VIDEO: Spectacular Fikru Teferra goal in South Africa's PSL

Ethopian Fikru-Teferra Lemessa last weekend scored a spectacular chip, half volley goal for Free State Stars against the Kaizer Chiefs in the South African Premier Soccer League, but it wasn't enough as the Kaizer Chiefs in the end won 2-1.

PIO Robyn Moodaly to represent South Africa Women at London Olympics

A few days ago I wrote about Welsh international and 'Player of Indian origin' Neil Taylor who will represent Team Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics and now a friend from South Africa made me aware of the fact that 18 year old Robyn Moodaly will represent the South African women's football team in the Olympic tournament.

Banyana Banyana's teenage midfield sensation Robyn Moodaly has set her immediate sights on helping the national team to do South Africa proud at the London Olympics, but a queue is starting to form as overseas universities look to obtain the prized signature of the High Performance Centre (Tshwane) Grade 12 pupil for 2013.

"Right now, my focus is on doing my best for Banyana Banyana at the London Olympics, but I am hoping to study Sports Science next year. We have received interest from a university in the USA as well as a university in Canada, both are keen for me to study there and play for them,” said Moodaly, nicknamed 'Gundwane' (mouse) by her Banyana Banyana team-mates.

"It is now a case of deciding on the best option as far as my studies and football career is concerned. SAFA and Sasol have done a tremendous job in lifting the profile of women's football in South Africa over the past few years and the cream is rising to the top as can be seen by Banyana Banyana's results, hence the international interest in some of the Banyana Banyana players from overseas universities and colleges."

If Moodaly ends up based in the USA, she will follow in the footsteps of national team-mates in goalkeeper Roxanne Barker (Pepperdine University, California) and midfielder Kylie Ann Louw (Stephen Austin University, Texas).

Moodaly was a key member of the Banyana Banyana Olympic qualifying campaign against African opposition last year and made several contributions – mainly as a second half substitute – where she played a game-breaker role, turning matches in favour of South Africa through slick passing and well-timed tackling.

Both Moodaly was a member of the South African Under-17 Women's National Team that competed at the FIFA World Cup Under-17 Women's tournament in the Caribbean in 2010.

Interview with PIO Coach Sudesh Singh from South Africa

Sudesh Singh is a South African coach of Indian origin whom I know for many, many years. In my informal series of highlighting footballers and coaches of Indian origin, today I bring to you an interview with Sudesh Singh, whom one gets to know better through the interview.


Please tell the readers a little bit about your background? Where were you born? Family roots?

I was born 47 years ago in Germiston (on the outskirts of Johannesburg) to parents, Jimmy and Manjory (now late) Singh. Grew up, schooled in Newcastle (KwaZulu Natal), where my love affair with football started from a very young age. Starting my own youth club at 12 (!), being player, coach, secretary, chairman, kit manager, etc! Football was a big thing in my family as we had strong family links, owning football clubs, uncles gaining National caps (South African Indians' national team), due to segregation/apartheid.

I was privileged to have had my paternal grandmum around during my early years, but both sets of grandparents were second generation Indians in South Africa, with their parents possibly being amongst the first group of 'Indentured-workers' brought to South Africa by the Colonial powers during that period.


How it all start for you in football?

My life has always been about football and it still is! After gaining various honours at youth/school level, I signed as a professional player for local club, Newcastle Dynamos at 18. Although I had been offered trials at some London-based clubs at that time (arranged by a late uncle, living in London) my dream/quest was always to establish myself as a regular for my local club, and in South African football.

As the South African football leagues' were 'racially' segregated (1980's), my club Dynamos were playing in the Federation Pro League(FPL), mainly for people of Indian, mixed-race descent. We then moved over to the National Pro Soccer League (NPSL) which was strictly for people of Indigenous African descent, as we could envision all League's merging in near future. The other league was the National Football League,strictly for whites' only!

I played professional football successfully for about seven years then had a serious career-ending knee injury. Due to lack of financial/medical care I was advised to quit playing and encouraged to go into coaching.

As the league's were all united, dismantled to form one South African Football body (SAFA) in the early 1990's prior to the countries' Independence, I had already gained much experience/respect by having had opportunity to play in all the League's with all Races'.

I was selected, as one of nine coaches, from amongst 200 of the top coach's in SA to undergo further advanced training as Coach Instructors'/ Educators' by the KNVB, in Zeist( Holland). On return from Holland duties were to train/educate coaches around South Africa.

I also worked as National teams' staff coach, assisting with National U23 Olympic, U-20s, U-17s and Women's teams.

I then ventured into coaching at professional level locally, Sundowns, Manning Rangers, before venturing abroad.


You have coached in Asia, in Vietnam. How did you go there? How was the experience?

Venturing abroad came about due to sheer frustration due to discrimination, lack of opportunities, locally. As I wanted to 'grow' as a coach I needed new challenges, unfortunatetly it was not forthcoming locally due to above-mentioned factors. Hence I started contacting agents, clubs abroad. The decision to coach in Vietnam was a surprise to family, friends as at the same time there were possible offers from Taiwan, India, Malta. As it had taken over six months for me to get a firm offer from abroad I had decided to go with 'whoever' came with the first formal offer, hence my sojourn to Vietnam in 2003.
As little or no information was readily available on Vietnam football, it was a 'culture'shock' on my arrival there!

But I really enjoyed my time there as I had to 'adapt' quickly to their culture (social/political/football), climate, food, language (I took lessons for first six months), etc. I had spells at two clubs, Gach Dong Tam Long An and FC Quang Nam and could have stayed on in Vietnam but had serious family issues that 'forced' me to return home to South Africa.

Coaching in Vietnam broadened my experience as a coach and made me 'wiser/better' due to working in a foreign football environment and with players, coaches from other countries. I was the first African and still the only South African coach to have worked in Asia.


I know you for many years and know you follow Indian football. What do you say about Indian football today?

