We all have seen Telstar 18 as the shining star of FIFA world cup 2018, and starting from kick-off rounds, we are looking at an another red version of the ball named “Telstar Mechta”. As the world cup is entering its crucial stages, the match preparations for teams/coaches and predictions of the outcomes for analysists/betting-masters have become more and more demanding. In these conditions, we cannot ignore the importance of the “soccer ball”, its basic information, statistics and of course, the aerodynamics. In this post, I shall try to cover from basics to high-tech information that you might/might not have known about Telstar.

Edited Images after saving from Source

1. Team didn’t qualify but, the ball did:

 The name “Telstar” comes from the combination of “Tel” from “Television” and “star” (well, we know). Not because it was shown on television. But, the design and name was actually chosen in accordance with the satellite ‘Telstar’, which was the first one to relay television feed from space (Ref). The Telstar’s world cup history goes back to 1970 held in Mexico, when for the first time soccer ball (Adidas) with 32 stitched ‘black and white’ patches was introduced to improve the visibility of the viewers on B&W televisions. With the passage of time and development of colored televisions, the ball was slowly evolved into colored patches. However, to pay tribute to one of the oldest and most utilized designs of soccer-balls, the Telstar was re-invented into ‘Telstar 18’, but with only 6 patches and instead of stitching, glued together for better functioning. “Telstar 18” and its predecessor “Brazuca” were manufactured in “Forward sports company” in Sialkot (my hometown), Pakistan. So, from my nephew's sentence comes the title of this section :) And, Telstar Mechta (In russian means 'dream' or 'ambition') is nothing but, replacement of grey spots with the red ones to pay tribute to the world cup players.

History of the soccer balls utilized in FIFA world cups (Image source)

2. Soccer ball with NFC chip & connects with smartphone:

That's right. With linearly decreasing size & cost of chips according to "Moore's law" , there has been growing increase in the incorporation of electronics in almost every second product of our lives. FIFA didn't want to be left-behind on this technological revolution decided to utilize an NFC (near-field communication) chip in Telstar 18. Even though, the chip incorporation has been conducted by Adidas before & the obtained data would not be acquired for the world cup matches. But, Telstar's NFC has the capability to be connected with a smartphone (within 4 cm of range), and regular users/buyers of the balls can obtain useful personalized and localized analysis of their kicks, headers and can receive challenges to complete from the ball, which can enhance your soccer skills.

No specific app, all you need is an NFC compatible phone (Image Source)

3. Telstar vs Brazuca (Aerodynamics & Performance):

I hope you won't mind if this section becomes a little bit more technical, but this information is valuable for deep analysis and prediction of team's or individual player's performance. With every new soccer ball introduced by FIFA in world cups, the main points of argue includes the Ball's friction along the turf, air flight, trajectory, orientation of the ball (angle) and mainly surface finish

3.1 Pass in the air: 

Drag co-efficient at 0 degree orientation from Research

The technical tests on soccer balls are usually performed by attaching the ball to a rod in ront of the low-speed wind tunnel. The Telstar 18 demonstrated a slightly lower drag coefficient in narrow speed range (from 12 - 15 m/s), which means that in small air passes, the ball would appear slightly faster than its predecessor (Brazuca). 

3.2 Projection: 

Projection at 0 degree orientation from Research

Now, talking about the projection of the ball. The main parameters in projection can be weight of the ball. Telstar is about 0.003 gms heavier than Brazuca (0.426 gms). The results indicate that higher the initial speed of the ball (Vo), the Telstar would cover less range than Brazuca. In other words, goal keepers would have to make a harder & stronger kick to make Telstar reach the same distance as Brazuca. But, the good thing is that it adds to the ball accuracy and decreases the deflection, so for launch speed above (25 m/s), the ball is going to be slower but, more accurate to the target. 

So, comes the important question,

Lateral deflection & field drag percentage (Source)

 How all of these technical changes occured. The main point here is that Telstar has a slightly higher roughness owing to its more dense, smaller and shallower patterns on the surface. This provides a less deflection on the ground & smoother grip than Brazuca. That means, the field passes deflection can be decreased & passing can be improved


Conclusion:

I stopped here because, i think that was enough for now to digest and i covered the important aspects of the Telstar ball :) In short, due to less flight of ball, faster short air passes and correct field passes were/are expected to be seen in the world cup. Especially, if you are in predictions and analysis, i hope you can relate this analysis with the player/team tactics. According to the data, I am expecting more from Mbappe and Cavani, instead of Neymar/Kane due to their lower launch shoot speed. Again, Spain was supposed to perform on the ball based on their 'Tiki-Taka' but, they couldn't. So, you never know fore sure :)