South Africa 2010: Africa's time for glory?

The setting is unique but a succession of pre-tournament injuries and the lessons of past World Cups outside Europe suggest the football at Africa's first finals will resonate to familiar Latin rhythms.

A month-long tournament that starts at Soccer City in Soweto on Friday when South Africa play Mexico will look and feel different from any other World Cup - and sound different too thanks to the cacophonous din of vuvuzela trumpets.

The sensation is that anything is possible in such a vast country with such differences in altitude and temperature but every World Cup outside Europe to date has been won by a South American team and with medical bulletins providing bad news for European and African challengers the pattern may continue. Can Africa change that trend?

Nigeria's 3:1 win over North Korea finished off the final preparation games of Africa's contingent to the first World Cup hosted on the continent's soil in some style.

It was a good scorecard for the Nigerians who face two-time world champions Argentina in six days, and indeed Africa's six-pack, who recorded five wins to one loss in their final friendlies.

Hosts South Africa got some measure of respect after they saw off Denmark by a lone goal, for their 12th game without defeat since the return of Brazilian gaffer Carlos Parreira.

With 'Killer' Katlego Mphela on target yet again, one is tempted to say who needs Benni? Confidence is sky high, as it should be in the Rainbow nation, with the quadrennial international's opener just five days away.


Algeria finally stopped the bleeding after four losses on the bounce, when they beat the UAE by a lone goal. With England and the USA waiting, African fans will hope coach Rabah Saadane is on top of his game when he says the friendlies do not reflect the true strength of his team.

Ghana delivered an impressive response to a 4:1 mauling by the Netherlands when a late Quincy Owusu-Abeyie screamer meant they beat Latvia 1:0, and head to South Africa with renewed zeal.

Milovan Rajevac leads his side against Serbia on June 13, with Australia and Germany to follow. The Serb has a decision to make; whether to run with the youthful core marshaled by Udinese's Kwadwo Asamoah that has brought him much success, or the older, more experienced, but less fluid core led by captain Stephen Appiah that crumbled under the Oranje.


Cote d'Ivoire had a splendid win over Japan marred by the arm injury to its skipper Didier Drogba, who may miss the early games of the tournament.

Regrettably the Ivorians face the dreaded duo of Portugal and Brazil in their first two games. Doubly unfortunate is that Drogba had scored twice in the Elephants two friendlies and was looking good to do some real damage at the mundial.


Eriksson remains confident, as well he should, with plenty of fire power still, from the likes of Aruna Dindane, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho and Romaric.

Cameroon were the only team to record a loss after a seven-goal thriller with Serbia in Belgrade. The Lions lost 4:3, but it was a match they could have won.

Skipper Samuel Eto'o was suspended after a red card in the midweek friendly against Portugal, and Achille Webo and the young Eric Choupo-Moting stepped up to the plate.

Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen is confident his team will make the round of 16, albeit by finishing second to the Dutch, but the Lions look solid enough to hold off the Danes and the Japanese.

Bafana Bafana kicks off Africa's challenge on Friday against Mexico. It will be a match that in all probability will set the tone for the hosts' as well as the continent's charge.

If recent performances are a benchmark, then it is looking like it could be one helluva charge afterall.

credit: Kenneth Ezaga, Rediff sports

Top-notch Black Stars News

Black Star goalie, Richard Kingston has threatened to feign injury on the premise that he’s younger brother, Laryea Kingston, has been omitted from the 23-man squad for South Africa plus Bologna midfielder Stephen Appiah has complained of thigh injury as the Stars prepare for Holland match. The shocks just began! Watch out for this space.

Is Africa ready for the world?

Africa's Year at FIFA looks set for a grandstand finish in South Africa from June 11 - July 11. Finally the world gets to experience the quintessential football treat, that has been four years in coming.

This completes a quartet of Africa-hosted Fifa tournaments spanning June 2009 to June 2010. They are the Confederations Cup in South Africa, the U-20 World Cup in Egypt, the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, and now the bill-topping quadrennial showpiece in South Africa.

So far Africa has grabbed its chance with both hands. Host South Africa were fourth in the Confed Cup, Ghana won the continent's first ever U-20 title, while Nigeria came up just short in the final match of the U-17 tournament.

Without a doubt the World Cup is the mother-of-all-battles. It is the first time it is being staged in Africa and the first time the continent will have six representatives.

But is the continent finally ready for the big prize?

ALGERIA

Les Fennecs have arguably the easiest draw of the African teams. However an unimpressive Nations Cup campaign, injury concerns, a poor finish to the season by key players, and a lame 3:0 bashing by Ireland in a Dublin friendly recently, have not inspired much confidence in Rabah Saadane and his troops.


CAMEROON

Lacking a creative playmaker and a resolute defence, Paul Le Guen's Lions have struggled to impose themselves on games lately. A poor Nations Cup, followed by two lame 0:0 draws against Italy and Georgia, as well as new infighting between Eto'o and Milla can't bode well for the team.



COTE D'IVOIRE

A rude awakening at the Nations Cup jolted perennial underachievers Ivory Coast to pull the emergency lever. Sven-Goran Eriksson replaced Halilhodzic as boss, and Romaric was recalled to fill a playmaking void. The challenge lies in getting the Didier Drogba-led squad of megastars to play for one another, and thankfully, the sounds are encouraging.


GHANA

The injury problems are back. Michael Essien is out, and his likely replacement Agyemang-Badu, and defender John Mensah are a worry. Ghana missed seven first team regulars to injury at the Nations Cup, but still made the final. The World Cup will be a different ball game. The return of the regulars and addition of new talents like Boateng, Tagoe and Owusu-Abeyie will help.


