Since 1998 I have been involved in the development and the design of the official match ball for the FIFA World Cup. “What makes a perfect football?” This is the question we at the adidas Innovation Team constantly ask ourselves. In the end it comes down to a mixture of many things, from material development to aerodynamic research and sometimes we really have to dive deep into mathematics and even the world of geometry… just like with the “brazuca” that is built in perfect symmetry out of 6 totally identical panels.
I have been with adidas for almost 20 years now and as a passionate footballer myself I am still proud to be a part of an event like the Football World Cup. The moment the ball is played at the event for the first time is very special and only thinking about it I already get goose bumps.
People often ask me how much there is to reinvent every four years, if a ball is just always round in the end? Well, before I started with adidas I had never imagined how many details there are to think of when it comes to footballs…
More valuable knowledge about making football happen:
- Behind the scenes at adidas – What it takes to bring the 2014 World Cup to life
- A career in the center of football craziness – Product Marketing at adidas
- The science behind adidas football jerseys and other product innovations
- How adidas designers hunt down inspiration for world cup jerseys
- Sports Marketing – The adidas vanguard for the World Cup in Brazil
- Where the football stars get their cleats pimped
- Visiting the birthplace of brazuca
- A nation of reviewers: Designing the World Cup football kit for your own team
- World Cup preps: A great kick-off for a career in sports
- How brazuca got Messi’s seal of approval
- Behind the scenes of the German national team
- Optimistic, spontaneous, rythmic – How adidas designers were inspired by Brazil
- The man who put his heart on your sleeve – Designing the DFB jersey
- Is Brazuca, official match ball of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, an icon? This story is a proper check.
Stay Tuned
In the next post you’ll meet Meli who moved to Brazil in order to prepare the world cup on-site. The post will be published on 02. April 2014.
Because of the quality of the balls I happened to be one of the many goalkeepers who suffered the most. Handling the ball was so difficult and the pain absorbed were immense. It was only during the last few years ofof my playing career that we got the privilege of playing with the soft skin Adidas footballs that are widely used in the country today.
I am extremely amazed to know that to manufacture a top quality football today lot of creativity and innovation is used. This tremendous development that had put into the making of football not only has made the ball a quality product that would serve the needs of the player but it also contribute for the development of the players skills that are watched and enjoyed by millions of football lovers.