With the group stages now drawn for both the Champions League and Europa League, adidas have unveiled the official match balls for the 2011/12 European competitions, along with the one-off European Super Cup ball.
The design of the Finale 11, the Official Match Ball for the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season, builds on the tradition of the iconic UEFA star ball. The Finale 11, which is now eleven years into its development, features an updated colour story that highlights the broad appeal of football by using a myriad of colour symbolizing every team, every player, every stadium and ultimately every fan!
The adidas Finale 11 is the second season ball on which the famous UEFA Champions League star panel shape is integrated in the technology of the ball. In line with adidas’ continued advancements in ball technology, the Finale 11 has a diamond texture that gives even more grip for enhanced control and also features thermal bonding which creates a seamless surface. You can see our full review of the Finale 11 with exclusive images by clicking here.
As the Official Match Ball supplier for the UEFA Europa League since the commencement of the tournament, adidas developed the Official Match Ball in line with the visual language of the logo and brand colours of the competition.
The UEFA Europa League Official Match Ball 2011/2012 is an evolution of the 2010/2011 ball, continuing the colour story but also featuring a new grip technology as seen on the UEFA Champions League Finale 11 ball. The design is inspired by the UEFA Europa League trophy incorporating the competition colours, whilst the improved Grip Texture means even more grip in any weather condition.
Following the successful launch of its first Official Match Ball for the UEFA Super Cup in 2009, adidas will continue to offer a specially designed ball to mark the prestigious occasion. The design of the ball takes inspiration from the colours of the UEFA Super Cup logo, as well as the colours of the respective teams competing in the game – FC Barcelona and FC Porto. As with the UEFA Europa League ball, the UEFA Super Cup ball features the industry-leading Grip Texture technology.
Adidas has been making footballs since 1963 and is now the world’s leading manufacturer. They've supplied the official match balls to all major UEFA and FIFA tournaments since 1970, and since 2006 is also the Official Supplier of the match ball for all UEFA Champions League games. The adidas Finale ball has been used for the UEFA Champions League Final since the 2000/2001 season.
Now you've seen the new adidas Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup match balls, what do you think? Have your say and join the conversations with the SoccerBible community online, on Twitter and on Facebook.