South Africa's day of destiny
After more than six years of fevered anticipation, South Africa is just hours away from the biggest match in its footballing history.
At 1600 local time on Friday, South Africa and Mexico will kick off the 2010 World Cup in front of 94,700 fans at Soccer City, Johannesburg, and a global television audience of more than one billion.
With the game now so tantalisingly close, Matthew Booth, Bafana Bafana's towering central defender and talisman, admits to experiencing mixed emotions.
Speaking from the team's hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, he told me: "Part of me wants to get the build up over with and just play football, but another part wants to keep soaking up the excitement and atmosphere."
The players are in no doubt that this will be the most important game of their lives, says Booth, and he believes a good start is crucial to his side's hopes for the tournament.
Booth believes South Africa will confound their doubters at the World Cup
"The Mexico game is vital for gathering momentum," he explains. "If we get out of this group, the euphoria and pandemonium in the streets will carry us through and anything could be possible."
The game will be the first competitive international at Soccer City, the awesome stadium built on the site of Nelson Mandela's homecoming to Soweto in 1990, following 27 years in prison.
Fittingly, the 91-year-old former president will be in the stands on Friday, for the first 15 minutes of the match at least, which will ratchet the emotion up another notch.
The level of excitement in the country already seems to have reached bursting point.
Ten players took part in an open-top bus ride through Sandton, the posh business district of Johannesburg, on Wednesday and 250,000 ecstatic fans turned out to cheer them.
"The whole populus seems to be going crazy for the World Cup," Booth says. "Going to training in our bus has been a fantastic experience, with everyone hooting and waving and willing us on."
The big worry is that the scale of the occasion could get to the players on Friday and they freeze. With Bafana Bafana ranked 86th in the world and their opponents 17th, the match is going to be tough enough anyway.
This is where South Africa's coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, will be so crucial, according to Booth. The Brazilian is the most experienced World Cup coach in history and knows what it's like to win the tournament, having triumphed with his home country in America in 1994.
"I'm sure a lot of the players will be nervous, so to have him at the helm is a very good thing for us," Booth says. "He is extremely calm and collected."
Parreira took over the reins from compatriot Joel Santana in October last year, when Bafana were in the doldrums following a run of eight defeats in nine matches.
Now they're full of confidence and optimism, having won five of their last six games, while going 12 without defeat.
How has Parreira effected such a turnaround?
"He installed immediate confidence in the players, because of his pedigree and motivational skills," Booth explains. "That really was most of his job done.
"He's also tried to bring an element of Brazilianess to the team and we are playing some fantastic football, carpet football, which is a joy to watch."
Every previous World Cup host has progressed to at least to the second round of the tournament and after being drawn with France, Mexico and Uruguay in Group A, the odds are against South Africa maintaining the record.
Yet Booth insists: "I've got total confidence we can progress, because we've turned things around. "If you'd asked me if we could get out of the group two years ago, I would probably have said no in all honesty.
"Now things have changed and I can't wait to prove everyone wrong, not just as a team but as a nation."
Booth promises to be one of the most compelling characters of this World Cup. The 6ft 6in defender is articulate, charismatic and unafraid to voice controversial opinions.
Parreira has transformed South Africa's fortunes since taking over last October
He has already spoken out about the lack of funding in South Africa for football, a predominantly black sport, compared to the traditionally white sports of rugby and cricket.
So the 33-year-old, who was born in the white, middle-class suburb of Fish Hoek, on the outskirts of Cape Town, has become a hero of the townships.
Booth, who is married to the Soweto-born supermodel Sonnia Bonneventia, has become one of the figureheads of this World Cup, taking part in the draw in Cape Town last December and doing numerous interviews with broadcasters from around the world.
It's a potentially wonderful World Cup story but for one, rather large problem - Booth isn't actually in the team at the moment.
Parreira has preferred Aaron Mokoena and Bongani Khumalo in central defence in Bafana's last few matches and is understandably reluctant to change a winning team.
"It doesn't look good for me," Booth admitted, "but I'm not putting my head down, I'm continuing to fight at training and show Mr Parreira that I want a place in the team.
