Is the new EuroPass Ball Ruining Euro 2008?

[Warbuxx]

The tournament has been quite good so far, but I'm finding it really frustrating to see a general tendency where so many passes and shots are being overhit. Players also seem to be having some trouble controlling the ball at times while dribbling because it seems to run away from them possibly because it is so light.

When one considers that the only two (IIRC) goals scored from free kicks so far have been from a straight line blast (Ballack) and from a deflection (De Rossi), there's the suggestion that something is amiss. Many free kicks are not bending downward once they are over the defensive wall. Many long range passes and corner kicks are floating right over everything.

Here are two links with more on the new ball:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/06/06/ufnball106.xml (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/06/06/ufnball106.xml)

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/06/10/can_we_have_our_ball_back_plea.htmlhttp://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/06/10/can_we_have_our_ball_back_plea.html

Here in the US, ESPN has failed to go after this story. I think it's an important one and the announcers, in particular, have missed it. They complain about bad shots and bad corners and bad passes without considering the implications of Lehmann's copmplaints about the ball earlier (which everyone has now heard about). The business of introducing new balls for major tournaments needs to be discussed more loudly because it has the potential of ruining the tournament if the ball is not conducive to attactive soccer.

I'm wondering if posters from other countries have had their soccer media discuss this isue further. Perhaps it's only me, but I think we are being robbed of some very good football because of the problems players are having with this Europass hot potato from Addidas.

[1shot1kill]

A few days ago on a dutch sports show somebody said that no goals had been made from free kicks because the ball fails to bend downward, they let Ronald de Boer test it a day later and it bends down perfectly fine.

[dooda]

I was just about to say i played with the ball a few days back and its fine. Whenever there is a new ball people always come out and complain about it when the fact is you just need a few shots to get the feel for it and you'll be fine. There's no point in me saying this now since well im pretty sure Ronald de Boer has more credibility than me :p

[Warbuxx]

The ball was introduced a couple of months ago, but Lehmann mentioned he had only recently gotten a chance to work with the ball (!!??!). How is this possible?

Why wouldn't teams be sure to use the new ball for all friendly matches just prior to the tournament......or did they? I'm glad you guys feel there's no problem inherent with the ball, but it really does look to me as if some players are having trouble with it and I can't understand how that can be so given the importance of this tournament and the fact that you would think everything would have been done to by teams to get this potential problem out of the way before the tournament began.

The other thing I'm seeing this tournament is a surprising amount of nervousness from players (with ball handling) and poor decision making in the final third. I was wondering if the new ball had something to do with this, but perhaps not.

[nekkibasara]

The ball was introduced a couple of months ago, but Lehmann mentioned he had only recently gotten a chance to work with the ball (!!??!). How is this possible?Arsenal trains with Nike balls. That is why he only recently got a chance to work with it when he joined Germany's pre tournament training camp.

[ultraprime]

Lehman was complaining about the new ball rolled out for the last World Cup too: http://www.fbtz.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-53837.html

I'm betting nobody on from the Netherlands is complaining... :D

To my mind, the biggest problem I've seen has been the footing, not the ball. It doesn't matter what you are playing with, if your feet are slipping and sliding the ball is NOT going to go where you want how you want.

[FNU]

In order to avoid such complaints, the new ball should be introduced when the QUALIFIERS start, not the tournament.

[Rainer24]

It's round, you kick with your foot or hit it with your head. The keeper can touch with his hands in his box. Whoever is better at doing that usually wins. This sort of crap is stupid.

[ultraprime]

It's round, you kick with your foot or hit it with your head. The keeper can touch with his hands in his box. Whoever is better at doing that usually wins. This sort of crap is stupid.

Agreed. We could always go back to the vinyl paneled, rock hard, 'makes a 'poink' sound when you kick it' ball from my youth. THAT would make for some entertaining matches...

...at least until all the teams run out of players from metatarsal injuries sustained kicking it. :cool:

[ChicagoAzzuri]

I've seen some great free kicks but also some great saves. You always see players overhit


If anything has hurt the competition, it's been the 2 cohosts, but otherwise it's been fine

[benztown]

It's funny, goalies like Lehmann or Cech complain that the ball is hard to catch and that we'd see so many long distance goals this time, while players complain that it's hard to controll shots and hence we don't see many long distance shots.

As long as both parties complain, it must be a good thing, doesn't it?

[leg_breaker]

Not really, if goals are scored by players hitting and hoping, and the ball swerving into the goal in a way it can't be saved, or into the crowd because it floats like a balloon, it isn't a good thing.