And now Nasa hates the Jabulani. Wonderful. I suppose Nasa has nothing better to do now that it has less money than your little sister has in her piggy bank. The former space agency says that the ball becomes “unpredictable” at speeds greater than 44 mph, and that the high altitude that many of the games were played only exacerbates the problem. → Read More
Credit to Pocket-lint, a fine site, for comparing the Adidas Jabulani, the ball that’s used in the World Cup, and the Nike T90 Ascente, the ball that’s used in the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues. The ides was to see if you could find out, once and for all, if there’s something inherent in the design of the Jabulani that makes it fly all over the place. Conclusion? Maybe, but the balls are so damn near identical that in no way can you say, “Well, Adidas screwed the pooch here.” Remember: Fifa is ultimately in charge of the ball, so if there’s anyone to blame (or praise) it’s those bozos. → Read More
Sitting here watching Uruguay’s Luís Suárez bury the ball into the back of the net (his second goal = !!!), I’m thinking to myself: “Boy, he sure didn’t seem to have any problem controlling the Jabulani.” But never mind, for FIFA, world soccer’s generally inept governing body—remember, this is the same body that refuses to allow goal line technology!—has finally come out and said it: “FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball.” The organization now plans to talk to players, team officials, and the ball’s manufacturer, Adidas, after the tournament. The question is: is the ball crocked? → Read More
The lead developer of the Jabulani, the ball that will be used in the World Cup, has hit back at his noisy critics. Dr. Andy Harland, who helped design the ball at England’s Loughborough University’s Sports Technology Institute, says that what many players are complaining about now, that the ball “moves strangely” or whatever, can be attributed to using the ball at altitude. The ball has been around since December, and he has heard zero complaints until now. So what gives? → Read More
Right on cue, then. ‘Twas only a few days ago that I had mentioned the grand tradition of World Cup goalkeepers complaining about the ball used in the tournament, and we now have our very first complaints (at least I think it’s the first). Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who’s probably the best goalkeeper going into the tournament (it’s either him or Júlio César, of Brazil), said after Spain’s 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia in a pre-tournament friendly about an hour ago: “It’s a little sad that in a competition as big as the World Cup to have such a poor ball [the Jabulani]. It’s not just the goalkeepers complaining, but the outfield players as well.” Here we go~! → Read More
Football (soccer) writers are typically terribly serious about what they do. Relax, buddy, it’s just a game. A fun game, yeah, but just a game. The Guardian’s Barry Glendenning does things a little bit differently: he’s actually good! In a column today, Glendenning prepares us all for the inevitable complaints that will surround the Jabulani‘s performance at the World Cup. It’s a time-honored tradition, complaining about the new ball: the ball is too heavy, the ball is too light, the ball swerves too much, the ball swerves too little, etc. Most accurate ball ever created? Obviously you haven’t seen a Michael Carrick pass. → Read More
Happening right now (well, when this first appears on the front page) is the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s a big deal, and will lead to endless debate on call-in radio shows all over the world: what’s the real group of death? Does [our country] have a chance? Can anyone beat Brazil or Spain? And so on. But the World Cup is pretty useless without, you know, the ball. So, presenting the adidas Jabulani, the ball that will be used during the tournament. There’s a lot going on in that ball, believe me. → Read More
