CHAMPION TURNS HEADS IN THE BIG APPLE

As the clock ticks down to the Red Bull Street Style 2010 World Finals in Cape Town (April 28, 2010), reigning world champion and freestyle football star Arnaud “Séan” Garnier took time out from his busy training schedule to head off to the Big Apple and take a tour of the city’s sights – with a ball at his feet, of course. The Frenchman will be looking to defend his crown as the international freestyle football elite comes together in South Africa just weeks before the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Anyone who has been to NYC will know that pretty much anything goes on the banks of the Hudson River, but even the most hardened New Yorkers couldn’t quite believe their eyes as Séan, joined by members of the local freestyle scene, flipped and tricked his way across the city with a soccer ball at his feet. From the legendary Madison Square Garden to the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the Rockefeller Centre, everywhere the Frenchman went he turned heads and drew crowds as he showed off his breathtaking skills and gave a glimpse of what the other members of the world freestyle football elite will be up against at the Red Bull Street Style World Finals 2010 in South Africa on 28 April.

Séan has been training up to six hours a day ahead of the ultimate showdown in Cape Town, perfecting new tricks and working on a fresh new style. The man from Paris will take to the stage as defending champion having sensationally won the World Finals of Red Bull Street Style 2008 in São Paulo (BRA), but with the huge progression in the sport over the last two years and National Qualifying Tournaments taking place all across the globe, Séan knows he will face his toughest challenge yet to defend his title as he battles against the best freestyle footballers from over 50 nations.