How Big is a Football?

Not many know details about the center of the game, the ball. Here are some details:

A little background:
- the ball used to be inflated pigs bladder but Columbus discovered the rubber ball in his explorations of America
- some pictures with a lot of antique balls http://www.asdiansi.com/anball.htm

Shape, size, weight, pressure, material:
- sphere
- circumference of 68–70 cm (or 27–28 inches)
- 410–450 (or 14–16 ounces)
- 8–12 psi
- leather (not really used anymore), other new materials.

Here is the official ball for the EURO 2008 from last year. As you can see the 32 patches in black and white that were the symbol of football are gone.

The future will bring us microchips in balls so that we will know when the ball has passed a line in the game and the referee doesn't really stand a chance in being accurate.

A major problem today is the exploitation of children in some poor countries for ball production but let's hope that will soon disappear.

Here are the official rules from FIFA regarding the ball:

Decisions of the International F.A. Board

Decision 1
In addition to the requirements of Law 2, acceptance of a ball for
use in matches played in an official competition organized under the
auspices of FIFA or the confederations is conditional upon the ball
bearing one of the following:
• the official “FIFA APPROVED” logo
• the official “FIFA INSPECTED” logo
• the “INTERNATIONAL MATCHBALL STANDARD” logo
Such a logo on a ball indicates that it has been tested officially and
found to be in compliance with specific technical requirements,
different for each logo and additional to the minimum specifications
stipulated in Law 2. The list of the additional requirements specific to
each of the respective logos must be approved by the International
F.A. Board. The institutes conducting the tests are subject to the
approval of FIFA.
Member association competitions may also require the use of balls
bearing any one of these three logos.

Decision 2
In matches played in an official competition organized under the
auspices of FIFA, the confederations or the member associations,
no form of commercial advertising on the ball is permitted, except
for the emblem of the competition, the competition organizer and
the authorized trademark of the manufacturer. The competition
regulations may restrict the size and number of such markings.

Top 10 Football Derbies in Europe

This is a list with the top 10 football derbies in Europe, each with a little history and some graphical information. To make it clear a derby is a match between teams from the same city, so no, Barcelona - Real and such other very important and fascinating games will not be on the list. I will focus more on the rivalry and not really on international results.

1. Fenerbahce - Galatasaray, the derby of Istanbul, a city split up in two sides, one in Europe and one in Asia.

Always a very spectacular match as these two teams always go for the title, and if the game might get boring at times, the atmosphere in the stadium will not fail to impress you, the clip will say more than I can say in words.




2. AS Roma - Lazio Roma Il derby Capitolino, from the city of Rome is probably the most political derby on the list, left vs right.

Two teams that aren't really full of trophies but in a city as big as Rome there is adrenaline and lots of chaos before the start of the game. The political factor plays an important part in this one and that is maybe what makes this derby so intense.




3. Celtic FC - Rangers FC also named The Old Firm derby, from the city of Glasgow, one of the oldest in the world and all about religion, Catholics - Protestants.

A game full of hate mainly because of the religious history of the match, Celtic having Irish roots (hence the colors) and thus being Catholic and the conservative Rangers see themselves as more Scottish and protestant. I'm sure you know about all the religious problems in Ireland, well it seems that Glasgow has also been influenced, and in a strong way.




4. Olympiakos Piraeus - Panathinaikos Athens The Eternal Enemies, probably one of the most intense matches in the stands.

If you want great atmosphere and great football then this is a game that you should not miss. With a lot of investments made in football in recent history, Greek football is sure to catch up with the western part of Europe.




5. Red Star Belgrade - Partizan Belgrade the Veciti Derbi, always a very violent match in which wounded policemen is not something rare.

As I already mentioned this is probably the most violent match from this list, arrests, injured and even casualties every time the match is played.




6. Arsenal FC - Tottenham Hotspur the North London derby, probably the most important rivalry in England a country full of local derbies.

First match in 1887, I don't really have a reason why I consider this match the most important in English football but I love it, so much passion.




