South Africa ready to have a ball
Yes, Ireland should be there. And, no, Thierry Henry should not. But the joys of watching the World Cup as a neutral, free from rose-tinted glasses and jingoistic headlines, can provide tangible consolation because already there are signs that this tournament could prove to be one of the most memorable of all.
Just landing at O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg is an experience that jolts supporters out of their humdrum lives back home and into the glamour, drama and fantasy world of Africa’s first-ever world Cup.
The greeting party inside the airport’s arrivals hall, a cacophony of noise from horns, vuvuzelas and excited locals, has to be seen to believed but it’s fair to say that will pale into insignificance when the opening ceremony gets underway this afternoon and Carlos Alberto Parreira’s side walk out to a tumultuous welcome.
South Africa, as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, are basing their hopes of progression on home support and appear to be doing everything possible to ramp up the hype, no matter how brazen the photo opportunity.
Carlos Alberto Parreira’s side must be the first in football history to undertake an open-top bus tour even before a ball has been kicked, and there was something rather surreal about watching the yellow-and-green-festooned coach inch through crowds of 250,000 in Johannesburg on a “Show Your Pride for South Africa” parade earlier this week.
“You expect to have calmness and focus in the build up to a tournament like the World Cup, but I can understand,” said Parreira, who was said to be unimpressed by the idea but felt compelled to comply. “Football in this country has been sleeping for many years, but suddenly there’s a ray of hope, with the World Cup coming to Africa for the first time.
“We have to respect the feelings of the people, while at the same time making sure we remain focused on the game.
“We can feel the joy and happiness of the people and that is important to us. They were there on the streets because they believe. They have the same ray of hope that we have.”
The good news for South Africa, too, is that Group A looks likely to be one of the most open and fascinating in the tournament. Having gone 12 games unbeaten, there is every reason to believe the hosts can make life difficult for the Mexicans before taking on Uruguay and arch-interlopers France, who face each other in Cape Town this evening.
Nevertheless, for their dreams to last beyond this evening, South Africa will have to do something they have only done once in their history, namely win a World Cup game.
Their one previous success came against Slovenia in 2002, but the team is currently ranked 82nd in the world compared to Mexico who are 18th after beating world champions Italy in a pre-tournament friendly.
On paper it should not be a contest but South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena feels the national euphoria whipped up by the “Show your pride” campaign will create an atmosphere that will change the odds dramatically.
“We know what we will be walking out into – Mexico do not,” he said. “We have gone through that as a team and talked about the feelings we will have. It’s going to be important that we go out there relaxed because the first game of a World Cup is always a massive occasion.
“We have respect for Mexico – they are a fantastic side – but we know we can go out there and do well. The country will be watching us, and we are determined not to let them down.”
! It’s not quite the same atmosphere up the road in Rustenburg, a two-and-a-half hour drive from Johannesburg, where Fabio Capello’s England team are based.
England’s fans, renowned for travelling in huge numbers, are in good voice but Capello wants a very different approach to the South African FA and ordered a businesslike approach.
Think back to Baden Baden and the WAGs in 2006 and it’s easy to see why Capello believes the overhyping of the England team has become a bar to success and perhaps for that reason England’s preparation has been remarkably low-key. Only one player a day has been provided for media and the Italian has made it very clear there will be no Churchillian speeches and no overblown predictions of victory.
Elsewhere, Brazil, with Kaka and Robinho on show, begin their campaign on Tuesday with a match against North Korea in the ‘Group of Death’ that also includes Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast. And then European champions and tournament favourites Spain, including Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta, face Switzerland a day later.
So many great players, so many great teams, so many days of football to look forward to. But judging by the scenes across Johannesburg it could well be the host nation’s remarkable fans that really make this World Cup special, even for those who couldn’t make it there to join them.
Maybe after such a fierce-blowing storm, the Rainbow nation could be the ones to make Irish football fans smile again.
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