The chiseled features and perfect balance of 26-year-old Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen are spotlighted by British photographer and director Sharif Hamza, in anticipation of the Euro 2012 Championship in Poland and Ukraine, which kicks off tomorrow. Hamza used long lenses and handheld cameras to produce an instinctive, player’s-eye perspective of the action, with Vermaelen feinting in and out of frame as if taking on the viewer one-on-one. Controlling, dribbling and juggling the star-patterned Adidas ball through the chiaroscuro shadows of a floodlit training pitch, Vermaelen is kitted out in autumn/winter designs by his fellow Belgians, including items by Ann Demeulemeester, Kris Van Assche, Dries Van Noten and Tim Coppens, Raf Simons and Maison Martin Margiela. “He was great,” recalls Hamza of the Premier League star. “Although he was a little unsure about the red Margiela leather trousers at first. The wardrobe was very much about the Belgian designers, so it’s not just an arbitrary fashion film––it’s about him and where he comes from, too.”
STATS FROM ON SET
Location
Pitch four, the Westway, London.
Distance to the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, the venue for the 2012 Euro Championships Final
1,329 miles.
Shoot duration
Eight hours (7pm to 3am).
Camera
Arri Alexa.
Food consumed on set
Protein bars, sausage rolls and tomato soup.
Drink consumed on set
Lots of tea and hot chocolate.
Approximate calories burned
4,152.
Football used
Adidas UEFA Champions League Ball (chosen by Hamza from a selection of six).
Number of football choreographers used
One, to play football with Vermaelen.
Number of keepie-uppies Vermaelen can do
Thousands.
Hair
Mark Hampton.
Number of times Vermaelen has since invited Hampton to his house to cut his hair
One.
Makeup
Lotten Holmqvist.
Wardrobe
Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Raf Simons, Tim Coppens.
Injuries sustained
Hair Stylist Mark Hampton’s torn ligaments from messing around with a football.
Numbers of Arsenal shirts signed for the crew
Nine.
Visit our Facebook page to see a selection of behind-the-scenes images from the shoot.