Half Time Heroes Contents Page

sbs Cup fever’sTony Wilson’SWorld cup safari

4

GARY AL SMITH

AFRICA’S MOMENT

8

WAYNE SNOWDONDOES LEZ AND FOZZIE

17

KIERAN PENDER

IT’S SPAIN!

10

ASHLEY MORRISON STANDING AT THE TOUCH LINES

12

ZERO AGAINST AUSTRALIA’S WORLD CUP DESTINY

15

SALLY SHIPARD

HTH COLUMN

14 JASON PINETHE UNDEFEATED KIWIS

24

CON STAMOCOSTASLESSONS TO FORGET

16

MIKE SALTERTHE TEN BEST WORLD CUP MOMENTS

18

BEN HALLS

POOR ENGLAND

28

SHANE DAVIS

STILL HOPE

20

GARY LEMON AN AUSSIE GRINGO IN ARGENTINA

22

KIERAN PENDER

EUROPEAN ODYSSEY

26

Hello football fans and welcome to a special edi-tion of Half Time Heroes. This month we REVIEW the World Cup. What does a Dutch player do after he wins the World Cup? He turns off the Play Station!

World Cup Whinge

1) Vuvuzelas. First off how much oil was used to make those things? Oil is used to make plas-tic and in 50 years or so when there isn’t much left future generations will be cursing us and those Vuvuzelas. 2) The Jabulani. It was so bad that Craig

Johnson was starting to talk some sense.

3) SBS had a shocker. Except for Santo, Sam and Ed’s Cup fever. I was getting Martin Tyler with-drawls every time SBS commentator David Basheer got confused with what he thought were goals but were clearly balls flying over the bar & Santo’s imper-sonation of Ned Zelic was the best, I’m telling you!

This month’s highlights on Half Time Heroes:Tony Wilson fresh from the World Cup after his very

funny appearances on the excellent SBS TV show San-to Sam and Ed’s Cup Fever writes about his adven-tures in South Africa, HTH is lucky to have Tony as he has been very busy launching his latest novel “Mak-

ing News”. A review will feature in next month’s issue, but you should definitely check it out it’s an excellent and hilarious read, I’m telling you!Matilda’s Star and Asian Cup Winner Sally Shipard

writes an excellent piece about how the Socceroos felt in camp. Ghanaian football writer Gary Al Smith talks about the African spirit. Ashley Morrison was in Africa filming a documentary about his amazing adventures. Also Kieran Pender’s Football Odyssey

takes him all over Europe. Ben Hall cries from Eng-land and Danny Nighttime was in Argentina to get an ex-clusive interview with Maradona, PLUS HEAPS MORE.

Over 43 pages on the World Cup with the best inter-national coverage and definitely the most passionate!Peace and Football - I hope you enjoy the latest Issue!

Con Stamocostas

CINDY TRAN

SOCCEROOS RECAP

42

ROB TODDLERGREAT MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD (CUP)

30

DARREN CAMERON

STRANGE THINGS

32

DANNY NIGHTTIME

SPEAKS TO DIEGO

33

JEFF FARADAYGIVE RECEIVE RESPECT

34

NAT ADAMOPOLOUSTRIBUTE TO ALLAN CRISP

38

GLENN SIEVER’S MUSICAL TAKE ONSOUTH AFRICA 2010

36

FOREST BRAZILHEY USA: NO WE DIDN’T!

40

The editor makes a comment..

Johannesburg airport introduced me to South Africa and the Vuvuzela. From the moment the silver doors opened from immigration arrival into the airport proper, we walked into the wall of sound that would inspire, delight, deafen and weary us over the month to come. ‘How amazing is this?’ I grinned at my brother, struggling to make myself heard over the buzzard strine. ‘Unbelievable,’ Ned replied. If an airport sounded like this, imagine what it was going to be like in the stadiums.

Our Durban accommodation was miles out of town – the re-sult of FIFA buying up a majority of inner city accommoda-tion years in advance of the tournament. Little did we know, but it was actually a retirement village, and at breakfast on that first morning, I walked into a room containing a wide variety of wheelchair bound, geriatric, white South Africans. The room was totally silent as I made my entrance:

‘Hey, the World Cup starts today,’ I said, clapping my hands, trying to gee up the crowd. ‘You guys must be pretty ex-cited.’ An old woman chewing her cud didn’t even look at me as she beckoned to the waiter. ‘What’s he doing here, and why is he eating our food!’

Eventually, I explained to Mrs Inglis that I was there for the World Cup, and had especially come to Durban to watch Australia play Germany. ‘Oh dear,’ she said. Hindsight would tell me that what I initially mistook for rambling dementia, was actually a moment of sporting prescience

I spent much of my time in around Durban following the Young Zulu Warriors, a group of orphans who performed for the Fanatics at their tent city fan camp. During a memorable bus trip on the way to the gig, they taught me the spiritual power of ‘Shoshalosa’ a worker’s anthem that has featured in movies such as ‘The Gods Must be Crazy’ and ‘Invictus’ and I taught them ‘Super Timmy Cahill’. That cultural exchange will remain a life highlight, even if I suffered the crashing low of having our camera card corrupt, and losing the foot-age of their performance.If the sight of 365 semi luxury tents was something to be-

hold (the high performance of the zips and the responsive-ness of the fluorescent lamps is what separated them from normal tents) then Durban stadium was simply out of this world.

I stood on the pitch in the pre-match before Australia’s most important sporting fixture in four years, my legs shak-ing, my rapidly disintegrating voicebox trying to eke some-thing out above the sound of the Vuvuzelas.

I soaked up the atmosphere, and some would say that I soaked up the last of the Australian optimism, because within eight minutes of that first whistle, Lahm would pass superbly to Podolski who would shoot with such power and class that I momentarily feared for Schwarzer’s right wrist. If the German’s weren’t so goddamned compelling, playing team football at a level beyond anything I’d ever witnessed live, I would have wanted to leave. It was heart-breaking – depressing. Only that afternoon I’d heard Mark Bosnich say to the Fanatics that our slow back four neces-sitated us playing a deep line, that we couldn’t allow their young, fast forwards space to run into. And yet we played the highest line any team played at the 2010 World Cup, with a 4-4-2 combination that included no natural strikers. That match sunk our campaign, and is a bewildering blight on the Verbeek reign that was otherwise such a positive period for Australian football.

Tony Wilson, sbs’s cup fever correspondant Shares his African world cup adventure With half time heroes

I’m ashamed to say that not only did it kill the mood, it also led to some disgraceful behaviour where Aussie fans began reigning beer bottles onto the pitch. ‘Jesus, they’ll kill somebody’ my non-beer drinking father exclaimed, thinking that the brown Budweisers were made of glass.

Fortunately, they were plastic. Still, it was a low point. I attended eleven games at this World Cup, and those few dickhead Aussie fans were the only ones to throw bottles.

The boys were sensational in the second half, and if only an exhausted Luke Wilkshire could have lifted the ball in the dying minutes, we would have had our three points. Still, the team displayed courage and fortitude in the second half, the qualities we have come to know and love about this golden generation of Socceroos. We were proud of them on the drive home, and we had plenty of time to be, because it took authorities about three hours to get the traffic moving on the highway.

South Africa struggled for infrastructure, but it more than made up for it with the friendliness and enthusiasm of the local population. I must confess that like many fans, I’d feared the worst. I made a will before I left.

Continued next page

Left: Tony Wilson blowing on what else but a Vuvuzela?

Below: south african’s going off at one of the fan fests.

The thing that we kept telling ourselves was that although the Germany game was a nightmare – four-nil and our best player suspended for the next game – we always expected to lose it. Ghana was the real tournament breaker. If we could win that, we could still go through. We drove the four hours from Johannesburg to Rustenburg, which just hap-pens to be the headstone capital of South Africa, hoping like hell that we wouldn’t be needing a grave for the Soc-ceroos campaign.

When Holman scored following the Bresciano free kick, the stands erupted in the same way as they did in the last minutes against Japan in 2006. It was unbelievable. People falling over seats, beer flying through the air. We were all over the Ghanaians, and having Harry up front as a tar-get was transformative. And then, as if God had sensed we were having too much fun, the party was stamped out. Hand ball, red card, penalty, goal.

Tony Wilson’s World Cup Safari continued....

As I kissed my wife and kids goodbye, I told her to ‘look after them well’. And yet apart from a few bad experiences with petty theft, I never felt my security threatened.

The serious criminal gangs either took a month off as a nod to the national interest, or the crime stories are exaggerated and over-blown.

Everywhere, from taxi drivers to bar staff to people on the streets trying to sell you everything from earplugs to pillows, to GPS sys-tems to flashing fluorescent noses (it’s hard to listen to directions when they’re coming from someone wearing a flashing nose), peo-ple thanked us for coming to Africa’s World Cup, and were genu-inely concerned as to whether we were liking their country.

We weren’t just liking their country. We were loving it.

Continued next issue ...Tony’s latest novel ‘Making News’ (Mur-doch Books and pictured right) is about a fictional former Socceroo called Charlie Dekker who gets caught up in a tabloid scandal! www.tonywilson.com.au

(Pictured above: Does Tony get on the wrong or right bus?)

(Pictured clos-est left : Anyone want to buy a Socceroos scarf. only one owner?)

(Pictured far left: Tony sings his heart out for the lads)

Scientists would tell you that the stars in the sky took billions of light years to make. For Ghana’s Black Stars, it took just 19 days to make an indelible impression on the world.

When Ghana lined up at the Pretoria stadium on June 13 to face Serbia, it was nation against nation. Weeks later, Uruguay faced Ghana and an entire continent in the last eight. No one has been fully able to grasp the enormity of what the team did for the continent.

Cameroon reached the quarter final of the 1990 edi-tion after the only other African nation, Egypt, failed to push the continent’s agenda forward. Twelve years later in Japan, pundits were surprised when Senegal downed Sweden in the second round to reach the quarter-finals as well. After Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia had all made it to the showpiece, it was the Teranga Lions who were the only African na-tion to do well.

But Ghana’s case is different.

This was called Africa’s World Cup, being the first –and maybe the last in a long time – to be held on the continent. This was supposed to be the time for Africa, with Ivory Coast’s golden generation yet to fulfill its potential, Cameroon’s aging team looking to bow out with a fitting swansong, Algeria’s multiracial side to re-store World Cup pride, Nigeria to reignite its self-belief, Ghana to improve on the performance of Germany and South Africa to show the world its new football iden-tity.

In the end, only the Black Stars got out of its group. To keep the image of ‘the African Challenge’ going, the entire continent – led by the hosts – embarked on a simultaneous pro-Ghana agenda that was simple in its execution. Fans from other African nations trooping to Ghana’s games painted themselves in the red, yellow and green with the black star in the middle. They called us the ‘Ba-Ghana BaGhana’ (a corruption of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana) with a special refrain quickly composed saying “Show them, Ghana show them!”In Ghana’s Round of 16 tie with the USA, the Black

Stars saw a Rustenberg stadium with thousands of

Ghanaian fans. Many of those were from the mother-land but a lot more had just been adopted. The celebra-tions from Kevin-Prince Boateng’s opener was said to have ‘shaken the continent to its foundations by one commentator. Then Jonathan Mensah committed a foul in his vital area to hand American captain Landon Donovan the chance to level, which he did.

