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I
t’s fast, precise and durable, able to
withstand even the hardest of kicks.
All eyes at the 2014 Soccer World Cup
will be focused on it: The Brazuca - the
official match ball that will roll across the
turf in Brazil’s soccer stadiums. It packs
all the know-how and expertise gained
in a nearly 30-year partnership between
Adidas and Bayer MaterialScience, one
of the three subgroups of Bayer. The two
companies have been working together
in the field of ball development since
1986. From the outset, Bayer’s polyure-
thane materials have played a key role. It
is Bayer products that give the high-tech
balls their perfect shape and outstanding
properties.
Most-tested ball
The Brazuca ball reveals its true
qualities on the pitch – when precision
passes are made and when the ball flies
true when shot on goal. This has been
demonstrated not only in the sunshine,
but also in very bad weather. More than
600 professional players and 30 teams in
ten countries tested the Brazuca under
all kinds of outdoor conditions.
Soccer greats such as Lionel Messi,
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zinedine Zi-
dane have already had the opportunity
to test it. The ball has also been used in
friendly matches involving the German
national team. “This makes it the most
tested ball that Adidas has ever put on
the market,” says Oliver Brüggen, direc-
WORLD CUP TECH
This year’s World Cup is a fantastic spectacle, not just thanks to the star players,
but also because of the cutting-edge technology behind everything from the
official match ball to the stadium roof.
Minh Ha
reports on the impact Bayer
MaterialScience will have on the greatest football event
timeout
14
The five polyurethane layers-
cover makes the Brazuca a high-
tech sporting goods product
Over 10 million pairs of the
Copa Mundial have been sold
to date
A few Brazilian stadiums feature
tactile floor markings to guide
blind and vision-impaired fans
Millions of fans worldwide have watched the ball during the 2014 World Cup.