Brazuca magic and sixty strikes

No World Cup has averaged three goals a game since 1958. And, so far, every match is averaging about three goals at the Brazil Finals.

Several theories are touted for the surfeit of goals at 2014 championship but I think the new improved ball also seems to have contributed to higher number of shots hitting the target.

In 2010, most players had panned down the ball (Jabulani), prompting Adidas - the official Fifa ball manufacturers - to address all the issues and make a new ball (Brazuca) for the 2014 championship.

Brazuca has evolved from the traditional football, which had 32-panel stitched together. First Jabulani was made with eight panels but experts believed that the ball for 2010 Finals was too shiny, smooth and wobbled in its flight.

Due to its smoother surface Jabulani was more prone to drag, a force that makes it dip and curve in unexpected ways, also known as ‘knuckling’. The result was that Jabulani was either ballooned over the bar or goalkeepers struggled to judge its trajectory.

Therefore, Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano had described Jabulani as ‘supernatural’ and Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had pointed out that the ball’s trajectory was unpredictable.

The ball for 2014 Finals has gone through a range of scientific tests to assure that it would complement the players’ skills on the field, rather than adding a skill set. Traditionally, a typical soccer ball knuckles at about 30 miles per hour (mph). But in 2006, it was knuckling at about 50mph, a speed more typical at the World Cup level. That meant the ball was knuckling much more often. In 2010, the speed for knuckling was even higher.

Now, NASA Ames Research Center scientists have tested the aerodynamics of the Adidas Brazuca and stated that the new ball with six panels was knuckling at about 30mph. Brazuca with its deeper and longer seams also makes it easier for players to put a spin on the ball. There are also small dimples on the surface of the ball to help reduce drag. These work in the same way as the dimples on a golf ball — by disrupting airflow, they allow it to travel faster.

Experts have pointed out that the depth of the Jabulani’s seams was around 0.48 mm, while the new Brazuca football has seams 1.56 mm deep — more than three times deeper. The total length of the seams on the Jabulani was around 203cm and around 327cm on the Brazuca. Not only are the seams on the Brazuca deeper, but they’re longer too.

The deeper and longer seams make Brazuca more like a traditional stitched football, which is more predictable, so players have more control over the laws of physics. With more control and less deviation, the footballers are showing their skills to score more goals.

Sixty already scored and more to come through Brazuca.