Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar (13/2 to win best keeper) is the latest player to voice his anger at the new ball being used in the World Cup.
All the teams have been given a stock of the Adidas ‘Jabulani’ footballs in order to prepare for the finals in South Africa but the Brazilian number one has been left unimpressed.
‘Jabulani’ means happy or rejoice in Zulu, one of the tribal languages of South Africa, but it seems the ball is not stirring such emotions in the players that are about to use it. The Inter Milan ‘keeper complained: “The football is horrible. It seems like one of those you buy in the supermarket.”
The concerns from the Brazilian camp follow quickly on the back of their English counterparts who voiced their concerns last week that the ball was difficult to control. The England side have been testing the ball for themselves at their training camp in Austria and felt the ball was too lightweight and seemed to bounce away from them too easily.
Such complaints are very common before major tournaments and the ‘Jabulani’ is only the latest in a stream of footballs to be maligned before its official unveiling.
In fact, Brazil (9/2 outright winers) have previously been amongst the most vociferous when it comes complaining about the football. In 2002, striker Edmilson complained that the Adidas ‘Fevernova’ was too light and he could not get his shots on target in training. Of course, the Brazilians went on to win that World Cup in South Korea and Japan with the great Ronaldo ending the tournament as top scorer.
The World Cup gets underway in Johannesburg on June 11 with host nation South Africa entertaining Central American qualifiers Mexico. You can guarantee that there will be plenty of comment in the aftermath of the opening few matches about the ball, especially if there is a high-profile mistake caused by the ball taking a strange flight path.
Brazil are in this year’s Group of Death alongside Ivory Coast, Portugal and minnows North Korea who they face in their opening fixture.