As I'm a football 'fanatic' I follow the game globally, but Indian football has a 'soft' spot for me due to my Indian heritage. As mentioned earlier I was approached by people from a company in India to come work there. I've always tried to keep in contact with football people/clubs' in India, having even assisted/recommended, in sending some South African players to play there.
Whilst working in Vietnam I was even on the shortlist for National team coach - India.

Indian football should be a serious power in Asia, due to population, passion, talent, etc but as I don't have 'direct' insight into Indian football it's very difficult to comment on that- It has huge potential to achieve success, both in terms of performance and commercial benefits.

I must say I've 'learnt' a lot about Indian football through your former wonderful website and your 'passion' for Indian football over the years!

Indian/African football in my view has so many similarities and it's only us who can fulfill this potential, thereby making it 'world-class'.


Would you like to coach in India one day?

Coaching in India would be interesting, but would also depend on various factors like; vision of club/management, facilities, resources, fan-base, etc. That would be club level, then naturally if it's similar 'vision' at National level then sure, I'd like to contribute/make a positive difference in Indian football. Being of Indian heritage makes one feel 'duty' bound to make a positive contribution to the cause, but 'acceptance/mutual respect' is equally important!

South Africa misread qualification rules, out of African Cup of Nations

This is as embarrassing as it can get in international football. Last years 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa were eliminated over the weekend from the qualifiers for the 2012 African Cup of Nations to be hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Bafana Bafana played out a goalless draw against Sierra Leone at home in Nelspruit though they needed a victory to confirm their place in the final round as they didn't know the rules of qualification.

The same was announced by the South African Broadcasting Corporation with the SAFA president going on TV to congratulate his side for qualifying for next years tournament.

After the game thinking they had qualified Bafana Bafana celebrated their qualification with their fans at he ground only to be told later that head-to-head and not goal difference counts as the key factor for qualification. With Niger (-2 goals), South Africa (+2) and Sierra Leone (0) all on nine points a three-way head-to-head count was carried out and there Niger has six point while South Africa and Sierra Leone only five.

This means that Niger will play in the finals of the African Cup of Nations for the first time in their history next year like hosts Equatorial Guinea and Botswana; while regulars Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria besides South Africa miss out on the tournament.

But South Africa isn't going to take their own mistake as granted and will appeal. The South African Football Association CEO, Robin Petersen, said, "We are going ahead with an appeal to the Confederation of African Football because we think we have a case."

Still I feel it is very embarrassing for such a football nation not knowing such an important rule for qualification for the continents show piece event.

'20 Football Cities' around the world

In an interesting piece which came out in the German media today, they have listed 20 cities from around the world which a real football fan should have visited in his life-time and watch possibly matches at the mentioned stadia and grounds.

The list is a very interesting mix of cities in Europe, South American and South Africa with Asia completely missing in the mix. Surely a Tokyo or Cairo and our own Kolkata could have been in the mix, but otherwise it is a great list put together with the key European cities all represented though I feel Cape Town doesn't necessarily make the list.

And if you aren't a ground hopper it will be very difficult to have visited all these cities and stadia in your life time. Or you have enough time and money to travel around the world.

As it is a German report no German city or regions like Munich and the Ruhr valley made it into this Top 20 list.


Cities listed in alphabetical order

- Athens (Greece) - Athens Olympic Stadium, Karaiskakis Stadium, etc

- Barcelona (Spain) - Nou Camp

- Belgrade (Serbia) - The Red Star Stadium (Marakana)

- Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Estadio Alberto J. Armando, Estadio Monumental

- Cape Town (South Africa) - Green Point Stadium

- Glasgow (Scotland) - Hampden Park, Celtic Park, Ibrox Stadium

- Istanbul (Turkey) - Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Türk Telekom Arena, Fiyapi Inönü Stadium, Fenerbahçe Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium

- Johannesburg (South Africa) - Soccer City Stadium

- Lisbon (Portugal) - Estádio da Luz/Estádio José Alvalade

- Liverpool (England) - Anfield Road/Goodison Park

- London (England) - Wembley, Emirates Stadium, Stamford Bridge, White Heart Lane, etc

- Madrid (Spain) - Bernabeu Stadium

- Manchester (England) - Old Trafford/City of Manchester Stadium

- Mexico City (Mexico) - Estadio Azteca

- Milan (Italy) - San Siro/Guizeppe Meazza Stadium

- Montevideo (Uruguay) - Estadio Centanario

- Moscow (Russia) - Luzhniki Stadium

- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - Maracana Stadium

- Roma (Italy) - Stadio Olimpico

- Vienna (Austria) - Ernst-Happel Stadion

Remembering last years Spanish triumph at the FIFA World Cup!

Exactly a year ago on July 11, 2010 at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa; Spain fulfilled their dreams of finally winning a FIFA World Cup trophy. It ended the month long tournament in which 32 nations battle it out for the trophy, but as written in the end Spain would lift the cup.

Here my match report from the game
Final: Spain are champions!


Here Videos from my work for Times Now ahead & after the WC final

My 2010 World Cup

I had another great working month during a World Cup. But unlike in 2006 when I travelled across Germany to watch matches live, this time around I rather preferred to stay back in Germany and wanted to work from here. And the envisaged plan worked out perfectly fine for me.

I had my usual work at the Deutsche Welle radio's Bengali programme as our in house football expert. Before the tournament we produced some specials and during the tournament I previewed and analysed matches. Also before the tournament I made a special feature for our English programme's Asia Compact show on Asia at the 2010 World Cup. Luckily South Korea and Japan didn't let me down as I had raised some expectations about them in my feature.

And then there were the additions assignments during the tournament which meant lots of fun and interaction with people, something which I love. I was correspondent for English language news channel Times Now, Germany expert for ESPN India and for the Indicast's "The Sports Bench" podcast a general expert. Plus I have been blogging on the tournament on my own blog and at sportskeeda.com, writing about special experiences and things with I liked or rather didn't. To sum it up, loads of work, but work which is fun.

Surely covering the German perspective from my home town of Remscheid gave me new insights into a city were I have lived most of my life. I have to thank Remscheid and its people, who have helped me during the tournament making my job easier though it sometimes was tough to find people capable and willing to speak English on camera. But we always managed, got some nice pieces done and I hope we got it across to India.

