JOHANNESBURG – FIFA acknowledges there might be something wrong with the Jabulani World Cup ball, but won't act on any problems until after the tournament.
Many players have likened the Jabulani to a "supermarket ball," saying it is too unpredictable and flies through the air too easily.
"We're not deaf," FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Saturday. "FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball."
Valcke said FIFA will discuss the matter with coaches and teams after the World Cup, then meet with manufacturer Adidas.
"There are rules for size and weight. ... But the ball has to be perfect," he added.
Goalkeepers have complained about the ball at every recent World Cup, although this time forwards and even coaches have added their laments.
Brazil coach Dunga got into a verbal spat with Valcke over the Jabulani before the tournament, challenging the FIFA executive to come out onto the pitch and attempt controlling it.
Denmark defender Daniel Agger said the ball made some outfielders look like "drunken sailors."
The Jabulani could create even more problems in the knockout phase beginning Saturday, when games could be decided by penalty kick shootouts.
"The balls have changed over the last couple of years. They have become a lot faster, and in addition to that in Johannesburg we are playing at an altitude of 1,700 meters, which makes the ball even faster," former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn said. "Thus, the goalkeepers work even harder, but I don't think that we can take the ball or the altitude as excuses."
Scoring was down by 16 goals in the first round compared to 2006: 117-101. However, teams played a more defensive style in the opening group stage in South Africa, so whether the ball is a major factor is difficult to measure.
At this rate, the World Cup would set a low for average goals. In 1990, when teams again played defensively — even in the latter stages of the tournament — 2.21 goals were scored per game.
Adidas has made the World Cup ball since 1970 and is contracted through 2014. The German company has defended the Jabulani, saying it doesn't know what the fuss is about because all the qualified teams were given the ball before the tournament to test it.
"There's a lot of talk about stadiums, infrastructure and TV and that's nice and all, but first we've got to worry about balls, spikes and jerseys," Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "I don't see why we can't just go back to the old black-and-white checkered version we all played with as kids."
As for the aesthetics, Valcke said the ball had been criticized in the past as too colorful, and that's why this version is more white.
筆記與註釋：
1. get into a verbal spat 陷入口頭爭吵
-spat (n.) a short unimportant quarrel
2. tournament (n.)a competition in which players compete against each other in a series of games until there is one winner
*tennis/chess/badminton tournament
*single-elimination tournament 單敗淘汰制
=knockout
=cup
=sudden death tournament
3. playoff 延長賽
*Féderation Internationale de Football Association the organization that controls international football and organizes the World Cup competition
*knockout phase 淘汰賽階段
*outfielder 外野手
4. defensive (a.)used or intended to protect someone or something against attack
5. fuss (n.)anxious behaviour or activity that is usually about unimportant things
6. stadium (n.)a building for public events, especially sports and large rock music concerts, consisting of a playing field surrounded by rows of seats
8. spikes and jerseys 釘鞋和球衣
9. checkered version 格子板
10. aesthetics (n.) 美學; 審美學; 美術理論
11. colorful (a.)having bright colours or a lot of different colours
*colourful history/past/career/life 輝煌的~
*colourful character/figure 鮮明的~
