Nike Claim Their Football Boots Don’t Cause Injuries Like Others
After a spate of recent horrific and possibly career ending injuries in football, an investigation is taking place into the likelihood of the injuries being caused by the football boots a player wears. The inquest is to focus on the connection to the modern ‘blades’ fitted on some boots as opposed to the regular studs.
Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia suffered an appalling injury as his foot became trapped in the turf when going in for a tackle. Valencia went in for a challenge against Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot. By watching replays it is clear the tackle was not severe but the United striker’s leg was instantly snapped, with bone protruding from the skin.
It is argued that modern turf is also to blame as it is much firmer, stronger and less fragile than it used to be, meaning grass or soil is not disrupted by impact. A combination of tough turf and bladed studs could be the problem.
Adidas spent an estimated 120 million US dollars on sponsoring the world cup, something which it has done since 1970. According to market researchers Sport+Markt, Adidas had the greatest visibility in terms of teams and players.
Most professionals have commissioned some form of hybrid configuration of stud layout, often combining circular studs with blades. Combine this with the large variations of configurations and the problem is difficult to monitor.
Although Nike made the effort to sponsor individual high profile players, they unfortunately backed the wrong horse. Their ‘write the future’ ad was undoubtedly the most successful viral campaign but there was one thing Nike couldn’t control. One by one the star players featured in the ads fell victim to what became known as the ‘Nike curse’ and were knocked out of the competition, a complete branding disaster. It seems in choosing to endorse some of the world’s biggest premiership players Nike had neglected to consider the most successful teams and thus lost the branding race.
The new Nike Mercurial is supposed to get rid of this issue. Valencia is without his Manchester United Football Shirt for at least the next season.
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