The TANGO 12 - UEFA's Euro 2012 Official Match Ball

First post of 2012!

Since Euro 2012 begins in June, I thought it fitting to discuss the official match ball that will be used for the tournament. On the day of the Euro 2012 finals draw, Adidas the official supplier for the tournament, unveiled the TANGO 12 ball, which was created based on the classic Tango balls used in the FIFA World Cup and Euro tournaments of the 1980s but also incorporates a more modern design from the Jabulani ball used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The outside of the TANGO 12 ball is constructed of 32 triangular panels that are thermally bonded together (for those familiar with soccer balls, the panels can be bonded or stitched together) and a protruding micro surface texture was applied. The result is a ball that provides a true, stable flight path and better ball control. The inside of the ball contains a woven carcass and a new bladder that holds air longer and reduces water absorption so playing in the rain won’t affect it much.^1,2

After the ball was designed, it went through rigorous quantitative and qualitative testing to meet Adidas’ standards of approval (which exceed FIFA approved standards). According to the Adidas group blog article about the TANGO 12 ball, it is tested for all kinds of aspects including the roundness of the ball, its weight, and even accuracy. The way they test accuracy is actually quite cool.

At Adidas’ test centre in Herzogenaurach, they have a robotic leg with a high-speed camera attached that kicks the ball repeatedly at a goal from 22 meters away. The robotic leg ensures that the ball is kicked the same way every time and is an accurate way to analyze the ball’s performance, accuracy and flight characteristics from a variety of different shots.  Based on these specific tests, the TANGO 12 always hit its intended target with a maximal deviation of 20cm. This means the ball is very accurate and players should hit their target, assuming they are striking the ball correctly.  These types of tests make up the quantitative testing. The qualitative testing consists of letting players, both professional and amateur, use the ball and getting feedback about their impressions and how comfortable they are with it. Initial feedback has been positive.³

Adidas said the same thing about the Jabulani ball which got lots of complaints from players in the 2010 World Cup, so I will take this initial feedback (which usually comes from players that endorse their apparel and equipment) with a grain of salt until its gets widespread use from the general public.

Checkout the video below which provides more details about the ball’s design:

If anyone has gotten a chance to use the new TANGO 12, leave a comment and let me know what you think of the ball.

References

1. Sport Technology Review: Adidas TANGO 12 ball - Not just a football more a highly engineered sporting sphere
2. Adidas News: Adidas Presents Official Match Ball for UEFA EURO 2012
3. Adidas Group Blog - No doubt: This ball’s flying straing – there is proof!

Adidas’ AdiZero Technology – Part 3 (Football)

adiZero 5 STAR - Introducing the Lightest Cleat EVER Made, starring Eric Berry and CJ Spiller

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

In the last post on the adidas adiZero technology, we focus on the adiZero 5 Star cleat for football.  Adidas launched this cleat on Friday April 1 and, as with their adiZero footwear for soccer and basketball, the 5 Star currently is the lightest football cleat created weighing in at 6.9 ounces, 3 ounces lighter than anything else on the market.  Similar to the adiZero F50 cleats for soccer, the 5 Star upper is composed of a lightweight synthetic material called SPRINTSKIN and has a SPRINTFRAME base.  The cleats are a new triangular design to improve traction and acceleration.  This design significantly reduces the weight but does not compromise on support and stability when rapidly changing directions or making quick cuts.¹

  

The lighter the shoe, the faster the player and in football, speed kills! The 5 Star’s goal is to make players as fast as possible on the field. As with the adizero F50, it will be interesting if the miCoach technology will be implemented in later versions of the adiZero football cleats to measure and track player performance on the field.

Feedback from players on the shoe has been positive for the most part. Players are impressed with the how light the shoes are while still providing plenty of support and they feel faster and quicker on the field. Some players have complained about the lack of comfort and padding however, so depending on what’s important to a player, these cleats may not be the best choice. These football cleats are probably best for the skill position players (e.g. running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs) and not for linemen who need more support or might get their feet stepped on often. Also these cleats do not come in high-tops. See comments from adidas' adiZero 5 Star Facebook page.

