On The Buses: Traveling World Cup 2010

As usual I ignored all the hype and planned to do my own thing for this World Cup. Having befriended a South African in Ghana during CAN 2008, I was offered accommodation in Cape Town. I decided to take up this offer and spend my first week there.

Arriving in Cape Town on the first Sunday of the tournament I immediately set about finding the ticketing centre based in the airport, as no tickets were sent out of the country, all tickets were to be collected in South Africa by providing the card used for payment and the applicants passport.

The centre was quickly located and my request just to have my tickets for Cape Town released was granted. This meant that I did not have to carry my other tickets around with me. I was delighted to be able to report that this is the most efficient ticketing process discovered on my travels.

Having done my homework on my hosts whereabouts I found that there was a restaurant at the foot of the block of flats - Arnold's. A useful reference point for finding the accommodation.

Unfortunately the weather in Cape Town for the first few days did not live up to its surroundings, as the days were overcast and wet, whilst the nights were cold especially at home where central heating appeared unheard of.

The weather did improve towards the end of the week and this enabled me to see the beauty of the area. Numerous golden beaches adorn the peninsula and a trip to Chapman's Peak brought back memories of the Amalfi coast, (to help you, think of the minis in the Italian Job driving along the costal roads, with rocks falling!!!!)

The first match I saw was Italy v Paraguay, outside the stadium news broke that the security guards had gone on strike, but the police handled affairs with no apparent problems. It seemed a very European crowd, until of course the vuvuzelas got going.

I am sorry but anyone who thinks that this adds something to the game needs their head examining. The game itself was cagey with Italy managing to scrape a draw. Remembering the scenes at the Fan Fests in Germany I decided to try the South African version. Whilst the backdrop with the town hall and Table Mountain looked good, unfortunately the weather proved to be the deciding factor. In Germany the weather had been glorious here it was still wet and miserable. Fan Fests in winter don't work as well as they do in summer.

My next game was England v Algeria, the highlight of this was strolling down the Fan Mile to the stadium, pedestrianised with plenty of bars and eateries and being made to realise how good this was compared to what I have to come, by friends who had already visited a number of stadiums. By this time the weather had turned and it felt like a warm summer's evening back home in the UK, so of I went to freezing Johannesburg the next day.

I had read all about the Gautrain, the new rail link which connected the airport with Sandton a popular area for tourists, in fifteen minutes. So upon arrival at the airport I headed off to find the local transport intent (as ever) on making my own way to my accommodation. Eventually I located the local mini buses, in order to get into town I would need to change at Kempton Park. Then I would be dropped off near the train station. From there I could catch a train to Soweto.

I remember the advice given to me by South African friends in Cape Town, and realised that within three hours of arriving in Johannesburg I had done most of the things that they told me not to. But I had made it, finally by hijacking a minibus near Orlando station, to tour the area in order to find my accommodation.

The B & B was frequented by a number of Mexicans, all of whom had hired cars. They warned me that it was not easy to get around with out them. Undeterred I set out on the afternoon of the Brazil v Ivory Coast match to make my way to Soccer City.

I was aware of a new bus service provided by Rea Vaya that had started a few weeks ago and was I believed set up to provide transport to and from the games in Johannesburg. Despite the fact that no locals appeared to know about this I made it to the stadium by bus with just a fifteen minute ride. The instructions for getting back were simple get the bus from wherever you were dropped off. So after the game I did exactly that only to be told that this was not the case. (This is Africa.) A trek around the perimeter and I found the bus back home.

I had found details of a bus company that were taking fans to games outside of Johannesburg, so I decided to use their services to get to Rustenburg for the Mexico v Uruguay game. Whilst Rustenburg is a mere 121 km away from Johannesburg and therefore what I would class as a two hour journey, the truth was from from this. The town of Rustenburg is reached by a single lane road which meant a horrendous build up of traffic approaching the town.

However just when you reach Rustenburg you realise there is no stadium in sight and the situation persists for another 30 minutes until you reach the Park and Ride the other side of town. On the bus one passenger decided he had had enough as we slowly crawled towards the Park & Ride entrance and he decided to get off for a toilet break. One minute later we reached the entrance and as the cars turned off we sped down a deserted dual carriageway.

His son was still on board and gave his dad directions. I directed his dad back to the Park and Ride to get a lift. A good job as the stadium seemed to be a further 10 miles out of town. As ever the Mexican supporters provided good entertainment on a day when both teams were virtually assured of their place in the next round.

Returning back to Johannesburg around 11, the next dilemma was, how to get back to Soweto. I heard someone nearby say that he was going back to Soweto so suggested we go together. He agreed and then asked how brave I was as we got off the coach at Johannesburg Park Station! Fifteen minutes later and we were in a minibus in Carlton Square where a certain Dr Mutalezi drove us back to Soweto going through every red light as though he was coiour blind!

