Spinning, jumping ‘Jabulani’ a disaster for players?
| DATE: 2010-06-26 | PRINT | Share
World Cup, being one of the largest sporting events that takes place on the planet, is one of the most interesting events that occur every four years. However, every World Cup comes with its share of controversies. From wayward human behaviour on the pitch, arguable referee decisions, questionable sportsmanship to the instruments used by the fans and the ball has become controversies over the past World Cups. Three goals per game in the 1970 World Cup, 2.2 in 1990, 2.3 in 2006 and only 2.1 goals as of Thursday in the ongoing World Cup? The World Cup 2010 at South Africa is perhaps the most surprising World Cup to date, with underdogs topping score charts and once world champions beaten unexpectedly. This time, however, the ball seems to be losing the trust that players have in it. Too few goals scored? Too many missed passes, fumbles, and poor ball control? Should the Adidas “Jabulani” ball designed especially for the World Cup 2010 at Loughborough University be blamed?
The "perfect" ball
Adidas named its ‘perfect’ ball “Jabulani,” which means “celebrate” or “rejoice” in Zulu, the widely spoken language of South Africans. The ball’s surface, which consists of eight thermally bonded, three-dimensional panels, was based on a new technology called Grip′n′Groove developed by Adidas, in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. According to Adidas, the Grip′n′Groove texture intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics “allows maximum control, stable flight, and perfect grip under all conditions.”
Dr Andy Harland of Loughborough University, who headed the team that developed the Jabulani ball, said, "We want a ball that is very consistent, that allows the best players to shine.” “What we've tried to do with the inclusion of grooves,” he explains, “is to make sure that the ball looks much more symmetrical in flight, so it flies in a much more controlled way and gives the control back to the player to get it to do what they want to do.”
The gripes by many, Harland says, are not any problem with the ball but rather because some of the World Cup venues are located at high altitudes, where the air is thinner and so the ball moves faster. “According to the rigorous FIFA specification range for footballs, we have created a ball that is small and heavy allowing for maximum accuracy, perfect grip and exceptionally stable flight,” said Thomas Van Schaik, the adidas Head of Global Public Relations.
Based on independent studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia, physicists argue that the Jabulani will play “harder and faster,” bending more unpredictably than its predecessor. Professor Derek Leinweber, Head of the School of Chemistry & Physics at the university explains, “The aero grooves represent a radical departure from the ultra-smooth Teamgeist ball, which was used in the last World Cup.” Leinweber goes on to say, “If you want the goalkeeper to design the ball, they will give you an iron ball that sits at the centre of the field.”
“While FIFA has strict regulations on the size and weight of the balls, they have no regulations about the outside surface of the balls. The aerodynamic ridges on the Jabulani are likely to create enough turbulence around the ball to sustain its flight longer and be a faster, harder ball in play. The Jabulani is expected to bend more for the players than any ball previously encountered.”
Reception
Although Jabulani means, “celebrate” in Zulu, the ball is hardly living up to its name. Theoretically, it is probably the most accurate and advanced ball ever made. But on the field, it is a different story.
Owen Gibson of The Guardian argues, “The extent to which the much-maligned ‘Jabulani’ ball can be blamed depends on who you are talking to but the statistics would tend to suggest that a lack of confidence in how it will behave is affecting the number of shots on target.” He goes on to say that “figures show that the number of shots in each game is about 10 percent down on 2006. They also show that the goals-to-shots ratio, at 7.9 percent, is also well down. In the past three tournaments, it never went below 10.8 percent in the opening round of matches.”
Players and coaches themselves have lined up to criticise the ball as well. Argentina's coach, Diego Maradona, despite the fact that his team won its first three games, said, “We should have a ball that helps develop the game, gives it an interesting twist. But this one- well I don't call it a ball- we are not going to see any good moves in this World Cup.”
According to Sports Illustrated, England’s Coach Fabio Capello calls it “the worst ball we have played with at a World Cup,” and that it was impossible for the keeper to anticipate the trajectory. The ball moves too quickly, makes shots at the goal a lottery, and also prevents long passes from ending up in the right place, he claims.
