So Spain become the eighth nation to win a World Cup.

Once more, Antonio and I drove out to Soccer City, arriving well in time for the closing ceremonies.  As with the opening ceremonies, the organisers did themselves proud, creating a fantastic sound and light show, with terrific music and dance performances, from, among others, Shakira and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  At the end of the performances, Nelson Mandela came out to greet the crowd, who gave him a thunderous standing ovation.

In contrast, loud boos greeted the appearance of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and South Africa President Jacob Zuma when they came on the pitch to greet the teams before the start of the match.  The fan support seemed fairly evenly divided between Spain and the Netherlands, and fans were in attendance from around the world, from A to at least V, flags in evidence from Albania to Vietnam, and Venezuelan fans sitting next to us.  The World Cup trophy itself was brought to the pitch by Fabio Cannavaro, captain of Italy, the 2006 champions, who retired from international football following Italy’s exit from this year’s tournament.

Continue reading WC 2010 Diary: The Magic Number was Eight

Well, Uruguay certainly seem to be in the habit of providing dramatic finishes!  Alas, tonight, it was a strike against the crossbar, Diego Forlan missing equalising by millimetres – what would have been his sixth goal of the tournament, and second on the night — and leaving Germany as third place finishers 3-2.

Continue reading WC 2010 Diary: Diego Falls Just Short

Leaving Johannesburg in the dawn of July 7, match day, beneath a waning crescent moon, we made our way down the N3 toward Durban, cutting a corner of Mpumalanga before entering the Free State and passing through its eastern highlands, then continuing through the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and skirting the Drakendberg.

We arrived in the Assagay Valley around Noon, and made our way to Chillifields B&B –  billed as the “Hottest B&B in Assagay.”  An assagay – more commonly, assagaai — is a throwing spear used by the Xhosa people.  Drakensberg translates as Dragon Mountains, but the Zulu knew them as Quathlamba, or Battlement of Spears.
Continue reading WC 2010 Diary: Durban is a Dream

Another exciting match, that went right down to the final whistle.  But, in the end, South America’s last opportunity to play in Sunday’s final was snuffed out in Cape Town, and, sadly, at least in part by linesman errors.  Despite the improvements in refereeing during the quarterfinals, the semifinals have begun with three errors in calls, all against Uruguay, which could have affected the match.

Continue reading WC 2010 Diary: Running the Lines