RUBATO!

 

 The story starts during the night of 22nd February when a prototype football was stolen from the Nike Labs in Hilversum Holland. Adverts were put in all major European newspapers during March in an attempt to find the missing football.

 

 

The Times London 28th March 2000

The stolen prototype, code named Geo Merlin, is regarded as a revolutionary football design. Nike is dissatisfied with the progress being made through official channels and has decided to go public with its appeal to retrieve the ball.
Nike offered this description of the stolen prototype: "It’s a football. But it has a distinctive geometric pattern, gold coloring and it’s rounder". Nike has employed a team of specialists in the hope of recovering the stolen prototype. No details are available on these specialists.

 

 

 

 

La Repubblica Italy 28th March

Il prototipo rubato, nome in codice Geo Merlin, è noto per il suo design rivoluzionario. Nike si dichiara non soddisfatta degli scarsi progressi ottenuti tramite i canali ufficiali e ha deciso di chiedere aiuto in pubblico per il recupero del pallone.
Questa è la descrizione del prototipo rubato fornita da Nike: "Si tratta di un pallone dal particolare disegno geometrico, di colore giallo oro, più rotondo dei palloni tradizionali". Nike ha ingaggiato una squadra di specialisti nella speranza di recuperare il prototipo rubato. Non è stato reso noto alcun dettaglio su questi specialisti

 

 March 29th 2000 The missing ball turns up in Barga, Tuscany Italy

     
 2.30 pm  2.30 pm  3.05 pm
     
 3.11 pm  4.pm  5.15 pm

 2.30 pm The ball is spotted lying under the bumper of a black car in the Giardino area of Barga Tuscany Italy

2.30 pm A close up of the ball also shows the partial number plates of the black car. Remember, we are in Italy ...so what is a German car doing in Italy ? Could it be that it can down from Holland ??

3.05 pm A local actor, Andrea Gonnella, finds the ball and takes it in to the local bar

3.11 pm He phones the local police as he already has a hunch that this really is the missing ball that the newspapers and TV have been talking about for so long.

4.00 pm As the response to his call from the local police force does not seem to be that quick, he takes the ball to the local newspaper offices

5.15 pm The ball now sits on the desk of the editor of the Giornale di Barga newspaper . An E-mail is sent to Nike and, as they say, all the rest is history!!

 

See what they had to say about Andrea's find on the official Nike site:

www.nikefootball.com

 

 
 
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