The other tasks were mainly following the matches, the tournament in general and Germany in particular. You not only watch the matches, the analysis, the talk before and after; but to stay informed also read a lot of things on the net plus speak to contacts and insiders. One has to stay as up-to-date as possible so that when you have to give an expert opinion, you have the right facts available.

But I also had a tough task to master. And that was to cover the Octopus Paul story and then talk about it live on Indian television. Might sound easy, but to talk about such a creature for over 20 minutes with him not really doing anything is tough, but I got through this task and am a little wiser when the next time such a situation arises. And I can tell you, doing live commentary of a football match or being an expert/pundit is much much easier...

My final piece of work on the 2010 FIFA World Cup was writing a guest column about my views on the tournament for the Daily Pioneer's World Cup special which was published today, July 18. A rather longish piece on how I saw the tournament and its impact.

I have uploaded some of my audiovisual work onto my YouTube channel and also some pictures onto my Facebook fanpage. I hope you like them...


The 2010 FIFA World Cup is over, but work continues and besides the regular media work I look forward to two events which I will be attending in the coming weeks. First I will be a speaker at the India Business Forum in London on July 22 to be held at Christie's and then on July 31/August 1 I will be in Zurich, Switzerland to moderate at the International Goalkeeper Congress.


Follow me on my Facebook Fanpage: Arunava Chaudhuri Fanpage

Follow my exploits on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Arunfoot

Follow my work on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/arunavaaboutfootball

WC Column: Goodbye waka waka

This column by me was published today in the Daily Pioneer's World Cup special: Goodbye waka waka .


From Ronaldo to Rooney, it has been a World Cup of disaster for superstars. Even the ‘super’ teams like Brazil and Italy failed to fire. Arunava Chaudhuri looks back at the sporting extravaganza to get the answers

The “Cup of Life”, which visited the rainbow nation for a month, is over. And we have a new champion in Spain. The golden generation of Spanish football added the World Cup title to their collection after having won the European Championships in 2008.

Though it wasn’t tiki-taka football at its best, the best side on paper proved their class in the end. Spain are also the first ever side to win the World Cup after losing their opening game 0-1 against Switzerland.

Spain dominated most of the games, but they often overdid their combining football, trying to combine into the goal and without a sharp David Villa the Spanish team would have had their problems. Also interesting to note is that Spain scored only eight goals in the tournament — they are now the World Cup champions with the least number of goals to their name.

The new Germany

It was, however, Germany that impressed us the most. The world was surprised to see a multi-ethic German team in the World Cup. It seems many people still have a wrong notion about Germany due to its Nazi past.

Germany was the most entertaining team to watch in South Africa. The system changes within the national team and emphasis on youth development — which were brought in after the Euro 2000 debacle — are finally showing their results. In 2009, Germany was the first ever country in Europe to have won the Under-17, U-19 and U-21 European Championships in the same year. Now this talent is also moving into the senior national team with players like Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira and Mesut Oezil to name a few.

Then there was the young sensation of Thomas Mueller. The 20-year-old not only won the “Young Player of the Tournament” award, but also finished as the Golden Boot winner having scored five goals (like David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan). Incidentally, only 18 months ago he had visited West Bengal as part of the FC Bayern Munich II team and played against East Bengal and a Siliguri XI.

Germany played and worked as a team. This was their biggest strength. The young side was led ably by Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger who themselves are in their mid-20s, but have years of experience on their side. For Schweinsteiger, in particular, it was the breakthrough tournament. And a lot more can be expected from this young German team. Their heart-warming football has won Germany many new fans across the world.

A great host

The first ever World Cup on African soil was overall a success. The feared problems in infrastructure, security, transport and public participation were quite efficiently handled by the locals. And they made up for other deficiencies through their passion and friendliness, but some visiting fans surely underestimated the cool winter climate. As for the games, some pitches were not up to the standard of a World Cup and others quickly fell apart as the tournament went on, which didn’t help the cause of the actual game.

And then there was the pain for the ears — the Vuvuzela. Before the tournament began, most people thought this would manifest the distinct African cultural identity, but this plastic horn turned out to be something that the world could do without. Over the first few days one could only hear the constant noise of the Vuvuzela, a monotonous sound. Such was the noise level in the stadium that one could hear no fan chanting; not even the national anthems could be heard. The local organisers did discuss whether to ban the Vuvuzelas or not, but FIFA didn’t come forward to take a decision in the interest of the fans in the stadium and those watching the game from across the world.

Disappointments

The biggest disappointments in South Africa were defending champions Italy and runners-up France. Italy came into the World Cup with no win in 2010 and also left with their negative record intact. Two draws and a loss in their final game against Slovakia meant Italy would finish at the bottom of Group F — behind an unbeaten New Zealand. Coach Marcello Lippi didn’t read the signs well before the tournament. He, therefore, decided to stick with the old guard and it backfired in a big way. But Italy’s woes don’t end here as no real talent is coming through their system. Qualifying for Euro 2012 might become an issue now.

As for France, it was a national catastrophy and shame in the way the “Equipe Tricolore” behaved and played in South Africa. France could just sneak into the World Cup through Thierry Henry’s controversial handball against Ireland last November. This ‘Les Blues’ squad had individual class, but was never a team which coach Raymond Domenech could control and guide.

It all culminated in Nicolas Anelka abusing his coach during half-time of the match against Mexico, and then the players refusing to participate in training sessions. Maybe France should have stayed home and not gone through such an embarrassment. In the end, even French President Nicolas Sarkozy had to get involved.

And then there was Africa. The host continent hoped to see a team go as far as possible, maybe even reach the final. Some pundits even said it would be the African World Cup. In the end, however, Africa must be happy and proud that Ghana, as the third African nation, reached the quarterfinals. Had Ghana been lucky, they could have reached the semifinals. It was the ominous 120th minute, the last minute of extra time against Uruguay, when Luis Suarez blocked the ball on the line with his hands and Asamoah Gyan missed the chance by whacking the ball onto the crossbar. Uruguay then went on to win the match in penalties.

