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Vuvuzela 1 PSL 0

Gxabi_Ngwepe

A family night out with 6,000 friends. Maritzburg United vs Amazulu: KwaZulu-Natal derby in the round of 32 of the Nedbank Cup, South Africa’s FA Cup. At kickoff, deafening kwaito music gives way to a cacophony of vuvuzelas. Not exactly kid friendly, but there it is. The relaxed mood of this Saturday night crowd, a pleasant mix of men, women and children of all backgrounds, makes up for the dreadful football on display.

The home side is slightly more enterprising in the second half, but deep into injury time the visitors’ Brad Ritson scores a counter-attack winner. Cruel. Final.

As we, the deflated masses, leave the friendly confines of Harry Gwala Stadium, I found myself wondering — again — why PSL teams played such awful soccer on a regular basis. Then I thought of the wisdom shared by Thabo Dladla, director of Izichwe Youth Football (where my daughter plays), in his column this week:

‘The idea of playing and keeping the ball longer does not exist . . . [with] less than 100 completed passes in most PSL matches’ Dladla writes, ‘I doubt if Lionel Messi would have played under most South African coaches. [In the apartheid era] football played a huge role in entertaining people. It was important to win in style. Both players and fans had a lot of fun during a game. These days one sees more creativity in the grandstands than on the field’. And as much as I viscerally detest the vuvuzela’s sonic pollution, it is the truth.

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World Cup ticket mess

fnb
600 FNB branches in South Africa failed soccer fans today. I waited at my branch for hours with students, cops, lecturers, government employees, farmers, housewives and South Africans from other walks of life only to be told that ‘the system was down’.  We waited with Job-like patience, hoping against hope that we could buy a ticket for a seat at stadiums built with the people’s tax money.

But it was all for naught. Precious few tickets were sold to us and a few thousand to South Africans at FNB branches nationwide. What a disgrace. Had such a mess happened in Italy there would have been riots! So it’s looking increasingly likely that the main place ordinary locals will taste the World Cup is in the Fan Parks . . . providing ‘color’ for tourists and FIFA’s global TV audience. Shame!

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Players

The Church of Leo Messi is Open!

messi3

There is a Church of Maradona in Argentina with 120,000 members, but rumor has it that the Church of Leo Messi has opened its doors and its membership may soon reach into the millions. I’ve lost track of how many hat tricks, foot tricks, long-distance surface-to-air missiles, slaloms, chips, far-post benders, headers and assists Barcelona’s King of Football has given us. Pure joy.


There is hope that the hyper-fit, inverted pyramid, cynical and suffocating football so dominant in recent times will not completely silence the magical qualities of the beautiful game.


Yes, I have had a soft spot for Barca ever since my brother took me to see Sandro Ciotti’s Il Profeta del Gol — a film about Cruyff with jaw-dropping goals from his azulgrana days — but what Messi is giving us transcends football loyalties. Simply put, Messi is why I love football. Venite adoremus . . .

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Radio Debate: Africa’s First World Cup

vuvuzela2010

Radio France International‘s Brent Gregston invited me to discuss Africa’s First World Cup on his ‘Crossrads Debate’ program. ‘Billions of people will see the football World Cup played out in glittering new stadiums built by the rainbow nation of South Africa. But few black Africans can afford to book a seat. Will the continent’s first World Cup be a unifying force in Africa? And how much does the feel-good factor depend on the performance of South African footballers?’

Click here to listen to the program.

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Players

Why the World Champions Won’t Repeat in 2010

Cannavaro

The Old Lady of Italian football was humiliated 0-3 by struggling Udinese this weekend, making it 12 losses and 47 goals against in 32 serie A matches this season. After this latest embarrassment, the formerly powerful and prestigious Juventus FC apologized to millions of fans and began a ‘silenzio stampa’ (no media interviews until further notice).

Yet Marcello Lippi continues to live in an alternate universe and appears ready to go to South Africa with between half and two-thirds of the Azzurri’s starting 11 from Juve’s ranks. Tired pensioners like Cannavaro, Legrottaglie, Camoranesi and Grosso are like a concrete block around Italy’s neck. Unless Lippi has a last-minute change-of-heart, then expect the Azzurri to sink fast come June.

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England’s World Cup Ambitions Depend on Rooney’s Health

Wayne-Rooney

When people ask me ‘Who will win the 2010 World Cup’ I tell them either Spain or England. Loaded with talent in the middle and up front, Spain have been magnificent in the past 3 years, as the Euro 2008 crown and the subsequent winning streak demonstrated. Meanwhile, Capello has resurrected an English side that didn’t even qualify for Euro 2008, mixing tactical acumen with more traditional Anglo attributes and an experienced player corps.

But my World Cup final prediction hangs on Wayne Rooney’s health. His severe ankle sprain suffered in the dying seconds of ManU’s last-gasp defeat to Bayern Munich not only complicates my future career as a pundit (ha!), but threatens the Red Devils’ title chase and England’s quest for World Cup glory.

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The Goal of the Century?



Is Lionel Messi’s second goal (above) of his hat-trick against Real Zaragoza in Spain’s La Liga an early contender for Goal of the Century?

The goal will have to compete with one he scored another Spanish club, Getafe, last year:

Continue reading “The Goal of the Century?”