Maradona afuera

Diego Maradona has left his post as Argentina boss after a unanimous vote from the Argentine Football Association.


Diego Maradona was a broken man as Argentina lost in the World Cup quarter-finals
Maradona had been offered a new four-year contract but said he would only continue on condition that his backroom staff remained. He met with AFA president Julio Grondona on Monday, but the differences between the parties could not be resolved.

Grondona revealed details of the talks to the board on Tuesday and AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo has now confirmed Maradona's deal will not be renewed. "There was a big chasm that made it impossible to find an agreement," he said. "We will not renew the contract. For the match against Spain, scheduled for September 7, we may already have the new coach."

A statement on the AFA website added: "The president of the Argentinean Football Association, Mr Julio Grondona, made the members of the executive committee aware of the conversation with Mr Diego Maradona, setting out the points which had come out from the meeting.
"The executive committee unanimously resolved not to renew the contract with Mr Diego Maradona as coach of the Argentina national football team."

Maradona faced heavy criticism during his time in charge of the national side, with the team struggling during qualification for this summer's World Cup before exiting at the quarter-final stage with a 4-0 defeat to Germany. Grondona, though, had defended Maradona's performance in South Africa and suggested last week that he expected him to remain in charge.

Estudiantes boss Alejandro Sabella, Racing Club's Miguel Angel Russo and Sergio Batista - currently in charge of the country's Under-20 side - are believed to be in the running for the position. Simone please!

Espana Victorious

Spain deserves this one. Argentina futobol politics interferes every WC which results in minimal cohesion... we can't even combine the best players from Boca and River for a month to acheive greatness. This is a lesson that league politics should be left at home and bringing the best to represent country results in triumph! Spain showed the world where beautiful playmaking, hard work and a well-knit team takes you. Viva Espana!

2010 World Cup Requiem

Manana it all comes to an end. A month of triumphs, disappointments, and surprises. A month for me and the fellow pirates Gustavo and Ricardo of tons of miles by air and road, sharks, giraffes, dodgy streets, charming people, and a beautiful country.

Kudos South Africa: job well done. All the apocalyptic predictions of crime waves, terrorist attacks, and a developing country too primitive to accommodate the world....WERE JUST WRONG. Take the time to see the country and stop believing years of negative hype. It is a continent of progress with alot of work to do, but it is not a stone age place of primitive, famine ridden people who don't get it. World wake up!

On the field of play not the most scintillating tournament. The superstars did not rise to the occasion: Portuguese Ronaldo, the entire English team, Torres, and Messi to name a few. France provided more entertainment off the field with their soap opera than on with their goal scoring drought and lackluster play. Below is a hodgepodge of awards and observations for 2010 World Cup.

Primetime Player: Diego Forlan. Where did this come from? A disappointment at Manchester United and a solid player at Athletico Madrid, he played liked the man throughout the tournament. Free kicks, volleys, vision to set up his teammates. The guy just didn't quit, and brought all he had. Don't know if he will be in Brazil, but thanks for a great tournament.

Next World Power: All you can say about Germany is wow! A new world order is in the making. A offensive-minded, young, fast juggernaut. Add in the mix that with Turks, German, and Africans it represents a multicultural Germany I see version 2.0 of the 1998 French team. A new way of thinking about Germany and a new generation of style on the field that bombards you with goals.

Undeserved Villain: Luis Suarez of Uruguay. Somehow he becomes the Darth Vader of 2010 for a smart play to give his team a thread of hope. He played by the rules, got penalized, and his team found a way to win. He did not cheat. Asomoah Gyan of Ghana had a penalty for all the fame and glory.... and choked. Stop hating the playa, hate the game.

Biggest Soap Opera: France, why even take out Ireland, get on the plane, come to the beautiful country of South Africa, to play like shit at the World Cup?

Best Dramatic Team in the Right Way: The United States. With grit and guts overcame goal deficits and bad referee calls to bring it in two straight games, and almost a third against Ghana. You can question their technical ability, but not the heart. And Donovan, congrats on stepping up to the spotlight. Hope you can continue it week to week in the Premier League.

