The cup of life.....World Cup poll
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some soccer science.... myt find interesting!
Why Goalies Hate the New World Cup Soccer Ball
Robert Roy Britt
and Bjorn Carey
LiveScience.com Mon Jun 12, 3:01 PM ET
In the opening match of soccer's World Cup Friday, German midfielder Torsten Frings scored an amazing goal from 40 yards out. The ball started off straight and then tailed sharply to the right in the last 10 yards or so. It was an unstoppable shot, but with a different ball it might have been a simple save.
A scientist has explained why a new ball being used in this year's World Cup is frustrating goalies.
The new Adidas Teamgeist football, as it is called, has 14 panels instead of the 26 or 32 that traditionally create the hexagonal pattern.
Fewer panels means fewer seams, which will make the ball behave more like a baseball, says Ken Bray, a sports scientist at the University of Bath in the UK.
Complex whirls of air cause a spinning ball to drift toward the side that's spinning away from the ball's direction of movement [learn why]. A ball that's not spinning can bounce around unpredictably. Pitchers rely on this physics when throwing knuckleballs.
A good knuckleball is crazy because the ball rotates lazily in the air and the seams disrupt the air flow around the ball at certain points on the surface, Bray said.
"With a very low spin rate, which occasionally happens in football, the panel pattern can have a big influence on the trajectory of the ball and make it more unpredictable for a goalkeeper," Bray said last week.
Bray suggests one way to watch for the effect on TV.
"Watch the slow motion replays to spot the rare occasions where the ball produces little or no rotation and where goalkeepers will frantically attempt to keep up with the ball’s chaotic flight path," he said.
Whether you call it football, futbol or soccer, the game that will capture the world's attention for the next month during the FIFA World Cup is governed by forces other than just a player's hard work, timely reflexes or seemingly magical foot skills.
Soccer-enthused scientists have pored over the game at minute levels and found that gravity, friction, and something called the Magnus force all play a role in deciding which team ends up notching a win.
And if you've ever thought the referees are blind, one study reveals they actually are, at least when it comes to calling an offside penalty.
How to make a ball 'banana'
Similar to how a billiards player puts English on a ball, a soccer player can influence a ball's spin by striking it in various spots. If done correctly, a spinning ball can bend like a banana around a wall of defensive players or float like a frustrating knuckleball towards the goal.
Here's how it works:
A forward-moving ball spinning in the clockwise direction creates greater air friction on its left side. This is because the left surface of the ball is moving against air flow.
This creates a slightly higher pressure on the left, causing the ball to move toward the right as the pressure tries to reach a balance. The opposite occurs for a ball spinning counterclockwise.
The faster the ball spins, the greater the friction and pressure difference, which leads to a bigger and more deceptive break.
Scientists call this effect the Magnus force, whereby an object's rotation or spin affects its path through air or a liquid. The Magnus force plays a role in other sports, too, particularly in baseball. Magnus force named after Heinrich Gustav Magnus, the German physicist who first described it (although some people claim Isaac Newton did it first).
A new ball introduced in this year's World Cup has proven even more frustrating than normal, as fewer panels and seams have caused the ball to fly even more unpredictably [learn more].
System overload
Picking up a ball's spin might help a player judge how the ball will break, but Cathy Craig, a psychologist at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has bad news for players: Their visual systems can't process this information.
Craig enlisted 11 players and nine goalkeepers from elite European professional teams to determine how well players can interpret how spin affects the ball's flight. Each player donned a virtual reality helmet that gave the perspective of standing in the center of the goal. They could look around the stadium, but there was no visual clutter, just a ball sitting 33 yards straight ahead, about the location of the average free kick.
When the ball was virtually kicked toward the player with no spin, but still having gravity affecting its flight, the players consistently judged accurately whether it would enter the goal. But when the ball spun clockwise or counterclockwise, even the expert goal keepers were lost.
"Gravity is constant and we've known how to deal with it since we were born," Craig told LiveScience. "But we're not used to dealing with spin, and our nervous system is better at dealing with invariance than things that vary all the time."
In the future, Craig suggests goalkeepers might prepare for an opponent by using a similar virtual device to accustom themselves with the type of spin the opposing free kick specialist puts on the ball.
