Vuvuzela South Africa

On Wednesday 3 March Bafana Bafana will celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban with a friendly against Namibia.

100-Day Countdown to 2010 World Cup

In the stands on the 100- day countdown night will be a man who knows what winning is all about. Former Brazilian Captain, Cafu will be in town to attend the dinner at the ICC the previous night, and the match on Wednesday. Cafu twice won the World Cup as captain of the Brazilian side.

Joining him will be a line up of former Bafnan Bafana Players. FIFA President Sepp Blatter will also be in town. March 2 officially marks the 100-day countdown.

Big Screen at Moses Mabida

Overseas-based Players in Bafana Bafana Squad

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Parreira has included some overseas-based players when he announced his squad to face Namibia. The international friendly encounter will be played on Wednesday, 03 March at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Kick off is at 20h30.

“It’s a profound gesture for us; to celebrate 100 days before the World Cup demonstrates how close we are to the event, and we are glad to be participating in the proceedings. But over and above that this match comes at a time when the leagues around the world are at a crucial stage; so we have tried not to disrupt the club’s programs too much. At most we have taken three from each team but still keeping with the core of our squad. This is a chance to see some players more – like defender Bryce Moon ; who I haven’t seen in a Bafana Bafana jersey in a long time and also because he will not be able to travel to Brazil and Germany with us,” said Parreira on the Safa website.

But the coach was quick to point out that it does not mean that the players who are not in this team have lost their places in the squad for the World Cup.

“No, even though I have a good idea of what my final squad will look like, there are still places up for grabs, so I still have to see other players as we enter the final road of our preparations,” added Parreira.

Bafana Bafana Squad
BARON Emille (GK)
DAVIDS Lance
CARNELL Bradley
FRANSMAN Bevan
GOULD Morgan
JALI Andile
KHUBONI Thanduyise
KHUNE Itumeleng (GK)
KLATE Daine
LETSHOLONYANE Reneilwe
MODISE Teko
MOKOENA Lebohang
MOON Bryce
MPHELA Katlego
NGCONGCA Anele
SANGWENI Siyabonga
SEGOLELA Tlou
SERERO Thulani
THWALA Lucas
TOM Mzivukile
TSHABALALA Siphiwe
XULU Siyanda

Popularity: 35% [?]

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has challenged his Manchester United counterpart Wayne Rooney that he will score more goals to finish as the top scorer of the Premier League this season.

At the moment, both Rooney and Drogba’s are totaling 23 in all competitions.

I want to be the Top Goal Scorer – Drogba

“I want to be the top scorer in England. I want to make sure people remember ‘Drogba the Warrior’ in this campaign,” The Sun quoted Drogba, as saying.

“My absence at the African Nations Cup could end up being decisive. It gave an advantage to Wayne and my other rivals, but I warn them I shall be fighting until the very last match,” he added.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Jermain Defoe is next in the scoring chart with 20 goals, followed by Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez (18) and Darren Bent of Sunderland (15), but the race is on between the two leading hitmen.

Race Between Drogba and Rooney

The Ivory Coast star holds Rooney in the greatest of respect, but is determined to overtake him and then keep him at arm’s length.

“The race between Rooney and me will be beautiful and it is my objective to arrive at the finishing post first. I don’t think about the exact number of goals I shall need, but it will be necessary for me to pass 30 if I am to be the No 1 – and this is possible,” Drogba said.

Top Goal Scorer

If one wants to know anything about these two players, it’s a good idea to listen to the  the real fans, who watch them week in and week out. So I went to RedCafe.net – a Manchester United forum and picked up these following snippets from a Rooney vs Drogba thread.

Surprisingly, they weren’t as biased as one would think:

one thing that Drogba wins over Rooney by a mile is aerial ability. He is also stronger than Rooney, not that there is much in it. You cant discredit Drogba as a footballer, he is top class, not a disgrace. Can be a bit of a cunt on the field, but clearly shows his class off it.

Drogba is a world class striker. Don’t care how much of a twat he is, as a footballer he’s brilliant. He routinely makes some of the world’s best centre backs look like Sunday league players, the only other striker you can say that of is Torres.

They are very different types of players TBH. Rooney has a much better all round game, and attitude. He contributes all over the field and he lifts players around him.

Drogba’s ‘all round game’ is extremely underrated on this website.

Wasn’t Drogba the one who said at the beginning of the 07/08 season that Ronaldo’s goal record the previous season (23) was a bit of a fluke and he wouldn’t be able to match that again?

Drogba always give me the impression that he could take the whole opponent’s defence by himself. Rooney is the best all rounder, and top goal scorer.

Drogba is quality but I would never take him ahead of Rooney regardless of age.

Pics of Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba football365.com

Popularity: 12% [?]

