Vuvuzela South Africa

Somehow it feels like that day that FIFA President Sepp Blatter opened the Envelope and said South Africa – was just the other day. The image of Madiba holding the solid gold World Cup Trophy above his head was seeping into our minds as we realised that the World Cup  was truly coming to Africa, to South Africa in 2010.

I know that sport inspires passion and soccer, well one can look at fans in South America and Europe and see that teair teams become part of their lives, even part of their families. But in Africa… well in under a year the rest of the world can come here to find out how masses of Africans feel about soccer.

Fan Sites in the Host Cities

Even if the majority of South Africans won’t be able to attend the matches, we’ll be in the fan parks, in the pubs and taverns, mixing with our brothers and sisters in football from across the planet – joining by television and Internet with those who are not with us in person to celebrate the biggest sporting spectacle in the world.

This Blog will try to capture some of that excitement, try to find the unusual and unexpected stories relating to South African Soccer and the 2010 FIFA World Cup and of course, our icon of South African football – the Vuvuzela and our slogan making a beautiful noise for the beautiful game.

Today we salute host city Johannesburg, with its spectacular Soccer City, where the opening and closing matches of the World Cup will take place. Of course, we love their logo – sure you can guess why.

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Ten-man Ghana triumphed with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Brazil to become the first African team to claim the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Daniel Addo Sent Off

Ghana, who had Daniel Addo sent off eight minutes before the end of the first half, produced great defensive display to deny the South Americans. Caught up the field as Brazil sprinted clear, Addo made a desperate tackle on the halfway line.

It was clearly a foul, but Addo was not the last defender and the challenge did not deserve a straight red card.

Penalty Shoot Out Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu Scores

Both sides had missed two penalties out of the first five to add to the tension in the stadium by sending the game to sudden death.

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu scored the winner as Ghana became the first African team to win the tournament and the ten-man Black Satellites became the first African team to claim the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Ghana lifted the trophy before the 67,000 fans at Cairo Stadium.

Player of the FIFA U-20 World Cup

Ghana’s striker, Dominic Adiyiah, was named the best player of the competition as he scored nine goals.
According to Xinhua, before the match, Ghana’s coach Sellas Tetteh said, “We’re not surprised by our performance because we really played well in the qualifying competition. It doesn’t matter who we meet next. We are 90 minutes away from the trophy.” After the match, Tetteh said that the Black Satellites deserved to win the championship because his team made great efforts.

Earlier on Friday, Hungary beat Costa Rica 3-1 to take bronze.

Photo: Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah receives the Golden Shoe award after Ghana overcoming Brazil at the 17th FIFA U-20 World Cup final match in Cairo, capital of Egypt, Oct. 16, 2009. Ghana won the championship 4-3 on penalties, becoming the first African team to win the tournament. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning)

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Too much action and exciting matches in the PSL in South Africa this weekend, when the top soccer teams in the country clash in the Premier Soccer League.

Orlando Pirates vs Santos

On Saturday PSL log leaders Orlando Pirates will do all they can to pick up the points from an in-form Santos at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. First place Pirates have an opportunity to keep the chasing pack of Bloemfontein Celtic, BIDVest Wits and SuperSport United at bay if they can defeat The People’s Team over the weekend, while fifth placed Santos look to register their third consecutive victory and reduce the gap between themselves and Pirates to a single point.

Midfield livewire Dikgang Mabalane says that they will be focusing on nothing else but a victory when they host Engen Santos at the Orlando stadium on Saturday night.

Speaking to Orlandopiratesfc.com, Mabalane said that the two back-to-back draws they registered against BIDVest Wits and Free State Stars had fired the team up for a victory.

“We are more spirited by the fact that we played two draws in our last two league matches, and collected only two points from a possible six. The pressure to stay on top is catching-up with us, and thus making this weekend’s match a must-win for the team.”

Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns

It is a gigantic battle – Amakhosi vs the Brazilians. Mamelodi Sundowns will host Kaizer Chiefs in the pick of the weekend’s PSL fixtures with both sides desperate to be crowned kings of Gauteng at the Super Stadium.

Although Orlando Pirates is log leader at this point, this Saturday’s fixture will go a long way in determining which of the two sides will threaten the Buccaneers at the top of the table and try to halt SuperSport’s charge for a hat trick of championships.

Just one point separates the sides, with Chiefs on 13 points, while Downs are two positions below Amakhosi in ninth spot.

Amakhosi Fans to Fill the Super Stadium

Kaizer Chiefs Public Relations Manager Thebe Mohatle has urged the Amakhosi fan-base to come out in large numbers for the clash tomorrow against Mamelodi Sundowns. Mohatle added that beating Sundowns on the field would require outnumbering the Brazilians faithful in the stands.

He said on the club’s website, “It is very important that we take over at the Super Stadium as we have done at other stadiums around the country… If we are to beat Sundowns with goals on the field, we have to beat them with numbers on the stands.”

