Soccer: I am a big part of what makes the game beautiful

To most of you I am just a sphere, a characterless orb whose trajectory is determined by the 'superstars' that propel me...

If the inverted commas on 'superstar' make me sound cynical - bitter even - it's because I have feelings too.You kick me when I'm down, you headbutt me when I'm up.

Fine, but don't try to pretend I don't matter. It takes a lot of effort (from sweatshop child labour mainly, but that's by the by) to make me look this good - and I've done it all for you. So next time you see me cannon off the upright following a 20m thunderbolt, spare a thought for me and a few of my ancestors.
- By J.A. Bulani

A HISTORY OF OFFICIAL MATCH BALLS

1966: CHALLENGE
* My spiritual home: Wembley, England.

* Personal statement: I'm the last ball to be used at a World Cup that did not come from Adi Dassler's vast corporation and I'm kind of proud of that. True, orange might not have been my best colour but my classic panels and stitching were built to last.

* You might remember me when...:Geoff Hurst thumped me against the crossbar in the final against West Germany. Oh, how the debate raged as the Russian linesman signalled goal and back to halfway. 'Nein ziel, nein ziel,' the Germans cried. Only I know the truth and I will never let on.


1970-1974: TELSTAR
* My spiritual home: Azteca Stadium, Mexico City and Olympic Stadium, Munich

* Personal statement: I represent the apex of football design. I scoff at ornamentation. You look at me and you think 'football'.

* You might remember me when...: The Brazilians owned me in the final against Italy. Tostao started it, Clodoaldo laid off to Rivelino who found Jairzinho. The winger passed me to Pele, who laid it off to Carlos Alberto to drive me past Enrico Albertosi. Or perhaps you just remember Gerd Muller regularly bundling me into the net - never
did like him much.


1978-1982: TANGO
* My spiritual home: River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires and the Bernabeu, Madrid.

* Personal statement: I had style, a certain Latin elegance that cannot be explained, just felt. You love me, even when my flighty temperament mistreats you. The rubber inlaid seams were the first example of water resistance but I was no chemical creation. Like the hide of el toro, I am leather, I am tough.

* You might remember me when...: I bounced back off the post in stoppage time of the '78 final with the score locked at 1-1. The Netherlands' Rob Resenbrink has never forgiven me, but I'm a hero in Argentina.


1986: AZTECA
* My spiritual home: Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, of course.

* Personal statement: It's the Aztec patterns you'll remember me by, but my crowning glory was a shiny polyurethane coat. Rain, I laughed in the face of it (not that there was much need for some behaviour in the stifling Central American heat).

* You might remember me when...: For four minutes of contrasting glory. Quarterfinal, England versus Argentina, minute 51, the ball is flicked into the England box. El Diego, my friend, leaps but it is Peter Shilton's punch I fear. My protector gets there first before the pain, a gentle jab and I sail into the net. It is I that coined the phrase the Hand of God. I gift myself to Maradona, I let him treat me like I'm
his own. In minute 55 we dance together, embarrassing the English. I have never been happier.


1990: ETRVSCO
* My spiritual home: Olympic Stadium, Rome

* Personal statement: Does anybody ask me about being the first ball with an internal layer of black polyurethane foam? Do they talk about my quality synthetic fibres, my latex-impregnated textiles for form stability and resistance to tearing, my watertight neoprene layer? Do they make mention of my beautiful Etruscan design? No, all I get is 'What a rubbish World Cup, blah, blah, blah ...' I ask you, how would you feel?

* You might remember me when...: Well, you probably won't remember me. It was all rubbish apparently. What about my relationship with Cameroonian Roger Milla? He was like a grandfather to me.


1994: QUESTRA
* My spiritual home: The Rose Bowl, Pasadena.

* Personal statement: I'm hard to love, it's true. I'm garish, like Tom Petty's jacket at Live Aid. Inspired by space technology, high-velocity rockets and America's 'quest for the stars', I set new performance standards, or so my press blurb read. No wonder my colleagues hate me.

* You might remember me when ... : Roberto Baggio, the Italian genius, tried to plant me where it has been suggested I stay, orbiting earth from a great distance.


1998: TRICOLORE
* My spiritual home: Stade de France, St-Denis, Paris

* Personal statement: I have a certain je ne sais pas. The first multi-coloured match ball, I was the envy of my predecessors. Featuring a high-tech syntactic foam layer, the new material had better compression and more explosive rebound characteristics, making the ball softer and faster than the Questra. With the red, white and blue of my home country and a stylised cockerel as a motif, is it any wonder the hosts won.

* You might remember me when...: Zinedine Zidane's beautiful bald dome met me twice on the corner. Vive la France.


2002: FEVERNOVA
* My spiritual home: International Stadium, Yokohama

* Personal statement: I would like to think I'm remembered as the ball that broke the design tradition started by the Tango in '78. If not then I'd like acknowledgement of my 11 layers which include a mesh inner layer and tiny gas filled balloons imbedded in a syntactic foam. I fear Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon destroyed my legacy. 'A ridiculous kiddy's bouncing ball,' he carped, while Brazilians Rivaldo and Edilson complained about me. At least David Beckham stuck up for me (of course he helped design me).

* You might remember me when...: Spain kept sticking me in the back of the net in their quarter-final against South Korea and the officials kept disallowing them, ensuring the co-hosts would get to the semifinal. A bit grubby really.


2006: TEAMGEIST
* My spiritual home: Olympic Stadium, Berlin

* Personal statement: I kept getting hassled for my boring name and less than stellar artwork, but I'm German through and through. Don't forget that I had a few nice touches, such as being individually inscribed for each match, and a gold ball for the final. Also, say goodbye to the Pentagon panels, which had done their dash. Fewer seams means the ball is rounder, so while my predecessors might call themselves true spheres, I'm the closest yet to the real thing.

* You might remember me when...: I curled around the outstretched hand of Jens Lehmann in the semifinal to put Italy into the final and oust my Germany. I never much liked Fabio Grosso after he fell over against Australia, but when he struck me so sweetly from a narrow angle, I had no choice but to behave.


2010: JABULANI
* My spiritual home: Soccer City, Soweto

* Personal statement: My name means 'to celebrate' in Zulu. My new Grip'n'Groove profile allows stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions. With just eight, thermally bonded, spherically moulded 3D panels, I am perfectly round and more accurate than ever.