Vuvuzela South Africa

Robert Enke (32) the Hannover and Germany goalkeeper who was expected to be part of his country’s 2010 World Cup squad, was killed after being hit by a train close to a level crossing near his home.

According to the Guardian, Jörg Neblung, a close friend and adviser of Enke, later said that the 32-year-old goalkeeper had killed himself. “I can confirm that it was suicide,” he said. “Robert took his own life shortly before six o’clock. A press conference in Hanover on Wednesday will reveal more details.”

Never Recovered from Daughter’s Death

Enke’s daughter Lara died in 2006 of a rare heart condition when she was two and he leaves a wife, Teresa, and an eight-month-old daughter they had adopted. Friends say that he never seemed to recover from his daughter’s death.

Enke’s car was found near the scene, unlocked, with his wallet on the seat. The two train drivers reported seeing a man on the tracks and applied the brakes while travelling at about 100mph but could not stop in time, police reported.

Fans Keep Vigil at Hanover Stadium

Fans flocked last night to Hannover’s stadium and were laying flowers and lighting candles at the gates in memory of their captain, who had been with the club since 2004.

“We are all shocked. We can’t find the words,” national team manager Oliver Bierhoff said from Bonn, where the national team assembled.

Enke played eight matches for Germany. After Jens Lehmann retired following the European Championship in 2008, Enke was promoted to No. 1 for Germany, but was set back by a broken hand.

Enke also Played for Barcelona

Robert Enke debuted for the national team in a 1-0 loss to Denmark in 2007. His last international game was a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on Aug. 12.

He made 196 Bundesliga appearances and also played for Borussia Moenchengladbach after starting his career in East Germany at Jena. He also played for foreign clubs, among them CD Teneriffa, Fenerbahce, Barcelona and Benfica.

Robert Enke – Peta

Robert Enke  also loved animals and was known in Germany for his campaign with Peta (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) Peta have posted an In Memoriam on their website – Robert Enke – The world had lost a great friend of Animals.

Images: Robert Enke – Peta

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Two players have been dropped from the original Bafana Bafana Squad and replaced.  All but five are still to arrive  South Africa to prepare for the friendlies against Japan and Jamaica later this month.

Every young boy kicking a tennis ball around in a dusty township street dreams of wearing the  Bafana Bafana Jersey. I mean, playing for the senior national team at any sport, representing your country, must be the ultimate for any young sportsman or woman – but obviously not for Mamelodi Sundowns striker Mabhudi Khenyeza, who has gone awol – again

Replaced by Richard Henyekane

Khenyeza was part of the 24-man squad that was announced on Thursday (05 November 2009) but failed to honour the national team call-up. The striker also failed to answer any calls from the national team regarding his absence.

Golden Arrows striker Richard Henyekane will take Khenyeza’s place. Also out of the squad due to injury is Mamelodi Sundowns defender Siboniso Gaxa. He is replaced by Lance Davids of Ajax Cape Town.

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Who says girls on the soccer field are too soft? Look and see why I say girls are even rougher and tougher than guys. Not that we want our own Banyana Banyana to employ these tactics, but a University of New Mexico soccer player has become an Internet celebrity for the wrong reasons.

Girl Soccer Player Pulls Hair

According to the Huffington Post Junior defender Elizabeth Lambert was suspended Friday for her infractions the day before during a 1-0 loss to BYU in a Mountain West Conference semifinal. Lambert is seen in video from the game throwing elbows, colliding with several players and then pulling the ponytail of a BYU player who went crashing to the ground.

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Benni McCarthy is Back in the Bafana Bafana Squad

When Carlos Alberto Parreira returned as head coach, the writing was on the wall, Benni Mc Carthy would be asked to come back. The door to the Bafana Bafana team would once again be opened to the man who has scored 31 goals in 76 caps for his country.

Coaching Team in Agreement

According to football 365 Assistant coach Jario Leal says the recalling of McCarthy after nine months of self-imposed sabbatical was done in consultation with returning head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira along with Pitso Mosimane.

“The return of Benni was done after we spoke about it between myself, Pitso [Mosimane] and Parreira,” Leal said at a press conference on Thursday. “He [McCarthy] is the main striker in the country and this is the time to bring Benni back and see how he does in the last two games of the year. He is a good player and we trust Benni is going to help us in the way forward.”

Bafana Bafana Squad – Best Talent Available

Carlos Alberto Parreira has announced his intentions to be a no-nonsense coach by pulling no punches to ensure that the best available talent will from now on be used in the Bafana Bafana squad – and that means selecting people who can score goals.

SAFA has announced a radically new looking 24-man squad to represent Bafana in their upcoming friendly internationals against Japan and Jamaica.

U20 World Cup Amajita stars Kermit Erasmus, Daylon Claason and Darren Keet have been selected in the squad along with Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy and in-form SuperSport United winger Daine Klate.

Match Times

The first match against Japan will take place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 14 November 2009. Kick off is at 15h30.
The second match against Jamaica will be played at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on the Tuesday, 17 November. Kick off is at 20h00.

