ZAKUMI'S DIARY: EPSISODE THREE

SUB TITLE: ROUNDING UP THE FIRST ROUND

We are through with the first round of sixteen matches. As at the time of writing this blog South Africa and Uruguay were the only countries to have played more games. For South Africa, the dream is all but over. The Uruguayans have almost ended the World Cup dreams of South Africa and if they fail to qualify from the group stages into the 1/16^th stage, they’ll be the first host nation to have done so. That isn’t a tag they’ll like to wear. There’s a mathematical chance though, what if the Mexicans draw with France, Uruguay beat Mexico in the third round of the group stage and South Africa win their last group game against France? That means South Africa will qualify to the next round. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s deal with the first round of matches first.

Casting my mind back to the matches that have been played so far, all I can say is, so far, so good. They’ve been some excellent games, some bore draws and some fairy tale matches. We’ve seen 16+1 matches and already there’s plenty to talk about, from Mexico’s “offside” goal, through to Vincent Enyeama heroics in the Argentina – Nigeria game, Robert Green’s slippery fingers in the USA- England game, Ghana’s “giant killing” of Serbia, the crying DPR Korea player, Spain’s shock defeat to Switzerland among others. 

As it stands, all the teams have played at least 1 match and even though that’s not enough to determine who will win the tournament itself, I think the performances so far has given us a little perspective to assess the teams and the players. I’ll run you through some of the matches in the first round and I’ll give you my impressions so far. Also I’ve give you my “2010 FIFA World Cup Team of the First Round” but before I come to that, lets deal with some of the other pertinent issues surrounding this year’s World Cup.

Even before the South Africa 2010 World Cup started, there was plenty of talk of banning vuvuzelas from the Stadia. The argument is that, the sound of the drone of vuvuzelas ( or Lepatata) blown at the World Cup matches disturb the players and it drowns the commentary on TV and radio. FIFA has clearly stated that it has no plans to ban the vuvuzelas and quite frankly banning the vuvuzelas would have been a very insensitive move by FIFA. The Western media especially are the ones leading the call for the ban of the vuvuzelas.

I wonder why they want to take away the “Africa-ness” of an African World Cup. I don’t really understand the fuss about the vuvuzelas. The noise is definitely much lower than the commentary and it doesn’t interfere with the commentary in any way. If for nothing at all, the music from the vuvuzelas form part of a wonderful background sound. The music of the “vuvu” is the sound track to the World Cup. It’s better than those boring lullabies they sing at their stadia. If they want a quiet game then they should go watch cricket or tennis, that way they can hear a pin drop.

‘Stadium noise’ has always been a part of football matches and like they say, the more, the better. I won’t be too surprised if we start seeing vuvuzelas at Premier League, Serie A or La Liga games. The ‘vuvuzela’ is Africa’s gift to world football. They should shut up and enjoy it. ==========<()!!!!!!!!

Then there’s the issue of the Jabulani ball. I spoke at length about this issue in previous editions of Zakumi’s Diary but these whiners are refusing to hear me out. Clearly those who are complaining about the adidas ball are just trying to take our attention away from their deficiencies in terms of technique and skills. As you may be aware, the Adidas Jabulani is the first aerodynamically designed ball. The Jabulani unlike its predecessors doesn’t swerve in mid flight, doesn’t behave in an unpredictable way and it’s close to being a perfect ball. Simply put it does what you direct it to do. I’m as yet to receive my cheque from Adidas for doing this wonderful PR job for them but that doesn’t prevent me from speaking on this issue (you don’t believe that, do you). I’ve been observing the matches closely and so far, there’s no evidence to suggest that the Jabulani isn’t a good ball. Why are the players (esp. the losers) complaining? They should give us a break, the ball has got nothing to do with their defeats. In a very specific case-I don’t think it’s fair to blame the Jabulani for Robert Green’s howler, the crux of the issue is that the English haven’t had any decent goalkeeper since David Seaman and if they are really serious about winning this World Cup then they should seal the holes in their defence rather than blaming the Jabulani. In any case the Jabulani is the best ever ball produced for a World Cup since Telstar was first used as an official FIFA World Cup ball in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. They should stop complaining and get on with the matches as I’m about to do. 

With regards to the matches that have been played so far, my favourite game has been the Brazil DPR Korea match closely followed by the Ghana Serbia match (purely from an African’s perspective). It’s true that it’s an African World Cup but trust me the Asian countries are having a good tournament. Take Japan’s win against Cameroon for example. Man to man, you’d have expected the Africans to have carried the day but that just didn’t happen. The Blue Samurai-as they are called-gave a good account of themselves. Also South Korea’s win against Greece also gives more credence to what I’m saying. I was particularly impressed with their slick passing and tactical awareness. Even their less fancied Northern neighbours put up a good fight against the number one ranked team in the world-Brazil. Typical of most Asian teams, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-as they preferred to be called-surprised all of us. They refused to lie down on their backs for the Samba boys to walk over them. Curiously it wasn’t that the Brazilians didn’t play well, rather the DPRK’s matched the South Americans in every department of the game. On the day, if the attacking prowess was a tad sharper, they could have earned a point from that game. I think we shouldn’t write them off as yet. Let’s brace ourselves for more from the Koreans. The Socceroos were humbled by the Germans and they are the only Asian team that has failed to impress. Bear in mind that the Australians are playing under the flag of the Asian Confederation.

