Nike-Adidas already in World Cup final

Adidas hopes Beckham's foot will heal in time for the finals

LONDON, England (CNN) -- As Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy and the rest fight for global domination at the World Cup, off the field there are just two competitors -- Nike and Adidas-Salomon.

The world's two biggest sportswear manufacturers have lined up millions of dollars of talent to wear their shirts and boots. Their goal -- a larger share of a market estimated to be worth $5 billion.

Nike brought out the big guns for a multi-million dollar TV advertising campaign with Eric Cantona, the Frenchman who became a legend at Manchester United, prowling around moodily as the likes of Brazilians Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Portugal's Luis Figo and French striker Thierry Henry perform sparkling tricks.

Adidas, known by its three-stripe logo, has signed French captain Zinedine Zidane, his Real Madrid teammate Raul and England captain David Beckham. The Manchester United midfielder's role was in doubt after he broke a bone in his foot -- although that does not rule out him wearing a Adidas-sponsored plaster cast.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO World Cup sponsors fight for fans' attention. CNN's Jim Boulden reports (May 20) Play video

For players with million dollar salaries, a sportswear deal might buy another Ferrari.

U.S.-based Nike will not reveal how much it is spending around the World Cup. But Nike's dedicated Web site www.nikefootball.com underlines its dash to boost brand awareness and sales during the finals which start on May 31.

Nike is said to count "swishes" -- the amount of times its tick logo on players' kit appears on TV, the Internet, newspapers and magazines.

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Germany's Adidas, which adorned the feet of Olympic gold sprinter Jesse Owens and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, has budgeted $88 million for 2002 World Cup promotions.

All matches will be played using Adidas balls and it has sponsored 10 squads -- and there will be no shortage of eyeballs. Lehman Brothers believes that the total crowd for the finals will be 2.5 million spectators, with more than one billion watching on television.

For Adidas, Asia is its fastest growing market and further exposure is expected to strengthen its presence. Adidas was at one point close to bankruptcy but it fought its way back, moving production to low-cost producers in Asia and beefing up its marketing budget.

Ronaldo was gold in 1998, but it ended in tears when Brazil lost to France

Adidas underlined its commitment to German football last year by paying $67 million for a 10 percent stake in Bayern-Munich, Germany's most popular and profitable club.

At the 1994 World Cup finals in the U.S., Adidas sponsored 10 of the 24 teams. Nike lagged behind, but now, having won 35 percent of the U.S. sports shoe market, it knows it needs to spend big to unlock international markets.

One of Nike's biggest moves was to hand over $200 million over 10 years to sponsor the Brazilian team. Stepping into Adidas's backyard, it struck deals with club sides and reportedly paid $1 million a year for Ronaldo, the two time FIFA world player of the year, to wear its boots.

Going into the 1998 finals, Ronaldo was the hottest property in the game. But after all the investment Adidas won the World Cup, sponsoring France's kit.