On Thursday I had a choice to make. Do I stay in town and go to Ellis Park to see Slovakia v Italy, or do I take another four coach ride to see Paraguay v New Zealand. Off course I took the coach.

Arriving at the pick up point fifteen minutes early I was not surprised to see no-one else there. Found that the set off time had been delayed by an hour and that we were to wait for people to be brought from Sandton. We eventually set off at 10.30 for the 4p.m. kick off in Polokwane. I noticed the driver seemed unsure of his directions and read the signs with him and realised we were not heading north as I expected.

He answered a phone call (whilst driving) and then explained that he was now heading to the airport to pick up some other passengers. This decision did not go down well with the current passengers as we sat stationary in queuing traffic. We then had the farce of picking up the passengers and driving round in circles trying to get out of the airport.

We finally made it out of the airport and headed towards our destination, only for the driver to answer his phone again and then slow down. His boss was bringing another passenger from the airport and we were to wait for him. The rest of the passengers told the driver, in no uncertain terms, that he should not stop.

Seeing police at the side of the road he quickly parked up and walked towards the police for refuge. Whilst he did this the passengers argued between themselves about who should drive the minibus to its destination. A foolhardy thing to do when the driver was with the police just 50 metres away. Several members of our party decide to relieve themselves at the side of the motorway. One of our party approached the police to complain about the service we had received as he had an important football match to go to.

The policeman well aware of the unrest on the bus, threatened to arrest all of those urinating in public. This turned the tables, and silence ensued. At this moment I asked the policeman if you were allowed to answer your phone whilst driving, he replied that you were not. I was confident now that we would finally get going. We eventually arrived 30 minutes before kick off after I directed the driver to the correct parking spot.

The game itself wasn't great but the atmosphere was better than I had experienced elsewhere. There was a large number of South Africans present and to hear them sing their national anthem, instead of blowing on their vuvuzelas was a welcome relief.

My final few days and some better football games. Chile gave a good account of themselves against Spain at Loftus Versfeld, whilst on Saturday I returned to Rustenburg for the USA v Ghana match, the journey back home being completed by 4a.m. My final match was Argentina v Mexico, would you believe, this time, on my third visit to Soccer City I caught the bus back from where I was dropped off.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Cracking Quartet of Quarter Finals

What a fantastic quartet of Last Eight matches. They had everything - shocks, drama, red cards, controversy, goals, own goals, penalty’s, penalty misses, penalty shootouts. And after all the talk of the South American countries dominating this World Cup (even predictions of the semi finals being an all Latin affair) the semi final stage has a very European flavour.

First up Holland shocked everybody’s favourites, Brazil, who lost their cool and lost the match 2-1 from a winning position. Felipe Melo was dismissed for a cynical & nasty stamp on that cheeky chappy Arjen Robben and the Samba Stars imploded under Dutch pressure. Wesley Sneijder validated my decision to drop him from my dream team by scoring two, although one was definitely on OG so how FIFA can give it to the Dutchman is a mystery.

Following this first shock came Africa’s last hope, Ghana. The vuvuzelas were in full cry and Sulley Muntari turned them up to eleven with a long range cracker just before the break. That man Diego Forlan hit back with a sweet free kick that caught Kingson out and the 1-1 draw was played out through extra time with the match ebbing and flowing as each side applied the pressure.

Both teams had chances in extra time but nothing could prepare them for the drama that unfolded as the clock hit 120 minutes. One last assault from Ghana saw Luis Suarez earn this tournament’s “Hand of God” accolade as he batted the jabulani away with his hands. He was off and Asamoah Gyan was handed the opportunity to write himself & Ghana into the history books. This he duly did by smashing his penalty against the bar as Montevideo breathed a sigh of relief.

Gyan admirably tucked away the first penalty in the shootout for his own immediate “Psycho” moment but he was inconsolable as the Uruguayans won it 4-2 to reach their first semi final for 40 years – Sebastian Abreu’s winning penalty was as cool and cocky as you will ever see under such pressure.

With one of the favourites out it was the turn of another, Argentina, to step up to the plate and restore some South American confidence. Nobody read the script to Germany though...again...and they hammered Maradona’s men 4-0 in a result that makes England’s look reasonably good.

How do the Germans do it? Time after time after time. After time. In the 17 World Cups they have contested they have reached the quarter finals or better in 14 of them, appearing in six finals and winning it three times. They look the most likely champions again as Spain stutter along and Holland might just come up short.

Germany’s defence is miserly as usual but it is their attacking play that has been jaw dropping at times. They counter attack with such speed, fluency and precision that teams have folded under the onslaught. With a midfield supremely marshalled by Bastian Schweinsteiger and propelled by the creative flair of Mesut Ozil, it is a bedrock that their deadly strikeforce can revel in.