It might also be good testing ground for manufacturers developing new balls. Sometimes engineers design a ball that flies well in a wind tunnel, but players hate it because the pattern painted on it makes it appear to wobble in flight. Trying out new paint jobs in a virtual setting could help companies develop a ball that both physicists and players love.
Offside fools
Soccer referees draw plenty of criticism from fans, but incorrectly calling "offside" tends to be the source of extreme ire.
The offside rule states that no offensive player is allowed to run past a defender and then touch the ball unless the ball is already in front of them. What makes it tricky is a player can run past a defender to receive a pass as long as the player has not passed the defender when the ball was kicked.
A wrong call one way can kill a team's legitimate chance of scoring, and a bad call the other way can allow a cheap goal.
Francisco Belda Maruenda, a physician and researcher in Spain, would tell you not to be so hard of the referees, since they're being asked to perform a physiologically impossible task.
The ability of the eye to change focus on a far object to one located less than 6 yards away is called eye accommodation. For most people, it takes around 600 milliseconds. Since the players and ball are spread all over the field, a referee almost always performs eye accommodation when making an offside call.
But according to Maruenda, the average running player can move roughly 5 feet in the time it takes for the ref's eyes to refocus, so 600 milliseconds is just too slow.
To make an accurate call, "it is necessary to stop time and to locate all the players who take part in that game in zero milliseconds," Maruenda told LiveScience. To watch the player making the pass, the player receiving the pass, the defender, and the ball at the same time is just too much for our visual systems to handle, especially from the close-up view of the referee.
Some soccer officials have suggested giving a referee a bird's-eye view of the game and freeze-frame television technology to make better offside calls. Until then, it's worth noting that fans who bash refs for bad calls suffer the same blindness to the truth.
Why Goalies Hate the New World Cup Soccer Ball
Robert Roy Britt
and Bjorn Carey
LiveScience.com Mon Jun 12, 3:01 PM ET
In the opening match of soccer's World Cup Friday, German midfielder Torsten Frings scored an amazing goal from 40 yards out. The ball started off straight and then tailed sharply to the right in the last 10 yards or so. It was an unstoppable shot, but with a different ball it might have been a simple save.
A scientist has explained why a new ball being used in this year's World Cup is frustrating goalies.
The new Adidas Teamgeist football, as it is called, has 14 panels instead of the 26 or 32 that traditionally create the hexagonal pattern.
Fewer panels means fewer seams, which will make the ball behave more like a baseball, says Ken Bray, a sports scientist at the University of Bath in the UK.
Complex whirls of air cause a spinning ball to drift toward the side that's spinning away from the ball's direction of movement [learn why]. A ball that's not spinning can bounce around unpredictably. Pitchers rely on this physics when throwing knuckleballs.
A good knuckleball is crazy because the ball rotates lazily in the air and the seams disrupt the air flow around the ball at certain points on the surface, Bray said.
"With a very low spin rate, which occasionally happens in football, the panel pattern can have a big influence on the trajectory of the ball and make it more unpredictable for a goalkeeper," Bray said last week.
Bray suggests one way to watch for the effect on TV.
"Watch the slow motion replays to spot the rare occasions where the ball produces little or no rotation and where goalkeepers will frantically attempt to keep up with the ball’s chaotic flight path," he said.
Whether you call it football, futbol or soccer, the game that will capture the world's attention for the next month during the FIFA World Cup is governed by forces other than just a player's hard work, timely reflexes or seemingly magical foot skills.
Soccer-enthused scientists have pored over the game at minute levels and found that gravity, friction, and something called the Magnus force all play a role in deciding which team ends up notching a win.
And if you've ever thought the referees are blind, one study reveals they actually are, at least when it comes to calling an offside penalty.
How to make a ball 'banana'
Similar to how a billiards player puts English on a ball, a soccer player can influence a ball's spin by striking it in various spots. If done correctly, a spinning ball can bend like a banana around a wall of defensive players or float like a frustrating knuckleball towards the goal.
Here's how it works:
A forward-moving ball spinning in the clockwise direction creates greater air friction on its left side. This is because the left surface of the ball is moving against air flow.
This creates a slightly higher pressure on the left, causing the ball to move toward the right as the pressure tries to reach a balance. The opposite occurs for a ball spinning counterclockwise.
The faster the ball spins, the greater the friction and pressure difference, which leads to a bigger and more deceptive break.
