2010 World Cup Begins

FIFA has introduced a new ball as it did in 2002. Perhaps it did in 2006 and I missed it. Be that as it may, I was thrilled to see an interview with Gordon Banks on the Beeb site. They were asking him about England's goalies situation but he also ventured into territory that I think will have set some teeth on edge in the circle of panjandarums. Which is to say that he talked about how the ball has changed. He noted how light it is, next to impossible to catch and moves about erratically.
This inspired me to check if goalscoring has been boosted, since anecdotally this seems to be the case. Just going back over past World Cups, however, this is not borne out statistically. I will report on this more fully in a future blog.
I have no doubt, however, that there are more long-range goals than before the new lighter balls were made standard and, likewise, more long passes.
Some players have complained about the new ball, Others like it. Lampard, for one, likes the movement that it creates. Look for some embarassing goals. Just hope it doesn't spoil things.