Miroslav Klose is on course for the Golden Boot for the second tournament in a row and is one short of Ronaldo’s all time record of 15. He has been Germany’s main threat with Lukas Podolski who between them scored 9 goals for the club last season. Couple that with Thomas Muller who had not scored for his country before the finals and now has four, and you wonder how they manage to peak at just the right time, every time. Germany have now scored four goals in three separate matches. The mind boggles.

Nobody wants to take on the Germans but if any team has the confidence and ability it is Spain. They narrowly passed their test again with a scrappy 1-0 win over a solid & unspectacular Paraguay but it could have been so different. Spain have yet to spark in this tournament and are grateful to their talisman, David Villa, for his five goals that have carried them through and put him out front in the Golden Boot race.

Villa got the winner once again in the last ten minutes but the match hinged on a dramatic few minutes on the hour mark in which Paraguay were awarded a penalty following Gerard Pique’s best Hulk Hogan impression in wrestling Oscar Cardozo to the ground. A nervy looking Cardozo dusted himself off and tickled the ball into Iker Casillas’ hands.

Spain went straight up the other end and won themselves a penalty through David Villa which was coolly put away by Xabi Alonso. However the ref had spotted encroachment and ordered a retake which Alonso switched to the opposite side and was out-guessed by Villar to keep the score a 0-0. In the melee, as Paraguay scrambled the ball clear, Spain shoud have had another penalty as Villar tripped Cesc Fabregas but the ref inexplicably ignored Spanish protests.

In the end it mattered not as Spain got the job done with the aid of their main goal threat and three posts. Pedro was set up cleverly by Andres Iniesta but his shot cannoned back off the post, into Villa’s path who scooped it onto the other post. The ball rolled across the line, hit the left hand post again and finally trickled into the net to put the favourites through to a German showdown. That match will be a belter.

Semi Final Line Up: Uruguay v Netherlands | Germany v Spain

BruiseLee

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Huh Steps Down From Korea Job

Back in September 2008 when South Korea struggled to a 1-1 draw with North Korea in the opening match of the final round of qualification for 2010 World Cup, few would have thought that the departure of coach Huh Jung-moo would be a cause for sadness and concern.

Almost two years ago, the issue was all about whether a lacklustre looking eleven would reach South Africa at all - last week Huh admitted that he considered resigning after the Shanghai stalemate. In the end, there was little need to worry as the Taeguk Warriors marched into the last 16 of an overseas World Cup for the first time ever and can even regard themselves a little unlucky to go down 2-1 to Uruguay in Port Elizabeth.

The players left the Rainbow Nation with their heads held high and Huh leaves his post in similarly upright fashion. The 2-0 win over Greece started the campaign in style and the incisive football and the pleasing technical ability of the players were hailed around the world. The 4-1 defeat against Argentina came against a team at the top of its game and the 2-2 tie with Nigeria that sent Korea into the Promised Land may not have been a perfect display but it was thrilling entertainment - not least for the 500,000 or so fans who took to the streets at 3.30 in the morning.

If there are any regrets it comes in the form of the knockout match against a solid Uruguay team. Trailing to an early goal, Korea pushed the South American semi-finalists evermore on to the backfoot. Lee Chung-yong grabbed an equalizer and the Asian team had chances to score again both before and after Luis Suarez’s late strike that eventually won the game.

It was expected that Huh would step down after the tournament but the success of the team prompted hopes and then reports that he may stay on at least for long enough to lead the team to the Asian Cup in January. The theory was that with the same coach and a similar set of players then Korea has a genuine chance of winning the continental competition for the first time since 1960.

Last Friday however, Huh finally confirmed that he was vacating the hotseat.
"I'm out of competition for the job," he told reporters in Seoul. "I've reached this early decision so the KFA won't have much burden in choosing the next national team coach."

"It's not exactly resignation because my contract expired at the end of the Korean World Cup campaign," he said. "I'm content with what the national team has achieved this time. Now I would like some time to recharge with my family."

It was not easy for the braver of his relatives who read some of the criticism that came Huh’s way during the early stages of qualification and then a shock 3-0 loss against China in February –the first time ever that Korea had lost to its giant neighbor. Overall though, Huh will be remembered well.

After the slow start, the team picked up and qualified smoothly for the World Cup despite being placed in a tough group. Then the World Cup itself was a success with Korean players such as Park Chu-young, Park Ji-sung and Lee Chung-yong winning plaudits in the international media.

