Richard Sutcliffe: Germans' well-rounded preparations pay instant dividends

Unfortunately, towards the end of last month, that was just how Spain's Iker Casillas dismissed the new adidas Jabulani after just a couple of training sessions trying to get to grips with the 2010 World Cup ball.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper was unhappy with how the new offending item – described as "the first perfectly round ball" – would fly through the air in an unpredictable fashion. He also felt it to be too light.

Casillas's exact words, uttered on Friday, May 28, were: "It is a bit like a beachball. Now it isn't only the goalkeepers (complaining), it is the outfield players as well. It is sad that a competition as important as a World Cup has an element as vital as the ball with such abysmal characteristics."

Four days into the tournament and Spain's captain has been proved right with a constant theme of the opening 11 games being criticism of the new ball.

Blaming it for Robert Green's blunder against the USA, as Fabio Capello seemed to do yesterday, may be pushing things a tad. As was Emile Heskey's complaint in the wake of England's said 1-1 draw with the Americans that "for my chance in the second half, the goalkeeper (Tim Howard) stood up quite well so I just tried to get as much power behind it as possible because these balls do move around."

Sometimes, the only decent thing to do is hold your hands up and say 'I messed up'. Which is what Green, to his immense credit, did on Saturday night.

But there can still be no doubt that the new ball is causing problems for many of the world's best players.

It is, by no means, just the goalkeepers either, with the more attack-minded midfielders and their striker brethren seeming to think the best approach is to thrash the Jabulani goalwards once within 40 yards of the opposition goalkeeper.

The belief seems to be that if sufficient power is applied then the new ball will do the rest.

The reality, however, has seen the ball invariably end up flying high and wide of the target as its alleged magical powers claim another victim.

Only one team has so far truly mastered the Jabulani and, surprise, surprise, it was the Germans, as was vividly illustrated during Sunday night's 4-0 demolition of a hapless Australia.

It can be no coincidence that the ball was adopted by the Bundesliga in January, giving many players of the national team a five-month head start on the opposition in adapting to the new model.

Some may point to this as just another example of the efficient planning the world has come to expect of Germany.

Others might suggest it is an unfair advantage that only came the way of Joachim Low's men because the manufacturers just happens to be based in their home country.

But, either way, what cannot be in doubt is that the rest of the world better start catching up quickly or come July 11 the chances are we may well be watching a first World Cup triumph for a unified Germany.