The adidas Tricolore was the first multicoloured official match ball. The name and design of the ball was inspired by the French flag and national colours as well as the Gallic cockerel, the traditional symbol of France and the French Football Association. The ball also featured a newly-developed layer of 'syntactic foam' - a dense, evenly arranged matrix of gas-filled, individually sealed and particularly resistant micro-balls - making the ball even more durable, with improved energy return and shape retention. Photo: adidas