"Who knows what will happen? I've just got to make sure I'm ready for any eventuality."
Booth is desperate to sample the atmosphere of Soccer City again, after getting a taster in the 2-1 win over Colombia in May.
"We were playing in front of 80,000 fans and the atmosphere was electric," he remembers.
"In my opinion it's the world's greatest stadium - it's brand spanking new, is a brilliant design and the atmosphere generated in that melting pot, the calabash, is awesome.
"You've just got to be there to witness it for yourself and I hope a lot of visiting fans get to do just that."
The stadium drips with symbolism. It's situated on the edge of Africa's most famous township, Soweto, and is built on the site of the old FNB Stadium, where Mandela made his homecoming speech in 1990,
The shape and panelled exterior of the stadium is designed to resemble a calabash, a traditional African cooking bowl, the pitch sinks into the ground, apparently evoking an open cast mine, and the players' tunnel is a replica of one of the mine shafts that used to dot this area of Johannesburg.
Booth is convinced Bafana have stars worthy of this historic stadium.
"Everyone knows about Steven Pienaar and I'm sure he can carry his Premier League form into the game and the tournament," he says.
"Then there's Teko Modise, our talented playmaker, who is looking very dangerous, and our keeper, Itumeleng Khune, who is in great form."
Now South Africa is just hoping the players can live up to the scale of the occasion come kick off on Friday.
* For up-to-the-minute updates, you can follow me on my Twitter feed
I'm a sports news reporter and write about most sports, but especially football, rugby union and cricket. I'll try and give you some insight into the stories setting the agenda in this blog. You can also follow me on 
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTH! But he's not starting tomorrow. Nightmare!
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I fear for the South Africans.
They will be the first host country to go out at the group stage.
It had to happen sooner or later.
But the world cup itself and becoming the first African country to host the world cup will far outweight the disappointment of an early exit.
England to win it, Rooney for the Golden boot.
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In the US, ESPN Classic was re-running US games last night. As sorry as the US was in 1994, we still progressed. South Africa is better prepared and better coached than we were then. I think South Africa will advance, and may even win the group. Mexico will crumble in Soccer City. They enjoy intimidating the US at Azteca in Mexico City, but are intimidated by 20,000 screaming US fans in my hometown, Columbus, Ohio. What will happen with 90,000 fans with vuvuzellas in South Africa? Motivated by Mandela being there in person, I see South Africa pulling the upset, with or without BOOOOTH!
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@ #2
S.A might exit in the group stages, yes. But hosting the first African WC is victory enough for the 'Rainbow Nation'.
To be honest, i fear for England! So much expectation and pressure!
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Bafana Bafana and Carlos Alberto Parreira look set to make history. Best wishes to the team and the fans.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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"Experts" come and go and we have to wait to see what happens. Remember when South Korea and Japan where in 'difficult' groups in 2002? the "experts" predicted they won't progress and what happened? i hope they do well and at least get out in any way. I believe they will with the home fans behind them. Getting a result against Mexico is key regardless of what happens in the other match
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Zeemo
"England to win it, Rooney for the Golden boot." Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha good one ohohohohohohoho
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South Africa are nearly 2/1 to win this afternoon and Ill be having a piece of that...home team first game of the world cup...dont know which Mexico will show up.... I absolutely fancy South Africa....Come on the Spring Box and bring on the greatest show on Earth...I cannot f'ing wait...
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Couple of developments since I wrote this piece yesterday afternoon:
* Mandela will not be attending the match, following the death of his great grand-daughter in a car accident. Obviously very, very sad - for the former president, the country and the tournament.
* Booth is on the bench for the game, with Aaron Mokoena and Bongani Khumalo preferred in central defence, as predicted.
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I hope they do well and at least get out in any way. I believe they will with the home fans behind them. Getting a result against Mexico is key regardless of what happens in the other match
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Firstly very sad news about the tragic death of Nelson Mandela's great grand daughter - A very sobering thought before the tournament begins.