Scientists call this effect the Magnus force, whereby an object's rotation or spin affects its path through air or a liquid. The Magnus force plays a role in other sports, too, particularly in baseball. Magnus force named after Heinrich Gustav Magnus, the German physicist who first described it (although some people claim Isaac Newton did it first).
A new ball introduced in this year's World Cup has proven even more frustrating than normal, as fewer panels and seams have caused the ball to fly even more unpredictably [learn more].
System overload
Picking up a ball's spin might help a player judge how the ball will break, but Cathy Craig, a psychologist at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has bad news for players: Their visual systems can't process this information.
Craig enlisted 11 players and nine goalkeepers from elite European professional teams to determine how well players can interpret how spin affects the ball's flight. Each player donned a virtual reality helmet that gave the perspective of standing in the center of the goal. They could look around the stadium, but there was no visual clutter, just a ball sitting 33 yards straight ahead, about the location of the average free kick.
When the ball was virtually kicked toward the player with no spin, but still having gravity affecting its flight, the players consistently judged accurately whether it would enter the goal. But when the ball spun clockwise or counterclockwise, even the expert goal keepers were lost.
"Gravity is constant and we've known how to deal with it since we were born," Craig told LiveScience. "But we're not used to dealing with spin, and our nervous system is better at dealing with invariance than things that vary all the time."
In the future, Craig suggests goalkeepers might prepare for an opponent by using a similar virtual device to accustom themselves with the type of spin the opposing free kick specialist puts on the ball.
It might also be good testing ground for manufacturers developing new balls. Sometimes engineers design a ball that flies well in a wind tunnel, but players hate it because the pattern painted on it makes it appear to wobble in flight. Trying out new paint jobs in a virtual setting could help companies develop a ball that both physicists and players love.
Offside fools
Soccer referees draw plenty of criticism from fans, but incorrectly calling "offside" tends to be the source of extreme ire.
The offside rule states that no offensive player is allowed to run past a defender and then touch the ball unless the ball is already in front of them. What makes it tricky is a player can run past a defender to receive a pass as long as the player has not passed the defender when the ball was kicked.
A wrong call one way can kill a team's legitimate chance of scoring, and a bad call the other way can allow a cheap goal.
Francisco Belda Maruenda, a physician and researcher in Spain, would tell you not to be so hard of the referees, since they're being asked to perform a physiologically impossible task.
The ability of the eye to change focus on a far object to one located less than 6 yards away is called eye accommodation. For most people, it takes around 600 milliseconds. Since the players and ball are spread all over the field, a referee almost always performs eye accommodation when making an offside call.
But according to Maruenda, the average running player can move roughly 5 feet in the time it takes for the ref's eyes to refocus, so 600 milliseconds is just too slow.
To make an accurate call, "it is necessary to stop time and to locate all the players who take part in that game in zero milliseconds," Maruenda told LiveScience. To watch the player making the pass, the player receiving the pass, the defender, and the ball at the same time is just too much for our visual systems to handle, especially from the close-up view of the referee.
Some soccer officials have suggested giving a referee a bird's-eye view of the game and freeze-frame television technology to make better offside calls. Until then, it's worth noting that fans who bash refs for bad calls suffer the same blindness to the truth.
Guys after first phase............
i like the three teams who have the flair to win the cup..........
Czecks, Spain, Argentina ... for argentina there true colors will be seen only after first round.......... Germany is on collision track with argentina... watch out guys .........
i like the three teams who have the flair to win the cup..........
Czecks, Spain, Argentina ... for argentina there true colors will be seen only after first round.......... Germany is on collision track with argentina... watch out guys .........
hahahahhahhahahhaha...............
As i said before the match.......... The true colors of argentina have started coming out............ 6-0 ............
Check out the goal of tournament ...the second goal..........
Ruthless and classy...........These guys are difficult to play....
Such a control on the ball ... This shows why the brazilians have never matched them....... Never in the past and never will..irrespective of the result..................
As i said before the match.......... The true colors of argentina have started coming out............ 6-0 ............
Check out the goal of tournament ...the second goal..........
Ruthless and classy...........These guys are difficult to play....
Such a control on the ball ... This shows why the brazilians have never matched them....... Never in the past and never will..irrespective of the result..................
shailendra
New member
A good match, they walked all over Serbia...
