Deutschland Blog

by Rick Bosch

A World Cup experience is unique, regardless of its host nation. South Africa is putting its best foot forward and here are some of my thoughts after being lucky enough to attend two of the group matches in Cape Town. The first game I attended was the very first game to be hosted in the Mother City and it was on a bizarre kind of day. One of those unique ‘never-to-be-repeated’ kind of days. “Why?” I hear you asking, well, let me tell you.

by Tamine Medeiros

The history of football in Brazil begins when Charles Miller, the son of a Scottish railway engineer and Brazilian mother of English descent, returns from England, bringing in his luggage some whistles, balls and uniforms. To an elite group in São Paulo, he introduces a new kind of sport – football.  The activity spread quickly among ordinary people to become the nation’s most beloved sport, which continues to the present day.

by Rick Bosch 

The World Cup has kicked off, and our entire country has a severe case of ‘Football Fever.’ People that have never watched a game of football in their lives are suddenly glued to their television sets; the talk on the streets is all about football. The net result: South Africa is a great place to be right now. Restaurants, pubs, and bars are constantly full, and the streets are a very pleasant place to be. As a huge fan of the sport and my country, I feel a great deal of pride in what we have achieved thus far – and the tournament is only a week old.

By Brian Melican

World Cup 2006 in Berlin (Flickr: SpreePIX-Berlin)

Germans don’t do things by halves, especially where football is concerned. The “beautiful game” is something of a religion out here, and this makes the World Cup roughly equivalent to the Second Coming, or the Day of Reckoning – or whichever bit of biblical imagery you fancy. Anyone who experienced the 2006 World Cup in Germany certainly knows what I’m talking about.

Nobody’s happy. Not the coaches, not the players, not the officials in charge, and certainly not the players. Nobody is happy with the ball to be used at the World Cup, despite having had weeks to get used to kicking it in frustration.

The new Adidas ball is ironically called ‘Jabulani,’ meaning ‘to celebrate’ in the native South African isiZulu dialect, but nobody is celebrating its apparent unpredictability.

First Spain’s Captain and Goalkeeper Iker Casillas had a go at it, said it was too light, and described it as a “beach ball.” Brazil shot-stopper Julio Cesar wasn’t complimentary either: “It’s the same as the balls you buy in the supermarket,” he said.

Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo © Jacques Strauss

With the World Cup rapidly approaching, football fever has started warming up the cold Cape of Storms. If you haven’t been to Cape Town before you will be forgiven for not knowing the extent of the cold season here on the southern tip of Africa. The winters are traditionally cold and wet, but with the buzz surrounding the World Cup, residents and the few tourists who are already here are paying no mind to the weather. For the first time ever, the World Cup is being played on African soil and there is a great sense of pride flooding the country.

This Saturday, 22^nd May, Bayern Munich will be playing in the Champions League final against Inter Milan. Yes, you read right: on a Saturday! It’s unusual, what with Wednesday tending to be the day for European football – but the marketing whizzes from UEFA will no doubt have noticed that Saturday is far better for viewing figures. And we all know that bad TV ratings are a sure way to destroy a good competition.