FOOTBALL IS BACK. AS THE 2014/15 PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON KICKS OFF WITH THE ORDEM 2 BALL ON THE CENTRE SPOT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF NIKE MATCH BALLS IN THE EPL.
It's here. After a shorter than usual off season due to a little tournament being played over in Brazil domestic football is back. On the opening weekend of the Premier League season we take a look at the Ordem match ball's predecessors.
Nike Geo Merlin (2000/01- 2001/02) 992 goals in 00/01, 1000 goals in 01/02 - Nike took over from Mitre at the turn of the millennium with their debut Premier League ball - The Geo Merlin. Charlton's Andy hunt was the first player to score with the Geo Merlin which clocked up a total of 1,992 goals over a two year stay in England's top flight including Les Ferdinand scoring the 10,000th Premier League goal.Nike claimed to have created the fastest and most accurate ball ever and coincidently it was the ball that the fastest ever Premier League goal was scored with; Ledley King giving Spurs the lead after 9.9 seconds against Bradford. Arsenal stuck the Geo Merlin in the back of the net in every single game in the 01/02 season, the only team to boast such stat with Bergkamp's famous turn and finish against Newcastle the pick of the bunch.
Nike Geo Merlin II (2002/03 2003/04) 1000 goals in 02/03, 1012 goals in 03/04 - Nike brushed up the Geo Merlin for the 02/03 season with fresh graphics but the technology on the second generation Geo remained the same. The ball was smashed home on over 2,000 occasions over the two seasons it was in play, including a young Wayne Rooney bursting onto the scene scoring a wonder volley past David Seaman.
Nike Total 90 Aerow (2004/05) 974 goals - In 2004 Nike brought out the T90 Aerow, a ball that would go on to last 4 generations. Utilising 6 unique layers in the ball's casing to set new standards in speed, accuracy and consistency of flight. A layer of compressed responsive foam combined with two layers of vulcanised latex rubber in the ball created a "Trampoline" effect when struck, propelling the ball off the foot at an increased speed. You could absolutely ping it and if you caught it sweetly on the half volley you could knock down a small 2 bedroomed bungalow. Fact. The first T90 ball coincided with Chelsea's first ever Premier League title and Everton's James Vaughan stuck it in the Palace net to become the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer aged 16 years and 271 days.
Nike Total 90 Aerow (2005/06) 944 goals - The continued distinctive design of the Total 90 Aerow Ball was making it a bit of a cult classic, but there was genuine Nike thinking behind the design. It enabled players to identify the ball more clearly in flight (particularly against a crowd background), allowing the players more response time.It was the first Nike Premier League ball to be released in 'Hi-Vis' and was the ball which Alan Shearer scored his last and record 260th Premier League goal with. Two seasons under the belt for the T90 Aerow, two league titles for Chelsea and two golden boots for Thierry Henry.
Nike Total 90 Aerow II (2006/07) 931 goals - The 06/07 ball once again featured the 32 panel design for truer and more accurate flight. The Aerow was becoming established and Nike had swapped the blue rings for a slightly alternative red ringed design. Although the Aerow II remains the Premier League's lowest scoring Nike ball, a couple of landmarks were reached; Fulham's Moritz Volz scored the 15,000th Premier League goal against Chelsea. Teddy Sheringham became the oldest player to ever score a Premier League goal at 40 years and 268 days when he notched for West Ham against Pompey and Manchester United claimed back the Premier League title.
Nike Total 90 Aerow II (2007/08) 1002 goals - Blue was back for the 07/08 season as the Aerow II received a new colourway but the Premier League title was red once again with Crisitano Ronaldo's 31 goals ensuring the trophy stayed at Old Trafford. The T90 Aerow II found the back of the net 11 times as Portsmouth beat Reading 7-4 in the league's highest ever scoring game. Arsenal's Adebayor became the first player to score a hat-trick against the same team twice in one season, with Derby County his victims. To be fair you needed to have words with yourself if you didn't score against Derby that season; they were relegated with just 11 points.
