By Kenneth Tan/ Red Sports

kaka jabulani

Kaka shows how to control a Jabulani. (Image courtesy of adidas)

Professional players will complain about everything and anything. The object of their recent complaints? The official adidas football called the ‘Jabulani’.

Depending on who you ask, the Jabulani — which means ‘to rejoice’ in the Bantu language isiZulu — is either the answer to their prayer or the worst ball they have ever seen.

Instead of the traditional flat-paneled molding, it is made up of eight thermally-bonded 3D panels. The ball has been touted by FIFA as a “perfectly round football that is more accurate than ever before”.

While the ball may be perfectly round, it can also be perfectly unpredictable apparently for some of the pros. Even before the World Cup starts, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is already a victim of a its wicked swerve in his team’s shock 1-0 defeat against China.

Of course, players will always make excuses, especially when they mess it up.

But if the ball can help the average number of goals per game hit the high of 5.385 reached in Switzerland when the World Cup was played there in 1954, spectators will be happy.

Here are what some of the players have said about the ball.

Michael Ballack (Germany) — “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”

Frank Lampard (England) — “A very strong ball, true to hit.”

Kaká (Brazil) — “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.”

Julio Cesar (Brazil, goalkeeper) — “It’s terrible, horrible. It’s like one of those balls you buy in the supermarket.”

David James (England, goalkeeper) — “The ball is dreadful. It’s horrible but horrible for everyone. It will allow extra goals and also leave some goalkeepers looking daft.”

Tim Howard (USA, goalkeeper)
“You are going to see some crazy things with the ball. What does it do? What doesn’t it do would be a better question. It moves all over. If you hit five balls with the same striking motion you wouldn’t get the same result.”

More stories on Jabulani

Engineers’ take on Jabulani

Jabulani’s designer hits back

Production process of Jabulani

Players trying out Jabulani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDkQQe9bAJk

World Cup — Goals per Game Average
5.385 — Switzerland 1954
4.667 — France 1938
4.118 — Italy 1934
4.000 — Brazil 1950
3.889 — Uruguay 1930
3.600 — Sweden 1958
2.969 — Mexico 1970
2.808 — Spain 1982
2.781 — Chile 1962
2.781 — England 1966
2.712 — United States 1994
2.684 — Argentina 1978
2.672 — France 1998
2.553 — West Germany 1974
2.538 — Mexico 1986
2.516 — Korea/Japan 2002
2.297 — Germany 2006
2.212 — Italy 1990