SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Brazil's number one goalkeeper Julio Cesar criticises and ridicules the World Cup's offical match ball, the Adidas Jabulani

Record ID: 456002

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Brazil's number one goalkeeper Julio Cesar criticises and ridicules the World Cup's offical match ball, the Adidas Jabulani
  • Date: 29th May 2010
  • Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (MAY 28, 2010) (REUTERS) BRAZIL GOALKEEPING TEAM SITTING IN NEWS CONFERENCE (FROM LEFT) FORMER GOALKEEPER AND OBSERVER WITH TEAM CLAUDIO TAFFAREL, SUBSTITUTE KEEPER DONI, GOALKEEPING COACH AND FORMER KEEPER WENDEL, FIRST-CHOICE KEEPER JULIO CESAR AND SUBSTITUTE KEEPER HEURELHO GOMES (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL NUMBER ONE CHOICE KEEPER, JULIO CESAR, SAYING: "It's horrible, it's awful, very bad. It looks like a ball that would you buy in a supermarket. It's very bad." PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL NUMBER ONE CHOICE KEEPER, JULIO CESAR, SAYING: "It was a really tough year, we reached all the finals in all the competitions that we were in. For a player, it's very tiring but when you arrive for a World Cup, that is a thing you dream of all the time since you were a child, all this tiredness goes away. You don't want to be on a holiday, you want to be here to play this World Cup." JOURNALISTS LISTENING IN NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) BRAZIL NUMBER ONE CHOICE KEEPER, JULIO CESAR, SAYING: "I believe that Kaka will be a fortunate player working with this coach (Jose Mourinho), because in my opinion he's one of the best coaches in the world." WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) BRAZIL NUMBER ONE CHOICE KEEPER, JULIO CESAR, SAYING: "He's a coach (Fabio Capello) that knows Italian soccer very well, he worked in Roma, Juve and other Italian teams. It would be important to replace Mourinho with a big name coach like Capello." JOURNALISTS BRAZIL GOALKEEPING TEAM POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS / LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 13th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA1BFBLR3ECLMBBIAEKQ6WSDQGY
  • Story Text: Brazil's first-choice goalkeeper Julio Cesar raised concerns over the quality of the much-hyped new match ball to be used during the World Cup.
    At a news conference on Friday (May 28), Cesar -- one of the best keepers in the world -- ridiculed the ball.
    "It's horrible, it's awful, very bad. It looks like a ball that would you buy in a supermarket. It's very bad," he said, without explaining why he believed it was bad."
    Brazil's goalkeeper coach Wendel said later the ball was too light and swayed in different directions in mid-air and prevented goalkeepers moving off their goallines as the ball dipped too sharply.
    The Jabulani ball is created by Adidas, a rival of Brazil's sponsors Nike, and FIFA have said the ball is the most round ball ever made which improves grip and stability.
    Julio Cesar is riding into the tournament full of confidence following his club side Inter Milan's historic treble this season, but says he won't be suffering from fatigue as a result of the club's hectic match schedule.
    "It was a really tough year, we reached all the finals in all the competitions that we were in. For a player, it's very tiring but when you arrive for a World Cup, that is a thing you dream of all the time since you were a child, all this tiredness goes away. You don't want to be on a holiday, you want to be here to play this World Cup," he said.
    The Inter stopper said he was disappointed the club's Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho was leaving the club after writing history for the club, but said his likely new side Real Madrid, would be lucky to have him.
    "I believe that Kaka will be a fortunate player working with this coach (Jose Mourinho), because in my opinion he's one of the best coaches in the world," he said.
    Cesar then spoke of rumours suggesting Inter Milan's primary target to replace Mourinho at the end of the season is current England coach Fabio Capello.
    "He's a coach (Fabio Capello) that knows Italian soccer very well, he worked in Roma, Juve, and others Italian teams. It would be important to replace Mourinho with a big name coach like Capello."
    Capello has recently committed himself to the English job but some believe he may want to manage Inter following succesful stints at the country's other two major clubs, AC Milan and Juventus.
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