I play soccer at work on M-W-F with my coworkers. Each year we all donate $5 and buy a couple of balls. Instead of buying the $40 crappy balls that feel like a rock after a month of playing I have convinced the guys to buy one or two match balls (we have 40+ players, so we can afford it). However, I would like to know which match balls are the best and why. The ones I have looked at are the Adidas Fevernova and Euro 2004 ball, and the Brine NCAA championship ball. Has anyone played with the current MLS match ball? (I got a mitre one a couple years ago and it was fantastic) How are the nike high end balls? Which balls have the best wear? If anyone has any feedback I really appreciate it. Thanks, Scumby - Corporate Soccer Playing Slave
i have used the brine balls aswell and i also thought they aere to heavy but for me i think the nike swift aero ball is the best ball because its not to light and not to heavy and it doesnt hurt ure foot when u kick with it and it lasts long aswell if u wanna c it here is a website just click on it and u will c it http://www.eastbay.com/catalog/prod...h&supercat=other&sku=06661015&model_nbr=51568
The Aerow is a really nice ball, light and really pings off your foot, noticeably. great to play with.
I use the Brine NCAA ball for high school and its horrible. The Adidas Roteiro has been getting a lot of bad press so I say go with the Nike Aerow.
Depending on how many balls you are need to buy, you might want to also check out the Nike Total 90 Catalyst. It is the ball right below the Aerow. It runs about $40USD less ($80) than the Aerow ($120). Both are FIFA Approved. Other FIFA approved are: Adidas Reteiro Euro 2004 $130 Adidas UEFA Finale $120 Adidas Fevernova WC 2002 $120 Puma MLS Match $110 None of the Brines are FIFA approved. I use a Brine Phantom for indoor, really durable for kicking against the wall and a Mitre that was used as the official ball of the EPL for outdoor. But if you have the money, go for the Total 90 Aerow.
The Puma match ball is very nice. We played in a tourney with them and they were very consistant and felt nice kicking them.
I know you want a match ball but I have the Infusion soccer ball from Spalding. I bought it at Target but u can find it a Duhmans, Dicks etc. Its really soft, nice, BUILT IN PULP - comes really handy, and has a great feel to it. Its a great ball to me and the best thing about it, is that u don't have to buy pins/pulp.
Brine balls are terrible, far too heavy. I've had nothing but good experiances with high end Nike balls. The Puma is very nice as well.
Diadora has a ball, the Flaminio, that is FIFA approved for only $45 at soccer.com. I have never played with it but for that price, it might be worth checking out. If you do a search on "FIFA Approved Ball" on Google, you can find alot of balls that can save you money when compared to the "ball of the moment". Here is an article on what makes a ball FIFA approved: http://www.soccerballworld.com/FIFA_Approvals.htm
Don't buy a Brine -- they are too heavy and hard. It's just not a good buy for the money....you can get a better ball cheaper. I'd give my reco to the adidas UEFA Finale (the champions league ball) of the high end Nike balls. I hate to say it but Nike makes the best match balls...even their cheaper models aren't too bad. I have not played with the MLS Puma ball. So I cannot comment there. The sfae bet is to get a top end Nike. But at the end of the day -- its just a ball and not matter how fancy of a ball you buy it's not going to matter much if you suck. Heck, my grandpa used to play with a ball of rags when he was growing up in Italy! If you got 40 guys willing to shell out $5 apiece I could sell you a real nice ball of rags.
You need a wholesaler? I can get you rags for cheap. If we get some superstar to start using a "rag" ball", I bet you could sell them for $100 each. Some people will buy anything they see a star use regardless the quality. I use a bowling ball. The ball really stays close to your foot without having to buy these nancy boy shoes with "one-touch" grip control.
there was a cheap fifa approved roterio at eurosport called bajador or something.. but i havent tried it.. i have tried top end nike balls and they are awesome good touch and it has good wear for a top end ball.. u also cant go wrong with mitre balls
I've heard the best ball was adidas tango and worst are puma's,not including brand new models(of any make)
Any ball marked "FIFA Approved", "FIFA Inspected" or "International Matchball Standard" is good-quality and suitable for matches under the Laws of the Game. You can often find very good balls from cheaper, less-prominent brands just by looking for these markings.
I bought the Adidas Roteiro ball at the start of the year. It's a really good ball. Of course, the design and graphics on it have started to wear off, but the physical surface of the ball is untouched. Maybe the ball is a tiny bit too light, but not much that i can notice. It's really nice to kick, swerves well, etc.
It's probably not a match ball. You can get cheap Roteiro balls which are already really good but may not be as good as Match Balls.
Go with any high-end nike ball, they are the best.( also try looking here, this is a good ball that is on sale: http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=120&pcount=&Product_Id=79185 )
Brine wtf is that? AMerican made? If so, stay away, the American companies don't know how to make football gear yet, sorry but its true. Nike footballs are Ok but not as good as Adidas, Umbro or Mitre. You might find the newest Mitre Geo ball (I forget its real name something like Geo) is the best ball on the market. The Adidas Euro ball has a funny feel too it, kinda spongy, same with the WC 2002 ball. If you are going for adidas go for the CL FInale ball, its great.
Aren't they all made in some sweat shop? http://www.citinv.it/associazioni/CNMS/archivio/multinazionali/nikefabbrica.html
So the sweat shop kids designed them then? Rather than just put them together to the companies specifications? Using their materials which are inherintly different from each other? Or then again maybe not and your right, all made in the same sweat shop therefore all the same, I see the logic.
I have last year's Nike English Premier League ball and it is fantastic for the most part. It needs to be pumped up every few weeks, but most of the balls that I've used with a latex bladder do too. I don't think you can find this ball anymore, I got mine from eurosport last year on sale. But it is really just a Nike Geo Merlin Vapor with the EPL logos on it. Both are FIFA approved. Here is a link to the original Geo Merlin: http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=1&pcount=&Product_Id=41947 They have a NFHS version too, which might not be up to FIFA's standards but I'm sure NFHS has pretty high standards too since there aren't a lot of balls with their logo on it either. http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=50&pcount=&Product_Id=96212