The Roundest Ball, the Biggest Headaches for World Cup Keepers

May 22nd, 2006 | by: WC Bob |

Not everyone is so fond of the Adidas Teamgeist footballs that will be used at the World Cup. Germany number one keeper Jens Lehmann says the world’s roundest ball favors outfield players and that it isn’t fun to use in poor weather. “When it rains it’s not going to be very comfortable for us. It gets very slippery. It also moves a lot in the air. The Nike ball feels more like an old fashioned leather ball. The Adidas one is more plastic.”

It seems that part of the job description for keepers these days that you have to be able to complain about the modern footballs while maintaining a straight face. It is, of course, a convenient excuse if you let in a lot of goals.

In Lehmann’s case, though, he might have a point about these Teamgeist balls. I think they’ve been designed to hypnotize the keepers.

Footballs these days just aren’t what they used to be.

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http://onthepitch.org Soccer Dad

That’s funny. What do they want? A shell of double sided sticky tape?

Slippery when wet – well yeah! Because it’s not absorbign water like leather balls are known to do.

Man – to have the $130 to waste on one of those just to dribble it around and shoot!
Mesto

$130 ball that feels like plastic. That sounds like a winner. But at least it is round
Rik

I believe they used this ball at this year’s African Cup of Nations. Seems to encourage outside-boot shots.
chris

Sounds like he was just plugging Nike’s ball more than anything. Who cares if it favours outfielders? A ball that results in more goals at the World Cup is good news as far an I’m concerned.
http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2006/a-world-cup-ball-by-any-other-name.html A World Cup Ball by any other Name – FIFA World Cup 2006 – World Cup 2006 Blog

[...] In the build-up to the World Cup, much has been made about the ball that will be used at this year’s tournament. The roundest, most perfect ball ever is loved by some, hated by many and an enigma for others. How does it compare to its predecessors? We were walking around the Fan Fest area last night in Berlin and came across a pretty cool photo display of the various balls used since 1970. My personal favorite is the ‘82 Tango, which was something I wanted for Christmas but Santa Claus failed to deliver. Have a look at all the balls. [...]
http://fifaworldcup.sporati.com/goalies-technological-fear.page FIFAworldcup.com – The Un Official Site of Fifa World Cup 2006

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