World Cup Diary July 05

From Sukhdev in South Africa...

I'm at the gate waiting to leave Cape Town and have some time before boarding to reflect on the journey I have taken.

I arrived in South Africa without too many preconceptions of what to expect. So I was open to being impressed, and though there have been some hiccups, I have been very impressed.

First and foremost, all the people in South Africa have been very friendly without regard to colour, creed, religion or whether they were from South Africa, or elsewhere. Having travelled both alone and with friends, I have seen that it was easy to make new friends and be catered for as a group. I did not see or hear from other travellers any issues with security and, as that was a major issue for people who would not travel here, it has become very apparent they were plainly wrong.

After the Uruguay vs Ghana game, transport back to Johannesburg from the stadium was efficient. I took a train to Jo'burg and walked from the stadium to my hostel, with two of the guys I was with. A police car stopped us and actually gave us a lift to the hostel saying it was not the best neighbourhood to walk in, so you still need to take some precautions. The arrival at the hostel was greeting by cheers by other travellers for the police car for the taxi ride.

Organisation has been great, though when things did go wrong or someone wanted to do something the organisers did not think of (see below), stewards were not able to help. A lack of training of the hundreds of stewards and police at these points became evident. But on the whole I cannot complain on a virtually easy trip to South Africa.

The knock-on effect of not enough people travelling to South Africa was the lack of supporters from the various countries participating. However, the Africans made up the numbers and at least black market tickets remained within the reach of all fans. Most tickets, especially in the group games, were sold at a fraction of the face value. Also, I saw a different way of supporting a team from the controversial vuvuzela to the african dancing where entire seating areas seem to have choreographed moves that were great to watch, especially if a game was a bit boring.

Even watching the games in the FIFA fan fests were great. I watched the England vs Germany game in one, and though the result made me very sad, the spectacle was good. I also watched the Brazil vs Holland game in a packed out fan fest in New Town in Johannesburg. It was almost like being at the game: lots of cheering, vuvuzelas and passion.

In the end, I had an opportunity to watch seven games. Some of them dragged on such as Switzerland vs Honduras in the cold at Bloemfontain to the classic of Uruguay vs Ghana. I have always wanted to see a penalty shoot out live, and though the Ghana team was unlucky, the atmosphere was electric, as clichéd as that sounds. I have found most games, especially the group games, had better second halves than first halves, which may reflect the pressure many of the teams were under, and fewer classics to be found.

Saying that the knockout stages have not been found too wanting. The Germans seem to have hit high gear, and the Spain vs Germany semi final has all the hallmarks of a great game. Germany beating England 4-1 was a little hard to take, but at least I was at the Argentina vs Germany game to see another fours goals from the German goal machine. Both teams seemed to be a little light in midfield, and that is where Spain excel, so I cannot see a repeat for the Germans. In fact I expect Spain to win. Being at the Argentina game, I could see how much space and time Swinesteiger had in the middle of the field. Though Ozil is getting all the plaudits, Swinesteiger's presence went unchecked by an Argentine midfield that only really contained Mascherano.

The Argentina vs Germany game was my last, and in Cape Town, which with Durban are my two favourite cities. However, I think the stadium in Cape Town is located in the wrong place on the coast. This limits access and many fans probably missed Germany's early goal because of the delays in getting in due to the sheer number of people trying to get in. At least it was good natured.

Apart from the football, Cape Town has a number of other things on offer from the V&A Waterfront and hiking Table Mountain, to taking a car to Cape Point and the numerous wine farms.

Durban was also a great tourist destination, where I went on safari to see elephants, rhino, giraffes, buffalo amongst others, but unfortunately no big cats this time. The beach is good and safe, and the water is warmer than in Cape Town.

I guess the only down points came in Rustenburg, where stewards did not know the names or how to get to the various park and rides. Maps and better training would have been useful here. Also, I arrived to the Uruguay vs Ghana game 30 minutes into the first half because stewards at the game gave me incorrect directions, and transport only moving in one direction. The volunteer stewards have done very well, but have been let down by the organisers who could have trained them better. Even during the most frustrating times, the stewards remained upbeat and tried to help where they could, so I cannot fault their good nature.

Anyway, now it is time to board and I am definitely ready to stop travelling from city to city and get back to my own bed. But South Africa is on my list of places to visit again.

Football Withdrawal Syndrome Kicks In

From Javier...