Between the goal and the end of regulation time, Af-rica sat on tenderhooks, biting its nails at every chal-lenge, and every move. The game went to extra time and soon after the start, Asamoah Gyan shrugged off a challenge from club teammate Carlos Bocanegra to power the ball past the advancing Tim Howard.

Gyan celebrated his goal with the ‘Azonto’ dance but by the time the game was done, Africa was going bonk-ers. Some parts overdid it and deaths resulted – six in Ghana, an unconfirmed number in neighbouring Togo, three in the Ivory Coast and one in the DR Congo.

Bring on Uruguay. Ghana’s population is five times that of its opposition,

but Uruguay came into this game with a bigger football reputation. They fielded a ruthless team marshalled by Diego Forlan, in addition to having won two World Cups, and then there was their coach Oscar Tabarez, who had already led his nation - less successfully - at the World Cup in 1990.

But Africa was not perturbed. The Cape Town stadium saw one of the most one-sided support any African team, except the hosts, had received in South Africa. Meanwhile, the Uruguay’s support filled a small por-tions of the grounds. Even so, they laughed loudest as they went into the semis by Sebastian Abreu’s cheeky chip in the penalty shootout.

Africa’s reaction to Ghana’s loss was interesting: when it hit home that Africa’s only hope was gone, the stadi-um went still. Moments later, there was applause from parts of the grounds as some fans what Ghana had achieved, and what it really meant. Others were not so forgiving, blaming Uruguay’s Luis Suarez for ‘cheating’ by handling the ball as it made to enter his goal; then pointing a finger at referee Olegario Benquarenca for not giving a straight goal and finally Gyan for not con-verting the spot kick.

PROUD GHANAIAN GARY AL SMITHWRITES HOW THE WORLD CUP BROUGHT AFRICA TOGETHER

Black Stars: Capturing a continent’s heart!

(Inset Left) Ghana’s Andre Ayew and Gyan celebrating victory over the USA. (Pic by Ryu Voelkel http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

The scene was replayed across the rest of the world where Ghana had built a fanatical following. There were tears in pubs across Europe, Asia and even in parts of North America.

Millions had clung on to hope, praying Ghana to break the jinx that has stopped Africans from reaching the last four.

Perhaps luck eluded the lads. Perhaps they were not clinical enough. The de-bate would go on, but one thing is clear: Ghana united football fans worldwide, and especially in Africa, in ways that beat the weirdest of sociological theories.

At the end of their South African adven-ture, $14 million dollars was what Ghana earned from FIFA, while the players got enough to gorge themselves silly.

But what they earned in the hearts of their fans is without price: love, respect and a new-age hope in the African dream.

Gary Al-Smith is the ESPN Correspond-ent for Ghana and a blogger for World Cup Blog

Possibly the most pain-ful and cheekiest mo-ment of the World Cup.

Sebastian Abreu is about to step and up and dash the hopes of Ghana, The African Continent and most of the World. save for a few million Uru-guayans

(Pic by Jimmy Baikovicius)

After over two years of beautiful passing football, with exquisite goals to match, Spain had to play ugly to win the World Cup, and with close one-nil wins and goals from headers, they did just that. La Furia Roja became world champions after Andres Iniesta slotted home a pass from Cesc Fabregas in the 116th minute of the final in Soccer City, Johannesburg.

They were hailed as the kings of champagne football, as the most watchable side in the world, yet they were also critiqued for their lack of a plan-B, the lack of an ability to break teams down. A loss to Switzerland in Spain’s opening game only increased these worries, fears that the World Cup would be won by the Inter-Mi-lan of the international scene, rather than the Barcelona.

However, wins over Honduras, Chile, Portugal, Para-guay, Germany and finally Holland saw the European champions lift the ultimate honour in football, the World Cup. For the first time in their history, the Span-ish national team became World champions.

And oh did they celebrate. Cities all around Spain went wild, with huge parties in Madrid and Barcelona. However the victory was sadly not as dramatic as was widely tipped. Many labelled it beforehand as a game of passing football, pitting two of the ‘prettiest’ teams in world football in the ultimate spectacle. Spain v Hol-land was only just behind Spain v Brazil in the hoped for final.

But when it came, the victory was soured by a poor 120 minutes of cynical play. 13 yellow cards and a red to John Heitinga turned the opportunity for a brilliant display of passing football to a game of rough tackling and bad football.

While some may argue that Holland had every right to use such tactics, seeing it as a perfectly legitimate way to play, there is no denying that it ruined the possibility for a night of gorgeous football.Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque said after the match that, “Holland made it very difficult for us to play comfortably. I’m here to speak about the beautiful things in football. It was rough at times, but that’s part of football.” Sadly, these things happen, but ultimately the better team won, and justice was served.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk also felt like adding that “It’s not our style to commit horrible fouls. It’s not our kind of football. But I would love to have won it with football that was not so beautiful. Both sides, also the Spaniards, committed terrible fouls.” Wouldn’t we all have loved to have won the World Cup?

Spain played like Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, Holland as Inter. Only this time, tactical genius Jose Mourinho was not involved, and La Furia Roja, a large chunk of the side made up of Barca play-ers, were too good. Just too good.

The Spanish side are now both European and World champions, and despite having won everything availa-ble to them, the side will not be slowing down yet. Stars David Villa, Xavi and Iker Casillas all have another World Cup in them, while other important members of the squad, David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres, are still relatively young. Even if Xavi, at 30 the third oldest member of the World Cup squad, was to call it a day soon, he would be replaced by Fabregas or Javi Martinez, two world class midfield-ers.

Spain has always enjoyed incredibly talented players, from Telmo Zarra to Raul, Alfredo di Stéfano to Fern-ando Hierro. However there was always that doubt, that lack of confidence in a team that never before made a World Cup final. After taking the Euros in 2008, a team brimming with star quality finally found its feet.

They surpassed negative football and foul play to win the World Cup in South Africa 2010. With such con-fidence now instilled in the team, a second and even third World Cup does not look doubtful. After years as the ‘coulda beens’ of world football, La Furia Roja, the Spanish national team, is now ready to write themselves into the history books. World, watch out.

The best part of the victory? I tipped it! I predicted in the Half Time Heroes World Cup special edition that Spain’s “...time has finally come,” and I was right. Pity I didn’t put my money where my mouth was...

La Happenings!: World Cup review spain Kieran Pender PICKED THE WINNER!

ole! Spain celebrate their historic world cup victory (Pics OF WORLD CUP FINALE by Ryu Voelkel http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

I spent the entire World Cup travelling through Africa filming a documentary “Stand-ing at the Touchlines” seeing if this event re-ally could unite a continent. We visited eight countries in four weeks arriving in South Africa for the semi finals and final. http://onthetouchlines.com/

It was sad to see so many of the African sides fall by the wayside so early in the competi-tion, however the run of Ghana was definitely a uniting factor. To be in Ghana when Austral-ia played was also a very special time. Every-where you went in Africa people wanted to be associated with Ghana’s success; so much so that in South Africa they were calling them “Baghana Baghana,” in place of their own “Bafana Bafana.”

For me Gyan’s penalty miss will be the most memorable moment of the tournament. It also raised the issue of whether football should follow Rugby and give a penalty goal in such an instant. This World Cup, more so than many before, raised issues that FIFA needs to look at, such as the use of technol-ogy, as far too many of the officials were conned or simply made the wrong call.

It also showed that in the modern game the players have far too much power. For that rea-son so many teams underperformed, until such time as the coach regains complete control and respect, those nations fans can simply continue to dream of World Cup glory.

This world cup was great for South Africa and Africa as a whole, but what will be interesting is what happens now the circus has left town.

Will FIFA seriously continue its interest in Africa and helping the game develop? Will all of the artificial pitches promised under their “Football for Hope” programme be completed and maintained?

These are the issues that fans need to be look-ing at if football is to be a truly world game, and if Africa is not to be used as an electioneer-ing puppet. (Africa has more votes in its con-federation than any other and it was their vote that gave Mr Blatter his position).

In footballing terms it was not a memorable world cup, the altitude and the Jabulani ball playing their part.

“Standing at the Touchlines” is a documentary about Africa cel-ebrating the hosting of its first World Cup by Ashley Morrison (on the right of the picture). First Ashley travelled to Nigeria, Gha-na and Cameroon in West Africa.

From there, he visited Kenya, Tan-zania, Uganda and the Sudan. In these East African countries he vis-ited a sports clinic for street children, watched them train and then watched a World Cup game with them.

But in terms of atmosphere, the vu-vuzelas ensured that there was none like it.

The South African public embraced it and showcased their country superbly, and for those who went there, it will live long in the memory. The fan parks were outstanding and the music, the vibrancy and the colour made it the perfect ap-petiser for Brazil in four years time. Africa and South Africa can be proud of the show they put on, and deserve the chance to host it again.

As one South African said “ I never wanted it to end, I felt I saw the world in a month, which was wonderful as I will never be able to afford to travel the world and visit the places all the fans came from.”

It was a wonderful festival, made pos-sible thanks to football.

It also showed that in the modern game the players have far too much power. For that rea-son so many teams underperformed, until such time as the coach regains complete control and respect, those nations fans can simply continue to dream of World Cup glory.

This world cup was great for South Africa and Africa as a whole, but what will be interesting is what happens now the circus has left town.

Will FIFA seriously continue its interest in Africa and helping the game develop? Will all of the artificial pitches promised under their “Football for Hope” programme be completed and maintained?

These are the issues that fans need to be look-ing at if football is to be a truly world game, and if Africa is not to be used as an electioneer-ing puppet. (Africa has more votes in its con-federation than any other and it was their vote that gave Mr Blatter his position).

In footballing terms it was not a memorable world cup, the altitude and the Jabulani ball playing their part.

Above: Ashley goes for a ride in the VW Vuvuze-la Car. “The Music was blaring and I was really tempted to do the Shakira moves to ‘Waka Waka – This time for Africa’ out of the open top roof.”

Below: ashley and Melrose mArch into Johan-nesburg to watch the Spain v Germany Semi Final.

Leading a life that can be quite unsettling.

A little bit of time has passed since our Asian Cup triumph, settling back in at

home has been well..... ok.

Don’t get me wrong, life as an athlete is a incredible jour-ney and chasing a leather ball all around the world is a great deal of fun. Although in reality, it can be a struggle too. I’m not going to write something now so that you can pity us ‘athletes’, I want to provide you with an insight as to what we experience- the real part the media aren’t interested in. I’m sure that in your world there are comparisons no matter what your career. We are humans like you... and I hope that you are able to relate.

Here’s an idea of the transition athletes face. For a solid five weeks we were all in tournament mode. During the Asian Cup, for three weeks we were completely submerged in the Chinese culture. Our days were structured, sleeping patterns affected by travel and unfamiliar beds. Each night we’d be briefed about the next day, at times you’d thrive in this environment, at times you wouldn’t. That’s one ofthe beauties of being in a team and the Matilda’s espe-cially- someone else’s attitude will help you through the darker days.

