Spain Holland

I predicted this would be the final game before the tournament started. These are two good teams and deserve to be in the final. In my view, the Spanish achilles heel is their left back, Carpevilla, who has to face and cover the most dangerous Dutch player, Robben. I expect that the Dutch try to capitalize on that weakness and send many balls down the right wing.

But the game will come down to the play of Spain's Xavi, Iniesta, and Villa. Their short passing and penetrating runs, backed by the intelligent play of Xabi Alonso, will create nightmares for the Dutch midfield who are more physical and not as fast. The Dutch may get an early goal but I predict that Spain will score two goals and eventually win 2-1. I will be rooting for the Dutch but I think the Spaniards are just too good for Holland.

Benni and I will be on a traditional Turkish boat called a gulet sailing somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. We do not know at this point if there is a tv on the boat or whether we can dock to see the game. So there is a chance we'll miss the finals after having followed the tournament closely so far.

Semi Finals

Benni and I watched the semi-finals in the Cappadocia region in Turkey which is in the central part of the country. The landscape is highly unusual and this is where the early christians built underground cities to protect themselves from Roman persecutions.

The Holland-Uruguay game was a pretty good game. I had predicted 3-1 for Holland but the Uruguayans scored in injury time to make it 3-2. The Dutch are a very strong and well-balanced side. They have had some lucky breaks so perhaps this is the year they will go all the way.

The game between Spain and Germany was not as exciting as was expected. The Spaniards slowed down the game with the flurry of short passes that had the Germans playing catch up the whole game. It was a shame that Muller had to sit this one out because he would have opened up the game for Germany. Podolsky played in a defensive role and it was basically only Ozil how threatened the Spaniards up front. The Germans can be very happy with the tournament and be optimistic about their future.

Amazing Quarterfinals and Incredible Germans

The Quarterfinal matches were exciting and incredibly dramatic. It is a good thing that I do not suffer from a weak heart condition while watching the end of the Uruguay-Ghana game or Spain-Paraguay. The other two games were upsets even though I had predicted that the Dutch would prevail. I predicted three of the four matches correctly so I feel pretty good about myself.

The Germans proved me wrong, however. I should have listened to my cousin Gunnar Már who predicted that the Germans would go all the way this year. After seeing them dismantle both England and Argentina, I wonder how the German speed and counter-attack will match up against Spain, who possess the ball brilliantly and play back and forth. The Spanish are fairly slow at the back (Picque and Puyol are not the fastest) and the Spanish forwards (aside from Torres) are short and will struggle against the tall German defenders. That said, I think the Spaniards will frustrate the young German side. The Spaniards will be patient and nibble at the German defense and eventually find an opening. Torres is a shade of his former self and the Spaniards definitely need more of a presence in the middle. My prediction is a 1-0 Spanish victory.

I really do think that the referee should have allowed the Ghanaian goal against Uruguay. The ball was basically inside the goal when Suarez made the save with his hand. The Uruguayans unfairly benefitted from the play. Of course, Suarez did get the red card and will miss the game against Holland (he plays for Ajax in Holland so this would have been a great game for him to play). Therefore, Uruguay´s chances are quite slim. I predict a Holland victory 3-1.

Currently in Istanbul and have been enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of this charming city. Staying at a hotel in Taksim Square near the bustling Istiklal Street, which is a major shopping street. When we first walked down Istiklal, we thought that there was some major holiday or celebration because the streets were so crowded. But it was just a normal Friday afternoon. We also visited the Sultan Ahmed area and toured the Hagia Sophia. We watched the Germany Argentina game with a former Williams student Toygun Altintas, class of 2008, who is currently living in Turkey after finishing his masters degree from the University of Chicago.

Last Day in South Africa

Benni and I leave South Africa this afternoon. We have had a fantastic stay and a very memorable visit. I have been very impressed with what South Africa has to offer and would definitely come back if given the opportunity.

We leave for Istanbul and will spend the next two weeks in Turkey. I will continue blogging but the blog entries will be less frequent.