Strikers, Argentina’s Messi, Brazil’s Robhino and Fabiano, Italian player Pazzini and others lament the “crazy, unpredictable behaviour of the ball,” with apparently “a mind of its own.” Goalkeepers have been the most critical of the ball so far. In fact, most goalkeepers, including Buffon of the defending Champions Italy, England’s James and Casillas of Spain have expressed criticism over the ball. Some of them used words such as “dreadful,” “a nightmare,” “awkward,” and “a disaster” to describe the ball. While Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar calls the ball “horrible,” the cheap kind that would be “find in a supermarket” according to thesoccer.com, Italian sports news website Tuttosport quoted Buffon as saying, “it is very sad that a competition so important as the world championship will be played with such an inadequate ball.”
According to BBC, England goalkeeper David James said, “The ball is dreadful. It is horrible. There are undoubtedly going to be goals scored in this tournament which, in previous tournaments with different balls, wouldn't have been scored.” The Spain and Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas and France’s Hugo Lloris has backed James’ claims. “This ball is a disaster,” allafrica. Com quoted Lloris, who experienced it during last season's Coupe de France. “All goalkeepers will be under pressure. We will each have to put up with our share of the madness because, with this kind of ball, people can score from anywhere. We have to be constantly alert, concentrating even harder, because these balls are too fast in the air and constantly change direction.”
However, it seems Hans-Peter Nürnberg, Senior Development Engineer in Adidas’s Global Innovation Team has an explanation for the goalkeepers’ criticism regarding the Jabulani ball. “The goalies may find it a bit more difficult to cope because the ball will travel faster, possibly 5 percent faster, at altitude as the air is thinner and it will also 'jump' a bit higher,” he told The Guardian.
The Jabulani is no doubt, technologically superior than Adidas’ previous models for World Cups 2002 and 2006, Adidas Fevernova and Adidas Teamgeist. The message is loud and clear enough for Adidas researchers and engineers to rethink their development techniques for the next World Cup. Nevertheless, it seems there is another side to the criticisms echoed by the players and coaches. Most of the favourable responses come from Adidas-sponsored players.
Real Madrid’s Spanish winger Alvaro Arbeloa commented, “It is round, like always.” Soccer Fanhouse reports that Brazilian midfielder Kaká, who also plays for Real said, “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.” According to The TimesOnline Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech of Chelsea had several positive comments about the ball, saying it had good visibility due to the colour pattern, that felt good to handle, and when kicked it had good control. Chelsea’s English midfielder Frank Lampard called it “A very strong ball, true to hit.” The Independent also reports that the German injured midfielder Michael Ballack said it was “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”
Players at clubs such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, who have sponsorship agreements with Adidas, are very well familiar with the Jabulani’s foibles as they have been working frequently with it in training, while most players of the English leagues and clubs are naive laymen when it comes to the unpredictable nature of Jabulani. Portugal’s opponents have a reason to fear the results of Ronaldo’s fine-tuning of his dead-ball routines at Real and his techniques should not come as a big surprise to the fans of other teams. Holland’s Arjen Robben has also enjoyed plenty of time to rehearse Jabulani with Bayern.
Even Nürnberg acknowledges that attackers might be able to take advantage of the new technological advancements of the Jabulani more than the goalkeepers. “I think Cristiano Ronaldo is going to love it. The good players have more opportunities to use their abilities to go for more extreme scenarios. It gives attackers greater confidence because there are more chances to score and that makes things more attractive for the spectator... I am very confident about the design,” he told the Guardian. "But players, goalkeepers especially, always take time to get used to new balls.”