I hope Bafana Bafana can win today - it would really set the tournament off on a great note, the longer they can stay in the better. Its a tough job but the support they have is amazing and lets hope it can get them through the group stages and than who knows!
It will be good if Booth can get on - the crowd clearly love the man with their chants of BOOOOOOOTH!!!
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Decent blog.
But can the BBC stop referring to teams by their nicknames? It's so middle-class and patronising to hear them continually called 'Bafana' or Mexico called 'El Tric' (in another article) and so on.
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Intention was to provide a bit of variation, #13 Midland 20, otherwise I would constantly have been referring to "South Africa".
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What terrible news about Mandela's great grandchild, a real downer for the opening ceremony. Still, i'm sure it will still be a spectacular event and i've got a feeling the opening game will be quite entertaining. However, what i'm really looking forward to today is seeing how good Uruguay can be and how potentially bad France might be.
I imagine the whole of Ireland are Uruguay fans tonight!
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Firstly, I'd like to extend my condolences to Nelson Mandela, his family and indeed to the South African nation following the death of Mandela's great-granddaughter in a fatal road accident. What a pity that this year's World Cup should enter in such a tragic way. Mandela will not be attending this afternoon's opening match as he tries to come to terms with the loss of Zenani. The one billion television viewers tuning in around the world will respect the legend's decision not to attend, I am certain of that.
So, to this afternoon's opening match which sees the hosts take on Mexico. Under Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bafana Bafana are revitalised and look a completely different team to the one prior to last year's Confederations Cup. With Everton's Steven Pienaar pulling the strings in midfield, Parreira's men will be looking to put the Central Americans on the back-foot. Here, the home fans have a huge duty of spurring on their heroes even when they may be under the cosh (bring out the vuvuzela trumpets).
On the other hand, Mexico will be looking to spoil the party. They have some very talented players in Dos Santos and Arsenal's Carlos Vela. In defence they boast Rafa Marquez who has bags of international experience. As England will know very well, the Mexicans should not be taken lightly. They have pace in abundance and are a real danger on the break. Coach Javier Aguirre is likely to start the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation meaning that the Mexicans will be looking to keep their midfield tight and compact and hit the hosts on the break with their blistering pace.
It looks set to be an entertaining opener. With the events leading up to today's math, South Africa will be looking to ease Mandela's pain with a hard-earned win. Whatever the outcome, let's hope the match will live up to its potential and be played in the right way free of any playacting/poor refereeing decisions.
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The home teams when on paper are ranked lowly, are always forecast for an early exit. And always there are surprises. USA, SOuth Korea. I would love to see them go through, especially at the expense of France and the hand of Thierri Henry hand.
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I must admit to being a little concerned, I have searched the BBC coverage of the World Cup from tv to radio, from online viewing to twitter, from blogs to match updates and I still can not find any sign of Suzie Perry doing the fashion report....
By the way, Brazil v Argentina final
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Shapa Bafana Bafana Shapa! Vuvuzelaaaaaaaaaaaaa! The 4 man attack of Teko the General Modise, Steven Schillo Piennar, Siphiwe things are nice Tshabalala & Katlego Killer Mphela will be key to South Africa progressing to the second round.
England and South Africa all the way.
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I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be hoping South Africa get at least a draw today. The sheer joy the people have been showing since the bid was successful needs to be refueled by a good performance by the team.
http://engfootyabroad.com/ - English Footballers Abroad
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If you believe in history repeating itself - go out and bet on South Africa to win the World Cup.
The reason
1966 Home team draw France, Mexico and Uruquay in the opening round - and England go on to win the title.
2010 Home team draw France, Mexico and Uruquay in the opening round.....
spooky or what?
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I switched on to the S.Africa/Mexico game and it's as bad as I expected. The sound of 50.000 idiots blowing those stupid horns completely ruins the game, it's like listening to 90 minutes of a swarm of angry bees. I have already switched off and won't be watching any more.
