If you appreciate a good ball as much as we do here at Balls.ie, then you're sure to enjoy our power ranking of the best footballs we've ever seen.
From World Cups, to Premier Leagues, to Irish international friendlies, we've listed and ranked our favourite ever footballs since they stopped kicking around an inflated pig bladder.
Here are the 10 best footballs ever.
#10 - Nike Total 90 Aerow
Ole! This ball became synonymous with Nike's Total 90 ad which featured Brazil and Portugal players having a kick-about all throughout a stadium to the tune of "Papa Loves Mambo". It was also the Premier League match ball for the 04/05 season and it looked damn good being stuck in slow motion replays.
#9 - Nike Geo 800
Another solid effort from Nike, the Geo 800 is simplicity at it's finest. An all white ball with the iconic Nike swoosh, the colour of which changed depending on the competition or international team that used it for home matches. The Dutch orange swoosh was particularly nice.
#8 - Mitre Ultimax
The iconic match ball of the Premier League in the '90s, this ball is best remembered for being blasted by the likes of Matt Le Tissier, Eric Cantona, and Alan Shearer. Unfortunately the cheaper, non-match ball versions were used by football clubs all over Ireland and on cold winter mornings they essentially became spherical concrete blocks, but the match-ball was great. That pattern alone evokes serious Des Lynam Match of the Day nostalgia.
#7 - Adidas Tricofore
The official match ball of the 1998 FIFA World Cup will hold a special place in the heart of anybody who loved that absolutely brilliant tournament. Ronaldo wreaking havoc, Zidane becoming a true great, and Dennis Bergkamp's majestic touch all come to mind when thinking about the wonderful Tricofore.
#6 - Umbro Ceramica
Umbro's only effort in our top 10 is admittedly in there for sentimental reasons as it evokes memories of every Irish international friendly in the 1990's. Who could forget David Connolly's hat-trick against Liechtenstein?
#5 - Adidas Telstar
Now that is a football. The Adidas Telstar was the official match-ball of the 1974 World Cup and then became the template for what a football is perceived to look like. There is a definite argument for this to be number one in a power ranking, but it will have to settle for top five in ours.
#4 - Nike Geo Merlin
Another iconic Premier League match-ball is the last Nike entrant in our top 10. The Nike Merlin is again one well remembered for the brilliant Nike adverts, in particular the silver edition used the infamous 'Cage' ad with the likes of Edgar Davids and Thierry Henry strutting their stuff.
#3 - Adidas Roteiro
The official match-ball of UEFA Euro 2004 was an absolute beaut. The unusual silver colour brought about confused reactions initially, but once fans saw the silver bullet flying into the net thanks to the likes of Zidane, Rooney, and of course, Maniche, then it would go on to be remembered as a classic, and worthy of a place in our top three.
#2 - Adidas Tango
Controversial. Widely regarded as the best football of all time because, well, look at it! It's damn near perfection. Visions of Diego Maradona making fools of defenders and punching the Adidas Tango only add to it's legacy, and the only reason it isn't our absolute best ball ever is because we are head over heels in love with number one.
#1 - Adidas Fevernova
Yes. The official match-ball of the 2002 FIFA World Cup is the best damn ball that ever existed. Diego Maradona made the Tango iconic, well Matty Holland did the very same for the Fevernova with his daisy-cutter against Cameroon. It's gold, it's got a very cool looking graphic, the honeycomb pattern on the ball looked amazing and had 'science' behind it, and it also introduced a thin layer of padding that resulted in some absolute thunder-strikes in Korea and Japan. We love you, Adidas Fevernova.