Upcoming games and Predictions

The quarter finals will be very exciting with some classic match ups! Here are my predictions:

Uruguay-Ghana

We saw Uruguay play against South Korea. The Uruguyans have two attacking studs - Forlan and Suarez and their defense is formidable. Two of the Ghanaian players (Ayew and Mensah) picked up yellow cards against the US and will miss this game. Even though most of the people at the stadium will be rooting for Ghana, I think Uruguay will prevail. Uruguay had a easy time with South Africa in the qualifying rounds even though the whole stadium was rooting for the Bafana Bafana. I predict a 1-0 victory for Uruguay.

Brazil-Netherlands

It is too bad that these teams are meeting in the quarterfinals since both teams deserve to be at least in the semifinals. Both teams have been criticized back in their homes for being boring and workmanlike. They are not playing with the same sort of flair that has characterized these teams in the past.

Generally it is foolish to pick against the Brazilians in any World Cup game. But this time, I will go with the Oranje. The Dutch have a well-balanced team. They have a good combination of strong holding midfields (De Jong and Van Bommel) and strong attacking players (Robben, Sneijder, and Persie). Robben will give the Brazilians a lot of trouble. I predict a 2-1 classic Dutch victory.

Germany - Argentina

Wow! These have been the two most entertaining teams in this year's World Cup. The German team has surprised me with their flair and open style of play. The commentators here have made much ado about the fact that this team represents the "new Germany", similar to how people talked about the French team in 1998. They point out that many of the stars on this team are immigrants or second generation Germans. For example, the team features players of Polish, Ghanaian, Turkish, and Tunisian descent. Perhaps people are making a big deal of the ethnic composition of the team because it is Germany. Yet we do not hear the same about the British, American, or French teams. Those who make these comments have obviously not been to Germany recently. Nevertheless, this team does not play like the German teams of old. They have a very good young goalie, a solid defense, exceptional midfielders, and two forwards who tend to score in big games. Ozil is really emerging as one of the stars of the tournament.

Yet this promising and young German team is no match for Argentina. Argentina is on a roll. They have great team spirit and their attacking trio (Tevez, Messi, and Higuain) is one for the ages. I think Argentina will win 3-1.

Spain - Paraguay

Spain is lucky to be meeting Paraguay at this stage. This will be an easy victory for Spain. In addition to their outstanding players, it is remarkable that Spain has only picked up one card in this whole tournament (Alonso got a yellow card against Portugal). So they play exceptionally well and they are also very clean! Spain wins 2-0.

Portugal Spain

We were happy with the results of the game but the game itself was not that exciting. The Portuguese had a few chances to score but the Spaniards totally dominated the game. It says a lot about the Spanish team that both Silva and Fabregas do not make the starting 11.

Seeing the Spanish team play live it is clear that they are a very organized team that is full of self confidence. Their central defenders, Puyol and Picque, do not mark the opposing forwards but play more of a zone defense. For example, in the Portugal game they allowed Ronaldo to roam freely and did not shadow him. They managed, however, to completely close Ronaldo down and he was a non-factor in the game.

Xavi is the bread and butter of the team. The local papers here call him the Einstein of the team since everything starts and ends with him. I would agree with that but Busquets also plays a much more central role in the team than I realized. He typically picked up the ball from the defenders and started the attack. Xavi would then eventually take over the ball. So if Xavi is the Einstein of the team, Busquets is Bohr. Watching the Spanish team play, however, raised some questions about their ability to score. They are great with the ball covering about 90% of the field but need someone to finish. They really only play with one true center forward - Torres.

Torres is still far from his usual self and was subbed with about 30 minutes left. His replacement Loriento was much more dangerous. So who will score the Spanish goals? David Villa had some great runs and Iniesta roams all over the field so they certainly have players that score. But they need that player to score the simple put in. I still think they have a good chance to win it all.

I was surprised by the number of Spanish supporters at the game. We had been told that the Portuguese fans would dominate. There was an awful lot of yellow at the game. Perhaps most of the neutral supporters were rooting for Spain.

