Big boots get kicking
The D-day has arrived for World Cup hosts South Africa, who hope months of intense preparation can be translated into victory over Mexico on Friday in the opening 2010 World Cup match.
Training camps in Brazil, Germany and South Africa under Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira have reaped reward as the serial losers of last year have gone 12 matches unbeaten.
We are ready, says the 67-year-old of a team built around Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar and containing more local-based footballers than originally expected.
Mexico look stronger and are more experienced than Bafana Bafana (The Boys) with a potentially potent cocktail of youth and experience captained by occasional Barcelona first-team utility player Rafael Marquez.
It adds up to an intriguing opening match at the first World Cup in Africa with international political icon Nelson Mandela expected to be among a sell-out 90,000 crowd at Soccer City stadium in Soweto.
Parreira, a World Cup-winning coach with Brazil 16 years ago, needs to get a monkey off his back by winning a match at the tournament with a country other than his own.
He took Middle East nations Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to the tournament between 1982 and 1998 without managing to celebrate even one victory. No host nation has failed to reach the second round since the World Cup began 80 years ago and three points for Bafana would set them up for a top-two finish and a place among the 16 survivors. After being told for eight months by South Africans to make them proud, Parreira believes he can deliver a second-round place although other group rivals France and Uruguay are also ranked among the leading 20 nations.
“We cannot beat France, Mexico or Uruguay in a physical struggle. My boys have to play well against them with the ball on the ground.
“This is our big strength. That is what I want the South African team to believe in,” says Parreira.
Bafana demonstrated in a draw with Bulgaria last month that they can retain the ball while a win over Colombia suggested they can handle the pressure of playing before huge crowds.
Mexico had an impressive build-up to the tournament that culminated in a 2-1 Brussels triumph over 2006 World Cup winners Italy via goals from Carlos Vela and Alberto Medina.
Like Parreira, coach Javier Aguirre is a wily old fox when it comes to the big time and at least the 1,800-metre Johannesburg altitude will pose no problems for footballers used to performing at such stamina-draining heights. — AFP
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