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Good start to World cup totally ruined by those vuvuzela things, had to turn sound off after 10 minutes, if it continues that bad I wont be watching past tomorrow afternoon
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club penguin cheats
I remembered the recent world cup 2010. It was intense(in a good way) and it was delightful. Fans are incredible in South Africa. and oh, do not forget Paul the octopus! It just felt bad when he died. Paul has so much potential. Also, the vuvuzuelas. Who can forget those annoying noise making trumpets? Conclusively, I would say that Africa World Cup 2010 is the best World cup ever! EVER!
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If we want to get a good job, we need to learn better than anybody else around you. This is a must. How come we get a job if we don’t want to go to school and finish our education? Education is really important in every people's life. Even if we are getting old, if we still want to study, we are young in mind. Life goes on and we do not want to stop learning (or at least keeping up). This is what I read in our university. Ragdoll Breeders
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Very good post! I enjoyed reading your post. I will become your subscriber and visit your website more often. Keep the good work!Thank you very much.
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I'm not sure how you guys could be saying that it was a dull or boring world cup, maybe it's just the American perspective (we're not too big on soccer) but it was the first time me or my friends ever watched the world cup and thought it was absoultely great. There were some very good match ups with some very good countries and I've got say I'm actually looking forward to the next world cup, even though I know the US won't win but I'll be rooting for my fathers home country of Argentina!
-Micheal
unlock iphone
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2010 was the best world cup ever. I stayed up and watched every single game. I cant wait till the next world cup. I hope greece can do alot better this time . Wait and see
Lisa
free credit score
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250 000 ecstatic fans, that would be quite an atmosphere. That kind of energy would prove to be of epic proportions. I would have been pretty nervous if I was about to play in front of all those cheering fans.
I am sure Parreira's ability to instill confidence and motivation in the team was truly invaluable that day. Sounds like it was a great event.
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The world cup 2010 was not just the day of destiny for South Africa it was also the year many of us finally realised the golden boys of English football where not up to the task yet again.
So many times they have had the chance to prove themselves and so many times unfortunately they have failed to deliver.
Hopefully the younger generation have something to prove and 2014 will be different. Failing that we always have the 2012 olympics to get behind our lads and lasses.
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Great to relive the excitement of this epic match!
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South Africa's football team is rising and they will make a deep run I think in the next World Cup.
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I must say that after six years, this has definitely been an event filled with excitement, passion and suspense. This is clearly evidenced by the massive twitter traffic generated from South Africa during the World Cup, and subsequent internet searches and activity. I enjoyed it very much, and I was especially glad that the region was able to get a well deserved economic boost from tourists. I look forward to seeing more great things like this happening.
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This upsets me that this is viewed as a 'wonderful word cup story'. I believe they deserve the win.
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I don't think any light needs to be shed on him, as he is already under the the red light cover. He needs to stay underground and be the underdog. I guess I might just disagree with everyone.
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It's a shame they lost. The 2010 World Cup was definitely filled with surprises though, can't wait for 2014.
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So great that Mandela was there to support the team. Shame they didn't go further in the competition.
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Lets face it, South Africa had a heck of an opportunity and in the end they were not able to deliver. I wish it were different because I love the energy these guys bring.
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Well South Africa did a great job, they just couldnt keep up the paste. But after all, they managed to dissamble Denmark (1-0) and (1-1).
Regards
søgemaskineoptimering
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It's a shame they lost too early in the world cup. but then again South Africa was not known for football, the last time they've only made it to the 1st round of the finals twice.
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BBC Wrote an excellent article on this. I thought South Africa was going to win it all. They have an amazing country and can not wait to see them play in 2014
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Why is Booth not starting? He is the whole reason I was going to watch South Africa :(
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1966 Home team draw France, Mexico and Uruquay in the opening round - and England go on to win the title.
2010 Home team draw France, Mexico and Uruquay in the opening round.....
THAT is crazy...
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Honestly, you couldn't write a better script than this and i hope it leads to another movie on the SA squad and their de facto 91 year old leader.
I know in the end the cup goes to the best squad with all the give or takes given by the refs and given you have a health roster, but you got to love the irony that has come into play with the assurance of the team that they might win it all again.
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Talk about a round house kick!
