18 June - Cape Town - England vs Algeria

'GOALLESS AND GRUMPY'



ENJOY THE SLIDESHOW. WILL HOPEFULLY POST THE VIDEO TOMORROW.

Something is very wrong with England. This is a team that qualified for the World Cup in style, winning their first nine games in a manner that rightly established them as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in July. How long ago those days seem now.

Apart from the first 20 minutes against the USA, England have been shocking. Completely lacking in penetration, this England team brings to mind the image of trying to knock in a nail with a hamster. Rooney looks like he’d rather be somewhere else. He just doesn’t look fully committed in the 50/50 challenges. It’s almost as if he is afraid of aggravating his recent injury. Gerrard looks as ineffectual as he has done all season for Liverpool and, despite having two years to prepare for this tournament, Capello still can’t decide on his strikeforce combination. It all contributed to a dismal England performance last night and a pretty dismal game all round.

Maybe we’re just taking it out on England because they were supposed to break our duck of going to see goalless draws. This must be some kind of record. Of the 23 games played in Fifa 2010 South Africa so far, 3 have been goalless. Guess which 3 games we’ve been to? That’s 4 and a half hours of World Cup football without seeing a single goal. Thank God we’ve got another 13 games left to see. There’s got to be at least 1 goal in there.

All a bit of a shame, really, because the atmosphere at Cape Town Stadium last night was unbelievable. 

20 000 visiting English supporters created a sea of white and red in this stunning arena. A couple of thousand highly energetic Algerian supporters played their part too.

It was a great day all round yesterday in Cape Town. This is exactly how I imagined it would be during the World Cup; thousands of fans filling the streets and the senses being assailed by wave after wave of sound and colour.

This was my 7 year-old (Megan)’s first and last World Cup 2010 game, and it was quite a treat for me to have all 3 of my kids by my side last night. Megan put her head in my lap out of sheer boredom after about 20 minutes of the game. I suspect most people in the stadium would have done the same if they could have been sure of not getting slapped in the face by the person sitting next to them. Megan eventually perked up when I informed her that there were only 5 minutes left. We could all identify with that.

However, if World Cup history is anything to go by, this may yet turn out to be a great tournament for England. When England reached the quarter-final in 1986 and the semi-final in 1990 they did so after an atrocious first 2 games. In 86 England had just 1 point after 2 games, while in 90 they had 2, the same position they find themselves in this morning. The omens get even better for England when you consider that in both 86 and 90 they drew their second group game 0-0 (vs Morocco in 1986 and vs Netherlands in 1990). One of the great truths of the World Cup is that the winners very often start slowly. Italy are experts at this. The hare and tortoise theory is confirmed if you look at how, in the past, teams like Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain have started like a house on fire only to fall spectacularly in the early knockout stages. Argentina could be the hare in 2010.

That’s the bright side. The dark side is that England look appalling and I’m not sure I can see them turning it around in time to save themselves.

**We’re writing this about 20km the other side of Laingsburg. We left Cape Town about 3 hours ago, on the way to Nelspruit. While driving through Worcester, it occurred to us that we are following in the footsteps of our forefathers who, in the late 19^th century, travelled north from the Cape in search of gold. Here we are, in the early 21^st century, travelling north from the Cape in search of goals.

15 June - Port Elizabeth - Ivory Coast vs Portugal

ENJOY THE VIDEO. SLIDESHOW AT FOOT OF THIS POST.

Note: Ok, can we just ignore that result tonight against Uruguay. It's the worst nightmare for Bafana Bafana. Who knows what can still happen against France but qualification for the 2nd round is not looking too good right now. However, this is still our World Cup and I suppose nobody can take that away from us. Sigh....... let's get back to the roadtrip.


After a hectic weekend of watching soccer and hosting soccer parties it was time to hit the road for the first time. We were on our way to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth to watch the much anticipated Group of Death clash between Ivory Coast and Portugal.

The sheer scale of the logistics involved in our 2010 roadtrip really hit us with this trip. Up at 2am on Tuesday morning and on the road by 3am in our brightly decorated car (for which, by the way, we still have no name).