Whatever the reason may be, the Jabulani has been shrouded with controversies ever since the World Cup kicked off on June 11. But it may still be too early to judge on the ball as the host nation’s coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said that the debate was not new and would soon be forgotten once the tournament got into its stride. “It’s too early to make any judgments. I have never seen a World Cup start at the top in the first round. For every team there is a lot of tension – the big ones, the small ones, the middle ones... We used to say the World Cup starts after the first round. It starts in the round of 16. The best 16 teams in the world. That’s when the World Cup really starts,” The Guardian quoted Parreira, who has managed in six World Cups.
| DATE: 2010-06-26 | PRINT | Share
Photo: http://www.warlockgraphics.com
World Cup, being one of the largest sporting events that takes place on the planet, is one of the most interesting events that occur every four years. However, every World Cup comes with its share of controversies. From wayward human behaviour on the pitch, arguable referee decisions, questionable sportsmanship to the instruments used by the fans and the ball has become controversies over the past World Cups. Three goals per game in the 1970 World Cup, 2.2 in 1990, 2.3 in 2006 and only 2.1 goals as of Thursday in the ongoing World Cup? The World Cup 2010 at South Africa is perhaps the most surprising World Cup to date, with underdogs topping score charts and once world champions beaten unexpectedly. This time, however, the ball seems to be losing the trust that players have in it. Too few goals scored? Too many missed passes, fumbles, and poor ball control? Should the Adidas “Jabulani” ball designed especially for the World Cup 2010 at Loughborough University be blamed?
The "perfect" ball
Adidas named its ‘perfect’ ball “Jabulani,” which means “celebrate” or “rejoice” in Zulu, the widely spoken language of South Africans. The ball’s surface, which consists of eight thermally bonded, three-dimensional panels, was based on a new technology called Grip′n′Groove developed by Adidas, in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. According to Adidas, the Grip′n′Groove texture intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics “allows maximum control, stable flight, and perfect grip under all conditions.”
Dr Andy Harland of Loughborough University, who headed the team that developed the Jabulani ball, said, "We want a ball that is very consistent, that allows the best players to shine.” “What we've tried to do with the inclusion of grooves,” he explains, “is to make sure that the ball looks much more symmetrical in flight, so it flies in a much more controlled way and gives the control back to the player to get it to do what they want to do.”
The gripes by many, Harland says, are not any problem with the ball but rather because some of the World Cup venues are located at high altitudes, where the air is thinner and so the ball moves faster. “According to the rigorous FIFA specification range for footballs, we have created a ball that is small and heavy allowing for maximum accuracy, perfect grip and exceptionally stable flight,” said Thomas Van Schaik, the adidas Head of Global Public Relations.
Based on independent studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia, physicists argue that the Jabulani will play “harder and faster,” bending more unpredictably than its predecessor. Professor Derek Leinweber, Head of the School of Chemistry & Physics at the university explains, “The aero grooves represent a radical departure from the ultra-smooth Teamgeist ball, which was used in the last World Cup.” Leinweber goes on to say, “If you want the goalkeeper to design the ball, they will give you an iron ball that sits at the centre of the field.”
“While FIFA has strict regulations on the size and weight of the balls, they have no regulations about the outside surface of the balls. The aerodynamic ridges on the Jabulani are likely to create enough turbulence around the ball to sustain its flight longer and be a faster, harder ball in play. The Jabulani is expected to bend more for the players than any ball previously encountered.”
Reception
Although Jabulani means, “celebrate” in Zulu, the ball is hardly living up to its name. Theoretically, it is probably the most accurate and advanced ball ever made. But on the field, it is a different story.
Owen Gibson of The Guardian argues, “The extent to which the much-maligned ‘Jabulani’ ball can be blamed depends on who you are talking to but the statistics would tend to suggest that a lack of confidence in how it will behave is affecting the number of shots on target.” He goes on to say that “figures show that the number of shots in each game is about 10 percent down on 2006. They also show that the goals-to-shots ratio, at 7.9 percent, is also well down. In the past three tournaments, it never went below 10.8 percent in the opening round of matches.”
Players and coaches themselves have lined up to criticise the ball as well. Argentina's coach, Diego Maradona, despite the fact that his team won its first three games, said, “We should have a ball that helps develop the game, gives it an interesting twist. But this one- well I don't call it a ball- we are not going to see any good moves in this World Cup.”
According to Sports Illustrated, England’s Coach Fabio Capello calls it “the worst ball we have played with at a World Cup,” and that it was impossible for the keeper to anticipate the trajectory. The ball moves too quickly, makes shots at the goal a lottery, and also prevents long passes from ending up in the right place, he claims.
