It’s common to celebrate the tapestry of nations coming together at World Cups. The globe unites under a shared passion, and, for one month every four years, it seems hundreds of millions of people assume new nationalities. What other event could transplant the bitter South American rivalry between Brazil and Argentina onto a slum in …
A Glum Reality Check for the World Cup Hosts
While Spain’s 1-0 loss to Switzerland was the first upset of World Cup 2010, the only surprise in South Africa’s 0-3 defeat at the hands of Uruguay was the score-line — and the fact that Diego Forlan managed to keep his shirt on after scoring (he’s lately had a bad habit of earning mandatory yellow cards by whipping it off to celebrate …
Way To Go, Bobby: Bafana Gone
South Africa is now out–thanks in large part to a penalty-granted foul that you’d have to measure by microns–and you’ve gotten the silencing of your hated vuvus! I hope you’re happy, sir!
More seriously, nice match Uruguay–refereeing incontinence notwithstanding, a victory well deserved. You wonder where this side was against France. …
At last, the Cup’s first real upset
No, the U.S. drawing against England doesn’t really count.
Kudos to the Swiss for beating La Furia Roja. The tournament needed that. And arguably, so did Spain. In the run-up to the Cup, its players and coach spent too much time protesting, disingenuously, that they were not the favorites. That struck me as the wrong tone: it suggested …
Why my esteemed colleague is totally wrong about the vuvuzela controversy
Oh, come ON, Glen! Complaints about the vuvuzelas are not, as you suggest, “ridiculous fuss.” And your arch response (hold all Cups in Europe) is disingenuous. It suggests all non-European Cups have featured vuvuzelas, which is patently untrue. And it implies that European tournaments are quiet, decorous affairs – also untrue.
Cheering For North Korea: Weird, But Fun
Okay, let’s get one thing clear: no one likes horrible totalitarian dictatorial regimes that brutalize their populations, starve their people through incompetent and willfully destructive leadership, and spent most of their time threatening war on the outside world while trying to develop nuclear arms to use should those conflicts …
Not Exactly Having a Ball
Post-’Samba’ Brazil More Likely to Win than to Entertain
Brazil, in dispatching North Korea 2-1 on Tuesday, made clear that we should not expect to see “samba soccer” at World Cup 2010 — and not only because the players couldn’t possibly hear their fans’ traditional rhythm section above the drone of the vuvuzelas. Dunga’s team may have some supremely gifted players — none more so, on the …
South Africa can have its vuvuzelas… as long as it promsies to keep them!
A friend in London reports that the infernal horn has found its way to British supermarkets, where it’s selling like the proverbial hotcakes at two pounds a pop. This raises the dreadful possibility that the vuvuzela will become South Africa’s export to the rest of the soccer world. That’s what happened to the Mexican wave, remember?
If …
Kaiserslaughtering: Is Beckenbauer Right About England?
Once upon a time, criticism of English football by the enemy (well, one of a fair few enemies) would have caused consternation. “How dare they take us to task?” would have gone the cry. But in light of German legend Franz Beckenbauer’s less than kind comments, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to raise an eyebrow, let alone get upset.
Winter Blasts the World Cup
After four pleasant days in the mid 60˚s F, winter arrived in Joburg today. Temperatures dropped like a rock overnight, plunging into the high 30˚s F around noontime, with the wind whipping at 20 mph and gusting to 35 mph. It was 37 ˚ two hours before the Brazil-North Korea match. So much for that mild South African winter we were …
What the World Cup Means to the Burmese
Yaya Toure Makes the Ivoirians Contenders
The media’s narrative frames for World Cup showdowns usually pit one side’s star goal-scorer against the other: Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Didier Drogba, and so on. But the most important player on the field on Tuesday was Cote D’Ivoire’s Yaya Toure, the imperious midfield general who repeatedly won the ball for his side, dictated the play …