Too many moments to collect in one post. But one more game left, and a new nation will join the list of World Cup champions and collect a star for the badge. For me I hope Espana brings La Furia Roja for 90 minutes and takes the trophy home. But if Holland can make the third time in the final a charm, they deserve to be dogpiled by a bevy of blonde bombshell beer girls.

Maradona rearing his head into the final

Great Article (see below)

Years ago, Dutch striker Robin van Persie cleared space in his home for a famous photo to inspire him. It’s from 1986 and shows Argentina’s Diego Maradona clutching the World Cup over his head as he is being carried off the field by teammates.“It is an unbelievable picture,” Van Persie said this week according to Reuters.

“I have [it hanging] in my games room back home. He is on his teammates’ shoulders holding the trophy with a huge smile on his face.“If we win, I would like to make a picture like that.”Van Persie gets his chance Sunday, leading the Netherlands against Spain in the World Cup final here.Van Persie is the son of two artists. His mother is a painter, his father a sculptor. When their artistic talent wasn’t passed down, he took up soccer – “I’m rubbish with my hands,” he’s joked.

Still, it makes sense he’d draw strength from a still picture, that he’d study it, draw in the subtleties for meaning and allow it to push him to dream of his own glory. Rather than recall one of Maradona’s fabulous highlight-reel plays from that World Cup, he cherishes the unique moment in time that a photograph provides. As he described that iconic snap shot, the reality of the stakes seemed to continue to settle in for him. The chance to produce one of those special moments that resonate around the globe is here.

It’s not just the incredible audience that will watch the World Cup final that raises the pressure. Perhaps a billion people around the world will take in the game live, an almost impossible to comprehend group in both size and diversity – everyone from kings to peasants, movie stars to third-world farmers.What’s more germane to the players is how rare it is to just play in a World Cup final. It makes the moment even more profound than any club championship, such as the English Premiere League where Van Persie plays for Arsenal. It’s different than even a Super Bowl, World Series or NBA Finals.The World Cup is played just once every four years.

There is no next year and even holding out hope for a next time is not advisable. Just 11 countries have ever reached the finals and even among that group, the greatest players usually get just one chance during their prime. Van Persie is 26 and this is his second Cup. There may not be a third.LeBron James can keep falling short and know that another chance will come. He can even switch teams in search of a more likely route to the NBA championship.

In soccer it takes the perfect storm of circumstances to just get the chance. Spain, despite generations of immensely talented players and a deep national passion for the sport, has never before reached the final.The Netherlands hasn’t been to the final game in 32 years. The teams that made appearances in 1974 and 1978 are legendary in the Netherlands despite losing both times.

So for Van Persie and his teammates, it’s now or never. And they know it.“It is difficult to cope with the pressure, because you have to fight against the memories of the teams that went before you [and lost],” he said. “They were such great players. They didn’t do it somehow.“But we have the chance to do it now for the first time.”The World Cup is a long, slow, pressure-filled survival test.

The tournament has lasted a full month, was staged in 10 different stadiums scattered across this vast nation. From mining towns to the inner city of Johannesburg to spectacular spots along the coast, it just goes on and on.The most successful players and coaches focus solely on the next game – it takes six just to reach the final. Then, suddenly, they are here, with as many as four days to allow the pressure to crank up.

The forever dream right there for the taking.“I am used to watching other teams in the final,” Van Persie said, who has one goal during the World Cup. “This time I will be in it. This time I will be in the middle.”So Van Persie waits and thinks and his mind flashes back to a wall of his home. Diego Maradona seized that magical moment 24 years ago in Mexico City and got a joyous ride off the pitch. Someone snapped a photograph, where it still inspires dreams of global soccer glory.