Two full days ahead without matches. Get ready for the shivers of football withdrawal syndrome. What will we do? Well look at repetitions I guess and YouTube videos of best goals to date.

First let me say how relieved I am at Spain's performance tonight. In spite of playing one of the toughest defense in the world, the players kept their calm and maintained their strategy and tempo. Once the Portuguese were a goal behind from the billiard-like passing Spanish goal they really did not have an answer. I did not count a single shot on the Spanish goal from the 1-0. It must be so frustrating to be one goal behind and not be able to get possession. A few notes about the game:

• In a previous entry I speculated about Spain that the "mental toughness of this new generation is very different".... and this was proved tonight. While I was close to despair early in the second half imagining how tragedy would play out, these guys kept their cool, kept possession, kept their passing game. And when they were 1-0 up they did not lose focus, rather they even sharpened it more.
• The change of Llorente on for Torres was brilliant; it added that extra spice needed to wear down the Portuguese defense and make their chances of a mistake just that extra bit more probable..... and the Portuguese changes were a disaster.....Spanish coach definitely outperformed Portuguese coach tonight
• Much was made of the Portuguese defense, but the ability of the Spaniards to recover the ball quickly and frequently in threatening positions was admirable; the Portuguese were very frustrated
• Much has been said that the Spaniards have weak physical form and lose steam over the game; tonight I saw no problems with form and rather at the end the Spanish form was better than the Portuguese
• Spain had luck, all the luck it missed against Switzerland
• Still Spain has a lot of possession and not enough effectiveness
• Casillas seems a little bit shaky....they will test from 25/30 yards in the next game
• With hindsight, the Swiss medicine was the best pill that a Doctor could order for the hyped Spanish players - but only with hindsight!

So we have this weekend two big World Cup classics:

Argentina - Germany (just like 2006)

Netherlands - Brazil (a common feature of World Cups)

And two other games: Uruguay - Ghana and Spain - Paraguay.

Four of the teams speak Spanish. Not sure if that has any relevance, rather an indicator of how well South America is doing in this World Cup. Spain has never had it so good to make it to the semifinals...... well, that is what we thought in 2002 and crashed against the South Koreans. But if Spain plays like today and Paraguay plays like today there is no doubt Spain will make it. I favour Uruguay over Ghana, Argentina over Germany and Brazil over Netherlands. We will see what the Simulator says over the next two days.

In the meantime, go cold turkey!

World Cup Diary June 27

From Sukhdev in South Africa....

On Friday I undertook the long journey by car from Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontain, which amounted to 700 kms. The scenery was amazing, going through lush greenery and driving through winding mountain roads. Every now and then I would see troops of monkeys crossing the roads, and breathtaking mountain views.

In Bloemfontain I met up with a number of mates, so now I am travelling with friends, which is nice though it was easy to meet people in South Africa. Both locals and other football fans have been very approachable.

The people in Bloemfontain were incredibly friendly, but the place was extremely cold. Unfortunately, the Switzerland vs Honduras game was a anticlimax to the day and the drive was the highlight. The ground was decidedly fuller in the second half than the first. I suspect the organisers allowed people in as the ground looked half empty. This had a knock on effect on the atmosphere. Apart from a small pocket of Hondurans cheering sporadically, the ground was fairly quiet. Even vuvuzelas sounds were dampened.

In contrast, the bars were a sea of red and loud singing and bell ringing could be heard from far outside the Waterfront mall.

On Saturday, we had another long drive, about 550 kms to Rustenburg. The scenery was a lot less impressive, but still interesting. After a few hundred kilometres I must admit, I was tired of driving.

Rustenburg is probably the worst organised place I have been to in South Africa. It was frustrating trying to navigate the different park 'n' rides, but it's still hard to get annoyed with the freindly staff, though they provided very little useful information.

The game, Ghana vs USA, unlike the day before, was a great highlight in the day. From the time we stepped onto the bus with Ghana and US fans trading chanting very loudly, to being in the ground right between Ghanian and US fans and a great game, the whole experience made all the frustrations worthwhile.

Today, Sunday, we drove to Johannesburg. I had my first experience in a fan park. The crowd was good, but most of the fans were people from various countries supporting the two teams playing, so the atmosphere was a little artificial. The place lacked the passion that real fans for a team provides.

But maybe I am biased, as the game I watched was England vs Germany. After that game and the later game also, how can FIFA continue to rule out TV replays for key game changing decisions. Saying that, the Germans looked too good for the English and probably deserved to go through. I can only hope we now let Capello go and get in a manager who understands our players, and doesn't insist on playing his own style.