Life in ‘tournament mode’ can be quite mundane and at times drive you mad. I was chatting with Graham Arnold upon his return from South Africa and during their recent World Cup campaign they experienced an extreme form of isolation- safety precautions obviously. They were swept from their hotel for training and returned straight after, no Internet, no families. They saw more African wildlife than people. (I thought that was pretty cool at first- but nothing beats human contact after a few days). Some of the guys were going mad- of course when your safety is the main priority extreme measures must be taken. You do have to feel for them though.

THE Matilda’s Asian cup winner Sally Shipard gives hth readers an insight into tournament play

When you experience such a high during a tourna-ment, you’re away from the real world for a while, you arrive back and life gives you a big slap in the face. All that you have achieved slots somewhere into your memory bank and focus turns to work, uni, fam-ily, friends, and well, all things life away from foot-ball.

Unfortunately a bleak low soon follows. Its not all dark and dreary- there’s always playing catch-ups with pals, and of course ‘what’s goss’.

When competing in any form highs and lows are in-evitable- it’s how you react and deal with the differing levels of emotion that’s important.

In my case a small bit of ‘post Asian Cup blues’ was experienced- it takes a little while to feel as though you have the right amount of direction (minus the structure of tour mode). Since returning I have had several weeks off to relax and unwind and have now been training for the past three weeks. Adjusting to the cold Canberra climate resulted in a bad case of the flu. Having now recovered I’ve managed to get my uni all sorted and that shall commence in a couple of weeks. I must sit an exam I missed whilst over competing in the Asian Cup. Which reminds me, I shouldstudy.... :-/

Up next: We have just received e-mails in regards to the W-League. Nothing has been confirmed yet, al-though come November the League should begin. The Matilda’s have a trip to Asia and Germany in October. Until then... University and work will consume our lives. Oh, and of course, Football.

Just before I go...I would like to make something clear. The perks of being an athlete certainly outweigh any negative aspect. For as long as you enjoy chasingyour dream :-)

Check out Sally’s personal Blog here:http://www.offexploring.com/chasin-gleather/blog

The implications of Australia as a respected football nation, as we now undoubtedly are, mean that our foot-ball destiny is not tied up with making the second round of a tournament, or playing friendlies against England to a sell-out SCG. The exposure the game gets from be-ing part of a massive world movement should sustain it in perpetuity.

Our destiny lies beyond this World Cup, and in fact it lies beyond any World Cup. It is tied in to the swelling tide of momentum that simply comes with being part of World Football..

So was I disappointed we did not make the round of 16? Yes. But this World Cup lacked the overwhelming urgen-cy for success that lingered over Germany ‘06. It was not do or die for the game in Australia, because with every year that passes, with every event, it is becoming clearer that we are mixing comfortably into the company of other nations who love the game.

So it eased the pain. We should enjoy the ride, and look forward to the next four year journey and all that it throws our way.

Our destiny lies beyond this World CupThe World Cup is done and dusted. The body clock

is back to normal, and I am weening myself off the increased doses of caffeine and late night vegemite toast. Like many others I have been reflecting on what this

World Cup has meant for Australian football. The con-clusion? The journey is just as important as the end result.Thirty two nations fought long and hard for qualifica-

tion and a chance to grace the fields of South Africa in the hope of snatching an elusive win, the chance to dream of taking the scalp of a Germany, Spain, Italy or Brazil. Socceroos fans around the country and the world dreamed of a repeat performance, and maybe, a better performance than last time, or maybe just a bit of Karma.But, if I could take the liberty of getting all Les Mur-

ray-esque for just a moment, Football is not always a game that rewards hope or delivers justice. It is often a cruel master that punishes weakness and inadequa-cy as relentlessly as it deals out inexplicable results, undeserved victories and little reward for massive ef-fort. Like life itself, the best and most gracious do not always come out on top. A mirror of society, and a re-minder that yes, life is hard. A team game that requires a melding of minds beyond the 11 players on the field, the subs on the bench or the manager steering the tac-tics. And so many variables to throw off the best laid plans...vuvuzuelas, Jabulani, Pim Verbeek etc.

So when there is imbalance, uncertainty, a chink in the armour, lack of resolve and just downright poor decision making, we get results like the one for the Australians against Germany at this World Cup. Foot-ball, however, like life, can also spring a surprise and turn of fortune like no other sport. As football fans we know this, and this tension is what addicts us to the game.

What the Australian general sporting public are also beginning to realise, though, is that as one tourna-ment comes to a close, so many new opportunities arise for the game. The talking points are massive no matter what the results. New managers, Asian cup campaigns, a new set of qualifiers to play, new young stars emerging, a new A-League season - these just scratch the surface of what we have to look forward to seeing and reading about.

COULD this be Australia’s World Cup destiny? The World Cup Trophy.

Picture by http://www.ryusha.com

Con Stamocostas: LESSONS TO FORGET

One Loss and We Hate YouThe manic and depressive nature of being an Australian football fan. One loss and all of a sudden Australia is a laughing stock and no-one really cares about football. One win and all of a sudden the nation is bursting with pride. Also notice that the Headline writers love using “We” and “Our” in front of the Socceroos when they win it gives us the feeling of community but lose and we will disown you like one of Pele’s or Maradona’s kids born out of wedlock.

Courage and Pride A Cover For LosersIf your team is called courageous and the fans are filled with pride after your team gets knocked out of the World Cup then you are nothing but losers who dine on medioc-rity. You should concentrate on the Commonwealth Games.

Damn You 4-2-3-1If your team plays with this system they are afraid to lose and if both teams are playing this system then its 90 min-utes of midfield mediocrity a system that shackles teams, frustrates fans and gives analysts wet dreams. All this talk about tactics and team ideology is really all about moving one guy a little forwards and another guy a little backwards.

Socceroos Cry and so do Craig Foster and Les Murray!I would say that only Harry Kewell would have been well within his right to have a cry. All those laps and stretching and groin rubbing and he only played less than 30 mins. Tim Cahill had a cry after he was sent off, and so did the whole nation. Craig Foster, Les Murray and the rest of us cried when we saw the Socceroos line up against Germany.

Playing in the A League is better than training in Eu-ropeNew Zealand showed that A League players were able to play at the World Cup. After months of well known coaches suggesting that it couldn’t be done. The Kiwi’s showed the world that they can run for 90 minutes and play effective Rugby style field position Football. Who cares if it doesn’t allow you win a game the point is that the Kiwi’s could end up being the only undefeated team at this World Cup. If it so, it will be a football quiz question for the ages.

Losing 4-0 to Germany is Un-AustralianIf you don’t say someone is Un-Australian at least 100 times in your Australian life you are Un-Australian.

Diving inDiving is a skill, feigning injury is a skill, and walking on and off the pitch next to a fair play flag with a straight face is an even bigger skill.

Australian Football Media are Mentalist Cry BabiesWatching Craig Foster lose it little by little with every game the Socceroos played was almost as enjoyable as the foot-ball. The suggestion that former captains should look at the team sheet and tactics prior to the game to make sure the team plays like Australians was a beauty. In fact it should be extended to fans and friends and wives and girlfriends of the players as well. Sort of like a leadership group in AFL get everyone in the change room prior to the game and eve-ryone takes a vote. Should we play with one striker? Hands up if Brett Holman should play.

A Crazy Maradona is better Than Most Sane Coaches.Maradona has shown that all you need is love. He con-stantly gives his players kisses and bear hugs before, during and after games. Who doesn’t want a hug from a sweaty, bearded short man with two watches? Perhaps Pim should have hugged or kissed more. I know Harry needed a hug. But what kind of hug?

Me-Hug: The hug that the Socceroos were using leading up to the World Cup. With rumours of a split in the Soc-ceroos camp the technique of wrapping your arms around yourself could have been the reason the Socceroos were dumped out in the group stage.

Custom-tailored Hug: This is the hug that Pim failed to use during the tournament. A high-quality hug that could have saved the Socceroos. It is used whenever a taller hug-ger hugs a smaller huggee.

Bear Hug: Maradona used this technique all tournament. The full body hug places the hugger and huggee toe-to-toe and belly-to-belly. Feeling Maradona’s belly inspires the players. Since Maradona is God, touching the belly of the Gods gives the Argentine’s that divine help. Unfortunately for the Argies the German backhander was a much stronger that the Maradona belly hug.

So learn and forget these lessons. You the tall Dutch guy at the back, I’m taking to you!!!

Mike Salter “the football Tragic” picks his 10 favourite moments from THE 2010 WORLD CUP http://thefootballtragic.blogspot.com

South Africa 2010 -

Ten Memorable Moments

Whatever you think of the quality of the 2010 World Cup, it was certainly not short of talking points. Phantom goals, dubious red cards, clairvoyant octopi, the mysteries of the Jabulani trajectory, the collapse of South America after such a promising start...and the list goes on. A personal top ten follows, arranged in chronological order:

1. Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal against Mexico

The South Africa v. Mexico game constituted a fabulous start to the tournament. Plenty of attacking football and fine individual skills on show, with the game ending enjoyably and deservedly equal. And the highlight of the evening was one of the finest team goals of the tournament, scored in fine style by the hosts’ star player, whom many of the fans would have seen plying his trade in the local league. A fearsome left-footed drive which defeated both Oscar Perez and Jabu-lani physics capped off a stylish move, and everyone knew that South Africa would not be pushovers. A cracking start to South Africa 2010.

2. Robert Green’s blunder against the USA

It just wouldn’t be a World Cup without an England melt-down, and in South Africa it happened earlier than expected. The inevitable hand-wringing and fault-finding is well underway in the home of football as usual, but I believe their decline started with Robert Green’s embarrassing fumble, and never stopped. England had started the game in Rustenburg brightly, Steven Gerrard scoring an early goal, but when they conceded that nightmarish equaliser, their momentum came to a shuddering halt. No more goals in that game, a stultifying draw with Algeria, a meagre win over Slovenia, and then that thumping at the hands of the Ger-mans. Football’s not coming home this year.3. Winston Reid’s goal against Slovakia

Who would have put money on New Zealand finishing as the one undefeated team at South Africa 2010? If anyone did, they could probably purchase a seafront mansion in Auckland outright by now. The Kiwis’ match against Slo-vakia had followed what most neutrals probably thought was a predictable pattern; tough defence, a spirited fight, but a goal ultimately conceded (an offside one, incidentally). Then an aerial bombardment of the Slovakian box in a futile attempt to...no, wait, he’s scored!!

New Zealand’s first point at the World Cup finals, and it wasn’t to be their last. A marvellous moment for the underdogs, which set the tone for their whole campaign.

4. Kaka’s dismissal against the Ivory Coast

I’ve included this one to show that the sly play-acting long associated with World Cups is alive and well. It helped to get Ricardo Costa sent off in Spain’s second round match with Portugal, it contributed to plenty of other yellow and red cards in the course of the event, but it was never as blatant as Kader Keita’s disgraceful over-reaction to a trivial touch from Kaka in Brazil’s 3-1 win over the Ivorians. An incident of little conse-quence in some ways, but indicative of a continuing problem in world football.