It was our final game here at the World Cup. We had great seats and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Afterwards, we had dinner on Long Street. In order to celebrate the Spanish victory, we decided to do what the Spaniards do - have dinner at midnight.

My friend Kiddi and his kids left for Iceland yesterday. We had dinner with Willams student Faisal Khan last night.

Dot Com

One of the things that has surprised us attending these games is how commercialized the World Cup has become. I guess one shouldn´t have been so surprised given how professional sports have developed over the last decades. But we have been taken aback by the level of commercialization. We have asked ourselves whether the purpose of the tournment is to promote and celebrate soccer worldwide and to determine which country has the best national team or whether it is merely a cashmaking machine for FIFA, the world soccer association. Of course, the FIFA website ends in dot com and not dot org which suggests the orientation of this company.

FIFA is very concerned with its brand and operates as a franchise similar to McDonalds or Subway. For example, we went to the Fanfest here in Cape Town yesterday and it was all about promoting Coca Cola, Sony, or Hyundai, FIFA´s main corporat sponsors.. There was very little at the FanFest to suggest that we were in Africa or in Cape Town. It was a standard, sterlie environment. We saw a live camera shot from the FanFest in Brazil and it look exactly like the one in Cape Town. When we were at the Stadium in Port Elizabeth, all the stalls and vendors looked exactly the same as in Cape Town. It would have been much more interesting and worthwhile to allow local vendors to sell their merchandize and food at the stadiums.

Yesterday, we went on touristy boat ride from Hout Bay to Seal Island. It was an hour boat ride to see some seals sunbathing. It was a ripoff and our only disappointment in this trip. In the afternoon, we went swimming in the sea (the weather was pretty good). Last night, we went to Long Street, which has lots of restaurants and trendy clothes stores. We went to a local culinary institution called Mama Africa which was great. It had live music (a great marimba band) and the menu featured "ethnic food" such as grilled ostrich, springbok or crocodile. A bit touristy but the atmosphere was great and the place was packed even though it was a Monday night. We are going to return there tonight after the game. We watched the Brazil Chile game there. We started chatting with two women sitting next to our table who were from Tanzania. They were on a business trip in Cape Town. As it turns out, one of them studied at Williams College at the Center for Development Economics! Quite the coincidence! She graduated in 2000 and will return to Williamstown in October for the 50th anniversary of CDE. We know a lot of people in common after her year in Williamstown.

Today, we are going to Spain Portugal. The weather is miserable. It is windy and rainy and the forecast calls for more rain. But we have great seats and this should be a cracker of a game. We bought Spanish flags yesterday and Benni will be wearing the Spanish team shirt. People predict though that the audience will be 80% Portuguese and 20% Spanish. Supposedly there is a huge Portuguese community here in Cape Town and they are coming out in droves for this game. I predict Spain will win in an attacking game.

Our next game

Our final game will be a mouth-watering match up between Spain and Portugal here in Cape Town. We have great seats to the right and behind the substitute benches on the second tier.

We are looking forward to seeing Spain play that we predict will go all the way. They are getting better and better and this should be an open, attacking game. So far the round of 16 has featured exciting games with lots of goals so we are optimistic that we will see a good game.

AfriCAN

South Africa is proving all the naysayers wrong. So far, the tournament has been a tremendous success. Prior to the World Cup, people were predicting that the games would not start on time, that there would be chaos at the stadiums, and that the visitors would be robbed left and right.

On the contrary, we have had nothing but positive experiences so far. The venues have been very well organized and things have flowed well. Everything is well marked and user friendly. Our only complaint so far has been the strange ticket policy which is not something South Africa organized but a process that FIFA oversees.

The locals here are really embracing the tournament and have been very friendly towards the visitors. We have sensed that there is somewhat of a racial divide. There are some (not all) white South Africans who are ambivalent about the tournament and see this as a celebration of the new South Africa that they do not care for. Overwhelmingly, however, the nation is behind this and if anything this will have a more unifying effect.