My two cents: Another example why many in the world envy Diego,­ and let's face it we'll be lucky to witness another­ charismatic and much loved player/personality in football who makes enenies and friends alike respect him. He has always marched to his own tune and there is much to be said about that. The press can continue insulting­ him, but they should know they are making­ him a bigger legend! Those who critique him have never achieved­ even a small bit of what he has, the love of a nation,­ the whole world! From the villa to Campion. Diego will always be immortal for he raised the cup almost single handedly.

Vamos Espana

Aside from Villa's five goals, the finishing has been suspect and they moved by Paraguay by their foreskin. It's not been convincing fashion, but for the first time in their history, Spain has made it into the semifinals!

Bring on to the Deutscheland. Watching Germany tear through the Argentine midline (no one had done it, but it really should have been exposed earlier) was a simple reminder to that you cannot win a cup without a solid central midfield. With Iniesta, Xavi, and Alonso, running the show and a solid defense to keep Ozil at bay I think the Spaniards will be a menace for the Germans. I really hope they bring it! Tomorrow's winner certainly takes the final against the Netherlands.

Spain 2 Germany 1.

Argentina de luto

Argentina exits the World Cup and in the 90 minutes it took for them to lose, they went from a red-hot with a chance to hoist the Cup to a team that wasn’t worthy. 4-0 in a quarterfinal is unacceptable. I kept waiting for Argentina to break through but it never happened. The German defense was up to the test and they finished most opportunities. Argentina seemed flat, frustrated and could not create chances. Did we have a shot on goal? Worst part of the day was having random strangers offer their condoloences. That's how much we stunk it up.

Sadly Messi went from soccer God to mortal and now the shadow of Maradona is all consuming. Before the match it didn’t matter that he hadn’t scored because he was creating chances and Argentina was winning. After the game, his World Cup performance was a major disappointment because he didn't score and was put in the same bust category with Ronaldo, Kaka, Rooney etc. The Argentine press and fans have been crucifying Messi, subsequent to his incapability of reproducing his marvelous deeds at Barcelona while representing the Albicelestes. I can read it now in the Clarin sure Messi has won almost everything in the last year, but what have you done for us lately?

Well the mourning period is over and we must move on. We have Rio in 2014. Now I root for the Barcelona squad (Spain) and David Villa for the golden boot.

Germany and Argentina collide again. Revancha!

Bad luck for Brasil, but that is futbol and the story of this WC. Now the entire focus is on Argentina vs Germany. Time to bring out the celeste and blanco for Argentina manana. Some of my Brasilian friends have already jumped on board to help knock the Euros out. Toni I hope you really did pick up the Tevez jersey. Wear it proud! El Apache does.

We practiced without Messi yesterday as he is dealing with a slight cold, but not to worry he will show up to play come Saturday. Much has been made of his scoring drought. Let them talk their shit he has been the salt that has seasoned our asado. Messi has played well and is making everyone else on the pitch better. The scary thing is he has not yet shown his true potential. Unleash it manana 10!

The German only plan of attack may as well begin and end with trying to limit Messi. The Germans will have no answer for him even with a fever. They will foul him hard and often. Once he gets on the score sheet he will show why he is the reigning world footballer of the year. There are a lot of expectations for the kid and I am confident he will escape the shadow of Maradona manana. Quaters, Semis and Finals makes legends!

Our only concern will be our back which needs to be shored up, but unlikely to happen by tomorrow. It has been exposed and remains vulnerable so our keeper will have to come to play and make the key saves. The scoring opportunities will be there for Argentina. It will take at least 2 to advance. My Prediction is 2-1 we move to the semis. Tevez and Messi will score.

The Vuvuzela: Love it or hate it?

The plastic noise-maker was everywhere including the airport. They were blown loud and often as tourists arrived. They are a very South African way of paying homage to the the World Cup. If blown correctly, it makes a loud, and inspiring, cacophony (sounds like swarming bees). Sound builds momentum throughout the match especially during the lulls. For South Africa WC 2010, vuvuzelas are to soccer as asado are to Argentinos. Can't have one without the other.

