TIME FOR AFRICA. The 2010 FIFA World Cup is finally here! June/July 2010

Transcription

1 June/July 2010 SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE Team profiles Star players National hopes South Africa s long journey Leaving a legacy Broadcast innovations From Montevideo to Johannesburg Meet the referees Team nicknames TIME FOR AFRICA The 2010 FIFA World Cup is finally here!

2

3 EDITORIAL CELEBRATING HUMANITY Dear members of the FIFA family, South Africa is waiting with its famed warmth and hospitality, and I am convinced that the unique setting of this year s tournament will make it one of the most memorable FIFA World Cups. Finally it has arrived. Not only is the four-year wait for the next FIFA World Cup almost over, but at last the world is getting ready to enjoy the first such tournament to be played on African soil. Six years ago, when we took our most prestigious competition to Africa, there was plenty of joy and anticipation on the African continent. But almost inevitably, there was also doubt and scepticism from many parts of the world. Those of us who know Africa much better can share in the continent s pride, now that South Africa is waiting with its famed warmth and hospitality for the imminent arrival of the world s best teams and their supporters. I am convinced that the unique setting of this year s tournament will make it one of the most memorable FIFA World Cups. Of course we will also see thrilling and exciting football. But the first-ever African World Cup will always be about more than just the game. In this bumper double issue of FIFA World, you will find plenty of information on the competition itself, the major stars and their dreams of lifting our famous trophy in Johannesburg s spectacular Soccer City on 11 July. But you will also read about our activities off the pitch, and how FIFA is continuing to play an active role both in developing football and contributing to more general social improvement programmes particularly right now in Africa but also around the world. Those efforts will of course continue after the final whistle has blown, at which time we shall refocus our attention on our next set of competitions, starting just two days later with the FIFA U-20 Women s World Cup Germany. The work of course is never finished, but occasionally we can pause to enjoy the fruits of that labour, none of which are more rewarding than the FIFA World Cup itself. Whether you are lucky enough to be in South Africa, or are one of the devoted millions tuning in from distant shores, I wish you a tournament that is fair, exciting, spectacular and, above all, truly African. Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA President FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY

4

5 INSIDE THIS ISSUE VIEW NEWS FOCUS SUMMARY 6 CAPE TOWN, JOHANNESBURG, DURBAN, HERZOGENAURACH Spectacular images as South Africa prepares to welcome the world 10 SHOWTIME The Rainbow Nation gets ready to shine 28 LEAVING A LEGACY How the 2010 FIFA World Cup is benefiting all of Africa 46 FUNDING THE FUTURE Ensuring local involvement in South Africa s World Cup 64 TEAM PROFILES An individual look at all 32 contenders 146 PIRATES, EAGLES AND ELEPHANTS What nicknames say about national teams 150 DECISION-MAKERS Face to face with the 2010 FIFA World Cup referees 156 ASSOCIATIONS The latest news from our members 158 MEN S RANKING Brazil take over 160 FIFA ARCHIVE Long boat to Uruguay 48 EIGHT MEMORABLE DECADES Reliving 80 years of FIFA World Cup history FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY

6 VIEW READY AND WAITING Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Mascot Zakumi welcomes fans to Cape Town s spectacular new Green Point Stadium, one of ten magnificent venues being used for the tournament in South Africa. 6 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

7 NO MORE HANGING AROUND With her head apparently turned upside down by football, a young South African swings from a Johannesburg climbing frame while blowing South Africa s iconic vuvuzela trumpet. FIFA WORLD I VIEW 7

8 CONFIDENT FANS A brightly-clad Bafana Bafana supporter is all smiles as South Africa warm up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a 1-1 friendly draw with Namibia in Durban. 8 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

9 SMILE! South Africa s Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira tries out life on the other side of the lens during his team s April training camp in Germany. FIFA WORLD I VIEW 9

10 NEWS TIME TO CELEBRATE 10 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

11 Every FIFA World Cup is different, with the host nation in particular lending each edition of FIFA s flagship tournament its own flavour, unique characteristics and memorable moments. But the 2010 FIFA World Cup has the potential to be the most memorable yet with its South African setting marking the longawaited arrival of world football s most prestigious tournament on humanity s oldest continent. It has been a long road, both in convincing the doubters that South Africa was ready to receive the FIFA World Cup and then in meeting the long list of requirements that go into staging an event of this magnitude. But, as you will discover in the pages of this special double issue of FIFA World, it has been worth the wait and the effort. South Africa is ready and the country s hosting of FIFA s biggest tournament is set to see the Rainbow Nation welcome hundreds of thousands of international football fans, many of them first-time visitors to Africa. In between enjoying football matches of the highest calibre there will be the chance to discover and savour the diversity of South Africa and the famed warmth of its equally diverse people whose 11 distinctive cultures and languages have now come together in a nation particularly well-suited to welcoming the 31 international teams who will now be arriving in the country. The tournament is a chance to celebrate Africa and also to give something back to a continent that has already given so much and too rarely received the recognition or gratitude that it deserves. Later in this issue, we take a look at how FIFA has used the staging of the first FIFA World Cup on African soil as an opportunity to South Africa s bright and noisy supporters could make this the loudest FIFA World Cup ever. redouble its efforts on the continent, both in terms of football development and its social development programmes. While the international fans are sampling all that South Africa has to offer, this will also be a tournament for the South African people. With the help of the Local Organising Committee and the FIFA Partners, FIFA s innovative Ticket Fund initiative has enabled thousands of local residents who would not otherwise have been able to afford tickets to a World Cup match to take their places in the stadiums. For those without tickets, the FIFA Fan Fests will again be providing a stadium atmosphere in public viewing areas across the country and, for the first time, in six other locations around the globe a fitting project for a tournament that promises to bring the world to Africa and beam Africa to the world. As well as being a milestone for Africa and a chance to revise old prejudices, as the world comes together once more, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is of course still at heart a football competition, and later in this issue we offer a detailed look back at the history and events of the 18 previous editions. The second half of the magazine, from page 64 onwards, is then given over to the teams in an assessment of their respective strengths and star players, a review of how they qualified for the tournament and a sense of their hopes for the final competition itself. Whether you are reading this issue in South Africa or elsewhere, whether during the tantalising last few days before the event gets under way or during a pause between the action, the FIFA World team wish you a successful and highly memorable 2010 FIFA World Cup. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 11

12 RAINBOW MOMENT South Africa s transformation from pariah state to 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts is a tale of amazing social and political change, in which sport has often played a significant role. By Luxolo Mantambo, Johannesburg From fighting and conquering the apartheid system to emerging out of global isolation and hosting major international events, South Africa has travelled a long, fascinating and sometimes meandering journey that has included speed bumps, trials, triumphs and plenty of glorious moments all in the space of the mere 16 years that have passed since the nation achieved democracy. Now the Rainbow Nation, as postapartheid South Africans fondly refer to their country, will take its rightful place in the international spotlight when 31 teams descend to the tip of Southern Africa to join the host nation team Bafana Bafana for an event that will write a new chapter in the history of the African continent. For a country that tasted liberation less than two decades ago, South Africa already boasts an impressive record when it comes to hosting major international sports events although none yet on the same scale as the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Indeed, by staging FIFA s flagship tournament, South Africa will become the first African country to have hosted World Cups for three major sporting codes starting with the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and continuing with cricket for the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2007 ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. The kick-off to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg s Soccer City on 11 June will mark the start of a show that has taken more than a decade to rehearse and perfect. It will also signal the end of a journey that has been travelled, as FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter put it, with trust and confidence confidence in Africa s capability to showcase itself on the world stage and trust in South Africa s promise to deliver not only a great tournament, but to leave a legacy for the entire African continent. To fully comprehend the elation, passion and emotions associated with this FIFA World Cup, one needs to understand the historical background of a country that has emerged from and triumphed over one of the most unjust systems in the world, apartheid, and the important contribution which sport made in confronting apartheid s iniquities. Former President Nelson Mandela celebrates another impressive milestone for his country, following the awarding of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to South Africa in FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

13 The state crackdowns which followed the 1976 Soweto uprising led to South Africa s expulsion from FIFA. Ending injustice By the early 1960s, South Africa s immoral division of its people into distinctive classes with different legal and social rights, based purely on the colour of their skin, was provoking not only mounting internal resistance but also widespread international condemnation. In 1961, FIFA took its first official act against the apartheid regime when it suspended the all-white Football Association of South Africa (FASA) from international competition. As the unrest deepened, world football s governing body continued to urge the South African government to abandon its racist policies, but without success. In 1976, following widespread condemnation over the crackdowns which followed the Soweto uprising, FIFA took the unprecedented step of expelling the FASA from the organisation. Although South Africa s rugby-obsessed governing class probably thought little about the ban at the time, for the footballcrazy members of the country s black population it was a significant victory in their ongoing struggle for equality, as no less a figure than Nelson Mandela recalled when he travelled to FIFA s Zurich headquarters in 2004 as part of the consortium bidding to bring the FIFA World Cup to Africa. It was 28 years ago that FIFA took its stand against racially divided football and helped inspire the final struggle against apartheid, Mandela said. South Africa s first democratically-elected president also reminded the audience that football had provided solace to his fellow political prisoners during the darkest days of imprisonment on the notorious island jail of Robben Island. While we were on Robben Island, the only access to a FIFA World Cup would have been through a radio, Mandela pointed out. Football offered the only joyful relief to prisoners. Through football, we can celebrate the humanity of the southern tip of the African continent and share it with the rest of the continent and the wider world. Mounting pressure Back in those uncertain times of the 1970s and 80s, all football s leaders could do was maintain the ban on South Africa and hope the sanctions imposed together with other professional sports authorities could add to the pressure of political and economic sanctions and finally bring the apartheid regime to the negotiating table. Helped considerably by the peaceful and reconciliatory spirit of Mandela, those talks did of course finally take place and it was Mandela s involvement which encouraged FIFA in 1991 to lift the ban on international football providing a clear signal that the world was ready to welcome South Africa back into the international fold if its promise of establishing a lasting democracy for all citizens was realised. While the losses of life and countless blighted opportunities for generations of politically disenfranchised South Africans were among the severest effects of the apartheid regime, there were also less obvious casualties such as the sportsmen and women who missed out on potentially glittering careers as their country wilted in sporting exile. South Africa had produced some of the most talented footballers on the African continent, but none had had the opportunity to showcase their talents on the international scene. The first name that comes to most people s minds is that of Jomo Sono, nicknamed the Black Prince of African Football. Sono, a Soweto-born midfield maestro, played with several top stars, including FIFA World Cup winners Through football, we can celebrate the humanity of the Southern tip of the African continent and share it with the rest of the continent and the wider world. Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, during six successful seasons in North America but was of course unable to represent his country. Steve Kalamazoo Mokone was one of South Africa s finest exports in the 1950s. Others who would surely have achieved great things in international football include Kaizer Motaung, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Zacharia Computer Lamola, Bashin Mahlangu and Nelson Teenage Dladla. After almost four decades of being unable to showcase its stars at the highest level, South Africa finally emerged FIFA WORLD I NEWS 13

14 blinking from the darkness of apartheid with most of its active players virtually unknown in the wider world. None of its footballers, with the possible exception of the already-retired Sono, Motaung and Mokone, were known at international level. The new generation all plying their trade in the country s domestic league were no-names outside of their homeland. Unknown but clearly not untalented, South Africa s new national football team made a promising start on their international return, securing an unexpected 1-0 win over Cameroon s After years in isolation from the football family, South African football started on this journey to pursue the FIFA World Cup. We will ensure a world-class World Cup and put a smile on every African face FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO Dr Danny Jordaan win over the New Zealand favourites. Taking place just months after the first democratic elections, it was a show of unity that inspired confidence and belief in a country that was still healing the deep scars of the past. Less than a year later, South Africa again demonstrated a fierce sense of territorial pride, as well as impressive organisational skills, when it stepped in as a late replacement to host the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. Once more the home team conquered all, finally seeing off the experienced Tunisians 2-0 on a sunny afternoon in the same spot where the new Soccer City stadium now stands. Just five years after its readmission to FIFA, South Africa had ascended to the highest summit of African football, causing another outbreak of national euphoria and ensuring that the nation s top players the likes of Doctor Khumalo, Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Phil Masinga and Neil Tovey were no longer only famous in their own backyard. The big dream Successfully staging and winning the Africa Cup of Nations was one thing, but aspiring to host the FIFA World Cup was something which many outsiders still considered beyond the capabilities of this newly reborn land. There was indeed disappointment at first, when South Africa was pipped to the post by Germany for the right to stage the 2006 FIFA World Cup despite strong endorsements for the African bid from FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. Clearly not a nation given to lightly surrendering their dreams, the South Africans pressed ahead with a second attempt. Helped this time by FIFA s decision to use a continental rotation system which would guarantee an African host for the 2010 edition, South Africa once again pressed its credentials. Backed by a high-powered delegation, including three Nobel Peace Prize winners in the shape of Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Frederik W. de Klerk, South Africa saw off the two remaining candidates of Morocco and Egypt to finally bring world football s biggest event to Africa. Though no longer South Africa s president, Mandela s influence was probably pivotal. Madiba, as the old statesmen is affectionately known by his feared Indomitable Lions on 7 July Fittingly, the match took place at Durban s Kings Park, just a few metres from the new Durban Stadium which is now getting ready to stage seven games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including one of the semi-finals. Home triumphs Two major home soil successes in the years following South Africa s return to the international fold should certainly serve as a warning to anyone who might underestimate South Africa s ability to take on the world s best at this year s tournament. The most famous of those wins came on the rugby field as South Africa stunned the watching world with victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, unexpectedly uniting citizens of every colour with a gripping Home heroics: Linda Buthelezi and Phil Masinga hoist the trophy following their team s 1996 Africa Cup of Nations triumph. 14 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

15 compatriots, personally addressed the 24 vote-wielding members of the FIFA executive to tell them that it would be a dream come true if he could see his country host the FIFA World Cup a request that must have been hard to refuse, coming from a man who had sacrificed so much, including almost three decades of his personal freedom, to bring peace and prosperity to South Africa. Dr Danny Jordaan was another important member of the 2004 delegation. Now the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee, Jordaan had been travelling the world together with future LOC chairman Irvin Khoza, explaining to key opinion leaders why his country was the right choice to stage world football s most important event. After years in isolation from the football family, South African football started on this journey to pursue the FIFA World Cup, Jordaan told the Executive Committee members in an emotional speech on that historic day. We have consistently asserted that we have worldclass infrastructure. This infrastructure will ensure a world-class World Cup and will put a smile on every African face. Our people have risen from the ashes of a very painful divided past. Our rivers of hope and commitment have never run dry. Soon, those rivers of hope will flow and become a flood stream as the World Cup energy engulfs the African continent and everyone on this earth who loves the beautiful game. Six years on, with the stadiums built and the necessary infrastructure in place, South Africa is ready to deliver on the promises of Even before the tournament has got under way, there has been talk of South Africa s potential to stage Africa s first ever Olympic Games. Considering the confidence, ambition and exuberance of the South African people, the 2010 FIFA World Cup may not therefore represent the end of the road, but rather a hugely significant milestone in the long journey travelled by this incredible nation. FIFA SECRETARY GENERAL Dear friends of football, The road to the FIFA World Cup is a long one with its fair share of twists and turns, ups and downs along the way. The 31 teams that have steered a successful course through the qualifiers to join South African hosts Bafana Bafana are witnesses to that. Many have stumbled en route, faced challenging hurdles, media scrutiny, injuries to star players or coaching changes, but all have already achieved something special in reaching the finals. Local Organising Committee CEO Dr Danny Jordaan can certainly appreciate what the teams have gone through, but his journey has been a little longer than their 10, 12 or 16 match odyssey. Danny s mission began in 1994 with South Africa s bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. His bid team set about the task of shaping a strong, highquality dossier. However, by the narrowest of margins, the FIFA Executive Committee s vote went in favour of Germany. Such a blow could have had a debilitating effect, but instead the South Africans regrouped and relaunched their efforts with renewed vigour. Their determination was rewarded four years later, when, on 15 May 2004, the FIFA President opened the envelope to reveal South Africa as the 2010 hosts, prompting elated scenes of celebration from Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The six years since that momentous day have constituted a period of remarkable change for South Africa. Hosting a major international sports event leaves its mark on any city or country. The nature of that impact differs from one host to the next. For example, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany helped to highlight the host nation s passion and fun-loving character. In South Africa, the changes that the World Cup has kindled are more visible new infrastructure, roads, buildings, facilities all of which will help meet the needs of the South African people long after the World Cup is over. Thousands of jobs have also been created, many of which will become permanent positions after the event. As well as bringing significant changes inside South Africa, the FIFA World Cup has also sparked a dramatic shift in the country s image beyond its borders. Scare stories have proved unfounded, rumours have been dispelled. All is now set for the show to begin and South Africa will be a wonderful host to all who travel to the event. Beyond the sport and the issues of infrastructure, several social improvement initiatives have also been launched off the back of this FIFA World Cup, including the official 20 Centres for 2010 campaign, which will see the creation of five Football for Hope Centres in South Africa and a further 15 across the African continent a reminder to all that the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is an event for the whole of Africa. It only remains for me to wish the players, coaches and match officials success as they seek to do justice to the setting and efforts of the organisers and provide us with a glorious 31-day celebration of the beautiful game. Jérôme Valcke FIFA WORLD I NEWS 15

16 PRESIDENTIAL MISSION The long overdue arrival of the FIFA World Cup on African soil also marks the fulfilment of a decades-old personal mission for FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. In an exclusive interview with FIFA World, the President tells of his excitement and optimism as an African dream becomes a thrilling reality. FIFA World: President Blatter, after pushing so hard for the FIFA World Cup to come to Africa, how are you feeling now that the reality is just a few days away? Joseph S. Blatter: Well, I am not an actor but I can only say that it is probably a little like stage fright. I am not nervous but just like an actor as he is preparing to step on to a big stage. That is a good thing though, because it is that feeling that helps give adrenaline and helps you prepare for a big performance. The difference is though that it is not my performance that counts. It will be the performance of the players on the field of play, the FIFA team, the African team and indeed the whole African continent, and with all these teams working together I am sure it will be a wonderful FIFA World Cup. You have never hidden your desire to stage the FIFA World Cup in Africa. Why was an African World Cup so important to you? It has been important to me since the day in February 1976 when I first visited Addis Ababa to start work on one of FIFA s first development courses. I had been working at FIFA as a development officer for just a year and that visit really opened my eyes to what football is really about, and what it means to Africa. I fell in love with Africa that day. And of course I promised myself that I would come back one day. Of course my work took me back many times after that and I became convinced that the footballing world had to give something back to this continent which has already provided so many talented players for the leagues in wealthier countries. When I first ran for the FIFA presidency, I therefore made it a central part of my manifesto that the FIFA World Cup should finally come to Africa. There was a lot of scepticism when you first said that Yes, particularly in the media which still seems focused on age-old prejudices about Africa and its supposed lack of organisation. But it was not just the media. Even in the FIFA Executive Committee at that time, there were many who did not have full trust in FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter follows some traditional South African dancers along the red carpet in Cape Town ahead of December s Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 16 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

17 Africa. Perhaps it is true that other areas of the world could organise a FIFA World Cup more easily, but our game is the world game and it should be possible to play that game at the highest level in every corner of the world. And when we talk about an African World Cup, it is no longer just a question of stadiums or ticket sales. It is about the social and cultural aspect, about the biggest sports family in the world recognising this continent and saying we are proud to go to South Africa. I want football to be a vital part of every country s social and cultural life not just in wealthy nations but also in those countries where there is widespread illness, poverty or illiteracy. But how much can football, or even a tournament as big as the FIFA World Cup, really have an impact on such massive global problems? I have never said that FIFA or even football in general can eradicate poverty or cure terrible diseases, but our sport can certainly play a significant part in how these problems are tackled. The most important point to make is that we are not acting alone, that we are in fact working in tandem with major governments. Many countries have made pledges running into billions of dollars to support programmes such as the 1GOAL: Education for All initiative that I am now co-chairing with Queen Rania of Jordan. When you look at our official FIFA campaign, 20 Centres for 2010, against the backdrop of the challenges facing Africa, you could say it is like a pilot project showing what can be achieved in Africa, and with such impressive partners working alongside us, it is a model that can now be adopted and spread much more widely around the continent. Looking for a moment at the sporting aspects of the FIFA World Cup, what are your hopes for what happens on the pitch? Well as soon as the first whistle goes on 11 June, that is something which of course I cannot influence! But like all The FIFA President greets stadium workers in Durban during a November 2007 inspection visit. fans of football, I will naturally be hoping to see attractive, exciting matches in which the world s most talented players can show off their skills in front of a new audience. The tournament will be taking place in the South African winter, which is fortunately not usually as harsh as a European winter, so we should have perfect temperatures for football. And how important will it be to have a strong showing by the South African national team? Well, I watched Bafana Bafana play in Germany recently, in a 0-0 draw with Korea DPR, and they will obviously have to start scoring some goals if they are going to do well at the tournament itself. Their build-up to the competition may not have been ideal, but of course we all know that home advantage can work wonders particularly in African countries. In Africa there is also a rare sense of shared continental identity, so I am sure the South Africans will be strongly supportive of all the other African teams. I think many of us would like to see an African team reach the semi-finals for the first time, and if so then why not the final, but of course there are fewer African teams taking part than European teams and the Africans may also be tired from also playing the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of this year, so it will certainly not be easy for them. So whoever does end up lifting the trophy on 11 July, what would make you a happy man when Africa s first FIFA World Cup comes to an end? Just being in South Africa with the FIFA World Cup has already made me very happy. It is of course a pioneering move to take the tournament to a continent which has never hosted an event of this size before. So in some ways the African dream will already have come true when the World Cup trophy is handed over to the winners in Johannesburg. But of course it has to be more than that. This FIFA World Cup has to be about the legacy that is left behind. Yes, there will be the stadiums, the roads, the airports and all those other concrete investments for the future. But what is more important is the activities we are carrying out for football development under our Win in Africa with Africa initiative or for social development with our various Football for Hope programmes and centres. Just bringing boys and girls together, organising schooling and health education, providing the tools and the incentive to fight against poverty and disease that is the legacy we want to leave. Our African dream has to carry on long after the tournament is over, so that everything we have promised and everything that the World Cup can bring to Africa does in fact become a reality. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 17

18 BUILDING SIGHTS When FIFA awarded the 2010 FIFA World Cup to South Africa six years ago, there was many a cynic who claimed that the stadiums would never get built. Luckily, the cynics were not the ones put in charge of the building work...! As South Africa prepares to host the first-ever FIFA World Cup on African soil, the tournament s organisers have in fact surpassed all expectations, creating or in some cases rebuilding a total of ten World Cup stadiums, many of which are now considered to be among the finest examples of football architecture to be found anywhere in the world. In a recent article on the World Cup preparations, Switzerland s Tages-Anzeiger newspaper went so far as to liken the building of Johannesburg s Soccer City to the creations of ancient Egypt. Africa s constructors have not produced anything like this since the pyramids, the paper gushed. Eleven million bricks, 80,000 cubic metres of concrete along with 16,000 tonnes of steel all brought together by 750 companies in the space of three years to form a giant cooking pot or calabash. While Soweto s huge melting pot - inspired structure will certainly wow this year s visitors, there is no shortage of visual highlights among the other nine World Cup stadiums. The sleek curves of Cape Town s Green Point, the distinctive petals atop Nelson Mandela Bay or the giraffe-inspired steel towers which adorn Nelspruit s Mbombela Stadium are just a few of the treats awaiting the fans before they have even stepped into the state-ofthe-art stadium interiors. For those who cannot wait for a glimpse, FIFA World takes a closer look at this year s ten 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums and their nine proud Host Cities Two stadium workers show their pride as construction of Johannesburg s breathtaking Soccer City nears completion in September FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

19 JOHANNESBURG Johannesburg, or the City of Gold as it is known locally, is the business hub of South Africa, contributing approximately 12% of the country s GDP. It is also considered the main economic engine for the entire Southern African region. Widely seen as South Africa s trendsetting city, Johannesburg boasts a rich cultural and sporting history, and is home to two of the country s most popular football teams historical arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. South Africa s largest metropolis is also the only 2010 Host City with two World Cup stadiums, Soweto s newly-rebuilt Soccer City and the legendary Ellis Park Stadium, which is more centrally located. Despite the hustle and bustle of the big city, Jo burg is unexpectedly green and orientated towards outdoor living. It has a wealth of trees creating an urban forest, spread out across more than 2,000 individual parks. The city is also a national and international melting pot, laced with all the cultural flavours of Africa and beyond a rich and exciting blend which has been reflected in the design of Soccer City. Soccer City One of the most artistic and aweinspiring football venues on the African continent, the newly-reconstructed Soccer City Stadium will host the first and final matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The ground s design is inspired by the iconic African pot known as the calabash, and its aesthetic appeal will be heightened when the stadium is lit at night. Soccer City is located in Johannesburg s Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium is located in the centre of Johannesburg and has hosted many epic sporting events including the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 between Brazil and the United States. The ground was given a significant face lift before the Confederations Cup finals and now seats just under 62,000 fans, increasing its capacity by almost nine per cent from the previous 57,000. Ellis Park was first built in 1928 as a rugby south west and is only a short distance from one of the country s football-crazy townships, Soweto. About 40 per cent of Johannesburg s population live in Soweto and this proximity is bound to make the stadium a hub of activity throughout the 2010 finals. The stadium is widely regarded as the heart of football in South Africa as it has hosted many important matches through history. In the mid-1980s, officials came union stadium and will always occupy a special place in the hearts of the country s sporting fans after the South African rugby team shocked New Zealand to lift the 1995 Rugby World Cup trophy soon after being allowed back on to the world sporting stage. It was a moment that brought the people of South Africa together in celebration as the iconic scenes of Nelson Mandela holding aloft the trophy at Ellis Park were beamed around the world. together to build the first international football stadium in the country and the construction was funded from the football fraternity s coffers. Soccer City hosted the first mass rally of Nelson Mandela after his release from prison in Thousands of mourners lamented Chris Hani s assassination at the stadium in It was also the venue for the 1996 CAF Africa Cup of Nations final, in which South Africa triumphed 2-0 over Tunisia. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 19

20 NELSPRUIT Surrounded by some of the country s most spectacular game reserves and the famous Kruger National Park, Nelspruit will offer 2010 FIFA World Cup visitors much more than just a base for world-class football. The capital of the Mpumalanga Province with a name which in siswati means place where the sun rises, Nelspruit certainly seems like a Mbombela Stadium An entirely new structure built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Mbombela Stadium pays tribute to the region s safari heritage with the incorporation of some playful giraffe-shaped towers whose orange necks extend gracefully upwards toward the heavens. The stadium takes its name from the siswati language (one of 11 official South African languages) and literally means DURBAN The largest city in KwaZulu-Natal Province, the city of Durban, or Ethekwini, has an intense gusto for life and a diverse range of cultures. The busiest port in Africa, Durban is the venue for one of the two semi-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and, with its mild winter climate, is bound to be a tourist hot spot during the tournament. Visitors seeking an unusual means of transport around the city may like to try a rickshaw ride, a truly distinctive Durban experience with the drivers decorated in ornate headdresses. At the very heart of Durban is the golden mile, a fourkilometre stretch of beaches, promenades, swimming pools and restaurants. The water is warmed by the Agulhas current and even during winter, an average temperature of around 15 C makes it ideal for year-round swimming. place which the sun would not want to leave. The lookout point at God s Window, offering almost unending views of rolling mountains, or the Blyde River Canyon with its majestic contrast of green hills and blue rivers are just two beauty spots that may tempt even the most hardened football fans away from the stadiums and fan zones for at least one afternoon. many people together in a small space. Fortunately for fans of Honduras, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Serbia, Korea DPR and Côte d Ivoire all of whom are due to watch group stage matches here the stadium itself boasts a spacious enough 44,000 seats, leaving a wonderful sporting legacy for the people of Mpumalanga Province. Before the stadium s completion, Nelspruit had no football venue capable of hosting international matches. Durban Stadium Durban s newly-built stadium epitomises the architectural innovation that has gone into the creation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup arenas and takes its design inspiration from the South African flag, with its grand 350-metre long arch representing the unity of this sport-loving nation. The two legs of the arch on the southern side of the stadium come together to form a single footing on the northern side, symbolising the new common purpose of a once-divided country. The 70,000-seater has been specifically designed as a multi-purpose venue complete with a cable car which ascends to a viewing platform located a breathtaking 106m above the pitch. From this vantage point, visitors can experience spectacular panoramic views of the nearby shoreline and city and, if they dare, take the quick route down via an exhilarating rope swing from the arch. For those prepared to invest a little more time, Nelspruit is also a good base for exploring the nearby Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which incorporates the Kruger National Park (South Africa), Limpopo National Park (Mozambique) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe). 20 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

21 NELSON MANDELA BAY/PORT ELIZABETH Belonging to Nelson Mandela s home province, Eastern Cape, and now bearing the name of the legendary statesman and South African icon, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth is one of the country s most popular destinations. Known as the Friendly City, this thriving port city is surrounded by immaculate beaches and boasts a rich timeline of impressive buildings dating back to the 19 th century. As well as being an attraction in its own right, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth is a good place from which to discover the enchantments of the Eastern Cape. Five different ecosystems converge in the province, making it a must for eco-tourists eager to sample South Africa s diverse geography, flora and fauna. Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Set on the shores of the city s North End Lake, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is another building which instantly catches the eye. As well as its scenic location, the stadium stands out for its distinctive roof design, made up of a series of white petals which have already led to the stadium being nicknamed The Sunflower. In keeping with the 2010 FIFA World Cup s emphasis on legacy, the stadium is MANGAUNG/BLOEMFONTEIN the first football-dedicated ground to be built in either the city or its surrounding areas. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will host a total of eight World Cup games including the match for third place and one of the four quarter-finals. At the heart of the Free State Province and home to some of South Africa s most fanatical football fans lies the artistic city of Mangaung/Bloemfontein. When not vociferously supporting their chosen teams, the citizens of Mangaung/ Bloemfontein have an otherwise laid-back reputation, their friendship, warmth and openness reflecting the open feel of the city itself. Mangaung/Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa, housing the country s Appeals Court, and is also the capital of the Free State Province. Free State Stadium As home to some of the country s most fanatical groups of supporters, the Free State Stadium is likely to be one of the most atmospheric venues during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Originally built in 1952, primarily as a rugby venue, the stadium was given a major overhaul in time for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 when it provided Mangaung, the SeSotho language version of the city s name, literally means place of the cheetahs, while Bloemfontein means fountain of flowers in Dutch. The city has a wealth of culture and history, reflected in its rich architectural heritage, numerous museums and monuments. the setting for the USA s shock semi-final defeat of European champions Spain. With its capacity now increased from 38,000 to 45,000, the Free State Stadium is establishing itself as one of South Africa s leading sporting venues, helped by the recent emergence of local side Bloemfontein Celtic, who achieved a sixth-place finish in South Africa s Premier Soccer League last season. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 21

22 TSHWANE/PRETORIA Though not as well known internationally as the likes of Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town, Tshwane/Pretoria is justifiably proud of its status as South Africa s executive capital. The Union Buildings are the seat of the country s government and have also provided the setting for the presidential inaugurations of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and the incumbent South African president, Jacob Zuma. For tourists, these sandstone buildings also happen to offer beautiful views over the city. Despite its importance when it comes to matters of state, Tshwane/Pretoria is far from being a colourless city of bureaucrats. Certainly the city boasts a myriad of museums and monuments, but these are punctuated by contemporary arts and craft markets and lively arts centres, bringing Tshwane/Pretoria alive with a unique blend of new and old. Loftus Versfeld Stadium Situated in the heart of Tshwane/Pretoria, Loftus Versfeld stadium is one of the oldest sports structures in South Africa, with a long history of hosting major events and sporting contests. Sport has been played on the site since 1903 when the ground was simply known as the Eastern Sports Ground. The first concrete structure for fans was built 20 years later with many regular upgrades following since, including the latest renovation work carried out for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. RUSTENBURG Renamed after local sports organiser Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, following his death in 1932, the stadium has staged numerous important games, including matches for the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as putting on concerts for international music stars such as Robbie Williams, UB40 and Celine Dion. Loftus Versfeld also occupies an important place in South African football history, as the site where the national team Bafana Bafana achieved their first-ever victory over a European team, beating Sweden 1-0 here in Located in South Africa s North West Province, and in the heart of the savannah bushveld, Rustenburg nestles at the foothills of the breathtaking Magaliesburg Mountains. The highest point in this mountain range is 1,852m above sea level, making it a natural tactical vantage point for the various battles for land fought across the region during the early 1800s. Home to one of the country s richest tribes, the Bafokeng Nation, the surrounding region is rich in mineral wealth and boasts the most platinum mined in the world. It also has a strong voortrekker (Dutch farming settlers) influence, and it was the settlers who first named the city Rustenburg, meaning place of rest. Even today the restful connotations remain, since Rustenburg is just 30 kilometres from Sun City, one of Africa s premier holiday resorts with an array of attractions, including casinos, four hotels, two golf courses designed by Gary Player, a 25-hectare jungle and the Valley of the Waves waterpark. Royal Bafokeng Stadium Named after Rustenburg s wealthy native tribe, the Royal Bafokeng stadium was built in 1999, receiving an upgrade in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup which has taken its capacity up to almost 45,000. The stadium has hosted many Premier Soccer League games, even though Rustenburg does not have its own Premier League side. The stadium was also used for last year s FIFA Confederations Cup, most memorably when it staged the dramatic third-place play-off match, in which European champions Spain narrowly edged the South African national team Bafana Bafana 3-2 after extra time. The stadium is conveniently located near a number of population centres, 12 kilometres from the centre of Rustenburg, a 25-minute drive away from Sun City and a half-hour drive from Pilansberg. 22 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

23 CAPE TOWN One would be hard pressed to find a reason not to fall in love with Cape Town, one of South Africa s most iconic cities. It has one of the most idyllic settings nestled between the ocean and breathtaking mountains, the most famous of which is the awe-inspiring Table Mountain whose flat top lies 1,086 metres above the city. On a clear day the landmark can be seen as far as 200km out to sea and has long served as a navigation point for mariners. The Mother City, as Cape Town is known in South Africa, offers an abundance of contrasting activities from lounging on the Atlantic seaboard s popular beaches to exploring the vividly painted area of the Bo- Kaap. Hout Bay is a hub for fishing, especially tuna and crayfish, and the historical naval base at Simon s Town has a fascinating past. The Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront is a great location for shopping, while a more sobering experience can be had by taking the short boat ride over to the infamous former prison on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and his fellow political prisoners were incarcerated during the apartheid regime. POLOKWANE A vibrant, busy and colourful wonderland in a sea of grass, surrounded by scenic mountains, Polokwane is no less varied when it comes to its local residents. Situated at the centre of the Limpopo Province and surrounded by three of South Africa s neighbours (Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique), the city boasts a remarkable social diversity, as well as being an economic and cultural hub and a major centre for regional investment. The surrounding area is steeped in history and mythology, having seen Peter Mokaba Stadium Named after one of the renowned champions of South Africa s struggle against the apartheid regime, the Peter Mokaba Stadium takes its design inspiration from the iconic local baobab tree (see above), with the steel structure supporting the roof plane gathered together at each corner of the stadium and supported by giant trunk structures. A completely Green Point Stadium One of the most artistic 2010 FIFA World Cup venues, the newly-built Green Point Stadium is situated in one of the most sought-after areas in the city of Cape Town. Tickets for games here will also be much sought-after, particularly during the tournament s closing stages when the Green Point Stadium is due to host one of the two semi-final matches. This multi-purpose venue will also be used to stage major events and concerts. Fans will be a stone s throw from the ocean and the mountains of Cape Town will provide a stunning backdrop to the football. The location is ideal as it is a short walk from the transportation hub of the city. numerous tribes and civilisations come and go from the arrival of the first Stone Age nomads and Iron Age settlers through to the more recent European migrations. It is also the land of the biggest tree in Africa, the upside down Adansonia, better known locally as the baobab. new structure, built next to the old Peter Mokaba Stadium, the ground offers seating for just over 45,000. Current African Player of the Year Didier Drogba has fond memories of the old stadium, having made his international debut at the ground in a 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, with his Côte d Ivoire side going on to win the game against South Africa 2-1. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 23

24

25 THE ELEVENTH STADIUM South Africa s ten FIFA World Cup stadiums are not the only place where fans can gather in their thousands to enjoy the live match experience. Once again FIFA Fan Fests will provide a festive meeting point for ticketless supporters and, for the first time, not just in the host country. From Table Mountain to the Copacabana in Brazil, from Durban Beach to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and from Soweto to the Sydney Harbour Bridge more fans than ever, in more countries than ever, will have access to the FIFA Fan Fest experience. Born among the spontaneous mass street parties that took place around giant screens when the 2002 FIFA World Cup was cohosted by Korea Republic and Japan, and growing up four years later in the organised FIFA Fan Fests of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the phenomenon will now reach adulthood in 2010 as the party zones spread beyond South Africa to the watching world. As well as taking place in South Africa s nine Host Cities, this new globalised approach will see International FIFA Fan Fests welcoming crowds at iconic locations around the world. Berlin, Mexico City, Paris, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney are the six cities partnering FIFA in this exciting next step. We are aiming to keep the success of these events alive by bringing fans together in even greater numbers, FIFA Director of Marketing Thierry Weil told FIFA World, and not only in the host country s cities but in major cities throughout the world. Harbour. There will be no better place to celebrate the world game, Keneally insisted. With the spectacular Sydney Harbour as a backdrop, our culturally diverse city will ensure residents and visitors experience all the fun and excitement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa. Still, Sydney will face strong competition from its South African and international rivals, who have also chosen a host of stunning locations, from Durban s New Beach and Cape Town s Grand Parade to Berlin s Olympischer Platz and Strasse des 17. Juni, the Jardins du Trocadéro in Paris and Rio de Janeiro s legendary Copacabana Beach. We are delighted to participate in the International FIFA Fan Fest, which will be a great opportunity to start our countdown to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, said Rio s secretary of tourism Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello. We are welcoming everyone to cheer with us at the Copacabana Beach especially those who might want to root for the Brazilian team! Spectacular settings As the undisputed football capital of Australia, Sydney is honoured to be selected as an International FIFA Fan Fest City, Kristina Keneally, State Premier of New South Wales told FIFA World, as the city put the finishing touches on a spectacular viewing area which includes a giant screen and stage floating on the water of Darling An artist s impression of how the festivities will look in Sydney. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 25

26 Match Schedule 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA TM Group matches Friday 11 June Saturday 12 June Sunday 13 June Monday 14 June Tuesday 15 June Wednesday 16 June Thursday 17 June Friday 18 June Saturday 19 June Sunday 20 June Monday 21 June Tuesday 22 June Wednesday 23 June Thursday 24 June Friday 25 June Johannesburg Soccer City RSA v. MEX NED v. DEN ARG v. KOR BRA v. CIV GHA v. GER Johannesburg Ellis Park ARG v. NGA BRA v. PRK SVN v. USA ESP v. HON SVK v. ITA Nelspruit Mbombela HON v. CHI ITA v. NZL AUS v. SRB PRK v. CIV Rustenburg Royal Bafokeng ENG v. USA NZL v. SVK GHA v. AUS MEX v. URU DEN v. JPN Mangaung/ Bloemfontein Free State JPN v. CMR GRE v. NGA SVK v. PAR FRA v. RSA SUI v. HON Cape Town Green Point URU v. FRA ITA v. PAR ENG v. ALG POR v. PRK CMR v. NED Durban Durban GER v. AUS ESP v. SUI NED v. JPN NGA v. KOR POR v. BRA Polokwane Peter Mokaba ALG v. SVN FRA v. MEX GRE v. ARG PAR v. NZL Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Nelson Mandela Bay KOR v. GRE CIV v. POR GER v. SRB CHI v. SUI SVN v. ENG Tshwane/Pretoria Loftus Versfeld SRB v. GHA RSA v. URU CMR v. DEN USA v. ALG CHI v. ESP GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D 1 South Africa 1 Argentina 1 England 1 Germany 2 Mexico 2 Nigeria 2 USA 2 Australia 3 Uruguay 3 Korea Republic 3 Algeria 3 Serbia 4 France 4 Greece 4 Slovenia 4 Ghana 26 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

27 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals 3 rd / 4 th place and final B v. 2A(2) v. 3 (A) Winner I v. Winner II G v. 2H (7) v. 8 (D) C v. 2D (3) D v. 2C (4) E v. 2F(5) H v. 2G (8) Rest days v. 4 (B) Rest days A v. C (I) Saturday 26 June Sunday 27 June Monday 28 June Tuesday 29 June Wednesday 30 June Thursday 1 July Friday 2 July Saturday 3 July Sunday 4 July Monday 5 July Tuesday 6 July Wednesday 7 July Thursday 8 July Friday 9 July Saturday 10 July Sunday 11 July B v. D (II) Rest days A v. 2B (1) v. 7 (C) Loser I v. Loser II F v. 2E (6) GROUP E GROUP F GROUP G GROUP H 1 Netherlands 1 Italy 1 Brazil 1 Spain 2 Denmark 2 Paraguay 2 Korea DPR 2 Switzerland 3 Japan 3 New Zealand 3 Côte d Ivoire 3 Honduras 4 Cameroon 4 Slovakia 4 Portugal 4 Chile FIFA WORLD I NEWS 27

28 CENTRES OF HOPE Already being realised in South Africa, the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is designed to leave an African legacy that extends beyond the host country and far beyond football. By Mike Geddes, Johannesburg The first centre opened its doors in December Launched in 2007, FIFA s 20 Centres for 2010 project will create 20 community centres across Africa, specialising in the provision of public health and education services along with football facilities. The simple but effective concept is that football can be used as a magnet for young people who then receive potentially life-changing lessons once they start to use the centres. Based upon the success of similar schemes operated by other organisations in the Football for Hope movement, the centres offer a physical location where the movement s ideas can take root. The first of the 20 centres opened its doors in December 2009, aptly in South Africa, in the township of Khayelitsha near Cape Town. The centre is hosted by Grassroot Soccer, a South Africa-based, non-profit organisation that integrates football with HIV prevention and life skills programmes that give African youngsters the knowledge, skills and support they need to remain HIV-free. The children are always eager to be involved, and many of them come from a long way off to participate in the programme, primarily because it is fun and entertaining, explains Grassroot Soccer founder Kirk Friedrich. The educational element is integrated in a way that adds value to the programme rather than taking it away. Work is already under way on the next six Football for Hope Centres in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Mali and Rwanda and a further centre for South Africa is planned in Alexandra, the host community of the Football for Hope Festival 2010 (see article on page 30). The locations of the centres are determined by identifying local challenges and local organisations that are using football for social development. The decision on the location of the centres also depends on support by the community, the football assocation, the municipal and provincial governments and other relevant local stakeholders in other words it is a real partnership. This extends even to the construction of the centres, which is being supported by new FIFA World Cup Sponsor Yingli Solar, who will supply solar panel roofs. The process is being supervised by FIFA and streetfootballworld in collaboration with local and international architects and the whole construction of a centre, including securing the land, engaging the community, developing the designs, tailoring programmes and setting up the centre management, takes approximately one year. We always involve the local NGOs that will manage the centres in the design and construction process, together with the community, to ensure ownership and responsibility two factors that are vital for the long-term success of the centres, which is ultimately what 20 Centres for 2010 is all about, providing a lasting legacy, says FIFA s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi. 28 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

29 FIRST EIGHT How the first eight Football for Hope Centres are shaping up Baguinéda Football for Hope Centre Bamako, Mali The Football for Hope Centre in Mali will be situated in the rural area of Baguinéda, 35km from the capital, Bamako. The Centre Host is Association Malienne pour la Promotion de la Jeune Fille et de la Femme (AMPJF), an organisation that provides young women with football, educational and entrepreneurship programmes. The centre will provide literacy programmes, vocational training, re-insertion of school drop-outs, reproductive health education as well as HIV prevention. The opening is scheduled for July Mathare Football for Hope Centre Nairobi, Kenya Located in Nairobi s Mathare slum, the centre is hosted by Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), one of the biggest community organisations in Africa and a pioneer in development through football. A staggering unemployment rate of 42% and the resulting challenges that this creates are the biggest issues affecting the community. The Football for Hope Centre will provide an HIV testing and counselling centre, a library and IT courses. The opening is scheduled for June Oguaa Football for Hope Centre Cape Coast, Ghana Hosted by Play Soccer Ghana, the Oguaa Football for Hope Centre will target both school and streetchildren with its educational programmes. Activities at the centre will revolve around the Play Soccer curriculum, which combines football drills with messages about health and hygiene, values and important life skills. The city of Cape Coast, or Oguaa in the local language, has a long tradition in both football and education, with the country s first official football team and the first secondary school established in the town (see May issue of FIFA World). The opening is scheduled for December Kimisagara Football for Hope Centre Kigali, Rwanda In the search for justice and peaceful coexistence, centre host Espérance seeks to fight the ethnic divide of the Rwandan population through education and social programmes. The organisation has been working in the Kimisagara community for several years and provides opportunities for the large number of out-of-school children. Activities at the Football for Hope Centre will include their Football for Peace programme, a football theatre programme, language courses and HIV/Aids counselling. The opening is scheduled for December Katutura Football for Hope Centre Windhoek, Namibia This Football for Hope Centre will be built in a township of Windhoek which is heavily affected by poverty and illnesses such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis. Centre host Special Olympics Namibia has been supporting people with intellectual disabilities through sports programmes since People with special needs face particularly difficult challenges in Namibia and through the Football for Hope Centre Special Olympics will reduce stigmatism and promote the full integration of their participants in society. The opening is scheduled for July Khayelitsha Football for Hope Centre Cape Town, South Africa The first Football for Hope Centre was opened in December 2009 in Khayelitsha, the fastest-growing township in South Africa, located outside Cape Town. The centre host is Grassroot Soccer, an organisation that integrates football with HIV prevention and life skills programmes (see January/February issue of FIFA World). Football for Hope Centre Mokopane, Mogalakwena, Limpopo, South Africa from mid-late 2011 The Football for Hope Centre will be run and managed by the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS) offering football activities combined with health, counselling and testing, first aid, care, life skills, and peer education. Lesotho Football for Hope Centre Maseru, Lesotho Since 2005, Kick4Life has delivered a health education, HIV testing and life-skills programme in Lesotho, a country with the world s third-highest prevalence of HIV infection and extremely high levels of poverty. The Lesotho Football for Hope Centre will be built in the capital Maseru and will provide a wide range of opportunities for young people from all over the country. Planning of the centre began in March 2010 and the opening is scheduled for March FIFA WORLD I NEWS 29

