If you ever want to consider how far football’s developed, just look the greatest match balls of all time. And consider, how far that football has really developed.
This silly, stupendous sport started life, essentially, as a fight over a pig’s bladder between Victorian gentlemen. The centrepiece of the beautiful game has since evolved and expanded, though – literally – to become rounded, softer, lighter, technicolour and packed with more technology than a space shuttle. Our forefathers wrote the laws of the game to apply to a lump of leather: now, match balls are tested in laboratories for years before they even touch a blade of grass.
Like a specific song from a lad’s holiday or a t-shirt in the back of your wardrobe, just the look of a specific football will evoke specific memories. You see, manufacturers will promise with every new ball this season that this iteration of this brand of match ball is so much more high-tech than the last one – but these footballs will always hold special places in our hearts.
Ranked! The 50 best footballs ever: 50. T-model (1930)
Where it all began. The T-model – named after that distinctive shape of panel – is Year Zero for what modern balls would become, used in the second half of the inaugural World Cup final in 1930. We've come a long, long way…
49. Mitre Delta Max 2 (2021)
For some, Mitre are old-fashioned and fusty. This FA Cup ball, however, was anything but: the red and white swirls made pretty patterns as it flew through the air – a great effort.
48. Nike Total 90 Tracer (2010)
Another simple design from Nike, the Tracer was the Berba ball: the Volt-infused sphere that Dimitar dominated with to send United to another title. It's stripped back and sophisticated.
47. Versace Barocco Soccer Ball (2019)
The kind of thing you'd expect Zlatan Ibrahimovic to have in his living room, this might be the most extra football of all time. It's never been used in a proper match – to our knowledge – but still worthy of a spot on this list for sheer opulence and grandiosity. Bellisimo.
46. Adidas Finale Cardiff (2017)
The Adidas Finale has become an icon of the game – so it's only right that the roadshow of Champions League finals should adapt the match ball to its identity.
The Cardiff edition was one of the most recognisable, with dragon scales and touches of Welsh crimson inbued into the design. Real Madrid, of course, won the trophy with this one.
45. Mitre Halftime Slice (2022)
The half-time orange may be something that you haven't considered for roughly 25 years but the Mitre tribute to an old tradition is unforgettable. A product released in tandem with Art of Football, the cleanness and classiness is simply sublime.
44. Derbystar Brilliant APS 2017 (2017)
Derbystar, the official suppliers to the Eredivisie teamed up with renowned tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher for this one. The aptly-named Brilliant celebrated the 60th birthday of the Dutch division – and it's suitably beautiful.
43. Nike Seitiro (2011)
The geometric patterns on the Seitiro were reminiscent of burning comets plummeting to the Earth – and that's exactly what this thing looked like when Sergio Aguero smashed it in against QPR in dramatic fashion.
With nine layers of casing and bright colours, this was as technology-savvy as it was good-looking. A landmark for Nike.
42. Adidas Wawa Aba (2008)
With imagination in short supply at Adidas around this time – they were still using their ball design from two years ago – someone had a genius idea for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. Just look at this ball.
The Adidas Wawa Aba – named after the seed of the Wawa tree, one of the strongest woods of Africa – took the patterns of the Teamgeist and transformed them into something distinctly Ghanian for the host nation. Instead of the panels being the focus, the swirls of yellow came to the fore. Genius.
41. Nike Strike Phantom Scorpion (2020)
A tribute to the shiny sphere that Ronaldinho fixed his hair in the reflection of in 2002's Nike Cage ads, the Scorpion version of the Nike Flight was pure nostalgia.
Never used in a match, this came as part of a collection that included Scorpion-themed boots. They were used in games, though, with Mason Mount donning silver Phantoms in the Premier League.