So prominent it sparked a debate as to whether the vuvuzela added or took away from the World Cup experience. I was interviewed on a London radio program that was searching high and low for WC fans that found them annoying and were con. But I did not see it that way and defended the instrument. Its sound might be loud, but it is the pure expression of soccer passion, passed directly from the lungs of enthusiastic South Africans as they celebrate the glory of hosting the first World Cup on the African continent and rallies crowds for 90 plus minutes. Amazing!

The sound will define the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Home cooking is what you get as hosts...If you want silence buy ear plus they are only 5 rand. For better and worse, the vuvuzela is the sound of South Africa!

Requests to bring them home were overwhelming. Parker yours is a limited edition multi flag version. Sorry Alison.

Speed trap or cash cow?

Cash Cow Squad — a team of traffic officers making motorists think twice before breaking the rules of the road — it seems the general approach to enforcement of traffic laws in SA. Officers hiding in the bushes, taking aim at unsuspecting motorists on low-risk roads is the norm.

Especially when the speed limit is 120 kmh or 75 mph on the open road. Come on now. Begs the ? is it to force motorists to reduce speeds on the highway or just unadulterated revenue generation? If it were the former, then there would be no need for the operators of mobile cameras to conceal themselves. And if it is in fact the latter, well, let's just say that the better the camouflage, the higher the 'profit'.

Pirates were clocked at a whopping 127 kmh or 79mph. Bry was then escorted (pic above) to the patrol car to view his land speed record. Next he was shown the menu of fines that corresponded to the range of speed infractions. 120-125 $700 rand, 125-130 $800, etc. Our fine was $800 rand. Pirates refused to pay this absurd fine and instead countered with $200 rand and well wishes for Bufana Bufana.

They shook hands to seal the deal. Let's face it if we all stuck to the speed limits the traffic departments would go broke and we'd still be on the road putting along. So we were happy to contribute to the corruption fund as we did well over 2000km with a single infraction. With the current climate of corruption being exposed almost daily in govt departments we got off cheap. I am hopeful the funds went to the improvement of roads, but unlikely.

FYI: Our average speed was 142kmh or 88mph. Pirates learned how to avoid the radar and outsmarted the "bandits" for the rest of the road trip .

Ellis Park...“A little dodgy”

Before the June 15th match there was the dreaded surplus ticket to unload. It was decided to go to McDonalds which seemed to be buzzing with World Cup folk. As fate would have it we encountered eager Japanese fans with a small sign requesting tickets. Reselling tickets was as difficult as selling ice cream during the match while the temperature outside hovered around 25-30 degrees. I really hope the vendors were not working on commission. They made us an offer we initially refused about $500 rand for a $1050 rand ticket. About 5 minutes later we reconvened $500 and 3 diet cokes for our Cuba libres. The deal was sealed under the Argentine and Japanese flag hanging from the banister and that’s no joke. It was meant to be.

We were not looking for a night out in the ghetto, but thanks to FIFA that’s what we got when we attended the Brasil v North Korea by night. Ellis Park Stadium the venue also known because of the movie Invictus, which hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the South Africa’s national team. We theorize this was the true reason for this venue choice because let’s be honest it was the most outdated stadium to host a WC ever even with the modest upgrades for the hosting of the WC. Safety was definitely a concern. After all, FIFA’s repeated excuse was that it was political. Bryan confronted every representative he ran into at FIFA headquarters (Michelangelo) which was the pirates home base.

Before entering the match there was a power failure that nearly led to a stampede as thousands of fans were denied entry as kick off was to commence. We were grateful this was not a repeat of the 2001 stampede disaster that occurred during a futbol match at the same venue where 43 people lost their lives. (To date the biggest disaster of its kind in South Africa). Not a fun fact you want to know while in the midst of an angry crowd of Brasilians. There was definitely some pushing and shoving, but once the Police realized the situation at hand they allowed entry to all and figured it would be for the best. I think Kev has video to be posted soon.