Other African sides did shine in patches: The host South Africa did well, so did Ivory Coast and Algeria; but more was expected from them.

Positives

The phrase that there aren’t any small or big teams anymore in world football is becoming more and more standard. One cannot go into a match expecting the bigger side to win for sure. Often they do win in the end, but they have to play hard as the smaller sides from around the globe are catching up. This will make future World Cups even more interesting to watch. Hopefully, Asian and African sides will work hard to successfully challenge bigger nations in the near future!

An interesting piece of statistic is that New Zealand remained the only unbeaten team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup with their three draws. All other sides had at least lost one match over the duration of the tournament. And who would have thought that the minnows from New Zealand would be the unbeaten team.

Superstars?

None of the overhyped pre-tournament stars could shine, be it Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney or Fernando Torres. None of these players, who had had good seasons for their respective club sides, could shine at the World Cup. The star in most cases was the team. After all, team-play was often more important than individual brilliance. In an ideal scenario the individual brilliance was an added bonus to the team.

But new stars emerged. Like Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, Germany’s Mesut Oezil or youngster Thomas Mueller and seasoned Uruguayan Diego Forlan, besides the Spanish geniuses of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

Indeed, there was a superstar at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but it wasn’t a footballer. It was Psychic Paul, an octopus at the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen in far away Germany. Paul didn’t play at the World Cup, but rather predicted the results of all Germany matches and the final. And Paul scored an incredible eight out of eight correct. No mistakes in any of his predictions even though there were threats to his life. Towards the end of the World Cup, the frenzy around Paul had reached unbelievable proportions. More than 120 journalists covered Paul’s predictions for the third place playoff and the final live from Oberhausen.

Sadly for the legion of global Paul fans, the Sea Life in Oberhausen has said that Paul has now retired from football match predictions. But who knows if he could be tempted to come out of retirement!

Rise & fall of Latin America

After the group stages everyone was talking about a South American country winning the tournament, with Europe giving a weak and disjoined picture of itself. In the quarterfinals there were four South American nations, only three from Europe and in Ghana one from Africa. It looked likely that a South American nation could go all the way. Numerous experts and fans were already talking about a Brazil vs Argentina final, with the Netherlands and Germany not seen as serious opposition.

After the meteoric rise came the harsh crash, as reality once more set in. The stats of the last few World Cups prove it: Argentina hasn’t gone beyond the quarterfinals in the last 20 years, and Brazil has lost at the same stage over the last couple of World Cups. As talented as the Brazilian squad are, they failed the first real test and crumbled under pressure against the Netherlands, who fought back as Brazil also looked overconfident that the Dutch wouldn’t be able to score or endanger their one-goal lead. A big mistake and they had to pay a heavy price for it and fly home.

For Argentina it was all about their coach Diego Maradona and star player Lionel Messi. The tournament showed that Maradona has a long way to go to become a coach. At least, he needs assistants who are excellent at their work and Maradona would have to be willing to listen to them. As for Messi, he is as good as his teammates. At Barca he has Iniesta, Xavi, among others, who play for him; and, he was missing those guys in the Argentinean squad, which had a depth in top class strikers but overall wasn’t the team to worry stronger opponents.

Asia arrives, finally

It was a good sign to see Asia showing that they are closing in on the other continents in world football. South Korea and Japan, in particular, showed what they are capable of, but when it mattered most in the pre-quarterfinals they just couldn’t get past South American opponents.

The South Koreans were known to be physically fit, able to run for 90 minutes and more, but now with more and more South Koreans playing in Europe they have gained in international experience which is helping them as a team. Also, the side was ably led by their captain, Ji-Sung Park.

Japan’s coach Okada had said before the tournament that his side aims to be in the semifinals. Many laughed about it, but after their pre-quarterfinal penalty shootout loss against Paraguay, many said the sons from the Land of the Rising Sun could have achieved more. Also, Japan have a new star in the making in Keisuke Honda. As always, Japan was well organised, but if they had a more creative midfielder or a top striker, then they could have worried bigger opponents.

Australia’s tournament, meanwhile, ended before it had even started with the 4-0 trashing at the hands of Germany. They did draw Ghana one-all in a game which they could have won with 10 men and in their final game beat Serbia 2-1. They, however, lost out on the pre-quarterfinals due to goal difference.

North Korea were the surprise qualifiers and the lowest-ranked nation in the tournament. In their opening game, the players from the communist state held Brazil goalless for 55 minutes and then lost 2-1, which did raise many eyebrows. Many hoped for further surprises, but the North Koreans were trashed 7-0 by Portugal and then lost 0-3 against Ivory Coast.

-- The writer is an international football expert and consultant, who worked for Times Now and ESPN India during the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 World Cup: My Top Eleven

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is over. 64 matches were played and Spain has emerged as the first time winner of the World Cup trophy. I watched nearly all the matches except those running parallel and since the start I have been making notes on who could be in my personal eleven for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

But such a selection depends on the system one chooses and as most coaches played the 4-2-3-1 system, I have tried to pick my team accordingly to this system and I only took players from teams who reached at least the quarterfinals as this is the toughest stage in such a tournament, while others had already gone home.
And still I had to leave out numerous players who would have fitted in like Andres Iniesta, Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez, Sergio Ramos and Arne Friedrich to name a few.


GOALKEEPER - Iker Casillas (Spain, CF Real Madrid) - Captain of the successful Spanish side. Initially had a quite tournament, but then got into the act in the quarterfinals when he saved Cardozo's penalty and then twice denied Arjen Robben the chance to score the winner for the Netherlands. But Germany's Manuel Neuer and the Netherlands Martin Steckelenburg were close contenders.

