Tomáš Rosický's retirement from professional football this week marks the end of an era for a certain Nike generation. The daunting thought is beginning to sink in that every single player to feature in the legendary Nike Scorpion Cage films from 2002 has now retired.
Yep, all 24 players have now hung up their boots leaving us wondering where the time has gone. Remember a time before jobs, mortgages, and all the other inconvenient problems that adulthood brings? They were good times weren't they? Just one listen of 'A Little Less Conversation' intro is enough to send us into lucid daydreams of Eric Cantona, Pro Evo 3, avoiding GCSE revision, and still trying to figure out how Totti didn't even flinch with a full set of Mercurial studs on his spine.
The complete cast of 24 Nike legends: Henry, Totti, Nakata, Vieira, Van Nistelrooy, Scholes, Ljungberg, Saviola, L.Enrique, Davids, Thuram, Wiltord, Figo, R.Carlos, Ronaldo, Denilson, Ronaldinho, Seol, Cannavaro, Rosicky, Ferdinand, Lopez, Mendieta, Crespo. Oh, and Eric Cantona.
We wouldn't be mad if they recreated the cage series. Here's to the next generation...
