From Uruguay in 1930 to Qatar in 2022 in 92, from the World Cup to the entire football world, there have been changes. In addition to the efforts of generations of footballers, technology is also indispensable to the development of football.
On March 31, the football equipment circle ushered in a heavyweight product, and Adidas officially launched the official match ball "Al Rihla" for the 2022 Qatar World Cup in an online media conference, Al Rihla means "journey" in Arabic. As the 14th consecutive match ball made by Adidas for the FIFA World Cup, this design and technology upgrade is particularly eye-catching.
(Image source: FIFA official website)
From Uruguay in 1930 to Qatar in 2022 in 92, from the World Cup to the entire football world, there have been earth-shaking changes. The sport of football continues to develop and improve, becoming the world's first sport today, in addition to the efforts of generations of footballers, the progress of the times, science and technology to the development of football, the same contribution.
The "Ancient Era" of Match Balls
Looking back at the history of the development of balls used in previous World Cup competitions, it is inseparable from the combination of science and technology and sports.
▲ The scene of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay (Image source: Sina pictures)
In the World Cup in ancient times, the use of the ball was not the focus of people's attention. The first World Cup in Uruguay did not even have an official ball, but instead, the ball used in each game was usually provided by the two teams themselves, negotiated and selected, very "arbitrary".
▲ Swiss World Champion (Swiss World Champion) (Image source: Penalty Sports)
At the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, the World Cup was gradually formed with ball standards, which were sewn vertically from 18 pieces of leather to each other. In addition to craftsmanship, World Cup balls have also begun to change in materials and technologies.
▲ 1958 Fifacchia world cup in Sweden "Top Star" (Image source: Penalty Sports)
The 1958 Fifacchia in Sweden's "Top Star" pioneered the use of a waterproof skin.
▲ "Ball King" Bailey (Image source: Phoenix Network)
A "superstar" also perfectly suited the emergence of pele, the king of the ball.
From practical to "standard"
▲ 1970 Mexico World Cup ball "Telstar" (TV star) (Image source: Penalty Sports)
At the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, FIFA officially introduced the concept of World Cup-specific football. Adidas also officially became the supplier of World Cup-specific balls, the world cup of the ball "Telstar" (TV Star) made of leather, "TV Star" is made entirely of leather, which is nothing special compared to other footballs at that time, but what is different is that her surface is composed of 32 hand-stitched inlays (12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons), this new structure, with balanced sewing, makes the football have a more round and perfect shape. This revolutionary structural design has written a new page in the history of football.
▲ The special ball "Azteca" (Azteca) of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico (Image source: Penalty Sports)
Since then, the development of the World Cup with the ball has begun to make great strides forward. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico used synthetic materials for the first time, making it more absorbent and durable, while its exterior design was inspired by more national characteristics, as the name Azteca, derived from the architecture and mural art of the local Aztecs in Mexico.
▲ The special ball "Etrusco Unico" (Etrusria) of the 1990 World Cup in Italy (Image source: Penalty Sports)
The special ball "Etrusco Unico" (Etrusria), the special ball of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, added a reinforced coating to the surface of the ball. Inspired by the ancient Italian Etruscan culture, each triangular inlay is printed with three patterns of Etruscan lion heads.
▲ The special ball "Tricolore" (tricolor ball) of the 1998 World Cup in France (Image source: Penalty Sports)
The special ball "Tricolore" (tricolor ball) of the 1998 World Cup in France introduced the "transparent printing" technology and used a new composite foam material. The surface of the football blends the colors of the French flag and the logo of the Gallic rooster, the national characteristics become the standard, and the "transparent printing" technology makes the overall color of the ball brighter and less fading.
The application of these technologies has integrated the blood of "science and technology" into football, and also set up "industry standards" for the development of football in the future.
