my style and the way I play."
 

February | #BeMercurial Event Paris - Into February and the Mercurial IX bandwagon was still rolling. We flew out to Paris to attend the #BeMercurial event packed with global stars, global media, Mercurial fans and Mercurial designers. In a disused underground tunnel in east Paris Nike put on another mind-blowing Mercurial launch, a festival of fast cars, fast players, flashing lights, loud music and superstar guests, all of which left us in no doubt the original innovators were there to celebrate speed.

March | Mercurial Vapor IX CR - Another month and another Mercurial IX launch, this time it was the CR exclusive colourway which was worn by Ronaldo for considerably longer than the SE boots and released to the public as a standard colourway. The fifth generation CR7 model was one of the most bizarre designs yet, a crazy colour combo of orange/volt/white adorned the upper and the boot was finished with a safari print on the Swoosh and Ronaldo's logo and number 7 on the heel.

May | Mercurial Vapor IX R9 Reissue - Nike rounded off the Mercurial IX launch in serious style by dropping a reissue of the 1998 Nike Mercurial Vapor worn by Ronaldo at the World cup in France. Nike released 1,998 pairs that went on sale and another 15 super limited edition trophy-esque Chrome pairs reserved for El Fenomeno himself and Nike's most loyal collectors.

May | Boateng Brothers X FC247 Collection - With the Mercurial madness settling we flew out to Berlin to meet the Boateng brothers to mark the launch of the new Nike FC247 futsal collection. A unique media event used to highlight the footballing roots of the Boateng brothers - Jérôme, George & Kevin-Prince. The #MyGround campaign reunited the brothers, bringing them back to the playgrounds where they fell in love with the game.

May | Nike Launch Debut England Shirt - After securing a deal to become the official kit supplier to the England national team Nike revealed the first non-Umbro kit to join the Three Lions badge since 1983. A simple design which made it's debut appearance against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on May 29th. A clean and simple looking design to match Hodgson's back to basics style of possession football. The kit was launched by Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who visited their old schools to pick one lucky kid to receive the first shirt.



May | Nike Premier Launch - With the season coming to a close in May Nike launched a beauty of a boot ready to tackle the tough pitches of pre-season. The Premier arrived as Nike focused all their efforts on designing a boot that reflected where it all started for the brand. Stripping back design Nike landed a classic leather boot built for comfort that drew inspiration from the first ever boot to carry the Swoosh, a 1971 boot called 'The Nike'.



May | Nike Premier With Collin Eder - Following the launch of the Nike Premier we sat down with Nike Football's Senior Product Manager Collin Eder. “We want to have something that doesn't change, that is a bit more timeless. The Tiempo we're changing colours, we're changing look but what we wanted to do here was create something timeless, create something that a consumer can come back to and know what they are going to get.” 

May | SB in Rio: HyperVenom Launch - The highlight of the year for Nike and in general was the epic HyperVenom launch in Rio. We flew out to Brazil for a launch event of monumental proportions as Nike launched their new breed of attack - The HyperVenom. Nike held nothing back as the world watched Neymar unveil the HyperVenom in front of a media frenzied crowd. New boot, new concepts, new innovation and one monster event. Nike had set the bar high.

June | Nike Stealth Pack - Back in June Nike launched their Stealth Pack. A toned down pack designed for a mean look with no fuss, no garish colourways, just Nike's latest technologies disguised in stylish black paint jobs. Phil McCartney, VP of Footwear for Nike Football nailed it when he said; “We know that our players love to stand out on and off the field. That doesn’t always mean bright colors, sometimes reverting to a classic look is just as powerful a statement.”



August | HyperVenom Knockout London - Touching down from Brazil and straight onto the Nike HyperVenom London Knockout event. Nike brought together a selection of the cities deadliest players to fight for dominance in a fierce battle of cage football. A hidden underground world of smoke machines, strobe lights, full throttle football and three of the Premier League's most in form strikers. An underground layer of HyperVenom hysteria.

September | SB Meets Danny Welbeck X HyperVenom - At the HyperVenom London Knockout event we caught up with Manchester United and England frontman Danny Welbeck about life in his new Nike football boots. Welbeck was one of Nike's key recruits when drafting the HyperVenom squad together and told us "When I first started testing the sample boots at the back end of last season, I told Nike this is probably the best boot I've ever worn. I really like them."



September | Nike Hi-Vis Pack - With the nights getting longer Nike landed their Hi-Vis Pack in late September to tie in with the launch of their Hi-Vis Incyte match ball. Another four silo collection each plastered with a bright colourway to stand out on pitch throughout the winter months. The unmissable foursome of boots dominated Europe's elite pitches up until December and the theme extended across Nike's futsal range, the FC247 Collection.



October | Mercurial Vapor IX CR Galaxy - October belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo. Nike had created signature shoe no.6 for the Portuguese ace, extending football's most flamboyant line of boots. Featuring a matte silver swoosh emblazoned on top of a deep blue and black galaxy print. The all over print is of the Star Vela Supernova and includes a seven star path print, paying homage to Cristiano's shirt number. Ronaldo slipped into his Galaxy boots and hasn't looked back. Banging in goals left, right and centre it's no surprise to see Ronaldo still wearing the Galaxy’s to see out an impressive/probably Ballon d'Or winning year.

November | Brazil World Cup Kit Launch - November brought the launch of the 2014 Brasil World Cup kit. Nike hosted an event in London to celebrate the launch and Chelsea defender David Luiz joined Nike Creative Director Martin Lotti in speaking to us about the jersey and the 2014 World Cup. Lotti told us "It's all about the yellow and it's all about the crest. It's very easy to over design a jersey and in this case it's almost like designing a national flag. Our goal was to respect this and elevate the most important elements."



December | Limited Edition Premier Collection - December saw a busy month for Nike, which began with three fresh Premier designs inspired by three of the brand's most recognised international teams; Brazil, England & France. As Nike set their sights on Brazil 2014, they decided to add an injection of colour to their modern classic. Each boot featured a one colour upper and the sock liner of each boot featured a graphic element referencing the year or years each country was crowned World Champions.



December | Tiempo Legend V Launch - Two and half years after launching the Tiempo Legend IV Nike officially revealed their completely re-designed Nike Tiempo Legend V. Incorporating new technology, innovative concepts and wrapped up in a Vivid Desert Sand/Black/Orange launch colourway the new Tiempo landed as the silo's fifth generation and most advanced yet. Inspired by the 2008 Ronaldinho Dois boot and with a block two toned design the Tiempo V has a few tasty colourways lined up for 2014.



December | Flash Pack Launch - Nike rounded off a colossal year by dropping their Flash Pack. A four silo collection made of white uppers using reflective technology on each boot and inspired by the patterns found on some of natures most stealth-like creatures. A visually impressive collection that when caught by floodlights or a camera flash created a unique display of graphics.



December | Nike Energy Pack - Nike signed off the year by making it a hat trick of December pack releases with the launch of the Energy collection. Armed with a new generation Tiempo Legend and commemorative Mercurial the Energy Pack took on a vibrant design with the collection being tied together with a trademark silver tongue on each silo.

What were your highlights from Nike in 2013? Best event? Best boot release? Let us know. Join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.