5. Yakubu’s miss against South KoreaThe World Cup has seen egregious misses before, of course. There was Gyula Rakosi’s extraordinary miss against the USSR in the 1966 quarter-final, and Julio Cardenosa’s well-known blunder against Brazil in the 1978 tournament. But I’m struggling to remember an open-goal howler quite as bad as Yakubu Aiyegbeni’s unbelievable miss against the Koreans, when the game (and qualification) was in the balance. From no more than three yards out, almost directly in front of goal, he managed to put a cutback the wrong side of the upright. A moment that has to be seen to be believed.

6. Frank Lampard’s phantom goalIt could go down in history as the moment when FIFA finally, belatedly, realised that enough was enough. Their stubborn resistance to video technology as a means of assisting referees in the decision-making proc-ess, an attitude which has kept football twenty years behind the times, won them worldwide censure and ridicule thanks to the most absurd decision in World Cup history. How could such a goal not be given in the year 2010, with all the technological advances since the first World Cup in 1930? There was no answer, and the game might finally lurch into the 21st century as a result.

7. Asamoah Gyan’s missed penalty

No World Cup quarter-final has ever had as dramatic an ending as this. Luis Suarez’s crafty handball on the line looked to have settled what had been an enter-tainingly even match, but Gyan, Ghana’s player of the tournament by some distance, the side’s leader and beacon, muffed his spot-kick...and Africa was denied its chance of having a team in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time. Penalties are football’s purga-tory, and Gyan ended up going through the trapdoor.

8. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s goal against Uru-guay

This Dutch side was young, tough, hungry and, as we saw in the final, inclined to brutality at times. In a way, their distinguished captain was an incongruous figure, a throwback to an earlier time, a survivor of the 1998 tournament. In the semi-final against Uru-guay, most people expected Arjen Robben or Wesley Sneijder to be the game-breakers, but instead it was the veteran left-back who strolled forward and got things underway with an astonishing long shot into the far corner from a full thirty yards. A goal good enough to decide any semi-final...even if there were four more goals to follow.

9. Nigel de Jong’s kung-fu kick on Xabi Alonso

There could be no moment more descriptive of the 2010 World Cup final than the Dutch midfielder’s studs making contact with Xabi Alonso’s chest. It was one of two early fouls for which the Netherlands should have had a man dismissed, and Howard Webb’s lenient but foolish decision not to send off Nigel de Jong exacer-bated the already brutish tactics that the Dutch had seen fit to use. The match ended up being a forgettable one, despite its occasional drama, and it was the merci-ful attitude of Webb towards fouls like de Jong’s which set the tone.

10. Andres Iniesta’s dedication of his World Cup-winning goal

Andres Iniesta is one of the most admired players in the world game, and he will not have done his reputa-tion any harm with either the goal that won the tour-nament for the Spanish or his actions after it; wheeling away in traditional fashion, he revealed a heartfelt tribute to the late Espanyol player Dani Jarque, a good friend of Iniesta’s, on his T-shirt. It was a touching moment which added greater allure to the Spanish victory, although, in a petty anti-climax, Iniesta was presented with the automatic yellow card for removing his shirt. Well done again.....

Iniesta scores!

Shane Davis SAYS FOOTBALL HAS Progressed

SINCE THE 1998 WORLD CUP http://hiraldo.wordpress.com

Hope for the futureAs the final of South Africa 2010 unravelled in a man-ner not much better than the 1990 nightmare of West Germany v Argentina, the average fan’s feeling towards this year’s World Cup took an unfair turn for the worse. As much frustration could be had regarding various as-pects of the tournament, it should not be overlooked that this was the best, most pleasing and most progressive World Cup since 1998.

Aside from the matter of the lamentable Jabulani ball, why couldn’t South Africa 2010 match France 1998? A key factor behind the latter tournament’s on-field suc-cess was the strength both at the top end and in depth in Europe and South America - Brazil reaching the final and four teams in the last 16 for CONMEBOL, and Europe generally performing to the standard that would make Euro 2000 such a terrific tournament and a world away from the dour Euro 1996.

UEFA, with its first ever world champion outside of Europe, and CONMEBOL, with a record four quarter-finalists, have reasons to be significantly pleased with their showing in South Africa. But the temperamental and tactical failings of Brazil and Argentina respectively ensured, for the first time ever, that neither of CONME-BOL’s big two would make the last four for a second straight World Cup, while, conversely, Europe’s perform-ances below their top three was very disappointing.

So what of the future? In fairness Brazil 2010 looked every inch like world champion material until their second half implosion against the Netherlands, while the very impressive Argentinian team of 2006 had an extremely tough draw from start to finish. Europe is a murkier matter, requiring the kick-starting that it may just have received in the past couple of years.

In response to the physical burnouts of almost all top teams and players at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, pragmatism - or more specifically, reactive football heav-ily reliant on counter-attacks - has reigned supreme in European football for much of the past several years. The downside to such an approach, quite aside from aesthet-ics, is that it stands to be shown up if proactive teams can again withstand the physical demands of top level football.

Spain - one of the few major European teams happy to always set out their stall and be at risk of getting caught on the counter - are now world champions. It’s true that they were hardly a free-scoring or totally convincing team going forward in South Africa, but Spain’s triumph carries huge significance because of its background. There’s the 2008 breakthrough European title, the 35-game unbeaten streak until June 2009, the first time a side has won all 10 of their qualifiers and, yes, Barcelona’s emphatic success in similar style with many of the same players during the same period.

European football can take a lesson or two from Spain’s campaign and what caused them most (legitimate) grief after the freak loss to Switzerland. Chile and Paraguay, despite being without key strikers Humberto Suazo and Salvador Cabañas respectively, adopted an aggressive pressing game that made it difficult for Spain to get into their rhythm before letting them off with a bad goalkeep-ing error or poor penalty. Portugal and Germany, on the other hand, sat deep extremely passively and rather use-lessly, while the Netherlands’ physical rattling of Spain was lucky not to incur a few reds.

If that’s the best the rest of Europe can throw up to the likes of Spain then there is excessive fear in the European game. Thankfully, along with Spain’s title, the statistics paint a hopeful picture. The group stage goals-per-game average of 2.10 was the lowest ever (thanks largely to the awful first round of group games that produced 1.56 GPG, by far a record low). But, excluding the third/fourth play-off, this year’s knockout stage (2.60 GPG) produced 13 more goals than 2002 and 2006 (both 1.73) and the best football in the most important stage of the competition since 1998 (2.80).

Just like Euro 2008 (when the overcast, often wet weather was much cooler than the sun-bathed 2006 World Cup), the knockout stage produced a pleasing amount of goals, entertaining football and a very progressive winner. Prom-isingly, the winter tournaments of the 2011 Asian Cup, 2011 Copa América and 2014 World Cup, along with Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, are all likely to also be played in relatively comfortable conditions, and hopefully with a more suitable ball.

Congratulations to DIEGO FORLAN AND THOMAS MULLER winner of the GOLDEN BALL and GOLDEN BOOT respectively.

(Picture of Forlan, Muller and Ozil by Ryu Voelkel - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

GEOFF LEMON WAS AN AUSSIE GRINGO IN ARGENTINA WATCHINGTHE WORLD CUP WITH THE LOCALS

It was during the first group game against Nigeria that we noticed the eeriness of it all. The three of us had been travelling through Argentina for about six months, and the small northern city of Salta had struck us as a nice place to put down roots for a while. Until now it had been unpleasant, unremarkable town. Nothing out of the ordinary. But today something was different.

We’d started the day in a friend’s apartment with a handful of raucous Argentines. I was late and John came down to let me in. By the time we got upstairs we’d missed Heinze’s diving header, one of the goals of the tournament. Monika, though Czech, was in raptures along with the Argentines. But still, it was a football match, with football fans. Nothing we hadn’t seen before. It was only when we went searching for beer at half-

time that things started getting weird. It took us a little while to figure it out. I noticed John looking perplexed, the same as I was feeling, but I didn’t know why. After two or three blocks it struck both of us. We stopped on a corner for traffic that wasn’t there, looked at each other and said, “Where the hell is everybody?” It was a fair question. The normally hectic town was

utterly deserted. Utterly. Not one person visible on the streets. Gratings and shutters firmly closed and locked. Not one bus. Not one taxi. Not one car, bicycle, pram or hovercraft. Nothing. It was like the opening scenes of 28 Days Later. While the day was warm and benign, with clear gold winter sun laid across the town like honey, we were just waiting for something to give, for hordes of mutant something-or-others to emerge and tear us apart. There was nothing of the sort. The zombies were all watching football too.

On the eighth block we finally saw movement. Living, not undead. Three pretty girls in Albiceleste shirts, danc-ing with the Argentine flag. They corralled us as we tried to pass and made us dance with them (ok, they didn’t have to try very hard). “Uno-cero!” they said. “Vamos a ganar!” (“One-nil! We’re going to win!) We did the uno-cero dance, whirled around in circles with the swirling sky-blue-and-white stripes of the bandera snapping in the breeze.

It took another few blocks to find a shop that was open, though the mother and daughter running it were seques-tered out the back watching the half-time wrap on TV.

The trip home was as deserted as before, bar stopping off for another quick dance with our new friends.

Midway through the second half I went out on the balcony and leant over the city. There was the distinct and recognisable sound of...nothing. Not one engine or conversation. The quiet was so immense I could actu-ally hear the warmth coming off the rooftops, the slight creak as it radiated from tin, and from way across the city at the wooded foot of the Saint Bernado hill, the whistle and twitter of birds that would normally be drowned out. There is a lot of magic in football, beyond what happens on the pitch. This pattern continued throughout Argentina’s cam-

paign: the complete shutdown of the city for ninety minutes in the mid-afternoon. Bars and restaurants packed out to the point where they had to hire security to keep people out after kick-off. The guards spent the whole match craning their necks to see the nearest TV. The waiters gathered in corners and steadfastly avoid-ed eye contact with potential customers. Everyone had their priorities firmly ordered. The day before the game against Greece, I was talking to a taxi driver about life in Argentina. He was saying how working here was hard, that he worked every day, Christmas, New Year’s, any-thing. I asked if he was working tomorrow afternoon. He just threw back his head and laughed.

After the games we took to going to the plaza to watch the celebrations. Thousands of people would roll in within minutes, resplendent in the national colours, carrying horns and trumpets and drums, and start dancing. This is a cultural disconnect. Australians only dance if it’s dark, noisy, and we’re shitfaced. These Argentines were dancing up a storm in the clear light of day with only a makeshift drumbeat to lead them on. Then I saw footage of Brazil, and what was actually a rock concert stage with a giant screen, and perhaps thirty thousand fans cheering and waving. Salta is still a little small to compete, but the passion is just as in-tense.

Today I ask my neighbour about his country’s fanati-cism (we began having World Cup seminars whenever I ran into him outside smoking). Football is football, Nico says. The difference between the levels is ni un pedo (a great Argentine phrase that means ‘not worth a fart’). “It could be third division,” he says, “it could be a club match with your friends, but you always feel it.

