the jabulani : British high-tech hotshot behind the 2010 World Cup ball

It’s the kind of sharp-shooting performance that football commentator David Coleman would almost certainly have described as ‘quite remarkable’.Blasting out perfect shots time and again at speeds of up to 90mph without ever picking up an injury, this English striking hero isn’t Wayne Rooney or David Beckham – although he is called Dave.Meet Dave the Robot, a 4ft rotating leg developed by experts at Loughborough University’s Sports Technology Institute in pursuit of the perfectly designed football.The academics have been working with sports brand Adidas to create what they claim is the ‘roundest ball ever’ for the 2010 World Cup finals  in South Africa.Dave – a metal leg and foot fitted to an axle – is able to ‘kick’ footballs in a similar way to a human, but with an efficiency and consistency not even Cristiano Ronaldo could match.

Named after Dave Ward, the third-year undergraduate student who designed it four years ago, the robot has allowed British researchers to study how changes to a ball’s construction affect its movement.Dr Andy Harland, who has been working on the project since Adidas first approached LoughboroughUniversity in 2002, said: ‘Everyone assumes Dave is named after David Beckham, but that’s not the case. No human can kick the ball in exactly the same way each time like our robot.‘We are able to use Dave to kick the ball in all sorts of different ways and we do it into a wind tunnel, which allows us to monitor how the ball reacts in any given context. We can do that over and over again, changing the ball to see what the results are.’
The finished product of their research is the World Cup ball. Named Jabulani after the Zulu word for ‘celebrate’, the ball is 30 per cent more stable in its flight than those used by footballers only a decade ago.The Jabulani will receive its first kick in an international on June 11 in the competition’s opening fixture, between South Africa and Mexico. Like most modern balls, it has a synthetic coating – leather was abandoned before the 1986 finals in Mexico.The Loughborough scientists found that constructing the ball using fewer panels would give it better consistency, meaning similar kicks achieved the same result. Butthey also discovered that putting more grooves on the ball’s surface improved its stability in the air. The Jabulani also has goose bumps on its surface to stop it slipping when wet.

The ball’s eight panels are placed together and exposed to high temperature so that they fuse seamlessly, in a process called ‘thermobonding’. A plastic varnish is then applied to waterproof the ball.Every ball will be given a ‘permanent roundness test’ – which involves being fired against a steel plate 2,000 times at 31mph after which air pressure and roundness are checked.England midfielder Frank Lampard said: ‘It is one of those balls that, when you catch it right, is going to fly. Hopefully we can train with it . . . and win the World Cup with it.

Nicolas Anelka swoops late as strolling Chelsea take care of business and profit

It was here at the Estádio do Dragão last season that Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational 40-yard goal for Manchester United.The memory of that goal will endure for many years; last night’s match will be forgotten by tomorrow, save for the one abiding impression it generated: this Chelsea vintage have a savvy and solidity that recalls the title-winning sides under José Mourinho.With seven clean sheets in their past eight games, having scored in all their matches this term, Chelsea head for the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in rude health. The same could not be said of Frank Lampard, who tore a thigh muscle two weeks ago and missed this match, but he could make a surprise return to the starting line-up against Arsenal.

The midfield player flew to Serbia last week to visit Marijana Kovacevic, the “miracle healer”, who uses fluids derived from horse placenta and has treated Premier League players such as Robin van Persie, the Arsenal forward.Lampard would be back at least a week ahead of schedule if he plays this weekend, but it is understood that he met with Kovacevic for only an initial hour-long consultation that involved conventional treatment and decided, along with Bryan English, the club doctor, that the placenta option was not for him.He trained yesterday at Chelsea’s base in Cobham, Surrey, and his team-mates in Oporto did not fret without him. While Liverpool implode if Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard is absent, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad has the depth and resolve to shrug off the loss of key players. That, too, was another hallmark of the best Mourinho years: consistency of results, performance and attitude regardless of personnel.

The only variety was when Chelsea gradually eroded opponents rather than demolish them outright. Last Saturday’s 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was crushing; this result came without fuss or drama.Didier Drogba returned from his rib injury and lasted the whole game, suggesting that he will be fine to face Arsenal. This weekend’s is the second of four successive away fixtures for Chelsea, with Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup and Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League also looming large.

A monochrome match was settled by a second-half winner from Nicolas Anelka that confirmed first place in group D for Chelsea with a game to spare. “It was our objective to get first in this group and it is not easy to win here,” Ancelotti said. “The team did not play fantastic, but just good. We took some risks in the first half, but the second half was much better and we deserved to win.“There was personality and courage in the team. If we want to win the Champions League, those are qualities we need. It is very important to keep momentum up and we have to keep this high moment. The players are in good condition and in good form and we know that Sunday will be a very difficult match, but we also know that we are in a very good moment to play Arsenal.”With Porto and Chelsea already through to the knockout stages, it was not surprising that there was little urgency on show. Deco featured against the club with whom he lifted the European Cup in 2004, and was received warmly by the home fans, but the most interesting of Ancelotti’s selections was Yuri Zhirkov at left back in place of Ashley Cole. The Russia player had made only two appearances since joining from CSKA Moscow for £18 million in the summer because of persistent knee problems.

Porto were fitfully impressive during their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the opening group game, but worse here even though they had been unbeaten at home this season. Playing in the same kind of fluorescent orange strip that was no help to Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane last Sunday, Porto were pushed back in the opening stages and struggled to contain Anelka, who tested Beto, the goalkeeper, with a swerving shot from distance after 15 minutes.It turned out to be Chelsea’s only shot on target in the first half. Porto grew into the game and shortly before the half-hour, Fernando Belluschi, given space on the left, cut inside and curled a shot from the edge of the box on to the crossbar.

Deco crashed an effort narrowly wide in the 52nd minute, but it did not herald an improvement. If anything, the game became more slapdash. The nadir came midway through the half when the Portugal playmaker mis-hit the ball so badly that from the edge of the Porto area he found Falcao, the opposition striker, on the halfway line.A winner from nowhere was located in the 69th minute, though, when Florent Malouda found room on the left to cross for Anelka, who headed in from close range. Porto attacked with more focus after that, and Hulk, a substitute, went close — but Chelsea were fine, their fierce sense of purpose holding firm on a placid night.

Porto (4-3-3): Beto — C Sapunaru (sub: E Farías, 79min), Rolando, B Alves, Á Pereira — F Belluschi (sub: F Guarín, 71), Fernando, R Meireles — S Varela (sub: Hulk, 60), Falcao, C Rodríguez. Substitutes not used: Nuno, D Valeri, Maicon, T Costa. Booked: Fernando, Meireles.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech — B Ivanovic, R Carvalho, J Terry, Y Zhirkov — J O Mikel — M Ballack (sub: M Essien, 68), Deco (sub: J Cole, 76), F Malouda — D Drogba, N Anelka. Substitutes not used: R Turnbull, A Cole, S Kalou, Alex, J Belletti.