From leather to synthetic, stitched to bonded: A history of the World Cup through 12 tournament match balls

These 12 balls show off the unique designs of footballs in the World Cup



The Brazuca is the latest ball made in Brazil and tested by 600 footballers



But some have met with controversy such as the Jabulani from South Africa



Each ball represents a piece of footballing history used in the World Cup

An incredible array of different footballs show off the history of balls used during the FIFA World cup.



The development, testing and completion of this year's FIFA World Cup football is among the balls which will join the line up of 12 special balls which have all been used in the beautiful game.



The 'Brazuca' - a slang term used for Brazil or Brazilian - is the twelfth ball made by official manufacturer Adidas.

Beautiful game: Just 12 of the balls used in World Cups through the years are lined up in a v-shape

But gone are the days of heavy pigskins and stitching associated with football in the fifties - Neymar, Rooney and company will be using a ball made of only six panels. It should provide improved grip, touch, stability and aerodynamics on the pitch. The Brazuca has been tested by 600 footballers over the last two-and-a-half years - which goalkeepers hope will make it less volatile than the Jabulani from four years ago in South Africa. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Brendan Rodgers should be next the England manager, believes... Share this article Share Brazuca: The Brazuca ball is pictured with the world cup - it is the twelfth ball made by official manufacturer Adidas Manufacturing: A worker puts the finishing touches to the Brazuca, a ball made of only six panels The brazuca’s colours and ribbon design of the ball panels symbolise the vibrancy and fun associated with football in the South American country.

It has its own unique identity and represents a piece of footballing history.

Mexico world cup ball 1970: The World Cup ball in Mexico was the first FIFA World Cup to be televised around the globe, so, Adidas added 12 black pentagonal panels to make it more visible on black and white television and named it after the Telstar satellite The Telstar - Mexico 1970 The iconic Telstar was Adidas' first World Cup ball, made of 32 separate panels to give it the roundest sphere for its time.

The World Cup in Mexico in 1970 was the first FIFA World Cup to be televised around the globe, so, Adidas added 12 black pentagonal panels to make it more visible on black and white television and named it after the Telstar satellite.

The black and white pattern also helped players to see the spin of the ball as it traveled through the air.



To this day, the Adidas Telstar remains the common design template for all generic soccer balls.

The tournament was won by a victorious Brazil side this year.



Mexico world cup ball 1970: This FIFA World Cup was the first to be televised around the globe, so, Adidas added 12 black pentagonal panels to the ball to make it more visible on black and white television and named it after the Telstar satellite

The Telstar Durlast - Germany 1974

Such was the success of the previous World Cup's Telstar that Adidas simply replaced the old gold branding with black branding for the World Cup in Germany 1974.

Other than a slight change in appearance, the only other difference was its polyurethane coating which provided waterproofing for the ball as well as protection from damage such as scuffs and tears.



It was one of two designs used in Germany '74 - the Telstar Durlast and the Chile Durlast, which was exactly the same but completely white.

West Germany were victorious on home soil on this occasion.



Telstar Durlast: The official world cup ball from 1974 had a polyurethane coating which provided waterproofing for the ball as well as protection from damage such as scuffs and tears

The Tango - Argentina 1978



By now, Adidas were well into the pattern of choosing names appropriate for the host nation, so 'Tango' was the name chosen for the ball used in Argentina in 1978.



It was the first to feature the adidas trademark, which was a printed design of interconnected curved-edge triangles known as 'triads'.



It is said to have taken its inspiration from the 'deep passion, emotion and elegance of Argentina', according to fan site soccerballworld.com.

This year, Italy won 3-1 and even missed a penalty to boot.



Tango Rosario: The official world cup ball from 1978 was the first to feature the adidas trademark, which was a printed design of interconnected curved edge triangles known as triads

The Tango Espana - Spain 1982



This was the first ball to be made of a mix of real leather and synthetic material.

It was once again composed of 32 hand sewn panels, with the same black and white Tango design: the curved triangles were printed on every hexagon, which formed circles around the 12 pentagonal panels, giving the ball a visual illusion of 12 identical circles.

The tournament's top scorer was Paolo Rossi of Italy with six goals, including a hat-trick in a second group game against Brazil and one in the final - which the Italian side won.



Tango Espana: The official ball from the Spanish world cup in 1982 was once again composed of 32 hand sewn panels, with the same black and white Tango design

The Azteca - Mexico 1986

This was a completely new model, developed for the World Cup in Mexico.



Made of synthetic material in layers, each with different properties to give strength to the ball, it was able to retain its shape and be fully waterproof.