RIGHT BACK - Philipp Lahm (Germany, FC Bayern Munich) - had a lot of burden on his shoulders taking over the captaincy from Michael Ballack just before the tournament. One has known for years that Lahm is one of the best right backs in world football, he proved it once more and also showed his leadership skills amongst a young German team. This kept him ahead of Sergio Ramos (Spain) and Maicon (Brazil)

CENTRE BACK - Gerard Pique (Spain, FC Barcelona) - Maybe not as often seen or heard in commentary as his colleague Carlos Puyol, but Pique like at Barca has become a key element in the teams play in starting of moves, but he wasn't the man to move forward, rather stayed back and ensure nothing happened. He only moved up for corners due to his height.

CENTRE BACK - Lucio (Brazil, FC Internationale Milan) - Brazil's captain is a real fighter and he kept the Brazilian back line together as their overall defensive set-up looked good, but it crumbled once put under pressure by the Dutch. Still Lucio tried to do something for the team, which just couldn't fight back.

LEFT BACK - Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Netherlands, Feyenoord Rotterdam) - The most difficult decision as no one really impressed me in the left back position over the duration of the tournament. Van Bronckhorst in the end was the best of the lot with Joan Capdevila (Spain) and Jorge Fucile (Uruguay) coming close.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER - Mark van Bommel (Netherlands, FC Bayern Munich) - Off the field the most likeable guy, but on it Mark is the most rough, sometimes even unfair player who can win matches for his side as he sometimes systematically destroys his opponents. Often with fair means, but sometimes it can get ugly, still a key element why the Dutch reached the finals. If not him, then Xabi Alonso would have been my pick though Sergio Busquets would be a close second as he is more of a van Bommel kind of player.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany, FC Bayern Munich) - it was the breakthrough tournament for the young, but experienced German who like at the club has grown in stature. He was the midfield engine of the young Germans. Finally it wasn't Schweini anymore, but Mr. Schweinsteiger who controlled the midfield as if he hadn't done anything else in his life. Initially he concentrated on his defensive duties, but against England and Argentina played brilliant passes for the third goal in both games.

RIGHT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER - Thomas Mueller (Germany, FC Bayern Munich) - the find of the tournament! The German youngster not only won the "Young Player of the tournament" award, but also won the "Golden Boot" as top scorer with five goals like David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan; but his three assists placed him above the rest. And what a tournament it has been for the boy from Pahl. After a great first season at Bayern Munich he continued his meteoric rise and was a key member of the young German side. He beat team mate Arjen Robben in this position, but at the club he will likely return to a more central position.

CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands, FC Internationale Milan) - What a season he had at Inter Milan winning a rare treble after joining from Real Madrid and Sneijder continued at the World Cup where he left off at his club. The key Dutch player in offence, who also scored some crucial goals for his team.

LEFT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER - David Villa (Spain, CF Valencia) - Was more effective in this position on the left as he had the space to run in front of him. Is stronger if not the point man in the middle, chance to play on the wing and move up or take long range efforts. Played another strong tournament.

FORWARD - Miroslav Klose (Germany, FC Bayern Munich) - the comeback man in the German team. Has now 14 goals in World Cup history, only one less then Ronaldo and as many as the legendary Gerd Mueller. Most probably one of the most underrated strikers in football history. A team player, who does a lot of defensive work, sometimes overdoes it like against Serbia; but scored crucial goals for his team.


COACH - Joachim Loew (Germany) - My coach as he formed a team out of the young German in less then a month. And played them as per his philosophy which is attractive attacking football. Something new for Germany, but something which the world appreciated. And credit for that to Loew!


What do you think about my selection? Please do let me know...

2010 World Cup: Indicast Podcast - PQF's discussed

Yesterday I was part of the Indicast Podcast's Sportsbench special on the ongoing 2010 FIFA World Cup analysing the pre-quarterfinals. It was moderated by Vikram Nanivadekar with Jan Roskott, Duvel and myself discussed the pre-quarterfinals and the upcoming quarterfinals at the ongoing football World Cup.

It is titled "Football World Cup 2010 - Pre-Quarter Final Stage Review" and it surely will make interesting hearing for you all. A nice discussion about what we all have seen over the last few days in South Africa. The highs and lows...


Listen Online (64 kbps) : ~ 25 mins





Here the direct link to the Indicast Podcast page: Sportsbench Podcast


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2010 World Cup: Indicast Podcast - Group Stage Analysis

Yesterday I was part of the Indicast Podcast's Sportsbench special on the ongoing 2010 FIFA World Cup analysing the group stage. Vikram Nanivadekar and myself discussed the group stage at the ongoing football World Cup.

It is titled "Football World Cup 2010 - Post League Stage Review" and it surely will make interesting hearing for you all. A nice discussion about what we all have seen over the last couple of weeks in South Africa. The highs and lows...


Listen Online (64 kbps) : ~ 26 mins





Here the direct link to the Indicast Podcast page: Sportsbench Podcast


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Group A: Uruguay top group, South Africa & France out

Its decision time. Will Uruguay & Mexico go through or do South Africa and France still have a chance.

(matches to kick off simultaneously)

Mexico 0-1 (0-1) Uruguay
Goals: 0-1 Hugo Suarez (43').

Former world champions Uruguay beat Mexico 1-0 to finish top of Group A. There had been fears that the match at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg could end in a tame draw as it would mean both sides would move on, but that wasn't going to happen. Especially with Uruguay continuing where they had left off against South Africa. The South Americans scored the golden goal in the 43th minute through a Hugo Suarez header.

After the break Uruguay could have doubled the lead, but it stayed the same way and Mexico also had chances to equalise knowing that South Africa was closing in on them on goal difference. But in the end it didn't matter as the match ended 1-0 for Uruguay.


France 1-2 (0-2) South Africa
Goals:

Hosts South Africa beat a disjointed France 2-1, but it just wasn't enough to qualify for the knockout stages. As the first ever hosts South Africa did not make it to the next round. But at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein the hosts played a heartening game against a French side which was happy once the match and the tournament was over. France might have been better off not qualifying for the World Cup the way they did against Ireland.