The African ‘caucus’ of the countries at the World Cup have had mixed results in the first round. South Africa is the only country to have played a second group match and from what I see, the Bafana Bafana will be ‘going home’ sooner or later. Nigeria and Ivory Coast have impressed me with their play and even though they couldn’t win their matches, I reckon they’ll grab some points in the remaining matches. Whether that will be enough to qualify them to the next stage is a different topic for another day. Whiles I’ve been impressed by the Nigerians and the Ivorians, I’ve equally been angered by the Algerians and the Cameroonians. Both teams have been too sloppy in their first games. They’ve got to wake up from their sleep and slumber. I hope they step up their game in the next round of matches. If they don’t then the Algerians and Cameroonians will have to make the ‘short’ trip to Algiers and Yaounde respectively. Sometimes I think some nations forget the essence of playing in a World Cup. You can’t come to a World Cup and play as though you were playing in some lower division league. Please, this is the World Cup, we don’t joke here.

But there’s hope for Africa though. Judging from their performance, one African country that clearly understands the importance of playing on the big stage is Ghana. Against the Serbs, the Black Stars really showed the rest of Africa what it means to represent the hopes and dreams of millions of people. Results aside, I think Ghanaians have won the hearts of many Africans with their slick passing and swift counter attacks. Then again, the Black Stars profligacy in front of goal is something that will cost them dearly if they are to progress to the latter stages of this competition. They need to take their chances, I can’t over emphasis that enough. I have a good feeling about this current crop of Black Star players. Let’s hope they’ll keep the hope of Africa alive like their name suggests.

Of all the UEFA countries, I think the Germans have been the most remarkable team so far. They won their match 4-0 against Australia and they did it with the clichéd (but true) “German Efficiency” that we’ve come to know about them. They did their job like an Israeli Mossad agent would have done-minimum fuss-unlike the pageantry that the Spaniards (CIA equivalent) prefer to associate their assignments with. It’ll surprise you to know that in the game against the Swiss, the Spaniard had 67% of the possession, 12 shots on targets, 12 corners, a Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, Silva attacking threat and yet they failed to score a single goal. That to me is unacceptable especially for a team that has been tipped to go the full distance. Perhaps the ‘favourites’ tag is weighing on the Furia Roja. The Swiss on the other hand had just 3 shots on target, 3 corners and 33 % of possession nonetheless they got the most important statistic in the game-a goal to their name. We all love fairytales and perhaps this is the World Cup’s own “Alice in the Wonderland”. Like Terry Cobbson rightly pointed out, no team has won the World Cup after losing the first round of matches but then again like Charlene Hamilton also pointed out, “it’s always impossible until it first happens”. I won’t write them off as yet, the Spaniards are too good a team to be underestimated. I hope they approach their next games with more seriousness.

It’s impossible to talk about the first round of matches without mentioning the much talked about England – USA game. To some extent, the game lived up to my expectation. Good box to box action. A draw isn’t a bad result for both teams but judging from the way the USA goal came, I reckon the English will feel let down. Robert Greens slippery fingers (like that of an octopus) gifted the Americans a well deserved goal. Slovenia is leading that group and that makes the next round of matches more difficult for both the Americans and the English since they’ve been tipped to emerge from this group. The Flying Dutch Masters struggled against the Danes but at the end of the day they got the needed three points. The defending Champions Italy shared points with a spirited Paraguay team and the Chileans peppered Honduras 1-0. New Zealand recorded a late draw against the Slovaks after being on the back foot for so long. New Zealand’s Winston Reid will definitely be given a national hero for securing that draw for the All Whites.

As far as the men in the middle of the action are concerned there’s been a few suspect refereeing during the first round of matches. On the whole I’ve been impressed by the referees. Not too many controversial calls. They are allowing the game to flow and that’s a good thing. The referees are doing well (as far as their decisions don’t go against the countries I’m supporting).Take the South Africa – Mexico game for example, many of us thought Carlos Vela’s goal was a clean goal but as the rule states “A player is in an offside position if: he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent”. In that particular incidence the keeper was the second-last opponent to Vela and since he (Vela) was slightly ahead of Khune, he was offside and the referee got that decision spot on.

