From Russia With Lough: Adidas Telstar 18 Is Specifically Designed to Stop Dip & Swerve

Adidas Telstar 18 - the World Cup's official ball for this summer's tournament in Russia - is believed to have been designed to nullify the use of dip and swerve techniques during the competition this year; because apparently that's a bad thing.

Those responsible for making it have done their very best over in Loughborough University to ensure that knuckle ball efforts are eradicated from Russia in the coming weeks, thanks to three years of research and a number of millions of pounds being thrown into it.

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That is, according to The Sun. As with every ball that gets created ahead of every season, the Telstar 18 is supposedly the best one to ever grace a football pitch - much like the Jubulani was back in 2010...remember that?

Eight years later, though, Adidas have got it right. Using jigsaw-like panels, the ball slots together perfectly in order to iron our any differences in thickness on the ball's carcass, meaning that when you hit the sweet spot, you hit it true - with no dip, swerve or swaz. So expect to see a lot of free-kicks soar into row Z this summer.

According to the report, the ball should 'fly true through the air when it is struck on the sweet spot', which means that if you don't hit the sweet spot, the ball will not fly through the air.

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The black and white design draws inspiration from Russia's urban landscape and is modelled around the 1970 ball used when Russia last hosted the World Cup - when it spins, it mimics the original Adidas Telstar used almost 50 years ago.