Barring the two semifinals and final, the Euro has already yielded 69 goals in its opening 28 games. But what is remarkable, is that of those 69, already 20 have been from headers which is three more than the record of 17 set in 2004.
So, what is the reason behind such headed goals?
The UEFA head Michel Platini is happy and insisted that the introduction of extra officials behind the goals has reduced the amount of grappling at corners and free-kicks. His logic is that with additional referee you score more headers, because the players know that the referee is there and they cannot commit fouls all the time.
But the extra officials is only one side of the story. Only half of the headed goals have come from set plays.
So, the good delivery, must has been helped by the ball – Tango 12 which is being used in this year’s Euro Championship and, it is so far considered to be good unlike the ‘notorious’ Jabulani which was used at the South Africa World Cup.
But before the World Cup, the warning signs were there at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, which used the Jabulani. Goalkeepers got bamboozled by its dips and swoops while players struggled to control it. The standard of crossing and long-range shooting was also poor and there were no goals from direct free-kicks.
In the World Cup, the pattern continued. Even best players like Lionel Messi couldn’t manipulate the Jabulani.
At this year’s Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Comoequa was used which is more or less same as a Tango 12 but with a different pattern. Like the Jabulani, it is an eight-panel ball, but surprisingly it is controllable. In the Cup of Nations, there were five goals scored direct from free-kicks. The crossing and long-range shooting was better and, even the goalkeeping was better.
So, while Jabulani attained ‘notorious’ fame, Tango 12 seems to have bonded well with the players.
Two years ago, designer of the Predator boot, Craig Johnston, suggested that Jabulani was too round and therefore didn’t generate the drag necessary to get the spin that counters air resistance — the reason why golf balls have dimples.
Drag must come from the joins between the panels. The fewer there are, the harder that is to achieve. Also, the use of thermal bonding rather than traditional stitching minimises the imperfections that would aid the generation of drag.
Though Tango 12 is thermally bonded, it is made up of 32 panels and that seems to be the reason why the players in Euro are having a whale of a time with this ball.
0 votes