In terms of individual performances, the usual suspects haven’t stepped on the gas yet. They are still in first gear. We are yet to see a ‘wow’ performance from any of the stars. Ronaldo did well against Ivory Coast but he could have done better. Messi was a victim of Enyeama’s outstanding performance and Rooney just couldn’t roar enough for the “Three Lions”. Drogba was a late substitute for Ivory Coast in that game against Portugal but he couldn’t stamp his authority on the game as he usually does.

Most importantly, the first round of matches have given us a preview of what is to come and from where I stand, the best eleven so far has been…….

Formation: 4-4-2

GOALKEEPER- I had a tough time choosing between Khune, Enyeama, Tim Howard and the DPR Korea goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk. I loved Myong-Guk outfit, its been a while since I saw a goalkeeper ‘immaculately’ dressed for a football game. Again the Korea goalkeeper won my admiration for his positioning and aerial ability. However his sleek outfit and his goalkeeping prowess couldn’t earn him a spot on my ‘Best Eleven’ for the first round. The Nigerian goalkeeper won that spot because he was able to prevent Messi from scoring. Enyeama did very well against Argentina and I think he deserves this one.

RIGHT BACK: When it comes to this particular position, I think I’m spoilt for choice. I have candidates like the US right back Cherundolo, Maicon, the Swiss right back Lichtsteiner and Aguilar, the Mexican right back. Even though any of these them will fit in perfectly, I’ll choose Lichtsteiner for his work rate, composure and for subduing the Spanish Armada from rocking the Swiss defence.

CENTRE BACK: I’ve seen a couple of solid centre backs in this first round but none has impressed me as much as Alcaraz from Paraguay. He is a commanding force at the heart of the Paraguayan defence. I like the way he handled the Italians

CENTRE BACK: Ri Kwang-Chon (North Korea). If you doubt me, go and ask Luis Fabiano.

LEFT BACK: Without a shadow of doubt, I’ll award this position to Michel Bastos from Brazil. He doesn’t only resemble Marcelo/Robinho in looks, he also plays like both of them combined. His attacking potential doesn’t prevent him from fulfilling his defence chores and that’s what I like most about him. Had an excellent game against DPR Korea.

RIGHT MIDFIELD: Giovanni Dos Santos. Please don’t ask me why.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Did you see Greece versus South Korea? Did you see J.S Park? Then you’ve seen my central midfielder. His passes were pin point. He runs were well timed. The one-two plays were sexy and boy, Park was a delight to watch. Good thing he’s signed for Chelsea. Haha. That’s just a joke. For now, I don’t think Sir Alex Ferguson will let J.S Park go especially if he watched that game against the Greeks. I considered Wesley Sneidjer for this one but after careful analysis, I decided to give it to J.S Park. He deserves it more.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD (2): Mezut Ozil. On the day he was an epitome of the trademark German efficiency. It’s very easy for his kind to go unnoticed in such games especially when playing in his first ever World Cup. No wonder it’s been linked to the big clubs in Europe, Ozil is a young blood but he plays with such maturity that you’ll wonder if the German still remember a certain Michael Ballack.

LEFT MIDFIELD: I have another Brazilian in this spot, for me Robinho’s performance in the first match was earned him a spot in my lineup and in my good books. He is more matured player now and I think that loan move back to Brazil has done him some good.   That assist to Elano is by far the sexiest pass in the tournament. If he continues to play like this, I’m show he’ll be in the running for the best player of the tournament. I hope I haven’t spoken too soon cos I want to see that boy back in the big leagues.

STRIKER(1): Jong Tae-Se, North Korea. You can accuse me of taking bribe from the Korean and I’ll willingly agree but that would be far from the truth. Is it just me or I think the Koreans (or Asians more generally) have been a revelation at this tournament. Prior to the Brazil-DPR Korea, I’d heard of a certain “Korean” Rooney and was particularly watching out for him. He didn’t disappoint me at all. Didn’t get on the score sheet himself nevertheless he unselfishly provided the assist for DPRK’s consolation goal. Good showing.

STRIKER (2):  Miroslav Klose or Lucas Podolski. . Heads or tails?....errm okay Klose wins.

My team of the first round:

                                                                 Enyeama, 

Lichtsteiner                               Alcaraz                         Ri Kwang-Chon            M. Bastos

G. Dos Santos                               J.S Park                   Mezut Ozil                 Robinho

                                                       Jong Tae-Se           Miroslav Klose

My favorite goal so far is Maicon’s goal and my “Coca Cola” moment is the Asamoah Gyan celebration.

There you have it, my assessment of the first 16+1 games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.That should be all for now. Remember to leave your comments/opinion/suggestions below this post. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, me and my good friend Google will sort you out in no time. I’ll be back with another edition of “Zakumi’s Diary” after the last game of the second round of matches.

Till then it’s “Ke Nako”

SIYABONGA ZAKUMI