Vuvuzela South Africa

Last night at Leverkusen, South African National soccer team Bafana Bafana lost 2 -0 to an energised and young German team, courtesy of goals either side of the interval from Mario Gomez and Mesut Özil.

And Bafana Bafana?  At times they were energetic(not too often) . Most of the time they looked flat-footed, playing much to far back, never never making  much of an impact on the German defense.

Playing in the red away kit, the German team was always moving forward in the international friendly in the BayArena. Coach Joel Santana and his ‘eight-man defense’ certainly did well to contain the Germans for much of the match, but offered next to nothing going forward, except for Stephen Pienaar who stood out. A goal in either half was enough for Joachim Loew’s side, who might have won by more but for some excellent goalkeeping from Bafana’s Rowen Fernandez.

My problem with Bafana Bafana was that they looked like a team who believed that they could not win – they had no confidence. Their set pieces were weak and with most of the team playing defense, the strikers never really had much support to really set up and execute any action. What can superb striker like Pienaar do when coach Santana fields an incredible three defensive-minded midfielders?

Let us hope Santana plays a bit of a different game on Tuesday night against Ireland in Limerick.

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Today South African National Football Team Bafana Bafana takes on Germany in Leverkusen.

According to Football 365.co.za, German defender Philipp Lahm believes the clash with South Africa will provide his teammates with the perfect platform to rediscover their form ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifier with Russia and the return tie with Azerbaijan.

The German team is looking forward to improving in defense and attack in their match against South Africa and see it as a tough but winnable game. The football superpower is fourth on the FIFA rankings, with Bafana Bafana a disappointing 73rd

Group Four 2010 World Cup Leaders

As Group Four leaders in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying Rounds, Germany take on Azerbaijan in the return match in Hanover next Wednesday after beating them 2 – 0  in an unimpressive performance in Baku last month. The 2006 World Cup hosts face their biggest test of the qualification campaign so far in Moscow on October 10 when they take on Russia.

Bafana Bafana Confident of an Upset

After a good showing in the Confederations Cup, Bafana are confident of causing an upset, despite recently losing 3-1 Serbia in a warm-up match.

“We know our record against European opposition in Europe is not great but we are not going to let that worry us,” left back Siboniso Gaxa told his club Mamelodi Sundowns‘ official website.

The overall conclusion from the Bafana camp is that the side needs to start converting their goal scoring opportunities if they aim to record a victory.

Mphela and Parker up Front

Kickoff suggests that Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana is likely to start with Mphela and Bernard Parker up-front, with Khenyeza set to come in as substitute later in the match.

But it is in the midfield and the back where the Bafana Bafana might struggle,

Belgium-based defender Anele Ngcongca looks set to get his first Bafana Bafana cap in the absence of injured Matthew Booth. With Itumeleng Khune also injured, veteran Brian Baloyi may start in goal ahead of Rowen Fernandez although I still believe that Orlando Pirates in form goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs would have been a much better choice for this tour.

Even though plagued with injury, coach Joel Santana is spoilt for choice with experienced campaigners like Siyabonga Nkosi, Mabhuti Khenyeza and Bevan Fransmann available this time. He also has tried and tested players like Steven Pienaar, Bernard Parker, Benson Mhlongo and Simphiwe Tshabalala., so a good result might just be possible.

Amajita play Germany’s Under- 20s in Hamburg at 3.30pm.

Look at some Interesting Stats between Bafana Bafana and Germany.

Photo: Gaxa Siboniso – photo Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club

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According to football 365.co.za injuries, continue to hamper Bafana Bafana coach, Joel Santana’s plans as Teko Modise has joined veteran midfielder anchorman MacBeth Sibaya of Russian outfit Ruban Kazan and Greek based right back Bryce Moon who plays for Panathinaikos, on the sidelines for these two important European friendlies against Germany and Ireland.

Bafana Bafana to Play Germany on Saturday

Bafana Bafana will play three time World champions Germany in Leverkusen in a friendly international on Saturday night at 8.45pm and strong Irish side in Limerick next Tuesday night.

The replacements are certainly not second rank players:  Clifford Ngobeni, Lance Davids and Katlego Mashego have replaced the injured players.

Davids, has already played 16 times for his country but failed to get a game during June’s Confederations Cup. He is certainly versatile and can play either in a defensive midfield role or at right back.

22 year old, Johannesburg born Ngobeni’s – Ajax Cape Town midfielder, will be keen to stake his claim for a place in the squad either against Germany or Ireland.

Katlego Mashego replaces Teko Modise. They are teammates at Orlando Pirates.

“I think the team is leaving tonight and I will join them on Wednesday in Germany. Teko is has a swollen toe. So I have received a late call-up to the squad,” Mashego said to Kickoff.

The European based players in the squad will meet up with their teammates in Leverkusen on Wednesday.

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I’ll never forget the the 2006 Soccer World Cup Final. Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt was one of the most unforgettable moments of the whole tournament

I had been driving around Ireland, staying for a day or two in small towns, wandering around, taking pictures – watching the soccer with the locals in the pubs. It is was great fun – none of us had a dog in the fight – we all enjoyed the soccer, but slipped in a bit of rugby in between pints, and then eventually I was somewhere on the West coast on Ireland and I decided to take a room above the pub so I would miss the cup final.

I’d been holding my breath for days in case the soccer hooligans destroyed all Germany’s beautiful old fountains and buildings, but so far so good.

We cheered as the the final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring by converting a controversial seventh-minute penalty kick. But that was just the begging of a day of controversy for the man from Marseilles.

Near the end of extra time, Zidane head-butted Materazzi in the chest in an off-the-ball incident – he later said the Italian insulted his mother – and Zizou was sent off. Extra time produced no further goals and a penalty shootout followed, which Italy won 5–3

The 2006 World Cup victory also helped Italy top the FIFA World Rankings in February 2007 for the first time since November 1993.

I believe the 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers, compiled over the course of the tournament. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people

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