Did you know that you can curve a ball more on a dry day than on a wet day?
Soccer players can make a ball curve through the air by striking it off its center. If you hit it dead on center, the ball will fly straight. if you hit it to the right, it will curve left, because a spinning ball has lower air pressure on the front side where the spin is going to, and higher pressure where the spin comes from.
Researchers at Yamagata University in Japan studied how people kick soccer balls. Using ultra-fast cameras that can take 4,500 frames per second, they took pictures of players striking a ball. This is their model of the distortions on the ball and on the foot at the point of impact:
The colors in the model shows the deformations: pink is the lowest, through blue, green and yellow to red, the highest. "These studies have confirmed what most footballers know. If you kick the ball slightly off-centre with the front of your foot - and with your ankle bent into the shape of an "L" - the ball will curve in flight. This causes the applied force to act as a torque, which gives the ball a spin"
The actual amount of curve depends on two factors:
the friction between the foot and the ball (or how much the foot can drag the ball). This means that on rainy days there is less curve, because there is less friction!
the position of the impact: how much off the center of the ball you hit the ball. There is actually an optimum spot to hit the ball off its center. if you go too much off-center, the ball will not spin as much either, because the duration (time) during which contact occurs is too small.
Bending the ball is an important skill to master. It allows attackers to pass balls by defending walls, to deceive the goal keeper, and to score from corner kicks:
One of our players is the grandson of the great Didi. Here is a summary of Didi's professional life and a great video (in Portuguese) showing his amazing Folha Seca shot. This shot is what allowed Brazil to qualify for the 1958 World Cup with only 8 minutes to go in a match against Peru. They went on to win the 58 cup, for the first time for Brazil.
"Didi (1929-2001) can be defined by two nicknames given by writer Nelson Rodrigues. They were the "Ethiopian Prince," because of the rare elegance, beauty and coolness of his game, and the "Mother of the wooden legs" because with his long, accurate, brilliant passes, the would transform common attackers into relentless scorers. As for the international press, Didi, cerebral player, team’s brain, he was "Mr. Football".
It was this way that he made the glory of Carlyle, the legendary striker of the Carioca Championship of 1951, Didi’s only title in almost ten years of playing for Fluminense. Misunderstood genius, he would trade the Laranjeiras in 1956 for Botafogo in Brazil's largest soccer transaction by then. A year later, he was already champion in Rio wearing the new shirt. But it was in the national team during the World Cup qualifiers in 1958, that the midfielder became national idol. With eight minutes to go, the match against Peru in the Maracana persisted 0 x 0, the spot in the World Cup was going for a draw. Didi took on a free kick. The keeper saw the ball going over the top bar but suddenly it fell into the net.
It was the “folha seca” a shot full of effect with the trademark of Didi. Then came the international recognition. Holder absolute and undisputed leader of the Brazilian team that won the World Cup in Sweden, in the midst of wild beasts such as Pele, Garrincha and Zito, Didi was appointed by many as the best player of the tournament. He was the maestro of the conquest of two titles in Rio in 1961 and 1962 and once again shone in the eyes of the world on the national team that came back with the Cup in Chile in 1962".
Valdir Pereira
Born: 08/10/1929, Campos, Rio de Janeiro
Weight: 59kg
Height: 1,70m
Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration its around us, every nation, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.
And together at the end of the day.
WE ALL SAY
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag
So I'll wave your flag
I'll wave your flag
Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh hohoho
Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.
And together at the end of the day.
WE ALL SAY
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes
Wooooooooo Ohohohoooooooo ! OOOoooooh Wooooooooo
WE ALL SAY !
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes
Wooo hooooo hohohohoooooo
And everybody will be singing it
Wooooooooo ohohohooooo
And we are all singing it……!
Original:
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
But Violent prone, poor people zone
But it’s my home, all I have known
Where I got grown, streets we would roam
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest
Among the hardest survival
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak
Except no defeat, surrender retreat
So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day
It’s not far away, so for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
So many wars, settling scores
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
I heard them say, love is the way
Love is the answer, that’s what they say,
But look how they treat us, make us believers
We fight their battles, then they deceive us
Try to control us, they couldn’t hold us
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers
But we struggling, fighting to eat
And we wondering, when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day
It’s not far away, but for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back
When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag
Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flag
Flag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag.
About K'naan:
K'naan, born Keinan Abdi Warsame is a Somali poet, rapper, singer and instrumentalist, who moved to Canada at the age of 13.