It initially was an open game but no real chances. Then the hosts went ahead in the 20th minute through a Bongani Khumalo header after French keeper Hugo Lloris couldn't get to the ball off a corner. France were reduced to ten men when Yoann Gourcuff was send off in the 26th minute for clashing in the air with MacBeth Sibaya having rammed his elbow into the South African player. Surprisingly referee Oscar Julian Ruiz Acosta from Columbia showed the Bordeaux player the red card and once more the game was over for one of the teams. France thereafter just didn't show the spirit needed to fight back as South Africa doubled the lead in the 37th minute through Katlego Mphela.

With Uruguay going ahead against Mexico, South Africa came out of the break with some hope that they could pull it off. But Mphela would be the main culprit as South Africa couldn't score any more goals though the chances were there. France where actually able to reduce the deficit in the 70th minute through a Florent Malouda goal off a square pass from Franck Ribery. This goal ended all hopes of South Africa sneaking into the pre-quarterfinals.

2010 World Cup: Referees

It was a topic which I didn't want to touch as being a referee is the toughest job in football. And a job which does not get the credit it deserves, then a football match without a referee is just not possible. But what has now been happening for days at the 2010 FIFA World Cup is a disgrace for football.

It seems not the quality of a team or their own efforts will decide who will win the title at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but decisions rightly or wrongly taken by the men in the middle with the whistle. And some seem to want to take this international stage to show and highlight themselves. As if referee's can leave their own country and get transferred like players.

I would always say a good referee is a referee who doesn't interfere with the match, allows the game to take its own path and intervenes only whenever necessary. We have seen such performances in the World Cup, but often you have referee's who blow the whistle too early and start handing out cards before the game has really started. And we are not only taking about referee's from smaller footballing nations, but also those from Europe who regularly officiate in top level competitions.

Some countries have been lucky with decisions, while others face elimination because of mistakes which destroyed their game.
Ask the USA who had a genuine goal against Slovenia disallowed or Germany and Switzerland who lost players due to cards which could have stayed in the referee's pocket. And then there are the others who benefited from the referee's decisions. I loved New Zealand's performance on Sunday, but Shane Smeltz's goal was offside. In that game I found even worse the decision for Italy's penalty that Danielle de Rossi got. A paper in New Zealand asked if de Rossi had been shot the way he went down.

Then there are teams like Argentina, Brazil and Chile; who are being praised for their performances but no one questions them as crucial goals shouldn't have been given. Argentina's second and third goals against South Korea were both offside. Would the game have ended 4-1 without these goals or could have South Korea gotten a better result.

The worst offence so far is Luis Fabiano's second goal against Ivory Coast. The Brazilian clearly touched the ball twice with his hand, his movement is such that it can only be interpreted as intentional and French referee Stéphane Lannoy afterwards asks him if it was handball and Fabiano says no. Once a referee has the guts to ask a player for his honest opinion as he didn't clearly see a situation and the player fails. So will referee's ask again, I doubt it as they will question the players honesty.
But Stéphane Lannoy didn't have the game under his control as he from the start didn't stop the play acting by the Brazilians, which in the end led to Ivory Coast losing their heads and going for harsh tackles. I don't know what they there thinking, but maybe they thought as the Brazilians would lie on the ground anyway lets have a go at them. Not a good approach at all, but this is provoked by wrong decisions and things not going their way. The Kaka sending off was right, but it should have happened in the earlier instance and a straight red card was the only decision. The referee looked to lenient as it was a star. Here you see how a referee with his line can destroy a good match of football.

Even Chile's goal yesterday against Switzerland was offside. So the Swiss were beaten by the referee more then the Chileans, then both key decisions went against them. Was it necessary for Arturo Vidal to go down like this? Chile deserved to win, but would the match have gone the same way if Switzerland had played with eleven men. A question which Germany also asked itself, though they had chances to equalise in their match against Serbia.

And then Cristiano Ronaldo against Ivory Coast. In the instance he was fouled he receives a yellow card as he clashed with Guy Demel, a clear mistake by the referee but on other occasions he dives to gain advantage. And if the referee had seen these actions properly then Ronaldo wouldn't have ended the game on the pitch. And Ronaldo being the star that he is others seem to want to copy him, the positives and the negatives.

One of the questions that world football governing body FIFA has to answer is why not the best referee's from around the world are in South Africa, but only one referee by nation and divided by a coefficient per confederation. Surely also refereeing should be spread around the world, but at the World Cup only the best should officiate and if there are three, four good referee's from a nation they then should be there..
And what makes things even worse is that FIFA are saying that they are happy with the performances of their referee's. No real mistakes committed. Have I been watching different matches???

This all above also shows that football is big business these days, honesty is something unwanted as long as you are successful and keep on winning. Dangerous signs and terrible role models other follow.

2010 World Cup: Indicast Podcast

Earlier today I was part of the Indicast Podcast's Sportsbench special on the ongoing 2010 FIFA World Cup. Under the moderation of Vikram Nanivadekar, Jan Roskott and myself discussed the first week of football at the ongoing football World Cup.

It is titled "Fifa World Cup 2010 Week 1 - Vuvuzela & Jabulani" and it surely will make interesting hearing for you all. A nice discussion about what we all have seen over the last week in South Africa. The highs and lows...


Listen Online (64 kbps) : ~ 27 mins




Here the direct link to the Indicast Podcast page: Sportsbench Podcast


Follow me on my Facebook Fanpage: Arunava Chaudhuri Fanpage

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Arunfoot

2010 World Cup: Favourites???

The first round of matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa are over. Many matches have been boring, the Vuvuzela is often a pain for the ears and the question I am ask myself is what has happened to the pre-tournament favourites?
Except Germany none of these pre-tournament favourites have performed to the level expected from them, but the tournament is not even a week old so hopefully they will pick up and play better in the coming matches.

The biggest upset so far came yesterday when Switzerland beat the European champions Spain, who where the big pre-tournament favourites to finally win a FIFA World Cup. And now Spain will have play for survival against Honduras and Chile to stay in the tournament. Something which no body would have expected.