This World Cup is proving to be a great advertisement for South Africa in particular and for Africa in general. As one T shirt here states: World Cup 2010 - AfriCAN.

Africa CAN get things done if given the opportunity.

Uruguay-South Korea and USA-Ghana

The game we attended in Port Elizabeth was Uruguay vs. South Korea. We were not particularly optimistic before the game that this would be a good match up but the game in fact was a great one. Uruguay has a great attacking tandem in Forlan and Suarez. After their early goal, the Korean attacked ferociously and were unlucky not to score more goals.

We were very surprised to see that the stadium was only about 80% full. We spoke to some locals and they said that it was almost impossible for them to get tickets to the games in Port Elizabeth. Nearly all the hospitality suites and VIP lounges were empty. I would estimate that there were about 5000 South Koreans at the game and perhaps 4000 Uruguayans. The South Koreans all wore red and draped the biggest flag I have ever seen during their national anthem. The atmosphere during the game was fairly good especially since it was such an exciting game.

We then watched the USA Ghana game on tv at a cafe at the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth. The result was disappointing for the US since they played well and were organized as a team. They lost their concentration twice that lead to the Ghanaian goals. All the locals here supported Ghana so I think Ghana definitely had a home field advantage. Afterwards, the media was salivating over the Ghana team and they are now the great African hope (being the only African team to advance). Ghana´s success is no coincidence since they have had tremendous success recently in youth tournaments. So their success now is a result of an impressive soccer development program. The papers here are also pointing out that Ghana was the first African nation to acheive independence so perhaps it is fitting that it takes the lead soccer wise as well.

Garden Route and Port Elizabeth

Sorry for the lack of updates but we have not had internet access for a few days. Early Friday morning we left for Port Elizabeth which is about a 10 hour drive from Cape Town. But what a drive it is! The scenery in parts of it were breathtaking! The scenery was a combination of southern Iceland, Route 1 in California, and the French Alps. It was majestic, raw, powerful and beautiful. We passed through places called Wilderness, Plettenberg Bay, and stopped in a beautiful town called Knysna (where the French and Danish team stayed during the tournament). We saw the world largest bungy jumping site (I thought about trying it for a moment) and stopped at an elephant park and got to feed the elephants. We also stopped in a small animal park near Port Elizabeth and as a good parent I did allow Benni to go into a cage with lion cubs and he petted them and scratch behind their ears. I wasn´t scared at all... Pictures will follow! On the way, we watched the Brazil Portugal game in a nice little town called Jeffrey Bay where they claim they have one of the best surfing spots in the world.

The city of Port Elizabeth lacks charm. It is a big industrial city and really nothing special. We stayed in a B and B in a suburb called Summerstrand. They have a disneyesque boardwalk that was overtly commercial. The stadium in Port Elizabeth was ok but nothing compared to the stadium in Cape Town. It is situated in a run down neighborhood and the atmosphere surrounding the game was not as festive as in Cape Town. It seemed second rate. However Cape Town is such a spectacular and fun city than anything compared to Cape Town will pale in comparison. I guess we have become spoiled by staying in Cape Town.

Hup, Hup Holland!

The Holland-Cameroon game that we attended tonight was amazing. The stadium was floating in orange as the Dutch supporters were there in droves (there were only a handful of Cameroon fans). The atmosphere was great with lots of singing and vuvuzuelas blowing. It was by far the loudest game that we have attended and much more energy than in the other games. The Dutch fans were very colorful often in very amusing outfits. The game was pretty good with the Dutch dominating from the first minute. They played crisp and clean soccer. Van Bommel plays an unsung role in the middle and Sjneider roamed freely around the midfield and upfront. With about 15 minutes left, Arjen Robben entered the game. It was clear that he is the leader of the team. Before coming on, he got lots of cheers from the fans as he was warming up (he has been out with a hamstring injury). His teamates on the bench cheered wildly when he entered the game. Once he was on the field, he was active and had a great shot into the post which eventually resulted into a goal. It is amazing that the Dutch had such an easy time in their groups with Robben only playing fifteen minutes.

