The Etrusco Unico was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

made by

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

in the early 1990s. It was the official match ball of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

in Italy, the 1991 Copa America in Chile, the

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international governing body sele ...

in China, the

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

in Sweden and the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, Spain.

Design

The name and intricate design took their inspiration from Italy’s ancient history and the fine art of the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

. Three Etruscan lion heads decorate each of the 20 Tango triads. It was the first ball with an internal layer of black polyurethane foam.Telstar to Jabulani to Brazuca: Evolution of World Cup Final Ball By Crippy Cooke, 17 June, 2014

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

Adidas

In Adidas tradition, there was also an accompanying

football boot Football boots, also referred to as cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are specialized footwear designed for use in association football. Those designed for grass Association football pitch, pitches have cleat (shoe), studs on the outsole ...

of the same name, which incorporated some of the design elements of the ball - the triads of the ball with the lion heads, along with the Etrusco Unico script were reproduced on the tongue. It was the official boot of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and was widely used by players in the competition. The band Etrusco Unico is named after the ball.

Gallery

File:Etrusco Unico 1990 Fifa World Cup Italy Official Match Ball.jpg, Adidas Etrusco Unico File:AdidasEtruscoBoot.jpg, Etrusco Unico Football Boot

References

Adidas Etrusco Unico UEFA European Championship balls 1990 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 1992 Football at the 1992 Summer Olympics Products introduced in 1990 {{footy-stub