The Footsak exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Durban inspired me to make this 5-minute film about art + football. I shot it with a FlipVideo camera at the museum, World Cup matches, a tennis court in Joburg, a sports ground at UKZN Pietermaritzburg, and our veranda. Take a look.
The Ukhamba (calabash in Zulu) at Soccer City. The center of attention for 3 billion people — half of humankind — on Sunday. A magnificent temple of football. A massive 95,000 seats and yet so intimate, near-perfect sight lines. What a stage for Netherlands-Spain! Click here to read the New York Times on who South Africans are supporting.
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.
The ‘real’ World Cup at the beach in Durban, where we watched the quarterfinals. Mabhida stadium made by local sand sculptors, kids playing beach football, and the game on the big screen. How most South Africans and a few visitors experienced South Africa 2010.
I’m still in disbelief that BaGhana BaGhana came within a PK of making history as Africa’s first World Cup semifinalist. Impressed by ‘Rainbow Nation’ Germany‘s humiliation of Maradona’s Argentina. Pleased that efficient Netherlands overcame Dunga’s unimaginative Brazil. And thrilled that MaraVilla’s Spain took care of overachieving Paraguay. Commentary and semifinal preview forthcoming.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . Robben! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . Sneijder! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .
That’s my match report from Durban’s Mabhida Stadium where the Dutch easily dispatched the Slovaks 2-1. The best of the rest of our experience is captured in the short video above.
It’s taken three painful days to write something, anything resembling rational thought about Gli Azzurri. Last year I blogged about Italy’s impending demise under Lippi 2.0 — and eventually (inevitably?) Slovakia delivered the fatal blow at Ellis Park. Too many old, unmotivated players mixed with inexperienced, deer-in-the-headlights youngsters who folded at the first sign of pressure.
Since Thursday, my rage and disgust at Italy’s worst World Cup team of all time have subsided. The one sweet memory extracted from the Ellis Park debacle is captured in this video with Gigi Buffon graciously signing autographs for our kids before the Slovakia game. Grazie Gigi!
The second round of the World Cup starts today, so it is a good time to relive the best moments. Here’s the five best goals for me (in no particular order:
1. First up is the strike by Simphiwe Tshabalala in South Africa’s opening match against Mexico, a game South Africa should have won. Given the state of African teams in the competition–only Ghana made it into the second round–its a good thing the tournament’s first goal was scored by a continental player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA0IzdTADdI&w=500&h=307