Bought a number of these a while back for training purposes and for kick abouts. They seemed good quality when used a few hours a week, moved well, even flight, well made and made by a top manufacturer.
If used correctly though, this ball is a well made, good quality ball, which is durable and long lasting and performs fantastically. It even got some positive remarks from many different groups of adults, young people and children which I used them with, and that really does mean it is a good product.
However when used on surfaces which were not grass or astro turf, such as concrete, the balls did not last and faded away rather dramatically. It was also advertised at the time as the ground breaking in new technology, this may well be the case for the balls used at the world cup in Japan & South Korea in 2002, but do not expect this from these, remember, it is only a replica
I used to have this ball years ago during the world cup, i think i paid £25 for it. Used to play with it a lot on grass, however later played with it on concrete. Once i started playing with it more on concrete the leather didn't really last that long and it soon just became the kick-about ball rather than a professional looking match ball.
The ball was good, however it was very light! You could really hit it hard and it would fly! a problem with this is that sometimes the wind could get heavily involved and also the ball would tend to swerve more than regular footballs. If my memory is correct as well at the time i think some of the professionals were complaining about it in the world cup saying that it was too light.
I was very pleased with this ball, it was probably the most expensive ball i've ever owned but it is also my favourite.
World Cup 2002 was the best international football tournament of this decade, and therefore, playing with the official ball feels intensely cool. In terms of playability, it is more than suitable for back-garden/jumpers-for-goalposts footy - and the thick leather means that sharp hedges and whatnot are no match for this beauty.
The enhanced cushiony feeling of the leather also means that it's somewhat immune to being mauled by a tarmac or gravel. Yeah, you might lose the cool matted colour on the ball, but that is an adequate sacrifice when you're having a cracking game of footy on the playground.
At the end of the day, you get to re-enact the genius of Ronaldo (not the Portuguese one...) and Henry with this ball. The feeling against your boot or trainer (or even your sock, depending on just how casual you really are), is very cool indeed.
I prefer playing with this ball in comparison to the various Nike Premier League models i've bought over the years.
This ball, actually, isnt a bad ball to play football with at all.
The World Cup 2002 showed us many, many fantastic games, in which a new element was added to the mix - Adidas' New Football Technology.
What Adidas had managed to do, was something other manufacturers of Footballs had never gotten, and probably had never tried, or even thought about doing.
Adidas had made a football, that was still subject to the same forces of Gravity as anything in this world... but it was lighter. Less of the junk that goes into making a football was taken out.
So what? I hear you cry... Well, lets say you put this ball down on the ground, from a dead-ball situation (a free kick or a penalty to those that dont know) and you strike the ball cleanly. The first thing you will see, is the balls movement in the air. Its so light, that even the worst 'Curler' of a football will have a nice swerve added to the strike of the ball. Because of its lightness, the ball is more subjected to slight movement in the air, and this helps a lot of strikers and midfielders alike.
The negative, is the affect it can have on Goalkeepers and defenders, particularly for shots and crosses respectively. Because of the swerve of the ball, and previous versions of footballs not being up to this standard, it was very hard to judge just where the ball would end up. However, after a little time adjusting to the balls dynamics, and mastering the technique, this ball has the ability to make your goals look that little bit more special.
And trust me, when you have hit this ball from 30 Yards out with he outside of the right foot, on the volley, and it swerves away from the full stretched goalkeeper into the top right corner... you know you have just seen something special.
This football started a trend that many manufacturers have continued to this day, and that is the Light Dynamic, and the speed at which the ball changes the game. The ball allows more flowing football, and actually tempts you to play the sweet cross, swerving pass to the inside, or to strike the ball coming down from the cross.
It isnt the best looking ball in the world, with some sort of grey/green colour being the main fascias of it... but who looks at the colour of a football during a game?
I have had the misfortune of having purchased and played with the Adidas Fevernova. I purchased it for £14.99 a couple of years ago because I thought it was a very good football, I was wrong. This ball was the official football in the 2002 football world cup in Japan and South Korea. It was supposed to be the most revolutionary football of all time and make the games more exciting.
I play quite a bit of football and have used many different balls in my time. They have ranged from Mitre, Nike and Umbro balls. I had generally found Adidas balls to be the best, the UEFA Champions League balls in particular, until I purchased the Fevernova. I think I am in a good position to air my comments on this particular football, so that is what I am going to do in this review.
The actual outer leater shell of the ball, is around three millimetres thick, but consists of eleven layers. There are numerous layers of tiny gas filled balls, which give the ball added strength and make it last a lot longer. This is also designed to make the ball more spnge like than most other footballs. This then allows the ball to ping off the players foot or which ever part of the body the ball contacts. The ball was made within FIFA's regulations and the weight was the maximum permitted, around 435g, which allegedly gives the ball a more accurate flight pattern.
Personally, I greatly dislike this football. The technology used to make this ball, was very good and revolutionary and it had the desired effect. However, this affect was a rather negative one for the footballers in the world cup and all the others who use it. If you hit the ball relatively gently, it tends to fly off the boot in all sorts of directions. It is very hard to control and a lot of the professionals complained about it. The colour and styling of the ball is also very annoying. When the ball is in flight, it is hard to tell which way it is going and the type of spin on it. This can cause problems and I have found that it is hard to judge headers and for goalkeepers when they are defending corners.
As this ball is a couple of years old, they are starting to be reduced in price. I saw a size five ball in JJB the other for £7.99. If you want a ball for a mess around in the back garden then it is definetly a bargain. However, if you want a football for a match down the park with your mates, don't turn up with this. It just isn't good enough and it won't last you very long because it tends to deflate for no apparent reason. It is really a horrible looking football and it makes playing with it even harder. It does come in white which is a lot better to see and judge the flight of. Overall, I would stay clear of this football.
These are my views on the excellent Adidas ball that was used at the World Cup in Portugal. There is not very much to write about when describing a football, however I will do my best to share my opinion on this ball. Firstly my experience of this ball has been a positive one. The ball is made from an excellent leather which gains good leverage with a decent kick. This is important as some balls, no matter how hard they have been hit, will only travel a certain distance before descending. When I first bought the ball, about 6 months ago, I only used to play with it on grass, as I didnt want to scuff the leather so that the patches wore and started to fall off. However for the past 2 month I have been playing with the ball on concrete regularly and the ball is still intact. This shows the the robustness of the ball and the quality of the leather it is made from. I have read comments in the press saying that the goalkeepers have trouble with this football as it tends to move about quite a lot in the air when struck at them. I would agree with this - the ball does swerve around in mid air. This is brilliant when striking the ball, but a pain for goalkeepers. Overall I would recommend this ball to anyone wanting to purchase a durable, well leathered football prices reasonably.