Vuvuzela South Africa

Bafana Bafana Head Coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira has called on fans to be loud and proud and blow their vuvuzelas at Bafana matches. He even likens the vuvuzela to Bafana’s 12th man.

Vuvuzelas and Rugby at Orlando Stadium

For those who do not yet know what a vuvuzela is, well they haven’t watched a South African soccer match. And after the two rugby Super 14 semi and finals at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto the past two weekends, there is talk that the rugby fraternity is going to lobby for the use of vuvuzelas in rugby stadiums as well.

The Recent Comrades Marathon was run to the blast of vuvuzelas all the way from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. In fact the Vuvuzela has become a symbol of sport and hero’s and encouragement and support. It is a way of paying tribute to our heros and letting them know they are making us proud.

Vuvuzelas are about South African Pride

Vuvuzelas are certainly about South African pride. On football 365 Coach CAP says:  “The support, it touched us in the game against Colombia – the excitement, the tension.  “We need the vuvuzela. It is our 12th player and it will help us a lot.”

The Brazilian also vowed to make the host nation proud during the June 11 to July 11 finals.

He added: “Our goal is to go as far as possible in the World Cup. Our mission is to make the country proud.”

Image: Vuvuzelas at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban. football 365.com

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Bafana Bafana Captain Aaron Mokoena will be writing his name in the record books on Monday when he leads his team onto the field  against Guatamala for his 100th appearance for the South African National Team.

The International friendly against Guatamala (World Rankk 114) Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Monday night, should give a confident  Bafana Bafana (Fifa/coca cola Rank 83) the ideal opportunity to consolidate the midfield and get a bit more impetus upfront. Kick-off for Bafana Bafana vs Guatamala is at 8.30pm

Aaron Mokoena earned his fist cap for Bafana Bafana against Botswana in Gaborone during the Cosafa Castle Cup on 20 February, 1999,  playing at the back with Matthew Booth . Trott Moloto was the coach at the time. It has taken him 11 years to reach his 100 Caps.

Read the interview with him on the safa website.

Bafana Bafana Players with 50 or More Caps

Mokoena leads a group of elite Bafana Bafana players with 50 caps or more.

99 – Aaron Mokoena
79 – Benni McCarthy
77 – Siyabonga Nomvete
74 – Shaun Bartlett
73 – John Moshoeu
72 – Delron Buckley
70 – Lucas Radebe
67 – Andre Arendse
67 – Sibusiso Zuma
66 – Helman Mkhalele
62 – Mark Fish
58 – Phil Masinga
56 – MacBeth Sibaya

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With a sold-out 76 700 crowd, and the presence of president Jacob Zuma and Bafana Bafana, the opening of  Soccer City with this afternoon’ s Nedbank Cup Final between AmaZulu and Bidvest Wits is expected to be a heluva event.

But the question is – can AmaZulu beat Wits this afternoon in the first ever match at the revamped at Soccer City? (kickoff at 3pm) The game between Usuthu and the Clever Boys will be broadcast to over 22 million viewers worldwide.

Bafana Bafana at Soccer City

The presence of Bafana, less than three weeks before they play the opening World Cup match against Mexico at the same venue on June 11, will no doubt see the national team given a reception that will lift the roof of the awesome revamped stadium.
AmaZulu vs Wits – Even Match

AmaZulu is my hometown team, based at Moses Mabhida Stadium you are talking about, so I agree with Usuthu coach Neil Tovey that the boys can do it. I hope they just keep their discipline tight, having suffered a red card in each of their last three games, while two games ended in penalties.

Usuthu last brought home some silverware in 1992 and this could be the year that two Durban teams write their names into the history books of South African soccer – Golden Arrows have already taken one trophy this season (MTN8).

Even Match

All experts seem to agree that this Nedbank Cup Final is a very even match.

According to football365.com Wits coach Roger de Sa believes AmaZulu have the edge going into the final.
“Sure we have had an easier run-in, and that gives AmaZulu the edge. I do not have a problem with that. But it will be close,” he said.

“There was little to choose between the teams in the league. AmaZulu finished ninth and we ended 10th. We have not won a cup in 15 years and they have gone 18 years without a trophy, so there is nothing in it.

