3) Teamgeist – 2006 World Cup
Adidas and Molten Corporation got together to design this ball. It was the first ball to reduce the number of panels from the traditional 32 panels of modern 20th century balls to just 14 panels. The sleek black-and-white design was a tribute to the host nation – Germany – where Adidas is also headquartered.
The name translates to ‘Team Spirit’ and was named so due to the Germans’ focus on teamwork rather than relying only on individual skills. The design has fewer seams and stitches making it uniformly spherical. The design was meant to provide greater accuracy in the shots due to its near-perfect spherical nature.
What set it apart from the rest was the fact that it was meant to be waterproof. That meant that the characteristics of the ball did not change depending on whether the ball was dry or wet. FIFA regulations stipulated that any ball could not see an increase of more than 10% in weight when wet and Teamgeist only saw a 0.1% increase.
While it was popular with most players, it did not sit too well with Brazil’s Roberto Carlos who claimed it was too light. Goalkeepers such as England’s Paul Robinson complained that its behaviour was like a water-polo ball when wet.