Nike Total 90 Omni (2008/09) 942 goals - After four successful season the T90 Aerow was retired and the new Omni ball took to the stage. Offering even greater geometric precision, the Omni distributed pressure evenly across panels and around the ball through curved stitching, for a consistent, accurate and powerful strike no matter where the ball was struck. The new asymmetrical high-contrast graphic created an optimal flicker as the ball rotated for a more powerful visual signal allowing the player to track it easier. All set up for a record breaking amount of goals, however Edwin van der Sar had other ideas, the United stopper kept 14 consecutive clean sheets to keep the amount of Premier League goals in triple figures.
Nike Total 90 Ascente (2009/10) 1019 goals - The new Premier League ball for the 09/10 Season was the T90 Ascente. New technology was introduced and significant testing showed that this ball travelled 2.4% faster and 0.5m further than previous incarnations. A synthetic casing on the ball created a golf ball dimple effect, allowing players to have total control of the flight and movement of the ball. Visually the ball had quite a lot going on and in our opinion wasn't a touch on the T90 Aerow. Chelsea racked up the most ever goals scored by a team in a Premier League season, hammering home 103 golazos and Jermain Defoe scored 5 goals in one half as Spurs' blitzed Wigan 9-1.
Nike Total 90 Tracer (2010/11) 1063 goals - Off the back of the 2010 World Cup the official adidas Jabulani match ball came in for some heavy criticism, players and keepers complained that it was too light and had an unpredictable flight path so it was an opportunity for Nike to land a top class ball for the following season. Utilising the same science applied to golf balls to equalise the airflow over the surface the T90 Tracer was designed with another eye catching graphic to improve visibility. Nike tampered with the design to create improved shape retention and durability. Best goal scored with the Tracer? Has to be Rooney's overhead in the Manchester derby.
Nike Seitiro (2011/12) 1042 goals - The Nike Seitiro ball was the Tracer's replacement and was the first ball since 2003/04 not to carry the T90 mark. The Seitiro featured Nike RaDaR technology, which stands for Rapid Decisive and Response; the graphic wasn't just a pretty symbol, it was crafted for optimal visual signal on pitch. A decade after Les Ferdinand buried the Geo Merlin to record the 10,000th Premier League goal Marc Albrighton slotted home the 20,000th past Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny. The Seitiro's final contribution to the Premier league was a spectacular one, practically the last ever of kick of the Seitiro from Sergio Aguero handed Manchester City the title.
Nike Maxim (2012/13) 1063 goals - Enigineering wise, the Nike Maxim continued the RaDaR technology that featured on the Seitiro as well as maintaing the 360° sweet spot. Everton 'keeper Tim Howard certainly made the most of that sweet spot (and a strong breeze) as he scored the furthest ever Premier League goal launching a colossal goal kick over Bolton's Adam Bogdan from 102 yards. The 2012/13 season was the fourth consecutive season a Nike ball broke the 1000 goal barrier.
Nike Incyte (2013/14) 1052 goals - The Nike Incyte featured a new Five-layer construction and a high-elasticity layer on the surface allowing optimal feel, cleaner strikes and a more accurate ball trajectory. Nike RaDaR returned for the third season maximizing the ball’s visibility and allowing players to see the ball earlier and react faster.Once again the goal count topped 1000, and although there were screamers galore the most memorable goal of the season was a beautifully controlled tiki-taka move from Arsenal. 
Nike Ordem 2 (2014/15) - Consisting of 12 fuse-welded panels in a three-layer casing system, the Ordem features Nike's new NIKE AEROW TRAC groove technology. The grooves are engineered to grip and channel the air to produce the truest trajectory and most consistent flight, help ensure accuracy in mid-air, allowing your to stick your foot through it and watch it fly. The Nike Ordem's premiership history is yet to be written but expect goals galore as a resurgent Manchester United join strengthened Arsenal and Chelsea squads as they all try and dethrone reigning champions Manchester City.
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