http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2010/06/goals_at_a_rare_premium_as_...
So why has the football been so disappointing?
Most people seem to be pointing the finger of blame at the swerving Jabulani, the controversial adidas match ball, which has upset so many players and managers.
England manager Fabio Capello says it is the worst he has ever seen, while striker Wayne Rooney described it as a "nightmare". The word being used most commonly by goalkeepers and strikers is unpredictable.
Certainly the German players seemed to have a major advantage in having used the ball in the Bundesliga for the last year in producing the most emphatic performance of the tournament so far, their 4-0 thrashing of Australia.
Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, now coaching Ivory Coast, has called for a meeting to discuss the problems with the ball. But world governing body Fifa and ball manufacturers adidas say there is no need as there is nothing wrong with it. Players just need to get used to it.
The counter to that argument, of course, is that an unpredictable ball should make life interesting as it makes it far harder for goalkeepers than attacking players. For whatever reason, that hasn't happened so far.
6. At 11:28pm on 16 Jun 2010, Sloan wrote:
"Citing the ball as the main reason for disappointing performances is a poor excuse and I cannot believe how willingly the media accepts that as an explanation. It has become standard practice to criticise the ball at the beginning of major tournaments (just like 2006 & 2008). Obviously the players are happy to point to the ball; it is an easy way to justify their bad games.
It is s probably no coincidence that most of the criticism comes from players with endorsement deals with Nike or Puma and not Addidas. When the ball was first introduced in Germany in December 2009 not a single player had any complaints about it and now it is supposed to be the worst ball in history. All a bit ridiculous."
33. At 05:14am on 17 Jun 2010, Alistair wrote:
It has been the worst World Cup so far. The vuvuzela killing off the match atmosphere and the laughable new ball from Adidas are chiefly responsible.
Adidas makes the worst footballs of any major manufacturer, simple as. If I wanted to play with a round rubber ball I would buy one for five quid. Nike is much better, but unfortunately the best football manufacturers such as Mitre and Select have been completely marginalized in the market by the two sports behemoths (nike, adidas), who can and do always outbid more specialized manufacturers on major contracts. Most numpties out there judge the quality of a football on how much it costs, so when they fork over 90 bob on a new Adidas of course they think it is the best thing money can buy. Pathetic, really.
I guess if you think the ball doesn't matter you must have never reached a high proficiency at any skill at all. Go ask a concert pianist whether the quality of their piano matters in their performance and get back to me, thanks.