adidas euro 24 pro 足球: An In-Depth Look at the Official Match Ball
The 2024 European Championship will feature the all-new adidas® Fussballliebe® Pro football, officially known as the Adidas Euro 24 Pro 足球 in certain markets. This ball boasts a unique surface structure, blending deep circular and semi-circular ridges and dimples while retaining traditional panel seaming. This intricate design prompted a simulation study to evaluate its aerodynamic properties and compare them to the adidas® Telstar® ball used in the 2018 FIFA World Cup®.
The design of the adidas euro 24 pro 足球 marks a significant departure from recent adidas match balls. While sharing similarities with the 2022 World Cup ball, the adidas® Al Rihla®, the Fussballliebe’s distinct ridge and dimple pattern sets it apart. This design language is also echoed in the adidas® MLS 2024 ball and the adidas® Île-de-Foot 24 ball for the Paris Olympics. This evolution in design warrants a closer examination to understand its potential impact on the game.
Previous analyses have compared the adidas® Telstar® with the Nike® Ordem V, and the Telstar’s panel design has been widely adopted in subsequent balls. However, the Fussballliebe represents a significant shift. Comparing it to the Telstar provides valuable insights into the evolution of match ball design at the highest level of the sport and may even offer predictive insights into the Euro 2024 tournament.
While eight top contenders for the Euro 2024 title are sponsored by either adidas or Nike, all teams will train and play with the official adidas euro 24 pro 足球. Interestingly, none of the top eight club teams in European leagues currently use an adidas ball, although most players participate in the Champions League, which uses the adidas® Finale – a ball with a vastly different design. Players from the Saudi Pro League, accustomed to the adidas® Oceaunz (similar to the Fussballliebe but with different dimple designs), might have a slight advantage due to familiarity.
Familiarity with the ball is crucial. The example of Diego Forlán extensively training with the adidas® Jabulani® before the 2010 World Cup highlights this. He became one of the tournament’s top scorers, mastering the ball’s unique characteristics. While relatively few players will have extensive experience with the adidas euro 24 pro 足球 before the tournament, the overall playing field remains relatively level.
The adidas euro 24 pro 足球 and the Telstar both have a total seam length of approximately 4.3 meters. However, the Fussballliebe presents a more complex macroscopic surface structure, incorporating ridges, circles, and dimples. Both balls feature microscopic surface textures, though these were not included in the 3D CAD models used for the simulation study.
High-speed balls, like those in free kicks, develop a turbulent boundary layer shortly after leaving the foot. This turbulent layer minimizes drag, allowing for stable flight. As speed decreases, the transition point from laminar to turbulent flow moves backward, potentially leading to separation of the laminar boundary layer and increased drag, resulting in unpredictable ball movement. This phenomenon, known as the drag crisis, can significantly impact a ball’s trajectory.
Both Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods, using the k-ε turbulence model, were employed to analyze the adidas euro 24 pro 足球 and the Telstar. LES captured the transition between laminar and turbulent flow, predicting the relative position of the drag crisis. RANS, incorporating a surface roughness parameter, modeled the influence of the microscopic surface texture but assumed a fully turbulent boundary layer.