adidas UCL Finale Ball Retrospect : Football Equipment : Soccer Bible

As adidas reveal their 15th Champions League Final match ball, we've half-volleyed one down memory lane, rustled around in the bushes behind the goal and picked out all 14 previous balls to take centre stage in the biggest club match in world football.

The famous stars first landed on the Champions League Final match balls at the beginning of the millennium and have hit the back of the net 40 times since, each goal creating history and moulding legends, from Thomas Linke's 2001 winning penalty in Milan to Real Madrid's late show in Lisbon in 2014.

2001: Milan "adidas Grey Star Finale" - adidas won the contract to take over from Nike and became the official match day ball supplier for the Champions League in 2001. The final in Milan was contested between Valencia and Bayern Munich. The ball was called the 'Grey Star Finale' featuring a white background with light grey stars on the various panels on the ball.

2002: Glasgow "adidas Black Star Finale" - For the final at Hampden Park adidas gave us the 'Black Star Finale' ball. Again the main colour of the ball was white, however this time we saw black stars replace the grey stars used in 2001. The final was played between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen with the Spanish giants winning the game through a Zidane wonder goal.

2003: Manchester "adidas Blue Star Finale" - The design of the ball remained untouched in 2003 with the classic black stars. The final in Manchester was an all Italian affair with Juventus and AC Milan going head to head. Unfortunately this was not a game for the purest, with the defenders coming out on top to produce a drab 0-0 draw over 120 minutes of football although AC Milan held their nerve to win the game on penalties.

2004: Gelsenkirchen "adidas Finale Aufschalke" - This was the first year that adidas introduced naming the ball for the final with the major cities hosting the final taking reference within the match ball name. So, for 2004 we had the 'adidas Finale Aufschalke' ball as adidas designers began to get creative and the ball used white as the main colour and blue stars covering the panels. This final was contested between Jose Mourinho's Porto and AS Monaco. Porto ran out comfortable winners with a 3-0 victory. A 'Special One' was born...

2005: Istanbul "adidas Finale Istanbul" - In what was a memorable Champions League final in Istanbul where adidas released the 'Finale Istanbul' match day ball. This time the main backdrop of the ball was white with blue and silver stars covering the panels. Alongside a small subtle logo of Istanbul, both teams names which were ingrained on the ball giving it that unique touch.

2006: Paris "adidas Finale Paris" - This ball would feature the same construction and material as the ball which would also be used later that year in the World Cup finals, in Germany. The final in Paris saw Barcelona take on the first London based team to reach a Champions League final, Arsenal. The main characteristics on the ball saw white as the main setting with a visual display of blue and red stars covering each panel of the ball.

2007: Athens "adidas Finale Athens" - AC Milan took on Liverpool in what was a repeat of the 2005 Champions League Final. This time AC Milan won the game 2-1 and the ball for the final adopted a silver complexion as the main colour, instead of the usual white, with blue stars covering the panels to complete the finishing touches.

2008: Moscow "adidas Finale Moscow" - This Champions League Final would be an all English tie in Moscow, with Manchester United and Chelsea facing each other in Europe’s elite competition for the very first time. The ball used for the final incorporated colours which represented key features of Moscow’s culture, with a shade of gold as the main body of the ball and the addition of red and gold stars. The red paid reference to the Red Square, in Moscow whilst the gold was for the famous Kremlin Cathedral.

2009: Roma "adidas Finale Roma" - Manchester United had made it to another final however this time they faced an in-form Barcelona. The adidas finale ball revealed for the final, took huge reference from Roma. The ball featured a silver colour as the main backdrop whilst burgundy mosaic prints made up each star representing key sporting Roman values: speed, teamwork, justice and power. In this final Barcelona displayed these traits winning the game 2-0. 

2010: Madrid "adidas Finale Madrid" - 2010 represented a special occasion for adidas as they had supplied the Champions League final ball for 10 seasons. To celebrate this the finale ball saw a return to an original white setting which was a representation of Real Madrid’s kit as the final was played at the Santiago Bernabéu. Each star had a red border with gold decoration giving a representation of the Spanish flag and a date from previous finals in the past ten years.

2011: London "adidas Finale Wembley" - In 2011 we were back at the home of football, Wembley, where Barcelona battled it out against Manchester United. The finale ball used in this game symbolised the St George's Cross using a white base cover with all stars painted in red bar one, which was orange acting as the focal point of the St George's Cross. Barcelona won the game 3-1, making it the 4th Champions League trophy the Spanish team had lifted.

2012: Munich "adidas Finale Munich" - Allianz Arena was the venue with Chelsea taking on Bayern Munich in their own backyard. The design used for this Finale Munich ball adopted a jazzy colourful design with the ball continuing to feature an initial white layer, however each star was garnished with a mixture of lime, cyan and indigo. This makes the 2012 ball one of the most colourful finale balls to have graced a Champions League Final.

2013: London "adidas Finale Wembley" - Just two years after Wembley had hosted a previous final, it was back. This time we had an all German tie between two of the top sides in Germany in the form of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. This would see Wembley host a European final for the seventh time, meaning that it was 50 years on from hosting its first European final back in 1963. To mark this occasion, two blue star's on the ball had 1963 and 2013 printed in gold to mark this achievement.

2014: Lisbon "adidas Finale Lisbon" - This was a final which hosted both teams from the same city for the first time in the competitions history, with arch rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid making it to the final. Lisbon was the host and adidas brought us the 14th edition of the finale ball taking strong reference from Lisbon’s rich history of seafaring culture. Plain white was the main background colour for the ball again with the stars featuring blue colours to symbolism the sea and sky, whilst the orange was a trait of the homes in Lisbon which feature terracotta roof tiles.

Got a favourite out of these beauties? Call it out and whilst you're at it name your 2015 winners if you're feeling brave. Drop your comments below.