SIDEBAR

My only question is...why did it take so long? The 'it' is the furore about the air physics of the World Cup ball version 2010, called Jabulani. Every bloody world cup we hear of the ball being difficult to control, predict and save. Nevermind that Madcap Sepp has his minions overseeing captive physicists under Lake Geneva in a Bondesque lab banging out balls that deviate more than a drug addled Amy Winehouse in Amsterdam, the ball shares the same characteristics as those of other world cups:

1. it is perfectly spherical, despite having 8 panels and not the old school 32
2. it is used by 2 teams and therefore has the inherent factor called fairness
3. it is a marketing tool employed by FIFA every world cup and has the same ring of inevitability as the Federal Budget or a COAG meeting ie a leak gives rise to pressure orchestrated relief through a media beat up followed by redundant analysis (of which i am patently a purveyor) followed by silence once the games begin

Game over. No more balls talk. For players who sit through interviews saying that they grew up playing with rolled socks in the street, a ball that, according to Brazil kepper Julio Cesar, resembles one found in aisle 8 of BigW should be a step up.

More goals please..after all the name jabulani stems from the Bantu language and literally means 'to celebrate'.

GP