30 ALL EYES ON ALEXANDRA Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are not the only superstars getting ready to perform in South Africa. The Football for Hope Festival 2010 will bring together young people from around the world who are improving their communities using the power of football. By Mike Geddes and Thabo Sephuma The Football for Hope Festival is open to everyone and entrance is free all day from 4 July to 10 July! Come on down to No. 3 Square in Alexandra to share the excitement! A park and ride service is available from the Altrec Stadium. The 20 Football for Hope Centres currently being provided for Africa are intended to leave a physical legacy for the continent, built upon the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (see previous article). The overall Football for Hope movement is a much more global concept however, bringing together more than 80 social development programmes in over 50 countries under the umbrella of FIFA and its social development partners streetfootballworld. For most of the year, the movement exists to help its members pool ideas and experiences with the aim of helping more and more people in socially deprived areas benefit from the programmes on offer. At the end of June, though, the emphasis will be purely on fun, as 32 delegations from disadvantaged communities around the world travel to the Johannesburg township of Alexandra for the inaugural Football for Hope Festival. Marking the first time that such an event has been included in the official programme of a FIFA World Cup, the festival will welcome boys and girls from organisations tackling social issues as varied as homelessness in the UK, landmines in Cambodia, HIV/ Aids education in South Africa or the integration of refugees in Australia. The festival will culminate in an exciting, mixed-gender football tournament being played from 4-10 July in a stadium specially constructed for the event. And just as Bafana Bafana will be carrying home hopes at the real FIFA World Cup, so too will a local team be providing plenty of cheer in Alexandra. Team Alexandra is made up of boys and girls from the host community, all of whom work as young volunteers for Play Soccer, a project which uses football to teach life skills and health education. To get an understanding of what the festival means to these youngsters, FIFA World spoke to the team s coach Sello Mahlangu. 30 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

31 Q+A SELLO MAHLANGU TEAM ALEXANDRA COACH FIFA World: What does football mean to the community of Alexandra? Sello Mahlangu: You know, I love, live and breathe football. It s an integral part of life for me and my community and this township has produced some great players like (former South Africa internationals) Brian Baloyi, Shakes Kungwane and Maimane Phiri to mention just a few. There is a lot of talent in Alexandra, but unfortunately most kids drop out from playing football because there are limited opportunities. How do you feel about taking part in the Football for Hope Festival 2010? It s a great opportunity for me to be part of this historic event and I m extremely excited to be a part of it. It s a once-in-alifetime opportunity for me to empower myself and learn more about other cultures. Alexandra has finally caught the eye of the world! Why is it important to you to be seen as a role model in your community? First and foremost, this World Cup isn t just about the big stars, but also about bringing hope, change and opportunities to communities like Alexandra. It s very important for kids from Alex to see that, even if you come from a poor background, if you work hard and stay out of trouble, you can make it too. Already I am having an impact with kids in my area because they know I am part of this team. Thanks to Football for Hope for giving the young people of Alex an opportunity to shine. How do you think this experience will help you after the festival has finished? Being part of Team Alexandra has already changed my life, and that of the whole team, for the better. I now look at life with a positive attitude and I hope to share this experience with my peers after the World Cup. I think that by the end of the festival I will have learned to be tolerant and to love others, to have learned some coaching and life skills which we can then give back to the community. There are many young people who are doing bad things here in Alexandra and I thank God that I am not one of them. Without football I think I would be one of those kids who is mixed up in crime. After the festival I want to continue to help young people through education and soccer, to take kids away from the streets and to change lives. Alexandra s No. 3 Square recreation ground will provide the setting for the inaugural Football for Hope Festival. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 31

32 INTERVIEW WITH WILLI LEMKE A HUGE SENSE OF UNITY The United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, calling upon member associations to act in a spirit of solidarity. Sport is playing an increasingly important role, however, and the FIFA World Cup is at the forefront as football now has a cultural, economic, political and social dimension and is closely linked to the United Nations development work. Interview by Alexander Koch, Bremen Willi Lemke has been the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace since 2008, but before that he was the general manager of Werder Bremen for nearly 20 years so he certainly knows his way around the game as well as just how important football is to modern society. As part of his role with the UN, Lemke was specifically asked to focus on the African continent and to support the projects that can use sport to help the UN reach their Millennium Development Goals. With the FIFA World Cup the world s biggest single-sport event now just around the corner, FIFA World asked Lemke how important the tournament will be for the United Nations and their worldwide development work. 32 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

33 FIFA World: What does the FIFA World Cup mean to Africa? Willi Lemke: The World Cup is a great opportunity, not just for South Africa, but for the entire continent. I have travelled extensively around Africa, and I have seen just how important the World Cup and football is to the people there. You can see just how proud these people are that the World Cup is taking place on their continent. Football brings people together, not just within a country, but across borders. So, for example, everyone on that continent will see themselves as Africans during this World Cup. There will be incredible solidarity, and there will be a chance for the many ethnic groups in various countries to grow closer together. Solidarity between countries will also improve. Could you give us any examples? Yes, take last year s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, when I happened to be in Nigeria. As soon as the final between Ghana and Brazil started, everything ground to a halt. And when Ghana won on penalties, people ran out into the streets and everyone started hugging each other. Everyone was happy that an African team had won. Only sport and football in particular can arouse such emotions. And then there is the example of Côte d Ivoire. At the height of the civil war, someone had the wonderful idea of organising an international match against Madagascar in Bouaké, the area of the worst unrest. All of a sudden, everyone came together under the national flag, sang the national anthem and forgot their differences, if only for a moment. But we can also look closer to home for other examples. In Germany, the World Cup saw people rejoice in singing the national anthem, and thousands upon thousands of people flew the national flag on their cars. Politics would never have been able to do that so easily. I am expecting something similar in South Africa. Football can create a huge sense of unity. How important is the FIFA World Cup to South Africa in particular? First and foremost, South Africa has been in the glare of the world s media for many months already. Every single report whether positive or negative has been down to the FIFA World Cup. South Africa has to use this unique communication platform. It is far from being a united country, a country that has grown together. There are 11 official languages, countless dialects and many ethnic groups that have been arbitrarily separated or thrown together by colonial decisions. Forty-six terrible years of apartheid also split the country and created divides that are only healing slowly. Sport, however, can bring these people together. I would hope that the FIFA World Cup can make a huge contribution in terms of nation-building. And how will other African countries benefit from the World Cup? If the World Cup is a success, it will convince many other African countries that they too can do great things. A successful World Cup could also give the entire continent a huge lift and encourage it to once again try and attract more investors and tourists. But this would also have the opposite effect if the World Cup for whatever reason were not a success, which is why it is all the more important that no stone is left unturned to make sure that it is. What kind of effect can the FIFA World Cup have on development work? Successful development work is based on many things, including commitment, hope and trust. If you are optimistic about the future, you are more likely to be committed and ready to invest, but if you are pessimistic, you are more likely to withdraw and lose investment. That has long been a problem in Africa, and when the media focus on scandals and other problems in their reports, that only serves to make the vicious circle even bigger. This is a continent that has so much to offer. It is incredibly important that Africa manages to get people talking about the positive side for once. South Africa has the perfect opportunity to show the world its beauty, its animal world, its culture, its diversity and its happy people. South Africa can be a beacon of hope for Africa. That is why it is so important that this World Cup is a success. Positive reports can give the continent more impetus and confidence, which in turn will help development work. Can you be more specific? There are already many projects and organisations that use sport to drive social development. FIFA, with the Football for Hope movement, brings together and supports projects in which football has a role to play. I hope that with the World Cup coming up, the focus of the world s media will fall on these projects and on the social aspect of football, which will result in development work receiving more attention and support thanks to football. I would therefore encourage all representatives of the media to pay a visit to the Football for Hope Festival in the last week of the World Cup in Johannesburg. If they do, they will hear stories that will be at least as moving as any of their team s victories at the World Cup. And what would you like to see from FIFA in the future? Football is the only language in the world that can arouse such emotions and bring people together. I would like to see FIFA continue to accept its responsibility to society, which it does so well at the moment, and to continue to help the United Nations reach the Millennium Development Goals in the next few years. I would be delighted if more and more associations and clubs followed this positive example and took an even greater interest in the social aspect of the game. I am a firm believer that sport can do so much in terms of development. And if we can successfully harness the emotions and energy created by football for our development work, and if we can draw the media s attention to our work as well, the relationship between the United Nations and FIFA will continue to be a success. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 33

34 Young participants in a FIFA Grassroots festival in Namibia. A HUGE STEP FORWARD The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the first to be held on the African continent, will undoubtedly be one of the greatest sports events the world has ever seen. What is more, the event has placed the focus firmly on football development in Africa over the last four years, thanks to a number of far-reaching programmes. Last March, the Goal Bureau approved funding for four new artificial pitches in Africa (in Congo DR, Eritrea, Gambia and Sierra Leone), taking the number of such pitches built throughout Africa between 2006 and 2010 to 77. This increase in the availability of good-quality pitches in Africa is essential, particularly for the development of young players and national teams, but it is not enough on its own. FIFA s development programmes 34 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

35 in Africa therefore extend to providing further infrastructure and delivering new knowledge and skills to African football. Infrastructure is vital to football development because without football pitches, national technical centres and association headquarters, the game cannot be organised and run in accordance with best practices. That is why the Goal Programme has been so successful in Africa since its launch in Fifty-two African member associations have already been allocated a project, 38 can boast two projects, and a further 24 have received a third. Indeed, in March 2010, Congo DR became the first association to be awarded a fourth project. The overwhelming majority of African associations now have the necessary infrastructure for their development, and thanks to this progress FIFA has been able to fund the installation of a player registration system over the last few years. This system is a crucial step en route to professionalising football, particularly at national league level. Tanzania is one of the countries which has recently begun using the system, thus adding another facility to those already installed by FIFA (a technical centre and three artificial pitches). Leodegar Tenga, President of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), is delighted: This is a huge step towards professionalisation. Even if you have all the will in the world, you can only progress to a certain limit without the necessary facilities. Now that we have all the facilities, football can only continue to grow. Thanks to these initiatives, Tanzania has benefited from no fewer than seven courses over the last 40 years on top of the regional seminars that TFF staff have been able to attend and the professionalisation activities undertaken since Coaching, refereeing, club management, administrative reforms and women s football are just some of the focal points of FIFA s technical and development programmes. These courses have a huge impact, for while it may be the case that only 30 or so coaches and referees attend these three or four days of training, they do not hide in a corner. They communicate the knowledge they have acquired, even if only by example! explains Tenga. Recently, Tanzania became one of the first African countries to benefit from the new FIFA Member Association Professionalisation Programme, as part of which an analysis of the association s organisational structures was carried out. This phase of the programme culminates in organisational recommendations that should enable the association to streamline its operations and fundamentally improve its structures and processes. At present, 14 African countries are involved in this groundbreaking programme. These aspects of football development in Africa offer just a glimpse of the longterm work being carried out by FIFA, CAF and the 53 African member associations. Football development also includes financial support from FIFA. Through its Financial Assistance Programme, FIFA invested USD 53 million in Africa between 2006 and 2010, encompassing training and prevention programmes in the area of sports medicine, training sessions for representatives of African media both television and press and partnerships with universities. The initiatives also include those aimed at increasing participation and the standard of the youngest players, who form the base of the football pyramid, such as the FIFA Grassroots Programme, targeted at children aged between six and 12 and already a success in Namibia and South Africa, and the Goal Football projects, which prepare talented young players aged between 15 and 18 for underage national teams and the elite level. All of these programmes and activities have a common goal to fundamentally improve all aspects of African football in the long term. Everyone, including President Tenga, is working towards the future. He says: We still have a lot of work to do. Here in Tanzania, we have about 200,000 players, but in reality there are several million playing around the country. We have to be in a position to welcome them all, teach them, and make sure that the most talented are not lost to the game. A tremendous achievement In addition to providing tangible football development facilities, FIFA also contributes intangible resources to boost African football. For example, Africa was the recipient of the very first course in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Development Programme in More than 30 years later, the objective remains the same: to equip FIFA s members with technical and administrative know-how. Only now the volume is far greater. Today in Africa, FIFA organises as many courses in a single year as it organised in a decade 20 years ago. Win in Africa with Africa football turf pitch in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania). FIFA WORLD I NEWS 35

36

37 WHAT EVERY PLAYER WANTS When the whistle blows for the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 11 June, every player will be holding onto the same dream of being back in Johannesburg one month later to hold aloft a certain 36cm tall, 6.175kg statuette made of pure, 18-carat gold. Meet the FIFA World Cup Trophy Not many sporting trophies are ever likened to the Mona Lisa, but in a recent interview with the French sports daily, L Équipe, an appraiser for the French auction house PIASA made exactly that comparison between Leonardo Da Vinci s world-famous masterpiece and world football s most prestigious trophy. Because (the trophy) is unique and because FIFA would never sell it, its price is inestimable, a little like La Joconde, Henri-Pierre Teissèdre told the newspaper. No doubt, many of the world s top footballers would also rather have the FIFA World Cup Trophy in their possession than Da Vinci s legendary lady not bad going for a trophy that was first unveiled less than 40 years ago when German captain Franz Beckenbauer had the pleasure of lifting it at the end of the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Of course the FIFA World Cup tournament has a much longer history, having started with the first edition in Uruguay in Back then, however, a different World Cup trophy was in use. Widely known now as the Jules Rimet trophy, this statuette depicting the Greek goddess of victory was created by French sculptor Abel Lafleur. Crafted out of sterling silver and gold plate, it was one centimetre shorter than the current version and weighed around 3.8kg. I had it in my mind to create something that symbolised effort and exertion, while at the same time expressing harmony, simplicity and peace. FIFA World Cup Trophy designer Silvio Gazzaniga 1974 FIFA TM Officially renamed as the Jules Rimet Cup in 1946 in honour of the FIFA President who had initiated the FIFA World Cup, the original trophy came through a number of adventures, starting with the Second World War when Dr Ottorino Barassi, the Italian Vice-President of FIFA, hid it in a shoebox under his bed to keep it out of the hands of occupying troops. Then in 1966, the cup disappeared while on display as part of the build-up to the FIFA World Cup in England and was only recovered, buried under a tree, by a little dog called Pickles. Four years later the original trophy headed off for what should have been a peaceful retirement after Brazil celebrated lifting the famous prize for the third time in their history. According to the regulations of the time, the first team FIFA WORLD I NEWS 37

38 to win the competition three times was entitled to keep the trophy on a permanent basis. Unfortunately for the original trophy, its story does not end there. In 1983 it was stolen by thieves while on display at the Brazilian Football Confederation s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Never seen again, it is believed that the prize was melted down a sad demise for what was once world football s most coveted trophy. A new beginning Returning to 1970, the retirement of the Jules Rimet left FIFA in need of a new trophy to adorn its flagship tournament. In keeping with the hard-fought qualifying process undergone by the various national teams wishing to take part in the FIFA World Cup, a competition was also launched to design the old cup s replacement. In the end, it was Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga who won through. Now aged 89 and still living in his native Milan, Gazzaniga was employed at the time by the Stabilimento Artistico Bertoni. He later recalled locking himself away in his studio near La Scala for a week to draw up his first outlines. My inspiration for the design came from two basic elements the athlete and the world, Gazzaniga told FIFA Magazine in I had it in my mind to create something that symbolised effort and exertion, while at the same time expressing harmony, simplicity and peace. Gazzaniga s design clearly struck a chord with the FIFA committee set up specifically to select the new trophy, with the Italian beating off 52 rival entries to see his creation chosen as the new FIFA World Cup Trophy. Understandably, given the fate of its predecessor, the current FIFA World Cup Trophy is no longer given to the winning teams to keep for the four years leading up to the next edition. Instead they receive a replica until the next tournament, but one which is only gold-plated. The trophy is also no longer intended to be kept outright by any team that wins it three times. A decision will have to be taken about its future in 2038, however. That is the year in which the space available on the base for inscribing the name of each edition s winning team is due to be taken up. It is a tribute to Gazzaniga s design that the trophy is expected to retain its mystique well beyond Whether it will endure as long as Mona Lisa s smile is another question, and one which its creator treats with gentle scepticism. There s no sense in a comparison like that, Gazzaniga told FIFA.com in September 2009 as his famous trophy embarked on its latest global trip (see following article). The Mona Lisa is of a different quality and is in a whole different category. I appreciate the compliment, but that s an exaggeration. The reason the FIFA World Cup Trophy may attract similar crowds to the Mona Lisa is perhaps because you need some training or knowledge to understand all of Da Vinci s subtleties. The trophy can be understood by anyone. Perhaps not completely, but it is still a great popular symbol which continues to touch people. Nelson Mandela welcomed the FIFA World Cup Trophy to South Africa in May, along with Local Organising Committee CEO Dr Danny Jordaan and FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. 38 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

39 The FIFA World Cup Trophy landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January one of 84 stop-offs around the world. THE TROPHY HAS LANDED The FIFA World Cup Trophy touched down in South Africa in early May following an incredible global trek through 84 countries and 91 major cities. By David O Connor As it prepares to be handed over to the world s best football team for the tenth time in its 36-year existence, the FIFA World Cup Trophy has of course already clocked up plenty of air miles. Nothing could have prepared the prestigious prize for its latest odyssey though a 138,902km journey in the space of just nine months. Kicking off in Cairo on 24 September, the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca- Cola has taken in almost half of the world s countries and given hundreds of thousands of football fans a once-in-alifetime opportunity to see the famous trophy up close and even get a souvenir photograph of their special moment. The first leg of the tour took place exclusively on the African continent, visiting 50 countries in 70 days before arriving in Cape Town on 2 December, just in time for the FIFA World Cup Final Draw. After a well-deserved festive break, the trophy was soon back on the road for the international leg of the tour, starting in the Indian city of Kolkata on 15 January Another 33 countries followed, spanning five continents and taking in some truly iconic spots, such as Moscow s Red Square and Rio de Janeiro s Copacabana Beach. Finally came the return to South Africa, where the trophy was welcomed by none other than former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, six years after Mandela had last touched the trophy on the day his country was awarded the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Following its reunion with the legendary statesman, the trophy then embarked on its final leg an intense 32-day trip through 36 locations, including not only major Host Cities such as Durban and Cape Town but also smaller, rural areas like Mthatha and Orkney. The response to the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola has been incredible, particularly in Africa, said Emmanuel Seuge, Group Director, Worldwide Sports and Entertainment Marketing for Coca-Cola. We have been greeted by thousands of passionate fans who have welcomed us to their countries and expressed their excitement and celebrations at our events. While the general public could get a rare close-up glimpse of the trophy, they were not able to get their hands on it a privilege which is reserved exclusively for heads of state and previous FIFA World Cup winners, plenty of whom were queuing up to rekindle old memories. Pure emotion There are certain things in life that cannot be explained, but when a sportsperson touches a trophy, it s pure emotion, said Brazilian legend and three-time FIFA World Cup winner Pelé as he thrilled the crowd with an appearance at the Rio event. Of course I hope that the captain of the current Brazilian national team gets to experience that emotion in South Africa. Marco Tardelli, a member of the Italian team which won the 1982 FIFA World Cup and current assistant manager of the Irish national team, welcomed the trophy to Ireland s capital city Dublin. It s heavier than I remember, joked Tardelli as he lifted the trophy for a second time, to carry it off the aeroplane. Another former World Cup winner caught up in the excitement of the tour was Christian Karembeu, a member of the French team that won world football s biggest prize in Born and raised in New Caledonia, Karembeu had the honour of accompanying the trophy back to his homeland. I never thought I would be able to bring the FIFA World Cup Trophy back to where I was born and grew up, he said. I am thrilled. The trophy has been in the hands of some true football greats over the past nine months. Now only one question remains who will be the next person to lay hands on sport s most iconic trophy when the 2010 FIFA World Cup reaches its climax in Soccer City on 11 July? FIFA WORLD I NEWS 39

40 BEAUTY AND THE BEST Vibrant design and high-tech engineering have been brought together by FIFA Partner adidas to create Jabulani the latest in a long line of official match balls for the FIFA World Cup. England international David Beckham shows off Jabulani during the ball s official launch in Cape Town last December. 40 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

41 Not everything was better in the good old days, as can be proven by looking back at the history of match balls at the FIFA World Cup. At the very first edition, played in Uruguay in 1930, the lack of any officially designated tournament ball meant that the two sides contesting the final the Uruguayan hosts and South American rivals Argentina both came to the match insisting that their own favoured ball should be used for the showdown. In a compromise unimaginable today, it was decided that each side would be able to use their ball for one half of the game each. The arrangement seems to have worked out best for Uruguay who were trailing 2-1 after using Argentina s ball in the first half, before rallying to win 4-2 with their own ball! By today s standards, the discussion over which of those 1930 balls was the better would be irrelevant since both would be seen as being equally bad. Made of leather and inconsistent in their shape and bounce, the balls used in the sport s early years were erratic and heavy particularly in the wet. Fast forward 80 years and hardly any comparison can be made between the balls of 1930 and the official match ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, known more concisely as Jabulani, a word which means to celebrate in the isizulu language. Produced by FIFA Partner adidas using state-of-the-art technology along with design elements aimed to mirror the energy, vibrancy and multicultural make-up of the tournament s South African hosts, Jabulani is a worthy addition to the lineage of FIFA World Cup official match balls produced by adidas since the 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico. Among the key innovations built into Jabulani is the use of thermally bonded 3D panels which fit together to form the ball s outer surface. This means that the ball is made up of pieces which are already curved when they are made unlike traditional models which consist of flat shapes which only bulge into a spherical shape once they are stretched by the pumping of air into the ball. Roundest ever This is a major innovation which required an entirely new production process, but which really paid off because it gives us pieces which come together to form a perfect sphere and a truly uniform ball response, Hans-Peter Nürnberg, Senior Development Engineer of the adidas innovation team, told FIFA World. Looking at the laboratory data that came back from the tests on Jabulani, we can definitely say that this is the roundest ball we have ever produced. Even if some air pressure was lost, this means that the ball would retain a good spherical shape, which would not be the case with conventional 32-panel hand-stitched balls. With the current modern, fast game it is essential that we give the players a ball that is as precise as they are. adidas innovation team Senior Development Engineer Hans-Peter Nürnberg Finer technical details to be found on Jabulani include a newly developed Grip n Groove profile which uses aero groove channels on the ball s surface and a smaller microtexture, comprising smaller goose-bump-like grips, to provide unparalleled accuracy and consistency. For us, it is really important to keep eliminating the imperfections of previous balls, Nürnberg explains. With the current modern, fast game it is essential that we give the players a ball that is as precise as they are. bladder (orange) aero grooves inner carcass (polyester/ cotton fabric) 3D tripod panel aero grooves 3D triangle panel Sneak peek: a look inside Jabulani FIFA WORLD I NEWS 41

42 By now, the world s top players will be well-accustomed to Jabulani, with each of the participating teams at the 2010 FIFA World Cup having been sent practice balls. Nürnberg says that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with perhaps one, not altogether surprising, exception. Some of the goalkeepers seem to be struggling a bit, or have told us they are having to adapt a little, which is often the way with new balls.. The rest of the players like the fact that they can shoot from almost anywhere, but of course the goalies see it a little differently, because they feel the ball is coming at them a little faster and with a higher energy. Even if it does turn out to favour strikers over goalkeepers, though, the main thing is that this ball will perform consistently for both sides. African inspiration Jabulani s design is no less striking than its technological specifications, and draws heavily on the South African host nation for its visual inspiration. Everything you see in the design has a link to South Africa, explains adidas Senior Designer Janneke van Oorschot,. When our design team first went to the country to get ideas, we were impressed by the whole concept of diversity and unity, of the 11 languages and cultures that have come together in harmony to form the modern South Africa. We wanted to put that concept across all of our products and of course into the official match ball. We started with the main elements, such as the triangle panel with its rounded edges which we see as a symbol of unity. Then there are shapes reminiscent of the Soccer City stadium where the opening game and final match will be played. And perhaps above all, we have the visual languages of the 11 gold lines running between the panels and the 11 colours used across the ball all of which reflects the 11 languages and cultures of the country. Beyond the details, though, I think the name of the ball says it all. Jabulani is a celebration, and the ball is designed to reflect colour, positive energy and positive feelings. I think that is the clearest message that we hope the ball brings across. MEET THE FAMILY... Telstar 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico 1974 FIFA World Cup Germany Ask any child today to sketch a football and you are likely to end up with something remarkably similar to the Telstar. Drawing its name as well as its pioneering look from the revolutionary space satellites that had recently been put into orbit, the Telstar was the first football to use black pentagons on a white background. Since the 1970 FIFA World Cup was the first to be broadcast live, the ball was designed to be easier to see on black-and-white televisions. The Telstar was used again in 1974, both in black and white and in a striking all-white design, named Chile. Questra 1994 FIFA World Cup USA The technical development stage for this ball, which was made from five different materials, was completed in the adidas centre for ball development in France before being tested by professional players, amateurs and youth teams in France, Germany and the USA. Continuing the evolution from the original Tango, this ball introduced a high-tech, ultra-high energy return layer of white polyethylene foam, making Questra softer to the touch (more controllable) and much faster off the foot for more speed. Inspired by space technology, high velocity rockets and America s quest for the stars, Questra set new performance standards. Tango 1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina Marking another revolution in football design, the Tango included 20 panels bearing a triad feature which gave an overall optical impression of 12 identical white circles. This design classic was so successful that it formed the basis of the next five FIFA World Cup official match balls. The 1978 ball represented elegance, dynamism and passion just like the Argentinian dance of the same name. Tricolore 1998 FIFA World Cup France The last of Tango s direct descendants, the 1998 tournament ball was the first multi-coloured ball. France s flag and national colours (the Tricolore) inspired the ball s name and design, which also incorporated the traditional cockerel symbol of the French nation and football association. On the technical side, the ball featured an advanced syntactic foam layer a tight regular matrix, composed of gas-filled, individually closed and highly durable micro balloons. This additional layer helped to further improve the ball s durability and energy return and made it more responsive. 42 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

43 A LOOK AT JABULANI S ANCESTORS Tango España 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain The design of this ball was only slightly altered from the original Tango of four years earlier but there was a major technological innovation. Though still made of leather, the Tango España featured revolutionary waterproof sealed seams which dramatically reduced the ball s water absorption and minimised weight increase during games played in the wet. Azteca 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico The Azteca was the first FIFA World Cup match ball to use synthetic material in place of the traditional leather. It was a change that once again revolutionised the game, increasing the durability of the ball and further minimising water absorption. With its never-beforeachieved performance on hard ground, at high altitude and in wet conditions, the Azteca represented a massive leap forward for the game. Its elegantly and elaborately decorated design was inspired by the hosting nation s native Aztec architecture and murals. Etrusco Unico 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy The adidas Etrusco Unico evolved the use of synthetic materials further, creating the first-ever match ball containing an internal layer of black polyurethane foam, making Etrusco Unico fully water-resistant, more lively and faster than ever. The name and intricate design took their inspiration from Italy s magnificent, ancient history and the contributions and fine art of the Etruscans. Three Etruscan lion heads decorate each of the 20 Tango triads. Fevernova 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Experts were quick to praise the Fevernova as the most accurate ball ever. Featuring a refined syntactic foam layer and a three-layer, knitted chassis the ball was engineered to boast superior performance characteristics and a constantly precise and predictable flight path. More obviously to the watching millions, Fevernova was the first ball to break with the traditional Tango design introduced in The colourful and revolutionary look was entirely based on Asian culture, with the golden elements standing for the energy of the host nations, while the red flames represented the tradition of fire as a driving force. Teamgeist 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Introducing a radical new 14-panel configuration, which reduced the amount of three-panel touch points by 60%, Teamgeist was designed to give a smoother, rounder exterior, affording players significant improvements in the ball s accuracy and control. Decorated in white and black, the traditional colours of the German national football team, and accentuated with the golden colour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, the ball s name comes from the German word for team spirit. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 43

44 TV BRINGING THE FANS CLOSER At the FIFA World Cup, the ratio between fans in the stadium and those watching at home is around 1:10,000. That is a figure that explains just why FIFA puts so much hard work into the production of TV footage and strives to be the number one in this area. Brazil star Luís Fabiano provides viewers with a close-up during last year s FIFA Confederations Cup. 44 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

45 At the FIFA World Cup, the ratio between fans in the stadium and those watching at home is around 1:1,000. That is a figure that explains just why FIFA puts so much hard work into the production of TV footage and strives to be number one in this area. Hundreds of millions of fans, spread out across the entire world, follow the FIFA World Cup on their TV screens and eagerly await each and every snippet from both on and off the pitch. Fans at home are now accustomed to having all the information on screen and at their fingertips, and they expect to see countless replays of the most exciting and controversial incidents from every conceivable angle. As demands and expectations increase, so the production of television coverage becomes ever more complicated and time-consuming. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, FIFA and its long-standing production partner HBS will introduce a raft of innovations that all have the same goal: to get the fans as close to the action as possible and to make their viewing experience that much better. Fans can now use mobile devices, particularly mobile phones, to watch vastly improved World Cup footage that has been produced especially for smaller screens, and thanks to a whole new range of functions, they can watch not only live matches but also call up replays or store footage in their digital archive. These technical and visual innovations have been made possible by the production process, which is now completely digital. Another innovation of note will be the use of seven special cameras in 25 matches to take footage into the third dimension. 3D footage will primarily be used for broadcasts in cinemas, but a number of TV channels will also offer this service to allow fans who don 3D glasses to get the feeling that they are sitting at the edge of the pitch and up close to the action. The 3D experience of a football match is something special, said FIFA Director of TV Niclas Ericson following a demonstration of a football match produced in 3D. The quality of the picture and the movement of the ball and the players make viewers feel one step closer to being in the stadium. Events in the stadium will also be covered in greater detail than ever before. Between 29 and 32 cameras will be on hand to cover the 90 minutes of action on the pitch, but in addition, after each game there will also be a further 60 minutes of footage covering the build-up to the match, a summary of the two halves and images of the first 30 minutes. Those who want to produce their own reports on matches and would also like to show images focusing on the host country, the host city, the teams, the fans or even regional culture no longer have to travel around with their own team to collect the necessary material as instead they can now get it directly from FIFA. FIFA offers the EBIF Show (Extended Basic International Feed Show) for exactly that purpose, to provide footage and background information on each game. All of the material is made available on a media platform that allows broadcasters to not only download the material but to also upload their own footage and swap it with other parties. FIFA will also be breaking new ground when it comes to the logistical dimensions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There were 14 film teams at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but this time round there will be no fewer than 42. Each team will have its own dedicated film team. All of these teams will be working hard to overcome the challenges posed by the long distances and the short deadlines to provide the pictures that will be beamed back into living rooms or on to market squares to create the incredible experience of watching the FIFA World Cup at a public viewing event. AN ALLIANCE WITH AFRICA In 2004, FIFA and the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) began discussions on bringing the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa to the televisions and radios of the sub-saharan Africa region in a way that would provide lasting benefits for the African broadcast community. Now that vision is being turned into reality. Over the past four years, FIFA and the AUB have been working together on a number of broadcastrelated projects, providing further incentives for broadcasters wishing to air World Cup matches. The most innovative of these projects are the FIFA-AUB Legacy Weeks, which provide topclass training courses where the broadcasters employees can receive additional training in the latest best-practice football production techniques. The goal of the Legacy Weeks is to raise the standard of football television broadcasts in the participating countries, allowing the broadcasters themselves to create a more valuable product, which they can use to increase their long-term revenues. In addition, the AUB and FIFA will produce an Africa-specific feed of all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in both English and French, as well as selected matches in Portuguese providing African viewers with an African perspective on the games they are watching, something which many European, South American and Asian fans have long been accustomed to thanks to the unilateral feeds frequently used by major broadcasters in those regions. To create the Africa-specific feed, the AUB has identified some of the most promising African commentators and put them in a specially designed training programme, conducted by Canal France International, to further improve their live commentary skills. The feeds will be produced in a specific area of the International Broadcast Centre, and in addition to the live matches, there will also be Africa-specific highlight shows using specially selected local talent on both sides of the camera. The cooperation between the AUB and FIFA is a model example of how media rights holders can get involved on the African continent, providing high-quality content while meeting commercial and development goals at the same time. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 45

46 A giant ticket was presented at the ceremony to mark the handover of tickets to construction workers. DREAM TICKETS Tens of thousands of South Africans who would never normally have the chance to see a FIFA World Cup match live will be able to do exactly that at the 2010 tournament, thanks to FIFA s innovative Ticket Fund programme. Hundreds of Soccer City construction workers shrugged off heavy rain and chilly temperatures on 3 May as they came together at the stadium which they had helped transform for a special celebration. Dancing, singing and blowing South Africa s famed vuvuzela trumpets, the builders were given a well-earned break from their work on the final preparations in order to collect two tickets each for one of the eight World Cup matches taking place at the venue. The ceremony, attended by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, Local Organising Committee CEO Dr Danny Jordaan and Johannesburg s Executive Mayor Amos Masondo, was part of a mass distribution of 120,000 complimentary World Cup tickets, designed to reward those whose efforts have made the 2010 FIFA World Cup possible and ensure the involvement of local residents who might otherwise have only dreamed of seeing a match live. First announced in September 2008 and officially launched in August 2009, the Ticket Fund is the first initiative of its 46 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

47 kind in the 80-year history of the FIFA World Cup. In total, 54,000 tickets will be given out to 27,000 stadium construction workers across the nine Host Cities, with the remaining 66,000 being distributed via social and human development activities supported by FIFA Partners adidas, Coca- Cola, Hyundai/Kia, Sony and Visa. We want to say a big thank you to the men and women whose hard work, skill and creativity brought us to the point we re at today. It is amazing what you have achieved and we hope that you will enjoy your World Cup experience, said Jordaan, who together with the FIFA Secretary General handed over the symbolic ticket to Patrick Geqeza, representing the construction workers who built and upgraded the tournament s ten stadiums. I am really proud when I look at the work my fellow workers and I have done over the years. The chance to sit in the stadiums we have built, to watch a World Cup match is a perfect reward, something we would have never imagined, said Geqeza, who has been part of the reconstruction of the Soccer City stadium from day one. Funding the future As well as rewarding the essential efforts of the construction workers, the Ticket Fund is also aimed at having a much wider impact on South African society. Hundreds of thousands of children and adults across South Africa have been participating in one of the sustainable Ticket Fund programmes implemented by the FIFA Partners. The complimentary category four tickets are used as further incentives to get involved in a wide range of programmes focusing on three key areas: education, health and the environment. adidas, for example, has teamed up with South Africa s Department of Education to support the My 2010 School Adventure campaign, which uses the huge interest in the 2010 FIFA World Cup to create an exciting programme which combines sport and education. Education is also at the forefront of the campaigns overseen by Hyundai, who are working together with Lapdesk, a company which provides portable lap tables for children whose schools do not possess conventional desks. As well as promoting education in general, Hyundai have also The chance to sit in the stadiums we have built to watch a World Cup match is a perfect reward, something we would have never imagined. Soccer City construction worker Patrick Geqeza decorated the lap desks with colourful designs aimed at promoting road safety. Coca-Cola have focused on the environment, rolling out a nationwide recycling programme in 200 South African schools, with World Cup tickets awarded to schoolchildren taking part in a can- and bottle-collecting competition. Sony are meanwhile addressing pressing health and social issues, after pairing up with South African non-profit organisation Grassroot Soccer to support programmes that combine the fun of football with important lessons about HIV and Aids. Kia s focus is also on health, with disadvantaged children from around South Africa being given the opportunity to participate in street soccer leagues as well as an accompanying health education programme, implemented by Kia s chosen partner Sporting Chance. Through this programme South African children will learn about the importance of nutrition, hygiene and being active. Adult education takes centre stage for Visa, who have used their Ticket Fund allocation to provide incentives for South Africans taking part in a financial literacy roadshow which again uses the theme of football to impart serious messages about financial management skills. We have received great backing for the Ticket Fund from our partners and already thousands of people across South Africa have participated in social development programmes, aimed at empowering them with the knowledge and skills to help shape their futures, summarised Valcke. Crucially, the Ticket Fund initiative will not end when the final whistle is blown on the 2010 FIFA World Cup. All of the FIFA Partner projects are based on long-term partnerships that will continue to create opportunities for South Africans for years to come. Construction workers will receive nearly half of the 120,000 Ticket Fund tickets. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 47

48 FROM MONTEVIDEO TO BERLIN The 2010 FIFA World Cup will mark the turning of a new page in the history of sport in Africa, but when it comes to the history of the tournament itself, we are now getting ready to plunge into the 19 th exciting chapter. FIFA World takes a look back at the 18 previous editions, and at the event s evolution from a humble 13-team competition to today s 32-team sporting extravaganza 1930 URUGUAY The Estadio Centenario in Montevideo was the setting for the first World Cup final a 4-2 triumph for Uruguay over Argentina in front of an official crowd of 80,000 spectators. With just 13 teams taking part, this invitation competition was played out in three stadiums in a single city. Europe s representatives France, Yugoslavia, Romania and Belgium joined eight teams from Latin America and the USA after many European sides were put off taking part by the arduous 14- day voyage to Montevideo and the severe financial crisis that was sweeping Europe. Romania only travelled to Uruguay after King Karol promised that he would allow the Romanian players three months off work and keep their jobs open until they returned from South America after the tournament ITALY This time 16 teams took part, including Egypt, Africa s first representatives at the FIFA World Cup. The knockout format meant that, after first-round defeats, the 26,000km round trips made by Argentina and Brazil were rewarded with just 90 minutes of football. The 14-day tournament was again won by the host nation, this time Italy. In the final in Rome, the Italians, who had enjoyed the biggest win of the tournament with a 7-1 thrashing of the USA in the first round, were taken to extra time by Czechoslovakia before securing a 2-1 victory. One of the stars of the Italian team was Giuseppe Meazza, a man since immortalised in the official name of the world-famous San Siro stadium in Milan. 48 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

49 1938 FRANCE Italy beat Hungary 4-2 in the final to secure a second consecutive World Cup title. Giuseppe Meazza hit the headlines again by converting a penalty in the 2-1 semi-final win over Brazil despite snapping the elastic in his shorts. Holding up his shorts with his left hand, Meazza placed the ball on the penalty spot with the other before firing home. Brazil s 6-5 extra-time defeat of Poland must go down as one of the most exciting games in FIFA World Cup history. Brazil s Leônidas, who played part of the game barefoot, scored a hat trick but Poland s Ernst Wilimowski went one better by notching four goals in the match. Switzerland, with a 4-2 win over Germany, and Cuba, who beat Romania 2-1, sprung the biggest surprises of the competition BRAZIL The first World Cup after the Second World War reached a sensational climax. Hosts Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay in the deciding game in Rio de Janeiro, with Alcides Ghiggia scoring the winning goal eleven minutes from time. Brazilian goalkeeper Moacyr Barbosa bore the brunt of his home nation s frustration when he somehow managed to allow a tame shot to beat him. Official records put the crowd for this classic encounter in the Maracanã stadium at 174,000, but other sources suggest that over 200,000 spectators may have been in attendance. After qualifying for the event, India pulled out at the last minute after FIFA banned teams from playing barefoot. The Jules Rimet Trophy was dusted off for the tournament after spending much of the Second World War stowed away in a shoebox under the bed of FIFA Vice-President Ottorino Barassi. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 49

50 1954 SWITZERLAND For the first time ever, players had to wear numbered shirts at the World Cup finals. The tournament in Switzerland saw the highest goals-to-games ratio in World Cup history 140 goals in 26 matches at an average of 5.38 per match. Hungary chalked up the most resounding victory with a 9-0 win over Korea Republic, while the match between Austria and Switzerland saw the most goals of any World Cup game to date with the Austrians coming out on top in a 7-5 thriller. With a legendary line-up that included the likes of Ferenc Puskás, József Bozsik, Sándor Kocsis and Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungary looked invincible and seemed destined to take the title after dishing out an 8-3 drubbing to the West German team they would later face in the final. However, the magical Magyars conceded a two-goal lead to lose a momentous final in Berne 3-2. The West German heroes were team captain Fritz Walter, Helmut Rahn and Max Morlock SWEDEN A 17-year-old called Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who would later enter the history books under his popular name of Pelé, graced the world football stage for the first time. The Brazilian scored six goals, including a hat trick in a 5-2 win over France and two goals in his team s 5-2 victory over Sweden in the final. The top goalscorer, however, was France s Just Fontaine, whose 13 goals in one World Cup tournament have never been matched. Nevertheless, Brazil dominated the headlines, completing the first of their five FIFA World Cup titles to date and avenging their defeat at the hands of Uruguay eight years earlier. Garrincha, Vavá and Pelé captivated the fans with magnificent displays of attacking football. The Jules Rimet Trophy was presented by new FIFA President Arthur Drewry, following the death of Rimet two years earlier at the age of FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

51 1962 CHILE The Brazilian squad featured a whole host of star players, including Garrincha, Didi, Pelé, Vavá and Mário Zagallo, and few were surprised when they overcame Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final to take the title for the second time running, even though Pelé had suffered an injury in the South Americans opening group match that would rule him out for the rest of the tournament. The infamous Battle of Santiago between Italy and Chile caused quite a commotion. Two Italians were sent off by the English referee, one of them with a broken nose after being punched by a Chilean player. Chile secured third place with a 1-0 victory in the play-off against Yugoslavia MEXICO 1966 ENGLAND A few days after being stolen by an opportunist thief in the English capital, the Jules Rimet Trophy was sniffed out of bushes in a South London garden by a dog called Pickles. England s 4-2 win over West Germany in the final also grabbed the headlines. Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick to help England the birthplace of football secure the nation s only World Cup title to date, but Hurst s controversial second goal remains the topic of many heated discussions. Did his shot rebound from the crossbar behind, on, or even in front of the goal line? Millions of football fans still ponder this very question. Whatever the answer, the fact is that having consulted one of his linesmen, the referee allowed the goal to stand. Eusébio helped Portugal secure third place, while the biggest shock was Korea DPR s 1-0 defeat of Italy. Yellow and red cards made their World Cup debut at the 1970 tournament, which was also the first to be covered live on television. Brazil celebrated a third triumph, thereby winning the Jules Rimet Trophy outright. Inspired by Pelé, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Gérson, Rivelino and Tostão, the South Americans overcame Italy 4-1 in a trilling final at Mexico City s Azteca stadium. The tournament in Mexico will always be remembered for its thrilling, high-scoring matches. The semi-final between Italy and West Germany was a classic example. After 90 minutes, the two teams were locked at 1-1. Thirty minutes later, it was 4-3 to Italy. The five goals scored in extra time mark a feat that has never been repeated in a World Cup match. Gerd Müller of West Germany was the tournament s top marksman with ten goals. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 51

52 1974 WEST GERMANY West Germany sealed a second FIFA World Cup crown, 20 years after their first and this time in front of their home fans. Despite a disastrous start to the final in Munich against the Netherlands, when they fell behind to a second-minute Johan Neeskens penalty after Uli Hoeness s foul on Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff, the home team pulled through 2-1 thanks to the efforts of stars such as Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier and Paul Breitner. The Netherlands unexpected progress through the competition was matched by another surprise outfit, Poland. Thanks in no small part to Grzegorz Lato, the competition s most prolific scorer with seven goals, the Poles took third place with a 1-0 victory over Brazil. Zaire, whose results included a 9-0 defeat by Yugoslavia, became the first sub-saharan African nation to take part in the World Cup finals. The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the first to be televised in colour, and it marked the first appearance of the new World Cup Trophy designed by Italy s Silvio Gazzaniga SPAIN 1978 ARGENTINA Once again, the World Cup was won by the host nation. Argentina secured the title with a 3-1 extra-time victory over the Netherlands, who were forced to accept defeat in a second consecutive final. Argentina s talisman was striker Mario Kempes, whose two strikes in the final helped him top the goalscoring charts with six goals. Brazil took third place with a 2-1 win over Italy. Famous footballing nations such as England, Yugoslavia and the USSR did not manage to qualify for the tournament, while Iran and Tunisia made their first appearances at the World Cup finals. Paolo Rossi left an indelible mark on the 1982 FIFA World Cup, almost single-handedly leading Italy to the title with a six-goal scoring spree that made him the competition s top goalgetter. Rossi s last goal of the tournament was the opener in his nation s 3-1 win over West Germany in the final. For many fans, Brazil were the most entertaining team in the competition, but the South Americans were eliminated after losing 3-2 to Italy in a crucial match in the second group stage. Diego Maradona, later voted FIFA Player of the Century alongside Pelé in an internet poll, made his World Cup debut in Spain but could not prevent the elimination of Argentina in the second group stage. Northern Ireland s Norman Whiteside became the youngest player to play in the World Cup finals at the tender age of 17 years and 42 days. This tournament was also the first to feature 24 teams. 52 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