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that is a very interesting opinion there..it is however not encouraging as it is not consiliatory..
in a way it is planting ideas into people's minds about 'going it alone'..south african soccer doesnt need this..it needs reconciliation at every level before oct 24.
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@Alan Paul I totally agree. Problem is always present that there is actually someone better than your team. Also, take into account that some teams travel long distances to play. There are so many variables.
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I actually have the first South African game against Mexico where it was a draw. Siphiwe Tshabalala's score in that game sent the crowd into an uproar. You couldn't hear yourself speak.
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Now is time to see to the future.
With Bafana Bafana coach, we are going to face Egypt in a few days (next 26 March on Johannesburg) in the crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Most South African players are having a very good season at their clubs, and we must win this match.
Let's try again!!!
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Its incredible the [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]that sud-affricans put on the mundial, their bubuzelas has done so much hurt to enemies teams,ja,ja.
They could be happy with their team team,their supporters and a great country plenty of future
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Only a week left to face Egypt. If we can defeat them, there will be a clear road to Gabon 2012 and them...
See you again in Brazil 2014!!!
Thanks for the blog
Footballer
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Seems like Booth wasn't able to form a valid opinion at all for their 2010 World Cup performance. Hopefully he'll be around for the next Cup. Although I'm actually a Real Madrid fan.
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I went to Cape Town this year and it seems to me as if soccer love there is just starting..
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Excellent article here about South Africa that will provide the incentive and basis for my internet marketing strategies. I wonder if I can mention the article as a bibliographic reference in my work. Thanks!
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Oh my god, Italy (my home country) sucked so much this time that I still refuse to see any other match of the Azzurri...Marcello Lippi destroyed his reputation with 2010 World Cup.
Greetings from Italy!
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Can Booth get any better of a life? Seriously, he married supermodel Sonnia Bonneventia? Wow! :0
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I was at the world cup and had a blast!! south africa was just beautiful!
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Between the 1995 Rugby world cup and the 2010 Soccer world cup, South Africa seems to have proved them selves as being able to host a world class sporting event.
It was fantastic to see Mandela's appearance, however disappointing the Aussies performed so poorly.
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Like someone said before, it's annoying that you call the teams by their "nicknames". Besides that, i love your blog Simon!!!
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Plus, i really enjoyed South Africa Cup.
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Interestingly, we noticed a huge increase in the number of Payday Loans and similar high interest debt instruments being utilized prior to the World Cup, the assumption was there was a large number of people purchasing last minute tickets/new TVs to see their teams play in the cup
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I also went to SA last year to watch England play! Such a beautiful place, it's a shame I didn't have more time to travel.
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I love this guy he knows what he is doing, cant be wrong good luck!
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@macdonjo tell me about it! Lucky guy!!
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I'm sure that many will cheer for South Africa to get at least a draw today. The people have been overjoyed with excitement since the bid was successful and the team should play right not to disappoint them.
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@nikitantra I didn't even know they were playing today.. You sure you've got it right?
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Booth, you need to have confidence; you won't be a winner without it! SA isn't paying Parreira millions for thing!
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I stumbled upon with this post and would like to make some comment.
The world cup 2010 was not just the day of destiny for South Africa it was also the year many of us finally realised the golden boys of English football where not up to the task yet again.
The people have been overjoyed with excitement since the bid was successful and the team should play right not to disappoint them.
Waiting for the next world cup. get excited.
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The great thing about SA's team is that they have shown they play at the same level whether or not they are on their home [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator] time and again. I think that their confidence even when playing away games is due to Parreira's confidence and coaching to be honest. Before him SA team's did much poorer when they were not home games.
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@Alex - I agree mate. Something metaphysical about the energy and atmosphere of being in a crowd of thousands of football fans!
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I stumbled upon with this post and i like reading it.
Thanks
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Hi, I am not sure how you guys could be saying that it was a dull or boring world cup, maybe it's just the American perspective (we're not too big on soccer) but it was the first time me or my friends ever watched the world cup and thought it was absoultely great. There were some very good match ups with some very good countries and I have got say I'm actually looking forward to the next world cup, even though I know the US won't win but I will be rooting for my fathers home country of Argentina!
