Nike Sportswear 2012 Manchester United Collection

Manchester United’s rising star Danny Welbeck has led the charge for a new crop of talents at Old Trafford. Nike Sportswear place the striker front and center in a new shoot promoting Nike Sportswear’s Manchester United-inspired collection together with a biographical essay that highlights his rise to top after being shunned by rivals Manchester City. While an excerpt can be seen below, the full piece is available for reading here.

Christmas is but a carol song away, when a doting father receives a phone call. It’s from Manchester City, the club where his eight-year-old son has been training and dreaming of one day being a pro. Unfortunately it’s bad news, they won’t be taking his son on. Sorry and have a happy Christmas. The dad is distraught. How does he tell his son? In fact, should he tell his son or should he wait until January so as not to ruin the festivities? It’s a dilemma that would have every dad losing sleep. But then again not every son is Danny Welbeck.

That Christmas, Welbeck senior did opt to wait but, in the New Year when passing on the bad news to his young boy, it became apparent that he needn’t have worried. “Dad took me to one side,” recalls Welbeck thirteen years later. “He had this concerned look on his face and told me that City had called before Christmas and wouldn’t be having me back. I was like, why didn’t you just tell me dad, it’s not a problem.”