53 1990 ITALY 1986 MEXICO This was Diego Maradona s World Cup. A playmaker and goalscorer par excellence, he proved unstoppable en route to the summit of world football. It could be argued that no individual player has ever had such a decisive influence on a FIFA World Cup as Maradona did in Mexico. 115,000 fans crammed into the Azteca stadium to witness Argentina s 3-2 final victory over West Germany. France took third place with a 4-2 win over Belgium after extra time. The achievement came as just reward for a French team that gave an astonishing display of offensive football, thanks in no small part to their star-studded magic square comprising Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernández. Morocco became the first-ever African team to advance past the group stage. Prior to the tournament, few people knew much about Italian striker Salvatore Totò Schillaci, yet by the end of the competition he had achieved world fame. He hit the net six times, more than any other player at the tournament, and shot his team to third place. Argentina and Maradona reached the final again, but this time the Germans turned the tables with Andreas Brehme scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. But it was another player, Roger Milla, who stole the limelight. The 38-year-old, playing as an amateur on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, guided Cameroon to the quarter-finals with his attacking runs and goalscoring exploits, before England tamed the Indomitable Lions in the last eight. Both semi-finals West Germany v. England and Argentina v. Italy were settled by penalty shoot-outs USA The final of USA 94 was the first to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Brazil rejoiced and Italy wept after Franco Baresi and Roberto Baggio missed from the spot. The group match between Russia and Cameroon set new records Oleg Salenko became the first-ever player to be on target five times in a single World Cup match, and Roger Milla became the oldest-ever goalscorer at the tournament at the age of 42 years, one month and eight days. Under the captaincy of star striker Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgaria also hit the news, conquering Germany 2-1 in the quarter-finals en route to finishing in a highly creditable fourth place. Sweden went one better, achieving a sensational third place after losing 1-0 in a closely-fought semi-final with Brazil. USA 94 also saw an ignominious exit for Diego Maradona after he tested positive in a doping control test. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 53

54 2002 KOREA/JAPAN 1998 FRANCE After a string of less-than-impressive performances in the early rounds of the competition, Zinédine Zidane raised his game to superhuman levels in the final against Brazil, heading two goals in the Stade de France to sew up the game for the host nation. The third goal by Emmanuel Petit was simply the icing on the cake. Brazil were a jaded outfit in the final, and they were not helped by the selection of their superstar, Ronaldo, who was clearly unfit. France s surprise triumph was matched by astonishing displays from several other teams, including Croatia, who landed in a startling third place thanks to a 2-1 win over the Netherlands, after first defeating Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals. Croatian striker Davor Šuker headed the scoring list with six goals. France 98 was the first FIFA World Cup to feature 32 teams. This was another tournament of firsts the first World Cup finals in two countries (ten stadiums in Korea, ten in Japan), and the first FIFA World Cup in Asia. It was a tournament that will be remembered for the exploits of Ronaldo and the Korea Republic team. The Brazilian striker sealed the title with both goals in his country s 2-0 win over Germany, capturing the top goalscorer crown in the process with eight goals. After overcoming a series of serious injuries, it was an almost miraculous comeback for Ronaldo. Korea Republic, meanwhile, exceeded all expectations by claiming a stunning fourthplace finish. The thrilling performances of third-placed Turkey were just as eye-catching. Defending champions France, however, were the big disappointments, failing to win a single game or even score a goal as they bowed out after the group stage. Senegal, Ecuador, Slovenia and China PR all made their World Cup debuts. 54 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

55 2006 GERMANY Italy won their fourth world crown in Germany, beating France on penalties in Berlin following a 1-1 draw. If Zinédine Zidane s red card for headbutting Marco Materazzi was the final s defining image, Italy s triumph would be remembered as a team effort in which 21 members of their 23-man squad featured, with ten different Azzurri players finding the net. In a tournament which was short on goals, particularly in the latter stages, Italy s defence was also exemplary conceding only two goals, one an own goal and the other a penalty. It was also a special month for Jürgen Klinsmann s young Germany side, whose vibrant attacking play thrilled the fans and earned the hosts an unexpected third-place finish. While the top-scoring German team dismantled the stereotype of dour German efficiency on the pitch, their fans were doing likewise for their country s reputation off it. Huge numbers congregated in fan parks across the country, welcoming their international guests with a warmth and generosity that fully lived up to the tournament s motto, A time to make friends. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 55

56 EIGHT DECADES OF INTRIGUE The past 80 years of FIFA World Cup history have thrown up enough anecdotes, strange facts and quirky events to fill several record books. Restricting ourselves to just one fact for every year since that first 1930 FIFA World Cup, FIFA World offers a sample of 80 facts, stats and stories from the greatest show on earth 1. FIFA s first World Cup trophy was the Jules Rimet Trophy, which was permanently awarded to Brazil after the Selecão s third win in It was later stolen, however, never to be seen again. The trophy had already been stolen once before when it was taken from an exhibition before the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. A small dog called Pickles later found it buried under a bush. The current FIFA World Cup Trophy remains in the permanent possession of FIFA. The winning association receives a replica until the next tournament, but this is only gold-plated. 2. Three stadiums hosted the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, including the purpose-built Centenario in Montevideo. The highest number of stadiums to have been used by a single host country was in Spain in 1982: 14 cities and 17 stadiums. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, when Korea Republic and Japan were co-hosts, the two countries each provided ten stadiums in as many cities. Before Johannesburg this year, only nine cities in five countries have provided two World Cup stadiums: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Buenos Aires, London and Paris. 3. Twelve countries have been onetime hosts of the FIFA World Cup, including South Africa in 2010, and 2002 co-hosts Korea Republic and Japan. Another four nations (Mexico, Italy, France and Germany) have had the honour of staging the event twice (Mexico in 1970 and 1986, Italy in 1934 and 1990, France in 1938 and 1998, and Germany in 1974 as West Germany and 2006). To date, ten competitions have been held in Europe, seven in the Americas and one in Asia, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup set to herald the tournament s debut on African soil. 4. A total of 23 cities have seen action at two separate FIFA World Cups eight in Germany, seven in Italy and four each in Mexico and France. 5. The current World Cup format has been in place since 1986, though it was expanded to accommodate 32 teams for the 1998 tournament onwards. Earlier versions of the format included a straight knockout system (used in 1934 and 1938) and the use of two separate group stages for the 1974, 1978 and 1982 contests. 6. The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the only edition to be played according to a format that did not provide for a final. Instead, the winners of four preliminary pools qualified for a final pool. Results in this group of four effectively turned the last match between Brazil and Uruguay into the final, however, as only these two teams were still in with a chance of winning the tournament on the final day. Uruguay famously upset their Brazilian hosts to win The earliest ever kick-off time was for the match between Switzerland and the US hosts at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Conversely, the latest kick-off time so far has been 21.00, a time at which more than 100 World Cup matches have started. 8. The first official substitution was made in the opening match of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico between the host team and the USSR. Soviet coach Gavriil 56 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

57 Kachalin decided at half-time to replace Viktor Serebryanikov with Anatoli Puzach. 9. Red and yellow cards were not introduced until 1970, although cautions and dismissals were previously listed in reports. The first player to be sent off was Peru s Placido Galindo in the match against Romania in another team s strip. The French had arrived at Mar del Plata to play Hungary without a change of strip, only to find that both teams planned to play in white. France had to quickly borrow some unusual green-and-white striped shirts belonging to local team Atlético Kimberley. ended the run. Italy s upset was nothing, however, compared to the fate of France in The defending 1998 FIFA World Cup champions not only failed to pass the opening round, but also became the first reigning champions not to win at least one game or score a single goal. 10. The most cards ever shown in one match came during Portugal s 2006 FIFA World Cup round of 16 match with the Netherlands when 16 yellow cards were shown, including four second bookings that led to a record four indirect red cards. In contrast, not a single player was sent off during the 1950 and 1970 FIFA World Cups. Getting shirty 11. Shirt numbers were used for the first time at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Since then, players wearing number nine have outscored all other numbers with a total of 235 goals, followed by number 10 (213), number 11 (182), number 7 (128) and number 8 (127). Players names first appeared on shirts in The shirt number 23 appeared officially for the first time at the 2002 FIFA World Cup when teams were allowed to name 23 players in their squads. Before that, however, the number made an unofficial debut at the 1962 FIFA World Cup tournament on the back of Uruguay s Guillermo Escalada because the superstitious Uruguayans had omitted the number thirteen from their squad list. In 1998, the number made another rare appearance when it was worn by South African keeper Simon Gopane. Gopane owed his unusual number to the lateness of his call-up, being added to the squad following an injury to Paul Evans, who had himself been named as an injury replacement for first-choice goalie Andre Arendse. 13. In 1978, France became the only team so far to play a match wearing French forward Dominique Rocheteau sports the hastily-borrowed club colours of Atlético Kimberley in The 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA had an unusual number of competition changes. It was the first time that three points were awarded for a win (instead of two), that fourth officials were brought in to support the refereeing trio, that an indoor match took place (at the Detroit Pontiac Silverdome) and that all squad players could be seated on the bench and considered as potential substitutes. 15. To date, the host country has always made it through the group stage to qualify for the second round. 16. Italy s first-round defeat by Sweden in 1950 was the first time that any defending champion had lost a game at the FIFA World Cup finals, and the first time that the Italians had tasted defeat during the competition s 20-year history. After deciding not to take part in the inaugural 1930 competition, Italy were crowned champions in 1934 and 1938 without losing a game. The intervention of the Second World War extended their record reign as world champions before Sweden finally 17. Almost 31 million fans have attended the 708 World Cup matches played since 1930, an average of around 44,000 people per game. 18. More than 100,000 spectators have been recorded at 17 World Cup matches, all of them played either in Rio de Janeiro or Mexico City. The all-time record was at the Maracanã in 1950 when 173,850 fans witnessed Brazil s surprise defeat at the hands of Uruguay. 19. Despite the sizes of the Maracanã and Azteca stadiums, the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA set an overall attendance record that still stands today. A total of 3,587,538 spectators watched the tournament s 52 matches an average of more than 68,991 per game. 20. Football was first televised live by the BBC in 1938 for the FA Cup final. It took another 16 years, however, for the first FIFA World Cup to be televised in 1954 thanks to further developments in technology and the important support of the European FIFA WORLD I NEWS 57

58 Cool cats: World Cup Willie (above) and Zakumi (right) Broadcasting Union s Eurovision Network, which had been founded four years earlier. The revolutionary breakthroughs of the 1960s, and in particular the arrival of communications satellites, meant that the 1970 tournament in Mexico was the first FIFA World Cup that could be described as a truly global, live event. Trusted partners 21. Today the FIFA World Cup is by far the biggest TV sports event in the world. In 2006, a cumulative audience of more than 26 billion viewers was estimated for the 64 matches. 22. FIFA s first marketing programme was launched at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Two of FIFA s Partners from then, adidas and Coca-Cola, are still on board. Their relationship with FIFA dates back to the 1970s. 23. Telstar was the first official FIFA World Cup match ball, and was introduced by adidas for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Deriving its name from the pioneering television satellites first launched in 1962, the ball sported 32 black-and-white panels, reminiscent of the satellite design and also intended to show up more clearly on black-and-white televisions. Telstar was used again in 1974 before being succeeded by Tango (1978 and 1982), Azteca (1986), Etrusco (1990), Questra (1994), Tricolore (1998), Fevernova (2002), Teamgeist (2006) and Jabulani (2010). 24. The first World Cup Mascot, introduced in 1966, was Willie a British lion wearing a Union Jack flag jersey sporting the words WORLD CUP. The following three tournaments each had boys as mascots: Juanito (Mexico 1970); Tip & Tap (Germany 1974) and Gauchito (Argentina 1978). Spain s mascot in 1982 was Naranjito, an orange wearing the Spain team kit. Pique, a jalapeño pepper with a moustache and wearing a sombrero, was Mexico s mascot in Italia 90 saw the most imaginative mascot yet, a stick figure player with a football for a head and an Italian tricolore body called Ciao. Since then the trend has again been for animals, including Striker the dog (USA 1994), Footix the cockerel (France 1998), Goleo the lion (Germany 2006) and Zakumi the South African leopard (2010). The exception was Korea and Japan in 2002 when the mascots were Ato, Kaz and Nik, three futuristic, computer-generated creatures. 25. Including 2010, a total of 76 teams will have taken part in the World Cup finals. This includes countries which either no longer exist or have undergone a transformation. When the FIFA World Cup was expanded to 24 teams in 1982, five countries qualified for the finals for the first time. Since then, there have always been three or four new teams, rising to six in The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be an exception to this trend as Slovakia will be the only debutants. All square 26. Italy s 2006 victory ensured that football s two continental superpowers, South America and Europe, head into the 2010 edition tied 9-9 for previous tournament wins. Brazil has won five of South America s titles, with Argentina and Uruguay holding two wins each. Europe s winning associations are Italy with four titles, Germany with three and England and France on one each. 27. The most successful teams are those which have participated the highest number of times: Brazil (19 World Cups), Italy and Germany (17), and Argentina (15). 28. Ever-present Brazil are the most prolific team in World Cup history in terms of goals scored (201), followed by Germany (190), Italy (122) and Argentina (113). Aside from goalscoring, Brazil s overall World Cup track record is impressive, with their 92 matches in 18 tournaments yielding 64 victories and an average of 2.2 points per game. 29. Brazil are also the only team to have won the FIFA World Cup outside their own continent, doing so twice first in Sweden in 1958 and then again in Korea/ Japan in The Selecão are still waiting to celebrate on home soil, however, having lost to South American rivals Uruguay in the final of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, but they will have another chance in four years time when Brazil hosts the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 30. Of the 75 countries to have participated so far in the FIFA World Cup, six are yet to score a World Cup goal. Greece, the Dutch East Indies, Zaire, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and China PR are the countries in question. Greece, who failed to score at USA 1994, are the only team with a chance to change this record in South Africa Egypt were the first African team to appear in a FIFA World Cup, achieving this milestone at the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, when they played just one match against Hungary and were eliminated. It then took until 1970 for Morocco to become 58 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

59 the next African participants. The first win for an African side came eight years later when Tunisia beat Mexico 3-1 in Argentina. In 1986, Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the second stage, while the most progress to date has been made by Cameroon and Senegal who made the quarter-finals in 1990 and 2002 respectively. 32. The FIFA Statutes recognise the four British associations England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as separate members. But the four have qualified for the same FIFA World Cup on only one occasion, in 1958, when they found themselves evenly dispersed across the tournament s four groups. Surprisingly, Wales and Northern Ireland made it as far as the quarter-finals, with England and Scotland missing out. Wales were eventually eliminated by Pelé s first World Cup goal, while Northern Ireland conceded four against France, including two of the all-time record 13 goals scored at the tournament by Just Fontaine. 33. Two-time world champions Uruguay play with four stars on their shirts: two in recognition of their 1930 and 1950 World Cup wins and the other two in commemoration of their two Olympic triumphs of the 1920s. This shows the importance attached to the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Football Tournaments, both of which were great successes and encouraged FIFA to launch their own competition in without losing a match, Switzerland s record in 2006 will be hard to beat. Four years ago, Jakob Köbi Kuhn s team went home without conceding a single goal. After managing three clean sheets in the group stage, they played out a goalless draw against Ukraine in the round of 16 before eventually exiting in a penalty shoot-out. 36. The Swiss managed another unwanted first that night in Cologne, when they failed to score a single time in the shoot-out, a feat so far unmatched by any World Cup team. 37. Five frequent scorelines have accounted for 60% of all World Cup results. Every third game has ended either 1-0 (18%) or 2-1 (14%), while 11 per cent have ended 2-0. Another ten per cent have finished in a 1-1 stalemate, whereas eight per cent have concluded with the scoreline that pleases only aficionados of great defending: Ten World Cup match fixtures have been played at least five times. Sweden and Brazil are the most familiar opponents, having met each other seven times. At the other end of the scale, the world is still waiting to see several first-time encounters between major sides. Possible first meetings in 2010 could include England against Serbia, France against the Netherlands or a tantalising clash between Iberian neighbours Spain and Portugal. 39. Austria s 7-5 quarter-final win over Switzerland in 1954 still tops the list of highest-scoring matches. 40. Three games share the record for the largest winning margin, with nine goals separating the sides on each occasion. In 1954, Hungary s star team defeated debutants Korea Republic 9-0, after which another 20 years went by before Yugoslavia inflicted an identical scoreline on Zaire. In 1982, Hungary were at it again, subjecting El Salvador to a 10-1 humiliation. 41. Two teams have scored five goals in a game and yet failed to win. At the 1938 FIFA World Cup, Poland lost 6-5 to Brazil in a game that had been tied 4-4 at the end of normal time. In a sweltering match played in 1954, tournament hosts Switzerland were defeated 7-5 by their Austrian neighbours. The home side had led 3-0 after nineteen minutes before the stifling heat and a flood of goals overwhelmed Swiss goalkeeper Eugene Parlier. German cool 42. To date, twenty matches have been decided by a penalty shoot-out: the first in 1982, when West Germany beat France 5-4 in the semi-finals after finishing extratime tied at 3-3. The most recent shoot-out came in the 2006 final, when Italy beat France 5-3 after a 1-1 draw. Germany, France, Argentina and Italy have all 34. The Republic of Ireland have proved highly efficient in their three World Cup finals appearances to date (1990, 1994, 2002), accumulating 14 points in 13 matches from just ten goals scored (1.4 points per goal). Only Croatia (1.33 points per goal) and Cameroon (1.26) can compete in this respect. England and Italy share the record for the best ratio (1.23) among the seven previous World Cup champions. Out but not beaten 35. Although many countries have been eliminated from a FIFA World Cup Familiar faces: Brazil and Sweden have met seven times at the FIFA World Cup. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 59

60 2010 The Coca-Cola Company. COCA-COLA, the Contour Bottle and the Dynamic Ribbon are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. 60 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

61 Argentina s Gabriel Batistuta is the only player to have scored hat tricks at two separate FIFA World Cup finals. contested four World Cup penalty shootouts, though Germany are the only team to have won all four. 43. Only three teams have lost a match at the FIFA World Cup finals and then gone on to win the tournament. The West German side of 1954 were the first, losing 8-3 to the Hungarian favourites during the group stage before exacting a 3-2 revenge in the final. Another West German side repeated the feat 20 years later on home soil when they were dramatically beaten 1-0 at the 1974 FIFA World Cup by neighbours East Germany before recovering to beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the final. Four years later, tournament hosts Argentina were beaten 1-0 in their last group-stage match, but bounced back to eventually win the final 3-1, with the Netherlands again the losing finalists ,063 goals have been scored in the 708 World Cup matches played so far an average of nearly three goals per game. The 1954 tournament in Switzerland had the greatest average of goals scored 5.4 per match. The lowest average was the 2.2 goals per match scored at Italia During that high-scoring 1954 tournament, losing finalists Hungary scored a total of 27 goals in five matches, an average of 5.4 per game by far the best goal record of any FIFA World Cup so far. 46. The fastest-ever World Cup goal came in 2002, when Turkey s Hakan Sukur scored after just eleven seconds in the third-place play-off against co-hosts Korea Republic. 47. All in all, 154 goals have been scored from the penalty spot (7.5% of all World Cup goals), and 34 have been own goals (1.6%). Hat-trick heroes 48. A total of 47 hat tricks have been scored in the history of the FIFA World Cup. Sándor Kocsis (1954), Just Fontaine (1958), Gerd Müller (1970) and Gabriel Batistuta (1994/1998) are the only players to have done this twice, Batistuta even managing the feat at two different tournaments. 49. The fastest World Cup hat trick was scored by Hungary s László Kiss against El Salvador in It took him just seven minutes, three less than Batistuta against Jamaica in Dutchman Ernie Brandts is the only player so far to have scored a goal for his own team and their opponents in the same match. He did so in the high-pressure setting of the Netherlands 1978 second group-stage meeting with Italy, the winners of which would progress to contest the tournament final. After scoring in his own net early in the game to give the Azzurri hopes of an assisted route into the final, Brandts made amends with a second-half equaliser before team-mate Arie Haan completed the Dutch recovery with a 75 th minute winning goal. 51. Only once in the history of the FIFA World Cup have two own goals been scored in the same match during the USA s 2002 group-stage meeting with Portugal. Jorge Costa was the first to score in his own net, putting the US 2-0 up. Later, with the score at 3-1 and 19 minutes still left to play, Jeff Agoos then accidentally gave a goal back to the Portuguese. Fortunately for Agoos, the Americans held on to book their place in the round of 16 at Portugal s expense. 52. The current World Cup goal total is 2,063. The last milestone scorer was Sweden s Marcus Allbäck, who headed in the competition s 2,000 th goal in Prior to that, significant goals have been scored by several famous names, including Gerd Müller (the 800 th goal in 1970), Rob Rensenbrink (the 1,000 th in 1978), Jean-Pierre Papin (the 1,200 th in 1986), Gary Lineker (the 1,300 th in 1986) and Christian Vieri (the 1,900 th in 2002). Sizzling strikers 53. Just Fontaine (1958) and Jairzinho (1970) were in blistering form when they both achieved the feat of scoring in all six matches played by their teams. Jairzinho won the FIFA World Cup in 1970 with Brazil, while Fontaine s goals carried France as far as the semi-finals. In 1990, Italy s Salvatore Totò Schillaci only narrowly failed to join this list: he scored in six out of the seven games but failed to find the net in the second. Just Fontaine FIFA WORLD I NEWS 61

62 54. The widest spread of goalscoring talent was demonstrated by the French squad in 1982 and then by the Italians in These two squads share the record for having ten different players score during their respective campaigns ,352 players have so far featured in World Cup squads, a quarter (1,545) of whom never made it on to the field. 56. The two players with the most tournament appearances are Mexico s goalkeeping legend Antonio Carbajal ( ) and Germany s Lothar Matthäus ( ), each of whom played at five FIFA World Cups. Matthäus appeared in a record 25 World Cup matches, although Italy s Paolo Maldini spent more time on the pitch playing a total of 2,217 minutes in 23 matches. 57. Pelé is the only player with three World Cup wins to his name (1958, 1962 and 1970), although he missed most of the 1962 tournament, including the final, due to injury. His compatriot Cafu is the only player to have played in three consecutive finals ( ). 58. Brazil s Ronaldo is not only the World Cup s all-time top scorer with 15 goals, but also the player who has scored in the most matches: 11. He is followed by Germany s Jürgen Klinsmann who scored his 11 goals in ten different matches. The record for a single tournament is held by Frenchman Just Fontaine who scored an Old friends: Pelé and the Jules Rimet Trophy incredible 13 times in Sándor Kocsis has the best goalscoring average with 11 goals in just five games. 59. Only five players have celebrated being the tournament s top scorer or joint top scorer and also ended up on the winning team. Brazil s Garrincha and Vavá were first in 1962, both scoring four goals along with four other players. Next came Argentina s Mario Kempes in 1978, Italy s Paolo Rossi in 1982 and another Brazilian, Ronaldo, in Russia s Oleg Salenko scored a record five goals in his side s 6-1 win over Cameroon in 1994 the most goals ever scored by one player in a single World Cup match. The list of those who have scored four in a game is also short and consists of several players who also rank near the very top of the all-time goalscorer list (Poland s Ernst Wilimowski, Brazil s Ademir, Hungary s Sándor Kocsis, France s Just Fontaine, Portugal s Eusebio and Spain s Emilio Butragueño). Absent friends 61. Although Alfredo Di Stefano is regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time, he never played in a FIFA World Cup. He travelled to Chile with the Spanish team in 1962 but a last-minute injury meant that he did not play. Barcelona s Hungarian star László Kubala had the same destiny in 1962 and only finally appeared at a World Cup in 1978 as Spain s coach. Other great players who were unfortunate to miss the World Cup because of their teams failures to qualify are George Best (Northern Ireland), Allan Simonsen (Denmark), Liam Brady (Republic of Ireland), Eric Cantona (France), Abedi Pelé (Ghana), George Weah (Liberia) and Ryan Giggs (Wales). 62. Only two men have won a FIFA World Cup as both player and coach: Mario Zagallo as a player for Brazil (1958/62), whom he then coached to victory in 1970 and Germany s Franz Beckenbauer as a player in 1974 and a coach in Der Kaiser also featured on the losing side for West Germany in the 1966 and 1986 finals as a player and coach respectively. Milorad Arsenijević was the first person ever to experience both roles at world football s biggest event first as a player for Yugoslavia in 1930 and then as the team s coach in Only four players have scored in two finals: Brazil s Vavá (1958/62) and Pelé (1958/70), Paul Breitner of West Germany (1974/82) and Zinédine Zidane of France (1998/2006). 64. Not many players have won an Olympic Football Tournament and a World Cup. Ten Uruguayans and three Italians, however, managed this achievement during the first three World Cups of the 1930s and the Olympic Football Tournaments of 1924, 1928 and In 1954, Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis were part of the Hungarian team who had previously won the 1952 Olympic title. But the Miracle of Berne (West Germany s unexpected 1954 World Cup triumph) prevented them from also lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy. 65. Six players have so far achieved the mixed fortune of both scoring and being sent off in the same game. Amongst these players are Brazil s Garrincha in 1962 and Ronaldinho during the 2002 tournament. The last player to manage this double was Zinédine Zidane in the 2006 final against Italy. 66. Italy s Gianluca Pagliuca is the only World Cup goalkeeper ever to have been sent off. After 21 minutes of his side s 1994 meeting with Norway, he was given a red card by German referee Hellmut Krug but Italy still won 1-0. Young and old 67. When Cameroon s Roger Milla scored a consolation goal for the 62 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

63 Indomitable Lions in a 6-1 trouncing by Russia in 1994, he became the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history at 42 years and 39 days. At the other end of the age scale, Pelé was almost a quarter of a century younger (17 years, 239 days) when he claimed his first World Cup goal against Wales in At 17 years and 41 days, Northern Ireland s Norman Whiteside became the youngest World Cup player of all time when he took to the field against Yugoslavia in Again, Roger Milla holds the record for being the oldest player, setting the benchmark in the same match in which he scored his last World Cup goal. 69. Marcelo Trobbiani is one of eight players to have officially played for just one minute of a FIFA World Cup but what a minute! Trobbiani was an 89 th minute substitute for Argentina during their 3-2 win over West Germany in 1986, coming on to the pitch just moments before receiving his World Cup winner s medal. 70. England s Peter Shilton managed a total of ten clean sheets at the FIFA World Cup between 1982 and Fabien Barthez reached the same number during his spell between the French posts from 1998 to Brazilian super-sub Denílson can be considered one of the most successful substitutes in World Cup history, having come on as a replacement in 11 of the 12 matches he played in 1998 and 2002, finishing as a runner-up in 1998 and a winner in Foreign assignments 72. A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup winning team. 73. Hungarian Jószef Nagy became the first coach to compete against his home association when his Swedish side reached the 1938 semi-finals, only to crash out 5-1 to Nagy s countrymen. Bora Milutinovic was the first coach to lead five different countries at the FIFA World Cup. 74. Serbia s Velibor Bora Milutinovic not only coached at five World Cups between 1986 and 2002 but he also did it with five different teams (Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China PR). In 2010, Carlos Alberto Parreira will embark upon his sixth World Cup campaign and match Milutinovic s list of five different teams as this time he will be taking charge of the South African hosts following earlier assignments with his native Brazil (twice), Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Josef Sepp Herberger (West Germany), his successor Helmut Schön, Walter Winterbottom (England), Lajos Baróti (Hungary) and Henri Michel (France, Morocco, Cameroon, Côte d Ivoire) all coached at four different FIFA World Cups. 75. Five coaches have reached the final on two occasions: Vittorio Pozzo (Italy, 1934/38), Helmut Schön (West Germany, 1966/74), Mário Zagallo (Brazil, 1970/98), Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany, 1986/90) and Carlos Bilardo (Argentina, 1986/90). Only Pozzo won both times. 76. Guus Hiddink and Luiz Felipe Scolari are the only two coaches to have made it to the semi-finals with two different teams. Dutchman Hiddink did so with the Netherlands in 1998 and the Korea Republic co-hosts in 2002, Scolari with Brazil in 2002 and Portugal in Helmut Schön coached West Germany in 25 World Cup matches. He reached the final twice (1966, 1974) and the semi-final once (1970). The 1978 tournament was the only one to end in disappointment, with the defending champions exiting after the second group stage. 78. The youngest World Cup coach of all time is Argentina s Juan Jose Tramutola. In 1930, aged just 27 years and eight months, he managed a team containing a number of players who were older than him. Conversely, Cesare Maldini, at 70, was old enough to have been the grandfather of many of his Paraguayan charges in French referee Joel Quiniou officiated a record number of eight matches between 1986 and When it comes to individual tournaments, Benito Archundia (Mexico) and Horacio Elizondo (Argentina) both took charge of a record five matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Mexican referee Arturo Brizio Carter holds the record for dismissals, sending off seven players in the six matches that he officiated in 1994 and In 2006, Elizondo also became the first referee to officiate at both the inaugural match and the final of a FIFA World Cup. He refereed Germany s opener against Costa Rica on 9 June before taking charge of the decisive game between Italy and France exactly one month later. In 1950, England s George Reader oversaw the opening match between Brazil and Mexico and also the last match of the final group between Uruguay and Brazil, although the latter game is not technically considered a final (see fact number 6). FIFA WORLD I NEWS 63

64 64 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

65 FROM SAMOA TO SOCCER CITY What began with an original field of 206 national teams, and a qualifying tournament played back in August 2007 on the outskirts of the Samoan capital Apia, has now reached the final phase with the world s best 32 sides now descending upon South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. New Caledonia celebrated the first win in that long sequence of qualifying matches, beating Oceania rivals Tahiti 1-0 at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex during a 2007 South Pacific Games competition which doubled as the first section of regional qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. With the exception of New Zealand match referee Michael Hester, who oversaw that 2007 encounter and has now been selected among this year s World Cup officials, none of the opening game s participants were able to make it all the way to South Africa Tahiti fell at the first hurdle while New Caledonia had to settle for the runners-up spot behind eventual Oceania champions New Zealand. While there was of course disappointment for many, the intervening three years have whittled down the long list of contenders to a highly competitive and experienced-looking final 32. Among the final line-up are all seven of the tournament s previous winners (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina, France) and only one debutant, in the form of Slovakia. South Africa s automatic spot in the competition as tournament hosts has also ensured that more African teams than ever will be taking part in this FIFA World Cup with Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Côte d Ivoire carrying the continent s hopes as world football s most prestigious competition finally touches down on African soil. On the following pages, we take a look at each of the teams still dreaming of glory, recapping their route to the tournament, summing up their strengths and assessing the individual players who could just make the difference between heartbreak and glory. The fans of football s traditionally successful teams will of course be hoping that their sides experience and pedigree can help see them through the group stage. But until the opening game has been played between the South African hosts and Mexico in Soccer City on 11 June, the hopes of all the teams will remain equal. One month later, will we see an upset, perhaps even an African world champion? Or will the sport s established giants again hold sway? The answer of course is almost irrelevant compared to the fun we will all have in finding out FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 65

66 GROUP A SOUTH AFRICA South Africa have experienced both highs and lows in the build-up to their home tournament. As they prepare to stage the biggest event in their footballing history, South Africa can look back on a build-up period in which they have been, at varying points, both fantastic and wretched. The country s supporters, and a good deal of sympathetic neutrals, will take comfort in the fact that by far the biggest highlight came on home soil, during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 an indication perhaps of how Bafana Bafana will perform when they host the most important tournament of them all. Under the guidance of then coach Joel Santana, South Africa exceeded all expectations at the 2009 event, reaching the semi-finals before finally succumbing to Brazil, and even then only thanks to a single Daniel Alves goal, scored in the 88 th minute of the match. Three days later, in the match for third place, the home side took a 73 rd -minute lead against Spain, only for the European champions to claw their way back with a late equaliser, eventually going on to win the match 3-2 in extra time. The Confederations Cup highs are only part of the story, however, and need to be considered against the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the run of eight defeats in nine games which finally saw Santana ejected from his post. Parreira s return Now back under the tutelage of former boss Carlos Alberto Parreira, himself a former FIFA World Cup winner with his native Brazil, Bafana Bafana certainly possess a combined talent that adds up to more than their current position in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking would suggest. Great things will be expected of Everton winger Steven Pienaar, whose creativity could be vital to strikers such as Katlego Mphela and, if he is called upon, veteran forward Benni McCarthy. Wingbacks Siboniso Gaxa and Tsepo Masilela could also keep opposition defences busy. And then there is the twelfth man in the form of the vociferous, vuvuzelablasting South Africa supporters, whose influence was seen not only at the FIFA Confederations Cup but also in 1996, when South Africa stepped in to stage the Africa Cup of Nations before promptly going on to win it. A repeat of that feat at the 2010 FIFA World Cup may be asking too much, but just try telling that to the ever-optimistic home fans. 66 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

67 Star player: Steven Pienaar Imaginative, innovative and hard-working, Steven Pienaar is undoubtedly South Africa s best talent at the moment. Since joining English Premier League side Everton, the 28-yearold midfielder has re-invented himself and grown both in stature and confidence. A lot will be expected from him as he prepares to steer South Africa s engine and command his country s attack. A product of the South African School of Excellence, Pienaar is currently the country s most successful overseas export. When he is on top form, he has an ability to lift the outfit and coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will be pinning his hopes on Pienaar s high work-rate and knack for scoring crucial goals. Working in tandem with fellow midfield schemer Teko Modise, Pienaar has the ability to dismantle his opponents best-laid plans through a rare combination of skill and composure. Pienaar also boasts valuable experience, having been a member of the Bafana Bafana squad that travelled to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, South Africa s last appearance at the finals. Now considered by many to be a genuine South African football great, Pienaar has silenced some of his remaining detractors by putting in a number of powerful performances in the national team colours. It was perfect timing for a man who will shoulder most of the country s hopes as South Africa attempts to exploit home advantage and progress to the knockout stages for the first time. Coach Now in his second stint as South Africa coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira s return was greeted with mixed feelings in South Africa, although the Brazilian s many supporters are adamant that he is the man to lead this side to the Promised Land in Parreira certainly has the pedigree, having led his native country to the beautiful game s ultimate prize at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA. Possible line-up GK Itumeleng KHUNE D Siboniso GAXA D Tsepo MASILELA D Aaron MOKOENA D Matthew BOOTH MF Kagisho DIKGACOI MF Teko MODISE MF Siphiwe TSHABALALA MF Steven PIENAAR F Katlego MPHELA F Benni McCARTHY Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA FRA MEX URU How they qualified South Africa qualified automatically as hosts. What they said We are all aware that it is a huge honour to play in a World Cup on home soil; not many players have had such a privilege. We are also aware of the task that lies ahead. For us, the World Cup is our priority, it s our biggest goal. We need to represent our country with pride. Aaron Mokoena, South Africa captain FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 67

68 GROUP A MEXICO Mexican rave: goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa celebrates during last year s qualifying match win over old rivals, the USA. If experience counts for anything, then Mexico should certainly be a force to be reckoned with in Group A. Although they have never won the FIFA World Cup, unlike group rivals France and Uruguay, they have qualified for the finals 14 times more than any other side from the CONCACAF region. This year s edition will be their fifth finals in a row. Continuity was certainly not a theme of the latest qualifying campaign, however, with three different coaches taking up the reins since the departure of Hugo Sánchez in March Jesús Ramírez lasted for just four games (despite three wins) before the arrival of Sven-Göran Eriksson, who himself managed just 13 matches (and a less impressive six wins) before being replaced by Javier Aguirre. Aguirre was the man who ensured Mexican qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and he was soon picking up where he left off. Taking over with the team languishing fifth in the final six-team CONCACAF Zone qualifying group, Aguirre produced five wins, one draw and just one defeat to lift Mexico up to second place and earn a place in South Africa with one game to spare. All change The constant turnover of coaches has been reflected in the vast number of players who have received national team call-ups in the past two years more than 60 in all. No fewer than 18 different players contributed goals during the qualifying campaign. Under their latest coach, however, Mexico have enjoyed something of a return to stability and the core of the team appears to have been decided. After being recalled to international duty by Aguirre, veteran Veracruz playmaker Cuauhtémoc Blanco seems set for a pivotal role. The 37-year-old has proved an inspiration to younger players such as goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, right-back Efrain Juárez, left-winger Andrés Guardado and attacking midfielder Giovani dos Santos, while Barcelona centre-back Rafa Márquez has skippered the side and helped to restore discipline and organisation on the pitch. In addition to France and Uruguay, the prospect of facing hosts South Africa and their passionate fans in the tournament s opening match could be daunting. But now that the ship has been steadied, Mexico will be hoping to sail into the second round and perhaps start plotting a course for the quarter-finals to match their best-ever performances in 1970 and FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

69 Star player: Andrés Guardado After only six months as a professional, this fast left winger shot to fame when, against all odds, and at the age of only 19, he received a call-up to the Mexican senior team from Ricardo La Volpe for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Following an even more unexpected decision, he was in the starting line-up for the key match against Argentina. This irresistible left-footer is a product of the prolific youth system at Atlas de Guadalajara, where he became a key player after his return from Germany. His excellent performances for Atlas and Mexico soon caught the attention of a number of European clubs, but it was Deportivo la Coruña that managed to secure his services at the beginning of the season. Thanks to his speed, individual technique and shots from midfield, Guardado quickly became a starter for the Galician team, and since then he has become one of the club s major stars, to the extent that he is considered one of the best foreign players in the Spanish Liga. Since his breakthrough into the national team, Guardado has been a regular in the Tricolor s line-up, despite a succession of coaches in the last few years. As well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has also played in one Copa América and one Gold Cup, as well as the whole qualifying competition for South Africa 2010, during which he played a key role in ensuring Mexico s qualification. Although still only 23, Guardado has notched up a total of around 50 appearances in the green shirt, and is known for his fast pace and excellent vision. But he is not only a playmaker he can also take advantage of the opportunities he creates himself. He has always made it clear that his objective is to make history with Mexico, and South Africa 2010 will be the perfect setting to achieve that. How they qualified CONCACAF Fourth Round Coach Javier Aguirre is Mexico s most successful coach of recent times. He took over at the helm during Mexico s faltering bid to qualify for Korea/Japan Not only did he manage to secure a ticket to the World Cup, but he steered Mexico to the round of 16. Following his departure from Atlético Madrid in early 2009, Aguirre returned to Mexico, who were once again in crisis. He is now preparing for a lengthy stay in South Africa. Possible line-up GK Guillermo OCHOA D Efrain JUAREZ D Carlos SALCIDO D Rafael MARQUEZ D Ricardo OSORIO MF Israel CASTRO MF Andres GUARDADO MF Giovani DOS SANTOS MF Gerardo TORRADO MF/F Cuauhtemoc BLANCO F Alberto MEDINA Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA FRA RSA URU Mexico v. Home Away USA Costa Rica Honduras El Salvador Trinidad and Tobago Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 USA Mexico Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador T & T What they said I feel relaxed. Whenever you reach an objective you ve been brought in to achieve you have the satisfaction of knowing that you haven t let down the people who put their faith in you. I am happy and proud. When I came into the job we were fifth and nine points away from first place, and now we re in the World Cup. Javier Aguirre FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 69

70 GROUP A URUGUAY Can the current Uruguay squad emulate their famous forebears? Uruguay are two-time winners of the FIFA World Cup and will be contesting their 11 th finals in South Africa this year. All very impressive stuff, especially for a country of less than four million people, but there is no hiding from the fact that most of the team s glory lies far in the past. The South Americans first tournament triumph came as early as it gets, at the very first 1930 FIFA World Cup, played in Uruguay itself. They then famously upset Brazil when the Brazilians had their own chance to stage the competition in 1950, silencing the packed-out Maracanã stadium by beating the sport s superpower 2-1 in the tournament s decisive game. It is 40 years since La Celeste (the Sky Blues) got beyond the last 16, with a run to the semi-finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico. They did not even make it to the 2006 edition in Germany, and while at the regional level there have been 14 Copa América titles, the last of those came 15 years ago. No wonder the footballobsessed Uruguayans are aching for just a glimmer of those past glories. Fighting back Progressing to the knock-out stages would be seen by many supporters as cause for celebration, and there are reasons to believe that this target is attainable. It is true that qualification was a laboured affair, with Óscar Tabárez s men looking all but out of contention following a defeat to bottom side Peru in September But the side showed plenty of their country s legendary garra or grit (see article on page 74) to claw their way back into the running. Although they missed out on automatic qualification after losing at home to Argentina, Uruguay picked themselves up admirably to secure their place with a 2-1 aggregate play-off win over Costa Rica. In South Africa, the team will hope to show not just grit, but also flair, with Atlético Madrid marksman Diego Forlán one of the likeliest to provide the latter, especially if his seven goals in qualifying are anything to go by. Uruguay s influential captain Diego Lugano is meanwhile expected to epitomise both characteristics as a hard-working defender who also likes to press forward. If they are to rekindle memories of their illustrious past, the Uruguayans may have to break the hearts of the tournament hosts, who they face in their second game. They have done it before of course, as any Brazilian who has lived long enough will recall. 70 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

71 Star player: Diego Forlán Diego Forlán is one of the undisputed leaders of Óscar Tabárez s Uruguayan side, and arrives at South Africa 2010 having reached full footballing maturity and conscious that this could be the World Cup that sees him established as an elite goalscorer. His 40 goals in 91 matches for Independiente inspired Manchester United s Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him in early However, Forlán did not live up to expectations, and although United won three titles during his period there he left in August 2004 for Spanish side Villarreal. Forlán recovered his form there and in his first season his 25 goals earned him the Pichichi award for the Liga s top goalscorer and the European Golden Shoe. Following another two successful seasons, he transferred to Atlético Madrid, where he scored 23 goals in the season and 35 in , earning him another Pichichi award and the Golden Shoe. At the end of the season just completed, he inspired Atlético to their first major European trophy in over three decades, scoring both the team s goals in May s 2-1 UEFA Europa League victory over Fulham. He made his debut for Uruguay under Víctor Púa on 27 March 2002 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia in Ad- Damman, during which he scored his first international goal (2-3). A few months later he took part in his first FIFA World Cup, Korea/Japan 2002, and scored a goal in the only match he played, against Senegal on the day Uruguay were eliminated (3-3). Since then, Forlán has been a regular on the national team. Óscar Tabárez included him in the starting line-up from the beginning of the qualifying competition for South Africa 2010 and he responded as he does best: he was Uruguay s top scorer, with seven goals in 13 matches. How they qualified, South American Group / Play-off* Uruguay v. Home Away Bolivia Paraguay Chile Brazil Venezuela Peru Colombia Ecuador Argentina Costa Rica* Coach Óscar Washington Tabárez is preparing for his second appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals with Uruguay. Tabárez was the man in the hotseat when Los Charrúas were knocked out in the round of 16 at Italia 90 by the host nation. Since then he has worked at some of the biggest clubs in world football, among them Peñarol, Boca Juniors and AC Milan. Now, 20 years on from Italia 90, El Maestro is set to return to the big stage with a youthful and resilient side. Possible line-up GK Juan CASTILLO D Maximiliano PEREIRA D Martin CACERES D Diego LUGANO D Diego GODIN MF Walter GARGANO MF Sebastian EGUREN MF Diego PEREZ MF Jorge RODRIGUEZ F Luis SUAREZ F Diego FORLAN Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA FRA MEX RSA Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Brazil Chile Paraguay Argentina Uruguay Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Peru What they said We had to work hard to qualify, especially in the games in Montevideo. Luckily for us, though, the World Cup s taking place far away from home! I know we have to improve a lot if we are to perform well in South Africa but we do have a lot of strong points and we hope to be able to show them. Óscar Tabárez FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 71

72 GROUP A FRANCE The French players celebrate after scoring in the first leg of their play-off against the Republic of Ireland. By their own lofty standards, France had a poor qualification campaign, and even when they had made sure of their place in South Africa, the celebrations were overshadowed by the furore that followed that play-off goal against the Republic of Ireland. Thierry Henry s helping hand to set up the extra-time winner scored by William Gallas provided an unsavoury end to a stuttering run of results which had also included an embarrassing 3-1 defeat in Austria and uninspiring draws in Romania and Serbia, the latter going on to secure a surprise first spot in France s qualifying group. What many overlooked in all the fuss surrounding the nature of their qualification was the fact that France had secured their fourth successive FIFA World Cup appearance a first for the country. And with qualification campaigns often having little bearing on how a team performs at the tournament itself, only a fool would write off French chances, four years on from their defeat on penalties to Italy in the 2006 final. Talented Thierry Although his hand ball dominated the postqualification headlines, it is still Henry s feet that opposition defences will want to pay most attention to in South Africa. The Barcelona striker was joint top-scorer with Toulouse forward André-Pierre Gignac during the qualifying campaign, firing in four times in 11 games. Chelsea s Nicolas Anelka and Bayern winger Franck Ribéry should also provide plenty of attacking threat. William Gallas should be as strong as ever at the back, while Jeremy Toulalan and Lassana Diarra have made the midfield their own. Relative youngsters like Yoann Gourcuff could really announce themselves to the world, but much depends on which France side turns up in South Africa. In April, Domenech called for his players to set their egos to one side and work for the greater good of the team. If they heed those words, a repeat of their success at the 1998 FIFA World Cup is certainly possible. If not, the disarray of their disastrous 2002 performance could also be repeated. 72 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

