World Cup 2010 Team and Player Watch - South Africa

With the world cup just round the corner i thought it would be a good idea to introduce the teams that have made it to the spectatcle and also highlight some players to watch.I'll also be trying to highlight the strengths and weakneses of the teams involved.

We'll start today with the host country : South Africa

Group : Part of Group A along with Mexico,Uruguay and France

'Bafana Bafana' as the host nation is fondly called has indeed come a long way from being banned by FIFA in 1962 to becoming the first African nation to host a football world cup in 2010.IPL 2 and the Confiderations cup in 2009 were wonderful advertisements for South Africa's readiness and capabalities to host tournaments of such magnitude.SA is all set to cash in on this once in lifetime type oppurtunity and various local industries are relishing the prospects of thousands of tourists coming to their shores for a holiday.
But will the host nation have enough to cheer about on the football pitch ?

I believe that the star performers for SA will be the one who play in other leagues since they would have seen players from all over the world and will be conversant with their strategies and weaknesses.

Strikers

Benny Mcarthy has 83 caps for SA and has spent time with Ajax,Porto,Blackburn Rovers and now West Ham.
Considering he is 32 he will most probably play as a shadow striker and might not be playable for the enire 90 minutes. The forward with the next highest number of international caps is Katlego Mphela who has 20 appearances to show.
The attack is definitely inexperienced.

Midfielders

Steven Piennar has been a real workhorse for the Everton midfield and considering he is 27 will be keen on a good showing in the world cup. Again, the SA midfield looks quite inexperienced and young and will definitely struggle against the likes of Mexico and France.

Defenders

The pick would be the skipper Aaron Mokoena who has the maximum number of caps (99).Known for his tough tackling, which even his country teamate Piennar experienced in an Everton – Portsmouth game.
32 year old Matthew Booth might also get a look in considering his 6 feet 6 inches frame. Due to his height he is considered one of the most important players when meeting opponents with tall players


South Africa are coached by Carlos Alberto Parreira. A wily and experience coach who was in charge of the Brazil team in the 2006 world cup.

Strengths : Home advantage
Weaknesses : Young squad with very limited exposure to world football and players.

Verdict: Unfortunatley i think the host team will not make it to the next round based on paper statistics and assuming France do not commit hara kiri

Other teams reviewed by me

Additional Articles:

Piennar beleives South Africa can advance beyond the group stages


Sources:

http://www.fifa.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_football_team

My entry in the intel sports inventor competition

I had posted earlier that Intel was running a competition where you could suggest some revolutinary changes in a sport of your choice.there was a limit of 400 words.

here's my entry

"In spite of all the big money flowing into football, incorrect referee decisions continue to dog the game. Several crucial matches have been lost due to human error. From Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ to Thierry Henry’s handball on Nov 18 which, knocked Ireland out of the 2010 world cup, the financial impact of these decisions has increased manifold over the years.

<>>

FIFA to hold extraordinary general meeting

FIFA, football’s world governing body, has announced an extraordinary general meeting in Cape Town on December 2 to discuss a series of pressing matters.

> Thierry Henry's handball in the World Cup play-off game against Ireland,
> the discovery of a match-fixing ring by German police and
>trouble surrounding the Algeria-Egypt qualifier are all expected to be on the agenda.

The executive committee was already due to meet on December 3 on Robben Island to discuss the draw to be held the following day.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171027/fifa-to-hold-extraordinary-general-meeting?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov24

Come on Sepp...give us some concrete decisions...

Le Hand of TH14 - Part Two

Here is some snippets of news which traces the time line of this controversy

1. The Match Result

The Republic of Ireland suffered cruellest of World Cup exits as France went through with a goal which should have been disallowed for handball.
Thierry Henry clearly handled before playing the ball for William Gallas to score the equaliser which saw France win the play-off 2-1 on aggregate.

The debate will rage on about the goal that took France to the 2010 finals in South Africa and how the officials failed to spot such a blatant handball and will likely reignite the debate about video technology being introduced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8367418.stm

2. FAI decides to put in a request for a playoff to FIFA

3. FIFA rejects the plea and Irish hearts are broken

Fifa has refused the Football Association of Ireland's request for a replay of France's World Cup play-off win over the Republic of Ireland.A Fifa statement read: "The result will not be changed and cannot be replayed."
And the French Football Federation (FFF) has no intention of proposing a replay, BBC sport has learned.
With Fifa having rejected the Republic's plea, it was thought Ireland's only hope was if France themselves came forward and backed plans for a replay - but the FFF believes such a notion to be a nonstarter, BBC Sport understands.

Even politician's got into the act

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen called on Fifa, football's world governing body, to order a replay, saying he would raise the issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a Brussels summit.
But France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon responded that the Irish government should not interfere in footballing decisions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8368100.stm