Ronaldo Gets One Into The Back Of The Neck

BLOEMFONTEIN. Its beautiful to be in Bloemfontein. You can already hear the music on the streets from the local Bloemfontein Celtic Supporters, clad in green and gold today as opposed to their normal green hoops.

They are blaring music from massive speakers on an open top double-decker bus outside our office.

There can be no doubt, Bloemfontein has the best soccer supporters in South Africa! They know their way around a vuvuzela, but also know the power of voice, song and dance. Keep your eyes on the stands this afternoon.

Today Bafana Bafana, win or lose, will be serenaded and its going to be special. Perhaps my biggest gripe with the vuvuzela is that it can stifle other forms of mass expression at the match – whether it be chanting, or simply the ooohs and aaahs of the crowd at those critical moments.

Today is a day of song and the world will fully understand why South Africa is an exceptional place and a rightful 2010 host. Song has always played a critical role in the South African liberation struggle.

For any interested in exploring this issue further, you will be hard pressed to do better than watching Lee Hirsch’s brilliant 2003 documentary Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony. At a minimum, see if you can get your hands on the soundtrack. 

400 kms from home, Bloemfontein is a straight forward drive south from Johannesburg. Home to South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals and the capital of the Free State, formerly the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein is South Africa’s heartland – hearty, wholesome and soccer loving. As we approach the 16.00 kick-off, for certain, we are going to get our boogie on this afternoon. One year on from the passing of Michael Jackson and if France are defeated as expected, you can be sure they will blame on the boogie. A dead-rubber? This is the 2010 South African World Cup and even if Bafana Bafana fail to make the knock out rounds, the soccer loving people of Bloemfontein will remember the day the French farce came to town.

A brief comment on the Iberians

First to Portugal. A magnificent 7 from Carlos Quieroz’s charges on a rainy Cape Town afternoon against the No Kos and all of the sudden, the continental campaign is not looking so limp. Portugal tore the No Kos apart and by the end of it, one had massive sympathy for the DPK players who had fought so bravely against the Brazilians in a 2-1 defeat last week at Ellis Park. The No Kos were simply played off the park (pun intended). In particular, Ronaldo’s contribution should not be underestimated, capped off by a trick goal off the back of his neck – a bit of luck and magic that makes Ronaldo, in my opinion, one of the most scintillating players in world football. Brazil v. Portugal is now set up nicely for Friday in Durban with both teams hoping to make a statement prior to the knock out rounds. Assuming Spain can get a result against Chile at Loftus in Pretoria, either Portugal or Brazil can look forward to facing the European Champions in the Round of 16. 

Spain did what they need to do against the challenged Hondurans. 2-0 was good enough on the day to announce their presence at 2010, and while unspectacular, in David Villa, Xavi and others, the quality around the park in undeniable. On paper, the Spanish line up compares favourably to any other team in the competition, with the exception of maybe Brazil and Argentina. Compared to even the Dutch and certainly England, and you would think that the Spanish should have enough to get past most teams. The Swiss however proved otherwise and unless the Spanish find some inspiration, a la Portugal, then my belief remains that Spain will fall short. We are gearing up for Friday night in Pretoria and hope that Chile can pull a trick and knock the Spanish out. While this would deny us that mouth-watering Round of 16 clash, the Chileans have endured themselves to the neutrals with their attacking brand of football. While they qualified well from the South American group, they are still over-achieving thus far with maximum points from their two matches.

So after today, its back to Johannesburg tonight and tomorrow’s clash at Soccer City for Ghana v Germany. Its park and walk for us as we will dispense with the Rea Via and buy a R50 parking ticket to get us close to Soccer City tomorrow night and hopefully a hassle free get away at the end of the match to home. This is a big match for African hopes and with Germany wounded after the Serbian defeat, one fears for the Black Stars. This will be a defining match for the tournament as Ghana realistically, remain Africa’s last hope for knock out round glory.

Thursday is rest day (from the stadiums or do you prefer stadia) for the wicked and then Friday its back to Loftus for Chile v Spain before moving on to Rustenburg on Saturday for the start of the Round of 16. But for today, its time to bask in the Bloemfontein sun, song and dance. South African supporters seek a result today, but its unlikely their will be a clear winner on the field of play. For certain, the winners this afternoon be those green and gold clad supporters singing in the rafters. May the power of song lift the spirits of the nation today and usher this tournament to a new height.