The Azteca Mexico was a hand-sewn ball, and for the first time, synthetic material, rather than leather was used to produce it.

With its never-before-achieved performance on hard ground, at high altitude, and in wet conditions, Azteca represented a massive leap forward for the game. Its elaborately decorated design was inspired by the hosting nation’s native Aztec architecture and murals.

In the final match, Argentinan captain Maradona memorably sent a perfectly weighted pass to Jorge Burruchaga, who slotted the ball in to make it 3-2 - which sealed the match.



Azteca ball from mexico 1986: The official ball from the Mexico world cup in 1986 was a hand-sewn ball, and for the first time, synthetic material, rather than leather was used to produce it

The Etrusco - Italy 1990

The Etrusco triads featured an Etruscan lion within their design. The ball was again manufactured entirely from fully synthetic fibre layers, including one of latex to create stability and resistance to tearing.

In the final, Argentina met Germany FR – for the second World Cup running. The only goal in a very poor game came from an 85th-minute penalty after Völler had been brought down in the area. Brehme’s spot kick won the match for the Germans.



At the World Cup this year, Franz Beckenbauer became only the second man to win a World Cup both as a player and a manager.



Etrusco Unico: The official ball from the Italy world cup in 1990 featured an Etruscan lion within its design

The Questra - USA 1994

Inspired by space technology, high velocity rockets and America’s 'quest for the stars', the USA 1994 match ball was named the Questra.

The technical development for the Questra took place in the adidas center for ball development in France, followed by test games in France, Germany and the USA with professional players, amateurs and youth teams.



Enveloped in a layer of polystyrene foam, the Questra had greater ball acceleration when kicked, felt softer to the touch gave players better ball control.

Thanks to a brilliant goal by Claudio Taffarel’s, Brazil won their fourth FIFA World Cup.



Qestra: The official ball from the USA world cup 1994 was inspired by space technology, high velocity rockets and America's quest for the stars

The Tricolore - France 1998

The Tricolore sported the French red-white-blue tri-colour.



Its triads incorporated the symbols of the host nation, France, i.e. a cockerel, a high-speed train and a turbine.

The ball itself was based on an entirely new synthetic material featuring 'syntactic foam', claiming to give better compression and more explosive rebound characteristics than its predecessor.



The foam was made up of gas-filled micro-bubbles that distributed energy equally when the ball was kicked.

France, the team that had been an unlucky semi-finalist in both 1982 and 1986, got their just deserts this year after a goal from Emmanuel Petit which got them the title.



Tricolore: The official ball from the France world cup 1998 was based on an entirely new synthetic material featuring syntactic foam

The Fevernova - Japan/Korea 2002



This was the result of three years of improvement on the 'Tricolore' at the adidas research centre in Scheinfeld in southern Germany.

The adidas triad design had now become two single, enlarged triads with the points turning into clockwise arrows in the colours of grey, red and gold.



The background was no longer a traditional pure white but more of a champagne colour. Over 2,500 balls were supplied for the finals and an estimated six million of the high-quality match balls and replica-quality balls were sold worldwide.

Brazil won the tournament this year.



Fevernova: The official ball from the Japan world cup in 2002, over 2,500 balls were supplied for the finals

The Teamgeist - Germany 2006

This was Adidas' best performing ball ever.



According to FIFA: 'Thanks to a revolutionary 14-panel ball configuration, players were able to show their true skills, as the quality and performance characteristics were identical every time they kicked the ball.'

It also underwent rigorous scientific testing by the Sports Technology Research Group of the University of Loughborough, one of the leading institutions of its kind worldwide.



These tests confirmed that the Teamgeist was more round, precise and consistent than any other competetive match ball.

Italy won the tournament this year, claiming their fourth World Cup title.



The Teamgeist: The official ball from the Germany world cup 2006 underwent rigorous scientific testing by the Sports Technology Research Group of the University of Loughborough

The Jabulani - South Africa 2010

The Jabulani, which means ‘to celebrate’ in Zul u, was adorned in 11 colours in tribute to Adidas' 11 previous World Cup balls.

It used for the first time 'grip and groove' technology - thermally-bonded panels twisting around the ball for extra aerodynamics.

But it was met with a storm of criticism from players during the tournament.



Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César compared it to a 'supermarket' ball that favored strikers and worked against goalkeepers

Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon said: 'The new model is absolutely inadequate and I think it's shameful letting play such an important competition, where a lot of champions take part, with a ball like this.'

In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title - the first European nation to win the tournament outside its home continent.



Jubulani: The official ball from the South Africa world cup in 2010 the name means to celebrate in Zulu, and it was adorned in 11 colours in tribute to Adidas' 11 previous World Cup balls

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