Bafana Bafana Squad for Japan and Jamaica Friendlies

Goalkeepers:
Rowen Fernandez           Arminia Bielefeld, Germany
Moeneeb Josephs           Orlando Pirates
Darren Keet                        BIDvest Wits

Defenders:
Siboniso Gaxa                Sundowns
Bongani Khumalo         SuperSport
Morgan Gould                 SuperSport
Tsepo Masilela               Maccabi Haifa, Israel
Aaron Mokoena              Portsmouth, England
Anele Ngcongca              KRC Genk, Belgium
Lucas Thwala                     Orlando Pirates
Siyabonga Sangweni       Golden Arrows

Midfielders:
Daine Klate                            SuperSport United
Renilwe Letsholonyane    Kaizer Chiefs
Daylon Claasen                      Ajax Amsterdam, Holland
MacBeth Sibaya                    Rubin Kazan, Russia
Teko Modise                            Orlando Pirates
Elrio Van Heerden                 Blackburn Rovers, England
Siphiwe Tshabalala                Kaizer Chiefs
Kagisho Dikgacoi                   Fulham, England

Strikers:
Benni McCarthy             Blackburn Rovers, England
Katlego Mphela             Sundowns
Kermit Erasmus             Excelsior Rotterdam, Holland
Bernard Parker              FC Twente, Holland
Mabhudi Khenyeza        Sundowns

Photo: Benni Mc Carthy Football 365

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The South African Football Association (SAFA) is gearing for another round of recognising and acknowledging talent. The second Annual SAFA Awards Ceremony will be staged on the 19th of November 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Vote For Your Favourite Players and Coaches

This year’s SAFA Awards 2009 event will include four categories; winners of each will be determined by football supporters via sms through the SABC television and radio stations. Promos of the following categories will be broadcast by the SABC from this weekend so watch out and vote for your favourite players and coaches.

Players Awards  -  Men National Teams – Nominees

Bafana Bafana Players – Steven Pienaar, Siboniso Gaxa and Macbeth Sibaya

• Steven Pienaar – is a creative midfielder who engineers attacking moves for his English Premiership club Everton. Pienaar has incredible vision and ball distribution prowess, this attributes are but two of the many that makes him an attacking force for Bafana Bafana.
• Siboniso Gaxa – is a solid as a rock defender, his defensive attributes are complemented by his ability to dribble past defenders; a rare gift for defensive players indeed. Gaxa’s level of fitness enables him to make overlapping runs, and to create goal scoring opportunities with his quality crosses. He is a consistent performer at his club Mamelodi Sundowns and the National team.
• Macbeth Sibaya – is an organiser in the middle of the park with strong leadership qualities. He takes no prisoners with his ball winning tackles, and he has the ability to turn defence into attack. His attitude and personality always prevail when he wears the Bafana jersey; it is also the same when he plays for his Russian team Rubin Kazan.

National Under 20- Amajita – Nominees : Thulani Serero,Philane Khwela and Daylon Claasen

• Thulani Serero is described by football connoisseurs as an Intelligent Player who reads the game very well. Serero is highly technical; he is a very good passer of the ball with the ability to position himself very well for goalscoring opportunities. Serero has done exceptionally well for his club Ajax Cape Town and for the National under 20 team, Amajita.
• Philane Khwela has a great work rate which is complemented by his strong technical ability. Khwela gets the Amajita team going through his leadership qualities, and that has propelled him to play for Feyenoord in Holland.
• Daylon Claasen is regarded as the general who control the match tempo from the middle of the park. Claasen is very intelligent and he reads the game very well. He has a strong willpower and it manifest itself at his team in Holland, Ajax Amsterdam.

Senior Women’s National Team – Banyana Banyana : Noko Matlou, Kylie – Ann Louw and Nompumelelo Nyandeni

• Noko Matlou is a prolific striker who scores from any position. She was Voted African Player of the year 2008, the first South African player to win this award. She was a joint top goal scorer at the 6th African Women’s Championships and joint Player of the tournament. Matlou Scored an amazing 33 goals in 26 games. She Plays for Brazilian FC in Limpopo.
• Kylie – Ann Louw is a key midfield playmaker in Banyana and is the main provider of great passes to the forwards. Presently she is the Captain of Banyana and marshals the team with aplomb. Louw was awarded a top scholarship to study in Texas in the USA in 2009. She has 52 caps and 5 goals. She graduated from the SAFA/LOTTO High Performance Centre project and played in Basetsana as well. She Played for Luso FC before moving to the USA.
• Nompumelelo Nyandeni is a Solid midfield general who can also revert to playing in other positions on the left and right as a midfielder or striker. She was selected for Banyana at age 15. Nyandeni has amassed 79 caps and scored 23 goals. She is a Stalwart in midfield for Banyana and she is also a graduate of the SAFA/LOTTO High Performance centre programme. Nyandeni has also played for Basetsana; she was voted Player of the Tournament at the recent SASOL play-offs in Cape Town. Nyandeni is a captain of Detroit FC in Mpumalanga.

Coaching Awards - Gavin Hunt, Styles Phumo, Jomo Sono and Serame Letsoaka

• Gavin Hunt. He won back to back Absa Premiership titles with Supersport United; he had to keep Matsantsa a Pitori focused all the way because of the sustained pressure by other teams. Gavin was recently appointed as a Technical Assessor for Bafana Bafana.
• Styles Phumo. He guided United FC from the Free State to the finals of the Vodacom National Play offs, after a long and tough season in the Vodacom league, Phumo successfully navigated United FC to the National First Division, after defeating Batau FC in a pulsating final that was decided on penalties after a two all draw on regulation time.
• Jomo Sono. Jomo Sono defied the odds and made a greatest comeback to the Absa Premiership after his club Jomo Cosmos was relegated in the previous season. It was on an easy comeback, Jomo Sono had to win the National First Division Inland stream first, and decide Ezenkosi’s fate in the gruelling National Play offs. Sono was also roped in as a Technical Assessor for Bafana Bafana.
• Serame Letsoaka. As coach of the National under 20 side, Letsoaka has qualified Amajita for the African Youth championships in Rwanda earlier in the year, the team reached the semi finals and automatically qualified for the under 20 FIFA World Cup in Egypt. Letsoaka’s boys reached the last 16 of the tournament and lost to Ghana in extra time. Letsoaka has now assumed his new responsibility as SAFA’s Technical Director.

More award categories to be announced – source South African Football Association.

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