The big news of the evening was that the world champions Italy were ousted from the tournament. They had a worse record than New Zealand in this year´s World Cup which is pretty amazing. The Danes also go home.

Tomorrow, we leave for Port Elizabeth Bay and we´ll stay there the next two nights. It is a 8 hour drive along the garden route which is supposedly a very beautiful drive. We hope to stop somewhere on the way to see Brazil Portugal play on tv. On Saturday, we´ll see Uruguay play South Korea. Our seats are behind the goal about 14 rows up.

Zulu princess and car museum

While in the Paarl Valley, we had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Cynthia Zulu-Kabanyane, who is a Zulu princess who runs an ngo that helps promote Zulu culture and the empowerment of Zulu women. We bought a beaded vuvuzuela from her foundation. We also stopped by and visited the Franzhoek Car Museum which has a small but very impressive collection of vintage cars including Model T Ford, Bugattis, Mercedes Benz, Ferraris and MacLarens. Well worth visiting.

Pregnancy and Adoptions

We went to the Paarl Valley yesterday which is South Africa´s wine country. We visited an Icelandic couple (Kolbeinn Kristinsson and Ruth Gylfadottir) that lives there and spent the day and night with them. Ruth has stared a very impressive non-profit that works with women who give up their babies for adoption called Enza (enza.is). We visited Mbekweni township where she is building a shelter for these women. Construction is under way and the plan is to be able to house 4-5 women at this shelter. There is a lot of unwanted pregnancies here and many women have to give up their children for adoption. Enza will work with the women after they have given birth and are recovering from giving their child away. They will provide support and some job skills training for these women. This is a very novel and worthwhile project and I hope to support it in one way or another in the future.

We then watched the USA and England games at their home switching back and forth. The US team has shown a lot of resiliency in the tournament. They came from behind to tie both England and Slovenia. They did not allow that disallowed goal to have an effect on them going into the Algerian game. The Algerian team was a tough team that played tight so this was a great victory for the US.

In the evening we watched Germany vs. Ghana at the Seitelberg winery in the Paarl Valley. The owner and many of the workers are from Germany and there was a German world cup buffet featuring bratwurst and potato salad. The Germans were lucky to qualify into the round of 16. The match up vs. England should be a great game and so will the game between Ghana and the US. I think the US have a wonderful opportunity to make it into the quarterfinal.

Tonight we´re going to Holland Cameroon. We are seeing Oranje everwhere!

Banfana Banfana win but...

We watched the South African team defeat the French this afternoon in a beautiful small fishing village called Kalk Bay which is a suburb of Cape Town facing the Indian Ocean. Kalk Bay is where my colleague David Eppel lives for half the year and he was a great host. We watched the game with a number of Banfana Banfana fans in a sports bar right next to the ocean. The tv was on one side and the waves were crashing onto the wall of the bar on the other. It was quite the setting. I am getting the hang of blowing the vuvuzuela and blew it several times inside the bar. If you blow it hard enough it really leaves your lips tingling. Not sure how people can do this throughout the game since me lips feel very strange now.

Even though the South African won the game, they are of course eliminated from the tournament which is a big disappointment. They played well and were unlucky not to win by a bigger margin. People here knew that the chances were very slim. One person told me before the game that the chances were low for South Africa to get through to the second round "but then again Moses did part the Red Sea so anything could happen." Alas, a miracle did not happen though in general people were quite happy that the South Africans did get a victory in the tournament.

Tonight, we learned that the round of 16 game we will see this weekend in Port Elizabeth will be Uruguay - South Korea which should be a good one. I was disappointed to see the Nigerians not make it to the round of sixteen. They should have easily scored 2 more goals. The TV here showed the reaction in Lagos Nigeria and the fans there were livid. Most blamed the Swedish coach Lars Lagerback and also the Nigerian politicians who are constantly meddling with the soccer team.

Tomorrow we will go to wine country, or the Paarl Valley and visit some Icelanders that live here. We will watch the USA and Germany games there and probably stay overnight. I am not sure if I´ll have internet access for a few days.