Nothing against Guateng Province in the city of Joburg, but lets say the pirate consensus was we should not be wandering these streets after sun down. Swords were on alert. We are all well traveled and I suppose it doesn’t help when the locals repeatedly advice you to remain indoors after dark. Fortunately nothing happened, but we were the fortunate few with luxury of an arranged driver for easy exit. That being said, our driver was forced down what he termed “dodgy” streets due to road closures that rerouted traffic.

Pirates concentration was off that night as we left a treasure chest of goods (2 flasks a Colombian jersey and a Barcelona team bag) behind. Little consolation knowing it went to one of our South American neighbor nemesis. Worst of all we would be Rum-less and limited to Budweiser from here on out.

On the positive side North Korea did score a goal and we made sure to snap a picture with the Chinese actors posing as North Koreans. In case you were wondering how all those North Korean fans were able to attend the game given dictator Kim Jong Il's strict prohibitions on leaving the country. North Korea provided 1,000 tickets to a group of Chinese fans to fly to South Africa for first round matches. As luck would have it we encountered them again in Cape Town and yet again on our flight home where they promptly were instructed to relinquish their new found national pride.

More pics to be posted.

Plan B…Le Clue:

Opting to watch the Argentina match vs. S. Korea before departing North to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, we had no one to blame, but ourselves for plan B. At about 10 minutes into the match Kevin mentioned the National park doors closed and hence we would not be able to access our Hilltop Country Lodge (reserved, prepaid and non refundable) accommodation.

Bry & I conveniently ignored this kernel of knowledge knowing we had at the very minimum a 4 hour drive ahead of us. We decided to split after the second goal and we heard the 3rd goal on our way to the car, but it was well after 3:00 and the countdown was on to be there by 6. Time wise it was not going to work no matter how you sliced it. Rain and sleet on the way did not help our cause. Anyhow, I recalled there was a South entrance to the park which was much closer so we figured it was our best bet.

Needless to say we arrived at 6:08…gates closed at 6:00. In retrospect it was all for the best as it was already pitch black and later we experienced the national park is teeming with wild animals after sundown. Probably best the pirates were not wandering aimless in the midst of the roaming elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions, etc.

We adopted a plan B after speaking to some locals at the the garage (petrol station) restuarant. Kev's slab of ribs could have fed a samll village. We pulled into the first 5 star hotel where the pirates promptly worked their magic. We ended up with a room for pennies on the dollar and a subzero safari with Le Clue.

Our theory is that Le Clue was the back up safari guide who was likely flipping omelets the day before. you know the one they send out when none of the experienced guides want to make the trek. He was dressed like a Disney safari guide on the jungle cruise at Disneyland. Le Clue introduced himself and asked what game animal we were interested in. The big 5? We had a pair of Japanese hunters that requested the coveted Lions, only 125 of them in the vast savannah covering more than 1000km² in Zululand. We basically drove around doing figure eights freezing our asses off while searching for the wild game that were everywhere we were not. Now we know why he was coined Le Clue... he didn't have one.

For starters he stopped at the entrance to the park for the only chickens that were not picked up by KFC. We knew it was going to be an interesting safari thereafter. A few hours into the safari he switched his focus from animal game to the "hot breakfast" that was only served until 9:30. We ourselves spotted the few animals we did see. Well he did locate the giraffes which our tallest land animals and average heights of up to 19 or more feet. And let’s not forget the warm elephant dung where the elephants had passed before. Why he took us to where the elephants had been is still a mystery. Kev spotted Le Clue with his binonculars hoping to locate the variety of wildlife such as leopard, cheetah, lion, black-backed jackal, reedbuck, nyala, eland, white and black rhinos, giraffe, zebra, kudu, waterbuck and blue wildebeest the park boasts. We came back with a luandry list that read nil, but we did arrive just before 9:30 so all could enjoy the 5 star breakfast buffet with le Clue's buddies.

We ended up driving ourseleves on a BMW safaria checking off the list above and including zebras, baboons and some others so it was not a wash. We actually ventured out at sundown and experienced a safari by night that was quite impressive. We steaked out a local watering hole and waited for the game to show. More pics to follow!

