After showing off some leaked images on our Facebook Page, we bring you the adidas Tango 12.
Yesterday adidas and UEFA unveiled the Official Match Ball for the UEFA EURO 2012 – the Tango 12. The ball was unveiled on stage during the UEFA EURO 2012 finals draw by former Ukrainian Olympic pole vaulter Sergey Bubka.
Based on the classic Tango design used during both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO tournaments during the early 1980s, the adidas Tango 12 features a modern interpretation of the design including a coloured outline inspired by the flags of the two host nations – Poland and Ukraine.
The adidas Tango 12 is the eleventh Official Match Ball produced for the EURO tournament leading on from a rich history in adidas football development which started in 1963. During that period, three Tango inspired designs have been produced for the EURO tournaments — the 1980 Tango River Plate, the 1984 Tango Mundial and the 1988 Tango Europa — making the adidas Tango 12 the fourth in its history.
Etched into the Tango design are three bespoke graphics which celebrate the decorative art of paper cutting, a tradition in the rural areas of both host countries and link to the key characteristics of football – unity, rivalry and passion.
Complementing the design, the adidas Tango 12 features a series of triangular panels that are thermally bonded together to ensure a true, stable flight path. Covering each panel of the ball is a grip texture which supports boot to ball contact and enhances ball control. Beneath the outer surface of the ball lies a woven carcass and a new bladder for increased air retention and reduced water uptake.
The adidas Tango 12, which has been developed over a two-year period, underwent two rigorous types of testing – qualitative player testing, which was conducted across eight different countries, using players, federations and clubs from both elite and grass roots football, and quantitative lab testing, which concluded that the adidas Tango 12 meets and exceeds all FIFA Approved Standards for an Official Match Ball making it the most tested ball adidas has ever produced.
England and Manchester United winger Ashley Young said this of the new ball; ‘I’ve played with the new ball and it feels like it is going in the right direction when I pass it, especially when you dribble with it and try and keep it under close control, me being a winger that’s my game. The ball is great for going forward with and sticking to my feet as I dribble.‘
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