73 Star player: Thierry Henry Following his role in France s controversial qualification play-off against the Republic of Ireland, Thierry Henry will no doubt be keen to write more positive headlines when it comes to the tournament proper. Whether or not he succeeds in doing so, his impact on French football has already been monumental. As a World Cup and European championship winner and France s all-time top goalscorer, he boasts a long list of achievements. By the age of 17, Henry was already playing for French first division side AS Monaco. While he was there, he accumulated playing time, gained experience and excelled in the UEFA Champions League during an exceptional season that also included his debut for the French national side, with which he would go on to win the FIFA World Cup a few months later. As the World Cup-winning team s top goalscorer (with three goals), he signed for Juventus a few months later, but failed to make an impact there. Criticised for his inability to establish himself within the ranks of the Old Lady, he then joined Arsenal, managed by his mentor Arsène Wenger. Once with the Gunners, Henry moved to the position of centre forward and the goals just kept on coming, turning him into a living legend at Highbury where he surpassed the total number of goals scored by Ian Wright, until then the top scorer in the club s history. He won two English Premier League titles and three FA Cups. Meanwhile, he had established himself as the spearhead of Les Bleus attack, experiencing both success by winning EURO 2000 and disappointment at the 2002 World Cup. His only regret during his time at Highbury was that he never won the prestigious Champions League, despite coming very close in 2006 against Barcelona. Yet, three years later, it was in Barca s colours that he finally held aloft the famous trophy, having joined the Catalan side in the summer of Alongside Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto o he formed part of an explosive trio and was part of Josep Guardiola s armada which collected six titles in So will the insatiable Henry treat himself to yet another World Cup title in 2010? How they qualified European Group 7 / Play-off* Coach Paradoxical is probably the adjective that best defines how the French public have perceived Raymond Domenech since his appointment in Praised for his communication skills on his arrival, he was later criticised for errors in precisely that area after a chaotic showing at EURO And although he has yet to win a trophy, he does boast the longest reign in the history of the national squad, with a World Cup final as its highlight. Possible line-up GK Hugo LLORIS D Bakari SAGNA D William GALLAS D Eric ABIDAL D Patrice EVRA MF Yoann GOURCUFF MF Lassana DIARRA MF Jeremy TOULALAN MF Franck RIBERY F Thierry HENRY F Nicolas ANELKA Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA MEX RSA URU France v. Home Away Austria Serbia Romania Lithuania Faroe Islands Republic of Ireland* 1-1 a.e.t. 0-1 Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Serbia France Austria Lithuania Romania Faroe Islands What they said The objective was to qualify. We knew it wouldn t be easy, but I never had any doubts. We ve had difficulties for two years now, but everyone kept believing and they were justified in doing so. We worked hard to earn our right to take part in something exceptional a World Cup in South Africa. Raymond Domenech FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 73

74 RECONNECTING WITH THE PAST A glorious past: Juan Schiaffino scores Uruguay s opening goal in their famous 2-1 upset of Brazil at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. By Pablo Aro Geraldes, Montevideo Where on earth is Uruguay? the Parisian crowd was reported to have wondered aloud back in 1924 as they watched the South Americans playing Yugoslavia off the park to the final of the Olympic Football Tournament 7-0. It seemed the tournament s organisers were equally in the dark. Before the match they had displayed the Uruguayan flag upside down, with the sun at the bottom, and played a Brazilian march instead of the Uruguayan national anthem. Nevertheless, Uruguay s ability on the football pitch was incontestable. The sky-blue shirt was proof of the existence of the nation: Uruguay was not a mistake. Football pulled this tiny country out of the shadows of universal anonymity, wrote Eduardo Galeano in his classic book Football in Sun and Shadow. The Uruguayans repeated their Olympic victory four years later in Amsterdam, proving what some had started to suspect in 1924: Uruguayan football was the best on the planet. This was confirmed in 1930, when the country hosted and won the first-ever FIFA World Cup. After boycotting the 1934 and 1938 tournaments in retaliation for several European noshows in 1930, Uruguay returned to the competition in 1950 following the Second World War, and once again the festivities took on a sky-blue hue, even if today we can only look back on it in black and white. Sixty years later, Uruguay s footballing supremacy can only be found in history books or in the fond narratives of grandfathers who reminisce about the exploits of José Nasazzi, the first legend of South American football, back in They recall with nostalgia the confidence and composure of team captain Obdulio Varela before leading his men to one of the sport s greatest-ever upsets in the cauldron of Brazil s packed-out Maracanã stadium. 74 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

75 While the Uruguayans seemed to have shot almost inexplicably to the top of the footballing ladder in those early years, a closer look at the country s social make-up back then helps to explain the puzzle. African seeds The seeds of Uruguay s winning spirit were sown when they won the first South American tournament in Buenos Aires in This was the first-ever continental tournament, and Uruguay was the only country in the world to have black players, the great-grandsons of slaves, on its team. Uruguay was a tiny and united country, brought together by European immigrants who arrived on the banks of the River Plate with no greater ambition than to work and build themselves a future. This small country was known as the Switzerland of the Americas : it had the strongest democracy in the South, and after the two world wars extended credit to European countries. Uruguay was an educated, orderly and free nation, and Montevideo was seen as a European city transplanted to the River Plate. Ahead of its time, official state policy promoted physical education in public schools and built sports fields around the country. The heroes from the sepia photos would not have got to where they were without these conditions. Since then, it seems, the rest of the world has caught up and even overtaken the Uruguayans. With football a passionate pastime in almost every country in the world, this small nation of just 3.3 million inhabitants can no longer aspire to hold their own against the likes of Brazil or Argentina or at least not on a regular basis. And then there is the concept of garra a term that can perhaps best be loosely translated as grit, something which many of the country s fanatical fans insist upon seeing in anyone wearing the Uruguayan shirt. It is a term that some have imbued with romanticism, expanding it to include the resolve of the supposed underdogs who became world champions in 1930 and For others it can be a negative term, more often applied to the aggressive style of play resorted to by many of the Uruguayan players who emerged in subsequent years, those who were unable to match the technical prowess of their predecessors. A matter of definition Between these extremes, there is plenty of scope for individual Uruguayans to form their own definitions of garra or indeed to reject the concept altogether. Obviously you have to have spirit, but I m not a believer in garra, top scorer of the current Uruguay team Diego Forlán told FIFA World. Garra is misinterpreted. You always have to give it your all on the pitch, but a lot of countries play very well, even though they don t have Uruguay s garra and determination, and they win more important titles than us. By misinterpreting garra, we have been achieving poor results. Football changed, but we didn t and if we don t start to change, things are going to keep getting worse, and all the garra in the world won t help us. We can t always be on the counter-attack, we have to be the protagonists. Forlán would appear to have an important ally in the form of Uruguay coach Oscar Tabárez, who also takes a more pragmatic approach to the fans insistence on garra. It means insisting on footballing concepts regardless of the kind of situation that presents itself, Tabárez told FIFA World. It means coming through in difficult moments against top-class rivals. That s garra, not the misinterpretations, like terrifying opponents, lashing out in frustration or forgetting how to play the ball. I wish we had more young, talented players coming through but our problem is demographic. We just don t have the quantity of good players that is available in much bigger countries like Argentina or Brazil. A return to glory? Although there are less than 3.5 million Uruguayans, it seems, when you walk the streets of the country s biggest cities, that almost every one of those man, woman and child will be piling their expectations on the national football team in South Africa this year. Although the performances may have dipped, the passion and belief of the fans is still best summed up in the words of Galeano, who wrote that Uruguayan football is a far cry from what it used to be Nevertheless, there is no Uruguayan who does not consider himself a Ph.D in tactics and strategy, and a scholar of its history. Uruguayans passion for football comes from those days long ago, and its deep roots are still visible. Every time the national team plays, no matter against whom, the country holds its breath. Politicians, singers and street vendors shut their mouths, lovers suspend their kisses and flies stop flying. Despite the malaise in Uruguayan football, the national team s participation in the FIFA World Cup is an opportunity for Uruguayans to stand proud and hold their heads high, particularly when they see their flag raised once again alongside the other former champions of Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina and France. And there it will always fly, thanks to the triumphs of 1930 and Although Forlán s rocker look is far removed from the tango style of gentlemen such as Nasazzi and Varela, the 2010 edition will allow Uruguayans to once again recall their glorious past and dream that it might be resurrected, if not in the present then perhaps in the near future. Present danger: Uruguay s current top scorer Diego Forlán FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 75

76 GROUP B ARGENTINA Gabriel Heinze, goalscorer Sergio Agüero and Esteban Cambiasso celebrate during the first of two vital wins over South American rivals Uruguay. Until the late reprieve, it was a FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign which most Argentine fans would rather forget. Starting it under the leadership of coach Alfio Basile, La Albiceleste (the Sky Blue and Whites) began well with wins against Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia, but an away defeat to Colombia in November 2007 damaged the side s confidence. Four draws followed, including a creditable 0-0 with Brazil in Belo Horizonte, but the delight of a 2-1 home win over Uruguay in October 2008 faded when Argentina suffered their first-ever defeat (1-0) to Chile. The humiliation led coach Basile to resign, but spirits were lifted when Diego Maradona took charge the following month. In March last year, El Pibe de Oro (the Golden Boy) got a dream start when Argentina beat Venezuela 4-0. But in April came a 6-1 humbling by Bolivia in La Paz equalling Argentina s record defeat (against Czechoslovakia at the 1958 FIFA World Cup ). The roller-coaster ride continued in April when a pride-restoring 1-0 home win over the Colombians was followed four days later by a 2-0 away defeat to Ecuador. In September, Brazil got only their secondever away win (1-3) in Argentina, and the first calls were heard for Maradona to step down. He clung on, however, even despite a further 1-0 defeat in Paraguay, before hard-fought wins over Peru and Uruguay in October last year finally secured Argentina s place at South Africa Problems scoring Ironically, for a side coached by such a supreme former attacker, a lot of Argentina s problems have stemmed from their inability to score. In 18 games they conceded 20, but found the net only 23 times. Barcelona maestro and FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi featured in all 18 qualifiers, yet La Pulga (the Flea) scored only four goals. Atlético Madrid striker Sergio Agüero hit four in 12, while Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Riquelme scored four in nine. Astonishingly, Manchester City goal machine Carlos Tévez got just one goal in 12 run-outs. Argentina last won the FIFA World Cup in 1986 and before that they were the victorious hosts in They won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992, but their only major success since then came in the 1993 Copa América. Despite the difficulty of their path to South Africa, the Argentina squad is clearly blessed with immense talent, and if Maradona proves his doubters wrong by turning out to be just a fraction as good a manager as he was as a player, the South Americans could yet be the tournament s surprise package. Maradona may have to start as he means to go on, however. Their tournament begins on 12 June at Ellis Park against Nigeria, probably their toughest Group B opponents. 76 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

77 Star player: Lionel Messi Several Argentinian footballers have had to pursue their careers under the weight of being labelled the next Diego Maradona. But few, perhaps even none, have had as many of the qualities necessary to live up to that label as Lionel Messi. He is left-footed, has good vision, feints that unbalance the opposition, and sublime technique. He is a constant threat to the opposing defence. He was just 13 when his family emigrated to Spain, at the height of Argentina s economic crisis. Once in Barcelona, Messi was invited to a trial at Camp Nou, where he was spotted by youth team coach Carles Rexach. I noticed him straight away, and just to make sure I made him sign for the club on the back of a paper napkin, he would later recall. Barça offered to pay for the medical treatment he needed to stimulate his growth hormones, which Argentinian clubs had been unable to afford, preventing them from signing him. Messi made his official debut in La Liga at the end of 2004, but 2005 was the year his career really took off. With his first goal, in May against Albacete, he became the youngest goalscorer in the club s history, a record that was not broken until 2008 by Spanish player Bojan. Between 2009 and 2010, Messi firmly established himself with Barcelona, with whom he has now won four Spanish league titles, the Copa del Rey, the European Super Cup, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Champions Leagues, the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA World Player of the Year award. With Argentina, Messi participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, although he watched their elimination against Germany from the substitutes bench. He won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, but had to content himself with second place in the Copa América in Already revered both as one of the world s most talented players, if Argentina win the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Lionel Messi will become a legend. Coach Considered by many to be the finest player ever to have set foot on a pitch, Diego Armando Maradona now has the opportunity to repeat as a coach his greatest achievement as a player. Straight-talking, impulsive and a born winner, Maradona retains the same aura he exuded during his playing days. Having steered his side into the finals, albeit with difficulty, he now faces a challenge he has already risen to once in his career. Possible line-up GK Sergio ROMERO D Nicolas OTAMENDI D Gabriel HEINZE D Martin DEMICHELIS D Nicolas BURDISSO MF Javier MASCHERANO MF Maxi RODRIGUEZ MF Juan Sebastian VERON MF Lionel MESSI F Carlos TEVEZ F Sergio AGUERO How they qualified South American Group Nigeria v. Home Away Chile Venezuela Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Brazil Paraguay Peru Uruguay Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Brazil Chile Paraguay Argentina Uruguay Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Peru Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA GRE KOR NIG What they said I tell my players that 30 days of sacrifice for the chance to kiss the World Cup is nothing in the life of a man. An achievement like that is like touching the sky. I played in World Cups and I reached two finals. I know what it takes. I know how to lead the group and how to coach the players. I ve earned the right to talk about the subject. I didn t come eighth, ninth or get knocked out in the first round. I know something about this. Diego Maradona FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 77

78 GROUP B NIGERIA The only 2010 FIFA World Cup participants whose qualifying campaign included a victory in South Africa, Nigeria were unbeaten in 12 games as they swiftly went about making sure of their return to the country for this year s finals. Under the direction of then coach Shaibu Amodu, the Nigerians beat South Africa home and away when they entered the fray in the second stage of African qualification and indeed won all six of their matches to top their group by a whopping 11-point margin. The decisive third stage proved a much closer affair. Although remaining unbeaten, Nigeria did drop points most surprisingly when they were held to a goalless draw in Mozambique. Two further draws with nearest rivals Tunisia then saw Amodu s men locked in a tight tussle with the North Africans, which only ended in Nigeria s favour after a come-from-behind 3-2 away win over Kenya. Altogether, Nigeria recorded nine wins in qualifying and three draws, scoring 20 goals and conceding just five. Inter winger Victor Obinna and Real Zaragoza striker Ikechukwu Uche each hit four, while Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Peter Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins and team skipper Joseph Yobo each got two. Amodu misses out Nigeria were one of the tournament favourites going into the 2010 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament they won in 1980 and A disappointing 1-0 semifinal defeat to Ghana cost Nigeria boss Shaibu Amodu his job, however, prompting memories of 2002 when Amodu also steered Nigeria to World Cup qualification only to be dismissed after the team only finished third in the continental championship. In Amodu s place comes Swedish trainer Lars Lagerbäck, who happened to coach his home country against Nigeria at the 2002 tournament. Although in a tricky group, Nigeria have some impressive firepower upfront and a Nigeria were unbeaten throughout their qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. top-class midfield anchor in the shape of Chelsea s Jon Obi Mikel. Having reached the last 16 in two of their three previous FIFA World Cup appearances (before falling at the first hurdle in 2002), Nigeria are unlikely to give any opponent an easy ride this time around, especially now that they are playing on their home continent. 78 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

79 Star player: Joseph Yobo The most consistent central defender in Nigeria s squad, Joseph Yobo has been a mainstay in the side since making his debut as a 20-year-old against Zambia in Fast, strong, good in the air and relatively comfortable on the ball, Yobo is one of Africa s finest back-line products. He also occupies a leadership position for the Super Eagles and is capable of inspiring the team all the way forward from the back. After helping the U-20 national team reach the quarter-finals of the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the emerging player proved he was ready for the full national team in time for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three matches for the Super Eagles in Korea and Japan, and though they were eliminated from the so-called group of death with just one point and one goal, he provided the assist for that solitary strike against Sweden and generally gave a good account of himself throughout the tournament. His impressive showing earned him attention from several big clubs before he was snapped up by English Premier League side Everton. Though the highly fancied West Africans missed out on a place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, Yobo was a key figure in the teams that finished third at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010 and reached the quarter-final stage in His value for Nigeria was again shown in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Making a total of nine appearances, Yobo s personal highlight was back-to-back matches against Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea where the defender scored the only goal in each encounter. He was also in the side that came from behind to win 3-2 in Kenya to book Nigeria s place in the South Africa finals. In his personal life, he is married to a former Miss Nigeria, and has formed the Joseph Yobo Foundation to help under-privileged youngsters in his homeland. Coach Lars Lagerbäck is a new addition to the Nigeria set-up, having taken over from previous coach Shaibu Amodu in February following the Super Eagles third-place finish at the 2010 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. The 61-year-old Lagerbäck led his native Sweden for over a decade, part of the time as co-manager with Tommy Söderberg, taking them to the knockout stages of the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups as well as to three consecutive European Championships. Possible line-up GK Vincent ENYEAMA D Chidi ODIAH D Taye TAIWO D Joseph YOBO D Danny SHITTU MF Kalu UCHE MF Sani KAITA MF John Obi MIKEL MF Victor OBINNA F Nwankwo KANU F Yakubu AIYEGBENI Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ARG GRE KOR How they qualified African Third Round, Group B Nigeria v. Home Away Mozambique Kenya Tunisia Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Nigeria Tunisia Mozambique Kenya What they said We know that we will have a tough job at the World Cup. We are up against some tough teams like Argentina, with top players like [Lionel] Messi. It s important for us to prove that we can play our own game against the best. Nigeria forward Chinedu Obasi FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 79

80 GROUP B KOREA REPUBLIC Promising winger Lee Dong-Gook celebrates after scoring in his team s March friendly win over Côte d Ivoire. Korea Republic s fans endured a lengthy wait of more than three decades between their first FIFA World Cup finals appearance in 1954 and their second at Mexico Since then, however, they have been ever-present at world football s flagship event an impressive run which now sees the team preparing for their seventh consecutive tilt at glory. Despite their regional superiority, the South Koreans have generally struggled in the global arena, with the one huge exception of their 2002 showing when co-hosting the tournament with Japan. With Guus Hiddink as coach, the Taeguk Warriors got that year s campaign off to a great start with a 2-0 victory over Poland, before upsetting such major European sides as Portugal, Italy and Spain to reach the semi-finals, where they finally succumbed 1-0 to Germany. It was the first time an Asian team had reached the semis, with the South Koreans bettering North Korea s quarter-final showing at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, under another Dutch boss in the shape of Dick Advocaat, Korea Republic then achieved their first World Cup win outside Asia, a 2-1 victory over Togo in Frankfurt. Thanks to a late equaliser by Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung, they even secured a creditable 1-1 draw with eventual runners-up France, but were unable to get anywhere near repeating the heroics of 2002 after crashing out 2-0 to Switzerland in their final groupstage match. Seven draws Although rarely in danger of missing out on this year s edition during a qualifying campaign free of defeat, the Koreans often missed the killer touch and ended up drawing half of their 14 matches. As they look once again to up their game in South Africa, they will of course be heavily reliant on South Korea s undisputed football star, ball-playing skipper Park Ji-Sung, who netted five goals in 11 qualification matches. Plenty of others will be looking to impress, however, including 21-year-old midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng, who is considered one of his nation s brightest young talents, along with pacy winger Lee Chung-Yong, another 21-year-old who will celebrate his 22 nd birthday in South Africa if his team get as far as the quarter-finals. Expecting another last-four finish may be unrealistic, but the Koreans will certainly be keen to show that they have learned from their early exit four years ago. Something in between the highs of 2002 and the low of 2006 would surely satisfy the majority of the team s fans. 80 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

81 Star player: Park Ji-Sung As nicknames such as oxygen tank and three lungs indicate, Park Ji-Sung is a workhorse who never stops running. Now a regular member of Manchester United s superstar line-up, the 29-year-old attacking midfielder has become an icon of Korean football since his meteoric emergence from virtual obscurity. Park first caught the eye of current Korea Republic coach Huh Jung-Moo in 1999, when Park was turning out for Myongji University for a friendly against the national team which Huh was managing at the time on an interim basis. The coach surprised many of the country s supporters when he decided to take Park to the following year s Olympic Football Tournament in Sydney, where the player went on to feature in all three of his team s matches. Two years later he had established himself as a regular in the senior team, in time to play a key role in Korea Republic s groundbreaking success under the guidance of Guus Hiddink at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. The tireless midfielder played in Korea Republic s seven matches on home soil, scoring the only goal of their final group stage win over Portugal before helping the Taeguk Warriors to a shock fourthplace finish. Following Hiddink to PSV Eindhoven before making his highprofile switch to Manchester United, Park then returned to World Cup action in The Koreans were unable to match their heroics of four years earlier, but again Park was an integral member of the team, scoring the equaliser in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with eventual finalists France. Now captaining the national side, and top-scoring for them during the qualifying campaign for South Africa, Park will be relishing the chance to write more footballing history on his third showing at the FIFA World Cup, particularly since he has already indicated that this could be his last appearance at world football s biggest event. Coach The appointment of Huh Jung-Moo in December 2007 put an end to the Dutch influence under the likes of Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat. Despite a sluggish start to their AFC qualifying campaign, the former Korea Republic midfielder silenced his critics by guiding his experimental side into the finals with two games to spare. Huh was an interim coach of Korea Republic twice before, and led the U-23 side at the Men s Olympic Football Tournament Sydney Possible line-up GK LEE Woon Jae D OH Beom Seok D LEE Young Pyo D CHO Yong Hyung D KANG Min Soo MF PARK Ji Sung MF CHO Won Hee MF KI Sung Yueng MF LEE Chung Yong F LEE Keun Ho F LEE Dong Gook Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ARG GRE NIG How they qualified Asian Fourth Round, Group B Korea Rep v. Home Away Iran Korea DPR UAE Saudi Arabia Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Korea Rep Korea DPR Saudi Arabia Iran UAE What they said This will be the last chapter in my football life. I will put all my energy into achieving good results in the World Cup. Huh Jung-Moo FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 81

82 GROUP B GREECE Will Greece be able to score their first-ever World Cup goal in South Africa? It seemed almost unthinkable that Greece could part company with their legendary German coach Otto Rehhagel following the heroics of their totally unexpected European Championship triumph together in But failure to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup followed by a lacklustre Euro 2008 in which the Greeks became the first reigning champions not to earn a single point in defence of their European crown certainly heaped the pressure on Rehhagel s bosses at the Greek FA. Their decision to stick with the wily 71-year-old tactician has paid off, however, with Rehhagel having now steered the national team to only their second-ever FIFA World Cup finals. Again the campaign was not without its critics, many of whom believed Greece should have been more convincing in a group containing Switzerland, Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg and Moldova. When the Swiss famously slipped up at home to Luxembourg, Greece appeared to be in a commanding position. But Rehhagel then lost out in a clash of German trainers, as Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld turned the tables by inflicting home and away defeats on the Greeks in Piraeus and Basel. As the Swiss celebrated top spot in the group, Rehhagel s men were forced to come through a tight play-off with Ukraine. Pointless in 1994 The Greek fans do not have fond memories of their side s previous FIFA World Cup finals appearance, when they came home early from USA 94 without managing either a point or a single goal. Some have seen worrying similarities in the opposition faced in that tournament (Argentina, Nigeria and Bulgaria) and in the upcoming campaign (Argentina, Nigeria and Korea Republic) but Rehhagel has shrugged off any comparison between events 16 years apart. He will of course be keener to remind his men of their achievements of six years ago, and indeed still counts a surprising number of the 2004 heroes among the list of players who contributed to the successful qualifying campaign for The most obvious is skipper Angelos Charisteas, the man who scored the winner in the 2004 final against Portugal, but there are also the experienced midfielders Georgios Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis, as well as goalkeeper Konstantinos Chalkias, an understudy to Antonios Nikopolidis in Portugal six years ago. Greece could certainly do with making a good start against Korea Republic in their opening game on 12 June. Recent history, however, is on the side of the Asians who managed a 1-1 draw and 1-0 win over Rehhagel s men in two friendly matches played on neutral territory in 2006 and FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

83 Star player: Angelos Charisteas The forward Angelos Charisteas will of course be remembered in the history of Greek football as the scorer of the only goal in the final of EURO 2004 against Portugal, earning the Greeks the title of European champions. The towering striker (1.91m) started his professional career in 1997 and has since played for some of the best clubs in Europe. He started out with non-league side Strimonikos Serron before moving to Aris Thessaloniki, where his goals contributed to the club s promotion to the top division in Greek football that same year. His good scoring rate resulted in a transfer to German club Werder Bremen in 2002, where he continued improving his statistics, both in the Bundesliga and the then UEFA Cup was his year, and in addition to the European Championship, he also won the Bundesliga and the Cup in Germany. But he was not a regular on the first team, and therefore moved to Dutch side Ajax in the hope of making more appearances. Henk Ten Cate s arrival at the club meant that Charisteas was now considered the fifth forward in the squad, and so he decided to move to Germany or England, but in the end signed for neighbouring club Feyenoord, where he also failed to settle in. Finally, his current club Nuremberg signed him in 2007, although they loaned him to Bayer Leverkusen for a year in He made his debut for the Greek national side in 2001, and has scored 23 goals in 82 appearances, making him top scorer among his country s active players. As well as scoring the winning goal to claim the European title in Portugal 2004, he was included in the team of the tournament. The Nuremberg forward will now be hoping to once again go down in his country s footballing history, this time as the first Greek to score at a World Cup. Coach South Africa 2010 will be coach Otto Rehhagel s first FIFA World Cup finals, where, at 71, he is set to be the oldest strategist on show. After a glittering career in his homeland, the German boss has earned recognition for his achievements with the Greek national team. Six years after winning their only European title and 16 years after their last participation in a World Cup, King Otto has returned Greece to the football elite. GK D D D D MF MF MF MF F F Alexandros TZORVAS Vasileios TOROSIDIS Nikos SPIROPOULOS Vangelis MORAS Sotirios KYRGIAKOS Alexandros TZIOLIS Kostas KATSOURANIS Georgios KARAGOUNIS Dimitrios SALPINGIDIS Theofanis GEKAS Angelos CHARISTEAS Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ARG KOR NIG How they qualified European Group 2 / Play-off* Greece v. Home Away Israel Switzerland Moldova Latvia Luxembourg Ukraine* Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Switzerland Greece Latvia Israel Luxembourg Moldova What they said The players have been rewarded for their incredible passion and competitive spirit. We said that before achieving success you need to have the Gods on your side. Otto Rehhagel FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 83

84 AFRICAN REUNION FOR 1994 GROUP RIVALS Maradona heads for the ground after a tussle with Nigeria s Sunday Oliseh at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Argentina went on to win the group-stage encounter 2-1. By Rex Gowar in Buenos Aires Argentina, Nigeria and Greece could be forgiven a feeling of déjà vu in South Africa as they line up together in the same group, just as they did at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Another thing they have in common is that all three countries will be hoping to do better than they did 16 years ago. In 1994, the group was completed by Bulgaria, a role that will fall to Korea Republic in 2010, and Argentina were seen as the favourites as they likely will be this year too. Nevertheless, it was Nigeria who topped the 1994 group, with Bulgaria taking second spot and Argentina scraping through in third place, after all three teams had finished level on points. The South Americans had begun strongly, routing Greece 4-0 thanks to a Gabriel Batistuta hat trick and a goal from Diego Maradona, the legendary former captain who will now be overseeing the 2010 campaign in his new role as head coach. A 2-1 win over the Nigerians followed, but it was at that point that Argentina s dreams started to unravel following the shock news of Maradona s positive drugs test. With their star player and on-pitch leader thrown out of the tournament, Argentina lost their last group-stage encounter with Bulgaria 2-0, before crashing out in the second round, courtesy of a 3-2 defeat to Romania. Two days later, Nigeria were also heading home, despite having looked on course 84 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

85 for a place in the quarter-finals for long spells of their second round meeting with Italy. A 25 th minute goal from Emmanuel Amunike had put the Africans ahead but Roberto Baggio struck back to break Nigerian hearts, first with an 88 th minute equaliser and then with a decisive penalty during extra time. Greece came off worst of all, heading home from their first FIFA World Cup with neither a point nor a goal to show for their efforts. Of course, 16 years is a long time in football and few of the current stars will be worrying too much about what their predecessors achieved or failed to achieve at a tournament played when many of today s players were still in school or even kindergarten. Greece in particular will arrive in South Africa with a much stronger footballing reputation than in 1994, thanks predominantly of course to their unexpected triumph at the 2004 European Championship but also to the sense of discipline and organisational awareness that they have acquired under the astute leadership of German coach Otto Rehhagel. Full circle When it comes to Argentina, Maradona is of course the most obvious link to the campaign of 1994 and the meeting with Nigeria in Ellis Park on 12 June will see the former star making his World Cup finals coaching debut against the same opponents he faced in that fateful last match in an Albiceleste shirt. Naturally, the Argentinian supporters will be much keener to recall memories of 1986, when Maradona captained the country to its second ever World Cup triumph, or indeed the 1990 finals when he was again skipper of a side that made it all the way to the final before losing 1-0 to West Germany. Of course the main difference between 1986 and the present day is that Argentina can no longer call upon Maradona as a player, but in Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi many now believe that Argentina have at last found a worthy successor to their legendary former number ten. For a long time during Argentina s inconsistent qualifying campaign, it looked as though Messi was the only player certain of a call-up for South Africa, with Maradona summoning more than 100 players in his first 18 months in charge of the team. Now, however, it appears that a core team has taken shape. In March, Maradona secured a morale-boosting friendly win over Germany in Munich with almost the same line-up as the one he had used to secure World Cup qualification in Montevideo in October, and then kept faith with the vast majority of those players when naming his 30-man preliminary squad in May. Nigerian shake-up While a sense of continuity would now appear to be settling upon the Argentina squad, Nigeria will come to the 2010 FIFA World Cup with many wondering what effect their late change of coach has had on preparations. After only finishing third at this year s Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria parted company with Shaibu Amodu and replaced him in February with Swede Lars Lagerback. Of course I wish we had more time for preparations, Lagerback acknowledged in an April interview with FIFA.com. The Nigeria Football Federation has really done a good job, however, by planning for friendly matches and ensuring that the team is busy, which will also help me to make a quick assessment of the players. With only two teams progressing to this year s knockout stages unlike in 1994, when Argentina were one of four thirdplaced teams to also go through, Nigeria would no doubt be happiest to see a repeat of the early results from the USA campaign. Indeed before being replaced, Amodu suggested that the performances of 1994 might have played a motivational role in his planning for this year s edition. It is a similar group to the one we had at the 1994 World Cup and I don t want to talk about history but people will remember how we performed at that tournament even though people thought we wouldn t do well, Amodu told reporters in Cape Town immediately after the Final Draw. This World Cup is an opportunity for African teams to showcase their ability to the rest of the world. We have played against some of our opponents before and we have an idea of what we are up against. While Amodu will not be there to oversee that next step, Nigeria will now be lining up with Argentina and Greece once more as well as new rivals Korea Republic. All of them will know that history can be useful for inspiration, for providing lessons, or simply for the joy of remembering great events but that it will also be largely irrelevant as the chance now comes to write new chapters in South Africa. Greece were on the back foot for much of the 1994 campaign, leaving the USA with no points and no goals scored. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 85

86 GROUP C ENGLAND The England team celebrate one of the 34 goals scored during their impressive 2010 qualifying campaign. Such is his importance to club and country, an entire nation held its collective breath in March when talismanic striker Wayne Rooney limped off during Manchester United s UEFA Champions League defeat in Munich against Bayern. Thankfully for England fans, already having to come to terms with the injury that ruled superstar midfielder David Beckham out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, the Liverpool-born 24-year-old marksman suffered only a minor ankle ligament injury. Managers such as Kevin Keegan, Sven- Göran Eriksson and Steve McClaren have come and gone, but under strict Italian Fabio Capello England have an impressive qualification record gaining nine wins from ten Group 6 games, netting a European zone high of 34 goals, while conceding only six. Their only defeat came in Ukraine in October last year after qualification was assured, ending a run of ten consecutive FIFA World Cup qualification wins that dates back to A long wait Still, many England fans will be mindful of their team s longer-term history, which has yielded just one FIFA World Cup success, all the way back in 1966 when as host nation they defeated Germany 4-2 after extra time in the final at Wembley. The closest they have come since 1966 was at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, when the late Sir Bobby Robson guided England to the semi-finals, only to lose on penalties to eventual winners West Germany. After the disappointments of UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, when England lost to Portugal on penalties on both occasions, almost unthinkably, England failed to qualify for UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria- Switzerland, further increasing the pressure to make a strong showing in South Africa this year. At their best, England under their charismatic Italian coach are solid in defence thanks to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, strong yet creative in midfield thanks to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and lethal up front because of Rooney, scorer of nine goals in nine qualifiers. Along the way, Spurs strikers Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe have also shown their ability to find the back of the net. Should England progress beyond this year s group stage, as many expect, a round-of-16 meeting with old rivals Germany is possible which for England fans would again raise the dreaded prospect of penalties. 86 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

87 Star player: Wayne Rooney If Italia 90 is remembered in England as Gazza s tournament, there are high hopes that South Africa 2010 will go down in history as Wazza s. Wayne Rooney, as he is better known, has already surpassed the achievements of the talented maverick Paul Gascoigne in all ways bar one he has yet to light up a FIFA World Cup with his talent. The signs are that this could be the year for the 24-year-old Merseysider, who was England s nine-goal top scorer in qualifying and arrives in South Africa after his best season yet in front of goal. Handed a central striking role at Manchester United following Cristiano Ronaldo s departure, Rooney has revelled in the responsibility, passing the 30-goal mark for the first time. When he was still in his teens and playing for his boyhood club Everton, Rooney became his country s youngest international when he made his senior debut at 17 years and 111 days in a February 2003 friendly against Australia. Making the step up to international football with apparent ease, just as he later did with his high-profile transfer from Everton to Manchester United, Rooney is now a veteran of two major international tournaments and, with United, a winner of three Premier League titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League. His importance to England was underlined at EURO 2004 when he scored four goals before limping out of the tournament with a fractured metatarsal injury during the quarterfinals which also dealt a decisive body blow to England s chances. Two years later, at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Rooney and England suffered another quarter-final exit, this time by virtue of a red card for stamping on Portugal s Ricardo Carvalho. Four years on from Gelsenkirchen, Rooney has matured impressively. He became a father last October and the following month captained England for the first time in a Dubai friendly against Brazil. For all his star quality, he still works tirelessly for his team and no defence will look forward to facing him in South Africa. Coach A winner of Serie A with AC Milan, AS Roma and Juventus, as well as a two-time La Liga champion at Real Madrid, Italian disciplinarian Fabio Capello wasted little time in instilling a renewed work ethic and squad spirit in an England squad packed with big-name stars and equally large egos. Qualification for South Africa 2010 with two games to spare and a solitary competitive defeat speak volumes for Capello s impact in his relatively short time in charge. Possible line-up GK David JAMES D Glen JOHNSON D Ashley COLE D John TERRY D Rio FERDINAND MF Frank LAMPARD MF Gareth BARRY MF James MILNER MF Shaun WRIGHT-PHILLIPS MF/F Steven GERRARD F Wayne ROONEY Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA SVN USA ALG How they qualified European Group 6 England v. Home Away Andorra Croatia Kazakhstan Belarus Ukraine Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 England Ukraine Croatia Belarus Kazakhstan Andorra What they said I think we ve put the record straight, to some extent. Since the manager arrived, there has been nothing but hard work, our confidence has come on a million miles in the way the team is playing. It is the first step and we ve qualified now but there s still a long way to go. England midfielder Frank Lampard following the 5-1 home win over Croatia which sealed qualification for South Africa 2010 FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 87

88 GROUP C USA US goalkeeper Tim Howard is in full song after his team s final qualifying match against Costa Rica. Those with any lingering doubts about the USA s footballing credentials would do well to remember that the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will mark the Americans sixth successive World Cup finals. Buoyed by a convincing qualification campaign and a notable 2-0 semi-final win over the mighty Spain in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa, the USA will now be aiming to emulate their unexpected journey to the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. In the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 final, the US even took a two-goal lead against Brazil before the five-time world champions asserted their superiority to score three. Nonetheless, the competition perfectly illustrated the USA s self-belief, determination and ability. The Americans reached the 2010 FIFA World Cup after securing first place in the final six-team qualifying phase for the North, Central America and Caribbean zone, beating arch-rivals Mexico into second place. En route to South Africa, the US recorded 13 wins and two draws in 18 run-outs, scoring 42 goals, while conceding just 16. Victories came against Barbados, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Cuba (including a 6-1 mauling in Washington) and Honduras, where a 3-2 win in San Pedro Sula ensured that the US would be heading for South Africa. Arguably, the highlight of the campaign came in Columbus in February last year, with a memorable 2-0 triumph over Mexico, although the USA were later thrashed 5-0 by El Tri in the Gold Cup final in July. In-form Altidore The Americans have been helped by the form of marksman Jozy Altidore, who netted six times to become his country s top scorer in the qualifying rounds, while Fulham s Clint Dempsey and inspirational midfielders Landon Donovan of LA Galaxy (all-time leading scorer and most-capped current US player) and Borussia Mönchengladbach s Michael Bradley (the 22-year-old son of US coach Bob Bradley) all weighed in with five apiece. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard also remains a key influence, while coach Bradley will be hoping that Milan s Oguchi Onyewu recovers from knee injury in time to figure at the heart of the US defence. The USA are currently well-placed within the top 20 of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, having reached their best-ever showing of fourth place in April Their best showing in the FIFA World Cup came at Uruguay 1930, when they reached the semi-finals. In 1950, they also recorded a famous 1-0 victory over current Group C opponents England in Belo Horizonte, although it would be 40 years before they would again reach the finals of international football s premier tournament. Mexico is the only CONCACAF nation with more FIFA World Cup finals appearances than the USA. This being their tenth finals, the Americans will be hoping to improve on their showing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when they failed to progress from the group stage, despite a creditable 1-1 draw with eventual winners Italy. 88 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

89 Star player: Landon Donovan In 1999, a 17-year-old Landon Donovan picked up the Golden Ball as best player at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand and soon afterwards he earned his first call-up to a United States national team training camp. The supremely skilled attacking midfielder has since earned over 100 caps and become the USA s all-time top scorer. Not bad for a man who is still just 28. Making his senior international debut in 2001, Donovan earned himself a place in Bruce Arena s squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan where, at barely 20 years of age, he played a significant role in the USA s run to the quarter-finals. Roaming between the midfield and front-runners, he scored twice in a successful campaign, against Poland in the first round and Mexico in the Stars and Stripes memorable round-of-16 triumph. It took Donovan a little longer to find his feet in club football. He became one of the youngest American players in history to sign a professional contract with an overseas club when agreeing to join German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 1999, but he was to spend the next few years yo-yoing between the US and Germany, picking up league titles during loan spells in his homeland but struggling to establish himself in the Leverkusen set-up. After a relatively poor showing by the US team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, there were some who questioned if the young player s best days were already behind him, but impressively it was at this point that Donovan rediscovered his form, following up on another loan spell (this time with Bayern Munich) by finally securing a regular starting place after signing for English Premier League side Everton. Blessed with an ability to press forward and get goals by the barrow-load, and already rated as one of the most technically gifted American players of his generation, Donovan could finally be ready to bring all of his talents to the table in South Africa. Coach Bob Bradley was originally appointed national coach on a caretaker basis, though an unbeaten run of ten games soon saw him given the job on a permanent basis. Anyone who still doubted his credentials would have been silenced by events at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, where the USA ousted favourites Spain in the semi-finals before going down to a narrow 3-2 final defeat to Brazil. Possible line-up GK Tim HOWARD D Steve CHERUNDOLO D Carlos BOCANEGRA D Oguchi ONYEWU D Jonathan BORNSTEIN MF Michael BRADLEY MF Landon DONOVAN MF Clint DEMPSEY MF DaMarcus BEASLEY F Edson BUDDLE F Jozy ALTIDORE Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ENG ALG SVN How they qualified CONCACAF Fourth Round USA v. Home Away Mexico El Salvador Trinidad & Tobago Costa Rica Honduras Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 USA Mexico Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador T & T What they said We re very proud to have finished at the top of the final (qualifying round). It was a great effort and required a great deal of determination on our team s part. Every time we took the field we spoke about proving to the world what we were capable of and I think we did just that. Bob Bradley after his side claimed top spot in CONCACAF qualifying FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 89

90 GROUP C ALGERIA Algeria s Karim Matmour skips past Mali s Mohamed Sissoko during the group stage of January s Africa Cup of Nations. It was a stop-start campaign that saw Algeria book their place after a 24-yearabsence at this year s FIFA World Cup but the nature of their eventual triumph, in a highly-charged play-off against archrivals Egypt will certainly have felt as good as a World Cup title win for many of the Algerian fans. A stunning Marco van Basten-esque volley by France-born Anther Yahia from an impossibly tight angle in the 40 th minute gave Algeria the vital win in Sudan last November over their old foes and reigning CAF Africa Cup of Nations champions. It proved a nail-biting climax to a patchy 13-game campaign that brought the Algerians eight wins, two draws and three losses. There was no stand-out goal hero, but Rafik Saïfi, Wolfsburg s Karim Ziani and Khartoum hero Yahia all scored three times, while AEK Athens Rafik Djebbour and Abdelkader Ghezzal, who plays for Siena in Serie A, each hit two. The Desert Foxes finished only one point ahead of Gambia, Senegal and Liberia in their first qualifying group, before tying with the Pharaohs in the second stage to set up the thrilling play-off. Third time lucky? Now preparing for their third appearance in the finals of a FIFA World Cup, where they will be the only representatives from the Arabic world, the North Africans are yet to make it beyond the competition s group stage. In 1982 in Spain, Algeria had obviously not read the script, stunning West Germany 2-1 and Chile 3-2 before suffering an improbable 2-0 defeat to Austria which swiftly brought the curtain down on their promising campaign. Four years later in Mexico, Algeria managed a 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland, before sustaining predictable losses against Brazil (1-0) and Spain (3-0) and once again exiting at the first hurdle. Algeria s international footballing highpoint came in 1990, when the country hosted the CAF Africa Cup of Nations and duly went on to win the competition for the first time, convincingly beating Nigeria (5-1), Côte d Ivoire (3 0), Egypt (2 0) and Senegal (2-1) on the way. Some 200,000 fans crammed into the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 to witness Algeria beat Nigeria for a second time in the final, thanks to a solitary Cherif Oudjani goal. When it comes to the current squad, Yahia is already a national hero thanks to his wonder strike against Egypt. Other undisputed stars of coach Rabah Saadane s team include Rangers centreback Madjid Bougherra, Portsmouth wing-back Nadir Belhadj and super athletic 32-year-old goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui. The Algerian skipper is Yazid Mansouri, who, although a defensive midfielder, likes to the spread the play with his impressive passing. 90 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

91 Star player: Madjid Bougherra Algeria s impressive record of conceding only three goals in seven World Cup qualifying matches is down largely to Madjid Bougherra. The French-born centre-back makes life extremely difficult for opponents, fighting for every ball and tirelessly driving his team forward from the back. As well as being elegant in possession, he pops up in unexpected positions and rescues his team when all seems lost. In recognition of this, fans have dubbed him Magic. Bougherra had already played for FC Gueugnon, Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic by the time he signed for Rangers in The 1.88m defender s first season at Ibrox could hardly have gone any better he won the Scottish league and cup double with his team and was voted player of the year by the club s fans. Bougherra chose to represent Algeria rather than France at international level and made his debut for the Desert Foxes in He has since gone on to win more than 40 caps, scoring three goals in the process. His goal to make it 2-0 to Algeria in their World Cup qualifying match against Zambia in Chililabombwe was crucial to the North African country s hopes of clinching a berth in the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Bougherra was suffering from a knee injury throughout the campaign, yet rather than show any sign of weakness, Magic conjured up a string of commanding performances and proved to be a linchpin for his team, particularly in the two decisive matches against Egypt that sealed qualification. This, added to his outstanding club form, suggests that he will be a key figure in the Algerian line-up when the FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa. Coach Since leaving his post in 1986, Rabah Saâdane has returned to coach the Algerian national team several times. His latest stint at the helm began in During his time as a club coach, the 64-year-old, a cult figure on account of his famed calmness and composure, led Raja Casablanca to the CAF Champions League title in 1989 and triumphed in the Arab Champions League in 2007 with ESS Sétif. Possible line-up GK Lounes GAOUAOUI D Rafik HALLICHE D Nadir BELHADJ D Madjid BOUGHERRA D Anther YAHIA MF Yazid MANSOURI MF Mourad MEGHNI MF Hassan YEBDA MF Karim ZIANI F Rafik SAIFI F Abdelkader GHEZZAL Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ENG USA SVN How they qualified African Third Round, Group C / Play-off* Algeria v. Home Away Rwanda Egypt Zambia Egypt* 1-0 Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Algeria Egypt Zambia Rwanda What they said With this qualification, our country is back on the world stage. It is a joy and a great honour for me to have played such a part in this. When I see the immense happiness that World Cup qualification has brought our people, I am extremely moved. This is a shining example for our young generation. Rabah Saâdane FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 91