Adidas will release the "adiZero Smoke" (shown in the video above), its next version of adiZero football cleats, to the general public in the spring of 2012. These cleats are lighter than the adiZero 5 Star and feature a SPRINTSKIN upper and a molded SPRINTFRAME outsole chassis.²

  

See what people are already saying about the adiZero Smoke cleat in comments from adidas’ adiZero Smoke Facebook page.

With Adidas' adiZero footwear product line for soccer, football, basketball and other sports it is clear the company is trying to emphasize speed as the best way to gain an advantage in competition. With their lightweight design, the adiZero footwear allows athletes to be able to reach maximum speed faster, make quicker cuts and improve endurance throughout a game. Adidas already has a majority of the market in footwear for soccer, but it will be interesting if these new shoe designs can help them gain more of the market in footwear for basketball and football which is dominated by Nike at this point.

References

1. adidas adiZero 5 Star Cleat Press Release
2. Counterkicks.com adidas adiZero Smoke Preview

adidas’ adiZero Technology – Part 2 (Basketball)

Adidas Derrick Rose: adiZero Crazy Light commercial

I’m really feeling the beat in D Rose’s commercial!

On April 14, 2011 (yeah I know I’m a bit late with this) Adidas declared the adiZero Crazy Light to be the lightest basketball shoe ever at 9.8 ounces for a size 10 foot, approximately two ounces lighter than the nearest competitor. The adiZero Crazy Light gives Adidas the lightest in three sports, including football (see my next post "Adidas' adiZero Technology - Part 3 about the adiZero 5 star cleat) and soccer.

It took over two years to design this show and the adidas Innovation Team started from scratch with just a bare foot.  The upper is composed of a SPRINTWEB exoskeleton that is less than 1mm thick and is bonded to a nylon textile base.  This design reduces the weight of the shoe, provides great comfort and the web layout provides plenty of support when cutting and changing directions rapidly.  The SPRINTFRAME external heel counter and TORSION SYSTEM are bonded together.  This again reduces the weight of the shoe, and also allows for maximum energy return and motion control to support the player when accelerating or changing directions.¹

I am curious if adidas will try to implement its miCoach technology into later versions of their basketball shoes as ways to further track player movements and improve upon their designs.  I imagine this may depend on how much of a benefit this would provide given the investment.  This may depend ultimately on sales and gaining a larger share of the market.

Nonetheless, the introduction of this new basketball shoe shows Adidas’ commitment to developing the lightest athletic shoes in major sports and reinforces their idea that lighter means faster and faster means better performance.  See the video below from Elysia Davis, a sports researcher for Adidas America talking about the technical process that the team went through to design the Crazy Light:

Adidas America announces new basketball shoe

Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2011 1:25PM

Elysia Davis, sports researcher for Adidas America, describes the technical process of developing the adiZero Crazy Light basketball shoe at the Adidas America headquarters in North Portland.

The adiZero Rose 2

Adidas also launched the “adiZero Rose 2” basketball shoe on October 1, endorsed by Derrick Rose.  “All Flights Cancelled” is stitched to the top of the tongue of this shoe which references how D Rose’s play on the court will alter this opponent’s chances of “taking off” or having any success (I like Derrick Rose, but not sure what I think about that).

The design and technology for this shoe is very similar to that of the Crazy Light with the SPRINTWEB upper and but adds a few extra bells and whistles to appeal to consumers who want to wear them off the court (e.g. a solid leather toe cap).  As a result, this shoe weighs in at 12.4 ounces², which is pretty light, but no where near the Crazy Light’s 9.8 ounces.

With these new shoes and their marketing efforts, it will be interesting to see if Adidas is able to gain a larger share of the basketball shoe market which has long been dominated by Nike and the Jordan Brand.

References

1. Adidas Crazy Light Press Release
2. adiZero Rose 2 – Product Description