7. AC Milan - Internazionale Milano Derby Della Madonnina, the match in which the best teams from Milan fight for glory and prestige.

Maybe the most followed derby from the list around the world, 2 teams with great history and even greater prestige. It might not appeal to everyone because of all the tactics that Italian football teaches but nonetheless a match that I hope to see live in this lifetime.




8. Benfica - Sporting Lisbon the O Clássico, the derby of the capital city between teams with a lot of trophies.

Huge trophy rooms and huge support for the two teams from the capital city of Portugal. The stadiums will surely be full when these two teams go head to head and as EURO 2004 was held in Portugal they both have new and beautiful stadiums. Estadio da Luz for Benfica and Jose de Alvalade for Sporting.




9. Spartak Moscow - CSKA Moscow teams with a lot of support in Russia not only the capital.

Spartak has won about everything in Russia in the ninetees but recently CSKA has made up ground by winning the League in 2002 and 2006. There is a lot of money invested in Russian football and that is making them go further in Europe, like Zenit winning the UEFA Cup and the national side doing an impressive job at EURO 2008. Be sure to watch this one.




10. Dinamo Bucharest - Steaua Bucharest the Great Derby, a rivalry that started in the communist era and was basically the Police vs Army.

With both teams founded in the communist regime they always had the support of politicians and generals, basically all the good players were playing for them and the national side was a mix. This has made the derby quaite decesive for winning the League and most people from Romania picking one of them to support. With two romanian teams in the UEFA Champions League this year (CFR Cluj and Steaua) it seems that the quality of the football is on the rise and you also should follow the explosive fans in the stands.

Top 10 stadiums in the world

You will see that only 2 out of the top 10 are in Europe. I'm sure that when reading the title you would have thought the rest of the world doesn't have 100k or over stadiums. Or at least, not that many.

(Click on the small pictures to see them bigger)

1. Rungrado May Day Stadium 150,000 Pyongyang, North Korea, clearly a communist monument. Home ground of the national football team. Opened on the 1st May 1989 (for a communist celebration of the labors day) hence the name.

2. Salt Lake Stadium 120,000 Calcutta, India, you would expect a country with population over the billion to have big stadiums, India has a big one, China doesn't. Home ground of East Bengal Club, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club and Mohammedan Sporting. Opened in 1984.

3. Azteca 105,000 Mexico City, Mexico. The place where the World cup final Brazil 4-1 Italy took place in 1970. Home ground of Club America. Opened in 1966 but renovated in 1985

4. Bukit Jalil National Stadium 100,000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Opened in 1998 for the Commonwealth games.

5. Melbourne Cricket Ground 100,000 Melbourne, Australia. Opened in 1854, of course not exactly in today's form. Mostly used for cricket and Australian football but also the home ground of the national football team. I have to wonder, is it sold out when they play Fiji, Togo and all the other teams from the Pacific area for the world cup qualifications?

6. Camp Nou 98,772 Barcelona, Spain. Opened 1957 and home ground for FC Barcelona, not much to add about it really, it's pretty well known around the world.

7. Maracana 96,000 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Another famous stadium, renovated in 2007 and home ground of Fluminense and Flamengo, it's estimated that in 1950 a match between Brazil and Uruaguy gathered an incredible 210,000 people.

8. Wembley 90,000 London, England. Opened in 2007 to replace the old Wembley (a real legend in the world of football stadiums) for the national side. The only question I have regarding this stadium is what the hell was so expensive?

1 billion euros???!?!?! That's 3 times the price of the Allianz Arena from Munich!

9. Azadi Stadium 90,000 Tehran, Iran, built in 1971, home ground for Persepolis F.C. , Esteghlal F.C. and the Iranian national football team

10. Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo 89,930 Guayaquil, Ecuador. Built in 1987 and renovated in 1994. That really makes me think about the quality of the construction if they had to renovate it after only 7 year... Home ground of Barcelona SC