Mexico goalies train with NFL Footballs

[Renew Deal]

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—Bad bounces plaguing the goalkeepers? Try an NFL ball.

That’s part of Mexico’s solution for the unpredictable way the Jabulani ball has acted early in the World Cup.

At Monday’s practice, Mexico goalkeeping coach Alberto Aguilar used NFL footballs in a drill to better prepare his players for, well, that which you can never really prepare for.

Numerous World Cup players, especially keepers, have complained about the official ball, saying its flight is difficult to judge. England’s Robert Green fumbled a long-range shot by Clint Dempsey into his net, allowing the United States to get a 1-1 draw. Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaquchi was fooled by Robert Koren’s shot for Slovenia’s only goal in a 1-0 win.

So during Monday’s workout at Waterhouse College, Guillermo Ochoa, Luis Michel and starter Oscar Perez practiced for a stretch with the oblong-shaped NFL ball.
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http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/bad-bounces-try-an-nfl-ball--fbintl_ap-wcup-mexico.html

Either they are geniuses or idiots.