But the real test would be when they come up against the other giants as the final 16 starts...... the other teams are not gonna be so shoddy in the defensive department!
My match of the week has to be the England-Trinidad game! What an absolute clash of different approaches....England completely dominated the whole session, and of course the Trinis played the whole game in their own half (the tactics was pretty clear)... I would say England shall have to re-think again about all those missed and open opportunities that they failed to convert and may still take some solace in the main strikers firing, even if kinda late...(was good to see Rooney come in even though as a substitute)
Either way, I felt good after the so called Soca warriors were handed there defenses in a plate...(you know, even Brian Lara qas quoted saying after ensuring the second drawn test that he got courage to hold out from the way the 'Soca warriors fought against Sweden in their first game into a goalless draw!...!?!
)....well, so much so for that!...
You see, I have nothing against underdogs, but it was quite clear to anyone watching which team was playing better soccer and those defensive tactics of getting all the players inside the box and behind the ball is only gonna go so far!...
Hopefully this would stop some of the over hyped babble on those Soca warriors!
But the real test would be when they come up against the other giants as the final 16 starts...... the other teams are not gonna be so shoddy in the defensive department!
My match of the week has to be the England-Trinidad game! What an absolute clash of different approaches....England completely dominated the whole session, and of course the Trinis played the whole game in their own half (the tactics was pretty clear)... I would say England shall have to re-think again about all those missed and open opportunities that they failed to convert and may still take some solace in the main strikers firing, even if kinda late...(was good to see Rooney come in even though as a substitute)
Either way, I felt good after the so called Soca warriors were handed there defenses in a plate...(you know, even Brian Lara qas quoted saying after ensuring the second drawn test that he got courage to hold out from the way the 'Soca warriors fought against Sweden in their first game into a goalless draw!...!?!
)....well, so much so for that!... You see, I have nothing against underdogs, but it was quite clear to anyone watching which team was playing better soccer and those defensive tactics of getting all the players inside the box and behind the ball is only gonna go so far!...
Hopefully this would stop some of the over hyped babble on those Soca warriors!
It was a tennis like scoreline. 6-0! Complete demolition. Tavez was superb, and Messi mesmerized to convey the Argentine message loud and clear: Don't mess with us.
Even when there were no goals, the game in itself was delighting.
Not for nothing someone said, Watching Latino football in full flow is even better than having sex!
(Kuchh zyada hi phenk gaya! May be he was suffering from erectile dysfuntioning.)
Even when there were no goals, the game in itself was delighting.
Not for nothing someone said, Watching Latino football in full flow is even better than having sex!
(Kuchh zyada hi phenk gaya! May be he was suffering from erectile dysfuntioning.)
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Cote de Ivory were a good team -- best among the minnows. But you require more than just a good show some time to advance.
Meanwhile the rugby like approach to the game by Oz is making the Brazilians think. Do you know the last time two sides met in 2001 Confed Cup , the Aussies pipped their fancied rivals 1-0.
Meanwhile the rugby like approach to the game by Oz is making the Brazilians think. Do you know the last time two sides met in 2001 Confed Cup , the Aussies pipped their fancied rivals 1-0.
P
puneetsheoran
Guest
Group 'E' is heating up
What a couple of games in this group last night (Australian time).
Czech Republic got a rude awakening by Ghana as they went on to lose to the African team by two goals to nil. The Czechs has impressed in their first game but were outplayed by a better team last night.
In the other game, the USA braved it out against Italy and may count themselves a little lucky not to have won. They had a goal disallowed, a clear hand ball in the penalty area waived off and played most of the second half with 9 men compared to Italy's 10. Italy had plently of chances and wasted them.
The results mean that the group is wide open and only the last two games will decide which teams go through.
What a couple of games in this group last night (Australian time).
Czech Republic got a rude awakening by Ghana as they went on to lose to the African team by two goals to nil. The Czechs has impressed in their first game but were outplayed by a better team last night.
In the other game, the USA braved it out against Italy and may count themselves a little lucky not to have won. They had a goal disallowed, a clear hand ball in the penalty area waived off and played most of the second half with 9 men compared to Italy's 10. Italy had plently of chances and wasted them.
The results mean that the group is wide open and only the last two games will decide which teams go through.
naresh.mehta
New member
Wat the hell...
