We’ve already detailed the many gripes that the ball Adidas designed for the World Cup has engendered among the soccer players participating in South Africa, especially those tending goal.
Despite the rampant concerns about how the new ball would move, it hasn’t exactly resulted in an outpouring of goals - there have been only 18 in the first 11 matches. Nevertheless, Algerian coach Rabah Saddane didn’t back away from pinning goalie errors by his team’s keeper, as well as by England’s Rob Green, on the Adidas Jabulani ball.
Mexicans Seek Help From Notoriously Unwieldy American Football
The Mexicans are taking canny countermeasures to prevent such disasters, you see. They’re working with NFL footballs in practice. If you’ve ever seen a lineman try to scoop up a fumble and waddle in for a touchdown, you know they can be sometimes difficult to control on the ground.
Even if the new ball is caroming in ways that are different than regular soccer balls, a football’s erratic bounces wouldn’t prepare a goalie for them any more than chasing around greased-up pigs in practice. I mean, they’re difficult to get your hands around, too.
But no one’s silly enough to try something like that. Well, just don’t run the idea by Maradona.
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