The 2010 World Cup was definitely filled with surprises though, can't wait for 2014. [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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Ahh, i remember this day! What a great day and game for us South Africans. I think we put on a good show, still proud of our team. We will get better thats for sure. cheers.
Regards,
Jake [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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It was a great World Cup in my opinion!
I whished South Africa had stayed in the contest a little bit longer.
If you like, you can read my thoughts of this WorlCup in my sisters blog.
Hopefully a link is allowed. So here it is:
my thoughts of this WorldCup
Bafana Bafana
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I really think that the US should pull out of the World Cup. We never seem to have our heart in the games...
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Great post man! I always follow your blog because it is full of compelling information about various things. I like to read this post because I met so many new facts about it actually. It's really great that I noticed this post. Thank you very much again for sharing this informative article. Many thanks Article Mayhem
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it was one of the dullest world cup. There were no stars like Maradona, Platini, Baggio. Messi has not scored a single goal, Ronaldo, Rooney were not influential, even Gerard was nowhere to be seen. And the worst part was vuvuzela's.
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator] There were hardly any atmosphere in the stadiums. Wait and see how Brazil hosts a world cup.
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Well I for one ( and Irish) am delighted the South Africa did so well. If for no other reason than the fact that they effectively knocked France out of the world cup. It was really great to see especially after how the French cheated the Irish out of going to the Worldcup. Well what every Playbook the south Africans where using it worked. Ok they did do so great, but they are not a traditional footballing country, but I think that they really did they country proud, they also did an excellent job with how well everything was organized. Well done
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The improvement of Bafana Bafana as a team to be reckoned with is unquestionable.
5 years ago when South Africa played against France, we all thought the team would win and advance to the quarter finals! But that was not to be, especially with the likes of Zedane, who happened to be the French captain at the time.
This time around however, I was fortunate to visit South Africa, and my trip to promote [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]>scholarships for high school seniors to this Country coincided with the 2010 World Cup.
I was taken to Orlando Stadium and Loftus to see Bafana Bafana in training.
Jomo Sono, the country's caretaker captain, was lurking in the shadows, grudgingly allowing the Mexican coach take all the credit.
Again, it was not to be for Bafana Bafana, the hosts of the World cup, to advance to the quarter finals, they conceded too many goals against Mexico, and were never to recover from it.
I was also fortunate to meet with Doc Khumalo and Phil Masinga, once legends in their own rights in South African soccer.
I later joined a Media Party hosted by a Touchline Media, South Africa's premier publishing house of Men's HealthSA as well as Kick Off, the best magazine on Soccer in SA... I brought a few copies of the magazine with me to the US.
I must say, these guys at Touchline Media can throw a mean party!
Glad to say my scholarships trip to Mmamelodi really went well though, and I look forward to another trip there soon.
Love South African soccer!
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I note my link in my previous post was removed, this being on scholarships.
If I may, almost all other posts before mine have a link of some sorts in the post, and I fail to understand why my link, as legitimate as it was, was removed when all other posts go unchallenged?
I could site numerous posts here by the following users:
Ritika Pandey
rahuldev1234
cupon12
to name a few.
Why were these user's posts not moderated or their links not removed?
This is still against your house-rules no?
I would be very interested in your response, because I feel, regardless of this being your blog, and I know you have the RIGHT to do whatsoever you desire... but I feel a response is due.
biased moderation
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nice article...keep uploading these kind of articles...
