Brought back so many happy and bloody frustrationg memories. Across the sea the same ball used to go by (and hopefully still does) the name of ‘The Flyaway’, you could pick these up in all good garages or back-gardens. The up-grade of this, mentioned by yourself and Fergal, was a ‘Captain’ ball, size 5. It came in white or orange and had the fake stitching on it. But it was panels/strips, not the Bucky effect. These days I refuse to kick anything that doesn’t have the Bucky touch. And one more painful memory; do you remember the plastic/rubber all-weather balls? They were a little heavier and had pimples on them. To be hit full whack in the face with one of them on a cold and frosty morning is something one never forgets.

For me, the problem with the super striker wasn’t it’s overdeveloped swerving ability per se - that gave us many opportunities for showboating free kicks…

Yes but even though one could banana kick it like a Brazilian (as the pre-Beckham expression had it) it was almost impossible to direct accurately.

And if, by some miracle, one managed to get it on target, the ‘keeper needed only to glance it with the tip of his nail (or breathe on it) to deflect it away to safety.

The best balls were the ones a step or two up from the super striker, still plastic, but heavy enough to boast true velocity, and possessed of a basketball-like bouncyness that made playing on concrete a springier experience.

These were, as I recall, generally orange - the colour presumably intended to crudely simulate tanned leather. For young fellas they were a lot more fun than full size/weight leather balls. You could power shots from distance and head the things without risking concussion.

Speaking of “orange” - the colourful ones you link to above flaunt their debt to the “Telestar” pretty openly. “Super Tele” - great name! You can call ‘em what you want though. They’re still Super Strikers at heart.

P.S: Forgot to mention, I just love the faux stitching on the “Shoot 5″. It had me fooled!

The Europass has a terrible name, and is indeed a bit tacky looking, but you’re right in saying that it looks less shabby than the Roteiro.

The Europass is really little other than a modified version of the “Teamgeist” ball used in the 2006 World Cup - with the same “footprint” shaped patches in evidence. Converting these “footprints” into “dots” is something of an improvement though.

A traditionalist, I prefer hexagons.

I’m more of a pentagon man myself (my occult leanings manifesting themselves perhaps).

The super striker seemed to have greater distance in it when flying sideways than in the direction it was kicked

True. The SS seemed very reluctant to travel anything but lethargically in a straight line but was only too happy to break the sound barrier when veering off sideways (and into the nearest puddle…or sea).

For me, the problem with the super striker wasn’t it’s overdeveloped swerving ability per se - that gave us many opportunities for showboating free kicks, as it’s concomitant inability to travel more than a few yards in one direction. The super striker seemed to have greater distance in it when flying sideways than in the direction it was kicked. Even if it managed to travel in a straight line, after the passage of ten yards at an acceptable speed, the Super Striker would pronounce itself knackered and come a complete, mid-air stop, before descending onto the grass, yards short of its intended destination.

The best balls were the ones a step or two up from the super striker, still plastic, but heavy enough to boast true velocity, and possessed of a basketball-like bouncyness that made playing on concrete a springier experience.