Pulled over by a convoy of flashing police cars within an hour of leaving Cape Town to be informed that we had no back lights. Drove the rest of the 5 hour trip to Knysna in the dark with our hazard lights flashing. True soccer fan dedication.

Knysna is playing host to the French and Danish teams while its near neighbour, George, is a base for the Japanese team. Both towns have gone all out to welcome their guests; there are almost as many Danish and French flags on the streets of Knysna as there are South African flags. The word from the locals is that the Danish have been model house guests, opening some of their training sessions to the public and just generally being accessible. The French, on the other hand, have been like a snooty aunt who comes to stay, gets irritated by the children and closets herself away in her bedroom. The French team's bedroom is the tres upmarket golf resort of Pezula.

It was a very quick stop in Knysna to pick up our cousins, Joe and Justin, and their parents, Andy and Lynn. Then it was on to Port Elizabeth, a further 3 hour drive.

Stopping for 'pad kos' (literally road food) on the road to PE.

It seemed like the whole of Cape Town’s Portuguese community was on the road with us and this was borne out later inside the stadium. This could have been a home game for Portugal.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a most beautiful structure situated in a rather grim part of town. Its exquisite sunflower design contrasts sharply with its grey industrial environment.

There was nothing rough about this wonderful occasion. We were blown away by everything; the organisation, the friendliness of the stadium staff, the ease of access to the stadium and to the food/drink and toilet facilities, not to mention the fact that we were on the highway back to Knysna within 45 minutes of the final whistle. But most of all, we were blown away by the atmosphere. I’ve been to hundreds of matches over the years, but I have to say that the atmosphere at this match was something I’ve never experienced before. Riotous colour and deafening sound against the backdrop of a vibrant rhythm provided by a group of about 60 Ivorians, swaying and clacking some clacky things with precision timing .

The football was pretty exciting too, even though we witnessed our second straight goalless draw. As goalless draws go, this was about as good as it gets.

This match was where we saw  the concept of an African World Cup come to life. The reception Didier Drogba received when he came on was enormous. Drogba has repeatedly spoken of how important this World Cup is to him, because it’s the first to be held in Africa. You could just see him responding to the setting yesterday as he actively encouraged the crowd to get behind the Ivorians. He was ecstatic at the final whistle despite his team only drawing after being the better side on the day. His delight stems from the fact that this very useful African team look like playing a big part in this African World Cup.

For Dylan and I Port Elizabeth was like a practice roadtrip and we’ve used it to test out our cameras, our video equipment and our speed of posting.

But most of all, we’ve used it to practice having the time of our lives on our impending 2010 roadtrip.

SLIDESHOW

11 June - Opening Day - It all begins here

ENJOY THE VIDEO. SLIDESHOW AT FOOT OF THIS POST.


What a day ! What a week !

This country hasn't stopped rocking since Friday afternoon. (Which is why this post is a few days late !) Everyone is now a committed soccer fan ! Spectacular opening ceremony, spectacular opening goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala which literally had the whole country in a state of  hysteria.......even if it was only for 20 minutes.

This day lived up to everything we hoped for for so long.




Cape Town looked and sounded magnificent. When you live in the suburbs and you're woken by the sounds of cars hooting and vuvuzelas blowing then you know something special is brewing. The fan mile was amazing and the stadium was something else. Cape Town Stadium looks magnificent from the outside but when you walk inside and see it full, lit up and about to host a World Cup match it will take your breath away.




Only one low point. My workplace had a big sweepstakes draw. Quite a big prize at stake. We all gathered together to make the draw just before shutting the office to head off and watch the opening game. Was anything ever more predictable than me drawing France. Ugghh !

SLIDESHOW

15 Hours To Go !

Here's a pic of Cape Town Stadium taken by Dylan from the top of Table Mountain at 5pm this afternoon, less than 1 day before kick-off of  the 2010 World Cup.

If the tournament is half as good as the build-up has been then we're in for a treat.