I attended the second game, Argentina vs Mexico. Soccer City Stadium must be one of the best stadiums I have been to. It is steeply banked and sounds reverberate around. At times I couldn't hear my friends shouting at me right into my ear for the vuvuzelas.

The Argentines turned out in force. At the end the Argentines attacked in the first half, Argentine flags waved and fans jumped and chanted relentlessly. The passion was obvious. Just like in the England, there was a controversial decision on a goal. Argentina's first goal was clearly offside. The whole crowd saw it, and after texting a number of friends who were watching on TV, it was confirmed. Even the linesman seemed to have seen it, but the ref 'bottled it'.

So a few more teams are going home. So are England. However, I intend to keep enjoying the World Cup, though it may now feel like being at someone else's party.

World Cup's Day of Infamy

From Javier...

Second day of playoff games in World Cup are a day of scandal. In the England - Germany game, the Uruguayan linesman incredibly did not see what everybody else in the stadium could see: a Lampard strike hit the bar and bounced at least a foot inside the German goal. That would have been 2-2 and the game could have been very different from that moment on. No doubt that the English were incredibly damaged by this decision.

German goalkeeper suspended in air as he sees the ball crashing deep within the German goal.


In the Argentina - Mexico game, the first goal was preceded by a one yard offside by Tevez. Again the linesman error had a great influence on the game's result.




Certainly the debate over the next few days will center around the use of technology to avoid these refereeing disasters. FIFA will be under great pressure. The referees in the coming games are going to be very nervous and this can lead to more errors.

Photos from South Africa

From Sukhdev in South Africa....

Drop your guns off at the "Gun Drop Off" point........

Slovenia vs England in situ.......

World Cup Diary June 24

From Sukhdev in South Africa......

I woke up yesterday morning to see that there was a guard posted at the front door with a big stick. Of course he was sound asleep and snoring loudly. Maybe a new type of deterrent tactic I'm obviously oblivious to.

At Cape Town airport, I picked up my world cup tickets. I was walking around with a massive smile on my face. There were so many fans in the airport, it really felt like I was finally in the mix. When I got to Port Elizabeth there was big taxi line. With this in mind, you and the taxi driver both know you are going to get ripped off on the fare. Why, therefore does the taxi driver try to justify the price. Just tell me the pain!

Anyway, being at the England game was amazing. Great atmosphere with the singing drowning out the vuvuzelas. It felt like a home game with only a couple of pockets of Slovenia fans. England had a good game, and the performance was much better. Rooney still seems a little out of sorts, and it was good to see him brought off in the second half. There were a few moments when we had our hearts in our mouths as Slovenia moved forward, not least when Terry had to block a shot in the second half at last second. Overall, we had a number of chances and should have got the second.

The only deflater came when news spread of USA's late goal and that we had finished second. It was doubly bad for me, as my tickets were based on England winning the group. But nothing was going to dampen the English spirits as a chorus of "we're not going home" and "bring on the Germans" rang round the stadium (and the bars later).

That night, the English partied hard on the Boardwalk. As the Germany vs Ghana game came on, there were a few Germans in the bars, but overwhelmingly outnumbered by the English. The Germans had to endure a round of "5-1, even Heskey scored", but we knew they were going to be our next opponents. Bring on the Germans!

World Cup Diary June 22

From Sukhdev in South Africa....

So I've just arrived in Cape Town. While I was on the plane, the pilot gave us updates on the progress of the Group A games. Though most of the flight was not full of South Africans, the demise of the French team at the hands of the South Africans was greeted with huge cheers. The other game hardly registered. As a result Cape Town is definitely a party town tonight.

At the airport I was met by a Cameroonian taxi driver. He had hardly seen any games, but was quite happy for the work the world cup was bringing. As he put it, he would rather work now, as there will be nothing to do after the football is over. After a lively debate about his views on how women should be for producing offspring only and how I couldn't be of pure Indian heritage, we arrived at the hostel.

As normal, the hostel is full of a number of nationalities. I quickly made friends with a group of Norwegians with an impressive knowledge of the game. Inevitably they all supported one of the big English teams.

We watched both games intermittently. The South Korea vs Nigeria game produced some drama, and there was certainly a good level of support for the Nigerians from the crowd.

Anyway, after the long journey, I am going to turn in. Tomorrow is my first game - England vs Slovenia. Can't wait.