92 GROUP C SLOVENIA Slovenia celebrate November s unexpected play-off triumph over Russia. Slovenia s away-goal play-off victory over Russia in November perhaps caused more of a shock than it should. After all, they had already ended the World Cup dreams of Poland and the Czech Republic in Group 3, even though both had qualified for Germany 2006 and UEFA EURO 2008 and were seen as heavy favourites for the group s top two spots. Yet both the Poles and the Czechs underperformed and it was the contest between Slovenia and Slovakia that was to prove the more fascinating. Following wins over Northern Ireland, San Marino and Poland, and creditable draws in Wroclaw against the Poles and in Maribor against the Czech Republic, the battle for top spot went to the wire. Slovenia were vying for top spot with Slovakia a team they had beaten home (2-1) and away (0-2). Yet Slovakia earned a decisive 1-0 away win in Poland, which meant Slovenia had to battle it out via the play-offs against Guus Hiddink s Russia. The first leg in Moscow saw winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov score either side of half time to give the Russians a seemingly comfortable two-goal cushion. Slovenia s Nejc Pečnik stole a vital away goal, however, with just two minutes left. In the second leg in Maribor four days later, a Zlatko Dedič strike meant that, against the odds, it was Slovenia who were heading to South Africa as the tournament s smallest participating country. Reliable Novakovič In their 12-game qualification campaign, Slovenia chalked up seven wins and only lost three times (all away), scoring 20 goals and conceding just six in the process. Top scorer was Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovič, an ever-present who hit five goals during his dozen appearances. Goalkeeper Samir Handanovič also featured in every qualifier, while captain Robert Koren, a skilful attacking midfielder who plays for West Bromwich Albion in England, adds much to a Slovenian side that is now ranked in the world s top 30 and widely respected by those in the know as a highly organised outfit. Slovenia s footballing history is not long, as the country only gained independence from Yugoslavia in The team reached UEFA EURO 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, but suffered early elimination on each occasion, with all three of their World Cup group stage matches ending in defeat. Despite failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals, Slovenia again showed their potential when they became the only team to beat eventual World Cup winners Italy in the qualifiers. Slovenia manager Matjaž Kek has deflected any expectations for his own team by tipping group opponents England as a team he believes can go all the way at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The only time the sides have met previously was in a friendly last September at Wembley, a game that England won 2-1. Slovenia have never played the USA or Algeria, whom they meet in their first match on 13 June. But having exceeded the hopes of all but the most optimistic Slovenian fans during the qualifying stages, Kek s men will of course be hoping to pull off more shocks in South Africa. 92 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

93 Star player: Samir Handanovič Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon has hailed him as one of the best goalkeepers in Italy, while Slovenian fans already consider him to be among the finest in the world. For Samir Handanovič, the 2010 FIFA World Cup offers a chance to show the rest of planet football just why he is considered one of goalkeeping s rising stars. Still just 25, the Udinese goalie has earned his starting place in the national team, thanks in particular to a World Cup qualifying campaign in which Handanovič marshalled one of the meanest defences in the entire UEFA zone. A figure of three goals conceded in eight group matches gives some indication of the heroics which culminated in an allimportant clean sheet in Slovenia s decisive play-off victory over Russia on 18 November. Though his family are of Bosnian descent, Handanovič was born in Ljubljana and took his first steps towards a professional career with Slovenian minnows Slovan Mavrica and Zagorje between 2002 and His promise already evident, the 1.96m keeper was picked up by top-flight outfit Domzale, but made just seven appearances for the club before Udinese swooped in the summer of Handanovič had just turned 20, but within just a few months, on 17 November 2004, he had made his international debut, keeping a clean sheet in a friendly meeting with Slovakia. Following a series of loan spells in Serie B, Handanovič was recalled to Udinese in 2007 and has been the club s first-choice keeper ever since, with his assured performances, aerial ability and penalty-saving prowess earning him the nickname The Doorkeeper. Supported by elder cousin Jasmin Handanovič as his understudy in the Slovenian goal, Handanovič could now find plenty of doors opening for him if he continues to impress in South Africa. How they qualified European Group 3 / Play-off* Coach Earning just one international cap as a player for Slovenia in 1992, shortly after his country s independence, Matjaž Kek has proven far more successful as a coach working his way up the ranks via the national U-15 and U-16 teams before taking over as senior coach in January Exceeding all expectations when he steered his unfancied team back to the game s greatest stage, Kek acknowledged afterwards that Slovenia has realised a dream. Possible line-up GK Samir HANDANOVIC D Miso BRECKO D Bojan JOKIC D Marko SULER D Bostjan CESAR MF Robert KOREN MF Andraz KIRM MF Aleksandar RADOSAVLJEVIC MF Valter BIRSA F Zlatko DEDIC F Milivoje NOVAKOVIC Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ENG USA ALG Slovenia v. Home Away Poland Slovakia Northern Ireland Czech Rep San Marino Russia* Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Slovakia Slovenia Czech Rep N. Ireland Poland San Marino What they said For a small country like ours, it s an incredible achievement to qualify for a World Cup. Before this qualification series started, nobody was giving this young team a hope. But now, the players and the whole country are proud of our success. We want to show that, small as we are, we can compete with the best. Milivoje Novakovič, Slovenia striker FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 93

94 HISTORY IN THE REMAKING? Goalscorer Joe Gaetjens is carried off the pitch by cheering fans following the USA s shock 1950 win over England. By Michael Lewis The USA s group stage meeting with England on 12 June will of course evoke memories of the Americans shock victory at the 1950 World Cup but the US class of 2010 are keen to write their own chapter in footballing history is ancient history. You don t want to live in it. But you don t want to forget about it either. That is how former US international Walter Bahr sums up the current nostalgia surrounding his team s sensational 1-0 group stage win over England at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, a match which returned to the media spotlight in December when the two sides were again pitted against each other in the group stage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For those unfamiliar with the football set-up of the 1950s, it is hard perhaps to comprehend just how unlikely the US victory must have seemed. The supposed gulf between the two countries before the game was so immense that John Thompson of England s Daily Mail newspaper reported watching his national side losing to a team I never knew played football. Widely hailed as the inventors of the game, England were playing in their first FIFA World Cup, where they were installed as co-favourites along with the Brazilian hosts. Coach Walter Winterbottom had an array of stars in a squad which had reportedly been insured by Lloyd s of London for USD 3 million, an enormous sum in those days. The Americans on the other hand were glorified amateurs and semi-pro players who performed in the American Soccer League and local leagues, some for as little as USD 5 a game. Needless to say, players needed a real job to make ends meet for themselves and their families, which made the Americans upset of England that much more incredible. Incredible, but true. The match was played in what was then the tiny north Brazilian mining town of Belo Horizonte, now a bustling city of 2.4 million residents. Reports of the time describe the US team as having taken a pummelling throughout much of the first half before a 37 th -minute header by Haitian-born striker Joe Gaetjens coupled with some inspired goalkeeping at the other end of the pitch by Frank Borghi produced a previously unimaginable result for fans and players alike. At the time, I didn t realize how big a victory it really was, recalled Bahr, now 83, in April. We weren t that familiar with 94 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

95 the World Cup. The United States wasn t familiar with the whole concept of the World Cup. It was only as the years went by that the significance of that victory has become more apparent. What is sometimes forgotten in the hype surrounding the match itself is the fact that neither team had their fate at the tournament sealed by that one result. The English, who had begun with a 2-0 victory over Chile, could still have turned things around, but instead limped out after a 1-0 defeat to eventual group winners Spain. The US had got off to a bad start after also losing to Spain in their opening match, and the win over England was to prove their sole victory at the event, followed up by a comprehensive 5-2 loss to the Chileans. Wake-up call Nor did the match mark any seismic shift in the balance of footballing power between the Old and New World. Indeed, many football historians have described England s calamitous debut appearance at the FIFA World Cup as a wake-up call that finally alerted the game s inventors to the fact that the rest of the world had caught up, and indeed overtaken, them. Within another 16 years, England were world champions and it was US soccer that was struggling. It did not take long for the ecstasy to wear off. When he returned home from Brazil, Bahr said he expected a crowd at the airport, but was greeted only by his wife. Worse, his beloved sport did not go forward, but rather backwards over the next four decades. Most notably, a professional league came and went the North American Soccer League, which boasted the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Johan Cruyff, among other stars and superstars from the football galaxy during that era. Following the highs of 1950, it would take another ten World Cup qualifying campaigns before the USA finally took their place back among the world s elite, successfully reaching Italia 90 with a group of recent college graduates. Despite making another first-round exit, it was this squad which provided the backbone of the team which reached the second round of the 1994 FIFA World Cup on home soil. Perhaps even more significantly, that tournament provided the impetus for creating Major League Soccer (MLS), the domestic professional league stipulated by FIFA as one of the legacies that the tournament should leave behind. MLS is now halfway through its 15 th season. While it has endured many growing pains, many of the Americans preparing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup either play for clubs within the league, or started their careers there. Less shocking With US soccer on a much firmer footing than it was 60 years ago, a repeat of that famous scoreline would certainly provoke less of a shock this time around even if England are again entering the tournament among the favourites. For sure, the Americans will not be underestimated as they were in 1950, having established themselves since 1990 as regional heavyweights who, on a good day, can mix it with the very best. England will of course have noted the current US squad s surprise run to the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, where they led Brazil 2-0 at half-time, before eventually succumbing 3-2. That tournament, which also included a shock semi-final win over a supposedly invincible Spain, will have also helped the Americans familiarise themselves with the South African winter and environment and the variations of altitude in their three group stage venues. US coach Bob Bradley has been understandably reluctant to dwell on past glories, either from 2009 or 1950, but he acknowledges that the Belo Horizonte match still holds a special place in the hearts of US soccer fans. We tried to make sure the team has a little sense of history, and the win in 1950 is a moment we are proud of, he recently said. The opportunity to now open our 2010 World Cup campaign against England brings new attention to our team and our sport. The first round is about three games, but it starts with England. As well as the history factor, there will of course be many players in the US squad who know the English game well, from either now playing or having recently played for English clubs something that will add extra spice to the fixture for the likes of Tim Howard, Landon Donovan (both Everton), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Stuart Holden (Bolton) and Jozy Altidore (Hull City). I m sure it will get pretty intense, especially in the world we live in today with blogs and the internet and stuff like that, Donovan has acknowledged. Obviously our job is to try to stay insulated and just worry about the team. But for the fans it s going to be a lot of fun, and I m excited about this game as much as a fan as a player. While the internet and blogs were as unimaginable in 1950 as a US soccer victory over England, one thing unites these two vastly different sporting eras: the sanctity of the result as the final word on any encounter. No matter which team boasts the greater overall statistics, it is the score on the day that counts. Asked if he would take the 1-0 score again when the sides meet on 12 June, Bradley does not hesitate, stating with a big smile, We would. The USA s current stars impressed during last year s run to the FIFA Confederations Cup final. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 95

96 GROUP D GERMANY Lukas Podolski is in the thick of German celebrations during an emphatic 6-0 start to their qualifying campaign in Liechtenstein. Expectations were unusually low when Germany started the last FIFA World Cup as under-rated tournament hosts. Despite a pedigree in the competition which has seen them compete in all but two final competitions and win three times a record bettered only by four-time winners Italy and record five-time champions Brazil Jürgen Klinsmann s untested young squad were generally seen as a pale imitation of the great national teams that had gone before them. Germany of course confounded their critics, just as they have done so often in the past, finishing the 2006 tournament in third place and as the highest-scoring team. Now coached by Klinsmann s former deputy, Joachim Löw, and with four years more experience, including a runners-up spot at the 2008 European Championship, Germany are unlikely to be underestimated by anybody this time around. Die Nationalmannschaft (national team) were unbeaten in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, recording eight wins and two draws with 26 goals scored and only five conceded. Poland-born Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose hit an impressive seven goals in eight run-outs while fellow Pole Lukas Podolski of Cologne got six in nine. Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack provided another four, with Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger scoring three. Both ruthless and efficient? Some critics damned Germany with faint praise when they described the qualification campaign as efficient and single-minded. Still, they wrapped up qualification comfortably and showed a ruthless streak when they beat Liechtenstein by an aggregate score of 10-0 in their two encounters. They also handed Russia their first-ever defeat in front of their home fans in a FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in October. Pointing to the overall efficiency and technical proficiency of the performance, Russia boss Guus Hiddink tipped the Germans as a force to be reckoned with at this year s finals. What remains to be seen, of course, is how well the Germans can cope without Ballack following their influential captain s heartbreaking injury in the English FA Cup Final just weeks before the start of the tournament. Löw s men will be expected to win their group comfortably and they begin their campaign in Durban on 13 June against Australia, a side they have beaten twice. Germany thrashed Ghana 6-1 in the sides only previous meeting and have only lost seven times in 31 meetings with Serbia. No European team has yet won the FIFA World Cup outside of the old continent, but Germany certainly have the talent, experience and determination to put that statistic to rest. 96 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

97 Star player: Bastian Schweinsteiger Having long since graduated simply from being the next big thing in German football, Bastian Schweinsteiger has hit peak form again just in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The exceptionally talented 1.83m Bayern Munich midfielder switched position from the left of midfield to the centre last season and possesses all of the qualities needed to pull the strings for the three-time world champions and take over the role vacated by the injured Michael Ballack. Schweinsteiger made his international debut for Germany in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Hungary in Kaiserslautern in June A mere four years later, in May 2008, he gained his 50 th cap for his country at the tender age of 23 a record in the history of the German Football Association. He first came to the world s attention at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 in his homeland, when he won a place in German fans hearts with his outstanding performances and care-free attitude. A year later, at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, he provided a creative outlet on the left side of the pitch for national coach Jürgen Klinsmann and stood out in particular in Germany s 3-1 victory over Portugal in the match for third place, in which he scored two goals and set up the third. Schweinsteiger is technically gifted and blessed with an ability to read the game well. He has vastly improved his tackling ability in recent months and with a haul of over 70 caps, now counts as a highly experienced player. A stalwart for Bayern Munich, he is now also capable of taking games by the scruff of the neck in the colours of the Nationalmannschaft and of driving Joachim Löw s men on to new heights. How they qualified European Group 4 Coach Joachim Löw has long since stepped out of the shadow of predecessor Jürgen Klinsmann, whom he assisted at the 2006 World Cup in his homeland. This, despite falling short of the goal that he set himself upon taking the job on 12 July 2006 of winning the European Championship and maintaining the attacking philosophy which Klinsmann adopted for the German team. However, the man who continues to hold SC Freiburg s goalscoring record has earned respect from all sides thanks to his calm, professional and friendly approach with star players and the media. GK D D D D MF MF MF MF F F Manuel NEUER Andreas BECK Philipp LAHM Heiko WESTERMANN Per MERTESACKER Piotr TROCHOWSKI Marko MARIN Sami KHEDIRA Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER Lukas PODOLSKI Miroslav KLOSE Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA AUS GHA SRB Germany v. Home Away Liechtenstein Finland Russia Wales Azerbaijan Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Germany Russia Finland Wales Azerbaijan Liechtenstein What they said Germany have been very successful in the past, and that s an inspiration to the next generations. We re definitely among a group of countries with a chance of taking the trophy. We were third at the World Cup and second at the EURO, so our goal for 2010 is to make the final and win the trophy. Philipp Lahm in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 97

98 GROUP D AUSTRALIA Now holding sway in Asia, Australia are back for their second successive World Cup campaign. The old adage about London buses that you wait ages for one to turn up and then two come along at once could equally be applied to the history of successful Australian FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns. Having first seen their side qualify for world football s biggest event in 1974 with a team of amateurs which lost to both East and West Germany but did manage a 0-0 draw against Chile, Aussie fans had to wait 32 years to see their team compete at the highest level. And then just another four years for them to do it again. Between 1974 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup there were plenty of nearmisses, including play-off defeats to Scotland (1986), Argentina (1994), Iran (1998) and Uruguay (2002). Now though, after successfully making the switch from Oceania to join the Asian Football Confederation, Australia appear to have found their groove. Building on a 2006 campaign which had seen them take eventual champions Italy all the way up until the 95 th minute penalty of a bad-tempered round-of-16 encounter, Australia also faced some difficult moments on the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup but finally came through as group winners, five points clear of nearest rivals Japan. Tight at the back Now coached by Pim Verbeek, who was eventually named as the successor to fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink, Australia owed much of their latest success to a miserly defence commandeered by Lucas Neill, one of the game s toughest central defenders. Fulham shot-stopper Mark Schwarzer claimed a national record for FIFA World Cup qualifiers after keeping seven consecutive clean sheets. The side is also not without firepower at the other end. As well as conceding just four goals in the 14 qualifying games, the team also scored 19. Underlining his importance to the side, Everton s Tim Cahill hit four in six games. Blackburn Rovers Brett Emerton achieved the same tally while Nagoya Grampus striker Joshua Kennedy and Galatasaray s Harry Kewell each hit three. Australia have experience and they certainly have talent, but the side faces a tough opener in Durban on 13 June, when they take on Germany the team that beat them 3-0 all the way back in If Germany reassert their authority in that clash, then Australia s key game could come against Ghana in Rustenburg seven days later. 98 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

99 Star player: Lucas Neill Regardless of club form, Australia captain Lucas Neill has been a highly consistent performer in his country s back line since shoring up his first-team position five years ago. His leadership on the field remains inspirational and his presence has been a key contributor to Australia s strong defensive record of recent years. Assuming the captaincy in October 2006, and becoming Australia s 50 th captain in the process, Neill is very strong in the tackle, good in the air and links well with his midfield. Although now entrenched in central defence with the national team, he can also fill a number of other roles, dating back to his younger days when he was utilised in numerous capacities for both club and country. Neill is yet another graduate of Australia s golden generation which played at the Olympic Football Tournament on home soil in Sydney ten years ago. But it was his performance for the Socceroos in the two-legged play-off victory over Uruguay in November 2005 which was perhaps the major turning point in his international career. Neill performed majestically at home, showing coolness in an intense environment both home and away. He also casually slotted home a spot kick as Australia triumphed in the tensest imaginable backdrop for a penalty shoot-out. The fine form continued at the 2006 FIFA Word Cup with Neill rock solid across all four of Australia s matches. Unfortunately however, the defining moment of the campaign came when Neill was deemed to have fouled Fabio Grosso, allowing the eventual world champions to slot home a last-gasp penalty. Now playing his club football for Istanbul giants Galatasaray, alongside fellow Australian hero Harry Kewell, Neill will be keen to build on some impressive defensive performances in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign which saw Australia concede just four goals in 14 matches. Coach After a lengthy apprenticeship under Guus Hiddink, Pim Verbeek stepped out of the shadows to take Korea Republic to the 2007 AFC Asian Cup before assuming the reins for Australia in December Building upon a rocksolid defence and considerable flair on the flanks, Verbeek has instilled a strong sense of teamwork to forge a highly motivated and focused unit. Possible line-up GK Mark SCHWARZER D Luke WILKSHIRE D David CARNEY D Jade NORTH D Lucas NEILL M Brett HOLMAN M Brett EMERTON M Tim CAHILL M Marco BRESCIANO F Harry KEWELL F Joshua KENNEDY Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA GER SER GHA How they qualified Asian Fourth Round, Group A Australia v. Home Away Uzbekistan Qatar Bahrain Japan Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Australia Japan Bahrain Qatar Uzbekistan What they said We have to go there and do it better than last time. I think you have to make targets in life and the players are going to do that also. We want to do better than last time, and we will do everything possible to do that. Australia coach Pim Verbeek FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 99

100 GROUP D SERBIA Star defender Nemanja Vidić (centre) enjoys success at the other end of the pitch, after scoring during Serbia s March 2009 qualifying win over Romania. Known as the White Eagles, in reference to the white double-headed eagle on their national coat of arms, Serbia could just as easily turn out to be the dark horses of Group D. Pitted against the experience of Germany and the athleticism of Ghana, the small European state was never likely to be among the tournament favourites, but few would argue against the quality of the individual talent contained within the squad. Serbia are not without their own World Cup experience, when you include their previous appearances under the umbrella of the now-collapsed Yugoslavia. They were also present at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, though still coupled with neighbours Montenegro, for a disappointing campaign comprised of three straight defeats to the Netherlands, Argentina (a 6-0 drubbing) and Côte d Ivoire. Now appearing for the first time simply as Serbia, the team made their official debut as an independent nation less than four years ago, in August 2006, with a 3-1 friendly win over the Czech Republic. It was their 5-0 thrashing of Romania in October last year, however, that sealed an unlikely World Cup qualifying place ahead of hot favourites France, who instead had to book their own spot via the European play-offs. Cool finish Leading the 1998 FIFA World Cup champions by four points going into last September s head-to-head in Belgrade, Radomir Antic s side kept their cool to register a 1-1 draw before ensuring that they clinched top spot in the group with a 5-0 home victory over Romania. In ten games, Serbia won seven, drew one and lost two. It was a qualifying campaign that demonstrated the collective potential of a squad, whose individual talents have never been in doubt. Certainly any side boasting the spine of Vladimir Stojković in goal, Manchester United s Nemanja Vidić in defence, versatile Inter Milan star Dejan Stanković in midfield and new Liverpool striker Milan Jovanović is going to be hard to crack. Just ask France. 100 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

101 Star player: Nemanja Vidić Fierce in the tackle and formidable in the air, Nemanja Vidić is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world. Signed by Belgrade giants Crvena Zvezda at the age of just 14, Vidić wasted little time in establishing himself as a first-team regular and eventual team captain. After leading the club to a league and cup double in he was soon on the move to Spartak Moscow. The Moscow giants were able to hold on to him for just a couple of seasons before Manchester United came knocking at the start of Vidić quickly formed a superb partnership with Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the Red Devils defence, which proved pivotal to the club s capture of three straight Premier League titles and, in a memorable 2008, the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup. His international debut came six years earlier when he helped Serbia and Montenegro beat Spain to top spot in their qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Alongside Goran Gavrančić, Mladen Krstajić and Ivica Dragutinović, Vidić was part of a formidable rearguard that conceded just one goal in ten qualifiers. During final training for the tournament itself, however, the 1.88m defender suffered an agonising injury and was forced to watch his team crash out after three straight defeats, including a 6-0 humbling at the hands of Argentina. With Vidić back on board for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign that included four clean sheets in his eight appearances, a repeat of 2006 seems unlikely. I think we ll be better prepared than we were four years ago, Vidić recently told FIFA.com. It won t be easy, but we have a good feeling and believe we ll give a decent account of ourselves. While Serbia will not underestimate a group that includes Germany, Australia and Ghana, nor will any of those teams take lightly a defence which boasts the Premier League player of the season a man already hailed by his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson as the best defender in the world. How they qualified European Group 7 Serbia v. Home Away Faroe Islands France Lithuania Austria Romania Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Serbia France Austria Lithuania Romania Faroe Islands Coach Radomir Antić s playing career included an impressive eightyear spell with Partizan, and stints in Turkey, Spain and England, but it was as a coach with Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Oviedo and Atlético Madrid that he truly began to excel improbably guiding Atlético to a league and cup double during the first of three spells at the club. Antić had been out of the game for four years when he was appointed Serbia coach in 2008 but showed no sign of rust in quickly leading the team to World Cup qualification ahead of group favourites France. Possible line-up GK Vladimir STOJKOVIC D Antonio RUKAVINA D Ivan OBRADOVIC D Branislav IVANOVIC D Nemanja VIDIC MF Dejan STANKOVIC MF Nenad MILIJAS MF Milos KRASIC MF Milan JOVANOVIC F Nikola ZIGIC F Marko PANTELIC Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA GER AUS GHA What they said We re thrilled to have booked a place in South Africa. We ve proven ourselves to be a strong team. I am sure that we will play the best we can and not let our fans down at the World Cup. Serbia forward Nikola Žigić FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 101

102 GROUP D GHANA Goalkeeper Richard Kingson is exultant as Ghana head for victory over Nigeria in this year s Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Aside from the South African hosts, Ghana were the first African nation to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup thanks to a convincing 12-match qualification campaign that brought eight wins, one draw and only three defeats. Joined at the finals by five other African countries eager to improve on the continent s relatively modest record at the tournament, Ghana will be looking to build on their experiences of four years ago. The youngest squad to compete at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Black Stars were unsurprisingly brushed aside 2-0 by eventual champions Italy, but showed strong spirit to bounce back with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic and a 2-1 victory against the USA. Lacking Chelsea star Michael Essien due to suspension, Ghana saw their campaign end abruptly in the second round when a rampant Brazil put three goals past them without reply. But it was a respectable enough campaign and one which should give confidence to the more experienced Ghanaian class of African heavyweights Already well established among the top teams from their continent, Ghana have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982) a record bettered only by seven-time champions Egypt. Indeed it was the side s disappointing (by their own high standards) third-place finish in the competition s 2008 edition which led to coach Claude Le Roy losing his job. Milovan Rajevac eventually replaced him and has now been handed the unenviable task of guiding his charges into the fray against his own Serbian countrymen (see Compatriots, friends and World Cup rivals article on page 104). Much of what makes Ghana a formidable force is their world-class midfield trio of Essien, Inter Milan s Sulley Muntari and Bologna s Stephen Appiah, who captains his country. As well as using their strength to break down opposition moves, each can provide topdrawer service to an impressive forward line chosen from the talents of Stade Rennais Asamoah Gyan, Hoffenheim marksman Prince Tagoe and NAC Breda striker Matthew Amoah. Strengthened at the back by centrebacks John Mensah and John Pantsil and goalkeeper Richard Kingson, all of whom play their club football in the English Premier League, Ghana look like being a very tough team to beat. Germany may be Group D favourites but there are many who believe that the Ghanaians will not be far behind. 102 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

103 Star player: Michael Essien The muscular frame of Michael Essien, his box-to-box prowling and the menacing nature of his 100 per cent effort has made Ghana s current midfield king a genuine star of world football. Already viewed by many as being on the same level as previous Ghanaian greats such as Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, he is without doubt his country s most popular current player. Essien is also the vital engine of his country s national team as well as a midfield linchpin with top English Premier League club Chelsea. Now 27 years old, Essien has already amassed a veritable trophy chest of winners medals, including two championships in France, as well as two English Premier League and cup successes. His GBP 26 million transfer to England in 2005 was a Chelsea record and still stands as the record for a move involving an African international, one million pounds more than Manchester City paid for Togo s Emmanuel Adebayor before last season. Essien earned an instant international profile as Africa s most expensive footballer when he moved to Chelsea, only a month later engineering his country s qualification to their first-ever FIFA World Cup finals. At the tournament itself, Essien played in all three group-stage matches as Ghana became the only African side to survive, but was then suspended for the round-of-16 match against Brazil and could only watch from the stands as his countrymen went down 3-0. Something of a reluctant star, Essien could find himself firmly in the spotlight if he can take Ghana to even greater heights in South Africa. The biggest obstacle may be the knee injury which dogged him throughout last season. Certainly, Ghana s fans will be praying for a fully fit Essien come his team s opening match against Serbia on 13 June. Coach The departure of Claude Le Roy after Ghana s relatively disappointing thirdplace finish on home soil at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations allowed surprise Serbian candidate Milovan Rajevac to take charge of the Black Stars. A former defender best known for a brief coaching stint with Red Star Belgrade, Rajevac has worked wonders before such as when he led perennial Serbian strugglers FK Borac to their first-ever qualification for a European tournament and will be eager to cause further upsets in South Africa. Possible line-up GK Richard KINGSON D John PANTSIL D Samuel INKOOM D Eric ADDO D John MENSAH MF Stephen APPIAH MF Anthony ANNAN MF Michael ESSIEN MF Sulley MUNTARI F Asamoah GYAN F Matthew AMOAH Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA AUS GER SRB How they qualified African Third Round, Group D Ghana v. Home Away Benin Mali Sudan Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Ghana Benin Mali Sudan What they said This team is very hungry to play in the finals again. My players are aware of what they can achieve, and we have the quality to go far. I am very confident about the future. Milovan Rajevac FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 103

104 Antić and Rajevac shake hands after seeing their teams drawn together in Group D at December s Final Draw. COMPATRIOTS, FRIENDS AND WORLD CUP RIVALS By Vladimir Novak, Belgrade Group D (Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana) promises to be one of the most interesting and unpredictable groups. Not only because the four participants all finished their qualifying campaigns in first place but also because it is the only group where two national coaches are compatriots with Serbs Radomir Antić (Serbia) and Milovan Rajevac (Ghana) going head-to-head for a place in the knock-out stage. The pairing together of Radomir Antić s Serbia and Milovan Rajevac s Ghana in Group D during December s Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup garnered plenty of attention in the two participating countries, primarily because of the two coaches shared nationality. But Antić, 61, and Rajevac, 56, have much more in common than just being compatriots. Both were brought up in the same region of the country (Zlatibor), both turned out as left-backs during their playing careers (although Antić also played in midfield), both were appointed as national coaches of their respective teams in August 2008, and, last but not least, they are friends. When they meet up in Zlatibor, they regularly play five-a-side football games together before indulging in an obligatory third half. When Antić built his house in Zlatibor, he also made a 40m x 20m football pitch, Rajevac told FIFA World. So, we started playing veterans games there. A couple of years ago, after I finished my house in Cajetina (also in the Zlatibor region), I made a similar pitch, so we started organising home and away matches. As the two men prepare to pit their wits against each other on the sport s biggest stage, Rajevac can certainly see the funny side. I am glad that we are friends and rivals, but the rivalry in our veteran games is, of course, much bigger than the rivalry between Serbia and Ghana, he adds with a laugh. Nevertheless, neither coach was particularly happy following the draw in Cape Town. Ironically, both of them were the subject of media reports or 104 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

105 supporters comments claiming that the pairing was bad for their respective teams. Some Serbian fans felt that it was a major handicap for their team to have Rajevac, who worked in his native country until two years ago and knows everything about the Serbian team, pitted against them. But Antić does not share those concerns. I think that in the times we are living in, there are no unknown things and no secrets, Antić shrugs. Through the media and scouting networks, everybody knows everything about their opponents nowadays. So I don t see any problem with Rajevac guiding Ghana. Anyone but Serbia On the Ghanaian side, it was evident after the draw that Rajevac was not in the best of moods and he did not hide his disappointment about facing his countrymen. Before the fourth and last team in our group had to be drawn, everything was good. We got Germany and Australia. I was thinking and I said to myself just not Serbia. But then that is exactly who we got and I was quite upset. Firstly, they are a very difficult opponent. Secondly, I have to play against my compatriots. And third, I knew that in Ghana I would be under pressure. Similarly to Antić, Rajevac was soon hearing reports that the pairing was to the detriment of his team, with some radio stations even calling for the coach to be replaced, arguing that it could not be good for a Serbian coach to lead Ghana out against his homeland. Later, of course, the situation calmed down, Rajevac says. As a matter of fact, it was not that serious. But it seems like they have millions of radio stations there, who have 24 hours of programming only on football. So I understand that they must also make up stories. When it comes to their teams World Cup chances, both men choose their words carefully. First of all, I consider that our participation itself, for the first time as Serbia, is a privilege and a source of great happiness, says Antić. Everyone a winner The only man to have coached Spanish giants Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, Antić stresses the fact that all four teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as group winners, that Ghana further proved their strength by finishing as runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations, that Australia are a team on the rise and that Germany, due he says to their mentality, always fare well at major tournaments. As far as our prospects at the tournament are concerned, he concludes, Before the last team in our group had to be drawn, I said to myself just not Serbia. But then that is exactly who we got. Ghana s Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac on the luck of the Group D draw. I am not one of those people who makes promises and puts his players under increased pressure. Relatively unknown outside Serbia before his somewhat surprising appointment as Ghana coach, Rajevac believes that his team also have a chance of reaching the knockout stage. But he insists that Germany and Serbia are the group favourites. Germany are clearly the favourites on paper, he acknowledges. They are traditionally strong at big tournaments. Whenever they play a World Cup, they are always good at least for the semi-finals. They are physically excellent and strong in their heads. I know Serbia very well of course. I even trained some current national team players during my time with Red Star Belgrade. I think that this team is one of the strongest in Europe and they have players who are starters and key players at some big clubs in top leagues. Then you have Australia, who almost made it to the quarter-finals in Germany in They are also physically strong and most of their players play in Europe. So nobody should underestimate the Australians. African improvements Nor, Rajevac adds, should people underestimate Africa. As the continent prepares to host the FIFA World Cup for the first time, the Ghana coach says he has seen vast improvements in the way African football is run, even in the two years he has been there. It is true that things are getting better, that there is more and more investment in infrastructure and that every time a country hosts an Africa Cup of Nations now we see four or five new, modern stadiums going up. Having said that, I think Africa has yet to exploit its huge potential. I would say that at this point African football is using up only 10 to 15 per cent of its possibilities. For example, youth work is still quite disorganised. It s still not uncommon for scouts to be taking talented youngsters virtually off the streets and packing them off to foreign countries. There are even two players in my team, Matthew Amoah and Eric Addo, who are both at Dutch clubs and have never played in Ghana. Of course, Rajevac has also heard the criticisms levelled by some Africanborn coaches who claim that their own development and employment chances are being hampered by the fashion for African associations to import European or South American trainers. But the Serb feels this too will change over time. For now I think that it is because there is still much more trust in coaches from Europe and South America because of their greater experience and also due to their better knowledge of international football, he says. I am more than happy though to have succeeded in guiding Ghana to their second World Cup and that it has happened for the second time in a row with coaches from Serbia, first with Ratomir Dujković and now with me. In that way we are the best ambassadors for Serbian football in Africa and can also hopefully help improve the image of African football in general. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 105

106 GROUP E NETHERLANDS The Dutch were in irrepressible form during their qualifying campaign for As one of the biggest footballing nations still waiting for their first FIFA World Cup title, the Netherlands demonstrated their huge potential once again during the latest qualifying campaign winning all eight of their games to become the first European team to book their ticket to South Africa. The Dutch experienced heartache at the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany and again four years later in Argentina, finishing as beaten finalists on both occasions despite their awe-inspiring total football. In 1988, they achieved their only UEFA European Championship triumph, when goals by Dutch masters Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten gave the side victory over the Soviet Union in Munich. Though Gullit and Van Basten have long since hung up their boots, another former Dutch international is now overseeing the latest crop of talent. Admittedly, Bert van Marwijk can point to just one international cap as a player. But as a coach, he has shown a fine sensitivity for handling his various superstars and turning them into a devastatingly efficient collective. Taking over from Van Basten as coach following a EURO 2008 campaign which crackled with potential energy and fantastic fan support throughout the group stage, only to fizzle out in the quarter-finals against Russia, Van Marwijk has not made massive changes from the squad he inherited. Business as usual He has had to bring in replacements for goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar and prolific striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, both of whom announced their retirements from international football after the 2008 campaign. Otherwise, it has been business as usual for the Dutch, with AC Milan hitman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Liverpool s energetic Dirk Kuyt leading the scoring in qualifying with three goals each. Things are no less impressive at the back where skipper Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the central defensive pairing of André Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven) and Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV) hold fort. Together with Van der Sar s successor Maarten Stekelenburg, they let in just two goals in those eight qualifiers. Whether the current Oranje stars can do what Dutch legends such as Cruyff, Neeskens, Krol, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Gullit and Bergkamp failed to do remains to be seen, but they certainly have the potential, prompting many to see this as the Netherlands greatest chance of World Cup glory in years. 106 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

107 Star player: Arjen Robben This brilliant yet injury-prone winger has just completed his most prolific season with Bayern Munich, and one season is all it took him to join Franck Ribéry in the hearts of the supporters at the Allianz Arena. The former Real Madrid player, aged 26, has lit up the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League. Since his transfer from Real last summer, viewer ratings in Munich have soared. After joining FC Groningen, Arjen Robben made his first appearance in the Eredivisie in December His speed, ball control and dribbling skills caused havoc in many a defence. At the age of 18, he was transferred to PSV where he quickly established himself as one of the club s top players during his first season there in Chelsea pulled out all the stops to sign the prodigious talent and he made his English debut at the age of 20. A string of injuries followed, but Robben was nevertheless able to console himself with the Premier League title. In the season, he became an integral part of the attacking system introduced by José Mourinho and won a second consecutive Premier League championship, before being relegated to the bench after the return of his injury woes. A move to Real Madrid in summer 2007 was supposed to offer the Dutchman a new start, but instead the injuries persisted and prevented Robben from showcasing the full scope of his talents with any consistency something he has finally been able to do at Bayern. Robben won his first international cap for the Netherlands on 30 April At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006 he was twice named man of the match, once against Serbia and Montenegro, and then against Côte d Ivoire, becoming one of only eight players to have achieved this double honour. He arrives in South Africa at the top of his game and his partnership with Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart will give Bert van Marwijk a trio of strikers that the Oranjes are relying on in their bid to collect their first ever World Cup trophy. Coach A modest player in his day, with only one international cap to his name, Bert van Marwijk boasts a much more impressive CV as a coach, particularly with Feyenoord Rotterdam, a club he led to UEFA Cup glory in Calm, affable and approachable, Van Marwijk, 56, has a relaxed manner and is close to his players. While his style may be different from that of Marco van Basten, nothing seems to have changed at the tactical level. His record is impeccable. Possible line-up GK Maarten STEKELENBURG D Gregory VAN DER WIEL D Giovanni VAN BRONCKHORST D Andre OOIJER D Joris MATHIJSEN MF Dirk KUYT MF Mark VAN BOMMEL MF Rafael VAN DER VAART MF Arjen ROBBEN F Ryan BABEL F Klaas-Jan HUNTELAAR Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CMR DEN JPN How they qualified European Group 9 Netherlands v. Home Away Macedonia Iceland Norway Scotland Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Netherlands Norway Scotland Macedonia Iceland What they said We have a mission: that mission is to be world champions. Frank de Boer, assistant coach FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 107

108 GROUP E DENMARK Denmark s fans had plenty to cheer as their side pushed qualifying group favourites Portugal into second place. Already tanning themselves on the beach, at least according to a slightly exaggerated version of events, when they received a late call-up and improbably went on to win the 1992 European Championship in Sweden, Denmark are well accustomed to springing surprises in international football. And yet few experts were backing them in their latest FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, particularly after Morten Olsen s side were drawn into a challenging group alongside Portugal, Sweden and former greats Hungary. Although their unlikely triumph in Gothenburg 18 years ago remains Denmark s most memorable sporting achievement to date, they have a reasonable World Cup record with three previous appearances, including a run to the quarter-finals of France 98 before their progress was finally ended by Brazil in an unexpectedly tight 3-2 defeat. A fourth appearance looked against the odds when Denmark opened their bid for South Africa with a dour 0-0 draw in Hungary but a shock 3-2 win against Portugal in their next outing after being 2-1 down with four minutes remaining set Olsen s men on their way to automatic qualification. Portugal were left to fight it out in the European play-offs, while Sweden (beaten 1-0 home and away by the Danes) were left reeling in third place. Experienced squad Denmark s ten games brought 16 goals for and five against. MSV Duisburg striker Søren Larsen scored five and Arsenal s Nicklas Bendtner three, while Juve s defensive midfielder Christian Poulsen hit two. Other squad members playing at the highest level in Europe include classy Liverpool centre-back Daniel Agger, midfielder Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen) and skilful Ajax winger Dennis Rommedahl. Formerly of AC Milan, Stuttgart and Villarreal, 33-year-old Danish skipper Jon Dahl Tomasson has returned to play up front for Dutch giants Feyenoord and will no doubt have some tips for his compatriots as they prepare for their opener against the Netherlands in Soccer City on 14 June. The Danes have beaten the Dutch a remarkable seven times, although they have also lost out on 11 occasions. Even if that becomes 12 in Johannesburg, the Danish Dynamite may still have enough explosive energy to blow away Cameroon and Japan in their remaining Group E fixtures. 108 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

109 Star player: Jon Dahl Tomasson Look at the current Denmark line-up and one name stands out above all the others: Jon Dahl Tomasson. Now captain of a side still fondly remembered for its surprise triumph at the 1992 European Championship, Tomasson is Denmark s undisputed leader on the pitch, and is all set to become his country s most-capped outfield player and perhaps also its all-time leading goalscorer after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I d love to make a bit of history and have my name in the record books, he reveals. Tomasson made his debut fur Heerenveen at 17, and had spells at Newcastle and Feyenoord en route to signing for Italian giants AC Milan in He won the UEFA Champions League (2003), the Italian league (2004) and the Italian cup with the Rossoneri, following which he made two brief cameos in German and Spanish football before returning to the Netherlands to sign for former paymasters Feyenoord. Rotterdam really is home for me, he says. We have a very good, very young team, and the future is looking bright. As for his own future, and the question of whether he might leave the international scene after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the midfielder says he has no immediate plans to retire. Honestly, I m not even thinking about finishing right now. Fortunately, I have no problems with my body and, as long as that continues, there s no reason to stop. I love playing for my country and I m very proud to be captain. For now, Tomasson is concentrating fully on 2010 and on ensuring that he and the Danish Dynamite qualify once again for the knock-out stages, as they did at the 2002 edition in Korea/Japan. Tomasson featured in all four of Denmark s matches in that tournament and this experience will be invaluable if he is to lead his team to one of the two top spots in a group containing the Netherlands, Japan and Cameroon. How they qualified European Group 1 Coach Morten Olsen is set to celebrate ten years in charge of the Danish national team during the tournament in South Africa. At the helm since 2002, he led the Danish Dynamite to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2004 finals. It is still unclear whether he will extend his current contract, which is due to expire after South Africa. Olsen s biggest success as a player was Anderlecht s victory in the 1983 UEFA Cup. He hung up his boots at 40, and before taking the reins for Denmark he made managerial stops at clubs such as Cologne and Ajax. Possible line-up GK Thomas SORENSEN D Lars JACOBSEN D Per KROLDRUP D Daniel AGGER D Simon KJAER MF Dennis ROMMEDAHL MF Christian POULSEN MF Daniel JENSEN MF Jakob POULSEN F Nicklas BENDTNER F Jon Dahl TOMASSON Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CMR JPN NED Denmark v. Home Away Hungary Portugal Malta Albania Sweden Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Denmark Portugal Sweden Hungary Albania Malta What they said Every edition of the World Cup is special with its own magic and unique atmosphere. It s fantastic that the tournament is being held in Africa for the first time so that the people there can really experience it up-close. For the players and myself, taking part in the World Cup is the greatest honour of all. Morten Olsen in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 109

110 GROUP E JAPAN Japan coach Takeshi Okada receives a celebratory soaking from his players after securing World Cup qualification with a 1-0 win in Uzbekistan. There are similarities between Japan and fellow Asian 2010 representatives Korea Republic that stretch far beyond the two countries joint hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Like South Korea, Japan are powerhouses in their own backyard, winning three of the last five AFC Asian Cups. Japan have also proven dependable of late in qualifying for the World Cup finals, now preparing for their fourth consecutive appearance compared to seven-in-a-row for the Koreans. The major difference remains in how the two sides have performed after securing their various qualifications. Korea Republic have not generally set the world stage alight but can of course point to that heady summer of 2002 when they stunned the elite of Europe to reach a previously imaginable fourth place finish. Their Japanese co-hosts were meanwhile left to look back on a round-of-16 exit at the hands of Turkey which nevertheless remains their best World Cup showing to date. The Blue Samurais tournament debut came at France 1998, where they lost their three group games against Argentina, Croatia and Jamaica. Following the successful campaign of 2002, which included their first ever World Cup wins over group-stage opponents Russia and Tunisia they returned to losing ways at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, succumbing 3-1 to Australia, drawing 0-0 with Croatia and receiving a 4-1 thumping from Brazil. Change of plan Their plans for the 2010 qualifying campaign had to be rethought when Bosnian coach Ivica Osim was forced to step down after suffering a stroke, but emergency substitute Takeshi Okada stepped in, just as he had done for the 1998 campaign, and has so far proven a more than adequate replacement. Injecting fresh blood into a squad already much changed from the 2006 campaign, Okada steered his men through a solid campaign which included just two losses in 14 games. The Japanese were indeed the first team to qualify for the tournament, though that owed a good deal to the varying schedules of the different continental confederations. In the end, AFC rivals Australia won the final game to clinch top spot in the qualifying group. Second place would of course be enough again for Japan as they make their final preparations for Group E. Certainly they have a super fit and disciplined squad whose collective desire is underpinned by technically gifted players such as former Celtic and Espanyol midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura. Shinji Okazaki, the 24-yearold Shimizu S-Pulse striker, could take on Nakamura s mantle as the new superstar of Japanese football if he gets his chance to shine in South Africa. 110 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

111 Star player: Shunsuke Nakamura When Hidetoshi Nakata hung up his boots after Germany 2006, Japan craved a new hero. They found one in the shape of Shunsuke Nakamura, who had made his international debut six years earlier but came into his own following the legendary midfielder s retirement. With extraordinary vision and impeccable precision in his passes, Nakamura is a supreme playmaker. He is also one of the finest dead-ball specialists on the planet. Having played in Italy, Scotland and Spain, the 31-year-old, now back in his homeland, is a figure of huge influence in Takeshi Okada s team and remains one of the most idolised players in all of Asia. Honoured as Japanese Footballer of the Year in 2000 but agonisingly overlooked when it came to Japan s squad selection for the 2002 FIFA World Cup on home soil, Nakamura rediscovered his love for the game in Europe, first in Italy with Reggina and then with Scottish giants Celtic. Named man of the match on his debut, a victory over Dundee United, Nakamura illuminated Scottish football during his four years there, enjoying a particularly memorable year in 2007 when he helped the Bhoys to a league and cup double. After a less successful spell at Espanyol in 2009, Nakamura returned to his homeland and current club Yokohama F. Marinos in February, where a return to regular action will have helped his preparations for South Africa. Barring injury, a repeat of his omission from the 2002 squad is now inconceivable for a player who has already shone for his country at the 2003 and 2005 editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup (pocketing the adidas Bronze Shoe in the 2003 edition) and at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, where he scored in his side s defeat by Australia. Coach A proven strategist at both club and national level, Takeshi Okada is now in his second spell as Japan coach, having taken charge unexpectedly in 2007 when his predecessor Ivica Osim suffered a stroke. Okada was at the helm when Japan made their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance at France 1998, having negotiated a tricky play-off meeting with Iran, and has since enjoyed successful spells at club level with Consadole Sapporo and Yokohama F. Marinos. Possible line-up GK Seigo NARAZAKI D Atsuto UCHIDA D Yuichi KOMANO D Marcus Tulio TANAKA D Yuji NAKAZAWA M Yasuhito ENDO M Shunsuke NAKAMURA M Daisuke MATSUI M Makoto HASEBE F Keiji TAMADA F Yoshito OKUBO Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CMR NED DEN How they qualified Asian Fourth Round, Group A Japan v. Home Away Bahrain Uzbekistan Qatar Australia Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Australia Japan Bahrain Qatar Uzbekistan What they said We are not going to change our tactics because when I set this team s basic tactical approach, it was already done with a view to winning against the world s biggest teams. Our main target in South Africa is to reach the semi-finals. Takeshi Okada FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 111

