Customer Reviews

adidas World Cup 2010 Official Match Soccer Ball

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This ball is a complete disgrace. I am like the third best goalkeeper in England and I can't even stop this thing. A buddy of mine kicked a slow roller to me and I completely muffed it in front of billions of people. Now people in my country will never forgive me for this. And it wasn't even my fault! IT WAS THE BALL!!! It dipped and swerved and I could only get my fingertips on it. I hate this ball. Now James will be the goalkeeper for England but I bet he can't stop this thing either. It's like impossible.

I am a bit older than David Beckham and I play 2-3 rec games a week with players ranging from 17-55 years old. I spend about 50% of my time in goal, and the other 50% is split between midfield and forward.

I bought one of these about 6 weeks before the world cup so that my friends and I could play with it and see what it was like. The reviews have been mixed. It is within a few grams of the maximum FIFA approved weight, yet people regularly comment that it seems light when they first handle it. I don't find it so, but it did take a few kicks to get used to how it plays for long balls and corner kicks. I'd call it a little (not a lot) bouncy.

As a field player, I love the way it plays on the ground. It gives great control for dribbling and moving downfield. I also like the way it shoots. Perhaps if I was a more precise shooter, I'd feel differently, but I am happy to hit the quarter of the goal I am aiming for, and I can do that as well with this ball as with most others. I like shooting this ball.

As a goalie, I am not as enthralled. The ball seems to knuckle off a striker's foot very easily, giving it that no-spin, slightly unpredictable flight path. When I can get a glove on it, the grip is great.

Overall, I like it a lot. Most of the people I play with agree, but definitely not all of them.

It really does not get any better then this. The Jabulani is a great football and is a must for anyone who plays the game.

Any other ball became so easy to play with after playing with the Jabulani. It helped improving my skills because the ball requires you to improve them.

I was a bit worried after reading some of the reviews for this product, however I was thrilled to receive it, of course on time and exactly what I wanted for my son's Christmas

First one i bought was defective, easy to get another one. Ball does not hold air well and after a year of use it still is not truly round like a soccer ball should be. Not sure how they used these in the world cup. Maybe i just got the two bad ones.

If I have to compare between this ball and Champion League one, the CL is much better. This ball seems a bit heavier and "harder" to kick. Good ball overall.

What do you get the kid who has lots? If he's a great soccer player, this ball. He loved it, which made me happy.

I am like one of the top 500,000 goalkeepers in the U.S. and I bought this ball for the novelty of it. I didn't like it for use in drills or game play as it was not the truest ball I have ever played with but I never had any problems STOPPING it when rolling to me; like with any other ball I just kept my body in front of it and used sound fundamentals to pick it up and secure it...I did this several hundred times routinely. What I did not like was the movement at higher velocities coming at me. I am sure handed and will usually catch while others block or punch and I found myself having to block and punch more.

In reality while I returned the ball to the store after a month I should thank this ball because if anything it helped sharpen me up since I had to react to its sometimes unpredictable aerial movement. After all the keeper position requires sound fundamentals and quick reactions so it helped this 40 year old rusty coach and rec. league player step up my game after not playing for several years.

I would not recommend this ball for match play...it is too expensive and actually favors the goalkeepers because it is harder to kick on target for field players.

If you want a novelty to display or simply remember the many magical moments of the 2010 World Cup I would buy the less expensive "adidas World Cup 2010 Repliqué Soccer Ball" from Amazon for around $25.00 but if you want the real thing and can afford it I would check out World Soccer Club, they have a link for "FIFA WORLD CUP BALLS" where you can find the replica of the match most memorable to you. Every match has the official ball with the two teams playing stamped on them used for the match and you can buy the real deal; so it looks just like this ball but has "England" and "USA" printed on it for the US v. England match, for example (hope that made sense, could have been better written).

Nice design, sleek look and interesting topic of conversation. I would be surprised if the previous reviewer is who he claims to be but I guess with so many professionals over dramatizing the sport I shouldn't be. Soccer/Football is a great game but when a player blames the ball that is just sad! I felt bad for the keeper when I saw the fundamental error in the first match that went for a goal...I did this a couple times before I turned 10 and it was hard to watch but I stood by the keeper and expected him to bounce back. But, after reading the review I have to say I don't feel bad for him anymore as the review was just a long whine about the ball, the ball, the ball. It is never the balls fault, get over it or you'll never improve your game.

This ball is a great gift, especially since the world cup was so recent, I definitely would suggest buying it.