Other teams like Brazil, Argentina and Netherlands did win their matches, but not in a way which would make their opponents worried.
Brazil had to dig deep against a fighting North Korea, who played the match of their lives with commitment, discipline and dedication which caused major problems for the South Americans giants.
Argentina overcame Nigeria rather easily, but the world's best player Lionel Messi did create some magic and had three good chances. Still Messi couldn't score like he would have for FC Barcelona and the old question comes up again, can't Messi play for Argentina like he does for the club? Also Argentina's defence looked suspect against Nigeria and a stronger opponent could cause problems for them.
The Netherlands also couldn't play their free flowing football against Denmark as they did in their last few practice matches. One factor which was missing was Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben with his thigh injury.

But the above sides won their matches, others where rather happy to get a point from their opening game.
Current world champions Italy and England were even held to one-all draws. And both sides in the end were happy to take a point home. Italy isn't the same side as they were in 2006 and that showed against Paraguay, who could have beaten the Italians if there wasn't a goalkeeping mistake by Villar.
England were seen as the best Three Lions side in years, but a goalkeeping howler from Robert Green denied them a possible win though the USA could have actually won the match.

Germany's performance against Australia was the pick of the matches so far. Germany is always a candidate for something big, but this time around many thought after the injury of captain Michael Ballack and others that this young German team could have problems. But they proved their quality.

Group A: Uruguay win in style, Mexico stun France

After opening day draw all sides in Group A hope for their first win in the group, which would take them ahead in their quest for a pre-quarterfinal spot.

(to be updated after the second game)

South Africa 0-3 (0-1) Uruguay
Goals: 0-1,0-2 Diego Forlan (24',80' pen), 0-3 Alvaro Pereira (90+5').

The host South Africa are on their way out after a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Uruguay at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.

Hosts South Africa had their problems once again in the first session of the game, while Uruguay changed their formation a little with Diego Forlan pushed back into an attacking midfield position which did the trick for the South Americans. Forlan was one of the best players in the first game against France, but he was even more influential in today's game as the whole game of the Uru's revolved around him. And the Atletico Madrid striker scored the opening goal in the 24th minute when he tried a long-ranger from outside the box, which took a deflection of South African captain Aaron Mokoena's back and dropped into the goal over the head of stunned keeper Itumeleng Khune. Uruguayan striker striker Hugo Suarez also had a better game keeping the South African defenders on tender hooks and one of his shots nearly got Uruguay their second goals.

After the break Uruguay continued their dominance while the South Africans didnt find a way through the well-organised South Americans, but this changed a little towards the middle of the second session as South Africa had more of the ball but only once did they get a real scoring chance. Uruguay received a penalty in the 75th minute when South African goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune brought down Hugo Suarez in the box. Referee Massimo Busacca pointed to the spot and also gave Khune the marching orders as new keeper Moneeb Josephs came on. And Forlan crowned his performance with a placed shot to give Uruguay a 2-0 lead. The final nail in the coffin came in the fifth minute of injury time when Alvaro Pereira scored of a cross from Hugo Suarez, but by then a number of South African fans had left the stadium.


France 0-2 (0-0) Mexico
Goals: 0-1 Javier Hernandez (64'), 0-2 Cuauhtemoc Blanco (79' penalty).

The Equipe Tricolore can plan their trip back home to France after their 0-2 defeat at the hands of Mexico at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. The French are in crisis and this deepened tonight.

The match made a quick start but the chances were on the side of the Mexicans who focused on counter attacks allowing the French to control the game without being threatening. In the 8th minute Carlos Vela blasted the ball over the goal, before Franco missed a chance.

After the break Mexico realised that they could actually win this game against a weak French side. France did have their first chance in the 54th minute through Florant Malouda which Perez send over the crossbar, but it didn't change anything as Mexico remained the more dangerous side. In the 64th minute a Rafael Marquez through ball found Javier Hernandez in the open he went round Hugo Lloris to score into the open net as the France defence was hoping for an offside call by the referee. If one thought that France would now wake-up one would have been disappointed as Mexico continued to push for a second goal. And when Eric Abidal brought down Pablo Barrera referee Khalil Ibrahim Al-Ghamdi from Saudi Arabia pointed to the dreaded spot. Veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco would score the resultant penalty and the match was over as France simply had to answer and could have gone even further behind.

2010 World Cup: Africa disappoints

The first ever FIFA World Cup on the African continent is currently on in South Africa. But the local sides haven't been able to really convince us that African football has come of age in their first round of matches. Only Ghana was able to win their match, hosts South Africa and Ivory Coast earned draws, while the others in Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon lost.

Two decades ago Cameroon had made it to the quarterfinals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy and many had thereafter said that African football has arrived on the world stage. It was expected that an African side would make it to the finals of a football World Cup in the coming editions, but since 1990 African sides have shown a lot of potential but not the desired results. And at the end of the day only results count.

Nowadays African players are playing for the best sides across Europe, are key players in their respective clubs but when these players return to their national sides they don't seem to be able to deliver the goods. Are the real leaders on the field missing? Or is it a problem that the whole team isn't of a high standard?

Many hoped that on home soil the African sides could utilise the advantage in their favour, but they haven't been able to turn around the world order of football, maybe not just yet. Lets hope they can turn this around in the coming matches. But what was evident is that these teams lack quality strikers or even top strikers sadly become ordinary like a Samuel Eto'o for Cameroon.

The hosts South Africa have actually been one of the better performers from Africa, while Ghana like in the last World Cup are the only African side which looked like they could get far in the tournament. Their 1-0 win against Serbia came off a penalty, but it as a good game.

Cameroon have been the biggest disappointment, but there seems to be something wrong in their team otherwise such a performance against Japan is unexplainable. They have quality players and talented youngsters, but they showed nothing of that against Japan.

Nigeria faced a strong Argentina, but didn't know how to score otherwise it could have been a more interesting encounter, while Algeria looked overawed by the occasion. In the end they lost due to a goalkeeping blunder but goals of their own looked rather unlikely against Slovenia.