There’s a writer called Fontanarrosa who says if you go to a match and you don’t insult somebody – could be a player, could be your players, could be the referee – but if you don’t insult somebody then there was no point in going. And he’s right. If you don’t insult somebody it means you don’t feel anything. In the heat of the mo-ment you mean it, you really mean it, and they know that. But afterwards it’s just football. You can have someone who is a friend of everybody there, but if he plays for the other team, then for that match he’s your enemy.”

It’s often been written that Argentines live and breathe football. It’s been written of many other places as well. Where life is hard, it’s logical that people seek escape in the pleasures of sport and supporting teams, something almost universally available. On the tiny Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, I once saw hordes of boys playing barefoot on an unmarked patch of grass with a dried-out coconut husk. Here, the kids in poor towns pool their socks and tie them together into a ball, playing in narrow dusty back lanes. Whatever its limitations, the passion for football remains.

And while Argentina is a relatively developed country, life here is still hard. The financial crisis of 2001 left deep scars. Inflation is still steep – even in six months we’ve seen prices rising – but real wages are desper-ately low. My friends in Buenos Aires would work nine or ten hour shifts for twenty Australian dollars. Singles might survive, but that wouldn’t feed a family for a day.

Everywhere I go, people are astonished that I could just take a year off and travel. Not only in terms of saving the money beforehand, but the fact that I can go home and expect to find work. Every Argentine with a job clings to it for dear life. Leave it and it might take years to find another. Even in good salaried jobs, holidays are just two weeks a year. Only thus are people here able to ration out a little time for themselves.

But football is not just about distraction, explains Nico. It’s a matter of pride as well. And when life is hard, pride becomes even more important. “Where I grew up it was a town of three thousand people. All the towns nearby were the same. But every town had a football club. And when you play for that club, you’re representing your town, your people.” It’s a loyalty that can never change. “Right now,” he says, “I’m 1500 kilometres from home. It’s ok for me to follow a club from around here. But if they ever played my club from back home, there’s no question of who to follow. You can’t change that. Your team is where you’re from, it’s who you are. And nothing says that more than football.”

The sense of identity starts with the national team, then to the first division, and so on down the ranks to the most local. “The national team is who you are too,” con-cludes Nico, “who we all are. In other countries perhaps it’s different, but here we’re not so patriotic. Here we don’t think about the nation very much. For me, when the national team plays, that’s almost the only time we think, ‘We’re Argentinos.’”

MESSI CUTS A FORLORN FIGURE AFTER BEING DUMPED OUT BY GERMANY IN THE QUARTER FINALS. (Pic by Ryu Voelkel http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

Before the World Cup, supposedly informed media opin-ion was almost universal in its disdain of New Zealand. Whipping boys they said. Certainly won’t get a point. Might not even score a goal. Three big losses coming up. One pre-tournament guide even listed New Zealand ’s cap-tain as Nelsen Ryan. But among the side there was a steely resolve; a deter-mination to prove they belonged at the World Cup and weren’t there to make up the numbers. In 1982, being there was enough. For these guys, it certainly wasn’t. And what transpired will live long in the memories of those who witnessed it unfold, either up close or back home on television. The first hint the pre-tournament naysayers would have to eat their words came in the opening twenty minutes of the first match against Slovakia . The All Whites were the bet-ter side. They dominated. Slovak coach Vladimir Weiss scratched his head on the bench and wondered about the wisdom of his pre-match refusal to contemplate anything other than a comfortable victory for his side.

Even when they fell behind, it never looked like New Zea-land would fold. However, as the clock ticked past 92 min-utes, it seemed we’d have to settle for an honourable loss. Instead, Winston Reid’s late header gave New Zealand its first World Cup point and one they totally deserved. Slovakia was one thing; the reigning World Champions were entirely another. The chasm between the two nations was demonstrated by a visit to a daily Italian media session. The assembled media contingent was treated to wine and cheese tasting and a full pasta meal while being entertained by live musicians. Huge posters of past Italian World Cup stars adorned the walls of the specially designed centre which featured fashion-designed rooms and work-spaces and an auditorium dedicated to media conferences.

But all that counted for nothing in Nelspruit as New Zea-land enjoyed their finest footballing day. If the draw over Slovakia was snatched at the death, this one was earned over ninety minutes, and was infinitely more impressive. The defensive shifts put in by strikers Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz personified the “all-for-one” attitude of this All Whites side. Killen told me the next day he was only just getting the feeling back in his legs. New Zealand 1 Italy 1. Unbelievable.

Unfortunately, that game took just a bit much out of the players. When they fronted up to Paraguay four days later they were still feeling the effects of their Italian Job. Furthermore, Nelsen fell ill and spent the 48 hours before kick-off trying unsuccessfully to keep food down. Para-guay knew a clean sheet would see them safely through and dealt comfortably with a muted New Zealand strike-force. A World Cup point against South American op-ponents – who past New Zealand teams have struggled to contain – was extremely creditable in isolation, but when the final whistle blew and their elimination was confirmed, disappointment was all the players felt. Every strong side has a solid spine and New Zealand certainly had that in South Africa . Mark Paston, Ryan Nelsen and Simon Elliott were the All Whites’ best, each of them leaving with reputations well and truly enhanced.

Paston’s stocks have been on the rise since his penalty save in the qualifier against Bahrain last year and his dis-plays in South Africa had pundits looking around to find a ‘keeper who’d played as well in the group stages. For me, his character was summed up when he was asked after the Italy game if he felt under threat for his position from a now available Glen Moss. “I don’t need reassurances in life full-stop, let alone football”, he said. “I like to think I’ve put my hand up for selection in the next game”. Talk about understatement. If ever proof was needed that Nelsen is a defender of the highest order, it was supplied in massive quantities in South Africa . He was quite simply immense; the glue that held New Zealand together. On top of that, his ability to direct Reid and Tommy Smith – two players he’d only re-cently met – into a defensive unit that repelled practically everything thrown at them, was incredible. Smith said he basically just did what Nelsen told him to do. It worked.

Elliott is the side’s elder statesman, but you wouldn’t have known it by watching him. He was the one New Zealand midfielder who always looked comfortable on the ball, always provided an outlet for his team-mates and always found them with four- or forty-yard passes. He’s now off contract and it’s incredible a host of clubs aren’t banging his door down because an experienced player who’s able to put his foot on the ball in midfield, galva-nise his team-mates and take set pieces with either foot would surely be a valuable asset.

JASON PINE covered the tournament for Radio Sport New Zealand, including commentating through all three Kiwi matches.

There was a lot of talk during and after the tournament about the potential of Reid. He was linked with Black-burn Rovers and Arsenal and was constantly talked about as the side’s rising star. The goal he scored against Slovakia instantly elevated him to celebrity status, but for me Smith is the real gem of this All Whites squad.

Composed and confident on the field and a lovely bloke off it, he’s undoubtedly an All Whites captain in the making and could anchor our defence for another three World Cup campaigns.

If Ipswich doesn’t extend his contract to ensure they cash in when Premiership clubs inevitably coming knocking, they’re mad.

And so, far from being an embarrassment, the All Whites were a World Cup revelation and a credit to all kiwis. Up and down the country, everyone went football-bonkers. For those who’ve always loved the game, our day in the sun had arrived. We’ll long remember the marvellous ten days in June 2010 when football became a national obsession.

Kiwi TV asks: Which team was the only undefeated side at the 2010 World Cup?

Kieran Pender’S WORLD CUP EUROPEAN odysseyhttp://an-aussies-view.blogspot.com

Experiencing the World Cup first-hand...in Europe!For most football fanatics, a trip to Europe means one thing, football! Yet, as I jetted across land and sea to a faraway place, I pondered just how I managed to arrange my Europe trip for the one time football won’t be plenti-ful in Europe.

But ohh, how wrong I was. The 2010 FIFA World Cup may have been in South Africa, but sitting in pubs in Austria, Slovakia, France, Belgium and Germany, you wouldn’t know it. In those pubs, the World Cup could have just been down the road, such was the intensity that radiated through their walls.

First stop on the World Cup bandwagon was a day trip to Slovakia, from my base of Austria, to watch the Slovaks play Paraguay. After a train ride to the Slova-kian capital of Bratislava, and some quick siteseeing, my friends and I settled down at an Irish pub in the centre of the city, ready to watch the game.

And wow. The pub wasn’t that full, but nevertheless the atmosphere was great. Not having to watch the game while trying to keep open your eyelids also added to the experience.

The next trip also involved an Irish pub, but this one much closer to my home away from home, in Vienna, Austria. A quick jaunt down to the city centre took me into Flanagan’s Pub, a hearty place with televisions eve-rywhere, and quality beer on tap.

After settling down for a beer or three, I set my eyes on the afternoon’s entertainment, Chile v Switzerland. After the Swiss beat eventual champions Spain, and Chile had been unspectacular against Honduras, everyone was expecting a tight encounter. Well everyone in my area of the pub, two Germans, my friend who doesn’t follow football, and myself. Ok, I expected a tight encounter.However, an early bath for Valon Behrami, after the West Ham United midfielder was sent off in the 30th minute, swung the game towards Chile.

Despite failing to capitalise on many chances, the man advantage eventually proved decisive, and Mark Gonzalez headed the ball home with 15 minutes to go, pushing Chile towards the next round.

The final game to be watched in Austria, once again at the local Irish hangout, was the big one for any Aus-sie, the Socceroos v Serbia. Wearing my colours in the form of a Socceroos jersey, my Aussie friends and I eagerly awaited a thrilling game.

Sadly, despite the victory, the aged Socceroos didn’t progress, but the atmosphere in the pub almost made up for it. Almost.

With one half of the establishment crammed with Ger-man and Ghana supporters, and the other half full of Serbians and a few Aussies, the atmosphere was elec-tric. As the Socceroos progression relied heavily on the other game, multiple trips were made to the other side, seeing if a favourable result was in progress.

Alas it was not to be, and as friendly banter between Serbian and Australian fans started to get heated, I de-cided to cover up my Socceroos shirt and head home.

After my sojourn in Austria, I headed to France, where I had to contain the urge not to shout out how pathetic their football team was. While in France I spent many nights in various hotel bars, watching all manner of games, but it wasn’t until I headed north to Germany that the real fun began.

A trendy hotel’s bar in Aachen was the scene for Germany v Spain, and after writing for a while on Spanish football, and tipping Spain to win before the tournament, my geographical location was not going to prevent me from supporting La Furia Roja.

After betting a pint on the result of the game with a friend, I sat back and enjoyed Spain’s domination, but was worried about the lack of end result. Thankfully, a Carles Puyol header sealed the deal, and I made some noise while getting death stares from various Germans and Australians sharing the bar with me.

I must say, the Germans sure know how to prepare for a big game. Walking the streets before the game, I saw all manner of flags, banners and football paraphernalia. A house without something German-related on it was a rare sight indeed. And the locals were walking around draped in Germany shirts and flag while drinking beer, at four o’clock, four and a half hours away from kick-off.

