Short blog today in anticipation of a big day of football. Currently watching a terrible Greek side attempt to claw themselves back into the game after Lee Jung-soo opened the scoring for the South Koreans. Incidentally this game is being played in front of a half empty stadium, FIFA really should be donating spare match tickets to local schools. As pointed out elsewhere most of their revenue from this tournament comes from TV rights and not ticket sales.
England kick off their campaign looking to banish memories of the previous 44 years success starved years. Four years ago I was thrown into a Christiano Ronaldo induced fury after the Portuguese winker managed to convince the referee to send off Wayne Rooney. I was said to be literally frothing at the mouth after the prospect of another defeat on penalties became a reality. This time I intend to remain more dignified, as should Rooney. He's by far and away England's most gifted player and will inevitably be targeted by the opposition particularly as his combustible temperament precedes him. Tonight should be a tight, cagey affair from two teams who play fairly direct football.
The importance of a good start cannot be overstated but if England win and win convincingly then I'm sure Capello will keep his players feet on the ground even if the rest of the country will begin to believe, again.
Saturday, 12 June 2010
Friday, 11 June 2010
South Africa United
This blogger was celebrating his third birthday on the day Nelson Mandela was released and despite not remembering the event myself the images of his long walk to freedom on February 11th 1990 still resonate around the world. How sad it is then that Nelson Mandela will not be taking part in the Opening Ceremony on the 2010 World Cup later today. Reportedly suffering from failing health Mandela was given the tragic news of the death of his great grandaughter late last night. Her death in a road accident is not just a personal tragedy but one that is shared across the globe. Tonight was to be Nelson's night and his chance to bow out on the World Stage having delivered his vision of a united South Africa. The explosion of colour will be that less brilliant and the cacophany of sound that quieter without the presence of the great man. The grandfather of the Rainbow nation may not be present but his vision will be spectacularly played out on over a billion television screens.
On the pitch tonight South Africa have a tricky opening match against Mexico whilst Raymond Domenech's France play Uruguay.
Despite being the lowest ranked host in World Cup History South Africa will draw on their recent form and attempt to invoke the spirit shown by South Korea when they upset the odds as hosts in 2002 (contraversially) beating Spain and Italy on the way to the Semi Finals. Much will depend on the form of Everton playmaker Steven Pienaar but they face a stiff test against a Mexican side who were unfortunate to go down to a 3-1 Friendly defeat against England recently. They boast the attacking threat of Manchester United bound Javier Hernandez but despite their undoubted ability going forward serious question marks remain over their defence that looked fragile at Wembley. In spite of their deficiencies expect the Mexicans to advance to the last 16 repeating a feat they have achieved in the last 4 World Cups.
France will need to put their reported infighting out of their minds and quickly in tonight's second game. Whilst France's technical ability cannot be doubted their coach Domenech is almost as unpredictable as Diego Maradona and is known to select players depending on their star sign compatibility. Despite reaching the Final last time France required a play-off to qualify for this years event and relied on 'that' goal from Thierry Henry to sneak past a desperately unlucky Ireland. Along with maintaining their own levels of concentration les Blues will need to beware of the threat posed by the Uraguay forward pairing of Diego Forlan of Athletico Madrid and Ajax's Luiz Suarez who scored an impressive 53 League goals between them last season. Expect a close match with the winner in prime position to qualify along with Mexico, the French should be fearing a repeat of their terrible showing in 2002 when they were unceremoniously dumped out at the Group Stage without scoring a single goal.
I'll be back tomorrow to preview England's first game against the USA.
On the pitch tonight South Africa have a tricky opening match against Mexico whilst Raymond Domenech's France play Uruguay.
Despite being the lowest ranked host in World Cup History South Africa will draw on their recent form and attempt to invoke the spirit shown by South Korea when they upset the odds as hosts in 2002 (contraversially) beating Spain and Italy on the way to the Semi Finals. Much will depend on the form of Everton playmaker Steven Pienaar but they face a stiff test against a Mexican side who were unfortunate to go down to a 3-1 Friendly defeat against England recently. They boast the attacking threat of Manchester United bound Javier Hernandez but despite their undoubted ability going forward serious question marks remain over their defence that looked fragile at Wembley. In spite of their deficiencies expect the Mexicans to advance to the last 16 repeating a feat they have achieved in the last 4 World Cups.
France will need to put their reported infighting out of their minds and quickly in tonight's second game. Whilst France's technical ability cannot be doubted their coach Domenech is almost as unpredictable as Diego Maradona and is known to select players depending on their star sign compatibility. Despite reaching the Final last time France required a play-off to qualify for this years event and relied on 'that' goal from Thierry Henry to sneak past a desperately unlucky Ireland. Along with maintaining their own levels of concentration les Blues will need to beware of the threat posed by the Uraguay forward pairing of Diego Forlan of Athletico Madrid and Ajax's Luiz Suarez who scored an impressive 53 League goals between them last season. Expect a close match with the winner in prime position to qualify along with Mexico, the French should be fearing a repeat of their terrible showing in 2002 when they were unceremoniously dumped out at the Group Stage without scoring a single goal.
I'll be back tomorrow to preview England's first game against the USA.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
The Vuvuzela: the scourge of the armchair supporter
For anyone who watched England's final warmup against the Platinum Stars on Monday the 'traditional' South African vuvuzela was the only constant menace. Whilst England struggled to a meek 3-0 victory and in the process refusing to look like potential tournament winners the 12,000 South Africa supporters in attendance gave the armchair viewer a taster of what is to come for the next 4 weeks: pure, earsplitting hell.
Watching on the television you could be mistaken for thinking the stadium had been invaded by a furious swarm of bees. The consistent drone does nothing to lend itself to a footballing atmosphere. Forget about spontaneous terrace chants poking fun at the personal habits of the referee, forget about the roar of the crowd climaxing at a crescendo as the ball hits the back of the net and think of the monotonous buzz of several thousand cheap, plastic horns, for 90 long minutes. This is South Africa 2010.
Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President, has refused to ban the instrument for fear of "Europeanising an African World Cup". I've seen certain commentators praising the vuvuzela and likening any ban to the restrictions that were placed on steel bands that lead to a sterile 2003 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. To draw comparisons between the two would be completely false, whilst the steel bands have accompanied Carribean cricket for decades the Vuvuzela has been an inherent part of African football culture since 2001. Plus at least the steel bands can carry a tune.
When the TV coverage gets under way on Friday I'm hoping for a 'Vuvuzela off' option accessible via the red button. Either that or I'm muting my TV, at least that way I don't have to put up with Clive Tyldesley's moronic commentary either.
Watching on the television you could be mistaken for thinking the stadium had been invaded by a furious swarm of bees. The consistent drone does nothing to lend itself to a footballing atmosphere. Forget about spontaneous terrace chants poking fun at the personal habits of the referee, forget about the roar of the crowd climaxing at a crescendo as the ball hits the back of the net and think of the monotonous buzz of several thousand cheap, plastic horns, for 90 long minutes. This is South Africa 2010.
Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President, has refused to ban the instrument for fear of "Europeanising an African World Cup". I've seen certain commentators praising the vuvuzela and likening any ban to the restrictions that were placed on steel bands that lead to a sterile 2003 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. To draw comparisons between the two would be completely false, whilst the steel bands have accompanied Carribean cricket for decades the Vuvuzela has been an inherent part of African football culture since 2001. Plus at least the steel bands can carry a tune.
When the TV coverage gets under way on Friday I'm hoping for a 'Vuvuzela off' option accessible via the red button. Either that or I'm muting my TV, at least that way I don't have to put up with Clive Tyldesley's moronic commentary either.
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