Strikers, Argentina’s Messi, Brazil’s Robhino and Fabiano, Italian player Pazzini and others lament the “crazy, unpredictable behaviour of the ball,” with apparently “a mind of its own.” Goalkeepers have been the most critical of the ball so far. In fact, most goalkeepers, including Buffon of the defending Champions Italy, England’s James and Casillas of Spain have expressed criticism over the ball. Some of them used words such as “dreadful,” “a nightmare,” “awkward,” and “a disaster” to describe the ball. While Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar calls the ball “horrible,” the cheap kind that would be “find in a supermarket” according to thesoccer.com, Italian sports news website Tuttosport quoted Buffon as saying, “it is very sad that a competition so important as the world championship will be played with such an inadequate ball.”
According to BBC, England goalkeeper David James said, “The ball is dreadful. It is horrible. There are undoubtedly going to be goals scored in this tournament which, in previous tournaments with different balls, wouldn't have been scored.” The Spain and Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas and France’s Hugo Lloris has backed James’ claims. “This ball is a disaster,” allafrica. Com quoted Lloris, who experienced it during last season's Coupe de France. “All goalkeepers will be under pressure. We will each have to put up with our share of the madness because, with this kind of ball, people can score from anywhere. We have to be constantly alert, concentrating even harder, because these balls are too fast in the air and constantly change direction.”
However, it seems Hans-Peter Nürnberg, Senior Development Engineer in Adidas’s Global Innovation Team has an explanation for the goalkeepers’ criticism regarding the Jabulani ball. “The goalies may find it a bit more difficult to cope because the ball will travel faster, possibly 5 percent faster, at altitude as the air is thinner and it will also 'jump' a bit higher,” he told The Guardian.
The Jabulani is no doubt, technologically superior than Adidas’ previous models for World Cups 2002 and 2006, Adidas Fevernova and Adidas Teamgeist. The message is loud and clear enough for Adidas researchers and engineers to rethink their development techniques for the next World Cup. Nevertheless, it seems there is another side to the criticisms echoed by the players and coaches. Most of the favourable responses come from Adidas-sponsored players.
Real Madrid’s Spanish winger Alvaro Arbeloa commented, “It is round, like always.” Soccer Fanhouse reports that Brazilian midfielder Kaká, who also plays for Real said, “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.” According to The TimesOnline Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech of Chelsea had several positive comments about the ball, saying it had good visibility due to the colour pattern, that felt good to handle, and when kicked it had good control. Chelsea’s English midfielder Frank Lampard called it “A very strong ball, true to hit.” The Independent also reports that the German injured midfielder Michael Ballack said it was “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”
Players at clubs such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, who have sponsorship agreements with Adidas, are very well familiar with the Jabulani’s foibles as they have been working frequently with it in training, while most players of the English leagues and clubs are naive laymen when it comes to the unpredictable nature of Jabulani. Portugal’s opponents have a reason to fear the results of Ronaldo’s fine-tuning of his dead-ball routines at Real and his techniques should not come as a big surprise to the fans of other teams. Holland’s Arjen Robben has also enjoyed plenty of time to rehearse Jabulani with Bayern.
Even Nürnberg acknowledges that attackers might be able to take advantage of the new technological advancements of the Jabulani more than the goalkeepers. “I think Cristiano Ronaldo is going to love it. The good players have more opportunities to use their abilities to go for more extreme scenarios. It gives attackers greater confidence because there are more chances to score and that makes things more attractive for the spectator... I am very confident about the design,” he told the Guardian. "But players, goalkeepers especially, always take time to get used to new balls.”
Whatever the reason may be, the Jabulani has been shrouded with controversies ever since the World Cup kicked off on June 11. But it may still be too early to judge on the ball as the host nation’s coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said that the debate was not new and would soon be forgotten once the tournament got into its stride. “It’s too early to make any judgments. I have never seen a World Cup start at the top in the first round. For every team there is a lot of tension – the big ones, the small ones, the middle ones... We used to say the World Cup starts after the first round. It starts in the round of 16. The best 16 teams in the world. That’s when the World Cup really starts,” The Guardian quoted Parreira, who has managed in six World Cups.
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