So the seemingly required articles have arrived, talking about how the new adidas soccer ball being used at the World Cup is horrible, unpredictable, causes hives, etc. Mostly based on complaints from goalies. None of the articles mention that the same ball has been used in all of the MLS games this season! Have any MLS players complained about the ball?
This happens every world cup dating back to 94 that I can remember. A new ball comes out and players say it moves and swerves funny.
All of the players complaining about the ball are sponsored by Nike or another company that isn't called Adidas. It's that way every four years.
I don't believe the MLS ball is a Jabulani. It might have a Jabulani design painted on it but I don't believe it's a true Jabulani, as in the way it was built. could be wrong tho
Maybe related. Maybe not. But did you see the second DCU goal tonight? I have never seen Keller muff a ball like that before. Maybe he's losing it...or maybe the ball has something to do with it.
This seems to be the non-adidas butt kissing jabulani thread. Good. I've been watching Chicago Fire Andrew Dykstra Goalie struggle with this ball all season. I sit (stand actually) very close to the north goal. Even in practice it bounces right off his hands or he doesn't estimate the curve. I thought it was him but now I think it is the ball. Someone said it doesn't want to be kicked. More like it doesn't want to be kicked, batted, held, or touched in any way. In short, this Jabulani ball has "personal space" issues.
That's really strange. It hasn't seemed to cause Ricketts a whole lot of problems. Must have an anti-Dykstra element weaved into the surface.
Neither has it caused Josh Saunders or Tim Howard any problems. It seems like good keepers can block the ball and hold onto it and bad ones can't. Weird, I know.
Thanks for letting me play in your sandbox, L.A. I just grabbed about 2 hours of pick up games wherein the Jabulani was used and now I'm as uncertain as ever. I played goalie a bit and the field and I don't really see a noticeable difference. It's kind of smooth so maybe it doesn't swerve as much but I'm not the one to notice that distinction and the smoothness would give goalies a problem especially if it's wet. That design looks like any eyeball. Is that what it is? Some pro athletes can be a little goofy. Maybe they subconsciously think the Jabulani see's them and what they are about to do to it.
I believe Tim Howard has however gone on record to complain about the ball though. This was before Saturday however. Maybe he's now changed his tune. This happens every 4 years. They get a new ball, and everybody complains about it because its a little bit different than the old one. Its a fear of change more than anything I think.
The reality is that the Jabulani ball has a lot more movement/action than previous balls -- mainly when struck very hard and dead (i.e., without spin). Sure, past balls had some movement when struck expertly this way, but this one has a LOT more movement. Obviously one keeper (Seitz, Dykstra, etc.) doesn't necessarily suffers more than others (Ricketts, Howard, etc.), but if you watch the WC (or MLS games this past season), GKs take a different approach when facing hard struck shots. Instead of even contemplating catching the ball straight away, they either parry the ball away or they seemingly "trap" the ball first with their hands -- either tipping it to themselves and then catching, or blocking it down and catching on a bounce (as Timmy did several times against England and what Dykstra, Ricketts and others have done in MLS this season causing some people to suggest they have "butterfingers"). It's MUCH harder to catch bc of the wild movement. Many WC GKs have said this -- including adidas GKs. And, there is much, much more criticism of this ball this year than in WC years past.
More to the point though: Where was the criticism ... BEFORE the World Cup ? MLS, African Cup of Nations, Club World Cup, Argentine Clausua .... nobody bitched. Now all of a sudden it is a problem ? Sorry, not interested in the bullshit trying to be sold.
Im sure Paris Hilton wouldnt have a problem with these new balls. The Edson Buddles of the world would agree.
It's worth noting that Green's blunder was exactly the kind of thing that he is notorious for and why many England fans wished that Hart had been brought in and established before now. I've never liked bringing in new ball technology for WCs, as I want players to be at their very best. However, having already researched and read that this ball has been used well before the competition with no publicised complaints, I can't have much sympathy for the players. In fact, I'm tired of the whining. The ball, the horns, people bitching about the quality of play. Kyle Martino summed it up on ESPN radio, though I can't find the quote. His point was that a) they've been training for weeks with the ball and should be able to adapt & b) kids play with balls made from rags and are able to make do.
check out this video [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOr9kKrd8xc"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame] i saw it when it air omar also comes out in the show doing headers but i cant find the video on that
After one of the last matches, one of the commentators was pointing out the accuracy of LD's service compared with that provided by some of the other big names. Not too surprising given that LD has played with this ball for the first half of the MLS season. That gives him and the other MLS-based players a nice advantage.