The morning after the game I went on a tour of some nearby battlefields, indulging my inner history nerd. Be-ing led around scenes of fighting in the Second World War, by a German soldier who had actually fought in the area, I was somewhat surprised with myself when I started talking to him about football. He was understand-ably angry that Germany had lost, and I decided to keep my Spanish support quiet. This moment however, maybe more than any other, truly underlines what I love about football. It is the global game. While a conversation about football may be more difficult in Australia or the US, ultimately, in any country in the world, you will find someone who you can talk to about football. From the Faroe Islands to North Korea, from New Zealand to Qatar, someone will talk to you about football. It is, the world game.

However, Europe tops this off, because in Europe, you don’t have to find someone to talk to about football, anyone will talk to you about football. From random bus drivers to WW2 veterans, from bar-tenders (see below) to...well, to everyone more or less. Football and Europe, practically synonymous.

Possibly the most humorous moment related to the game came the next night when I asked the rather cute bar-tender for a drink.

She paused and looked at me before explaining “No, you were the guy supporting Spain last night.” Thank-fully after laying on the charm I got myself a drink, although sadly not a phone number...

After listening to police sirens all night after the game, I was pleased to return to France, where my Spanish allegiance was less likely to get me mortally injured. However, upon returning to Paris, I discovered to my horror that my plane flight would see me in the air during the World Cup final.

Needless to say I was devastated, and even an exciting 3rd place game couldn’t lift my spirits. Sitting nervously on the plane home, waiting for the pilot to announce the score, I got more and more worried as the minutes ticked on.

My logic that extra-time and penalties would make a win for Spain slightly less likely ultimately proved flawed however, and in a heavy Thai accent our pilot informed us that Spain had won one-nil after 120 min-utes. I breathed a deep sigh of relief and went back to my movie.

After assuring quarantine that I wasn’t trying to bring home anything dodgy, I found myself a newspaper be-fore getting ready for a long bus ride home to Canberra. Flipping through The Daily Telegraph, it was perhaps re-assuring to see that football (or soccer as they may prefer to call it) is hidden 12 pages from the back cover.

This in an edition that went to print only hours before the World Cup final, the biggest sporting event in the world. It certainly rammed home the fact I was back in Australia, where, sadly, football is not the number one sport. Wait, why did I leave Europe again?

AND THE NEXT MASTER CHEF CHALLENGE IS?

You know, from the moment that Robert Green decided to change his name to Fumbly McButterhands to when we softly rolled over and let Germany tickle out bellies, those are the only words which have stopped me from losing all faith in humanity and going to live in a cave with a hamster named Clive.

I mean, this year was meant to be our year, wasn’t it? Rooney was supposed to take the world by storm, Terry and Cole were meant to show that they weren’t in fact massive skid marks on the underpants of English sports-manship and Fabio Capello was meant to add a World Cup to his already glittering CV. Instead, what happened was nothing short of an abso-lute total collapse.

Since our boys came home from South Africa, there have been a few rumours flying around as to why we turned up and played with all the heart and soul of mashed potato. Some say that Fabio Capello went bat crap crazy and ruined squad harmony, while others say that nagging injuries after a long domestic season lead to a breakdown. Seeing as I’ve had to scrap the article I wrote about Rooney scoring a hat trick against Brazil in the final, I guess I’ll replace the column inches with what I think happened to cause our utter failure.

Two main things derailed our chance at World Cup glory. Firstly, our players turned up knackered from a long Premiership season and played with all the passion of my sock draw. For example, in our 4-1 over-the-barrel-with-a-paddle session against Germany, David James was our Man of the Match purely be-cause of the fire he showed. How many other times does a goalie who concedes 4 goals deserve that?

Ben Halls: At least I’m not french. At

least I’m not french. At least I’m not french. I could go on and on about various players under performing, from Mr. Rooney down-wards, but to be honest with you it’s only a minor concern compared to our biggest flaw.

Player performances change from time to time. What don’t change from time to time are Fabio Capello’s tactics. I get that he got to where he is today playing 4-4-2, but surely some time around the 70th minute of a goal-less draw against Albania he should have considered going to Plan B. His insistence on never varying from that formation despite pleas from players, along with simply horrific man management skills and bizarre substitu-tion decisions, cost us dear.

Who puts Emile Heskey on the pitch when a goal is needed!? Of course, we are now lum-bered with him through the 2012 Euros as we can’t afford to sack him. Yay!

Finally, as I probably should touch on it – Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal. Would it have changed anything? Probably, but not by much. If it had been 2-2 at half time, we wouldn’t have been caught with out trousers down by the Germans quite so often as we’d have had men back, but the way we played anyone could have sliced open our defence. Starting Matthew Upson and Glen Johnson sort of does that.

Still, at least I’m not French...

Wayne ROONEY FEELS THE PINCH AS ENGLAND GETS DUMPED OUT BY GERMANY IN THE ROUND OF 16. (Pic by Ryu Voelkel - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

..but surely some time around the 70th minute of a goal-less draw against Albania he should have considered going to Plan B.

Wayne ROONEY FEELS THE PINCH AS ENGLAND GETS DUMPED OUT BY GERMANY IN THE ROUND OF 16. (Pic by Ryu Voelkel - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

the next big thing in australian comedy

ROB TODDLER joins half-time heroes

The World Cup is like an intercepted transmission from an alien spacecraft, or a scientific expedition to a Central American jungle, or, if you will, a mys-terious private letter discovered by Taylor’s fiancé Ridge two weeks before their wedding in the TV se-rial The Bold and the Beautiful.

Yes, it raises more questions than it answers. In the wash-up of the 2010 tournament, these are some of the unanswered ‘mysteries’ of football:

Why did Pim Verbeek not learn from past ex-perience?

I refer of course to the 1976 film Logan’s Run where he played ‘Logan 5’ (below), a ‘Sandman’ employed to ‘terminate’ people once they reached the age of 30.

If only he had applied the same policy to the Soc-ceroos squad in 2010, we would have seen a younger, pacier team, with the likes of Tommy Oar given a chance.

Why do England fans always think their team has a chance at the World Cup?

A recent poll conducted by the Cristiano Ronaldo Association of Public Ingineerink (C.R.A.P.I.) asked English supporters who they think will win the 2010 World Cup. Just over 64% of them indicated they were ‘very hopeful’ of seeing England lift the cup for the first time since 1966.Interestingly, this poll was conducted three days af-ter Spain defeated Holland in the final.

While their unbounded optimism must be ap-plauded, the truth is that football experts have been baffled for decades as to why England fans consistently expect too much from their team.

For me* (*A big thanks to Craig Foster for letting me use this phrase), the major causes for Eng-land’s poor results are:1) They don’t have a real ‘talent pool’.2) They do have a real Hartlepool, which is quite the opposite.3) They invented football.

This has been suggested as a good reason why they should win the World Cup. But in my opinion this is exactly why they can’t win it. Think about it. Les Paul invented the solid-body electric guitar, but he was far from the best guitarist in the world. That title, according to the Triple-M TV commer-cial, belongs to Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses. Paul Newman invented the Paul Newman’s Own range of salad dressing. But once again, it’s not the best. The most acclaimed salad dressing in the world is of course Axl Rose’s Own Tangy Ital-ian Marinade. For the same reasons, England are destined nev-er to master their ‘own’ game.

4) No English players actually play in their own league.The English Premier League has been, as many have pointed out, a victim of its own success. So many foreign players have flooded the league that there is no room for local talent, leading to a lack of development for English footballers. Amazingly, there has not been a single Englishman play in the English top flight since legendary Aston Villa wing-er Tommy ‘Dixie Boy’ Thompson retired in 1968.Looking at these startling facts, it is obvious why England will never win another World Cup. Except of course in 2018, when they host it.

GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD (CUP)

What does Pim have against the A-League?

Was Pim bullied by the A-League at school? Did the A-League steal his lunch money every day and give him a wedgie, dedicating him to a life of revenge? While his chosen squad of Euro-based Socceroos were being knocked out in the group stage, including a 4-0 loss to Germany, the A-League All-Star team (New Zealand) failed to lose a single game.

Also, Japan, South Korea and USA were all progress-ing to the round of 16, and none from an easy group.

Where do their national teams come from? Japan’s and South Korea’s largely consist of players from their own domestic leagues, while around one-third of USA’s first-choice eleven does. And which leagues in the world are most comparable to the A-League? Arguably, the J-League, K-League and MLS.

If their home-based players are achieving that much at international level, our league can’t be that far behind. At least, not as much as Pim’s bullied teenage mind is telling us.

These and many other World Cup mysteries, too numerous to discuss here, may never be solved. But maybe, just maybe, the next four years will shed some light on them.

How much does the Republic of Korea receive from the Pepsi Corporation for advertising on their national flag? (below)

Rob Toddler’s audio comedy album ‘The Amazing World of Rob Toddler’ is due out later this year. www.myspace.com/robtoddler

IN THE LAND OF VOODOO DANNY CAMERONSAW SOME STRANGE STRANGE THINGS...

Strange thingsDon’t you find it strange that for all the late nights and

early mornings, the football induced sleep depravation failed to create the wild and crazed hallucinations it is famous for?

Then again, harking back into the strobing memory of the month that has been – I did see some strange things.

All together now, sing along to Jimi Hendrix or listen and read.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5xUYOnzLdE

One dark morning in the middle of the night,

Two dead boys got up to fight,

Back to back they faced each other,

Drew their swords and shot one an-other,

Strange Things, Strange Things

In the land of Voodoo, the 2010 Fifa World Cup did in-deed produce moments that defied logic, they defied be-lief, they defied the game.

Seeing the likes of Brazil playing a game that wasn’t Brazilian was as illogical as seeing the Dutch get beaten by a team in the Final that was playing the Dutch sys-tem, which the Dutch themselves decided not to play on the day. Strange things. So too, the bizarre crept into the Cup when the German’s made the semi-final by playing at times stunning and dazzling football controlled in the middle of the park largely by Bastian Schweinsteiger. But when it came to playing Spain, Schweinsteiger was in a holding defensive midfield position barely moving 10m beyond the back line and allowing Spain to bring the ball to him.

The tactical change made by the German’s compared to their previous formations was one of the most baffling. The result of such a strategy was inevitable and cost them a real chance in holding the World Cup aloft.

Those that played strategically brilliantly, though, were the New Zealanders. While the defensive game is never the best advertisement for the game, we saw exactly how effective it is to neutralise superior opposing teams. Why the Australian’s did not embark on such a strategy in our opening game against the German’s will be something the whole country can sing along with Jimi Hendrix: Strange Things, Strange Things.

And how about the fact that the team that struggled to score goals throughout the tournament ended up winning the tournament!

In another direction to the tactics though, in this digital age, with camera’s covering every millimetre of turf, and every facial reaction in super slow-mo, the whole world could sing “Strange Things” to moments that were criti-cally pivotal in defining the tournament.

The world erupted in unison to the illogic of referee’s not having an ear piece and fourth official to instantly review decisions using super slow-mo technology. Such instanc-es include the moment when Kaka was shown a second yellow (turns to Red) when Côte d’Ivoire’s Keita ran into Kaka’s shoulder and dove to the ground in play-acting agony. The use of slow-motion replay by a fourth official would eliminate diving from the game once and for all.

