Balls are an integral part of many sports. It is hard to imagine a game of soccer players without a ball. Yes, this article will talk about the ball "Dzhabulani." It is worth saying that this ball is a soccer ball, and the well-known company "Adidas" released it.
Why was the ball named that way?
The name of the ball comes from one of the many official languages of the Republic of South Africa, namely from the Zulu language. If you translate jabulani literally, it means "celebrate." It is worth mentioning that the company created the Adidas Jabulani soccer ball specifically for the 2010 World Cup, which took place in Africa. Hence the name in one of the languages of the host country.
Design
The ball was created for the 2010 World Cup. This date is also due to the fact that for the company "Adidas" the upcoming championship was the eleventh, at which they played balls of this manufacturer. The company decided to reflect this date on the Adidas Dzhabulani ball. They painted it in eleven different colors. In addition, it can be assumed that this is due to the number of players on the field, or the fact that South Africa has the same number of official languages. Well, you probably understood - the number is eleven everywhere. The ball is made in an original style, something reminiscent of an African.
What and how is Jabulani made of?
When assembling this ball for the first time, 8 three-dimensional spherical plates were used. Before that, sports equipment was made from a much larger number of constituent elements. The lining layer is made of a special foam - ethylene vinyl acetate. Grip'n'Groove technology was used, which was used to improve the aerodynamics of the Jabulani ball. This technology consists in the fact that the entire surface is made with small grooves. Some specialists from scientific institutes were involved in the development of the ball. They helped make the Jabulani even rounder.
Ball testing
New products were tested in several stages. First, in the laboratory of Loughborough University, which is based in England. Only complex tests were carried out there. For testing in a wind tunnel, the ball was transported to Germany. All tests gave a positive result. And in the air, the ball behaved much better than its predecessor at the 2006 World Cup.
After that, they began testing the ball "Jabulani" with the foot of the robot. The test also gave excellent results. And in some places even exceeded some expectations. Then they decided to check it in the present conditions. This task was entrusted to the players of “Milan” and “Bavaria”. They pointed to positive and negative points, after which the ball was finalized and put into production.
According to various sources, they spent on testing the ball from several months to 2-3 years. Not such a short time. Nevertheless, according to some players, the ball turned out to be terrible.
Player Opinion
Before the World Cup 2010, almost all players considered the Jabulani ball to be one of the best and most promising. After the World Cup, opinions diverged.
Players such as Ballack, Cech, Lambard, Kaka and many others agreed. They believe that such a ball is very easy to control, and he literally obeys them. The Czech separately singled out the speed of the ball. According to him, the ball flies like a bullet. Field players in the majority agreed that the ball is very good.
But there were opponents of their words. They turned out to be the majority of goalkeepers participating in the World Championship.
For example, England goalkeeper David James was one of the first to criticize the ball: “It's terrible. The ball is just awful, but I think the situation is like that for everyone. You could see it during Frank Lampard’s strike in the first half of the match with Japan, when the ball is strange Well, it will be interesting. It is almost impossible to catch, but the blows can be done as you like. Undoubtedly, balls will be scored in this tournament which simply would not have taken place in previous competitions and will allow some players to distinguish themselves, but set goalkeepers in an awkward position. "
The goalkeeper with the famous surname supported him. Buffon sometimes was not even shy in expressions. He noted all the advantages of the tournament, but highlighted the only negative. It turned out to be a soccer ball, "Jabulani." Buffon expressed the opinion that such a ball is simply shameful to play in a tournament of this level.
Versions of the ball "Jabulani"
"Adidas" released more than one version of a sports projectile. There were 4. For example, JO'BULANI was released specifically for the tournament finale. It differs from the original Jabulani ball only in design. On it is most visible gold and white, made in the South African style. The name of the ball was given in honor of the city of Johannesburg. It was in this city that the finals of the 2010 World Cup took place.
Orange ball "Adidas" is designed specifically for playing in bad weather conditions. It was painted so that it was better visible.
The latest version of the ball acted as a reward to the best player of the tournament. He was completely gold, and went to Uruguayan player Diego Forlan.