Huh also demonstrated that going local can pay dividends. There may have been concern within the KFA a couple of years ago at the way things were going but the body stuck with its coach and was rewarded with a place in the second round. Financially the World Cup is very important to the KFA and doing well just increases those benefits. The same can be said of the fact that this success wasn’t achieved by a big-name highly-paid foreign coach but by the man who was taken from K-League club Chunnam Dragons. Huh’s success is going to make it more likely the next man is Korean.

The KFA’s international committee deals with such matters and meets on Wednesday for initial discussions. As usual in these matters, the media has got there first. Hong Myong-bo, the captain of the 2002 team that reached the semifinals would be a popular choice but the ‘eternal libero’ is in charge of the 2012 London Olympics challenge, has never coached a club team and has already said ‘thanks but no thanks.’

There are few other options that spring to mind. Kim Hak-bom enjoyed success with Seongnam Ilhwa before stepping down in December 2008 and he is available and has experience of winning the K-League. Huh’s assistant Jung Hae-sung is also in the frame.

Others, both domestic and foreign will be added over the coming days and weeks.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com

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Where to now for Japan?

Keisuke Honda criticised his team's defensive football and admitted that he wouldn't even have watched the match.

Takeshi Okada apologised to the nation for failing to achieve his goal of steering Japan to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, broadcaster TBS is under fire for wringing a tearful apology from the mother of defender Yuichi Komano in the aftermath of Japan's heartbreaking 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat to Paraguay.

As the dust settles on Japan's dramatic shoot-out exit from the FIFA World Cup, questions now turn to the future of the Japanese national team - and more specifically just who will coach the Samurai Blue following the rollercoaster reign of Okada.

The former Consadole Sapporo and Yokohama F. Marinos coach went into the tournament under a hail of media scrutiny, yet Okada revamped his public image by guiding his unfancied Japanese side to the Round of 16 in South Africa.

In the process, Japan recorded their first ever World Cup wins on foreign soil, beating Cameroon 1-0 and Denmark 3-1 en route to the knock-out stage.

Yet it was the conservative nature of their tactics against an equally cagey Paraguay which disappointed some critics - including CSKA Moscow midfielder Honda, who told the Asahi Shimbun that he wouldn't even have bothered to watch the game.

"My football life will go on," he told the newspaper after the loss. "We played defensively at this World Cup, but I hope we'll pursue winning through more attractive performances at the next World Cup," Honda added.

A disappointed Okada admitted his sorrow at failing to fulfill his pre-tournament ambition of reaching the semi-finals, but it was an apology of a different kind which drew fierce criticism in traditionally conservative Japan.

Broadcaster TBS drew widespread scorn when they interviewed Yuichi Komano's visibly upset mother in the wake of the defeat, with Jubilo Iwata defender Komano the unlucky player to miss during the shoot-out as his spot-kick clattered against the crossbar.

The Tokyo-based network appeared determined to wring an apology from the 28-year-old's mother, with the tacky interview drawing immediate condemnation across the four main islands of Japan.

Just why TBS felt compelled to force the issue with the ageing Komano matriarch remains a mystery, but a more pertinent question for fans of Japanese football is just who will take over at the helm of the national team.

Former Urawa Reds coach Guido Buchwald appeared to be the frontrunner prior to the World Cup, with his previous working relationship with JFA chief Motoaki Inukai often cited as an important factor.

Many domestic observers would like to see Gamba Osaka coach Akira Nishino handed the job, despite the fact that Nishino appears reluctant to throw his hat into the ring.

However, a new candidate has now emerged, as reports surface that Kashima Antlers coach Oswaldo de Oliveira may be approached to take over just three years after arriving in the country.

The Brazilian has won three successive J. League titles with the Ibaraki outfit, with many pundits now suggesting that the fiery tactician is the perfect candidate to take over from the departing Okada.

Whether de Oliveira takes charge of Japan remains to be seen, but if he does move into the international hotseat, he may drastically overhaul the Japanese squad.

Just two Kashima players were named in Okada's squad - defenders Atsuto Uchida and Daiki Iwamasa - and neither of them saw a minute of action in South Africa.

Copyright © Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com

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Coaches' Heads Continue To Roll

Brazil's Dunga became the latest coach to be shown the door after his team's shock 2-1 loss to The Netherlands in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Dunga joins Javier Aguirre, who quit as coach of Mexico after their 3-1 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16, Takeshi Okada, who stepped down as manager of Japan following the Samurai Blue's penalty shootout exit to Paraguay at the same stage and Huh Jung Moo, who threw in the towel after South Korea were knocked out by Uruguay also in the first knockout stage.

Several head coaches had already announced their intention to quit before the tournament even began including the hapless French coach Raymond Domenech, the Socceroos' Pim Verbeek and Italy's Marcello Lippi.

Fabio Capello survived an anxious waiting period from the English FA before being confirmed in his post for the 2012 European Championship qualifiers that begin in September.

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