FIFA World Cup 2010: Rooney, Ronaldinho, Ribery and That Cursed Nike Ad

Nike: on-field disaster follows off-field success.

If the Nike commerical is write! Wayne Rooney is about to surrender his boots and become a grounds keeper for what looks like a semi-professional football club based in Northern England. He's about to surrender his luxury abode for a caravan and for a life time of hob-warmed tinned food.

Youths around the UK have torn down Rooney posters from their bedrooms. The FTSE has plummeted. The French are happy. It's unlikely that newspapers will urge the citizens of England to just 'roo' it. Babies probably won't all be called Wayne. The Queen won't knight our Wayne. It's highly unlikely that Rooney will wile away time playing corporate ping pong against the nation's business leaders.

The Nike 'write your future' campaign has been a commercial success. Nike aren't an official sponsor of the World Cup, however their brand (primarily due to the write the future campaign) has generated more online activity than Adidas. Nielsen recently reported that Nike has generated 100% more online buzz than their German rival (will Nielsen here's some more online content ).

Nike's success has definitely not transgressed to the cast of football stars that perform in the ad.

Rooney wasn't able to put in the wonder performance that many anticipated. Again England expected. But alas this was not to be the wonder crusade the Brits thirst for. Amongst the Nike cast, Rooney definitely wasn't the only one to suffer a frustrating World Cup tournament. 

As the tournament currently stands the only surviving idol of the ad is Cristiano Ronaldo. A statue and a movie about his heroics (where he will be played by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal) awaits the Portuguese star (a teen idol in his own write) if he can lead his compatriots against Spain.

It all started with Didier Drogba who broke his right arm after a tournament warm-up friendly. His Ivory Coast were considered the best of the African challenges. The good news was Drogba's arm healed quickly. The bad news was the Coasters were drawn in a group that included Brazil and Portugal. Ivory Coast did not progress beyond the first round. 

In the ad Drogba manufactures the most elegant of chip shots. The world's media broadcast it as a game defining moment. Until seemingly out of nowhere enters the victorious Italian captain from their 2006 campaign. Fabio Cannavaro manages a glorious goal saving overhead kick. This leads to show girls and Italian crooners. "Yes there's Cannavaro, yes there's a captain."

Unfortunately for the Azzurri, Cannavaro entered this tournament well past his used by date. The man who was the dominant force of 2006 had become a shadow of Alcaraz, Smeltz, Vittel and other opponents he tried blocking. Poor Fabio deserved to have left football in a more graceful manner. Lippi and the Italians held too high an expectation on the 2006 Fifa World Player of the Year.

The sure-tight defense which is a definitive brand of Italian football was not present. Cannavaro, il muro de Berlino (the Berlin Wall) could not continue the momentum he had set in Germany 2006. This year's Cannavaro-led Italian team did not progress beyond the first round.

Then there's Franck Ribery who intercepts a Wayne Rooney pass. Franck travels down the field at full pace. Rooney in a split second sees how his future will suffer if he does not stop Ribery in his track.

It seems Wayne wasn't the only one who was motivated to stop Ribery and all his French team mates' progress. Others whose names include Domenech, Anelka and Evra were also keen to stop Ribery and France. Maybe they were sour that Nike never approached them.

The French footballers were dogged in their determination to self-destruct. Which is just as well as (despite the commercial) Wayne Rooney did not seem to possess the where-for-all required to track back and snatch victory from a foe (French or otherwise). The French did not progress beyond the first round.

Next? Ronaldinho. Despite his "samba-robics" (tricks); the Brazilian legend did not even get selected for the tournament. 

Cristiano Ronaldo if you're reading as well as writing, Nike certainly needs a big game from you and a Portuguese victory in your Iberian battle against neighbouring Spain.

Don't get me wrong, the ad is great but going on their world cup performances (or non appearances) the future that each of the footballing thespians will write is bleak. Hopefully these misfortunes are not passed on to the ad's supporting cast, which includes Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Homer Simpson and Gael Garcia Bernal.

As someone who coaches his son's football team, the Nike online footballing channel does provide great inspiration for drills etc. Hopefully this will breed the next generation of Nike's 'winners'. The sign of a forward thinking company, the future isn't to be written by the Rooneys, Ronaldinhos and Ribery's but the 6-7 year olds that are being coached by Nike brand fanatics.