Jabulani Angola

Confederation of African Football (CAF) and adidas has unveiled the Official Match Ball for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Like the 2010 World Cup Match Ball, the Afcon ball is called ‘Jabulani Angola’ and differs from the World Cup Jabulani only in colour.

Jabulani Angola

16 teams will use the Jabulani Angola ball as they battle to become champions of Africa from January 10th to 31st in Angola

Jabulani Angola is inspired by the yellow, red and black Angolan flag and also features the ground-breaking Grip’n’Grove profile, which will help provide Africa’s best players with a stable ball flight and perfect grip under all conditions.

“After the spectacular success of the first ever official ball for CAF, the “Wawa Aba” in Ghana 2008, we are proud to present to you the new official ball for African football for the next two years.”

“I have confidence that the Jabulani Angola will be the perfect icon for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations,” said Amr Shaheen, Marketing Director of CAF.

The word Jabulani – which means “to celebration” in isiZulu – reflects not only Africa’s but the entire World’s approach to the Orange Africa Cup of Nations.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Manager - Unhappy about CAF in January

The African Nations Cup happens every second year in January and every time the English Premier League Managers pretend that they never saw it coming and start complaining about losing their best players.

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Manager

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager will see midfield duo Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue depart for Angola in January for duty with Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively.

And while the competition will be completed at the end of January, Wenger feels that the after-effects could still be hampering players involved for the remainder of the Premier League campaign.

So far in this festive period, Wenger, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and Portsmouth manager Avram Grant have hit out at the timing of the competition.

The African Nations Cup has become a bigger nuisance for Premier League bosses as more Didier Drogbas and Michael Essiens make the switch to England’s top clubs.

The fact that the competition is held in January, for around three weeks, which symbolises an important phase in a club’s title chase, or battle against the dreaded drop, is another cause for concern.

FIFA Wants AFCON held in July by 2016

Last year when this same unhappiness erupted amongst the European managers, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that he wanted the tournament to be held in either June or July by 2016, to fit in with the international calendar.

While this may benefit European clubs and several of the continent’s stars, many countries in central and west Africa will not get a chance to host the CAF event as it will coincide with their rain-soaked season. But to date, no official noise has been made with regard to any changes.

According to football365 Players missing by club:

4: Portsmouth (Nadir Belhadj, Hassan Yebda, Nwankwo Kanu, Aruna Dindane)
4: Chelsea (Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, John Mikel Obi)
3: Man City (Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kelvin Etuhu)
3: Hull City (Kamel Ghilas, Daniel Cousin, Seyi Olofinjana)
2: Arsenal (Alex Song, Emmanuel Eboue)
2: Everton (Joseph Yobo, Ayegbeni Yakubu)
2: Fulham (John Pantsil, Dickson Etuhu)
1: Tottenham (Benoit Assou-Ekotto)
1: Aston Villa (Moustapha Salifou)
1: Sunderland (John Mensahtoke, Mamady Sidibe)
1: Bolton (Danny Shittu)
1: Burnley (Andre Bikey)
1: Wigan (Richard Kingson)
1: Wolves (George Elokobi)
0: Man Utd
0: Liverpool
0: West Ham
0: Birmingham
0: Blackburn

Photo: Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Manager – football365.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

France captain Thierry Henry admitted he had handled the ball in the build-up to a controversial goal that sent France to the World Cup at the expense of Ireland on Wednesday.

Talk about Maradona’s  Hand of God, for the Boys from Ireland, this tragedy at the Stade de France will now be known as Henry’s Le Hand of God. After a thrilling performance by Ireland at the Stade de France, French Captain Thierry Henry’s hand was all that stood between the Republic of Ireland team and the 2010 World Cup South Africa.

Robbie Keane Scored for Ireland

Trapattoni’s Irish squad had forced the second leg of their playoff to extra time at the Stade de France after Robbie Keane’s 32nd minute opener levelled the tie after France’s 1-0 win in Dublin last Saturday.

But despite an overall dominant display by the visitors, their hopes were crushed when defender William Gallas scored from close range in the eighth minute of the first extra-time period to level the scores and send France on their way to South Africa.

The decisive pass had come from Henry, who had blatantly handled the ball a fraction of a second earlier to the right of Shay Given’s goal as the Irish fought to clear the ball.

Thierry Henry – Not His Decision

Thierry Henry said it was the referee’s job, not his to make the decision, not his!

And the Swedish Ref, Martin Hanson waved away Irish protests, which France coach Raymond Domenech would not be drawn on the issue.

Ireland are rightfully  devastated after missing out on the World Cup because of what coach Giovanni Trapattoni called a “great mistake” by Swedish referee Martin Hansson.

Popularity: 10% [?]