14 days to South Africa VS Mexico Group A kick-off in Soccer City, Johannesburg
Well I generally do the scoring of World cup (Both Football & Cricket) on paper but this time I'm gonna do that with an Excel File. Very effective, as you only need to put the scores. Points table will automatically be updated.
The file size is 2.44 MB & it is .xls file. So you'll need MS Excel installed to run the file. DOWNLOAD
Almost all of you may have already listened to that FIFA World Cup 2010 Official Theme Song. I will still share two versions. First one consists of many memorable goals of all-time. So kids, watch the old school goals. You know, Old is Gold.
Next one is an English & Spanish Celebration mix of the theme song. Surprisingly I liked this one more than the original one. I'm sure you'll all enjoy both the videos.
"The secret of football is the ball", as German legend Uwe Seeler so eloquently put it, and billions of fans will certainly agree with him. Football is by far the more popular sport on the planet, making the FIFA World Cup one of the most important sporting events around the world.
Sporting goods manufacturer adidas have been responsible for the official FIFA World Cup ball since Mexico 1970, but what did they play with before then? Different balls were used for the first and second halves of the first ever FIFA World Cup Final in 1930, since the two finalists insisted on using "their own ball". From then onwards, the host country was allowed to supply the balls.
To begin with, the ball was generally made out of 12 parts, before an 18-piece ball was used at the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, various versions of which were then in service until 1966.
The development of the football over the next few decades carried on with experts constantly trying to invent the perfect ball. The adidas era began in Mexico 40 years ago, and this was when the balls were first given a name.
World Cup 1970 Official Ball : Telstar by Adidas
The first ball with a black and white pattern used in the FIFA World Cup finals. It was painted with black and white panels so it was more visible on black-and-white television. It was the first World Cup ball to use the truncated icosahedrons or bucky ball for its design, consisting of 12 black pentagonal and 20 white hexagonal panels, which later became the regular design of a football. Older balls had consisted of groups of stripes, similar to the configuration of the modern volleyball. Although made of leather; it still had relative water resistant qualities provided by its shiny durlast coating.
World Cup 1974 Official Ball : Telstar Durast by Adidas
It was one of two official match balls of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, along with the Chile. The similar Telstar Durlast was the official ball of the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany.
World Cup 1978 Official Ball: Tango by Adidas
It introduced a new design which would be used for the next twenty years: Twenty identical panels with ‘triads’ created the impression of 12 circles. It was the most expensive ball in history, at the time, with a £50 price tag. Like its predecessors, the Adidas Tango Durlast was made of genuine leather and boasted the shiny waterproofing Durlast coating.
World Cup 1982 Official Ball: Tango Espana by Adidas
Adidas introduced a new ball which had rubber inlaid over the seams to prevent water from seeping through. The first ball with water-resistant qualities. General wear from kicking however meant the rubber began to wear after a short time and needed to be replaced during the game. The last genuine leather world cup ball.
World Cup 1986 Official Ball: Azteca Mexico by Adidas
The FIFA World Cup Mexico, saw the introduction of the first polyurethane coated ball which was rain-resistant. The first synthetic match ball, with good qualities on hard and wet surface.
World Cup 1990 Official Ball: Etrusco Unico by Adidas
It was the official match ball of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy and the Euro 1992 in Sweden. The name and intricate design took their inspiration from Italy’s ancient history and the fine art of the Etruscans. Three Etruscan lion heads decorate each of the 20 Tango triads.
World Cup 1994 Official Ball: Questra by Adidas
It was enveloped in a layer of polystyrene foam. This not only made it more waterproof but allowed the ball greater acceleration when kicked. The new game ball felt softer to the touch. Improved ball control and higher velocity during play.
World Cup 1998 Official Ball: Tricolore by Adidas
By 1998, FIFA World Cup France was played with a ball which sported the French red-white-blue tri-color. A complete departure from the old traditional black and white pattern. The first official World Cup soccer ball that was in color. The TRICOLORE used underglass print technology with a thin layer of syntactic foam.
World Cup 2002 Official Ball: Fevernova by Adidas
This ball was notoriously criticized for being too light, yet some spectacular goals were scored with it during the tournament. The ball was also blamed for a number of upsets that happened in he knockout stages.
“A ridiculous kiddy’s bouncing ball” Italy Goalkeeper Buffon stated.
World Cup 2006 Official Ball: +Teamgeist by Adidas
The ball was designed by the Adidas Innovation Team and the Molten Corporation and is made by Adidas. The +Teamgeist ball differs from previous balls in having just 14 curved panels (making the ball topologically equivalent to a truncated octahedron), rather than the 32 that have been standard since 1970. In another first, the panels are bonded together, rather than stitched. It is claimed to be rounder and to perform more uniformly regardless of where it is hit, and being almost waterproof, it does not change performance as much when wet.
World Cup 2010 Official Ball: Jabulani by Adidas
On December 4th, adidas and FIFA officially unveiled the adidas “JABULANI”, the Official Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The “JABULANI”, which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu, features a South African inspired design and radically new technology. Eleven different colors are used in the Adidas “JABULANI”, the eleventh Adidas World Cup ball. These 11 colors represent the 11 players in every team, the 11 official languages of South Africa and the 11 South African communities that make the country one of the most ethnologically diverse countries on the African continent. The colorful design brings together the tremendous diversity of the country in harmonious unity. Four triangle-shaped design elements on a white background lend the ball a unique appearance in African spirit. And like the outer facade of Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, individual design elements also capture the colorfulness of South Africa.
Now lets look at how BIG GUN players judged it.
Michael Ballack : “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”
Petr Cech : “You can feel the energy coming towards you, like a shot.”
Frank Lampard : “A very strong ball, true to hit.”
Kaká : “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.”
Lets watch a close video on this most stable and accurate football of all time, proving that impossible truly is nothing!
I can't wait anymore for the World Cup. FYI I'm firstly an Argentina fan although I support both Italy & Portugal too. So which team do you support? You may please join us here to take part in the discussion & craze. Also here's our World Cup Fantasy game thread for your consideration.
You know Roland Garros 2010 French Open is running. If you're a tennis fan (Well I don't think there are some) you can join the discussion here.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
Regards
biZZy