Golden Arrows vs Bidvest Wits

Golden Arrows entertain Bidvest Wits at the Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday.
Abafana Bes’thende have had to settle for a share of the spoils in seven out of ten league encounters and are now eighth in the standings despite an early-season blitz.

Wits coach Roger De Sa is eager to see his charges close the two-point gap on league leaders Orlando Pirates. The Clever Boys will have to try to gain a maximum haul.

Ajax Cape Town v Bloem Celtic

Ajax Cape Town will be boosted by the news that Foppe de Haan has been appointed as their new head coach ahead of the clash with Bloemfontein Celtic at Newlands Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

However, the Dutch mentor will only take over from November, meaning Jan Pruijn will oversee the first-team until his arrival.

The Urban Warriors have not won a match at home yet this season and will want to end their drought this weekend. However, they face an unbeaten Celtic side who are on a mission to put last season behind them.

Free State Stars v Platinum Stars

Steve Komphela will face his former team Free State Stars for the first time when his Platinum Stars side goes in search of their second win of the season. Languishing in 15th place, the Tycoons who show so much promise, will be looking to find their feet in the PSL after a disappointing start,

The Bethlehem outfit on the other hand, will go into the match confident with a clean bill of health and no suspensions. Captain Duncan Lechesa is confident they can beat Platinum Stars.

Moroka Swallows v Maritzburg

Moroka Swallows meet Maritzburg United at the Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

This was not a good season to follow the Birds. The Beautiful Birds have made a terrible start to the season and really need a victory if they want to avoid a relegation scrap.

This is the sort of game, which the Soweto club simply has to win.

The Team of Choice has made a slightly better start to the PSL campaign this year than the Birds. Coach Gordon Igesund is hoping that his side are able to stop gifting the opposition goals.

Black Aces v SuperSport United

Mpumalanga Black Aces will be looking to continue their unbeaten run at home when they host the reigning league champions SuperSport United.

But it will not be easy, as Matsatsantsa will be looking to close the three-point gap between themselves and leaders Orlando Pirates.

The Tshwane side will be looking to get back to winning ways after their 1-1 draw against Golden Arrows.

Jomo Cosmos v AmaZulu

Jomo Cosmos must be tired of sitting at the bottom and will be looking to move up the PSL table when they host AmaZulu at the Rand Stadium on Saturday.

Cosmos currently lie 16th in the standings, two points behind 14th place Usuthu with both sides enduring a poor start to the season.

Take a look and see Kickoff’s predictions of the scores for this weekend’s PSL fixtures.

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Ajax Cape Town have announced the appointment of Foppe de Haan as their new head coach following the departure of Muhsin Ertugral for Turkish Super League side Sivasspor.

The Right Man for the Urban Warriors

Urban Warriors CEO George Comitis revealed in a statement on Thursday afternoon: “After a long deliberation and thorough analysis of all the applications that we have received, we believe that we have found the right man to steer us forward.” Reports football 365.co.za

Foppe de Haan (66) has experienced much success as the former coach of Dutch SC Heerenveen and the Netherlands national under-21 team. He brought SC Heerenveen back to the Eredivisie in 1993 and managed to reach second place in the Dutch Premier Division, “de Eredivisie,” with Heerenveen in 2000. This led the team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Head Coach of Netherlands U21 Team

Following his stint at SC Heerenveen, Foppe de Haan was successively appointed as head coach of the Netherlands national under-21 football team. He led the team to victory in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

In 2008 he coached the Dutch team to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament for the first time in their history, leading his side to the quarterfinals where they were ultimately defeated by Argentina after extra time.

“Mr de Haan will be arriving tomorrow evening and will remain with Ajax Cape Town until after the MTN8 Cup Final after which he will return to Holland to tie-up his business affairs before returning to South Africa. He will start officially in November and remain until the end of the season by which time we will have decided on the way forward with his input,”concluded Comitis.

Photo: Foppe de Haan, football356.co.za

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Well Maradona’s boys are on their way to South Africa. To the delight of this football crazy nation, the two time World cup winners (1978 and 1986) managed to pull off a 1 – 0 score. A solitary goal from Mario Bolatti gave them victory over their worthy opponents  at the Estadio Centenario, Montevideo in Uruguay last night in front of a very disappointed home crowd. This win buys  Argentina a ticket to 2010 World Cup South Africa along with their emotional coach, Diego Maradona.

Can’t Imagine a World Cup Without Argentina

One could not imagine a World Cup without the Argentine team and not to be able to see players the likes of Lionel Messi, Martin Palermo and practically a whole team of superstars.

Both Argentina and Uruguay went into the match knowing that winner of the match will automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup Finals.

Missing Out on a World Cup Place

Argentina was facing a threat of missing out on a World Cup place for the fist time in 40 years, while Uruguay was desperate to ensure their World Cup berth this time because the two-time World Cup champions failed to qualify for the last world cup in 2006.

Maradona’s boys have now qualified directly for the 2010 World Cup as one of the top four teams of this region.

Coach Diego Maradona dedicated his win to “all Argentinians, except the journalists,” and he also wished the Uruguay team good luck in the playoffs and said he hoped they managed to qualify.

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