NIGERIA

A wobbly ride to bronze at the Nations Cup didn't win the Super Eagles any plaudits. Swedish coach Lars Lagerback was brought in to clean up the mess, but is faced with shambolic preparations and unfit players. For neutrals, indeed all, but the rabid optimists, it does not look too bright for the Eagles, but a relatively kind draw could help.





SOUTH AFRICA

Carlos Parreira has managed to steady, and redirect, a rudderless boat headed for the rocks. Since taking over in November the team has been unbeaten, but has yet to face real opposition. With a soft defence and a blunt attack, Bafana Bafana will need its big heart, and the vuvuzelas, to make the desired impact.

What's your take on Africa's chances in South Africa?

Africa is sending forth, what in my self-effacing view, is the most enlightening squad it can muster at this time to the World Cup. All six teams – Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria and South Africa, have exceptional players, enormous experience and would invariably see South Africa as ‘home’. I personally cannot see any of these teams not milking in the second round glory. However that's me! What's your analysis of the teams to South Africa and how far do you think they can go?

Can Ghana Make Africa Proud?

The Black Stars took the continent aback when they made the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. Now everyone in Africa is looking to the Stars to buy the continent some admirable glory in South Africa. The World Cup is a different kettle of fish and many of the slip-ups the Stars opponents made in Angola will not be repetitive in South Africa. Ghana must also find some aggressive legs, because its attack seems its missing link at the moment. There are also some injury concerns to key players still. All considered, how far do you think the Stars can travel at the World Cup?

Can Ghana Cope without Essien?

Of course Ghana can without Essien... but how well can they hack it without this thrust in their ranks? Fine thing Badu and Annan got some valuable experience during the Nations Cup, but will that be enough against burly European opposition like Germany and Serbia? And mind you the Socceroos themselves are no slouches. What are the Black Stars chances you feel?

The scorn of Kevin Prince Boateng

Kevin Prince-Boateng won't be popular, but history might yet reserve a chamber for him. Never mind the Ballacks, spare a thought for the Boatengs. Poor old Kevin-Prince Boateng. Overnight, the Portsmouth midfielder has become public enemy number one back in his ‘home’ country of Germany, an experience no footballer deserves.

David Beckham suffered the same fate following his sending off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, when effigies of the England midfielder were burnt in London’s East End and he was so widely vilified in the aftermath of his indiscretion and his nation’s subsequent exit from the tournament, it was almost frightening.

Boateng currently finds himself the subject of numerous social networking groups – such as ‘82,000,000 against Boateng’, ‘Boateng: Enemy of the State’ and ‘Kevin-Prince Boateng, give your German passport back’ – set up by angry German fans following their national captain Michael Ballack’s unfortunate injury.

The Chelsea midfielder’s torn ankle ligaments, sustained in the weekend’s FA Cup final, will keep him out of the World Cup and because this is football, and because we are talking about football fans, a scapegoat was absolutely necessary.

Step forward Herr Boateng, whose tackle it was that left Ballack limping off the pitch with an ankle so swollen that he had to wait until Monday to undergo a scan.

It was an ugly challenge, no doubt. But it was mistimed, not malicious. To suggest that Boateng, whose adopted nation of Ghana will meet Germany in Group D in South Africa, was thinking of bettering his national side’s chances of success when he piled in on Ballack is ludicrous.

That Boateng was born in Berlin and has appeared for Germany at U21 level are merely convenient coincidences, pounced upon by those looking to vent their anger at Ballack’s impending absence from the World Cup.

We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? The accusations, the recriminations, the public witch hunts, only a little closer to home. Remember Aldo Duscher? That evil Argentine who was clearly out to wreck Beckham’s chances of appearing at the 2002 World Cup, at which his nation was to meet England?

What about the wicked Paulo Ferreira, obviously hellbent of crocking Wayne Rooneyfour years later?

Like Argentina, Portugal played England at the finals. And more recently we’ve seenLandon Donovan of Everton and the US, acting with nothing but the Stars and Stripes in his mind, put in a challenge on Ashley Cole that left the England left-back with a fractured ankle.

Beckham and Rooney both recovered in time, just, as has Cole for this summer’s tournament, but all three of their aggressors came in for stick. Especially Duscher, but probably only because he is Argentinian.

English players themselves have also been accused of ruining a country’s prospects – Martin Taylor and Lee Bowyer found themselves in the firing line of Croatian FA chief Vlatko Markovic during their ultimately failed bid to reach South Africa.

The Birmingham pair, you see, had crocked Eduardo and then Luka Modricrespectively, prompting the obvious conclusion that, being English, they had wanted Croatia to be deprived of two of their best players when facing England in the qualifying tournament.

Of course, it’s all nonsense. Boateng no more wanted Ballack out of the World Cup than Duscher did Beckham.

The point is that injuries happen in football. So too do bad tackles. Indeed, one usually follows the other. Some injuries are worse than others, while some stand out not for the brutality of the challenge that caused them, but simply because of their unfortunate timing – like Ballack’s and all those mentioned above.

At least Ballack himself seems to understand that, the German saying: “Of course I am very angry and disappointed but in football one should let it go.”

It is a noble stance to take, especially for someone who will miss out on a third World Cup and in all likelihood never play again at the tournament. But it is the right one. So vehement has the public outcry been against Boateng, he has been forced to apologise for his tackle, although had the challenge been made 12 months ago, with no World Cup to worry about, there would have been no need.

This particular outcry seems to be entirely circumstantial. And for that, Boateng does not deserve such levels of vilification.

Indeed, if anyone has a right to be angry with Boateng, it is those Portsmouth fans who watched their FA Cup dreams flush down the pan with his glaring penalty miss at Wembley – by far the worst crime committed on the pitch that day.

credit: Ghanasoccernet