Former Arsenal player Ian Wright gave the seal of approval for the official ball that will be used for the 2014 World Cup. The retired Ian Wright was given the ball for a few days and had nothing but praise for the ‘’Brazuca’’.
Adidas has provided the balls used in all World Cup matches since the 1970 but they received major backlash and criticism after releasing the ‘’Jabulani’’ which was the official ball that was used for the 2006 World Cup.
A number of coaches and players that were given the ball to train with some weeks prior to the start of the worldwide competition had negative response to it as the majority claimed that the trajectory it took in the air was completely unpredictable and it was extremely difficult for the goalkeeper to maintain the ball under their control.
Joe Hart said the “balls have been doing anything but staying in my gloves.”
Iker Casillas said: “It is very sad that a competition as important as the world championship will be played with such a horrible ball.”
Now with the introduction of the Brazuca, Ian Wright and other high profile players have given it their approval as they consider it to be a massive improvement.
Ian Wright spent 7 years playing in Arsenal making 221 appearances and scoring over 120 goals for the Premier League club but when asked in an interview about who he considers to be the best strikers of his time Wright mentioned Ronaldo, Bergkamp and Henry.
He even made comparisons with the French striker Thierry Henry to Michael Jordan. ‘’ Thierry Henry is to football what Michael Jordan is to basketball’’.