Nedbank Cup Final R6 million

The winning team of the Nedbank Cup Final today will pocket R6 million, but for the loyal Usuthu supporters it will be a joyous celebration after years of pain and defeat.

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So there was a bit of confusion about the match venues for the remaining four  Bafana Bafana International friendlies, but South African Football Association (SAFA) CEO Leslie Sedibe stepped up and confirmed them all.

Bafana Bafana vs Bulgaria at Orlando Stadium

Sedibe said the match against Bulgaria , who arrive today, on Monday 24 May 2010 will be played at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Kick off is 20h35.

“We are very excited to present Bafana Bafana with such a formidable team, positioned 39 in the FIFA world rankings, it will be a very good test for both the players and the technical team; ” said Sedibe on the Safa website

Another friendly match, this time against the 34 ranked Columbia will be played on Thursday 27 May 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg. The visiting team will arrive on Monday 24 May and are eager to take on Bafana Bafana on home soil.

Tickets for both these matches will be available from Thursday 20 May 2010 at Computicket outlets country-wide as well as Shoprite Checkers stores at a cost of R40.00.

Bafana Bafana vs Denmark

SAFA has also confirmed a match on Saturday 05 June against Denmark.  And did I say SAFA announced that they would confirm the match venue? Well sorry, this venue  for the final international friendly before the World Cup will be confirmed in the next few days.

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20 Days to Kickoff at Soccer City today. Its Football Friday, my favourite day of the week when I wear my Bafana Bafana Jersey.

Waka Waka Official 2010 World Cup Song

I’m even starting to hum the Official 2010 World Cup song, you know that Waka Waka Song, that we’re all so pissed off about. Well I’m still unhappy that FIFA didn’t pick an African singer to do the World Cup Song, but then I thought, wtf who ever remembers these songs? Can you remember any of the previous ones?  And  I read in a story in You magazine how excited Freshlyground were to be doing it, so I’ve changed my attitude – now I Waka Waka along  as I go about my bizniz.

Diski Dance in Durbs

The Diski dance I won’t get, ever – I’ve accepted that -  I’m an old mlungu with two left feet – my brain might groove on the Beautiful game, but my feet, eish – they would rather be propped up on something in front of the TV with a cold one in my hand – so I’m not going to diski dance, sorry Brand South Africa! (I’ve actually always been suspicious of these manufactured things that marketing types think up and try to cajole us into).

South African National Flag

I love my flags. I have mirror socks on my car and two flags hooked onto my windows that are so big my petrol consumption has doubled because of the drag, but I’m grooving with my South African flags. I also have my favorite ones I carry to Bafana Bafana games, but unfortunately something went wrong with the match allocation process and we’ve got a bit screwed here in eThekwini.

We didn’t get enough games or enough teams. I think someone at FIFA is jealous of our great weather and our beautiful Moses Mabhida Stadium.

But today is Football Friday and we are “catching gees” (* gees is an afrikaans word for spirit  ) as we used to say at school. So I look over at my growing vuvuzela collection with pride.

Buy a Vuvuzela

OK, I confess, I am a vuvuzela junkie. I can’t stop buying them. If you haven’t yet, you must buy at least one vuvuzela – wow they are all over the place now, and really cheap – under R20 in Pick ‘n Pay. I saw beautiful vuvuzelas at Mr Price Sports and the ones the guys sell along the road with the flag are so cool.

If you just want one for a souvenir, buy a vuvuzela at Woolworths – I see they have beaded one.

Buy your Staff Bafana Bafana Shirts

Just a little Football Friday note – why not buy your staff some shirts – there are a whole range of them from R90 shirts at Mr Price with Bafana Bafana on to the really expensive replica Bafana Bafana jerseys.

We got this in our inbox, looks like a good offer:

I have been getting huge enquiries the last couple weeks about the Bafana Supporters Shirts after they were sold out, Good news is that we have another 2500 shirts in stock which will probably last about 2 weeks. If you want to get your office geared up for the world cup order soon. Sizes range from men’s Medium – XXL and now also Ladies sizes 10 and 14 . Please email lindsay@talloula.co.za to place your order, the shirts cost R80 + vat (R91.20) Below is a look at the shirts. Also there are some who have ordered and not collected yet! We now have a minimum order of 10 shirts. You can also contact Lindsay on 0824149160 should you have any enquiries.

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