Adidas releases new €160 ball for Club World Cup

February 3 – You can’t play the ‘beautiful game’ without a ball, and the game is littered with iconic and controversial balls. The Adidas Telstar and tango from the 1970 and 1978 World Cups are still considered the crown jewels with football aficionados while the Adidas Jabulani from 2010 was described by Brazilian goalkeeper, Julio Cesar, as “a ball you buy in a supermarket”.

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Sketch: Painfully brilliant, or a shameless sham?

December 6 – The Club World Cup draw presentation yesterday in Miami was a very Latin American themed event with a sprinkling of Italians in the audience and Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero acting as master of ceremonies (co-conductor in FIFA-speak) – an elegant ringmaster on the football pitch but one who was a little wooden under this big top.

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