112 GROUP E PROFILE CAMEROON Alexandre Song takes a tumble during Cameroon s Africa Cup of Nations match against Gabon in January. Plenty of neutral supporters will be hoping to see an African team do well in 2010, as the FIFA World Cup is contested for the first time on African soil. And, given their impressive record in earlier editions of football s most prestigious competition, Cameroon could well be the team to fulfil those wishes. The Italia 90 campaign is, of course, Cameroon s most fondly remembered tournament an agile, colourful and thrilling campaign that began with a 1-0 upset of Argentina in the San Siro (a result still regarded as one of the biggest ever World Cup shocks) and only ended with a narrow 3-2 defeat against England in the quarter-finals. The Roger Milla-inspired Cameroonians of 1990 were the first African team to have made it to the last eight of a FIFA World Cup and although many more were expected to follow, only Senegal in 2002 have so far matched that achievement. Consistent performers Those favouring Cameroon themselves to emerge as the strongest African side in 2010 are quick to point out that the West Africans have a World Cup pedigree that is not only reliant on their 1990 performances. Les Lions Indomptables (Indomitable Lions) have played more games (17) and won more points than any other African side at the finals. They are also now preparing for their sixth appearance in the finals another continental best. All that though will be history when the current squad take to the pitch for their opening game against Japan on 14 June. What will count then is the extent to which Cameroon can combine the team camaraderie of old with their undeniable individual talents. Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto o is undoubtedly the star of the show, demonstrating his worth once again by scoring nine goals in 11 qualifiers. RCD Mallorca s 28-year-old hitman Pierre Webó could also be a major threat if opposing defences pay too much attention to Eto o, while Lyon s Jean Makoun, Marseille s Stéphane Mbia and Arsenal s Alexandre Song (cousin of defensive lynchpin Rigobert) give the midfield strength and composure. 112 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

113 Star player: Samuel Eto o The day Samuel Eto o decides to end his professional career, there is no doubt whatsoever he will have earned his place in the pantheon of world football. Having amassed more honours than any other African player, he already reigns supreme in the hearts of Cameroon s supporters alongside the Old Lion Roger Milla. After several unsuccessful trials with European clubs, his prodigious talent was spotted by Real Madrid, who included him in their youth teams as early as He played very few matches in his four years with the Merengues and was subsequently loaned to other clubs before transferring to Mallorca, where the Eto o legend first began to take shape. Between 2000 and 2004, his clinical finishing in front of goal was instrumental in the club winning its first title, the Copa del Rey, in However, after complex three-way negotiations with Mallorca, Real and Barça, Eto o finally committed to entertaining the gallery at the Nou Camp. He was true to his word from the outset, and after five seasons with the Catalan club his glorious record included two UEFA Champions League titles (2006 and 2009), three La Liga titles (2005, 2006 and 2009), one Copa del Rey (2009) and two Supercopa de España titles (2006 and 2007). After clashing with Josep Guardiola at the end of the season, Eto o decided to look for a new challenge elsewhere, turning to Italy and José Mourinho s Inter Milan. Within months of his arrival, he had already formed a prolific duo with Argentina s Diego Milito. Since his debut for Cameroon aged 15 in a friendly against Costa Rica, he has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice (2000 and 2002) as well as gold in the Men s Olympic Football Tournament in Sydney in What is more, he has picked up a number of individual accolades, including a record three African Player of the Year awards (2003, 2004, 2005), as well as being the all-time leading goalscorer in the Africa Cup of Nations and for the Indomitable Lions. Since the appointment of Paul Le Guen as head coach, he also wears the captain s armband for his country. Coach On the strength of the experience gained with Lyon, Rangers and Paris Saint-Germain, Frenchman Paul Le Guen has brought a wind of change and professionalism into the ranks of the Cameroon squad. His controversial decision to give the captain s armband to Samuel Eto o rather than veteran Rigobert Song appears to have given renewed motivation to the two players and the team as a whole. Possible line-up GK Idriss KAMENI D Sebastien BASSONG D Nicolas NKOULOU D GEREMI D Rigobert SONG MF Jean MAKOUN MF Stephane MBIA MF Achille EMANA MF Alexandre SONG F Samuel ETOO F Pierre WEBO Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA DEN JPN NED How they qualified African Third Round, Group A Cameroon v. Home Away Togo Morocco Gabon Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Cameroon Gabon Togo Morocco What they said People now believe in us once again. It s a great achievement for all of us to be able to play in a World Cup, especially one in Africa. We are dangerous because we are experienced and we have learned to play as a team. Samuel Eto o FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 113

114 The Dutch fans are getting ready to paint South Africa orange in June. DUTCH AT HOME IN RAINBOW NATION By Mark Gleeson, Cape Town Dutch supporters travelling to South Africa for this year s FIFA World Cup will find plenty of familiar sights and sounds from their historic links with the Afrikaans people to more recent footballing ties. It was in 1652 that the Dutch adventurer Johan van Riebeeck sailed into Table Bay, catching sight of a spectacular flat-topped mountain that has enthralled travellers to the Cape of Storms ever since. Van Riebeeck s arrival marked the start of the first European settlement in South Africa and also the beginning of a long colonial history between the Hollanders and the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts. More than 350 years later, the Dutch are set to descend upon South Africa once more, this time with their hordes of orange-clad football fans and of course their highly rated team, installed among the pretournament favourites after a convincing European qualifying campaign. Though far from home, the supporters and their players will encounter much that is familiar as they travel around the country. Most obviously there is the Afrikaans language, an offshoot of their own tongue. Then there are the street signs and place names taken from the Netherlands, and the common architectural traits which can be found in some of South Africa s older buildings. The Dutch ruled the Cape Colony from 1652, using it first as a replenishment station for ships on their way to trade in India and Java. Dutch farmers settled the area around Cape Town and further into the interior over the next century, before the British seized the colony from 1795 to 1803 and then again permanently from 1806, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. Today, approximately 70 per cent of South Africa s white population are Afrikaans-speaking descendents of those early Dutch colonists and French Huguenot refugees, with the other roughly 30 per cent tracing their roots back to the subsequent English migration. New faces But there have also been newer arrivals of course, including a number of faces that will be familiar to both Dutch and South African football aficionados. Ruud Krol, the Dutch defensive stalwart who played in two FIFA World Cup finals, is just one example. Now serving as the coach of Soweto giants Orlando Pirates, Krol will 114 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

115 be especially visible during the tournament where he is working as a pundit for South African television. Or there is the popular Frisian Foppe de Haan, long-time coach of Heerenveen and winner of two UEFA European U-21 championships. Since October, De Haan has been coaching Ajax not the Amsterdam giants, but rather Ajax Cape Town, a franchise operation co-owned by the fabled Dutch club and their South African partners. Formed in 1999 following the merger of Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs, and the subsequent sale of half the new club s shares to Ajax Amsterdam, Ajax Cape Town has emerged as a major player in South Africa s domestic football scene twice finishing as league runners-up and winning several cup competitions. Adding to the surrealism for Dutch fans who want to drop by the Cape Town club during their World Cup visit, the local version of Ajax have adopted the badge and red and white colours of their Dutch namesakes and imported coaches from Holland to set up an academy that is thriving today and producing stars for the future. Talented players The players are technically gifted and skilful and the pace of the professional league is very intense, says De Haan when asked about the level of play in South Africa s Premier Soccer League (PSL). There is still a lot of work to be done but it is generally at a very good level. Steven Pienaar, who will be the potential talisman for South Africa s national side Bafana Bafana at this FIFA World Cup, is one of many players to have come through the Ajax Cape Town system, while current player Lance Davids was among those in contention for a place in the Bafana Bafana World Cup squad as FIFA World went to print. Former South Africa goalkeeper Hans Vonk is another Ajax Cape Town player with strong Dutch connections, having been born in South Africa to Dutch parents who then returned to the Netherlands when Vonk was a toddler. He returned 28 years later to play for the country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Now aged 40, he is still first-choice keeper for the Cape Town club and was ever-present throughout last season s campaign. The Dutch are helping a lot in terms of trying to encourage the young players in South Africa to be more professional, Vonk told FIFA World. Not only on the field but in their whole outlook on life. They have been working really hard in the youth structures. For several years, Ajax Amsterdam s Dutch rivals Feyenoord also operated a South African academy in conjunction with SuperSport United South African league champions for the past three seasons. Although no longer in operation, this partnership provided several talented young South African players with a step up into European football. Teenage midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo is one recent example who is now considered by many at the Rotterdam club as a future star. With South Africa now firmly welcomed back into the international footballing family, it is not only Dutch clubs but also the national association which has been embracing its links with the Rainbow Nation. Last year, the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Union) travelled to South Africa, even before completing their successful qualifying campaign, to seek out a base camp for their team. Having chosen a Johannesburg hotel and training facilities at BIDVest Wits, another of the South African Premier Soccer League teams, the association started work on a new pitch and club house for Wits and also collaborated with the club in an ongoing social responsibility project to coach the coaches. The Dutch have been fantastic. They have come in to prepare for the World Cup very professionally and at the same time looked to give something back, Wits coach Roger de Sa told FIFA World. We are working with them on coaching 2,014 coaches in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. We are taking ex-players off the street and giving them a salary and they are going off to inner-city schools every day to work with the kids there. (Former Netherlands coach) Frank Rijkaard came out to coach the coaches first and the Dutch have kept up their support by paying the salaries of these coaches. We have 20 in place already, many of them guys who would not have had such opportunities after their playing careers ended. South Africa s already strong links with the Netherlands would of course be cemented considerably if the Dutch were to finally end their long wait for World Cup glory in Johannesburg on 11 July. Certainly the Dutch investments made in South African football, from the grassroots up to the elite level, should help garner popular support at the tournament for the current Netherlands squad, up until at least the semi-finals the first point at which it would be possible for the Dutch to come up against Bafana Bafana Cape Town s Bo-Kaap district has drawn inspiration from colonial Dutch architecture. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 115

116 GROUP F ITALY Italy striker Alberto Gilardino celebrates the late equaliser in Dublin which ensured his team s qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Can reigning champions Italy retain the FIFA World Cup? It would not be the first time. Four-time winners of the event overall, they first won the title on home soil in 1934 before successfully defending it in France four years later. Brazil are the only other team to have been world champions in successive campaigns, doing so in 1958 and 1962, so the question now is whether Italy can manage the feat twice. Italy s other World Cup triumphs came in Spain in 1982, where they beat West Germany 3-1, and in 2006, when they outwitted France 5-3 on penalties following a gripping contest that finished 1-1 after 120 minutes at Berlin s Olympiastadion. They have also been runners-up on two occasions, in 1970 and 1994, losing out each time to Brazil. When it comes to the FIFA World Cup, just like any other competition, you have to be in it to win it and the Italians impressive record certainly owes a good deal to their consistency in qualifying. The Azzurri have played in all but two of the tournament s previous editions, having decided not to take part in the inaugural 1930 finals, before missing out for the only time in their history in This time around, Marcello Lippi s men were generally untroubled, with only the Republic of Ireland putting up resistance as the Italians secured top spot in their group with seven wins and three draws. Familiar faces Little-changed since their triumph in Germany four years ago, the Italian squad still relies on Juve s veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon who is as hard to beat as ever. Even getting near to Buffon requires opponents to first get past tireless centre-back Fabio Cannavaro, who also won individual honours in 2006 when he became the first and only defender so far to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Creative Milan free-kick specialist Andrea Pirlo still features in the midfield, together with his fiercely competitive 32-year-old club mate Gennaro Gattuso. Up front, Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino, a relative youngster by Italian standards at the age of 27, appears to be in fine form after finishing as top scorer in qualifying with four goals, including the campaign s decisive goal against the Irish and a 15-minute hat trick against Cyprus. The squad s collective age will of course be a subject of debate again in 2010, with Lippi expected once more to favour experience over experimentation. Some fear it could all end with Italy limping out as old-age failures, but a repeat of the country s age-old success seems equally likely. 116 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

117 Star player: Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon is a worthy successor to a long line of exceptional goalkeepers that includes Giampiero Combi, Aldo Olivieri and Dino Zoff. Every great team needs a great goalie, as Italy knows better than any other team. Buffon appears to have no weaknesses. It is no wonder, then, that he has been voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year nine times and best goalkeeper in the world four times. The Tuscan player made his Serie A debut with Parma at the age of only 17, on 19 November 1995, in a 0-0 home draw against AC Milan. Tall and slim, Buffon has the perfect build for a goalkeeper. He pulls off exceptional saves and rarely comes second in a one-on-one situation. Displaying a disconcerting ease even when making the most spectacular of saves, he is a truly great player. He went on to make 168 appearances in six seasons for Parma, picking up one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup before joining Juventus in In his very first season he made all the difference, playing a pivotal role in his side s victory. He has been a linchpin of the Piedmont club ever since. Buffon won his first international cap in October 1997 in an away match against Russia. The following season he was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, as reserve goalkeeper for the Squadra Azzurra. But his supreme moment came at the age of 28 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he won his first international trophy with the Italian squad. During the final against France, which Italy won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, he excelled in the 103 rd minute with a spectacular dive to save a header from Zinédine Zidane. Then, during the penalty shoot-out, he won his duel against his Juventus team-mate, David Trezeguet. Gianluigi Buffon is now planning similar exploits in South Africa. How they qualified European Group 8 Coach Marcello Lippi is a fine tactician who plays his cards very close to his chest. He senses the run of play and his tactical choices are never called into question. At 62 he has won everything during his career as a coach. And it was precisely for that reason that, on 12 July 2006, at the height of his glory, he decided to move on. But after Italy s failure at EURO 2008, he was recalled to tend the ailing squad. To him, his record of 31 consecutive international matches without defeat is incidental. Possible line-up GK Gianluigi BUFFON D Gianluca ZAMBROTTA D Domenico CRISCITO D Fabio CANNAVARO D Giorgio CHIELLINI MF Daniele DE ROSSI MF Gennaro GATTUSO MF Andrea PIRLO MF Mauro CAMORANESI F Antonio DI NATALE F Alberto GILARDINO Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA PAR NZL SVK Italy v. Home Away Cyprus Georgia Bulgaria Montenegro Ireland Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Italy Ireland Bulgaria Cyprus Montenegro Georgia What they said No team is superior to Italy. I don t want to say that we re better than everyone, but you might say that we re not inferior to any other team. Marcello Lippi FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 117

118 GROUP F PARAGUAY Goalkeeper Justo Villar is in the thick of things during the 1-0 win over Argentina which prompted a national holiday in Paraguay. The loss of players to injury or illness shortly before the start of a major tournament is a familiar concern for all football teams, but thankfully few have to face tragedies like the one that struck Paraguay at the start of this year. Widely expected to be one of the stars of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, striker Salvador Cabañas appeared to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when a January shooting incident in a Mexico City bar left him in a critical condition with a bullet lodged in his head. Despite an almost miraculous recovery since then, Cabañas will not feature in South Africa, and the footballing world will just be happy to see him back at the top level anytime in the future. His compatriots will therefore have to soldier on without him, which is no easy task when you consider the six qualifying goals that the experienced and versatile forward served up for the South Americans. In total, Cabañas provided a quarter of the team s strikes, as the Albirroja (white and reds) ended their gruelling 18-match run in a highly respectable third place behind fellow 2010 participants Brazil and Chile. National holiday The campaign brought wins over Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, but the pick came in June 2008, when goals by Roque Santa Cruz and Cabañas gave Paraguay a 2-0 victory over Brazil in Asunción. Argentinian coach Gerardo Martino s side confirmed their place in South Africa with a 1-0 defeat of Argentina in Asunción in September, prompting Paraguay President Fernando Lugo to declare a national holiday. Following the shock events of January, the country will now be relying on Borussia Dortmund striker Nelson Váldez, Benfica forward Oscar Cardozo, Manchester City s Santa Cruz or Cruz Azul midfielder Cristian Riveros to provide the goals, and looking to veteran goalkeeper Justo Villar to rescue them when necessary at the back. With a tough opening game against world champions Italy, Paraguay are chasing a so-far elusive place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, having three times made it as far as the second round, most recently in 1998 and Many a footballing legend has been written by teams that have bounced back from adversities off the pitch, and Salvador Cabañas is likely to play an inspirational role for the Paraguayans in South Africa even if he is sorely missed on the field. 118 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

119 Star player: Roque Santa Cruz Roque Santa Cruz is of major importance to Paraguay. As he prepares to contest his third consecutive FIFA World Cup, he is now one of his country s key players and thus bears a certain degree of responsibility. His talent for scoring goals and causing problems for opposing defences, impressive build (1.91m tall and 88kg) and bursts of pace into the box have never been in doubt. He has had to contend with a series of injuries in the last few seasons, which continued into his first term with up-and-coming Manchester City in the English Premier League as he suffered from tendinitis in his knee and a calf strain. Towards the end of the season, he recovered his form and helped to create a fearsome attack with fellow international stars Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor. When he is at his best, Santa Cruz can make a difference to any team, as he showed in his time at Bayern Munich, where he played for eight years from 1999 to 2007, winning the 2001 Intercontinental Cup and UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga title four times, and at Blackburn Rovers, where he played from 2007 to His brief participation in the CONMEBOL preliminary competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa was also decisive. Although he only played in five of Paraguay s 18 matches, he still left his mark, scoring three goals and amassing four victories, two of which stand out in particular his country s impressive 3-0 win over Chile in Santiago and their 2-0 win over Brazil in Asunción, in which he was on the scoresheet. Although Paraguay eventually finished third in their qualifying group, the fact that they were top of the group for the majority of the time will certainly encourage Gerardo Martino s men and their fans. Having played 29 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches for Paraguay and seven matches in the tournament proper, Santa Cruz is now showing that his best may be yet to come. How they qualified South American Group Coach Gerardo Martino is yet another Argentinian tactician currently excelling in the South American game. He spent the early part of his coaching career at a number of lesser-known sides in his native country. Often compared to his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, Martino was rewarded for his efforts in 2006 when he accepted the invitation to take over the Paraguayan national side. The hardworking Argentinian proved to be an inspired choice, keeping a low profile as his side negotiated their way to South Africa 2010 in record-breaking fashion. Possible line-up GK Justo VILLAR D Denis CANIZA D Julio Cesar CACERES D Claudio MOREL D Dario VERON MF Cristian RIVEROS MF Edgar BARRETO MF Enrique VERA MF Victor CACERES F Roque SANTA CRUZ F Nelson VALDEZ Paraguay v. Home Away Peru Uruguay Ecuador Chile Brazil Bolivia Argentina Venezuela Colombia Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Brazil Chile Paraguay Argentina Uruguay Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Peru Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ITA NZL SVK What they said The secret to our qualification was the fact that the players and all the professionals involved with the national team went about their job responsibly and with a minimum of fuss. If we had failed to do what previous coaches achieved and missed out on qualifying, then we would have become a negative footnote in Paraguay s footballing history. Anyone who coaches a national team does so for one of two reasons: to stay in the job or go down in history. I have chosen the second option. Gerardo Martino FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 119

120 GROUP F NEW ZEALAND Rory Fallon punches the air after scoring New Zealand s decisive qualifying goal against Bahrain. Having worked so hard to step out of the shadow of their more illustrious All Black rugby-playing counterparts, the footballing All Whites of New Zealand will nevertheless be hoping that their 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign can show some of the legendary resolve and neversay-die attitude which has made their small island nation such a formidable force with the oval-shaped ball. New Zealand have qualified on only one previous occasion for the FIFA World Cup reaching the 1982 finals after a lengthy 15-match campaign which still ranks as one of the country s finest sporting moments outside of rugby or cricket. At the tournament proper in Spain, the Kiwis were beaten in all three games after being placed in a tough group alongside Brazil, the Soviet Union and Scotland. Coming into this year s edition in South Africa as Oceania s leading team following Australia s move to the Asian Football Confederation New Zealand are expected to face another uphill struggle in a group containing defending world champions Italy, customary World Cup participants Paraguay and keen debutants Slovakia. Hard workers Coach Ricki Herbert has fashioned a hardworking and disciplined squad that plays a direct and often physical brand of football. His captain and centre-back Ryan Nelsen is perhaps New Zealand s best-known footballing export, playing as he does for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. German-born Gold Coast United striker Shane Smeltz will also be keen to build on the success of his eight goals in qualification. Though long absent from the FIFA World Cup, the New Zealanders are no strangers to South Africa having picked up some valuable international experience in the country during last year s FIFA Confederations Cup. The squad will perhaps not want to dwell too long on the 5-0 footballing lesson handed out to them by Spain in their opening match, but will take heart from their closing 0-0 draw with Iraq and their narrow 3-2 defeat against the Italians in a friendly warm-up played just before the event. A similar level of performance will be required against the world champions in their 20 June reunion if the All White are to ensure that the Azzurri are the ones leaving the pitch pale-faced. 120 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

121 Star player: Ryan Nelsen National team captain and defensive rock Ryan Nelsen is far and away New Zealand s most recognisable name, and arguably second only to Wynton Rufer as the most respected Kiwi footballer of all time. The inspirational skipper debuted for the All Whites eleven years ago but injury and club commitments have restricted his number of appearances at international level. Long a fans favourite at Blackburn Rovers, the mobile central defender is now in his sixth year at Ewood Park where he has penned a deal through to In 2007 he became the first New Zealander to appear in an FA Cup final, only to suffer defeat in extra time against Chelsea. He is also just one of five New Zealanders to have played in the English Premier League, with current All Whites Simon Elliott and Chris Wood also amongst that elite group. The Rovers defensive stalwart has played some 150 matches for Blackburn even though he missed almost an entire season with a serious hamstring injury. Very much the heartbeat of the team thanks to his profile and leadership on the pitch, Nelsen s organisational skills cannot be underestimated. Though only rarely finding the net at club level, the Christchurch native has scored several goals for the national team and is always a danger at set pieces. He would have joined a rare group of players to have competed in three FIFA Confederations Cups, having appeared at Mexico in 1999 and France in 2003, only for the injury curse to strike again just prior to South Africa His international career highlight to date was undoubtedly captaining New Zealand in their two-legged play-off against Bahrain that ensured qualification for the world s greatest football competition for the first time in 28 years. At South Africa 2010, Nelsen will join former All Whites captain Steve Sumner as the only players to lead the nation in a FIFA World Cup. Coach In the unique position of having twice represented New Zealand at the FIFA World Cup, first as a player in 1982 and now as team coach, Ricki Herbert is one of Kiwi football s most recognised figures. Combining his All Whites position with his role coaching New Zealand s Wellington Phoenix in Australia s A-League, Herbert has helped transform the All Whites into a solid working unit. Possible line-up GK Mark PASTON D Tony LOCHHEAD D Ben SIGMUND D Ryan NELSEN D Dave MULLIGAN MF Aaron CLAPHAM MF Tim BROWN MF Leo BERTOS MF Chris KILLEN F Rory FALLON F Shane SMELTZ Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ITA PAR SVK How they qualified Oceania Second Round / AFC-OFC Play-off* New Zealand v. Home Away Fiji Vanuatu New Caledonia Bahrain* Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 New Zealand New Caledonia Fiji Vanuatu What they said This group have given it everything, four years of total commitment. We re back, we re there. South Africa, here we come. Ricki Herbert FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 121

122 GROUP F SLOVAKIA Stanislav Šesták slides with joy after scoring against Slovakia s neighbours from the Czech Republic. Not counting Serbia, who took part as Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Slovakia will be the only country making their FIFA World Cup debut at this year s tournament. After celebrating independence just 18 years ago, following a peaceful split from the Czech Republic, it is a remarkable sporting achievement and one which was fully deserved after a hotly contested qualifying tussle with their Czech and Polish neighbours and Northern Ireland. Of course, Slovakia share a strong footballing history with the Czechs, and together as Czechoslovakia they contested eight FIFA World Cup final tournaments, and finished runners-up twice, all of which will have made their qualification at the expense of their former compatriots all the sweeter. Just getting past the group stage this time around will be quite a feat, however, after Slovakia were drawn into the same group as the defending world champions, Italy. But having already punched above their supposed weight when they topped their qualifying group, in particular enjoying significant away wins over all three of their bigger group rivals, Slovakia should certainly not be written off again in South Africa. Stan the man Opposing defences will do well to keep up with Bochum hitman Stanislav Šesták who finished as top-scorer with six of his country s 22 qualifying goals. While Šesták looks to continue in that rich scoring vein, Róbert Vittek will be eager to make up for his nine-game qualifying drought. Coach Vladimír Weiss should also have the unusual option of putting his own name on the team line-up. It is not that the 45-year-old trainer fancies the thought of adding to the 12 caps he won as a player, but simply that his 20-year-old son, also called Vladimír, is starting to establish himself within the national set-up. Weiss junior, who looked extremely sharp in his four qualifying campaign appearances, could become the third Vladimír Weiss to play at a major international tournament. His father did so with Czechoslovakia at the 1990 FIFA World Cup while his father in turn was an Olympic Football Tournament silver medallist, again with Czechoslovakia, in FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

123 Star player: Marek Hamšík Aged 22, Slovakia s Marek Hamšík is only just at the threshold of his football career. And yet he already appears to be at the top of his game. As a key player not only in the Napoli side, but also in Slovakia s national squad, he will be the trump card in Vladimír Weiss s team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He was only 17 when he left his first professional club for new horizons. He chose to swap the colours of Slovan Bratislava for those of Brescia. And it was in Italy s Serie B that this young attacking midfielder served his apprenticeship. After a year learning his trade, he had a breakthrough season in , scoring ten goals in 40 matches and enjoying a growing influence as a playmaker progress which had not escaped the notice of the Napoli talent scouts. Hamšík is a dogged, complete player equally capable of defending, distributing the ball and slipping through even the slightest of gaps, never afraid to try his luck with a powerful strike that often hits the target. His debut with the national team on 7 February 2007 in a friendly against Poland (2-2) was the first of many caps. From summer 2007 onwards, he became a regular and scored his first goal for Slovakia on 13 October 2007 against San Marino. He was even made captain for the crunch match away to Poland (1-0) that gave Slovakia their first-ever qualification for the World Cup finals. The captain s role is one that suits him down to the ground and may well be his for some time to come. The Slovakian midfielder s attractive CV combined with his impressive track record at Napoli in Serie A has of course attracted the attention of Europe s top clubs. There is talk of the young Slovak joining the Blues at Chelsea or possibly the Sky Blues at Manchester City. A story to be continued... especially in South Africa! Coach Vladimír Weiss, a former Slovakian international, was appointed national coach in June He earned his spurs in charge of Artmedia Bratislava in Slovakia, which he led to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in He then took over as head coach of the national team, achieving outstanding success. He is also the father of Vladimír Weiss, the Slovakian international who is at Manchester City. Possible line-up GK Jan MUCHA D Peter PEKARIK D Radoslav ZABAVNIK D Jan DURICA D Martin SKRTEL MF Zdenko STRBA MF Marek HAMSIK MF Miroslav KARHAN F Stanislav SESTAK F Erik JENDRISEK F Robert VITTEK Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA ITA PAR NZL How they qualified European Group 3 Slovakia v. Home Away Northern Ireland Slovenia San Marino Poland Czech Republic Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Slovakia Slovenia Czech Rep North. Ireland Poland San Marino What they said We re very persistent, we don t give up until we ve succeeded. Stanislav Šesták, striker FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 123

124 OLD AND NEW ZEALAND White knights: New Zealand s 1982 FIFA World Cup squad and the country s current stars. By Gordon Glen Watson, Auckland When New Zealand take to the field against FIFA World Cup debutants Slovakia in Rustenburg on 15 June for their opening game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, expectations of their progress beyond the tournament s group stage are unlikely to be much higher than for their last World Cup appearance in Other parallels between the two eras involve some of the people with links to both campaigns, starting with Ricki Herbert, formerly the reliable central defender, everpresent during the 1982 campaign, who is now preparing to lead out the class of 2010 as head coach. Then there is the father-son connection between then-coach Kevin Fallon and Rory Fallon, the new addition to the All Whites squad who provided the decisive qualifying goal against Bahrain in November. Despite those striking similarities, however, the comparison between the New Zealand campaign of 1982 and the successful journey to this year s tournament is generally like comparing apples with oranges. While the 2010 squad is made up entirely of professionals, many of whom now play their club football in England, Scotland or the USA, the 1982 team was still largely amateur, nearly all based at home or in Australia and, most significantly, playing a sport which commanded very little attention in the national media. The early 1980s were a time of great turmoil and change in New Zealand. The country faced high unemployment and a financial crisis, and rugby union almost a national religion had become a source of discomfort after the New Zealand All Blacks hosted an unpopular tour by the South African rugby team during the apartheid era. In a play on the nickname of their rugby-playing counterparts, the New Zealand national football team adopted the All Whites moniker halfway through the campaign, fitting in nicely with their clean-cut image and lack of political baggage. What helped even more though was the flying start that they made to their qualifying campaign, including two early results against the old enemy, Australia. A thrilling 3-3 draw in Auckland 124 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

125 was followed up with a convincing 2-0 away win in Sydney performances which immediately endeared the team to Kiwi sports fans. Emphatic wins, such as their then-world Cup record 13-0 victory over Fiji, also helped. At the finals themselves, New Zealand could do little more than make up the tournament numbers, although the two goals they scored in their opening 5-2 defeat to Scotland were to ultimately ensure the Scots elimination in third place behind the Soviet Union on goal difference. Despite their own early exit, New Zealand were able to inspire a previously unimaginable level of World Cup fever back home, lasting right up until the final kick of the ball in their 4-0 defeat to Brazil in Seville. Few of those celebrating the team s arrival on football s biggest stage would have guessed that it would be almost three decades before the All Whites would make their return. Tough times In fact, the post-1982 Oceania football landscape was to prove a much-changed place and somewhat bleak by comparison to those heady days in Spain. Australia asserted their dominance in Oceania thereafter and the fortunes of the All Whites plummeted. The New Zealand National League collapsed in 1993 while rival sports codes forged ahead, most notably with the professionalisation of rugby union. Football remained popular, but mainly as a participation sport amongst youth. The idea of ever qualifying for the FIFA World Cup again with a squad of local players seemed highly improbable and the euphoria of 1982 slowly dissipated. By 2004, the gap between New Zealand and the rest of Oceania had also closed and when Vanuatu beat New Zealand 4-2 to end Kiwi hopes of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, many were heralding the end for football as a serious sport in New Zealand altogether. In the short term, the defeat to Vanuatu had left an empty match calendar in its wake and thoughts of qualification for South Africa seemed fanciful. Unlike in 1982, the 2010 campaign would contain relatively few matches with just three home-and-away ties to determine the Oceania champions, followed by a two-legged play-off against Asia s fifthplaced team and large gaps of almost a year at a time between the three groups of matches. Helped certainly by Australia s decision to move to the Asian Football Confederation, New Zealand still had to prove their credentials as the region s new powerhouse. The results in the Oceania section were reassuring, though much closer than during the 1982 campaign. Narrow away wins over Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia were enough to see the All Whites secure first place with a game to spare before a youthful and inexperienced domestic-based line-up ended the regional part of the campaign with a 2-0 defeat by Fiji in November Almost a year later came the decisive play-off against Bahrain, whose fifthplace finish in Asian qualifying had already surprised many. The tie, played over two legs in Manama and Wellington, turned out to be a close-run encounter. Playing first in the Bahraini capital, New Zealand managed an encouraging 0-0 draw but could easily have lost when Bahrain s Salman Isa rounded goalkeeper Mark Paston before hitting the post with Jaycee John calling for the ball in front of an open goal. With New Zealand now just one win away from qualification, the country s media went into overdrive. Football was front and back page news and reached a saturation level on television not seen since Tickets went quickly and a 35,194 sell-out crowd broke the attendance record for a football match in New Zealand. Even coverage of the All Blacks rugby tour to the Northern Hemisphere disappeared off the back pages of the daily newspapers as football fever took over. Defender Ivan Vicelich recalls the scene at a sold-out Wellington Stadium. The crowd were incredible there were 35,000 people there, all dressed in national team colours and they didn t stop singing for the entire match, which is very unusual in New Zealand sport the crowd was so vocal it gave us a big lift. That goal brought everybody together the team of 1982 and It was just pure joy and elation. Kevin Fallon, 1982 squad member and father of 2010 goal hero Rory Fallon The players returned the favour in the 45 th minute when Rory Fallon s bullet header from a Leo Bertos corner sent the stadium into a frenzy. Remembered as the hard man of New Zealand football, Kevin Fallon s voice waivers when he recalls the moment Rory Fallon s goal fused father and son across 28 years of football history and lifted an entire country out of their seats. That goal brought everybody together the team of 1982 and 2010, the fans, the history of our game it lifted the crowd, the city and the whole nation. It was just pure joy and elation, Fallon said. Perhaps the final word should lie with Frank van Hattum. As goalkeeper of the 1982 team and now the President of New Zealand Football, he prefers not to compare the two squads but instead takes pride in the fact that his nation is getting a second bite at world football s biggest apple. The whole country will always remember the 1982 campaign vividly, Van Hattum told FIFA World. But the experience of watching the Bahrain game was also very emotional. Since 1982, I have desperately wanted another New Zealand team to experience what we did. This is all about the future now. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 125

126 GROUP G BRAZIL Johannesburg jubilation: Lúcio celebrates his tournament-winning goal at last year s FIFA Confederations Cup final. For some countries, simply qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is a triumph. For others, such as England, Germany or Argentina, it is expected, and when the teams fail to qualify, there is an outcry. And then there is Brazil. How disappointed would their fans be by non-qualification? Nobody knows because it has never happened. They have always been present, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup marking Brazil s 19 th consecutive appearance at the finals. They are also of course five-time tournament winners, with an unparalleled overall record of 64 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats. Statistics only tell part of the story, however. Brazil are admired throughout the world for the breathtaking style in which they like to play the beautiful game. It is true that current head coach Dunga has sometimes faced criticism for appearing to put the need for results above the need for beautiful football. But even as a slightly more defence-orientated team, with a devastating line in counter-attack, Brazil are hardly winning ugly and the purists often forget that Brazil have always produced fantastic defenders, along with their headline-grabbing strikers and playmakers. Galaxy of stars Where to start with the current squad, which again reads like a Who s Who of football? In goal is Inter s 30-year-old stopper Julio Cesar, one of the world s best keepers. At right back there is Cesar s club-mate Maicon, and, further up the pitch, striker Robinho and Sevilla hitman Luis Fabiano (top scorer in the qualifiers, with nine goals). Above all this phenomenal talent, though, there is a certain attacking midfielder, born with the name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, and now simply known as Kaká. It is surely no coincidence that Brazil s darkest moments in qualifying including two goalless draws at home and an away defeat against Paraguay came when the 2007 FIFA World Player was out injured. It would be preposterous to label any Brazil side as a one-man team, but certainly their chances of a sixth title look even more likely when Kaká is fit and firing on all cylinders. It has been 44 years since Brazil failed to progress beyond the first phase, suffering a 3-1 defeat in 1966 to Portugal, one of the teams who they will again line up against in Add in Côte d Ivoire and this year s group does look tougher than average. But then, Brazil are clearly no average team. 126 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

127 Star player: Kaká Firmly established as one of the finest players in the world, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (or Kaká as he is much more commonly known) has a capacity to glide almost effortlessly past opponents, provide defence-splitting passes and score consistently from distance. Still aged just 28, the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year is now preparing for his third FIFA World Cup campaign, though he played only a bit part in his country s 2002 triumph. Despite playing for less than half an hour in that tournament, Kaká was already well known at home by then after rising through the ranks of his boyhood club São Paulo, and was also already attracting attention from leading European clubs. It was AC Milan who eventually signed the young Brazilian in 2003, beginning a six-year love affair between the player and the club s supporters. Originally expected to spend some time on the bench, or even out on loan, Kaká was promoted to the first team due to a series of injuries within the squad and never looked back scoring ten times in 30 outings during his debut season to help fire Milan to the Serie A title. It was the first of many team and individual trophies that Kaká was to win during his time with Milan, including a staggering sweep in 2007 of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA World Player award. In June last year, the player embarked on a new chapter in his club career, joining Real Madrid after Milan reluctantly gave way to the financial muscle of the Spanish giants. Although dogged by a string of niggling injuries over the past two seasons, Kaká will now be targeting further success with his talented Brazilian team-mates. After a disappointing campaign in 2006, at least by their own high standards, the South Americans seemed back to their best last year when Kaká inspired them to glory at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in the process adding the adidas Golden Ball award to his bulging trophy cabinet. How they qualified South American Group Brazil v. Home Away Colombia Ecuador Peru Uruguay Paraguay Argentina Chile Bolivia Venezuela Coach A highly feared former defensive midfielder for the Seleção, Dunga has already experienced Brazilian highs and lows. Among the scapegoats for a disappointing Italia 90 campaign, he recovered to skipper his country to victory four years later in the USA. Untested as a coach before being chosen by Brazil in August 2006, the no-nonsense trainer has silenced his doubters with triumphs at the 2007 Copa América, the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and with comfortable qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Possible line-up GK JULIO CESAR D MAICON D JUAN D LUCIO D LUISAO MF FELIPE MELO MF ELANO MF KAKA MF GILBERTO SILVA F LUIS FABIANO F ROBINHO Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA POR PRK CIV Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Brazil Chile Paraguay Argentina Uruguay Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Peru What they said We have to learn to live with the favourites tag. We mustn t let it turn into something negative, as it has done in previous years. Kaká, following the win over Argentina which clinched qualification FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 127

128 GROUP G KOREA DPR Korea DPR battled through two goalless draws with fellow qualifiers and neighbours Korea Republic. Korea DPR are making a long-overdue return to the FIFA World Cup finals after an absence of more than four decades. Nicknamed after a mythical horse, the Chollima s only previous finals appearance came in England in 1966, when they pulled off a shock 1-0 victory over Italy to reach the last eight. In the quarter-final at Goodison Park, they faced this year s Group G opponents Portugal and amazingly (yet deservedly) went 3-0 up after only 24 minutes. It was largely the brilliance of the legendary Portuguese Eusebio and his four-goal haul that denied the North Koreans, and helped earn the Seleção das Quinas a 5-3 win in one of the tournament s greatest comebacks. While the rest of the world has moved on a great deal in the intervening 44 years, the isolated nature of the North Korean state has ensured that the country s footballers will again be arriving at sport s most globally scrutinised event as something of an unknown package. Few of the Korea DPR players ply their trade overseas, but exceptions include 27-year-old FC Rostov hitman Hong Yong-Jo and the pacy and powerful 26-year-old striker Jong Tae-Se, who plays for Kawasaki Frontale in Japan. Of the domestic-based players, Mun In-Guk, 31, usually bosses the midfield, while Korea DPR would probably not have qualified without the superb saves of 23-year-old Pyongyang City keeper Ri Myong-Guk. Coach Kim Jong-Hun has instilled a strong sense of discipline, graft and teamwork, which has certainly made Korea DPR a difficult side to break down. The coach favours a no-nonsense, defensive style and this will be tested to the maximum when Korea DPR come up against five-time world champions Brazil in their opening game in Johannesburg on 15 June. 128 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

129 Star player: Jong Tae-Se The Asian media have long developed a habit of comparing a burgeoning starlet of their region to a world great whose playing style or facial features he resembles. However, it seemed they had failed to find anyone worthy of comparison with England talisman Wayne Rooney until the emergence of Kawasaki Frontale and Korea DPR striker Jong Tae-Se. Dubbed North Korea s Rooney or The People s Rooney, the Japan-born player s rise to prominence was not as meteoric as that of his Manchester United counterpart, who is one year his junior. Jong only turned professional when he joined J. League side Frontale in 2006 at the age of 22, but despite this relatively late start, the robust forward was quick to make his mark, scoring 12 goals in 24 games for his club in the 2007 season and forcing his way into Korea DPR s national team. He enjoyed a memorable international debut, striking four times to steer the side to a thumping 7-0 win over Mongolia during qualifying for the 2008 East Asian Football Federation Championship, and has since established himself as an essential component within the team. Jong started 12 of Korea DPR s 14 games in the final stages of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, often playing as the lone striker in coach Kim Jong-Hun s defence-orientated formation. The selflessness required in this role has prevented him from building on his phenomenal scoring record, adding just one goal to his tally during that period, but his contribution in piercing rivals defences to create chances for team-mates cannot be overstated. On the back of his contributions for both club and country, Jong, who turned 26 in March, is hoping to move to a top European club, where he can make further progress. And though so often likened to Rooney, Jong himself is particularly relishing the chance to rub shoulders with Didier Drogba of Côte d Ivoire, whose playing style the Korea DPR star believes his resembles more closely. Coach Coach Kim Jong- Hun was only ten years old when the Chollima made history at England 1966 and, 44 years on, he was the man who guided them back to the pinnacle of world football. Given his squad largely consists of domestic-based players lacking in international experience, the strategist favours a pragmatic and defensive approach based around discipline and teamwork. Possible line-up GK RI Myong Guk D NAM Song Chol D RI Kwang Chon D RI Jun Il D PAK Chol Jin D CHA Jong Hyok MF PAK Nam Chol MF AN Yong Hak MF MUN In Guk MF HONG Yong Jo F JONG Tae Se Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA POR BRA CIV How they qualified Asian Fourth Round, Group B Korea DPR v. Home Away United Arab Emirates Korea Republic Iran Saudi Arabia Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Korea Rep Korea DPR Saudi Arabia Iran UAE What they said It was as a result of our hard work that we will return to the World Cup, 44 years after we reached the last eight at England in We are likely to meet European teams once more at South Africa 2010 and I hope we can repeat the feats of our predecessors. Kim Jong-Hun FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 129

130 GROUP G CÔTE D IVOIRE Drogba and co. celebrate a 3-1 win at January s Africa Cup of Nations over fellow 2010 FIFA World Cup participants Ghana. Côte d Ivoire breezed through their qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup undefeated with eight wins from 12 games, scoring 29 goals and conceding just six in the process. They were immediately tipped as one of the leading African contenders, although the tough nature of Group G will have dampened those expectations at least a little. If the group matches go according to most of the pre-tournament predictions which is of course by no means certain Brazil should take top spot while Korea DPR struggle. If so, the Elephants of Côte d Ivoire would find themselves playing a key match against Portugal in Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth on 15 June. A first-ever appearance in the knock-out stages is the target for an Ivorian side who have often seemed on the brink of greatness since winning their first major tournament at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1992, but have since struggled for consistency. Four years wiser In Germany four years ago, the team suffered first-round elimination but only after some creditable performances in yet another tough group losing by a single goal each time to Argentina and the Netherlands before mounting a spirited fight-back from two goals down to beat Serbia and Montenegro 3-2. Since the latest qualifying campaign, additional World Cup experience has been brought in with the acquisition of Sven-Göran Eriksson as head coach. The former England and Mexico manager took over in March from Bosnian trainer Vahid Halilhodžić who was jettisoned following Côte d Ivoire s quarter-final defeat at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Where Brazil have Kaká and Portugal have Cristiano Ronaldo, the Elephants have Didier Drogba, the powerful, talented and inspirational striker who finished as top scorer in qualifying with six goals in five appearances. Drogba is not alone, though, with Olympique Marseille s Bakary Koné providing additional firepower and Drogba s Chelsea club-mate Salomon Kalou always a threat on the wing. With the likes of Arthur Boka, Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué providing further star quality at the back, Côte d Ivoire finally look ready to carry the hopes of a continent as the FIFA World Cup finally arrives in Africa. 130 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

131 Star player: Didier Drogba There was nothing in Didier Drogba s past that suggested he would become the global star he is today. Initially the Ivorian encountered one obstacle after another, preventing his rise to the top level. After several years with second-division clubs, his fame really began to grow at the French club Olympique de Marseille. As a heroic goalscorer in both the Champions League and then the UEFA Cup (11 goals in total), right through to the final, losing to Valencia in May 2004, Drogba set the Vélodrome Stadium alight in Ligue 1 (18 goals) and became a living god in Marseille. The following summer, the club agreed to sell its star to Chelsea where it took him a season to generate the same levels of admiration and respect. He even became something of a spiritual son for Portuguese manager José Mourinho. His physique, outstanding heading skills and technical ability have wreaked havoc in the Premier League. Drogba has broken all sorts of records, collecting titles for the Blues that included three League titles, three FA Cups and a place in the final of the Champions League in 2008, losing to Manchester United. The Ivorian has had yet another phenomenal season in Drogba earned his first cap with the national side in 2002 and as captain became the country s first-ever scorer in a FIFA World Cup. Born in Abidjan, he is the uncontested icon and leader of the national squad. Frustrated by losses in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 (final), 2008 (semi-finals) and 2010 (quarter-finals), he nonetheless remains optimistic and ambitious for the 2010 FIFA World Cup TM. We re not just representing the people of Côte d Ivoire; we represent millions of Africans. And we re not going there to make up the numbers, confirms the captain of The Elephants, adding: We re going there to win. Coach Côte d Ivoire can rely on the experience of Sven-Göran Eriksson, even if he has only had three months to prepare for the tournament. The Swedish coach can, for his part, rely on his experience as manager of England and also Mexico. In his long career as club coach, he managed Benfica and Lazio before taking over as England manager from 2001 to 2006 and leading them to two World Cup quarter-finals (2002 and 2006). Possible line-up GK Boubacar BARRY D Emmanuel EBOUE D Arthur BOKA D Kolo TOURE D Souleymane BAMBA MF Didier ZOKORA MF Emmers FAE MF Yaya TOURE MF Salomon KALOU F Bakary KONE F Didier DROGBA Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA POR BRA PRK How they qualified African Third Round, Group E Côte d Ivoire v. Home Away Malawi Guinea Burkina Faso Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Côte d Ivoire Burkina Faso Malawi Guinea What they said At the last World Cup we played very well, but we were unlucky because we were in a very tough group with Argentina and Holland. But I think with this kind of experience we will do much better in South Africa. Perhaps we can make the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals; this is something we can achieve. Didier Drogba FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 131