The "brand" of football in the hearts of a generation
In the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the World Cup special ball ushered in another huge leap, and the ball "Fevernova" (flying fire meteor) was all over the streets. The outer layer of the Flying Fire Meteor uses a high-tech synthetic foam layer structure, while the three-layer rear-stage knitted inner layer patch provides good three-dimensional movement characteristics for the "Flying Fire Meteor", after a large number of tests on the mechanical legs of the Football Research and Development Center, the indicators of the Flying Fire Meteor exceeded all fifa standards at that time.
▲Ma Myung-woo, then captain of the national team at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup (Source: Tiger Sports)
Its design was a century-long leap at the time, and the pattern of four red and gold darts made the flying fire meteor a pioneer representative of football design at that time, and it is said that the designer's inspiration was the philosophical ideas of Japan and South Korea. The Flying Fire Meteor is a work of art produced by industrial football and the most innovative ball used in the 21st century.
Most importantly, the Chinese team can watch and participate in the game for the first time without time difference, so the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the Flying Fire Meteor are destined to become classics in our memories. The success of the Flying Fire Meteor has made the World Cup ball a popular "icon" every four years, in addition to the game itself, it carries more communication functions that cater to the Internet era.
There is football technology that "inside" and "face"
The 2006 World Cup in Germany's "Teamgeist" subverted the tradition of 32 hand-stitched balls, creating an unprecedented ball with 14 pieces of ball skin and hot-bonded splicing technology to create a ball that is truly completely waterproof and the ball presents an almost perfect arc.
▲Teamgeist (Team Star) of the 2006 World Cup in Germany (Source: Sina Sports)
▲ Jose+10 advertising poster (Image source: adidas.com)
In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Adi's advertisement Jose +10 with the "team star" as the protagonist became a classic.
▲ 2010 South Africa World Cup match ball "Jobulani" (Putian Tongqing) (Image source: Penalty Sports)
▲ 2014 Brazil World Cup match ball "Brazuca" (samba glory) (Image source: Phoenix.com)
The two world cup balls since then, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa "Jobulani" (Putian Tongqing) and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil "Brazuca" (Samba Glory) have further improved their craftsmanship, from 14 balls to 8 and 6.
By the 2018 World Cup in Russia, football technology has focused its "face" on "Lizi", and has implanted an NFC chip in the ball as never before, integrating digital thinking that adapts to the needs of future football development.
The world cup is named "Telstar 18" (TV Star 18), as the name suggests, it is to pay tribute to the classics of 1970, returning to the black and white color of the football, the style is much simpler, only the black color block has some mosaic treatment.
▲ 2018 World Cup in Russia "Telstar 18" (TV Star 18) (Image source: Sina Sports)
The design of the embedded NFC chip in the football allows consumers to interact with the football using a smartphone, and each football will generate a unique identification code to unlock exclusive content and information for the user, this personalized positioning perception experience makes each football a unique individual.
Football flies to a new "journey"
On March 30, the official match ball for the 2022 Qatar World Cup was announced, named "Al Rihla". Al Rihla means "journey" in Arabic.
▲The ball "Al Rihla" for the 2022 Qatar World Cup (Journey) (Image source: adidas.com)
According to FIFA and Adidas, the "journey" was inspired by Qatar's culture, architecture, iconic ships and flags. Its striking surface and bright colors represent the host country of this World Cup and the ever-increasing speed of the competition. It is worth mentioning that the "journey" in the air will be the fastest in the world cup so far, and it also claims to have the highest flight accuracy and stability, which is an important innovation in the World Cup ball.
With the blessing of the fastest flight speed, it is not known whether the records sealed in the history of football can be refreshed again. The development process of the World Cup ball has witnessed the development history of football from the side, from the earliest piece of desolation, to satellite live broadcasting, to various high-tech equipment, and then to the current cutting-edge VR live broadcast, AR advertising, the future development of football will be more and more closely integrated with science and technology.
This World Cup or messi, C Ronaldo, Modric, Lewandowski and other superstars who have accompanied us to grow up, let us look forward to this "visual feast" together!
(Source: Sina Sports, Understand Ball Emperor, Head of The Department of Sports, Tiger Sports, Phoenix.com, Sohu.com, etc.)
Producer: Popular Science Central Kitchen
Producer: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beike Media
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