South African fans have jumped on and off so many bandwagons since Bafana Bafana’s phyrric victory against France that I’ve lost count — BaGhana, Brazil . . . Spain. ‘We also speak Spanish,’ South Africans seemed to be saying in unison on Wednesday night at Durban’s Mabhida Stadium.
I arrived at Mabhida around lunchtime for my interview with France24 — the French satellite news channel. Next to me, young men from various French and German channels recorded their match previews. Seven hours ’til kickoff. As I walked across the train tracks and over the bridge that separates King’s Park Rugby Stadium from Mabhida Stadium there were far more police officers than football fans.
A friend and I ate lunch at the nearby casino right on the beach. By mid-afternoon we could finally imbibe in World Cup atmosphere, with the usual parade of replica jerseys, flags, funny hats, and photo ops. A group of masked Spaniards entertained us at a beachside party.
Coach Milton Dlamini and I boarded a kombi taxi to go check on his car in a parking lot 10 minutes away. The young driver blasted local hip hop while negotiating the swelling waves of cars, buses, and kombis moving slowly towards the stadium. Once we ascertained that everything was cool with the car, the taxi driver took us back. As we approached the ground, Milton enthused about The Arch.
Once inside, we met our mates from the local football coaching world (thanks Thabo!). Spain and Germany warmed up sparking esoteric discussions about tactics and the pros and cons of static vs dynamic stretching. Lineups are announced: Pedro instead of Torres and Trochowski taking suspended Mueller’s place.
Immediately it became obvious that Germany would spend the match in hiding. Spain patiently kept the ball and made sure not to give the conservative Germans any chance to launch counterattacks, the kind that devastated England and Argentina. The best chance of the half fell to Puyol whose header off a corner narrowly missed the target.
Spain came out in the second half meaning business. Xavi continued to dictate the tempo and direction of play in the midfield, while the Germans struggled to string together more than three passes. The noose tightened. Pressure on Germany’s goal mounted, with three consecutive chances for Xabi Alonso (twice) and Villa. When Podolski prevented Sergio Ramos from scoring it seemed to symbolically capture the match: a defender denied by a forward!
Eventually it happened. Puyol rose high and clear to head home a Xavi corner. Gooooooooool!!! Pedro could have closed the game with a one-on-one breakaway but somehow managed to fumble over the ball and neither shoot nor pass (to Torres). He looked disconsolate when the coach pulled him a minute later. But when the final whistle blew every Spanish player celebrated wildly on the pitch: La Furia Roja made it to their first World Cup final. Fiesta time! South Africa 2010 will produce a first-time winner: Spain or, less likely, The Netherlands.
4 replies on “We also speak Spanish”
Dear Pete,
i’s been, in fact, an incredible month. Sad to think it’s almost over….WCups should last longer!! This will be, i think, one of the greatest finals of all times.
Too bad for the dutches….Spain is going to win it all, I guess.
See Ya
am writing this in darkness, Kenya Power and Lighting handles rainy evenings bo better than Philip Lahm and company handled Spain in that boring semi-final match that was defined by two patterns…one team running the show but somehow not doing the one thing needful in football and the other team – as it has been aptly expressed by Peter -practically hiding from football! I couldn’t recognize the Germany that had thrashed Australia, England and Argentina in the run up to the semi-final, I had hoped that the match could be the fian before the final. I was disappointed. Maybe it is that psychic octopus that did it, or maybe it was that lanky young man called Muller that knew the password of that German Mackintosh, and in his absence the machine could not bew switched on!
Lets hope Netherlands play football on Sunday, and let no one give that octopus any food in any jar, so that nobody is cowed into submission long before the match is played.
From Marca, the leading Spanish sports daily:
http://www.marca.com/blogs/el-otro-mundial/2010/07/09/espana-va-a-cambiar-su-bandera-de-cara-a.html
(Paul the Octopus on the Spanish flag)
Thanks Peter! I enjoy _Football is Coming Home_ everytime I get the chance to read it.
As an African South African man whose dream was to play professional soccer player when I was growing up in the township of Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, seeing the FIFA world cup taking place in my country felt like realizing that dream that was deferred. I have two boys, Rati and Thabi, 7 and 4 years of age; perhaps they will realize that dream of their father–and probably they are a generation that will win for us – Bafana Bafana – a FIFA World Cup!
I agree; so much resources have been spent for a one month event! I also disagree! I live now in Johannesburg and work in Pretoria; I drive daily between the two cities. It was a nightmare before the world cup, it is such a breeze with the new roads, especially between O.R. Tambo International Airport and the city, Pretoria. The R21 Highway/Freeway is great and beautiful! This morning, as I was driving to work, I was almost in tears for the men and women who built these raods and whom very rarely we thank them, but the politicians!
This morning, I thank them sincerely for building them roads. I only wish, my government could see to it that they are appropriately rewarded/paid….