Wednesday was mind-numbing. Over 200 000 fans out on the streets of Joburg.....just to wish the team well. These pics are courtesy of some of my work colleagues, including Peter Khunong and Ken Molefe.

It's not just here that the buzz is building. These pics below were sent to me by Alan Palmer from London. He reckons England is the best place for atmosphere during a World Cup. Alan will be watching at a public outdoor venue on Saturday night when England open up against USA.

Alan and his son had planned to do a roadtrip in SA, just like we're doing, but couldn't make it in the end. He contacted the radio station I work for in Cape Town.....and now Dylan and I will be collecting match programmes as I go to help Alan add to his collection of more than 10 000.

P.S. Is that a vuvuzela I see in that English garden ???

Knysna in the Southern Cape is hosting both France (someone had to I suppose) and Denmark.On Sunday past the citizens of Knysna came out to welcome the teams to their town. Pics from Andy Stoker.

Send pics of the vibe where you are to jwalls@primedia.co.za

"Yoh"....Just another regular week in SA.....

Less than 16 hours to go. I simply cannot believe it. Literally years and years of waiting is almost over. 32 years waiting to go to a live World Cup match (since watching my first finals on tv in 1978). 14 years waiting for South Africa to host the Finals (since our first, failed, bid was announced in around 1996). 6 years waiting for SA 2010 to kick off (since we were awarded this tournament).

Today feels like Christmas Eve when I was a kid....except that this time there will only be one Christmas Day in my lifetime. 

I'm not going to blog properly tonight. I've got too much to organise for tomorrow. So I'm introducing a guest column. Paulo Dias is a colleague of mine with a fine turn of phrase. He's also a soccer-mad Portuguese South African who, I suspect, has also been counting down the last 6 years day by day.  

P.S.......At noon tomorrow I will walk the fan mile with my kids and sister Colette and her husband Pat from Ireland. We'll watch the opening ceremony and Bafana game from a pub opposite the stadium. Then at 8.30pm it's Uruguay vs France.

Here's Paulo's article.............

"Yoh"

I am not one for soliloquy, prose or haiku – I like to keep it to the point, but please allow for me to wax lyrical and tell you about the week I’ve had.

On Saturday, I watched the USA and Australia play a friendly match at the stadium I play soccer. They defended the same goals I do and ran the same side of the pitch I do. It blows my mind that players who cost upwards of R100 million even used the same toilets that I do.

Sunday I joined 10 000 Portuguese on the side of the road to Magaliesburg in the hope that we’d catch a glimpse of the Portugal team bus. I saw a grown woman cry when the bus passed her. God knows how she would have reacted if she had been as lucky as me and 1999 other Porras to get into the team training session where people applauded Ronaldo stretching as much as they would have cheered a hat-trick.

 

On Monday I played indoor soccer as usual. The games can be quite tense and agro, but this Monday there was a sense of camaraderie amongst everyone. Late tackles were greeted with “no worries brother”, where normally they are greeted with fists.

On Tuesday I joined 30 000 Portuguese – of which I was only related to half of them – at a frikken cricket ground to watch Portugal play for the first time on African soil. It’s also the 1^st time I’ve seen them live and it was more special for me as I watched with my dad.

Growing up my father would bring home betamax tapes of euro and world cup qualifying games a week after they had been played and we would watch them together. This was the start of my love affair with football and the Portuguese team.

My dad won’t be traveling to the Portugal games with me – he reckons he’s past that stage in his life where he wants to queue with” rubbernecks who think they’re Ronaldo, blowing dis shtoopid vuvu-rubbish” – so he bought himself the biggest TV I have ever seen.

On Wednesday is when it started getting really nuts. My 1 brother-in-law – pay attention there are a few of them – calls me to tell me how he had dinner with the Portuguese team after Tuesday’s game. We then all know what happened yesterday afternoon. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life and seeing the Bafana players dancing on top of the bus showed how much it means to them. You can be sure that when their bodies are saying no more, they’ll think of that moment and find that extra something that gets them through the game.

