Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gregory Van der Wiel and Nike invited us to a large scale event together with a lot of super quick european footballers, for the final of Nike's competition for explosive speed #BeMercurial. Here, the two PSG players presented the new Vapor IX and coached the young players, who had been picked from the #BeMercurial events from all over Europe.
Nike had chosen to do things a bit differently and held the event in an old underground tunnel in the eastern part of Paris, where the scene was set in true Mercurial Vapor IX style with banners, #BeMercurial signs and, of course, lighting that matched the two boot colourways.
The event was kicked off by Shawn Hoy, who is Footwear Product Director for Nike Football and had come all the way from Portland, Oregon to join the show. He told about the idea behind the Vapor IX, how the technologies work, and what their profile for the Mercurial series is which is, the player who can decide a match.
Next, Zlatan and Gregory Van der Wiel took the stage and talked about their new boots. Zlatan told about his absolute stunner against England and Van der Wiel told about his first great experience as a very young Mercurial player.
Hereafter, Zlatan and gregory left the stage to get comfortable in a couple of racer chairs, and answered questions from the crowd. We took the opportunity to ask Zlatan which differences he had noticed from the Vapor VIII to the IX. He replied that, especially the Speed Control was something that he liked and he saw it as a key change for the boot.
Zlatan also mentioned that he values the low weight of the boot, as he, according to the man himself, is a rather heavy player (resulted in laughter from the crowd..). It makes him feel explosive, and he enjoys the snug fit, which provides him with a great ball control.
After the interviews, the two PSG players moved along to Nike's Fast Track, where a handful of young fast European footballers were ready to compete to be the fastest mercurial-man. The players had qualified via different #BeMercurial events around Europe, and now it was time to find the very fastest of them all in the Paris' underground.
Franscisco Fargallo from Madrid and Daniel Majdancevic from Munich where the two quickest, and where named winners of the #BeMercurial competition. To go with the title they also got a signed Vapor IX, as well as, a VIP ticket for Parc des Princes, where they, next month, will go to see PSG play at home.
But, the prize giving wasn't over yet, the biggest stunt had been saved for last. Both Zlatan and Gregory had arrived in a couple of Lamborghinis, which had been spiced up with the Vapor IX Speed Control look, and now it was time to move on. As a 'little' bonus, Franscisco and Daniel got a chance to experience the supercars, which surely was quite an experience with the two star players behind the wheel.
It all kicked off at the #BeMercurial event, and, as Nike had promised us before the event, it was truly explosive. The mercurial Vapor IX was launched with a blast with support from Zlatan and Van der Wiel, and Nike also managed to celebrate the fastest players on their Fast Track course. What do you think of the event would you have liked to be there?