Soccer balls and why the Jabulani is different

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Every four years, the German company Adidas unveils what they hope is the perfect soccer ball, to be used in the FIFA World Cup. For the 2010 tournament, which begins in June in South Africa designers used a wind tunnel to create a highly calibrated soccer ball of optimal roundness and stable flight. But how much is the game influenced by player skill versus ball design? “If you have good technique, then I think you can hit any ball well,” says former U.S. national team member Alexi Lalas. “But the advances in technology have made it easier to use that technique consistently.”