Report: Unhappiness with Euro 2008 ball

BERLIN, June 20 (UPI) -- Participants in the 2008 Euro soccer tournament say the balls being used are too wobbly, a German publication's survey indicated.

"Basically no one is 100 percent satisfied with the ball," German goalkeeper trainer Andreas Kopke told Der Spiegel, a German newspaper.

"It wobbles," said German defender Philipp Lahm, "and it suddenly looked as if one side had drastically miscalculated over what has become a sport dominated by the materials used."

Der Speigel reported that Hans-Peter Nurnberg has been developing soccer balls for the Adidas for 12 years. He's credited with the Euro 2008 ball and also helped create the "Fevernova" football for the 2002 World Cup.

It's a "phenomenon that has been blown out of proportion," he told the newspaper.

He said his goal was to develop a homogeneous ball that was as impervious to adverse weather conditions as possible.