Germans: Argentina shows no respect

Looks like Auraujo is being taken down by the Aleman to me. You should expect much of this come Saturday with Messi being on the receiving end as they have no other means to stop him. Talk you shit Schweinsteiger...it seems like a distration to me. Messi will show the Aleman's respect come Saturday!

ERASMIA, South Africa -- Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger accuses World Cup quarterfinals rival Argentina of showing no respect for opponents and referees, and urges his teammates not to be provoked.

Germany eliminated Argentina on penalty kicks four years ago at the same stage and there were chaotic scenes after the shootout, with both sides exchanging punches and kicks in a fracas that included team officials from both benches.

"The shootout is still in our memory, but what really weighs heavily on our minds is what happened after that match," Schweinsteiger said Wednesday. "We have to remain calm and not get provoked and I hope the referee will be very alert.

"You could see their behavior at halftime of the game against Mexico. When you look at their body language and gesticulations, the way they try to influence the referees, they have no respect. It's their mentality and character and we'll have to adjust."

Mexico and Argentina players had to be separated as they headed for the tunnel at halftime of the teams' second-round game, with the Mexicans furious over Argentina's first goal that came when scorer Carlos Tevez clearly was offside. Argentina won 3-1.

Schweinsteiger also accused Argentine fans of taking the places of others in the stadiums and refusing to move. It was not clear where he got his evidence from.But the midfielder praised Argentina as a team, saying the squad coached by Diego Maradona was better in "every sector" than the team Germany beat four years ago.

Germany's team page

Schweinsteiger singled out veteran Juan Sebastian Veron. "He has played very strongly here. I have been impressed," Schweinsteiger said. Schweinsteiger repeated that stopping Argentina star Lionel Messi will need a strong "collective effort." "Other teams also have done it. He hasn't scored yet and we want to keep it that way," said Schweinsteiger, who has played 78 games for Germany although he is still just 25.

"We'll find the right game plan to hurt Argentina, although we know how strong Argentina is. At this level, you can't make mistakes, it's the details that decide the match."Thomas Mueller, who scored twice against England, could be the deciding factor in the match, which might be embarrassing to Maradona.

By now, he should have heard of Mueller. The last time Argentina played Germany in a friendly in March, Maradona felt so slighted when Mueller sat on the podium with him at the postmatch news conference that he stormed off and refused to return until Mueller left the stage to the coach alone.Mueller had just made his debut for Germany then. Now, he leads his team at the World Cup with three goals.

Argentina's team page

Coach Joachim Loew said forward Cacau is unlikely to recover from a right thigh injury in time for the match. Argentina beat Germany 1-0 with relative ease in that March friendly in Munich. Schweinsteiger said that result meant little. "One, it was a friendly. Two, they did not create many chances either. Three, we have gained a lot of confidence by beating England and the good tactics we used in that game," Schweinsteiger said. Germany advanced to the quarterfinal with a 4-1 win. Schweinsteiger said he expected the upcoming match to be a tactical affair, "just as it was in 2006." Argentina has only one win over Germany at the World Cup, in the 1986 final when Maradona was still playing. Overall in the World Cup, they have met five times and twice in the final.

Maradona led Argentina to that 3-2 win in Mexico, while in Italy in 1990, Germany won 1-0 on a penalty kick. Those were also the last times either team won the World Cup. Germany won a group match 3-1 in 1958 and the two teams drew 0-0 in another group match in 1966.

Driving on the opposite side to Durban

We picked up our ride a BMW 3 series at Jburg airport bright and early. There was much acclimating and driving confusion while making the switch of the right-hand drive to that of left-hand drive. Much like the Pikey Kingdom traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road in South Africa. In the interests of safety, one is advised to practice this in the country of origin for a week or two before driving. Pirates practice plan was sink or swim. Bry took the plunge first.