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In my opinion the 2010 World Cup was a bit of disappointment. I really believe that Spain did not diverse to win the prestigious title. Germany played much more better but unfortunately they did not have luck. In the final against Holland the Spanish players were constantly falling down like wounded birds. They did not tried at all to play quality football.[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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I didn't like the 2010 World Cup either. The one thing that definitely stood out was Diego Forlan's playing and wonderful goals. No wonder he was voted MVP of the tournament. I do hope that the next World Cup will be a bit more fun to watch, though. [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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<RICHPOST> <BR />Fantastic post it is.I want same you. to thank you for your post.<BR /><[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]</RICHPOST>
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<RICHPOST>2010 world cup has come and gone and we south africans have learnt a thing or two from the experience. Now we have our sights focussed on 2014 in Brazil, where we hope for a better ou[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]href="http://www.driversoftwareupdate.com/compare/">Denzel Archie</a><BR /> </RICHPOST>
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Electric Dreams turned the world of one ordinary British family upside down, as their home was 'renovated' to the standard of a typical house in 1970-the dawn of the digital age-and then fast-forwarded at the rate of a year per day through the technological revolution of the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties.
Car Loans
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It was a fantastic world cup success story and the movie really did it justice I thought. It really also demonstrates how much attitude play in sport and indeed life in general.
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It is interesting to look back at this. It all seems a long time ago now and most of it is a distant memory. I find this interesting because I have just returned from SA after doing some electrical contracting at one of the grounds used in the World Cup. Apart from the stadium you would not know that any football was played in the immediate area. Even though the infrastructure is there it will take many years before the national team get to the level of their rugby and cricket counterparts because not much local football is played. Rugby and cricket seems to be played all the time. I'm confident it will happen though. Sarah from [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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A team of US scientists assessed the impact of changes to rainfall and temperature on four major food crops like wheat, rice, corn and soybeans.Climate trends in some countries were big enough to wipe out gains from other factors, such as technology, they said.
digital agency london
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I feel South Africa had a reasonable game with it ending in a draw with Mexico. At least they weren't beaten on home ground. I'm an Aussie and we didn't do so well this time round but hopefully we can improve in the next world cup. Any how that's just my 2cents and congrats to Spain!!
Regards
Kirby
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I enjoyed your article about football in South Africa, very different from American football you know, however, it is interesting to see the similarities. It is unfortunate that there is a lack of funding for football because it is a predominantly black sport. I envision a world where that makes no difference whatsoever.
Peace,
Karen
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Seems like you are an expert on this because you just made it so easy to understand, inspired me to learn more about it! May I ask you, do you study this subject because you seem to be so in tune with the issue? Keep it up. how to jailbreak iphone
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Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. latex mattresses
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The world cup was very exciting! Cant wait for the next one =) Alot of Marketing will be involed for the 2014 Fifa world cup in Brazil!
P.S Loving the blog posts keep them coming ;)
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Thanks so much for this! I have not been this thrilled by a blog post for quite some time! You’ve got it, whatever that means in blogging. Anyway, You’re definitely someone that has something to say that people should hear. Keep up the wonderful job. Keep on inspiring the people!
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Its incredible how popular football is around the world compared to American football. As time goes on its becoming more and more popular in the United States too. dermatend reviews
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It's not going to express that other games have no popularity but with comparing football these are less popular.The popularity of football is increasing day by day because of the competitiveness among teams and world cup is the best stage for showing football skills. Many post have been written on world cup 2010 but I think this is the best post I have ever read on world cup.Thanks the blogger for this great post.
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The 2010 World Cup experience was very exciting! I believe that South Africa grabbed their chance to shine as a host nation with both hands and the world took notice of the success of the biggest sporting event!
There was a great deal of negativity and much was said when South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 World Cup but the only way to prove the doubters wrong was through patience and perseverance. There are profound and visible problems around, crime and poverty which must be addressed but South Africa absolutely heading in the right direction and I'm sure things will improve further. The important thing now is that the expense of the tournament is managed correctly and that's a huge challenge. South Africa made the entire African continent proud and proved the critics wrong concerning their ability to host the world. This is what South Africa and the South African people have done - welcomed the world brilliantly!
I think, the future looks bright for South Africa and the country is now on the world map for given the world a unique and wholly pleasing tournament. This country has so much to offer and I hope that it continues on the path of achieving its full potential.
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I fear for the South Africans.They will be the first host country to go out at the group stage.It had to happen sooner or later.But the world cup itself and becoming the first African country to host the world cup will far outweight the disappointment of an early exit.England to win it, Rooney for the Golden boot.[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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