Nike, Inc. ( /ˈnaɪkiː/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [nǐːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,OIH, (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup. He also played at Euro 2004 with Portugal and scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He was featured in the UEFA Euro All-Star Team of this competition.
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.
Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003 becoming the youngest player to represent England (a record later broken by Theo Walcott). He is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player. He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of September 2011, he has won 73 international caps and scored 28 goals. Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.
Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname "Wazza". Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League four times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from both the Premier League and the Champions League. In April of the 2011–12 season Rooney scored his 180th goal, making him United's fourth highest goal-scorer of all time.
David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987), known as David Luiz, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League. Primarily a central defender, he can also be deployed as a left back.
After starting out at Vitória, he moved to Benfica at the age of 19, remaining with the club five seasons (three complete). He joined Chelsea in January 2011, winning the Champions League and the FA Cup in the following season.
Born in Diadema, São Paulo, David Luiz arrived in Esporte Clube Vitória at the age of 14 after being released by São Paulo FC, and started playing as a defensive midfielder, almost leaving the club for his poor performances in that position. However, he was soon moved to central defender and adapted well.
Luiz made his official debut for Vitória in 2006, and excelled against Santa Cruz Futebol Clube for that season's Brazilian Cup, in a 2–2 draw. At the worst situation of its history, in the third division, Vitória promoted to the second division at the end of the season with Luiz's help, after finishing in second position, with the central appearing in eight of the club's last decisive nine games, scoring his only Série C goal on 3 September 2006, in a 2–0 home win against Clube Atlético do Porto.
Andrés Iniesta Luján (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes iˈnjesta luˈxan]; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.
Iniesta came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut in 2002, aged 18. He began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season, and has remained in the side ever since. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.
Iniesta played for Spain at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his international debut in 2006. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, playing one game, as Spain went out in the second round. He helped Spain qualify for Euro 2008, and played an important role in the side as they went on to win the competition, playing every game and being selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a key member of the victorious Spanish side; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, also being named Man of the Match, and was selected in the tournament's All-Star Team. He was also the Man of the Match for two other World Cup games.