As one might gather the pirates had their opinions and philosophical discussion. We concluded the story of left or right hand side driving was more than just a derivative of British Imperialism. We all had our own theories. Prevailing theory was better vision of oncoming traffic which had to do with 2 lane highways in the days of horse carriages. Jury's out so feel free to comment.

Apparently the main promulgators of driving on the right was revolutionary France, at that time Britain’s arch-enemy, thus lending a ‘political’ subtext to this purely practical question. France spread the practice to most of the countries it conquered at the turn of the 19th century and hence our driving on the right.

Let’s hope they don’t spread their refusal to train/compete which culminated in the off the field antics that resulted in Anelka’s expulsion from the squad for verbally abusing Domenech which lead to The French Football Federation's managing director subsequently quitting. Culminating with the involvement of Sarkozy sending the French sports minister who was calling for dignity and responsibility before the surrender flag went up.

Dios mio and we thought we had our problems with Maradona.

What’s KNVB?

Netherlands Vs. Denmark Our fist game at Soccer City Stadium in Jburg. We departed 4 hours before game time and it was a wise decision as the traffic was reminiscent, well actually worse, than that of LA traffic at rush hour on a Friday. We had arranged for a driver so we were not on a meter, but for those unfortunate fans to take a taxi in well many resorted to existing their cabs and walking from the highway to the stadium.

Pirates educated their driver on Pikey 101. He mentioned that he had been treated badly by a group of Englishman the night before. We had to assist! A running joke form the last WC in Germany. In short the Pikey's speech is virtually unintelligible and very insulting to a Englishman.

Upon arriving while in line for a pre game meal I (Rich) was singled out by female Dutch supporter who asked “Do you even know what KNVB means?” I replied total futbol she was not impressed. Wow not much love for the supporting the Orange jersey. Anyhow, the Dutch orange was everywhere and the supporters were numerous. Again we started our day by having to unload an extra ticket.

Bry had the best negotiating skills so he unwillingly took on the task. Not fun selling tickets that were yielding rand prices while we paid in dollars. The exchange was not in our favor and to boot no one was interested in category 1 tickets everyone was after the lowly category 3.

While Bry worked his magic Kev missed his opportunity to take his picture with the 30 dutch winches (pic above) in orange minidresses who were apparently paid for by brewing company Bavaria. The women were later prosecuted under the Contravention of Merchandise Marks Act which covers ambush marketing. South African police arrested the women at their hotel in the Johannesburg district of Roodepoort. The women appeared at Johannesburg Magistrates Court and were released on bail of 10,000 rand ($1300) each, with their next court appearance to be set. Men were lining up to pay their fines.

For those interested it stands for...Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond (Royal Dutch Soccer Association)

Pirates take the plunge in shark alley

First things first. A group of Mexicanos were completing the contract when they were stumped. What is next of kin? We all had a good laugh before signing our lives away.

We survived the cage diving experience with great white sharks in the aptly named "shark alley", near the fishing village of Gansbaai, off the Cape of South Africa. We plunged for about 40 minutes, 5 persons to a cage while great whites swam face to face (INCHES) from the cage. In fact, they intentionally slow down and make eye contact with you. Awesome adrenaline rush! Definitely top of the food chain! They provide the “I can and would consume you” look each time they swim by if you were not in that metal cage.

Same group of Mexicanos were fiercely rattled when a shark rammed their cage head on after Bry supplied eco-chum in their direction. It was awesome to see the attack not the retching. I am sure if the wetsuits were not so tight they would have shit themselves on the spot. Not to single out Bry almost everyone (80%) were providing eco-chum (breakfast) throughout the dive while sharks constantly circled our vessel. Kevin and Ricardo's sea legs saved them from joining the heaving brigade, which seemed to be very contagious.

Let’s be honest the seas were rough, and the swells large, but sharks close up was undeniably worth it. Oh my lord ridiculous!

Pirates anchored in Cape town

For those of you that had little faith and thought the pirates were lost at sea or had sunk off the Indian Ocean. Not the case...the journey was a long one and modern ameneties such as Wifi were nowhere to be found deep in the bushlands and the off the coast of Sotuh Africa. Road trip (5 days) from Bush to the Cape was amazing. Much to see and take in.