Ivory Coast played better then Portugal, but as a potential candidate for a place in the last eight more should be expected from them. But once Didier Drobga is back in form and his broken elbow no longer a topic, then the Ivorians could be a dangerous outfit as they then have a striker who can deliver the goods. They lacked that against Portugal, still this time around their defence is much stronger then it was four years ago in Germany.

Vuvuzela - a curse?

The roaring sound of the Vuvuzela is set to become the sound of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. But after the first day matches one questions if this sound pollution can continue throughout the whole tournament. FIFA and South Africa might be forced to press in action as protests are likely to increase.

Surely the Vuvuzela is part of South African football culture, but even while watching the matches on the television it is a persistent noise which does disturb the whole football experience. At least it seems to be a problem to me and a number of persons I have spoken to. And another problem is listening to the commentators has become difficulty with such strong sound in the background.

Someone from Asia told me last night that they actually couldn't understand the commentary even through the commentator was trying his best shouting into the microphone.
And if we feel like this, how is then the live experience in the stadium?

In South Africa Dutch national coach Bert van Marwijk has gone to the extent to bann Vuvuzela's from the training of his team. Van Marwijk's simple explanation, I need to communicate with my players and under such circumstances I cannot do so.
Others might follow in the coming days. One remembers that the Spaniards had complaint about it last year during the Confederations Cup and some had even asked for a ban of the Vuvuzela.

In Europe the Vuvuzela is a topic for heated debates. Here in Germany the Vuvuzela has been banned by a number of cities and public viewing venues as they say it is a risk to the ears. In Cologne city people will be fined if found blowing into the Vuvuzela.

Tests meanwhile have proven that the sound of the Vuvuzela is far too loud for the human ear. It is capable of reaching levels of up to 130 decibel, which is above tolerance levels which can cause hearing problems and even ear pain. And that is surely something which we don't want. We want to enjoy the experience and charm of the football World Cup.

Group A: Opening day draws

The 2010 FIFA World Cup kicked off today with a match in Group A.

(to be updated after the second game)

South Africa 1-1 (0-0) Mexico
Goals: 1-0 Siphiwe Tshabalala (55'), 1-1 Rafael Marquez (79').

The first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg ended 1-1 between hosts South Africa and Mexico.
In the opening minutes South Africa looked very nervous, while their opponents Mexico looked confident and willing to spoil the hosts party. Talented youngster Giovanni dos Santos was the pick of the lot in the Mexican attack coming close to scoring on a number of occasions, but Mexico's dominance on the field didn't result in any goals and the first half ended goalless. But Mexico did score an offside goal through Carlos Vela which caused some confusion as there was a player on the goal line, but the goalkeeper Khune had moved forward after a corner, which meant the last man rule came in.

It was a more even game after the break with South Africa shrugging off their nervousness. And then came the 55th minute when Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the tournament opening goal with a left-footed scorcher to give South Africa the 1-0 lead. The whole stadium, most probably the whole of South Africa, went into ecstasy. And initially it looked like Mexico were shocked after conceding the goal, but they fought their way back into the match and got the deserving equaliser in the 79th minute when Rafael Marquez scored past Itumeleng Khune in the South African goal. Thereafter it was an open game with mostly half chances on both sides, but in a late counter attack Katlego Mphela could have become South Africa's hero as his shot hit the post. The match ended one-all and got us off to an entertaining start to this World Cup.


Uruguay 0-0 (0-0) France
Goals: none.

France were held to a goalless draw by a ten men Uruguay at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. And history does repeat itself at it was proved once more tonight. Eight years ago in their second Group A match these sides had played a goalless draw in South Korea and in that tournament these two teams went home after the group stages. But we aren't so far yet.
France was the better of the two sides as Uruguay played a rather defensive game, but the South Americans were dangerous on a number of occasions through their seasoned striker Diego Forlan, while his partner upfront Luis Suarez didn't have a good game.
The story of the first half is fast said. France tried to attack the Uruguay goal, who were standing tall in defence, and failed with only once with a real good chance when Franck Ribery broke through on the left and played the ball into the middle and Sidney Govou got a touch on it, but the ball went wide. On the other side Forlan's shot was saved by Hugo Lloris.
After the break France continued to try their luck, but coach Domenech realised he would have to change something and he brought on Tierry Henry, Florant Malouda and André-Pierre Gignac. It did give the attack some more teeth, but still France remained goalless. Uruguay ventured out more the longer the match lasted, but in the 81st minute substitute Nicolas Lodeiro received marching orders for a second bookable offence. And in the last ten minutes France tried everything to score a goal, but the Uruguay defence held until the end. The last chance for France came late in injury time, but a Tierry Henry freekick was headed away by Christian Abreu.

Finally the day is here

It is Friday, June 11, 2010 and finally the day is here for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to kick-off. In a few hours time hosts South Africa take on Mexico in the opening match at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. And then the wait and talking time is over. It is now over to the action on the pitch for the next one month and on July 11 evening we will know who are the new world champions.

An interesting month awaits us. The tournament is wide open with the usual suspects there as favourites. Spain is the top favourite ahead of Brazil and Argentina with countries like Germany, England, Netherlands and Italy also often getting a mention. But who knows who will be the surprise team in this edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Millions of people around the world will be watching and/or reading about the tournament. An interesting story here is that there will be no coverage in North Korea. The communist country didn't want to buy the rights of FIFA or couldn't afford it, while it also didn't accept an offer from South Korea to receive the feed for free. Maybe there is a fear that South Korea could misuse the feed to send secret messages to its citizens and try to cause an uprising. Sadly the North Koreans are being denied the chance to watch their team play in the football World Cup after 44 long years. But it isn't the only thing they have to live without.

The big concert last night has set the tone for a month of football carnival. And I hope no major disaster happens then I fear security will remain a big issue. I have already read too many reports about people being robbed or mugged across South Africa. And getting this problem under control will be a tough ask, but one can only hope no one is seriously injured or god forbid even killed.

For me personally the next month means watching a lot of football, reading even more and reporting about it on different media - television, radio and print plus writing here on my blog.

The time for talking and discussions are over. As they would have said in the antic Rome, let the games begin...