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A closer look at the Jabulani, part 1

By Rain Noe - June 14, 2010

in Object Culture

It just didn't make sense, no matter what angle the replay was viewed from: The U.S.'s Clint Dempsey turns one way, then the other, and kicks the ball directly into English goaltender Robert Green's gloves. Green seems to stop the ball, then it somehow bounces off of him, spins, and continues the way it was headed had Green not been there--into the goal. If the next frame was an earlier shot of Dempsey in the parking lot of the stadium signing a contract with a big red guy with horns, I would not at all have been surprised.

Much has been made of the funny behavior of Adidas' new Jabulani ball, and while Green himself has not blamed the ball for his inexplicable error, others have. What's different about this ball is that it's made with only eight panels--down from 2006's 14 panels--and it's covered in tiny bumps and grooves that reportedly make it more stable in flight. Detractors claim that this, or some unseen design feature, makes it move erratically.

In our previous post we covered soccer balls over the last 30-something years. The nice thing about covering a recent ball like the Jabulani is that unlike, say, the 1966 Slazenger, there exist plenty of video clips discussing and explaining the design of the ball.

The following three are fairly short, watchable clips. First we've got Adidas engineers Dr. Tim Lucas and Dr. Andy Harland explaining what's different about the Jabulani's design:

Here Lucas and Dr. Martin Passmore focus on the "GripnGroove" surface:

Lastly, Hans-Peter Nurnberg briefly touches on the all-weather capabilities of the ball:

It should be pointed out that all of these videos were recorded pre-controversy, and we've yet to see Adidas directly addressing its recent critics in video form. We'll be on the lookout for such a video (unless they release it during a match, in which case we'll pay it not the slightest of attention). In the meantime, we hope Green can come to grips with--ooh, bad choice of words.

o

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George

14 years ago

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Regarding the U.S. goal vs. England, I'd submit the keeper just didn't make the stop. Slow motion footage doesn't reveal erratic ball behavior.
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Tina

14 years ago

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HUGE THANKS. Great insight into the ball evolution. Any chance you could do the same with the rest of the equipment....shirt for instance? Many think its just designed to look pretty (or not as the case may be), but there are usually more interesting technical 'stories' if you have a dig around_ that goes for the goalies kit too :)
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Edgar

14 years ago

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I believe the Jabulani design is here to stay, at least until the first 100% seamless ball comes along. Players will just have to make adjustments and adapt to it's behavior. And there will be no shartage of high quality soccer any time soon.
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jason

14 years ago

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Great post. There have been many complaints abou the ball but little analysis to what and why makes a soccer ball. Moreover, the video shows top flight players praising the ball--contrary to their current excuses. Not mentioned in the complaints is that the ball has been in use long before the World Cup and that Adidas used the ball before without the media reaction.
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