We arrived to a rain soaked Cape just in time for the Portugal thrashing of communist Korea. Green Point Stadium was nice and fortunately our seats were in the covered section so we viewed the wet match in the confort of our dry seats. Wow! 7-0. Cry baby was in typical form, but I must admit the shot that struck the woodwork was nice! The goals rained in all second half...more goals today than all games we attended combined.

We are again connected so I hope to update blog with photos and details of journey. Wishing you all the best from Cape town!

Rooting for the Enemy

If you ask me what 3 sports teams I hate the most it goes as follows:
1. Boston University Hockey
2. Any college football program in Florida
3. The Mexican National soccer team

And not in that order. I loathe El Tri. They are the US MNT's biggest rival and there is plenty of hate in the 2 countries history. 2002 WC being the biggest black eye for the Aztecas. On top of that, they can't beat us outside that smog filled garbage heap in the sky they are so proud of (Gold cup final last year just does not count). But today I rooted for El Tri with vigor for the following 3 reasons:
1. They played France
2. They should have been playing Ireland
3. I am in Mexico

As much as I dislike them, being in a country that backs their team with pride fills me with envy and respect. In the US, soccer in most places (especially middle america) is viewed as some sort of immigrant conspiracy like Catholicism or the Metric System. We will root for the US in Badminton at the Olympics but just ignore our national soccer team and in many cases have outright contempt for it.

Mexico deserved to win. They controlled the game and the Frenchies had nothing creative to offer. Gio dos Santos played uncharacteristically unselfish and hard working and Rafa Marquez proved why he wears the armband. If he was only so consistent for Barca. The first goal was nice and Blanco hit that penalty perfectly.

After the way Forlan dismantled Bafana Bafana yesterday, I am looking forward to Uruguay v. Mexico next week.

Flynn

Dutch earn a 2-0

World Cup fever is on. Today was our first match at Soccer City in Joburg and second overall. Fabulous venue Soccer City! Orange crush supporters were everywhere...the total football contingency were expecting a crushing performance against the Danes. They walked off the pitch with a 2-0 win. Had to feel for the Danes especially (#15) who played well but scored an auto goal. Nonetheless the Dutch are off to a good start with the win. Well done and at this stage the result is the most important thing. Wow! Elia (#17) injected life and energy into the game instantly and changed the pace in the second half. Player of the match as far as I 'm concerned.

Tomorrow we have Brasil at Ellis Park which should be a zamba party from start to finish.

Pics

There was a requesst for pictures. Internet connection is very slow and consequently uploading fotos is not an efficient use of time, but here goes a few more pics than the previous posts. My apologies as I just do not have the patience to upload more pics. Approximately 8 minutes per pic. Almost as bad as Joburg traffic which has fans walking to the venue and ditching their cars. We depart 4 hours before kick off to be sure we make it on time.

US thrown a life line

Wow! WC never ceases to amaze. Red Coats hand US a draw. Nothing on that shot but it was nice to see Dempsey trun Gerrad around a few times before passing it back to the keeper who graciously pushed the ball into the net. Landy Cakes had a few good cracks and the English could just not finish.

"If u r a real man let's take this outside"

Latinos from Mexico, Honduras and Gautemala joined the South American pirtaes for night one in Joburg. At our local watering hole it was vintage pirates on the high seas. Always exciting while sailing unchartered waters.

A drunken SA (local) sailor approached the latinos spefically the shortest in stature myself trying to instigate a sword fight. Calmness prevailed because he was so pathetic and drunk to bring out the swords. Besides it was a riot to watch the incident unfold....comedy hour. He challenged each of us individually bringing out the Azteca in the Mexicano and the jedi mind tricks in pirates. After the classic "If you are a real man then let's step outside" comment things got ugly fast. He was prompty escorted to the plank before the 5 star bar could be destroyed. He was forced to walk the plank never to be seen.