Vuvuzela South Africa

Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bafana Bafana Coach

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Parreira is optimistic about his team’s success against Japan. Bafana Bafana take on  Japan in a friendly international match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

And a Port Elizabeth Sangoma, Puseletso “Nkomiyahlaba” Maropane’, has predicted that Bafana Bafana will win by 2 –O.

Parreira – Bafana’s Biggest Challenge

Parreira’s biggest challenge will be in midfield where he needs to select a balanced unit that will give the necessary attacking impetus. And off course the strikers – who will he pair with Benni? Will it be Parker?

Bafana Bafana Can Win

Addressing a huge media contingent at the team hotel in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday (12 November 2009), Parreira said he believes his boys are up to it.

“We have to play our normal game against Japan, both sides have contrasting styles, but on the day it’s the team that will impose itself on the other that will win the match. We need to face this game with renewed confidence, we have to give our best and hope for a good start with a victory,” said Parreira.

Carlos Alberto Parreira

Bafana Bafana boss Carlos Alberto Parreira yesterday compared himself to former boss Joel Santana in a press conference.

“Me and Joel Santana are not too different, I just hope the players do not struggle to adapt to my way of doing things but our strength has always been technique, we cannot play physically because we don’t understand that style…we need to start winning matches again and building up a winning mentality starting against Japan,” said Parreira.
Captain Aaron Mokoena

At this media briefing, Parreira was flanked by Bafana Captain Aaron Mokoena and midfielder Elrio van Heerden – one of the trio of players in the national team who hail from Port Elizabeth. The others are Daine Klate and Kermit Erasmus.

“It’s really nice to be back home, and even better to be playing this match here in my hometown. I hope to get a chance on Saturday to also show what I can do in front of my home fans,” said Van Heerden.

Although Bafana Bafana have lost eight of their last nine matches – the win was against Madagascar! The boys seems to be full of confidence with a new (sort of) coach and brand-new Bafana jerseys. Oh and the Benni factor – wayward striker Benni Mc Carthy has been brought back into the fold to convert good play into points.

Japan Have Qualified for the World Cup

Japan have qualified for the 2010 World Cup and are on a reconnaissance mission to evaluate conditions in the host country ahead of the showpiece tournament.

Coach Takeshi Okada believes Bafana will offer his charges a stern test.

“We’re getting to play away, which is something we need to be doing,” Okada told reporters in Tokyo.

Image: Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bafana Bafana Coach – Safa

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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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The Republic of Ireland national football team will have to beat France in order to participate in the 2010 World Cup South Africa. This was decided in Zurich  this afternoon (Monday) in a controversial seeded draw.

The two sides (Ireland and France) last met in the 2006 World Cup qualifying stages sharing a 0-0 draw in Paris; a Thierry Henry goal was the difference between the two sides in Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland national football team will play their home tie first at Croke Park in Dublin on November 14 and then face a monumental task at the Stade de France in Paris on 18 November 2009.

Seeded Play-offs – Criticism

FIFA have been strongly criticized over the last minute decision to seed the play-offs. For many it looked like an attempt to ease the qualification of ‘big’ teams like France and Portugal, who attract big crowd and good television ratings.

Ireland coach, Giovanni Trapattoni criticized FIFA for seeding the play-offs – Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Slovenia were all unseeded meaning they could not play each other.

France, Portugal, Russia, and Greece entered the draw as the seeded teams.

Irish fans were hoping to draw Greece but instead Ukraine will travel to Athens for the first leg. Portugal will play Bosnia-Herzegovina while Russia take on Slovenia.

France has Advantage of Playing the Second Leg at Home

To make matters worse for Trapattoni’s Ireland team, France will also have the advantage of playing the second leg of the play-offs at home, in the Stade de France in Paris.

But that is not the Republic’s only worry. According to the Irish Times, to reach South Africa, Trapattoni’s side are going to have to buck a worrying trend – Ireland have yet to reach a major finals by beating European opposition in a play-off situation.

Seeded Playoff Draw

Portugal, Greece, and Russia, the three other seeded nations in the draw, will all have to play the second legs of their ties away from home.

• Republic of Ireland v France
• Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Greece v Ukraine
• Russia v Slovenia

* Two-legged ties to be played on November 14th and 18th

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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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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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