132 GROUP G PORTUGAL Bruno Alves (left) is embraced by Raúl Meireles after scoring in the first leg of Portugal s 2-0 aggregate play-off win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Semi-finalists at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and runners-up on home soil at EURO 2004, Portugal have once again established themselves as one of Europe s most feared teams. Carlos Queiroz s men were not always at their sharpest during the latest qualifying campaign, however, and will need to rediscover their swagger if they are to come through a 2010 FIFA World Cup TM group which many believe to be the toughest of the tournament. After unexpectedly struggling to finish second in their qualifying group behind Denmark, Portugal needed to scrap through a two-legged play-off against Bosnia- Herzegovina (winning each leg 1-0) to finally make sure of their place in South Africa. Nevertheless, they came through that play-off, and the three straight victories that preceded it, without star player and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, who was out injured at the time. Remarkably, Ronaldo failed to find the net in any of his seven qualifying appearances, leaving Atlético Madrid winger Simão to take top honours with four goals in ten games. Porto centre-back Bruno Alves and hard-working midfielder Raul Meireles provided the vital play-off goals, further testifying to Portugal s growing strength in depth. African opener Certainly they will need to be at their best from the very start in South Africa, as they prepare for an opening game against Côte d Ivoire which could set the tone for the rest of their tournament. As if Group G needed any extra spice, there will be plenty of social and historical interest in Portugal s next two matches, first against Korea DPR and then against Brazil, with whom of course the Portuguese and several of their players share close historical and cultural ties. Although trailing the Brazilians 12-4 in victories from their previous meetings, the only World Cup encounter between the two ended 3-1 in Portugal s favour and spelt a shock early end to the South Americans 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. Korea DPR have fond memories of 1966 as well though, having led Portugal 3-0 in that year s quarter-finals before the Europeans staged a remarkable comeback to win 5-3. Portugal s fans would no doubt settle for the same result this time around, but perhaps in a less nervejangling fashion. 132 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

133 Star player: Cristiano Ronaldo With a ball at his feet, Cristiano Ronaldo left the island of Madeira to conquer the world, and went on to become one of the most extraordinary players of recent years. He first began to shine at a small club called Andorinha, where his father worked, and he never stopped surprising people, even when the ball forced him to make difficult choices. It was while playing for Nacional in Madeira that he received the invitation from Sporting to join their youth academy. Cristiano Ronaldo got the chance to play for Sporting s first team at the age of 17, and from his very first match he showed what he was made of and what he could go on to become, scoring two goals and thrilling Sporting fans, although they only got to watch him play in the green and white shirt for one full season. At the beginning of the season, Manchester United were invited to the inauguration of the new Estádio de Alvalade, where for the first time the Red Devils got to see this 18-year-old youngster who was able to do incredible things with his best friend, the ball. Sir Alex Ferguson wasted no time, and Cristiano Ronaldo was soon on his way to Manchester, where the coach handed him the legendary no. 7 shirt, previously worn by such greats as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Cristiano Ronaldo, the global star, was born. The player who would go on to conquer the world of football, and more, started to amass awards, including FIFA World Player of the Year in He also almost succeeded in filling the Santiago Bernabéu stadium single-handedly when he was presented at Real Madrid. But Cristiano Ronaldo wants more. Following the disappointment of the UEFA EURO 2004 final, which Portugal lost to Greece, when the image of him crying at the end of the match went round the world, the forward is now setting his sights on the dream shared by so many: winning the FIFA World Cup. How they qualified European Group 1 / Play-off* Coach Carlos Queiroz is credited as the mastermind behind Portugal s Golden Generation of footballers, having notched up backto-back victories in the 1989 and 1991 FIFA U-20 World Cups with players like Luís Figo and Rui Costa. After EURO 2008, he took over from Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager of the Portuguese national side, a position he had already held without success between 1991 and He will no doubt be looking to repeat former glories in South Africa. Possible line-up GK EDUARDO D MIGUEL D Paulo FERREIRA D Bruno ALVES D RICARDO CARVALHO MF DUDA MF DECO MF SIMAO MF RAUL MEIRELES F LIEDSON F CRISTIANO RONALDO Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA BRA PRK CIV Portugal v. Home Away Malta Denmark Sweden Albania Hungary Bosnia* Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Denmark Portugal Sweden Hungary Albania Malta What they said Portugal are candidates for the trophy. We have great players and we made a statement with great pedigree and determination. This is a unique moment. Liédson, Portugal player FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 133

134 THE MYSTERY MEN Korea DPR players take to the field at Pyongyang s Kim Il-sung stadium ahead of a 2007 Olympic qualifying match against Iraq. By Michael Church, Hong Kong Few national teams will have shown up for a FIFA World Cup finals as unknown to the general public as the current Korea DPR squad. In a time when an abundance of information is little more than a mouse click away, the footballers of the hermetically sealed state retain an air of mystery more in keeping with the tournaments of the distant past. The age of satellite television and the internet has made the likes of Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba household names all over the world. But when that illustrious trio takes to the field for their respective nations of Brazil, Portugal and Cõte d Ivoire against the North Koreans, they will be meeting a team that has very little profile at all. In fact, the last time a team arrived at a FIFA World Cup with so little known about them was perhaps when Korea DPR qualified for their only previous finals, famously going on to reach the quarter-finals in England in The performances of Pak Doo-ik (who scored the winning goal in the shock 1-0 defeat of Italy) and his team-mates stood as the finest ever by an Asian nation until their neighbours from Korea Republic surpassed them with their run to the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. But while the North Koreans are returning to world football s biggest event as something of an unknown quantity, they and their supporters will know plenty about the teams they are due to face in the group stage. Although media access is strictly controlled in Korea DPR, the average fan on the streets of Pyongyang or beyond will be under no illusions about their team s prospects. They re not fanatical about the sport it s not Brazil but football is the most popular sport in the country, says Simon Cockerell of the Koryo Group, a company that specialises in tours to North Korea and has arranged football exchange visits to the country. They re not so isolated that they don t know that both Brazil and Portugal are very good teams. They might not know very much about Côte d Ivoire, but the other two are well enough known. It s not like it was in China when they qualified for the World Cup in FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

135 People there were plotting a course to the quarter-finals because they didn t know anything about the sport outside of China. In North Korea they know it s going to be tough; they re not under any illusions. Working in exile Korea DPR s qualification for the finals was a major surprise, coming as it did so soon after a self-imposed exile from the international scene. North Korean clubs do not play in Asian continental competitions, and the national team only sporadically featured in international events after their failed attempt to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States. The nation did not enter the qualifying competition for the 1998 finals in France due to the observation of a three-year mourning period following the death of Kim Il-sung the founding father of the country while political concerns prevented them seeking a place in the finals in 2002, which was co-hosted by Korea Republic and Japan. As a result, the North Koreans only made a serious return to the international fray in the qualifying competition for the 2006 World Cup finals, when they reached the final phase of Asia s The North Koreans celebrate in 1966 after stunning Italy 1-0. elimination tournament, only to miss out on a place in Germany to Japan and Iran. But while the country was apparently off the international football scene, plenty of work was being done behind the scenes to ensure that Korea DPR would re-emerge as a force within the Asian realm. After the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup, everyone in North Korea was thinking that the national team wasn t good enough, says Mun Sisong, a former general secretary of the DPRK Football Association who currently works for the Asian Football Confederation. The team was old and we were thinking about putting more emphasis on youth development. I met some of the FIFA people at that World Cup and they helped us organise some courses, funded by the National Olympic Committee, which allowed us to develop a system to educate and teach football coaches. Those moves started to bear fruit by the middle of the last decade, when North Korea s under-17 team finished as runners-up to China in the Asian championship and qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. A squad featuring many of the same players then captured the Asian U-20 title in India in 2006 to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Several of these players, including Pak Chol-min and Ju Kwang-min, have since graduated to the full national team and were among the candidates for South Africa. The results on the women s side have been even more impressive, with the women s national team having already won their country s first world title at the FIFA U-20 Women s World Cup Russia 2006 along with recent AFC Asian Women s Cup victories in 2001, 2003 and The success that we have had has come because of our determination to work hard and try hard, says Mun. There has been a lot of support from the government but there have been a lot of other factors in the team s success as well. The climatic conditions in my country are harsh and we don t have heating systems for our pitches, so we had to install an artificial pitch and we were able to do that thanks to the FIFA Goal project, which has allowed us to be more involved in the game throughout the year and in international tournaments. Home support A film crew is expected to be among the delegation the North Koreans send to South Africa, but the chances of a travelling army of fans from the country are slim at best. That is not to say, however, that Kim Jong-Hun and his boys will not have support in the stadium. With a large North Korean community in several African countries as well as those in Japan and China some of whom are likely to travel the sight of the nation s distinctive red, white and blue flag is highly likely. And, like any nation that has managed to end such a long wait for such an accomplishment, the North Koreans are intensely proud that their team will be mixing it with the very best in June. It s a real success to qualify and that success is being felt by all of the people, says a beaming Mun. For all of us involved in the sport, this success is so exciting. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 135

136 GROUP H SPAIN Spanish fans will be hoping to see Torres and Villa resume the partnership that proved so successful at Euro The amount of media attention lavished upon Fernando Torres s late-season knee injury probably says more about Spanish nerves at being hot favourites for the 2010 FIFA World Cup than it does about any particular dependence of the team upon the Liverpool striker. Of course no team would be happy to lose a goalscorer of Torres s quality, but if the injury does indeed hamper his chances of playing a starring role in South Africa, Spain more than almost any other team at the tournament would surely still cope without him. In truth, it would probably take several such knee injuries to Spain s most regular starters for the European champions to be regarded as anything other than major contenders for the title so emphatic have been their recent results and so dazzling the manner in which they have achieved them. Spain discarded their reputation for choking at the big events when they romped to victory at EURO They then followed that up with a phenomenal World Cup qualifying campaign which saw them win all ten matches to finish 11 points clear of their nearest rivals. By the time the campaign finished, they had also lost just one match in a 41-game run spanning more than three years. No complacency That solitary defeat came in a shock setback against the USA in the semi-finals of last year s FIFA Confederations Cup. All but the most pessimistic of Spain fans will surely write that off as a rare blip an exception to the rule which may even strengthen Spain s chances by warning the players against complacency. Their qualifying campaign record of 28 goals for and a mere five against certainly does not suggest a team that is resting on its laurels. David Villa was particularly prolific providing a quarter of the goals scored. His former Valencia club-mates David Silva and Juan Manuel Mata, and Barcelona centreback Gerard Piqué each grabbed three. Interestingly given the fuss surrounding his injury, Torres failed to score in seven international run-outs. Few nations have squads with talent that can come anywhere near the current Spain side. With world-beaters in every position, Spain s sheer strength is perhaps best displayed by the players who frequently have to sit it out on the bench. To put it another way, Spain are right now the benchmark for all their international rivals. If any team does manage to eliminate Spain, expect that team to be instantly installed as the new tournament favourites. 136 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

137 Star player: David Villa The late doubts surrounding the readiness of prolific goal-getter Fernando Torres have only served to place even greater expectations on his strike partner and new Barcelona signing David Villa as hot favourites Spain prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The top scorer from EURO 2008 is one of the cornerstones of the Spanish attack and one of the most coveted strikers on the international scene. A tireless fighter who lives for goals, Villa is an explosive, fast and hard worker who never hesitates to move out of his area to help out his team-mates. The 28-year-old, who started his footballing career with Sporting Gijón, reached sporting maturity with Real Zaragoza, where he played between 2003 and Valencia parted with a major sum to secure his services, but they were not to regret it: Villa was just one goal away from being top scorer in his debut season, but had to content himself with being the best Spanish scorer, an achievement he has matched twice to date. The Asturian made his debut for Spain in 2005 in a qualifier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, and his international career could not have got off to a better start, as he scored twice against Ukraine. Despite Spain s early exit in the round of 16 against France, Villa had made a mark on the international scene. Since then, he has not missed a match with the national team, and has a tally of 36 goals, making him Spain s second most prolific goalscorer ever and within striking distance of the top spot, currently held by Raúl. Despite his achievements, Villa always plays down his accomplishments and he attributes his personal successes to the support of his team-mates. He is raring to go for South Africa 2010, where he will be hoping to make amends for Germany How they qualified European Group 5 Coach Vicente del Bosque took over from Luis Aragonés after EURO 2008, but kept the same footballing philosophy that had secured that triumph. The experienced supremo has also hit the heights at club level with Real Madrid, winning two UEFA Champions Leagues (2000, 2002), two La Ligas (2001, 2003), a Spanish Super Cup (2001) a UEFA European Super Cup (2002) and the Toyota Intercontinental Cup (2002). During Del Bosque s era, Spain have had an almost perfect record. Possible line-up GK Iker CASILLAS D Carles PUYOL D Joan CAPDEVILA D SERGIO RAMOS D Carlos MARCHENA MF XAVI MF DAVID SILVA MF XABI ALONSO MF Andres INIESTA MF Cesc FABREGAS F David VILLA Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CHI HON SUI Spain v. Home Away Bosnia Armenia Estonia Belgium Turkey Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Spain Bosnia Turkey Belgium Estonia Armenia What they said We ve got good players and a well-oiled team, but there are some very strong sides out there. Our aim is to challenge for the World Cup but we know how difficult it is. We re not the favourites but we are among the hopefuls. Vicente del Bosque FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 137

138 GROUP H SWITZERLAND Defender Stéphane Grichting celebrates after scoring his first international goal during Switzerland s vital 2-0 win over qualifying group rivals Greece. Switzerland will be contesting their ninth FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, but their greatest days in the tournament three quarter-final appearances took place in the distant times of 1934, 1938 and on home soil in The current crop of Swiss stars has been talked up as being one of the most talented ever, but there is a feeling that they must now produce the goods after ultimately disappointing in their two most recent tournaments. First was the 2006 FIFA World Cup TM in Germany, where the Swiss began strongly, holding the French to an opening draw and then progressing from the group stage with wins over Togo and Korea Republic. Switzerland then made footballing history, but of a kind they would rather forget, when a goalless draw with Ukraine ended in a 3-0 penalty shoot-out defeat. The Swiss had exited the tournament without conceding a single goal and also became the first team ever to miss all of their penalties in a World Cup shoot-out. Two years ago, they co-hosted EURO 2008 with their Austrian neighbours but were the first side to be eliminated from the competition, a few days ahead of the Austrians who had gone into the tournament with much lower expectations. Luxembourg low point Under the leadership of highly successful club coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Swiss then suffered one of their country s biggest embarrassments to date when tiny Luxembourg inflicted a 2-1 defeat on them in Zurich near the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign to deal a major blow to Swiss hopes. Perhaps bad luck really does come in threes, because Switzerland have rallied impressively since then. A run of five straight wins, including home and away victories over main rivals Greece, helped put the campaign back on track. A 3-0 romp in Luxembourg went some way towards obliterating the memories of the earlier defeat and left Hitzfeld able to concentrate on his team s plans for South Africa. Despite boasting more strength in depth than previous Swiss squads, as well as a larger number of players based at toplevel European clubs, Switzerland have often proven too reliant on stars such as Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta and their captain and all-time record goalscorer Alex Frei. It was Frei s injury in the opening game of EURO 2008 which was seen as the main reason for the team s subsequent exit. Now aged 30, Frei has again been fighting for fitness after breaking his arm in February. With European champions Spain, the young, talented Chileans and the hungry Hondurans in their group, Swiss fans will surely be feeling that they are finally due a lucky break. 138 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

139 Star player: Tranquillo Barnetta Tranquillo Barnetta is one of the aces in coach Ottmar Hitzfeld s pack. The 25-year-old started all ten of Switzerland s World Cup qualifying matches and played a decisive part in ensuring that Switzerland would make it onto football s biggest stage for the second time running. Barnetta is renowned above all for his technical ability and tenacity, qualities which make the St Gallen born star ideal for the left-wing position in which he is most often used by Hitzfeld. The popular winger has also gained a wealth of experience of playing in Germany s Bundesliga since being snapped up by Bayer Leverkusen in He has since made a name for himself in Germany s top-flight with his goal threat from midfield and become a mainstay of the Leverkusen side. In Switzerland, Barnetta has long been regarded as one of the country s top talents. He turned out for all of Switzerland s under-age teams, winning the U-17 European Championship in 2002 and taking part in the U-21 European Championship in He made his debut for the senior team in a World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland on 8 September 2004, and scored his first goal for his country in a 3-1 victory over Scotland on 1 March In terms of his team s chances at the forthcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the player on whom many of the Swiss fans are pinning their hopes prefers to take one step at a time. It s an honour to be able to pit yourself against the best in the world. It will be important for us to prepare for the tournament properly and make sure that we re absolutely focused on those three games. Our goal has to be to survive the group stage. It s a big challenge, but that s the aim. We re not thinking any further than that at the moment, he says of his team s ambitions. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is one of Europe s most successful coaches. He is one of only two coaches to win the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich). He was appointed coach of the Swiss team on 1 July 2008 and despite some shaky results at the outset, he led his team to direct qualification for the World Cup finals. Possible line-up GK Diego BENAGLIO D Stephane GRICHTING D Stephan LICHTSTEINER D Philippe SENDEROS D Ludovic MAGNIN MF Tranquillo BARNETTA MF Gokhan INLER MF Benjamin HUGGEL MF Hakan YAKIN F Blaise NKUFO F Alexander FREI Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CHI ESP HON How they qualified European Group 2 Switzerland v. Home Away Israel Luxembourg Latvia Greece Moldova Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Switzerland Greece Latvia Israel Luxembourg Moldova What they said If my father had known I d be this successful as Switzerland coach not as Bayern or Dortmund coach he d have been overjoyed. It s the place we call home, you see. Ottmar Hitzfeld FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 139

140 GROUP H HONDURAS Honduras will be looking to exceed expectations once again in Honduras were the surprise package to emerge from the North, Central American and Caribbean section of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, eventually filling the third automatic qualifying berth behind regional superpowers the USA and Mexico. No less surprising was the identity of the player who secured Honduras their ticket to South Africa. Going into their final match in El Salvador, Los Catrachos needed not only to win their own game but also rivals Costa Rica not to win their last match in the USA. Completing their own side of things with a 1-0 victory, the Hondurans discovered that Costa Rica were also leading by the same score, until news came through of an injury-time equaliser in Washington. A late strike by US defender Jonathan Bornstein had handed Honduras an unlikely FIFA World Cup spot. This year s tournament will mark only the second-ever appearance by a Honduran side at world football s biggest event, following on from their 1982 debut in Spain. On that occasion, under coach José de la Paz, the central Americans stunned the world by drawing 1-1 with the star-studded hosts, before repeating the feat against Northern Ireland. A 1-0 defeat by Yugoslavia then put paid to dream of a place in the last 16. First win? Now, under the leadership of coach Reinaldo Rueda, Honduras will be aiming to improve on that already impressive history, and perhaps snatch their first-ever win at a World Cup finals. The side s undoubted hero and talisman is the much-travelled 36-year-old striker Carlos Pavón, whose seven goals in qualifying played a major part in his country s successful run. Midfielder and team captain Amado Guevara the mostcapped Honduran of all time will also play a key role as a proven motivator for his side. Inter striker David Suazo, who has impressed during loans at Benfica and Genoa, will be expected to improve on some inconsistent performances for the national team, while Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios has also been in good form in the English Premier League. For a team currently punching well above their usual weight, Honduras could have done with a kinder draw. Their will to succeed is immense, but, in a group containing the European champions Spain, South American qualifying runners-up Chile and the experienced and disciplined Swiss, so too is the challenge. 140 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

141 Star player: Wilson Palacios In the space of just a few years, Wilson Palacios has gone from being a promising player in the Honduran league to one of the key players in the national team that will be competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The 26-year-old midfielder is currently at the peak of his career, as he has shown with fantastic performances for his national team and his club, Tottenham Hotspur, in the English Premier League. Wilson started out with Honduran club Olimpia, where he stood out from the beginning on account of his fighting spirit and iron discipline, which quickly made him one of the favourites among the fans and resulted in an early call-up to the national team. Palacios s great performances for his club began to attract attention, and a number of European clubs offered him trials. It was with Wigan that the midfielder really came into his own. He became one of the key players on the team and earned the affection of the fans. His performances did not go unnoticed, and he very soon came to be considered one of the best players in the Premier League in his position. It therefore came as no surprise when Tottenham Hotspur signed him for GBP 12 million. At his new club, Palacios has not eased up, and he is a favourite of coach Harry Redknapp and the Spurs fans. With the national team, he was one of the linchpins of Honduras extraordinary qualifying campaign for South Africa, with Reinaldo Rueda at the helm. Palacios played a fundamental role in Honduras historic qualification for their second-ever FIFA World Cup. As a result, Honduras will be going into world football s flagship event in June confident of being the competition s surprise package. How they qualified CONCACAF Fourth Round Coach For Honduras, qualifying phases for the FIFA World Cup had become something of a recurring nightmare. Always among the preevent favourites, La Bicolor invariably contrived to fall short at key moments that is until the arrival of Colombian strategist Reinaldo Rueda in early Rueda repaid the faith placed in him by guiding Honduras to South Africa 2010 on the back of sparkling attacking football and a solid backline. Possible line-up GK Noel VALLADARES D Victor BERNARDEZ D Emilio IZAGUIRRE D Maynor FIGUEROA D Osman CHAVEZ MF Amado GUEVARA MF Wilson PALACIOS MF Julio Cesar DE LEON MF Danilo TURCIOS F David SUAZO F Carlos PAVON Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA CHI ESP SUI Honduras v. Home Away Costa Rica Trinidad & Tobago Mexico USA El Salvador Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 USA Mexico Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador T & T What they said Nobody could believe it. Our game ended and we were all dejected, then we saw the row the fans were making and we realised that the USA had equalised against Costa Rica. We re so happy to be going to South Africa and we re not going to let down all those people who believed in us. Carlos Pavón, Honduras forward FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 141

142 GROUP H CHILE Chile s Marco Estrada takes to the air, followed by Alexis Sánchez, after scoring in his country s 4-0 qualifying game win over Bolivia. Seemingly reborn under Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa, Chile were the surprise package in a competitive South American group, securing a 4-2 win in Colombia in October to seal their passage to South Africa. They finished second in the group, one point behind the mighty Brazil, and ahead of Paraguay on goal difference. Along the way they enjoyed a 1-0 win over Bielsa s homeland Chile s first-ever victory over Argentina in a competitive fixture. The team won ten of their 18 qualifying matches (a feat matched only by Paraguay) and scored 32 goals along the way (just one less than the Brazilians). But Bielsa s emphasis on all-out attack can bring problems at the back. The side also lost five of their matches and conceded 22 goals (the highest number among the four South American teams who qualified automatically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup ). This year s tournament will mark Chile s eighth appearance in a FIFA World Cup TM finals, starting with the very first edition in Their best showing was almost half a century ago, when as hosts they finished third. Unburdened La Roja (the Reds) failed to qualify for the 2002 and 2006 editions, but the fresh, young squad assembled by Bielsa are unlikely to feel burdened by the Chilean performances of the past. Real Zaragoza hitman Humberto Chupete Suazo will be looking to continue his awesome form in the qualifying campaign, when he found the back of the net ten times, to finish one ahead of Brazilian striker Luís Fabiano as CONMEBOL s top scorer in the competition. Attacking midfielder Matías Fernández and winger/striker Alexis Sánchez provide an additional threat up front while defensive midfielder Gary Medel, experienced defender Pablo Contreras and the team s goalkeeping captain Claudio Bravo will be on their toes, ready to deal with any of the counter-attacks that Bielsa s brand of football naturally invites. As talented as they are, few expect Chile to get much from their last groupstage match against reigning European champions Spain, but if they can handle Honduras and Switzerland, then a repeat of their second place in qualifying would suit the South Americans just fine. 142 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

143 Star player: Humberto Suazo It is fair to say, without exaggeration, that any football fan who has not heard of Humberto Suazo, at least in Latin America, has been living under a rock for the last few years. Week by week, goal by goal, Chupete has been gaining a reputation for himself, and his fame is thoroughly deserved, as he finished top scorer in the South American preliminary competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Although at 1.72m tall he does not have the typical physique of a goalscoring centre forward, Suazo has the gift of being in the right place at the right time and the ability to score with both feet. In the beginning, he had a hard time establishing himself. Since his debut with Ñublense in 2000, he has plied his trade with very modest clubs, such as Magallanes, San Antonio Unido and San Luis, where he was top scorer in the Chilean third division, before landing at Audax Italiano, which was a springboard to big-name clubs. It was after his arrival at Colo Colo that he really started to make a name for himself, scoring no fewer than 51 goals in 2006 a record not matched by any other Chilean footballer. Suazo won three top goalscorer awards while at Colo Colo, including for the 2006 Copa Sudamericana, before moving to Monterrey, where he earned his fourth in 2008 and was voted best player of the Mexican league in Since January 2010, he has been playing for Real Zaragoza. Suazo, who made his debut for the senior national team under the leadership of Juvenal Olmos in 2005 and was one of the key players in the 2007 Copa América, is one of the first names on Marcelo Bielsa s teamsheet, where he is reproducing the entertaining football he played at Colo Colo together with Matías Fernández, Alexis Sánchez, Jorge Valdivia and Arturo Vidal, who are also regulars for Chile. A good performance at South Africa 2010 would earn him a place among the great South American strikers of all time. How they qualified South American Group Chile v. Home Away Argentina Peru Uruguay Paraguay Bolivia Venezuela Brazil Colombia Ecuador Rank Team MP W D L Points 1 Brazil Chile Paraguay Argentina Uruguay Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Peru Coach Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa may well be remembered by football fans as the man in charge of Argentina when they were knocked out in the group stage at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/ Japan, but he has given himself a shot at redemption with Chile. Nicknamed El Loco, he commands the respect of players, fellow coaches and reporters alike on account of his principles, dedication and hard work. Possible line-up GK Claudio BRAVO D Arturo VIDAL D Pablo CONTRERAS D Roberto CERECEDA D Gonzalo JARA MF Matias FERNANDEZ MF Carlos CARMONA MF Manuel ITURRA MF Mark GONZALEZ F Humberto SUAZO F Alexis SANCHEZ Group-stage opponents, head-to-head record MP W D L GF GA HON ESP SUI What they said I m not looking at this as a chance to get revenge for what happened to me in Nothing I can ever achieve in the future will make that sadness go away. The most important thing at a World Cup is to make sure the players are in top form and that depends on so many different factors. Some of them you can control, but some are the result of everything the player has been through in the previous ten months. I hope everything comes together for Chile. Marcelo Bielsa FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 143

144 A WELCOME DISTRACTION Honduran fans in Tegucigalpa dance around the US national flag after securing late qualification, helped by the USA s draw with Costa Rica. By Ben Lyttleton The qualification of Honduras for only their second-ever FIFA World Cup finals coincided with another difficult period in the often troubled history of this poor central American country. Three months before the Honduras national team secured their place in South Africa, a military coup had unseated the country s president Manuel Zelaya and appointed Roberto Micheletti as his acting replacement. With tensions still running high weeks later, the World Cup qualification in October 2009 provided a welcome distraction for the nation. Thousands of fans spilled out onto the streets of the capital city Tegucigalpa, supporters of Zelaya and Micheletti celebrating together. The political standoff was forgotten, at least temporarily, and the country was united by its unbridled passion for football. Parallels to the past were nevertheless unmistakable: Honduras had beaten El Salvador to earn their place in South Africa, the same country against whom 40 years earlier they had waged a bloody battle that became known as The Football War, after Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński s book of the same name. Kapuściński did Honduras a great disservice with that title. The war actually began more than two weeks after El Salvador had beaten Honduras 3-2 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in June 1969, and its underlying causes were in fact much more to do with long-seated political differences between the two neighbours. Kapuściński has himself since admitted that the match had no impact on the war and that he had only chosen that title to improve sales. Such sensationalism is typical of the misfortunes and misrepresentations that have beset Honduras, and another reason why the country is so keen to present itself in a new light following its qualification for world football s biggest event. 144 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

145 Providing hope After last year s coup and the economic crisis, our country found happiness in football and forgot all its problems, Mauricio Kawas, presenter of popular TV show Todo Deportes, told FIFA World. It sounds poetic, but football is the provider of hope in this country. Honduras is the second-poorest country in Central America and 62 per cent of its 7.7 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. Five of its major provinces are at constant risk of flooding It sounds poetic, but football is the provider of hope in this country. Mauricio Kawas, Honduran television presenter while over the years, eight hurricanes have devastated parts of the country: in 1974, Hurricane Fifi killed approximately 10,000, while in 1999, Hurricane Mitch caused 5,000 fatalities. The current crop of players, many of whom hail from the poor regions in the north of the country, were desperate to give something back to their countrymen. The situation made us focus even harder on what we wanted to achieve, said striker Carlo Costly, who scored six times in 16 qualifying appearances, but who now looks set to miss out on South Africa with a fractured foot. We all spoke about it and we promised to do our very best to help the country with its problems, added Costly whose father Allan played for Honduras in the 1982 FIFA World Cup TM. We know we can help people forget their problems. The new century has seen the emergence of a new generation of talented players who have now been in the same team for nearly ten years. They first gave notice of their ability at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, beating hosts Australia 2-1 and drawing 3-3 with reigning champions Nigeria, before losing 3-1 to Italy. Five players in that squad including striker David Suazo, record goalscorer Francisco Pavón, goalkeeper Noel Valladares and midfielder Julio de León should all be in action in South Africa. Lost no more The period between Honduras s two FIFA World Cup qualifications, and specifically from 1985 to 2000, is known as The Lost Years. José de la Paz Herrera, Honduras coach at the 1982 tournament and also for the next two qualifying campaigns, believes it was not a lack of talent which held back the country. The problem was always our arrogance, De la Paz Herrera told FIFA World. We always started the qualifiers well, and thought that having good players would be enough. But it doesn t happen like that. Even before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, we went to Costa Rica and won 5-2, but couldn t win another game after that. This group of players, though, have remained humble throughout the campaign and since then as well. Suazo, the Inter Milan striker currently on loan at Genoa, has a kick-about in the streets of Ciudad Planeta when he returns, while Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa still jumps behind the wheel of a bus at his father s depot in Tegucigalpa. If you want to achieve important things in life, you often have to suffer first, admitted the team s star player, midfielder Wilson Palacios, whose brother Edwin was tragically kidnapped and murdered in There are many successful people who didn t have to suffer but I am not one of them. In their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance back in 1982, Honduras set out to frustrate their opponents, hosts Spain, but stunned them, and possibly themselves, with a seventh-minute opening goal from Héctor Zelaya. Spain dominated the rest of the match and scored from a second-half penalty, but Honduras held on for a famous draw. They came from behind to draw their next match, against Northern Ireland, but were out of the competition after losing to an 87 th -minute penalty against Yugoslavia. This time around, it is European champions Spain, South American qualifying runners-up Chile and the highly organised Swiss who lie in wait for Honduras. But whatever their results in South Africa, the central Americans know they have already penned a significant chapter in their country s history and, moreover, one that finally provides a positive read. Additional reporting by Federico Bassahun in Tegucigalpa Anthony Costly pulls off an acrobatic clearance during the Hondurans 1-1 draw with Spain at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 145

146 ANIMALS, PIRATES AND WARRIORS The World Cup is coming to Africa, a continent where nicknames are traditionally used in football instead of country names. But this symbolism is also a deep-rooted tradition in other parts of the world and the 32 teams participating in the tournament will all proudly answer to their alternative name tags. By Pablo San Roman 146 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

147 Socceroos, Black Stars, White Eagles shouted the headline of a German newspaper following December s Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town. The reference was to Germany s Group D rivals in the tournament: Australia (the Socceroos), Ghana (the Black Stars) and Serbia (the White Eagles). A similar style was employed by a French newspaper in March when it simply summed up France s 2-0 defeat to Spain in a Paris friendly as Reds trounce Blues. Fans not accustomed to the common use of nicknames in place of country titles may have to brush up on the long list of alternative team designations when Using the teams colours or symbols as a nickname means that the players are honoured to wear those colours and will commit to the team and play with energy. Patrick Mignon, French writer and sociologist the FIFA World Cup arrives in Africa, a continent where such nicknames abound. Otherwise they might struggle to comprehend reports that tell of elephants being crushed by desert foxes a bizarresounding phenomenon recorded by one Algerian newspaper in January when the country s national side (the Fennecs, or Desert Foxes) beat Côte d Ivoire s Elephants at the Africa Cup of Nations. Big cats or other powerful animals tend to dominate the jungle of African team nicknames, perhaps in part due to longlingering European stereotypes. Pierre Lanfranchi, a professor at England s De Montfort University and a renowned football historian, argues that as well as strength, African players also have good technical skills, which is why he believes that references to powerful animals do not fully do them justice. Initially, the best African players were always presented by the European press as primitives, whose skills were a legacy of their connection to the animal world. Eusebio was therefore likened to a panther, Ben Barek to a feline, and Salif Keita a gazelle. At the time at least, European journalists found it difficult to acknowledge that African players might be playing a tactical game, with good technique, Lanfranchi explains, and that is something that has translated into some of the nicknames subsequently applied to Africa s national teams. Lanfranchi adds that other African nicknames were coined as a response to those already adopted by rival teams on the continent. The reference to the Algerian Fennecs came about at a later stage, with the first mentions in the press in the early eighties, and it seems to have been a response to Cameroon s Indomitable Lions and Côte d Ivoire s Elephants, he says. Nowadays, a link to a wild animal has become almost compulsory for African teams, and these associations are already in regular use by the fans and media. The South African hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup are one of the exceptions to this rule and will head into their home tournament firmly established in the nation s hearts as Bafana Bafana (literally meaning Boys, Boys in Zulu). The term was coined by a journalist working for a Soweto newspaper following the abolition of apartheid and the return of South Africa to international competition in Some say that the name arose because the teams were coached by older men and the players were all very young, although another theory is that it was chosen because the team only won one of its first six international matches due to their lack of experience in high-level matches. Patriot games While African teams are generally inspired by the animal kingdom, the patriotic Latin Americans tend to identify themselves through the colour of their shirt or national flag, resulting in nicknames THE ROLE OF THE PRESS The press have traditionally played a crucial role in the popularisation of nicknames. In a lot of cases, it is the journalists themselves who come up with the monikers and they are almost always the ones who take it upon themselves to ensure that the names catch on. Nicknames are often created by the press, confirms historian Pierre Lanfranchi. The first famous nickname for a national team was the Austrian Wunderteam ( wonder team ) in the early 1930s. The name was invented by the press, but in any case it had a positive effect on the team and their morale. According to Lanfranchi, the press has sometimes also played a part in influencing team colours, as was the case with Italy, who played their first matches in a white shirt. Italy were due to play against Hungary, who also played in white, in January 1911, Lanfranchi points out. For that match, Italy chose a blue shirt (the colour of the Savoy royal family). One journalist wrote: The chromatic effect of the new blue shirt and the white shorts, together with the exceptionally sunny January weather, soon won the crowd over. Brazil s moniker a Canarinha, a reference to the yellow colour of their shirts, was also a media creation. Commentator Geraldo José de Almeida popularised the name in 1970 in Mexico, the first time the World Cup was broadcast on television, although the nickname had been in use since 1954 when the team started to wear a yellow shirt in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Switzerland. In Spain, meanwhile, the national side was first called La Furia Roja ( Red Fury ) on 1 September 1920, in its third match in the Olympic Games in Antwerp again Sweden, which Spain won 2-1. After that match, the Italian press described the Spanish side, which went on to win silver in the tournament, La Furia Rossa. Nowadays the Spanish national team has less fury and more technical ability, and therefore in recent years has been referred to simply as La Roja, in honour of the colour of their shirts. such as la Albiceleste ( the White and Sky Blues, Argentina), la Roja ( the Reds, Chile), la Celeste ( the Sky Blues, Uruguay), la Albirroja ( the White and Reds, Paraguay), a Canarinha ( the Canary Yellows, Brazil), el Tri (Mexico, a reference to the tricolour of its flag), and la Bicolor ( the Bicolours, Honduras). FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 147

148 The nicknames of the European teams that will be competing in South Africa also suggest a degree of patriotism, with several being identified by national or regional colours, such as les Bleus ( The Blues, France), la Roja ( The Reds, Spain) or the Azzurri ( The Blues ), chosen by Italy because it was the colour of the House of Savoy. In a similar vein, the Netherlands chose the Oranje because of the connection with their royal family, the House of Orange. In Europe, the national football teams were established during an era when countries were developing their national unity and identity, and that is why the colours are of such importance when coming up with nicknames. In African countries, the teams sobriquets are connected to African symbolism, and the symbols tend to be related more to nature than the symbolism of colours, which is very pronounced in western countries, comments Patrick Mignon, French writer and sociologist from the National Sports and Physical Education Institute (INSEP) in Paris. Using the teams colours or symbols as a nickname means that the players are honoured to wear the nation s colour or symbol, or animal in the case of African teams, and this will make the players commit to the teams and play with energy. The players have the full responsibility and honour of wearing the shirt. One European team that manages to combine both patriotic symbolism and a reference to a powerful animal is the Serbian White Eagles, a reference to the birds which appear on the country s coat of arms. Other national teams who have adopted emblems from their national coat of arms or other heraldry include Portugal, known as the Seleção das Quinas ( the Section of the Shields ) and England, whose Three Lions have appeared on the team s shirt since their first match in Outside of Europe, Ghana (the Black Stars) and the US (Stars and Stripes) also use elements from their national flags. Created from scratch While many of the historic, heraldic or animal-inspired nicknames are based upon long-standing use and tradition, others have a much shorter past. In Japan, for example, the Samurai Blue was actually created from scratch by the Japan Football Association. We needed a nickname to support the team for the 2006 World Cup, explains Megumi Fujinoki of the Japanese FA s communications department. So to choose a name, we put five options to a vote by the fans and they picked Samurai Blue. In New Zealand, the first 11 were originally known as the Kiwis, after the national bird, and used to wear white shirts and socks and black shorts, but before the 1982 World Cup in Spain, their first participation in the final round of the competition, they decided to change the colour of the shorts so the kit would be all white, giving rise to the nickname the All Whites, drawing a parallel but at the same time differentiating themselves from the rugby team, the All Blacks (see Old and New Zealand feature on page 124). Across the Tasman Sea, in Australia, meanwhile, the rugby team was known as the Wallabies, but the football team did not have a similar moniker. The inventor of the nickname the Socceroos, a composite of the words kangaroos and soccer, was Tony Horstead of Sydney s Daily Mirror. Horstead coined the word in 1967 when he was covering the national side s tour in Vietnam, although it did not come into common usage in the press until The Australian FA first used the 148 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

149 name Socceroos in 1973 in the match programmes for the preliminary competition for the 1974 World Cup in Germany, for which they qualified. For the Cameroonian team, among the most popular of the African national sides, the nickname the Indomitable Lions was also deliberately created, back in After Cameroon had failed to win the Africa Cup of Nations as hosts that year, the country s president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, ordered a series of general reforms, one of which was to christen the national team. The Minister for Sport held a meeting with various members of his cabinet, one of whom suggested calling them the Lions. Later, to differentiate them from other teams that had already chosen the big cat as their symbol, the adjective Indomitable was added to the name. Greece s sobriquet, the To Peiratiko ( the Pirate Ship ), is one of the most recent, as it was coined in 2004 after they won the European Championship in Portugal. The most widely accepted story behind Greece s nickname is that the team surprised everyone with their victory in the tournament, similar to a surprise attack by pirates on another ship, and this nickname was popularised by the media following the competition. Another recent nickname is Danish Dynamite, which originated in 1983, after Denmark overcame England 1-0 at Wembley thanks to a goal by Allan Simonsen, setting them on course to qualify for EURO 84 in France, at which they reached the semi-finals. A few weeks before that match, a Danish newspaper launched a competition to choose a song for the Danish national team. The chant We are red, we are white, we are Danish Dynamite became very popular, and the last two words went on to become the team nickname. ROLL CALL: THE ALTERNATIVE NAMES OF THIS YEAR S WORLD CUP CONTENDERS Algeria: Argentina: Australia: Brazil: Cameroon: Chile: Côte d Ivoire: Denmark: England: France: Germany: Ghana: Greece: Honduras: Italy: Japan: Korea DPR: Korea Republic: Mexico: Netherlands: New Zealand: Nigeria: Paraguay: Portugal: Serbia: Slovakia: Slovenia: South Africa: Spain: Switzerland: Uruguay: USA: Les Fennecs ( the Desert Foxes in French) Les Verts ( the Greens in French) La Albiceleste ( the White and Sky Blues in Spanish) The Socceroos (a combination of the words soccer and kangaroos) a Canarinha ( the Canary Yellows in Portuguese) Les Lions Indomptables ( the Indomitable Lions in French) La Roja ( the Reds in Spanish) Les Éléphants ( the Elephants in French) Danish Dynamite The Three Lions Les Bleus ( the Blues in French) Die Mannschaft ( the Team in German) The Black Stars To Peiratiko ( the Pirate Ship in Greek), Peirates ( the Pirates in Greek) La Bicolor, Los Catrachos ( the Bicolours in Spanish. Catracho is Spanish slang for a citizen of Honduras) Azzurri ( the Blues in Italian) Samurai Blue Chollima (a mythical Korean horse) The Taeguk Warriors El Tri ( the Tricolours ) Oranje ( the Orange in Dutch) The All Whites The Super Eagles La Albirroja ( the White and Reds in Spanish) Seleção das Quinas ( the Selection of the Shields in Portuguese) Belo Orlovi ( the White Eagles in Serbian) Narodny Tim ( the National Team in Slovak) Reprezentanca ( the Representatives in Slovenian) Bafana, Bafana ( Boys, Boys in Zulu) La Furia Roja, La Roja (the Red Fury, the Reds in Spanish) Nati (short for Nationalmannschaft, meaning national team in German) La Celeste (the Sky Blues in Spanish) The Stars and Stripes Not all of the teams alternative names are so playful. Germany, for example, are known simply as die Mannschaft ( the Team ) or Nationalmannschaft ( the National Team ), while in Switzerland the fans refer to their team as die Nati (an abbreviation of Nationalmannschaft). But even such seemingly straightforward nametags can tell a story. Germany has had a number of flags in the past, and there have been difficulties in choosing an exact colour, unlike in Italy, where blue is the colour of the House of Savoy, or in France, where blue has traditionally been the national colour, explains Mignon. Germany s decision to call their team die Mannschaft also demonstrates the great value that is attached to the collective, to the team, and the sense of discipline which is expected. Whatever the reasons for the nicknames, or their effect on each nation s psyche, one thing is clear: at a tournament already brimming with talented teams and individuals, the widespread use of such pet names can only add to the excitement as millions of people around the world tune in to watch the four-yearly battle of elephants, eagles, lions, foxes, warriors and pirates, all eagerly out to defend their cherished colours. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 149

150 THE MEN IN THE MIDDLE The names of the 32 teams who qualify for the FIFA World Cup and their individual players may change from tournament to tournament but there is one team, traditionally dressed in black, who are ever-present and without whom no FIFA World Cup could take place. The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will involve a team of 30 refereeing trios drawn from 28 different countries, made up of 24 active trios along with six supporting trios who will be called upon if any of the designated officials are unable to take part, for example due to injury or illness. As well as having the support of their colleagues, the match officials at this year s FIFA World Cup have received the backing of the most comprehensive refereeing development programme ever operated by world football s governing body. Created in 2007, and drawing heavily on the experiences of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, FIFA s Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) has followed and nurtured an elite group of prospective World Cup referees, carefully whittling down the original list of 54 trios to select the final line-up of top officials from around the world to take part in FIFA s flagship event. Courses, training seminars, performance feedback sessions and physical training programmes were among the most important elements of a programme aimed at helping the referees attain peak condition during South Africa s month-long footballing festival. International experts in the fields of refereeing technique, fitness and psychology provided the referees with valuable input while the latest technology was employed to further aid the referees with practical training and interactive sessions. Theoretical tests were also undertaken exclusively in English the lingua franca for FIFA s referees for many years to ensure appropriate knowledge of the Laws of the Game, the regulations for FIFA competitions and the directives of the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The importance of all this hard work was underlined in March this year when the IFAB emphatically ruled out calls for the use of goal-line technology in football, insisting that the sport should continue to rely on human decisions and that those decisions should remain the responsibility of the referee. Through programmes such as the RAP, however, FIFA is working hard to ensure that the officials are not alone in bearing that responsibility. To err is human, and referees, like players, make mistakes. However, a wrong decision by a referee at a FIFA World Cup can have serious consequences for the overall competition. In order to anticipate and prevent as many of these mistakes as possible, the FIFA Refereeing Department ensures that the referees performances are studied scrupulously on the same day of the match by the FIFA match analysts, assisted by the RAP IT specialists. In order to further improve performance levels, the FIFA Refereeing Department also organises debriefing sessions the day after matches, during which all controversial refereeing decisions are discussed in detail by the RAP instructors and the referees. During these sessions, the referees also benefit from the analysis of specialists from the RAP biomechanical project, who scientifically dissect each of the referee s movements during a given match and demonstrate the importance of the referee s positioning on the pitch when he makes a decision. Thanks to rigorous preparation, extensive training and their clear passion for their profession, the 30 referees profiled on the following pages will be doing their utmost this month to ensure that the world s attention is focused not on them, but on the other 32 teams taking part at this year s event. 150 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

