Being as the other ball thread is in the 'Apparel & Training Gear Thread' which I don't think gets looked at as often as this one, I've decided to start a ball thread here. This next post was posted by a new member of the forum newone88 so lets welcome them to BS. Was wondering what people prefer to play with. Do you always go for top end or lower end is good enough? My favorite of all time is early 80's Adidas Tango (I believe). I was a kid then and found one outside the local club and that ball was the softest ball ever. We played with it till it disintegrated (back then we played bare-feet on sand/dirt fields). I remember all of us going back outside the club and combing for another ball but never found one and then we all chipped in a bit of money and got another similar ball....(-: I find the Nike strike balls very good and so the Adidas top replique. I would love to hear what other like / prefer. Cheers
I had an adiPure 10 ball that I used up until this last year when it finally died on me. I got my $100 worth out of that one. I've always liked the adidas top end balls. When I was younger we used to use the Mitre Ultramax at school and that ball was fantastic......maybe I should give the new one a go!
I just picked up one of the new nike strike balls for $30, and I'm liking it. It's got the slicker surface and dimples this cycle, like the more expensive options. Personally, I like the Brazuca quite a bit, as well as most Selects.
At the school that I coach at we have used brazuca match balls for both training and match days but this year we changed it up and used some mitre ultimax's, still a top notch ball. Felt a little small when sat next to a brazuca but for me, having watch the premier league when the ultimax's was the boss, I was keen to turn the kids opinions into thinking mitre was cool again
Never tried Mitre balls myself but maybe I will check it out, Another question: Do you prefer certain balls on artificial grass than others? Or it dose not really matter?
Always used the cheaper Nike balls due to budget, never liked the cheap Adidas Finale as they always felt too baloony. Tried on the Mitre match ball once (fairly affordable too) and never looked back. They were awesome, just the right amount of weight and bounciness for me.
I like select alot. Currently running with a voit match ball. It was the cheapest fifa approved ball I could find. It's the ball used in the Mexican league. I like it quite a bit
I have to say that I never tried the top select brand soccer balls. There were few times when the kids I used to coach would bring in a ball but the other kids hated them because they were very hard and unforgiving if hit by one....(-: I will give the Select Brilliant Super a go and see. Any difference between the FIFA approved ones and NFHS ones? @MeganB, I like that ball too. I like Adidas top training models in general. very good balls.
The nike strike is the best budget ball there is. I had the previous model adidas match ball and didn't like it as much as the strike. It feels like a premium match ball. I prefer nike match balls as they seem softer than adidas ones ive used.
I agree. All the guys I play with thought it was a much more expensive ball than it was, they were shocked to hear it was only $20 (I got it on sale).
If you are playing on turf just go for cheaper balls because they are going to get wrecked on that surface. They will end up black and scuffed & unless you want to take time cleaning your ball after every use - its just a bit of a waste of cash. My usual preference is the are high end Adidas balls - I have a few but the one I've used the most is an Adidas Teamgiest ball. Fantastic ball you can get some ping behind them and they move beautifully in the air, and they are also nice for freestyle, hence a lot of freestylers using that model. But I recently got last seasons Nike FA cup ball. I've stayed away from Nikes high end balls over the last few seasons as I've found them to be a bit heavy. But this ones really nice and I've started to use it instead of my Adidas ball. My advice when it comes to balls is, if you buy an expensive one and are willing to take care of it, it will last you ages. But if you buy it and play 5-a-side with you mates and they are smashing it against the boards etc it will get damaged like a cheap one ... so buy a cheap one. appleCORR
Agree entirely... I had last season's Strike and got it for £25. While the seams came loose quickly it's a very solid ball. I'm rocking an old school Mitre English football league ball as my go to though. There are some awesome deals on Lovell Soccer currently though. Well worth checking out if you want some cheap match balls.
Never used the Voit before so I will add this one to my list of soccer balls to buy and test. Great advice regarding using balls on artificial surface. I normally don't play on them but when I coached the last few seasons, we used cheap balls. Cheers
Can't say I'm a massive fan of Mitre balls - but that could just be because the ones that I used when I was younger were like rocks. Haven't used them since lol. appleCORR
The ones my local NPSL team (4th division) uses are like rocks too. (And no, they are not overinflated, we used a gauge to make sure they were inflated to the correct pressure)
I think its because the panels don't seem to have any sort of padding behind them like the other makes. Even the higher end balls are pretty hard. appleCORR
Just got this one yesterday and will give it a go this weekend. Looks fantastic and has stickiness that I like. A bit on the harder side but there is good padding and I'm sure it will be fine once it played with few times.