FIFA admits it

By COKid
in The Sporting Arena

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Grand Master

COKid

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Unpredictable jabulani could cause even more issues in knockout round.

JOHANNESBURG - FIFA acknowledges there might be something wrong with the Jabulani World Cup ball, but wont act on any problems until after the tournament.

Many players have likened the Jabulani to a supermarket ball, saying it is too unpredictable and flies through the air too easily.

Were not deaf, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Saturday. FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball.

Valcke said FIFA will discuss the matter with coaches and teams after the World Cup, then meet with manufacturer Adidas.

There are rules for size and weight. ... But the ball has to be perfect, he added.

Goalkeepers have complained about the ball at every recent World Cup, although this time forwards and even coaches have added their laments.

Brazil coach Dunga got into a verbal spat with Valcke over the Jabulani before the tournament, challenging the FIFA executive to come out onto the pitch and attempt controlling it.

Denmark defender Daniel Agger said the ball made some outfielders look like drunken sailors.

The Jabulani could create even more problems in the knockout phase beginning Saturday, when games could be decided by penalty kick shootouts.

The balls have changed over the last couple of years. They have become a lot faster, and in addition to that in Johannesburg we are playing at an altitude of 1,700 meters, which makes the ball even faster, former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn said. Thus, the goalkeepers work even harder, but I dont think that we can take the ball or the altitude as excuses.

Adidas has made the World Cup ball since 1970 and is contracted through 2014. The German company has defended the Jabulani, saying it doesnt know what the fuss is about because all the qualified teams were given the ball before the tournament to test it.

Theres a lot of talk about stadiums, infrastructure and TV and thats nice and all, but first weve got to worry about balls, spikes and jerseys, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. I dont see why we cant just go back to the old black-and-white checkered version we all played with as kids.

As for the aesthetics, Valcke said the ball had been criticized in the past as too colorful, and thats why this version is more white.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37941493/ns/sports-world_cup/

Hey FIFA, next time get this figured out BEFOREHAND! Idiots :angry:

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Grand Master

protocol7

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Adidas has made the World Cup ball since 1970 and is contracted through 2014. The German company has defended the Jabulani, saying it doesn?t know what the fuss is about because all the qualified teams were given the ball before the tournament to test it.

If it was the ball, every team would be playing bad. Simple fact is some players/teams are not nearly as "professional" as they're made out to be. The real issue is the craigslist referees.

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Crompee

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In almost every game, ive seen crosses from one side of the pitch, all the way to the other side.. which are absolutly perfect. most passes have been ok and when a player is playing well.. all there crosses are perfect.

The ball is ok, people are just using it as an excuse for when they sky-high a shot. All the analysts say that the ball is lighter and airflow means that the ball may move off course during its flight but none of them say thats why the ball is going extremly high when someone shoots which is what every striker is blaming the ball for.

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Zoom7000

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Well I watch my fair share of football and have never seen so many top players sky high free kicks and long range shots than in this world cup. Usually you can tell the goal keepers are trying to find a scapegoat in the ball, but in this tournament it definitely just doesn't seem right.

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Crompee

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Well I watch my fair share of football and have never seen so many top players sky high free kicks and long range shots than in this world cup. Usually you can tell the goal keepers are trying to find a scapegoat in the ball, but in this tournament it definitely just doesn't seem right.

It happends at the start of every worldcup mainly due to pressure on the players. I cant actually remember a World Cup where they didnt blame the ball.

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epk

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My country is still on the run, and I think the ball sucks. Cmon, they clearly make it super light so even an 11yo can make "showy" goals. The ball should be normal, if you have the strenght, great! if not, go practice some...

This isn't the first time it's happend either... you guys remember the Fevernova?

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Sethos

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a ball is a ball for crying out loud, its not a high tech gadget

You're right, it's not a high-tech gadget but you are underestimating the amount of work adidas puts behind the development and creation of these balls - It's not just something thrown together in 2 hours, I can

tell you that. A lot of calculations, decision and extensive testing takes place when they develop a new 'prototype'.

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AbandonedTrolley

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a ball is a ball for crying out loud, its not a high tech gadget

You would be surprised how 'high tech' a football actually is. It's not Joe Blow slapping some leather together and blowing it up with his footpump. As Sethos said, there are many deciding factors in the creation of the ball, making sure that the flight of the ball is as good as it can be etc. But this certainly does seem like a bit of an own goal on Adidas' behalf.

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Shibby

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Its either the ball or altitude. ?Something is wrong. ?Goalkeepers have had to change how they collect the ball, they don't watch it bounce and stick there hands out to catch, instead they let collected it into their stomach.? ?We're also seeing keepers punch the ball a hell of a lot more, simply because they ball is moving so fast they can't control it.?

As other people have said, we've seen tons of shots go sky high or wide, something is affecting the ball. ?I wonder how many free kicks have been scored directly using this ball. ?I wonder what the stats for long shots are.

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