Wednesday evening I was on my way to Orlando stadium to be part of the dress rehearsal for the Kick off concert. On the way, my other brother in law phones me to say that he met Arsene Wenger. At this rate, my 3^rd brother in law – who is on crutches after breaking his ankle after a savage stair attack – is going to have Ronaldo law hands upon him and cure him of all that ails him – Hallelujah!!!

So I get to Orlando Stadium to find a full American crew and 5 south Africans huddling in the corner feeling like strangers in our own country.

Let me tell you about yanks – they decide what they want the last minute and then expect it 5 minutes ago.

So there I was – 11pm in Orlando stadium, having coffe with John Legend and waiting for the BEP to finish their run through – I call them BEP now because we’re tight.

What I’m getting to, is that embrace every crazy moment the next 4 weeks are going to throw at you, encourage everyone you meet to do the same.

And take lots of photos.

Make sure your thermal jacket has place to store your sunscreen.

And remember, always wear your sunscreen.

You will never get this chance again so Live it, carry the brand with you and just enjoy.

Because no matter who lifts that trophy on July 11, South Africa has already won the World Cup.

Enjoy the football everyone and don’t ask me to explain offsides to you.

Boks For Bafana

I love where I work. Today I was lucky enough to see the rugby world champions as they visited our radio station to wish their South African soccer counterparts well for World Cup 2010.This Springbok team are something special and to see them in person was a privilege. Less than 3 years ago this very team and their inspirational captain, John Smit, united the country in a way not seen since 1995.



And here he was today doing it again, but this time in honour of the South African soccer team. It's a measure of how important rugby is in this country, perhaps not in terms of the numbers who actually follow
it, but certainly in terms of its massive cultural and political significance. We saw it in Soweto for the Super 14 Final 2 weeks ago, and we saw it again today. Rugby may not be the number 1 choice of the majority but it wields influence far beyond its support base.

It is important to all South Africans that the Springboks should take time out to wish Bafana Bafana well. After all, this is a team who has won a world cup, and even if they were competing against 20 nations rather than 200, winning a world cup is still a major achievement.

John Smit is a class act and he would be at home in any leadership role, not just in sport. I looked at this man today, at his calm and focused demeanour, and recognised that he has a role to play in the development of South Africa, beyond the sporting domain.

But for now it was enough to hear his words of encouragement to Bafana, his advice to feed off the positive mood in the country. He's been through a few down periods as Springbok captain
so he understands the power of public opinion. Ride it while you've got it and make it work for you...........that's how I read his message to Bafana today.

Who's Bringing the Gees ?

Less than 6 days to go and the gees is palpable. For the Irish among you let me explain. Gees is an Afrikaans word meaning vibe or spirit, and pronounced "gheese."  Believe me, there is plenty of gees around at the moment. I suspect that if the Irish players had known just how much gees there was going to be be in South Africa they would have tied Thierry Henry's hands behind his back before the match started.




The gees can be felt all over town, in fact all over the country. Cars sporting flags and wing mirror socks; buildings draped in the flags of the 32 participating countries; people of all ages and colours wearing Bafana Bafana shirts. We visited the V&;A Waterfront today with my sister Colette and her husband Pat (visiting from Ireland) and the atmosphere was crackling. In fact a large crowd was watching South Africa's final warm-up match against Denmark on a big outdoor screen. It is going to be absolutely electric come Friday. You want to watch the opening game (SA vs Mexico) in a crowd just for the atmosphere, but finding a venue with space might be a problem. Foreign fans can already be seen walking around the Waterfront and a massive ferris wheel 60% of the size of the London Eye has been erected to add to the fun.


The highway approaching Joburg airport has been festooned with flags and is guaranteed to induce goosebumps in arriving supporters. In fact goosebumps are in evidence everywhere. There is only one topic of conversation in town this week and the sense that we are about to live through something enormous is tangible.

For the past 6 years we've been hoping that the atmosphere would be like this. It's surpassing our best expectations. Roll on Friday. Roll on the next 5 weeks.