The four Manchester United players who featured in Nike's Secret Tournament in 2002

Back in 2002 one of the most iconic football adverts of all time was filmed, featuring the best players in the world.

Each year when a major tournament comes around, football adverts take centre stage. And despite attempts to emulate it, none have close to matching Nike’s Secret Tournament.

Filmed in 2002 ahead of the Japan/South Korea World Cup, Nike had a stranglehold on the market. They manufactured most of the kits for the top countries at the tournament – and had signed up most of the top players in the world to boot deals.

This led to a convergence of talent for their Secret Tournament advert, which pitched 24 players in eight teams of three against each other, on small pitches, surrounded by a cage – held on a boat.

The result was spectacular, with fans captivated by the three-v-three combinations and matchups, which was a who’s who of football’s elite talent at the time.

Four Manchester United players featured, with one man taking centre stage.

Eric Cantona

Despite retiring from football in 1997, Eric Cantona was still invited to play a pivotal role in the advert. The Frenchman was a mainstay for Nike, creating several iconic poster adverts in the mid-90s.

Cantona had the unique role of ‘ringmaster’ for the tournament, announcing the one rule, ‘First goal wins’.

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His involvement underlined the cultural impact the Manchester United legend had on football at the time, and he was the perfect fit for his role.

Paul Scholes

While David Beckham was signed up to rivals Adidas, and Ryan Giggs was with Reebok, Class of ’92 brethren Paul Scholes was loyal to Nike.

Scholes was firmly established as one of Manchester United and England’s best midfielders. But his involvement in the advert was short, with many of the Brazilian stars taking the starring roles.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Manchester United sharpshooter Ruud van Nistelrooy joined the same team as Paul Scholes in the three-v-three tournament.

Unfortunately for Van Nistelrooy, especially considering the forthcoming ‘Battles of Old Trafford’ in 2003 and 2004, they teamed up with Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, in a team dubbed the ‘One Touchables’.

Scholes, Van Nistelrooy and Vieira’s team made a first-round exit, losing to the trio of Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, and Francesco Totti – the eventual winners.

Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand was not a Manchester United player at the time the advert was filmed, he was still contracted to Leeds.

His starting role at the 2002 World Cup for England prompted Manchester United to splash out a then club record £30 million to seal his signature.

Ferdinand played in the ‘Tutto Bene’ team with Fabio Cannavaro and Tomas Rosicky. They were also eliminated early, losing to Hernan Crespo, Gaizka Mendieta and Claudio Lopez.

The Nike Secret Tournament winners

The winners of the Nike Secret Tournament were the trio of Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, and Francesco Totti.

They pulled off a surprise win in the final, defeating Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldo. That’s the Brazilian Ronaldo – with Cristiano Ronaldo still in the Sporting academy at the time.

The tournament was revisited for a ‘rematch’ between the two teams in a later advert, with Cantona calling it a ‘first to 100’ contest.

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