151 Joel AGUILAR (El Salvador) Age: 34, turns 35 on July 2 Residence: San Salvador Profession: Professor International referee since: 2001 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Reading, writing, listening to music Assistants: William TORRES, (El Salvador) Juan ZUMBA (El Salvador) The youngest of the referees selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Joel Aguilar has often been ahead of his years. He was only 25 when he refereed his first game in El Salvador s top division and was still in his twenties when he took charge of the nerve-jangling 2004 Apertura final between C.D. FAS and Atlético Balboa, a match which was eventually decided by a penalty shootout. Aguilar has refereed at two CONCACAF Gold Cups and three FIFA youth competitions. His tally of nine final-phase FIFA matches so far is more than any other Salvadoran referee to date. Aguilar became a referee by accident. He used to lead a church team for children and whenever referees failed to show up he would officiate the match so that the children would not miss out on playing. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the speed at which the game is played as well as being able to deal with diving, an area in which, he says, there is little fair play. Khalil AL GHAMDI (Saudi Arabia) Age: 39 Residence: Jeddah Profession: Teacher International referee since: 2003 Mother tongue: Arabic Other languages: English Hobbies: Swimming, travel Assistants: Hassan KAMRANIFAR (Iran) Saleh AL MARZOUQI (UAE) A top-flight referee in the Saudi Professional League since 1996, Khalil Al Ghamdi joined the FIFA international list in 2003 and was selected for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Finland, where he took charge of two first-round matches. Two years later he took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, before officiating the final of the AFC Cup between Al Faisaly of Jordan and Al-Nejmeh of Lebanon. Al Ghamdi presided over two important matches in the third and decisive round of Asian qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, before carrying out fourth official duties at several matches during Germany 2006 itself. Since then he has officiated at the FIFA Club World Cup, the Beijing Men s Olympic Football Tournament in 2008 and the Africa Cup of Nations Al Ghamdi, who became a referee after hanging up his playing boots, describes the psychological and physical preparation levels required in professional football as the biggest challenge facing referees today. Carlos AMARILLA (Paraguay) Age: 39 Residence: Asunción Profession: Electrical engineer International referee since: 1997 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English, Portuguese Hobbies: Family, music, reading, cinema, sport Assistants: Emigdio RUIZ (Paraguay) Nicolas YEGROS (Paraguay) A highly experienced referee who began his professional career in 1992, rising to the international ranks five years later. He made his debut at the finals of a FIFA tournament in the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2001 in Argentina and has been a regular official in South American club competitions including the Copa Sudamericana, where he has refereed three finals, and the Copa Libertadores. He is one of only seven referees with experience of two separate FIFA Confederations Cup tournaments, having been called up in both 2003 and He also presided over two consecutive Copa América finals, in 2004 and 2007, with both finals featuring Brazil and Argentina. Now getting ready for his second FIFA World Cup, Amarilla took charge of three group stage matches at the 2006 edition. Refereeing runs in Amarilla s family as his father and two younger brothers have also officiated at various levels. Hector BALDASSI (Argentina) Age: 44 Residence: Rio Ceballos Cordoba Profession: Businessman International referee since: 2000 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Golf Assistants: Ricardo CASAS (Argentina) Hernan MAIDANA (Argentina) A highly experienced official who first started refereeing at the age of 25, Baldassi took charge of his first top-flight league match in Argentina s Primera División just over a decade ago. Since then he has overseen high-level matches in the Copa Libertadores, Copa América and Copa Sudamericana in which he was appointed to the 2006 final. During the qualifying stages for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Baldassi was placed in charge of eight matches, a record equalled only by his compatriot Horacio Elizondo. Since then he has been called upon to officiate at FIFA U-20 World Cups in 2007 and 2009 and at the Men s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing in Last year he took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and also officiated seven CONCACAF 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. An ardent golfer, Baldassi believes that the biggest challenge facing referees is the split second in time that they have to make decisions. Benito ARCHUNDIA (Mexico) Carlos BATRES (Guatemala) Age: 44 Residence: Tlalnepantla Profession: Lawyer and economist International referee since: 1993 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Playing football, physical training, playing video games, reading Assistants: Hector VERGARA (Canada) Marvin TORRENTERA (Mexico) One of the most experienced referees selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Benito Archundia has a wealth of top-level refereeing knowledge to call upon, all of which started with the day he took charge of his first match in the Mexican Primera División aged just 25. Entered on the FIFA international list just two years later in 1993, he was immediately appointed to referee at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Japan, where he handled the semi-final between Nigeria and Poland. Since then, Archundia has been a regular CONCACAF Gold Cup, FIFA youth tournament and Olympic Football Tournament referee. His first senior FIFA competition was the FIFA Confederations Cup 2001, a competition he returned to last year in South Africa. In 2009 he also refereed the FIFA Club World Cup final between Barcelona and Estudiantes. Perhaps the biggest highlight so far for Archundia, however, were his performances at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany where he became the first referee to oversee five matches at one tournament. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the discrepancy between a referee s limited view and the multiple angles shown by television. Age: 42 Residence: Guatemala City Profession: Scientist International referee since: 1996 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Sport, reading, family Assistants: Leonel LEAL (Costa Rica) Carlos PASTRANA (Honduras) Formerly a central defender in the youth ranks of San Gabriel, Carlos Batres stumbled into refereeing at the age of 15 when he stood in to officiate a match after the original referee failed to appear. He made his top-flight debut in the Guatemalan league in 1994 and joined the FIFA international list in The vast amount of international experience he has acquired since then includes five CONCACAF Gold Cups at which he has taken charge of an unprecedented three finals and two FIFA U-17 World Cups (in 1999 and 2009). He has also participated in two FIFA Confederations Cups (in 2001 and 2003) and two FIFA Club World Cups, describing the 2006 final as his most memorable game to date. He is now preparing for his second FIFA World Cup, having also been on board for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, where he handled two games, including the round of 16 encounter between Germany and Paraguay. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 151

152 Olegário BENQUERENÇA (Portugal) Age: 40 Residence: Leiria Profession: Insurance professional International referee since: 2001 Mother tongue: Portuguese Other languages: English, French, Spanish Hobbies: Music, singing, racing cars Assistants: José CARDINAL (Portugal) Bertino MIRANDA (Portugal) Benquerença was born the son of a referee and, after playing the game as a youngster, eventually followed in his father s footsteps. He took charge of his first match in Portugal s top tier during the season, before gaining international status in In 2005 he refereed three European Zone qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was then selected for FIFA U-17 World Cup action in 2007 when he oversaw one round of 16 match before presiding over the third-place play-off which pitted Germany against Ghana. In 2009 he took charge of a UEFA Cup semi-final between Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, refereed at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and took charge of the second leg of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off between Ukraine and Greece. The Portuguese official thinks that one of the biggest challenges facing referees today is the difference between what the referee sees and what the camera sees and thinks it is important for referees to continually improve their skills. Massimo BUSACCA (Switzerland) Age: 40 Residence: Monte Carrasso Profession: Company proprietor International referee since: 1999 Mother tongue: Italian Other languages: English, French, German, Spanish Hobbies: Skiing Assistants: Matthias Arnet (Switzerland) Francesco Buragina (Switzerland) After first aiming for a career as a footballer, and reaching Switzerland s fifth division, Massimo Busacca switched to refereeing after realising that he could not achieve the top level as a player. He has wasted little time in doing so as a player, making his Swiss first-division refereeing debut in 1996 before celebrating his international breakthrough three years later in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Since then, he has been one of the busiest referees in European club-level competitions, officiating in a UEFA Cup semi-final in 2005 and then the 2007 Espanyol-Sevilla final, before reaching the pinnacle of club football with the 2009 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. He was involved in the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany up until the round of 16, overseeing three matches. He also took part in UEFA EURO 2008 and presided over the Germany v. Turkey semi-final. Last season he was particularly busy, taking part in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria and various FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying matches including the decisive second-leg play-off between Uruguay and Costa Rica. Jerome DAMON (South Africa) Age: 38 Residence: Cape Town Profession: English and life skills teacher International referee since: 2000 Mother tongue: English Other languages: Afrikaans Hobbies: Watching sport (rugby/cricket), playing chess and working with young people Assistants: Celestin NTAGUNGIRA (Rwanda) Enock MOLEFE (South Africa) Jerome Damon was ju st 24 when he began refereeing matches in the top flight of South African football. He made his way on to the international stage in 2000, but had to wait three years for his first meeting of national sides, a Swaziland-Botswana qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations. Since then he has officiated at three editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup and four CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and in 2008 became the first South African referee to officiate at an Olympic Football Tournament. Four years ago he was a fourth official at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, an experience which he lists among his fondest memories along with his selection as a candidate for Damon, whose father was a former South African head of refereeing, believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is trying to see every case of foul play on the pitch. Mohamed BENOUZA (Algeria) Koman COULIBALY (Mali) Age: 39, turns 40 on 4 July Residence: Bamako Profession: Finance inspector International referee since: 1999 Mother tongue: Bambara Other languages: English, French Hobbies: Former volleyball player Assistants: Redouane ACHIK (Morocco), Inácio CÂNDIDO (Angola) A keen former volleyball player, Koman Coulibaly presided over his first match in Mali s top league at the age of 26, and was picked as a FIFA referee in 1999 after just three seasons at the top level, his international debut coming that same year during the first round of the CAF Champions League. He has been involved in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations since 2002, and this year took charge of the tournament final between Egypt and Ghana. In the run-up to both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups he officiated eight African zone qualification ties, more than any other African referee. A fan of football in his spare time as well, Coulibaly describes Senegal s shock win over France at the 2002 FIFA World Cup as his fondest sporting memory. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is always trying to minimise errors with the goal of reaching a zero error rate something which he acknowledges as being difficult given the increasing pace of world football. Frank DE BLEECKERE (Belgium) Age: 37 Residence: Oran Profession: Businessman International referee since: 2001 Mother tongue: Arabic Other languages: English, French Hobbies: Reading and sport Assistants: Nasser ABDEL NABI (Egypt), Mamar CHABANE (Algeria) Mohamed Benouza took charge of his first match in Algeria s top league at the tender age of 24, before gaining international status in 2001 while still only 29 years old. He was selected for his first international tournament in 2003, overseeing two matches at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and went on to handle three games at both the Canada 2007 and Egypt 2009 editions of the event. He has also officiated at the last three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations and at last year s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, and, at club level, recently oversaw the second leg of the 2009 CAF Champions League final between Mazembe and Heartland. Benouza, who has also officiated domestic league encounters in Tunisia and Qatar, has taken charge of more final-phase matches in FIFA competitions than any other Algerian referee to date. Age: 43, turns 44 on July 1 Residence: Oudenaarde Profession: PR manager International referee since: 1998 Mother tongue: Dutch Other languages: English, French, German Hobbies: Tennis, travelling Assistants: Peter HERMANS, (Belgium) Walter VROMANS (Belgium) After suffering a serious injury at the age of 18, Frank De Bleeckere swapped a playing career for the referee s shirt, making his Belgian Pro League debut in Since then he has risen to become one of the most recognised referees in UEFA club competitions, with highlights including three UEFA Cup semi-finals, the 2007 Champions League semi-final between AC Milan and Manchester United and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup final between Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk. A veteran of three FIFA youth competitions, De Bleeckere was called up for senior duty at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, where he oversaw four matches including a quarter-final. He was then chosen for three matches at EURO 2008, including the Spain-Russia semi-final. Much of De Bleeckere s inspiration for becoming a referee lies in family tradition as both his father and grandfather were referees in Belgium s top flight. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the camera and media proximity, explaining that every detail matters which requires a completely different type of mentality compared to the past. 152 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

153 Martin HANSSON (Sweden) Age: 39 Residence: Holmsjö Profession: Referee International referee since: 2001 Mother tongue: Swedish Other languages: English, German Hobbies: Hunting, fishing Assistants: Henrik ANDREN (Sweden) Stefan WITTBERG (Sweden) Michael HESTER (New Zealand) Age: 38 Residence: Auckland Profession: Naval officer International referee since: 2007 Mother tongue: English Other languages: - Hobbies: Snowboarding, travel, golf Assistants: Jan-Hendrik HINTZ (New Zealand) Tevita MAKASINI (Tonga) After getting his first taste of refereeing at the tender age of 15, Martin Hansson took charge of his first game in the top tier of Swedish football in His international career began in 2001, with the UEFA European U-16 Championship, as well as a UEFA Champions League qualifying match between Sheriff Tiraspol and Anderlecht. In 2003, he oversaw his first meeting of national teams (Estonia v. Canada), and received his first call-up for a FIFA event at that year s U-17 World Cup in Finland. He was subsequently chosen for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007 in Canada, where he took charge of six games a competition record and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, where he oversaw the final between USA and Brazil. Hansson was asked to start refereeing due to a lack of officials at his local club and immediately enjoyed it. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is protecting the game from violent behaviour and making sure that cheats do not prosper. Ravshan IRMATOV (Uzbekistan) Age: 32 Residence: Tashkent Profession: School football instructor International referee since: 2003 Mother tongue: Uzbek Other languages: English, Russian Hobbies: Football, swimming, tennis Assistants: Rafael ILYASOV (Uzbekistan) Bahadyr Kocharov (Kyrgyzstan) With an international career dating back to 2003, Ravshan Irmatov is the only Uzbek referee to have officiated in the finals of a FIFA tournament to date. He has appeared three times at the FIFA U-17 World Cup (2003, 2007 and 2009), once at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and also at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008, where he not only handled the quarter-final meeting of Al Ahly and Pachuca, but also took charge of the Liga de Quito-Manchester United final. Irmatov officiated eight Asian qualifying matches for South Africa 2010 and was voted as AFC referee of the year in both 2008 and Irmatov is a keen hobby footballer and it was during an injury lay-off in 1996 that his father, at the time a national-level referee, suggested that his son take up refereeing advice he is now glad that he followed! Irmatov says that the biggest challenge facing referees today is overseeing the safety of players during a match and trying to prevent excessively forceful tackles. Stéphane LANNOY (France) Age: 39 Residence: Sailly-sur-la-Lys Profession: Salesman International referee since: 2006 Mother tongue: French Other languages: English Hobbies: Reading, cinema Assistants: Eric DANSAULT (France) Laurent UGO (France) Stephane Lannoy played football up until the age of 20, before donning the referee s shirt and going on to make his French top-flight debut in the season. He achieved international status in 2006, taking charge of his first senior international match (a Spain-Croatia friendly) in the same year. Since then he has officiated at the UEFA European U-21 Championship, refereed in the UEFA Champions League, served as a fourth official at EURO 2008 and presided over Brazil v. New Zealand at the Men s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing His first FIFA finals competition came at last year s U-17 World Cup in Nigeria where he took charge of three matches. As well as being a referee and a former player, Lannoy has experience as a youth level coach. Football runs in his family, as his father also coaches youngsters. Lannoy says that the biggest challenge facing referees today lies in adapting to the modernisation and evolution of the game. Although a New Zealander, Michael Hester was actually born in Australia. He is also one of the most recent recruits to the ranks of international referees, making his international debut at the 2007 South Pacific Games, where he took charge of the Fiji-New Caledonia final. The following year, he was selected for the Men s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, where he officiated in two first-round matches. In 2009 he was appointed to both the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA U-17 World Cup where he presided over five matches including the semi-final between Colombia and Switzerland. Hester s involvement with football began as a player. However, as he approached his late 20s he realised that his playing ambition exceeded his ability and he therefore decided to try refereeing instead. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the single split-second view that they have of a match situation compared to the multitude of camera views from which they are now scrutinised. Viktor KASSAI (Hungary) Age: 34 Residence: Tatabanya Profession: Sales manager International referee since: 2003 Mother tongue: Hungarian Other languages: English Hobbies: Sport, cinema Assistants: Gabor EROS (Hungary) Tibor VAMOS (Hungary) Viktor Kassai became the first Hungarian referee to officiate an Olympic final when he took charge of the Argentina-Nigeria gold-medal decider at the Men s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, just under ten years after making his top-flight refereeing debut in Hungary in In between those career milestones, he has overseen FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, games at two FIFA youth events (the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007 and FIFA U-17 World Cup 2009) and participated at EURO 2008 as a fourth official. More recent preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup included the first leg of the qualifying play-off between New Zealand and Bahrain. When Kassai was just 15, he and his brother were both advised to take up refereeing by their father, himself a referee since Asked about the biggest challenge faced by referees today, Kassai comments that many players seem prepared to do anything to win, regardless of fair play. Referees therefore have to take care that they provide the best control possible on the pitch, he says. Jorge LARRIONDA (Uruguay) Age: 42 Residence: Montevideo Profession: Clerk International referee since: 1998 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Breeding animals (birds, dogs, parrots, etc.) Assistants: Pablo FANDINO (Uruguay) Mauricio ESPINOSA (Uruguay) The grandson of former Uruguayan top-division player Luis Pietrafesa, Jorge Larrionda was himself a decent striker who made it as far as the country s sixth division. He achieved far greater success, however, after switching to refereeing, reaching Uruguay s top flight in His international refereeing debut came five years later at the 1998 Copa Libertadores. No stranger to big occasions, Larrionda has taken charge of nine finals in international club competitions: five times in the Copa Libertadores, once in the Intercontinental Cup, once in the Recopa Sudamericana and twice in the Copa Sudamericana. Stepping up to world football s biggest event at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, Larrionda became the first Uruguayan referee to take part since Ernesto Filippi in 1994, officiating in four matches, including the France- Portugal semi-final. Other national team competitions have included two Copa Américas and two FIFA Confederations Cups, including last year s edition in South Africa, where Larrionda handled the USA s shock semi-final defeat of European champions Spain. Among his most memorable matches was a game between Penarol and Villa Espanola in which Larrionda awarded no fewer than five penalties. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 153

154 Eddy MAILLET (Seychelles) Age: 42 Residence: Victoria, Mahe Profession: Refereeing coordinator International referee since: 2001 Mother tongue: English Other languages: Creole, French Hobbies: Hockey Assistants: Evarist MENKOUANDE (Cameroon) Bechir HASSANI (Tunisia) Eddy Maillet is the refereeing coordinator for his country s FA and the only referee from the Seychelles to have officiated at the finals of a FIFA tournament. His career record includes three FIFA U-17 World Cup competitions, including the 2007 edition in Korea where his total of seven matches made him the referee with the most appearances in the history of the tournament. He has also officiated at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and at the last four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and oversaw several 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, including the decisive play-off between Algeria and Egypt. Maillet first became a referee because his playing days had come to an end and he wanted to continue his involvement in football. He believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is physical fitness and trying to maintain it at a top, professional level. Yuichi NISHIMURA (Japan) Age: 38 Residence: Tokyo Profession: Referee International referee since: 2004 Mother tongue: Japanese Other languages: English Hobbies: Golf Assistants: SAGARA (Japan) JEONG Hae Sang (Korea Republic) After two seasons in the J. League, Yuichi Nishimura s international debut came in 2004 with a Thailand-United Arab Emirates FIFA World Cup qualifier. His nerves were tested two years later in an AFC Champions League semifinal between Kuwaiti side Al Qadisiya and Syria s Al Karamah when a missed penalty led frustrated home fans to throw a smoke bomb and other objects on to the pitch. After suspending the match for 20 minutes, Nishimura was praised for resuming the match and bringing it to a normal conclusion. In 2007 he oversaw the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup between Spain and Nigeria, listing the experience as one of his fondest football memories, and has since refereed at the 2008 CAF Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA U-20 World Cup Somewhat ironically it was an example of bad refereeing that led Nishimura to his eventual profession. In an earlier role as coach of a youth team, Nishimura remembers seeing the dreams of his young players shattered by some poor officiating, something which inspired him to become a referee himself. Pablo POZO (Chile) Age: 37 Residence: Santiago Profession: Auditor International referee since: 1999 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Family, sport Assistants: Patricio BASUALTO (Chile) Francisco MONDRIA (Chile) Pablo Pozo, whose father was also a professional referee, made his debut in the Chilean Primera División in 1997, going on to officiate in six Chilean title matches. In an international career that began in 2003, he has appeared at all the South American youth competitions: U-17, U-20 and the U-23 pre-olympic tournament. Along with numerous club competition matches, he took charge of three matches at the Men s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, two games at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008, three games at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009 and two matches at last year s FIFA Confederations Cup, including Spain s group-stage encounter with the South African hosts. For Pozo, football is a family tradition as his brother, Mauricio, was a professional football player and his father was also a professional referee. Pozo believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the level of professionalism which it has acquired and the preparation levels that this has necessitated. Subkhiddin MOHD SALLEH (Malaysia) Peter O LEARY (New Zealand) Age: 38 Residence: Hamilton Profession: Teacher International referee since: 2003 Mother tongue: English Other languages: - Hobbies: Friends and family, reading, fishing, hiking Assistants: Brent BEST (New Zealand) Matthew TARO (Solomon Islands) Since 1994, Peter O Leary has been able to combine his life as a high-school science teacher with a refereeing career that first took him to New Zealand s top flight in 1999, with international status following in In 2007 he was selected for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where he took charge of the match for third place between Étoile du Sahel and Urawa Red Diamonds. He returned to the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008 and 2009, with last year s busy schedule also including call-ups to the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups. As well as his New Zealand and Australian league games, O Leary also made an unexpected appearance in the English Premier League in While watching Aston Villa play Sunderland as a guest of the referee Steve Bennett, he was called down from the stands at half-time to replace the injured fourth official. Marco RODRÍGUEZ (Mexico) Age: 43 Residence: Parit Buntar (Perak) Profession: Teacher International referee since: 2000 Mother tongue: Malay Other languages: English Hobbies: Bowling and snooker Assistants: MU Yuxin (China PR) Jeffrey GEK PHENG (Singapore) After working his way to the top flight of Malaysian football by the age of 30, Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh gained international status in 2000, and has subsequently established himself as one of Asia s most sought-after referees. In 2004 he refereed in two high-profile final competitions, the Asian Cup and the Olympic Football Tournament, following this up with appearances at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in 2005, the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, and at last year s FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups in Nigeria and Egypt respectively, making him the first Malaysian referee to have been involved in five FIFA tournament finals. He has also taken charge of more 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying games than any other referee: 11 in total. Salleh hails from a large family, as one of ten siblings (five boys and five girls). It was his numerous brothers, all of them keen young footballers, who encouraged him to be a referee, with further inspiration coming from his uncle, a respected referee in the late 1970s. Age: 36 Residence: Mexico City Profession: Physical education teacher International referee since: 1999 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English Hobbies: Music, cycling, swimming, reading the Bible Assistants: José Luis CAMARGO (Mexico) Alberto MORIN (Mexico) After more than ten years as an international-level referee, Marco Rodríguez is now preparing for his second FIFA World Cup, having joined compatriot Benito Archundia on the list of selected referees for the 2006 edition. Four years ago, Rodríguez and Archundia were the only two referees from the same country to be chosen for the tournament in Germany, an honour which they share this year with New Zealand duo Michael Hester and Peter O Leary. Rodríguez oversaw two group-stage matches at Germany 2006, while the rest of his impressive resumé includes matches at FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, CONCACAF Gold Cup games, Copa América duties including a 2003 semifinal between Brazil and Uruguay and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup final. Rodríguez was inspired to become a referee after watching fellow Mexican Edgardo Codesal take charge of the 1990 FIFA World Cup final between West Germany and Argentina. 154 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

155 Roberto ROSETTI (Italy) Age: 42 Residence: Turin Profession: Hospital manager International referee since: 2002 Mother tongue: Italian Other languages: English, French Hobbies: Tennis, movies, books Assistants: Paolo CALCAGNO (Italy) Stefano AYROLDI (Italy) Oscar RUIZ (Colombia) Age: 40 Residence: Villavicencio Profession: Lawyer, university teacher International referee since: 1995 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English, Portuguese Hobbies: Music, reading, watching sport Assistants: Abraham GONZÁLEZ (Colombia) Humberto CLAVIJO (Colombia) Unsurprisingly perhaps, Roberto Rosetti lists EURO 2008 among his fondest football memories, a tournament at which the Italian was handed the unprecedented honour of refereeing not only the opening match between hosts Switzerland and the Czech Republic, but also the final in Vienna between Germany and eventual champions Spain. That match has been the biggest highlight so far on an impressive refereeing CV which also includes games at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Rosetti oversaw four matches at that tournament, up until the round of 16, but took no further part due to the progress of his beloved Italy towards their eventual title win. Other FIFA competitions have included the FIFA World Youth Championship 2003, last year s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and the FIFA Confederations Cup Germany 2005, in which Rosetti ordered Mexico s Jared Borgetti to retake a penalty against Brazil not once but twice. Last year, he officiated the final of the Italian Cup, the all- English UEFA Champions League semi-final between Arsenal and Manchester United and another semi-final at the FIFA Club World Cup. Now getting ready for his third FIFA World Cup, Oscar Ruiz is one of the world s most experienced football referees, and it would be almost quicker to list the competitions at which he has not officiated than those at which he has. The Colombian has taken charge of more games under the auspices of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) than any other referee, over 100 to date, and he also holds the record for matches in the Copa Libertadores. Ruiz has refereed in all CONMEBOL competitions, taking part in five editions of the Copa América and taking charge of three Copa Libertadores finals. Other appearances include the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2005, as well as involvement in four FIFA U-20 World Cups, one FIFA U-17 World Cup, two FIFA Club World Cups, the 2000 Intercontinental Cup final between Boca Juniors and Real Madrid, and two FIFA Confederations Cups. In South Africa this year, Ruiz will be looking to add to the four FIFA World Cup matches that he has handled so far three at Korea/Japan 2002 and one at Germany Carlos SIMON (Brazil) Age: 44 Residence: Braga Profession: Journalist International referee since: 1997 Mother tongue: Portuguese Other languages: English, Spanish Hobbies: Reading, sport Assistants: Altemir HAUSMANN (Brazil) Roberto BRAATZ (Brazil) Wolfgang STARK (Germany) Age: 40 Residence: Ergolding Profession: Banker International referee since: 1999 Mother tongue: German Other languages: English Hobbies: Sport Assistants: Jan-Hendrik SALVER (Germany) Mike PICKEL (Germany) Another of the highly experienced South American officials preparing for his third FIFA World Cup assignment in 2010, and indeed the oldest of the 30 selected referees, Carlos Simon has been officiating in Brazil s top flight for more than 15 years and is also a familiar face at top-level tournaments around the world. During the preliminary competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, he oversaw qualifiers organised by three different confederations: AFC, CONCACAF and, of course, CONMEBOL. In 2002 he made his debut at the FIFA World Cup proper, officiating two first-round matches in Japan. Four years later, his most high-profile encounter at the 2006 FIFA World Cup was the round of 16 encounter between Germany and Sweden. In 2009 he officiated two matches at the FIFA Club World Cup, including the semi-final between Atlante and Barcelona. Simon, who combines refereeing with a career in journalism, believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the physical demands required by top-level football. Alberto UNDIANO (Spain) Age: 36 Residence: Ansoain Profession: Sociologist International referee since: 2004 Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English, French Hobbies: Tennis Assistants: Fermin MARTÍNEZ (Spain) Juan Carlos YUSTE JIMENEZ (Spain) Alberto Undiano refereed his first match aged just 16 and ten seasons later made his Primera División debut, setting a record as the youngest referee in Spain s top league. He gained full international status in 2004 and has since overseen matches at two FIFA U-20 World Cups and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, along with UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. The Spaniard believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the pressure. Outside of football, he enjoys spending time with his family. Wolfgang Stark is an accomplished match official whose career has gone from strength to strength. Soon after making his Bundesliga debut at the age of 28, he was promoted to the FIFA international list in 1999, and has since overseen matches at the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups as well as at the 2008 Men s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. He has also refereed at the top levels of European club competition, including four matches at Liverpool s Anfield stadium, which he remembers as being the best atmosphere he has ever experienced at a football ground. The son of a former German Bundesliga assistant referee, Stark believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is the speed at which football is evolving. He says that referees have to read the game, stay in control, remember that they are not alone and work with both the players and fellow officials. Howard WEBB (England) Age: 38 Residence: London Profession: Referee International referee since: 2005 Mother tongue: English Other languages: - Hobbies: Family Assistants: Darren CANN (England) Michael MULLARKEY (England) Howard Webb refereed his first games at the age of 18 before progressing through the ranks to oversee his first Premier League match in International duties since then have included the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, where Webb presided over five matches, and EURO 2008, where he covered two first-round games. Last year, he took charge of the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Everton, four FIFA U-17 World Cup 2009 matches, and got a sneak preview of South Africa when he oversaw three matches at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Just 20 days before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup came another milestone when Webb was chosen to lead the 2010 UEFA Champions League final. Football runs in Webb s family as both his father and grandfather were involved in the sport his grandfather played professional football in the English Football League and his father refereed at regional level. Webb believes that the biggest challenge facing referees today is being able to cope with the pressures placed upon referees in a world where every situation and decision is scrutinised in detail. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 155

156 SUMMARY MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS ASIA AFRICA NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Defending champions Iraq will face their neighbours from Iran along with Korea DPR and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011, following an exciting draw in the Qatari capital Doha in April. It is a very interesting and unique draw, reckoned Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam as he looked ahead to the tournament taking place from 7-29 January next year. All the groups are very well and finely balanced. Iraq s win in the 2007 edition has reshaped Asian football like never before. AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 draw in full: Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China and Uzbekistan Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan and Syria Group C: Korea Republic, India, Australia and Bahrain Group D: Iraq, Korea DPR, UAE and Iran. The AFC has confirmed that it will hold an Extraordinary Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 8 June to consider, among other matters, proposals for amendments or alterations to the current AFC Statutes. Taking place three days before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the main purpose of the Congress is to bring the AFC s statutes fully into line with those of FIFA. The Sports Medicine and Traumatology Department of the Clinique Chahrazed in Algiers, Algeria, is set to become Africa s third FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence following recent approval by world football s governing body. Headed by Dr Yacine Zerguini, a member of the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) who also serves on the FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) medical committees, the centre will join the Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at Johannesburg s University of Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town s UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science & Sports Medicine. The first FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence at the Schulthess clinic in Zurich, headed by FIFA Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jiri Dvorak, was inaugurated in May The centres are designed to ensure that players on all continents know where to go for expert care in football medicine. All of the centres are established institutions in football medicine with long experience in working with players and teams. CAF recently staged a successful referees instructors evaluation course at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, with 52 referee instructors taking part in the event. Held from April, the course was designed to evaluate and improve the knowledge of instructors affiliated to CAF s member associations. I have gained much experience which I will now pass on to my colleagues back home, said Uganda s Catherine Adipo one of nine female officials who attended the course. Pachuca became the first team from their region to qualify three times for the FIFA Club World Cup when they saw off fellow Mexican outfit Cruz Azul to win the CONCACAF Champions League in April. Guillermo Rivarola s men fought their way back from a 2-1 first-leg defeat at the Estadio Azul, winning the return leg 1-0 thanks to a stoppage time strike from Edgar Benitez to triumph on the away goals rule. Pachuca s victory made them the second team to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2010, alongside Oceania representatives Hekari United (see OCEANIA). As part of its continuing efforts to develop and promote football in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) has made a donation of footballs to the Special Olympics Bahamas organisation. Announcing the donation at a joint event on 23 April, BFA President Anton Sealey said his administration was committed to supporting all football activities in the Commonwealth and that further support for the Special Olympics movement would be provided in future FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

157 SOUTH AMERICA OCEANIA EUROPE América de Cali striker Sergio Galván Rey became the most prolific goalscorer in the history of the Colombian football league in April when he scored his 218 th league goal during a 2-2 draw with Atlético Junior. Overlooked in his native Argentina, Rey was spotted by a scout from Colombian side Once Caldas in 1994 and has since been banging in goals at a phenomenal rate, first for Caldas and then for Atlético Nacional before signing for his current side at the start of this year. Rey, who was given Colombian citizenship in 2003, took just 547 matches to set the new record scoring at a rate of 0.39 goals a game. I never imagined being the top scorer in the history of Colombian football, the 36-yearold said afterwards. I just came to make the most of an opportunity, nothing more. Buenos Aires has been included after all among the venue cities for next year s Copa América in Argentina. The capital had initially been left off the list but CONMEBOL S executive committee confirmed in April that the tournament final would now be staged at the city s River Plate stadium. The tournament will otherwise be spread around the country, with matches in Santa Fe, Cordoba, Jujuy, Salta, San Juan and Mendoza and the opening game in La Plata, around 60 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. Argentina will be chasing a record 15 th South American championship title at the tournament, which they have not won on home soil since the 1959 edition. Papua New Guinea club Hekari United made football history in May when they became the first team from the Pacific Islands to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup. Hekari claimed the OFC Champions League title by beating New Zealand s twotime Oceania champions Waitakere United 4-2 on aggregate, despite losing the second leg 2-1 in Auckland. I want to dedicate our success to all the Pacific Island nations, team manageress Vonnie Eteaki Kapi-Natto said. This will be good motivation for our young people because they have seen that their brothers can compete and win at this level. The Oceania Football Confederation s new grassroots programme Just Play has been launched with resounding success in Vanuatu and in South Auckland, New Zealand. Developed by the OFC and its partners to promote physical activity for primary-aged children while encouraging community involvement and healthy living, the programme supports development in local clubs, schools and associations and provides brand new equipment such as balls, cones, bibs, whistles and training manuals for the volunteer instructors. Just Play will be rolled out across the Pacific Islands over the next three years and will involve more than 200,000 children, 4,000 teachers and volunteers and around 2,500 primary schools. The French Football Federation (FFF) has been working together with the country s ministry for health and sport and the French Red Cross on a comprehensive first aid training programme, aimed at training one coach, one player, one referee and one director from every club in France, whether amateur or professional. Motivated by that terrible moment in June 2003 when Cameroon international Marc-Vivien Foé suffered a fatal collapse in Lyons during his side s FIFA Confederations Cup match against Colombia, the ambitious programme got under way with a series of courses arranged for the FFF s 295 referees. The Italian Football Federation has launched a new Vivo Azzurro supporters card which will be made available to fans of the national team as of next season, with further plans already under way to run a similar scheme at club level. The idea is primarily to reward fan loyalty by offering services and benefits to card-holders, but the card will also play a role in deterring troublemakers. Any person who has been banned from attending sports events or convicted of a crime in a stadium in the previous five years will be ineligible for a card FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 157

158 BRAZIL OUST SPAIN FROM TOP SPOT Back on top: Kaká and Robinho celebrate during their 2-0 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in March. There was a dramatic change at the top in the April edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as record FIFA World Cup winners Brazil ended the five-month reign of Spain, reclaiming pole position and pushing the European champions back into second place. The switch of positions was entirely due to the devaluation of points held by the two teams under the ranking s four-year rolling system, with neither side playing a match during the preceding month. Brazil s ascent marked the seventh time that the Seleção have claimed top spot on the global ladder, a position that they have held for a total of 142 months since the launch of the ranking in Other moves of note in the top ten included Portugal s climb from fourth to third place the highest-ever position for the Portuguese and Argentina s jump from ninth spot to seventh. Among the teams moving in the other direction were the Netherlands (4 th, down 1), England (8 th, down 1) and France (10 th, down 2). Again, none of those teams were in action during the month. Indeed, only five matches were taken into account for April s edition, which was to be expected, given the proximity of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the fact that many national leagues and continental championships are now entering the home straight. As a result, the international match calendar does not have a reserved date for international matches in this period. The May ranking is likely to see plenty of upheaval as it will include the first batch of friendly matches being played in the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Due to be published on 26 May (after this issue of FIFA World had gone to print), the ranking can be accessed online via the magazine s web page: Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Points +/- Points 1 Brazil Spain Portugal Netherlands Italy Germany Argentina England Croatia France Russia Greece Egypt USA Chile Serbia Mexico Uruguay Cameroon Australia Nigeria Norway Slovenia Israel Ukraine Switzerland Côte d Ivoire Romania Czech Republic Paraguay Algeria Ghana Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Points +/- Points 33 Turkey Colombia Denmark Ecuador Sweden Slovakia Bulgaria Honduras Gabon Costa Rica Republic of Ireland Scotland Japan Latvia Korea Republic Lithuania Finland Venezuela Bosnia-Herzegovina Burkina Faso Peru Mali Tunisia Hungary Northern Ireland Poland Benin FYR Macedonia Iran Belgium Canada Austria Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Points +/- Points 65 Montenegro Saudi Arabia Bolivia Cyprus Bahrain Morocco El Salvador Zambia Togo Uganda Wales Panama Senegal New Zealand Jamaica Albania Belarus Iraq Malawi Moldova Angola China PR Guinea Haiti Mozambique South Africa Iceland Trinidad and Tobago Gambia Uzbekistan Qatar Kuwait FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

159 Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Points +/- Points 97 Oman Syria Armenia United Arab Emirates Congo Libya Jordan Estonia Thailand Korea DPR Rwanda Tanzania Yemen Azerbaijan Congo DR Namibia Zimbabwe Kenya Guatemala Botswana Cape Verde Islands Vietnam Antigua and Barbuda Georgia Sudan Guyana Ethiopia Grenada Cuba Faroe Islands Luxembourg Singapore Kazakhstan Fiji Swaziland India Sierra Leone Bermuda Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Points +/- Points 135 Barbados Tajikistan Indonesia Turkmenistan Hong Kong Suriname Equatorial Guinea Myanmar Maldives Chad Burundi New Caledonia Malaysia Liechtenstein Lesotho Madagascar St. Kitts and Nevis Liberia Vanuatu Malta Nicaragua Sri Lanka Lebanon Netherlands Antilles Eritrea Bangladesh Kyrgyzstan Nepal Niger St. Vincent and the Grenadines Mauritania Chinese Taipei Pakistan Puerto Rico Solomon Islands Philippines Cambodia Comoros Rank Team +/- Ranks Mar-Apr 2010 Note: Teams inactive for more than four years do not appear in the table. Points +/- Points 173 Mauritius Cayman Islands Laos Palestine Seychelles Somalia Samoa Mongolia Bahamas Belize Cook Islands Dominica Turks and Caicos Islands Tonga Dominican Republic Djibouti Guinea-Bissau St. Lucia Tahiti British Virgin Islands Afghanistan Brunei Darussalam Guam Macau Aruba Bhutan US Virgin Islands Timor-Leste Andorra American Samoa Anguilla Central African Republic Montserrat Papua New Guinea San Marino WHAT COUNTS TOWARDS THE RANKING? The results of all matches at A international level are taken into account by the World Ranking. These matches include: FIFA World Cup final competition matches FIFA World Cup qualifying competition matches Continental championship final competition matches Continental championship qualifying competition matches Friendly matches Ranking points are calculated on the basis of the following criteria: Points for a win, draw or defeat Type of competition (multiplication factor) Strength of opponents (multiplication factor) Strength of confederation in question (multiplication factor) To ensure that the FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking reflects the reality of world football, the results a team has recorded in the previous 12 months are the most important. Results from previous years are also taken into account, but their value decreases on an annual basis until four years after the match was played (100% of ranking points for matches in last 12 months, 50% for matches played months previously, 30% for months and 20% for months) at which point the result no longer has any impact on the ranking. FIFA CALENDAR JUNE-JULY June FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Johannesburg 8 June Confederation meetings/congresses 10 June 60 th FIFA Congress, Johannesburg 11 June 11 July 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa 13 July-1 August FIFA U-20 Women s World Cup Germany 2010 The USA will be back to defend their title at July s FIFA U-20 Women s World Cup. FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 159

160 FIFA ARCHIVE SS CONTE VERDE, ATLANTIC OCEAN 19 JUNE TO 5 JULY 1930 While teams and fans from South America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world are now making their way to South Africa by plane, Europe s footballing pioneers set forth for the first FIFA World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 by ship. With some 11,000 kilometres separating Uruguay from Europe, the journey to South America for the 1930 FIFA World Cup was a major logistical undertaking for the European participants. Nowadays it is possible to fly there directly in around 12 hours, but in those days the only way of reaching Montevideo without getting your feet (too) wet was to cross the high seas. And so it was in 1930 that teams from Romania, Belgium and France, accompanied by a FIFA delegation led by President Jules Rimet, set off on the luxury Italian liner Conte Verde. The journey, just short of three weeks long, took them from Genoa to Montevideo via Villefranche-sur-Mer, Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro, where they were joined on the passenger list by the Brazilians. Also joining them on board, safely stowed in the ship s safe, was the brand-new World Cup Trophy, later to be named the Jules Rimet Trophy. There are surely better ways for a football team to prepare for a World Cup than to spend three weeks amid what were at times choppy seas, but there could be no denying the pleasures offered by the Conte Verde, and in particular its galley. Many a player is said to have disembarked in Montevideo carrying a few extra pounds. The Atlantic crossing thus posed a formidable challenge for the teams coaches, who not only had to keep an eye on player discipline, but also ensure the fitness of their charges. Due to the lack of room on board the ocean steam ship, creative thinking was required to organise training sessions, as exercises with the ball were of course almost impossible. While the French team tried to maintain their fitness with jumping exercises over the ship s deck apparatus, the Romanians attempted to stay in shape with strictly monitored gymnastics, as our picture shows. These ultimately failed to have the required effect, however, as Romania, France and Belgium were sent packing after the group stage of this first edition of the tournament. With the finals in South Africa about to kick off, let us hope that the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull remains dormant and there is no repeat of Europe s airspace shutdown. With 9,000 kilometres lying between the Old Continent and the Cape of Good Hope by land or sea, it is unlikely that the tournament would see a European winner in such a case! 160 FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

161 FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 161

162 COMING UP In the August issue of FIFA World AND THE WINNER IS OUR FULL REVIEW OF THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP CELEBRATING HOPE FOOTBALL FOR HOPE GETS FESTIVE MY 2010 PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM WORLD FOOTBALL S BIGGEST EVENT Publication date: 30 July 2010 FIFA World No. 12, June/July 2010 Official monthly publication of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Publisher: FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box, CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland Tel.: +41-(0) Fax: +41-(0) Internet: feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org President: Joseph S. Blatter Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke Content: Communications & Public Affairs Director (acting): Nicolas Maingot Editor: Mark Ledsom Deputy editor: Alexander Koch Assistant editor: Albert Miller Cartoons/Illustrations: Beach Articles: Mark Ledsom, Alexander Koch, Albert Miller, Luxolo Mantambo, Daniela Leeb, Ahmed Schaefer, Mike Geddes, Thabo Sephuma, Raphaël Morgulis, David O Connor, Paul Calder, Pablo Aro Geraldes, Rex Gowar, Michael Lewis, Vladimir Novak, Mark Gleeson, Gordon Glen Watson, Michael Church, Ben Lyttleton, Federico Bassahun, Pablo San Roman, Stephanie Fulton, Matthias Kunz, Marius Schneider, Ravi Kumar, Suleiman Habuba, Steven Torres, Brian Homewood, Priscilla Duncan, Andre Vieli. Translations: Gabriela Straube (Head); Edward Brown, Andrew Loan, Stuart Makin, Gwenn Ward (English); Maxime Ferréol, Alexandre Károlyi, Nicolas Samier, Estelle Valensuela, Camille Lovichi, Armelle Marolle, Aurélia Ruetsch, Aurélien Sagnier (French); Helena Barrio, José Ibarra, Juan López Vera, Elanor Sinclair, Maritza García Arias, Alicia Hernández, Raquel Ruiz, Thomas von Ubrizsy (Spanish); Sandra Locher, Reto Gustin, Lorenz Mohler, Susanne Rahman (German); Apostroph AG Production: Hans-Peter Frei (Head); Marianne Crittin, Philipp Mahrer (Layout) Printing: Bruhin AG, Switzerland Photos: Getty Images, foto-net, Reuters Pictures, AFP Image Forum, pixathlon, Keystone, imago Contact: Please send any comments on FIFA World to feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org. For subscription information or to read an online version of the magazine, please visit Editorial deadline for this issue: Wednesday, 12 May 2010 Any views expressed in FIFA World do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA. The reproduction of photos and articles even partially is prohibited unless permission has been sought from the editors and a reference is made to the source ( FIFA 2010). The editors are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. The FIFA logo is a registered trademark. Produced and printed in Switzerland FIFA FIFA WORLD I JUNE/JULY 2010

163 For 31 days we ll come together to stand apart. To buy our tickets and never once sit in a seat. To bleed our colors and leave everything on the field. At the pub. In the street. Because in the end, no matter who wins, we all will remember how divided we stood. United in football. Express your true colors with the easier way to pay. more fans around the world go with Visa 2010 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

164 FEATURING THE BLAZE - THE MAESTRO - THE CAPITANO - THE SPARK - THE POWERHOUSE - THE THUNDER THE SPECIALIST - THE WINGMAN - THE LINK - THE GLADIATOR - THE CREATOR - THE TRIGGER & ZINEDINE ZIDANE FACEBOOK.COM/ADIDASFOOTBALL