Robert Uvanović live from South Africa
Since my last post, the 2010 World Cup has been turned on its head! With tournament favorites Brazil crashing out in a surprise 2-1 loss to the Netherlands and the most impressive team of the group stages, Argentina, crashing to a 4-0 defeat to Germany, this might not be South America’s tournament after all.
Germany’s performance has been remarkable, even more impressive when you consider how young their squad is. Watch out for this team in Euro 2012 when these players have a tournament under their belt. They might just be the team to beat in two years. They remind me of Croatia’s Euro 2008 squad in the sense that their coach has had the vision to bring exciting young players such as Muller, Ozil and Khedira right into the squad, in much of the same way that Slaven Bilić brought Modrić, Eduardo and Ćorluka straight from the U-21s right into a starting spot on the national team.
With there being only one African team left in the tournament, South Africa was overwhelmingly in support of Ghana prior to their match up with Uruguay. Stealing a piece of Bafana Bafana’s nickname, South African newspapers branded the Black Stars as “BaGhana BaGhana” and spoke about how the entire country was behind them. As we all saw, Ghana crashed out in what must be one of the cruelest ways possible, with the game-winning goal being denied by a deliberate handball and then missing the subsequent penalty. For Ghana and all of Africa, this was the same gut-wrenching heartbreak Croatia felt after losing to Turkey in 2008.
Good to see the checkers represented at the Cup
As for me, I haven’t had tickets to any other matches since Ghana-USA and have been watching the games at various locations in Johannesburg, where I actually ended up randomly rooming with two other Croatian-Americans. From here on out, my focus will turn away from the World Cup to the FIFA Football for Hope Festival, which is also happening simultaneously in Joburg.
The festival includes 32 youth teams (ages 15-18) from around the world that all have a particular focus on social development through soccer. Included in the festival is the organization, Football Friends, which is located in Foca, Bosnia & Herzegovina and brings together Serbs, Croats, Muslims and Montenegrins into one side to promote tolerance and understanding. The festival is an official event of the World Cup and is being taken very seriously here in South Africa. Both Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, and Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, were on hand for the opening ceremony this afternoon.
Uvanović in front of Soccer City Stadium
With all of the African sides being eliminated, it might be expected that some South Africans would lose interest in the World Cup, yet it is exactly the opposite as we are nearing fever pitch. While it is nowhere near the level it would be if Ghana were still here, South Africans cannot wait for July 11th to see the trophy lifted in their country. With Brazil eliminated, I would say that the team that the most South Africans are rooting for is Germany, and quite frankly I can see why as they have stunned us with their dazzling play these past few matches.
I’ll be in Joburg until the end of the World Cup and as always am ready to look forward to your feedback.
Cheers from South Africa.
Written July 4th, 2010
Great stuff man! Both as a CSR editor and a Croatian fan; I love it! Have fun, be safe and we look forward to your last report from South Africa…
Let's go Dutch!!!!