Meanwhile, the fact that in this digital day and age a ball can cross the goal line by half a metre and the Referee still call “play on” has baffled many a part-time viewer – let alone those that follow the game religiously. The English have every right to be demanding change, while the rest of the world sing “how strange!”

Those that argue the non-decision would not have made much of a difference forget the immense boost of confi-dence equalising has when coming from 2-0 down. The momentum can swing, and it is moments like these upon which critical games hinge – and usually change direc-tion. But the most heart breaking of “Strange Things”

was when the hopes of all Africa were destroyed by the most brutal and deliberate act of cheating ever witnessed.

The moment was when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez struck up his hands to goalkeeper-like save Ghana’s Dominic Adi-yiah header - a shot that for all money looked like a cer-tain goal in the final minute of the Quarter Final.

That Suarez instantly received a red card and that Ghana had a penalty was no consolation for a great build-up of play and final minute pressing that should have resulted in a worthy goal.

However, the World Cup of Strange Things has to belong to an Octopus called Paul. You really have to pinch your-self to check whether you are still on this planet when a common octopus living in a tank at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany becomes an international celebrity.

With front page news coverage around the world, no other Octopus has achieved such notoriety. Watch out for the movie deals. The world has well and truly gone mad.Other countries can’t put it down to sleep-deprived hallu-

cinations – we really did witness some very strange things in the 2010 Fifa World Cup. In a country like Australia – where many of the populace still do not understand the game, it can be extremely difficult to explain the nuances to friends trying their damnest to understand and become part of the “one world of football”.

Sometimes it is near impossible, and all you can do is sing the immortal words of Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix.

However, seeing the French team walk out on their coach and on a training session though – that was a moment that made perfect sense.

HE HAS BEEN TO MANY PLACES: CHRISTIANO RONALDO TAKES ON A STRANGE BRAZIL http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/

IT’S SPAIN! PAUL THE MOST FAMOUS OCTO-PUS IN THE ZE WORLD . Pic by Benutzer Tilla

DANNY NIGHTTIME from the wild sydney band magic lunchbox talks exclusively to the one and only diego maradona http://magiclunchbox.com/

Depressed after having been eliminated in the quar-terfinals of the World Cup in South Africa, Maradona retreated into his house in the Buenos Aires suburb of Ezeiza.

Graciously he found time between his 3rd and 4th pizza to have a quick chat with Danny Nighttime, pro-viding it had nothing to do with football. Instead he wanted to talk about his forthcoming latin pop album which he has amazingly put together in under a week, entitled – She Bangs…Diego.

“I had a few days there after the loss to Germany when I was really down and depressed. It motivated me with this album; that’s why this album means so much to me because I was really inside myself doing what I wanted to do.

“I think everything happens for a reason. You have those periods of being low and down so you can appre-ciate the highs.”Maradona is a maverick, a renegade, as a player, a man-

ager and it seems, as a music producer.

“I really rebelled on this record,” Diego exclaims. “I really kinda did. There was this structure everyone thinks you should go by, this’ll sell . . . at the end of the day if I believe in it and like it, hopefully my fans will be inspired by that.”

Did Maradona ask for any recording advice from Ma-donna, as was reported?

“I didn’t ask her advice, she’s just a cool lady and she told me, ‘Don’t let things get to you, Germany was on fire in that game, Juan Cabandie of the Argentine con-gress wants to build a monument to honour you, stand your ground, believe in yourself, order some pizzas, record your tracks. And so I did’.”

His favourite song on the album is Touch of My Hand. Possibly about his hand ball action against England in 86 or his hand ball action.

“Draw the blinds and I’ll teach myself to fly . . . another day without a lover, the more I come to understand the touch of my hand.” Diego co-wrote the lyrics but says they’re merely “what you make it”.

“I’m not at the point now where I want to sell 50 mil-lion records. That’s not my gooooooooaaaaaaaalllll here. I really just wanted to do something I believe in artistically.” And if it fails?

“Then I’ll learn from it. You just throw it out there, see what it does, learn from it and keep going.”

Happy times: ARGENTINA COACHMARADONA BEFORE THE GERMAN QUARTER FINAL thumping. (Pic by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryusha/)

Sydney writer Jeff faraday joins hth and gives some friendly advice to fifa and sbs

What do I think of the World Cup??I bookend different parts of my life by it…

I remember I watched Cameroon play Russia at the Paddo Green in ’94. Ahhh hang on, it was actually Russia v Spain at the Beach Road in Bondi in ’98…

No wait, it was Korea v Nigeria at one of the live sites because I was with Kate and Kate was there…

Or was it Susan? ’98? Maybe it was 2002… No, come to think of it, it was definitely ’06, USA v Brazil and we watched it at the Town Hall ‘cause I was living in Newtown. Or was it Enmore? Was it Newtown or Enmore?? Um-mmm,

England versus Argentina? Definitely ’02. Defi-nitely Woolloomooloo. Because I was working at Bar Ace on George St. Or was it the Corona-tion on Park? Or Arizona’s on Pitt…

Brazil? 2014?? Well I know this for sure. I can’t wait.

While Nike and Sony spent millions saturat-ing viewers with slick catch phrases and digit-ally enhanced images, when it came to helping to stamp out racism, (a more noble cause than flogging TVs and running shoes), FIFA was reduced to using an Old Mother Reagan hand-me-down as its slogan. (Say No to Racism)

Witness the body count in the Mexican drug wars as to the efficacy of “Say No to…“ ad-vertising campaigns.

So here you go Sepp, here’s a slogan free from me… “Give. Receive. Respect.”

Shove it on a banner, have Beckham unfurl it. We’ll all be brothers in no time…

And one can only wonder how FIFA’s other goal of promoting ‘fair play’ was furthered by SBS’s use of Kevin Muscat as a commenta-tor. After all, Muscat’s litany of vicious and cowardly fouls, many tantamount to criminal assault, is part of the public record. (Note to SBS: There’s no Muscat in future.)

Glenn Siever has a different view of South Africa 2010

A different view of the World Cup.I was blown away by the African feel of the world cup

and the ramifications it may have on football.

I wish to share my feeling with you not through any of the matches, referees or officials… more through the music and my interpretations about the future for US football after this World Cup.

You may have heard that song that K’naan sung dur-ing the World Cup “Wave your flag” -it is very powerful - http://www.youtube.com/2010FIFAWorldCupVEVO listen in particular from 3:47.

K’naan was born in Somalia,and spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali civil war, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Soma-lia’s most famous singers. K’naan’s grandfather, Haji Mo-hammad, was a poet. He is Muslim, and his name, Keinan, means “traveller” in the Somali language. He spent the early years of his life listening to the hip-hop records sent to him from America by his father, who had left Somalia earlier.

When he was 13, K’naan, his mother, and his three sib-lings, older brother, Liban, and younger sisters Naciimo, Sagal left their homeland and joined relatives in New York City, where they stayed briefly before moving to Canada, to the Toronto neighbourhood of Rexdale, where there was a large Somali community and his family still resides. There, K’naan began learning English, partly by listening to hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim. Despite the fact that he could not yet speak the language, the young K’naan taught himself hip hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically. He then also began rapping. He is married to Deqa, a pharmacist. They have two sons, born in 2005 and 2007 .

His performance was one of pride, further he is a Muslim singing and dancing at a world event… but most of all he was African and he was singing with pride.

The Black Eyed Peas were also on the bill and their intro-duction to “I Got the Feeling” showed great pride in being African: John Legend – “Wake Up Everybody” had a great feel to it.

Who can forget Shakira - Waka Waka? I read some where there have been over 500 million hits on the opening World Cup concert. Every artist gave their best… Desmond Tutu … blew me away however I am sad I cannot find and undoctored copy of his speech… IMO one of the great speeches of recent times.

Music is a strong and very powerful thing and I encourage everyone to read the lyrics to “Wave your flag”. For someone like me from the 70’s growing up on 60’s music the lyrics mean a lot and these are stir-ring lyrics as good as Dylan ever penned.

Africa came out and was proud to be African.

The second part of my observation is more predic-tive than anything else. I was talking to an African American student from the US. He said he was moved to tears watching the concert and the whole African thing and it was he that pointed out the lyrics to Wavin Flag.. Meaning will the African World Cup break through the Black American ‘’anti-soccer” feeling? I think it will, and if Black America takes to football in greater numbers then this could cause a shift in the US sporting landscape. Shakira (below) photo byAndres.Arranz

Lyrics to Wavin’ the Flag

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag

When I get older, I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flagAnd then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, oh

Born to a throne, stronger than RomeA violent prone, poor people zoneBut it’s my home, all I have knownWhere I got grown, streets we would roam

Out of the darkness, I came the farthestAmong the hardest survivalLearn from these streets, it can be bleakAccept no defeat, surrender, retreat

So we struggling, fighting to eatAnd we wondering when we’ll be freeSo we patiently wait for that fateful dayIt’s not far away, but for now we say

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flagAnd then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, oh

So many wars, settling scoresBringing us promises, leaving us poorI heard them say ‘love is the way’‘Love is the answer,’ that’s what they say

But look how they treat us, make us believersWe fight their battles, then they deceive usTry to control us, they couldn’t hold us‘Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers

But we struggling, fighting to eatAnd we wondering, when we’ll be freeSo we patiently wait for that faithful dayIt’s not far away but for now we say

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag

And then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, and then is goes

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flagAnd then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, and then it goesAnd then it goes

And everybody will be singing itAnd you and I will be singing itAnd we all will be singing it

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flagAnd then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, and then it goes

When I get older I will be strongerThey’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flagAnd then it goes back, and then it goes backAnd then it goes back, oh

When I get older, when I get olderI will be stronger just like a wavin’ flagJust like a wavin’ flag, just like a wavin’ flagFlag, flag, just like a wavin’ flag

In this big network of friends that is the Football Fam-ily, its always sad news when we hear of one of ours being dearly departed…but even more so when it’s an individual who has contributed to the game for the pure love and passion. And so I put pent to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to write this dedication to a man who, to be honest was before his time when it came to the promotion of the world game down under. A very sad day in Football was the 30th of June 2010, a day where South Australia sadly lost one of the best in the game, yet another of our true football legends departed us in Allan Crisp at age 81 years.

Allan was born in Adelaide, South Australia. ‘Crunchy’ as he was affectionately known was truly the pioneer of media representation...a man who fol-lowed his nose to sniff out the news that was break-ing in SA Football, a man who gave his all and a man that did it in style and with immense humour. A man who was destined to make his mark in the world of media and the round ball game from a very young age as he produced his own homemade newspaper with a printing set of stamps and press that he received as a gift from his parents when he was 12 years old.

I was in awe of this man from the first time I met him in the 60’s as a little girl at Hindmarsh Stadium…me sit-ting next to the Press Box, watching him do his stuff as a newspaper reporter and football commentator dressed finely in his suit tie and hat. Over the years I would see him at all the matches and football events, watching him closely as he weaved his way through to get the interview, to make the story, forever with his smile and friendly hello there to greet you.

