With every new World Cup comes a new official World Cup ball, and this year is no different. The new ball, named the Brazuca, features technologies that manufacturer Adidas hopes will erase the memories of last tournament's ball. 

The Brazuca is the developmental successor to the Adidas Tango 12, the official ball of UEFA Euro 2012, and contains the same bladder and inner body, with a different surface structure. But most players will be comparing the Brazuca to the 2010 ball, the Jabulani.

Players thought little of the Jabulani, to say the least.

NASA said the Jabulani's smoothness combined with its seams created an effect known as "knuckling," where the ball can swerve suddenly and erratically.

"It's sad that an event as important as the World Cup has such a rotten ball," Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said of the Jabulani.

"They created it to make life difficult for keepers, so they make more mistakes and there are more goals," Chile keeper Claudio Bravo agreed.

Life was harder for strikers as well; they found its design less than ideal. Knuckling can be a nightmare for strikers, since traditional soccer balls knuckle around 30 miles per hour, meaning the kick has to be precise, since it is slower than a typical shot. But the 2006 and 2010 balls knuckled at higher speeds, throwing strikers off.

"The new ball is a disaster for strikers. It's fast, and it weighs less than a normal ball," Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini said.

Luckily for everybody playing in the 2014 World Cup, the Brazuca should be able to sidestep many of the issues that plagued the Jabulani. Adidas let teams play longer with the Brazuca than it let them play with the Jabulani, and the responses seem positive.

"When you play with different balls in training or a match, having it weeks and months before the tournament is really important," said Germany forward Lukas Podolski.

"It is good," said U.S. backup goalkeeper Nick Rimando. "The ball seems to be behaving itself, and it seems solid and predictable. I know there were a few issues last time, but I don't think we will see anything like that this time."

Even NASA aerodynamics expert Rabi Mehta from NASA's Ames Research Center agrees.

"The players should be happier with the new ball," Mehta said in a NASA post detailing the physics of the Brazuca. "It is more stable in flight and will handle more like a traditional 32-panel ball."

You can purchase the Brazuca from Adidas for $160.

For more stories like this, follow us on Twitter!