GHANA literally screewed Nadved n co.. I cudnt believe it.. I mean the poor keeper petr.. he simply gave up.. though saved some luvly strikes showing y he is the best keeper now!! But Checz literally screewed man!
And US too played a bit too good for better. the pool is too open ..
same wid france' pool.. sweden is good n today france has to prove that it can still win the way it did in 98... i wish henry gets back his arsenal form.. zidane is in gr8 touch!
all fingers crossed!
Brazil is also playing today ... 9 30 (IST) .. both matches will be gud
GHANA literally screewed Nadved n co.. I cudnt believe it.. I mean the poor keeper petr.. he simply gave up.. though saved some luvly strikes showing y he is the best keeper now!! But Checz literally screewed man!
And US too played a bit too good for better. the pool is too open ..
same wid france' pool.. sweden is good n today france has to prove that it can still win the way it did in 98... i wish henry gets back his arsenal form.. zidane is in gr8 touch!
all fingers crossed!
Brazil is also playing today ... 9 30 (IST) .. both matches will be gud
neerajmalik_er
New member
Italy all the way.......
kiran.takhar
New member
I guess either Aregentian or Germany will be winner 
my fav. is Argentina
regards,
Kiran.
my fav. is Argentina
regards,
Kiran.
lalit_nashier
Member
Brazil All Time Favorite
Brazil Lalalalalalala Lalalalalaalal Lalalalalalala
Brazil Lalalalalalala Lalalalalaalal Lalalalalalala
shailendra
New member
Gotta be kidding me, you think USA was playing good?.....it's easy to call it a good game by just looking at a tied scoreline.....but then thru a self goal by the Italians?!! ....
Anyways, poor Bas..ds USA they probably needed all the luck they can get..... Just call me prejudiced, but these 'football' players were non-impressive again for me, even though they put up a better fight then that whimper of a match against the Czech last time........ They are hopefully in for more thrashing soon!
The Czech were definitely outplayed by a belligerent Ghana!... Which was a shock, as the Czech team is one of the finest in this world cup, and I wouldn't be surprised if they spring back in style and make there presence felt again!
Argentina is still the one with the most impressive outing! Brazil were a little shaky for my liking yesterday, but still pumped in two goals.....the scoreline would have been more if Ronaldo had grabbed some of those open goal opportunities! (There defense is seriously lacking!)
Anyways, poor Bas..ds USA they probably needed all the luck they can get..... Just call me prejudiced, but these 'football' players were non-impressive again for me, even though they put up a better fight then that whimper of a match against the Czech last time........ They are hopefully in for more thrashing soon!
The Czech were definitely outplayed by a belligerent Ghana!... Which was a shock, as the Czech team is one of the finest in this world cup, and I wouldn't be surprised if they spring back in style and make there presence felt again!
Argentina is still the one with the most impressive outing! Brazil were a little shaky for my liking yesterday, but still pumped in two goals.....the scoreline would have been more if Ronaldo had grabbed some of those open goal opportunities! (There defense is seriously lacking!)
Howdy guys...................
The exitement is getting to my nerves now............
I want Italy to stay in the run ...... but look where they are heading...
Czecks have to come back in style.............they will...
Ghana is expected to win against USA...............
No need to keep ur fingers crossed for Argentina vs NDL....
Argentina all the way........
Lets give them the cup and close the thread..........
What do you say.........
The exitement is getting to my nerves now............
I want Italy to stay in the run ...... but look where they are heading...
Czecks have to come back in style.............they will...
Ghana is expected to win against USA...............
No need to keep ur fingers crossed for Argentina vs NDL....
Argentina all the way........
Lets give them the cup and close the thread..........
What do you say.........
Guys check out the link ...
http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=72457
(Injured) Baros ready to risk injury.................
http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=72457
(Injured) Baros ready to risk injury.................
R
rameshlakra
Guest
Semis would be
Brasil, Argentina, Ghana and Germany (England may be a surprise here)
Final could be between Ghana and Germany, and Therafter, the later scraping as winner.
My favorites are Ghana and England
Brasil, Argentina, Ghana and Germany (England may be a surprise here)
Final could be between Ghana and Germany, and Therafter, the later scraping as winner.
My favorites are Ghana and England
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