‘His outstanding contribution to the game was unprec-edented; contributing as a player, administrator, vol-unteer, soccer writer/journalist and radio & television commentator.’

And not to forget the corny joke that came along with the friendliness and the evergreen Boom Boom punch line to finish it all off. Allan (with two ll’s as he so regu-larly told everyone) received his first paid reporting job with The Advertiser Newspaper when at 49 years of age. Fortunately for him he only just scraped through in the eligibility department as the paper had an age limit of 50 years maximum for their employees.

My most fondest memories of Crispy was the partner-ship he had as the other half to the Dynamic Duo...He and Tom McKain were the voice of football and match-day broadcasts and newspaper reports, making com-ments both verbal or written as only those two could.

Crispy with his corny humour and gentlemanly manner and McKain with his UK style ‘say it like it is’ silver tongue, the duo gave us - the football fans - hours of reading and listening pleasure regarding out local game.

His outstanding contribution to the game was unprece-dented; contributing as a player, administrator, volunteer, soccer writer/journalist and radio & television commen-tator. His contribution to print with his newspaper arti-cles and Year Book reviews of the season was brilliant. His contribution to radio with the numerous shows he had been a part of over so many years was full of exper-tise and knowledge and his contribution to TV with the broadcasting of amongst other things Match of the Day back in the days when games were broadcast on free to air TV, was totally entertaining.

Over the years I would see him at all the matches and football events, watching him closely as he weaved his way through to get the interview, to make the story, forever with his smile and friendly hello there to greet you.

South Australian football writer Nat Adamopoulos

honours the late Allan Crisp- a true football legend VALE ALLAN CRISP

I will always remember his voice quivering with ex-citement when a goal was scored, a brilliant save was made by a keeper or controversy came up with free kicks or send offs, always fitting in a joke or too for the football fans.

Then I remember the last time I saw him at Hindmarsh Stadium some 45 years later at an A-League match looking older, greyer and very frail but still doing the thing he loved and had the most passion for...reporting on the world game.

Here was a man who was way before his time, almost single-handedly taking care of the promotion of the game and I mean real promotion. He lived the game, breathed the game, ate the game up and then spat it out when that had to be done too! And when it came to helping others, he was there too, always willing to lend a hand. He mentored many, many people including my-self in their quest for media promotion of the game and never ever backed out when asked for his advice.

His contributions to the game were rewarded when he was inducted into the Football Federation Australia (FFA) Hall of Fame Roll of Honour for Meritorious Contribution in 2002 and Inducted into the Football Federation SA (FFSA) Hall of Fame Roll of Honour as a member of Distinguished Contribution. He was also holder of the SASF Meritorious Service Award and a member of various SASF committees, public address announcer at night soccer games for over 22 years and the first full time soccer writer with the Ad-vertiser in 1977. Press information specialist for the 2000 Olympic Games (Football) and the first ever commentator from any Football code in Australia to cover a match live through television in 1961. Allan was associated with soccer in South Australia for over 60 years.

A man who we can all take a leaf out of his book, a man who gave everything he had and more to the world game that we all love so much. South Australia and Australia will deeply miss this media magnate that was Allan ‘Crunchy’ Crisp.

I attended the funeral on Monday 5th July and it was perfect, just perfect!

Everyone that spoke all mentioned the tireless efforts that Allan put into the game, the countless hours, weeks and years of hard work. But most of all they all spoke of his love for life, his positive happy go lucky approach and of course his quick wit and corny humour. Valerie his wife was an inspiration...how brave a woman as she stood up and spoke of her loved one his life, trials and tribulations. What a woman! As sad as it was to see his children and grand children so upset, they too spoke of the man that they all loved and his love for them and the game.

All those that are involved in the promotion of our beau-tiful game must ensure that Allan Crisp’s passing is not in vain!!! First and foremost we must always take on that ‘nothing’s impossible’ attitude that Allan had with him his whole life and keep the promotion of the game mov-ing forward. Perhaps an incentive for this would be to establish an Annual Award named after Allan Crisp to be awarded to a local media representative that upholds all that Allan stood for! Allan Crisp must be formally remem-bered in some way here in SA...this is a MUST!

Lastly I feel privileged to have known and been given guidance by such a wonderful wonderful man! RIP our dear dear friend…we will never forget what you have given to our beloved sport of football! We will never forget you!

VALE ALLAN CRISP!

‘His outstanding contribution to the game was unprecedented; contribut-ing as a player, administrator, volun-teer, soccer writer/journalist and radio & television commentator.’

South Australian football writer Nat Adamopoulos

honours the late Allan Crisp- a true football legend VALE ALLAN CRISP

forest brazil asks about the US Cup

Campaign

There seems to be mixed opinions on the USA’s Round of 16 exit from the World Cup. I would side with those that think this was an opportunity lost. Considering the opponents they were set to face up to the semi-finals, it is unlikely a path will be as open to optimism as this one was. No disrespect to Ghana or Uruguay, but predicting victories didn’t seem to far fetched.

As it turns out Ghana was a hurdle that the Americans could not navigate just as they could not in 06 in Ger-many. To those who consider the USA’s run something to look on with feelings of accomplishment, I would say there not looking at the bigger picture. Yes we won our group, something that seemed England’s to a certainty. But this is where the sense of disappointment comes out. With the reward of winning the group being not facing off against an in-form Germany, something England and Argentina can attest to. So in a sense the exit at the hands of Ghana feels worse than if we had lost to Ger-many. Especially in the USA’s unfamiliar role as favour-ites and the payback most wanted from 06.

Many of those in the US’s soccer community put our goal just to make it out of the group stage. I believe the bar must be set higher than that. Before entering the tournament there were question marks arising that be-came solid truths once the Americans packed their bags.

The first area being the forward line. There has not been a goal scored by a forward for the USA in the past two World Cups. That in itself speaks volumes. It is just a situation of lack of quality, and finding a pairing that can work to open opposing defences up. The main at-tacking option of Jozy Altiodore has been to much for an unproven 20 year old. Perhaps his time will come, but his abysmal goal scoring record at Hull shows the tools are there, but the touch and decision making is not. The other forwards may be bulging the net in MLS or Mexico, but transferring that form into the World Cup was not in the cards.

Secondly, the backline excelled at leaking goals early and often. The lack of marking off the ball, and aware-ness of opposing forwards were very costly. Moments where concentration and focus was needed there was none. For the most part again a lack of quality options. Along with age, lack of pace and the lack of sharpness from the recent return from injury of Onyewu the main starting centre back led to Tim Howard not really being at fault for any of the goals allowed.

Lastly I would forward criticism on coach Bob Bradley for his selection of personal. Ricardo Clark, a defensive midfielder who started against England only partially tracked Steven Gerard run into the box as he slotted Eng-land’s early goal. Then to start him again versus Ghana when his direct turnover through an attempted dribbling foray in midfield let to Boateng’s goal. In addition picking up a caution in the first half and also being subbed in the first half shows poor lineup choice by the manager, and a tournament to forget by Clark. The area where many thought the strength of the team would come from did. With the midfield and goalkeeper Tim Howard having quality showings. Dempsey, Dono-van, and the coaches son Michael Bradley, not just scoring but looking at a level worthy of praise in all areas of the game. One thing that some may say is a somewhat American characteristic is the desire, and willingness to fight on when other teams may just drop their heads a little, as wit-nessed in the comeback against Slovenia, something op-posing players and teams have mentioned after facing the USA. The last thing to occur which most would think is a given, is the attention and excitement the country was under while following there team. Coming from a nation that has been until recently a soccer outsider, it was sad to see there were no heroics against Ghana as there was ver-sus Algeria. (Forest Brazil lives in California USA and has been the Coach of Aragon High School boys Varsity team for the past eight years. This year they won the Champion-ship.)

no we didn’t mr president! US team is greet-

ed by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. (Pete Souza)

A Cindy tran Recap and thoughts on Australia’s timeat the World Cup 2010http://footballpixie.blogspot.com/

Australia’s performance at the World Cup 2010 sure made it frustrating for everyone to watch, though it’s fair to say that Germany was a very tough opponent, al-though I believe the goal difference should not have been as damaging and Pim Verbeek should not have taken his chances by leaving his best players out and using the wrong formation.

One of the things that really upset me and made me feel angry during the first match was when Tim Cahill was sent off after half time. What was the ref thinking? Don’t you think that was harsh handing out a straight red card? Don’t even get me started on Harry Kewell, who was also sent off during the Ghana match for a “deliberate” handball. We could have won that match fair and square if it wasn’t for the red card.

We still played Ghana off the park with only ten men standing on the pitch. We couldn’t get the result we needed but we gave it our best shot and if we still had had eleven men standing, it would have made a huge difference and we could havedefeated Ghana! However, we really need a ref who knows how to…let’s just say… Ref! Red card I could live with, but a clear DESERVED red card for the Ghana player who gets away with it not too long after…?! I have nothing else to say but this is the 21st century, and I think it’s about time that video technology is introduced to the World Cup!

Luke Wilkshire was outstanding this year. He played tre-mendously well in all three matches and we all thought Guus Hiddink was crazy for selecting him in the squad back in 2006. However, he knew all along that Wilkshire had a lot to deliver. Brett Holman who was the first man to score for Australia this year, played very well and if it wasn’t for the goals, I don’t think he would ever get any attention. I think he has proved that his has got a lot to offer for the future. I believe he will be the next Tim Cahill.I must admit, I felt a little better when Argentina lost to Germany. We lost 4-0 with ten men standing and Argen-tina were down 4-0 with eleven men standing… Maybe we were better than we thought after all?

Hopefully, the match between Argentina and Germany was enough to shut most people up about their negative judgement of Australia since day one. This just proves that if you’re a confident team with great tactics, you can go a long way in the game, and if you put in a poor performance… You would end up paying the price – just like Australia and Argentina.

I didn’t care that the World Cup was over for Australia so soon. The boys played to their fullest extent and that’s all I asked for. We could have made it to the next round if the World Cup wasn’t so unfair to us in the first two games, but the boys gave it their best shot against Serbia and that’s all we pretty much wanted to see. There is al-ways so much that goes on in a football match, and when our team loses, we end up pinning down something spe-cific.

However, the match could have easily gone the other way, say if Ghana defeated Germany by just one goal, then we would have all have shut our mouths and not thought about blaming anyone! Football is fickle and anything could have happened. It’s here to entertain us, and though Australia’s run ended sooner than we all hoped for, but I was still thoroughly entertained! Aus-tralia walked away from the World Cup with it’s head held high. We can only grow stronger as a team and learn from our mistakes this time around.

Let’s hope that we get an impressive coach who knows exactly what he is doing and hope Australia can go far at the 2014 World Cup.

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The next edition of Half Time Heroes is out AROUND AUGUST 18TH 2010. MANY football cliche’s were harmed in the making of this publication.stay tuned for a short film called: vuvuzela, a story about how one millon football fans went deaf and got the flu.Presented by bp. We don’t just do oil spills we also make plas-tic trumpets that people think are part of African culture.

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