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.
The Brazuca ball is pictured with the world cup - it is the twelfth ball made by official manufacturer Adidas
The Telstar - Mexico 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 Durlast - Germany 1974
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 soilThe Tango - Argentina 1978
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
Italy won 3-1 and even missed a penalty to boot.
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.
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
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.
The Azteca - Mexico 1986
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
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.
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.
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.
The Fevernova - Japan/Korea 2002
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.
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 Jabulani - South Africa 2010
The Jabulani, which means ‘to celebrate’ in Zulu, 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.
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