On Thursday, we will go to the Holland Cameroon game. We have great tickets, which we got throught the Icelandic soccer association. We will be sitting 14 rows up right above the players benches or just above where the players walk out of the tunnel onto the pitch. So look out for us!

Rain, Rain, Rain...Raining in Goals!

Benni and I saw the magnificent seven!

As we walked to Green Point Stadium early this afternoon, it was raining lightly in Cape Town. There were thousands of Portuguese and other international fans proceeding in good spirits to the game. When the game started, the rain really started coming down. The game was even to start with and North Korea showed some good attacking flashes. They also played Ronaldo very well and did not respect him at all. People in the stands were wondering whether they even knew who he was. The pitch was very wet and slippery and the players had a difficult time controlling the ball. At half-time it was 1-0 for Portugal. At half time it basically stopped raining. But then the fireworks started and the Portuguese started to rain in goals.

In the second half, Portugal added six more goals. With each goal the noise in the stadium increased. If the noise level started at one on the Richter Scale it certainly was at 7 by the end of the game. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic. There were hardly any North Korean fans at the game. Usually each side gets allotted a number of tickets for their home fans. But since not many supporters coming to South Africa from North Korea, they could distribute more tickets locally. Therefore a number of South African school children were at the game. The game started at 1:30 pm so they probably got the afternoon off to go to the game. They were at least still in their school uniforms. Throughout the second half, they were dancing and singing and blowing the vuvuzuelas. Since there were more South Africans at this game than at the first game we attended (England-Algeria), the vuvuzuela sound was much different. In fact, at this game it was quite festive and nice. In fact, it was enjoyable (I was wearing earplugs however). It was synchronized and melodicand not as constant. Blowing the vuvuzuela is actually difficult and it takes time to master. So in the later games, I think the foreign fans will get a better handle on it.

The Portuguese played great. Seven different players scored which is very unusual and they will now face Brazil later this week both self-confident and optimistic. I met my student Faisal Khan, who is a rising senior at Williams College, at the game. He is here in South Africa doing economics research. Benni and I left the stadium in high spirits since we realized that we just saw a historic game that will be one for the books.

There is more talk here about the referees. They have been very generous with the red card. For example the red cards that Klose (Germany) and Kaka (Brazil) received were ridiculous. They are really not tolerating any pushing or pulling. In some respects that is good. At the same time, they are not allowing the players to play the physical game they are accustomed to.

In reading the newspapers in the States, I know that there has been a lot of talk about the disallowed US goal against Slovenia. It was gotten some press here but has really drowned in all the other World Cup stories and controversies. So it is not a major issue here nor are the other foreign fans talking much about it. . The major issue here today is South Africa´s game against French. Supposedly a number of French players will refuse to play tomorrow.

We will be watching the South Africa game in Kalk Bay, which is near Cape Town. My colleague David Eppel, in the Theatre Department at Williams, lives there in the summer (he is South African) so we will watch the game with him and some of the locals in his hometown.

Monday´s game: Portugal vs. North Korea

Benni and I will be attending Monday´s game between Portugal and North Korea. Portugal really needs to win this game if they want to qualify for the next round. The North Koreans looked pretty good in their last game against Brazil, so we think we will see an exciting match.

Our seats are behind and to the left of the the players benches directly above the corner spot. We are curious to see how many North Korean fans will be there. I am hoping to see a Williams student, Faisal Khan who will also be at the game.

It will be interesting to see Portugal´s Ronaldo in action. He is a magnificent player but not our favorite. He is a diver. At the last World Cup in 2006, we had a nickname for him: Fancy Dude. We didn´t like his attitude. He has grown up since then so now he is Less Fancy Dude.

Safari

This morning, we did the typical thing all tourists do when they visit Africa: we went on a Safari. We woke up at 6am and drove two hours north of Cape Town to a private game reserve called Aquilah. The safari took about two hours and we saw lions, zebra, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, wildebeasts, and baboons. A very nice experience. The rhinos were our favorite. They got very close to our car and were checking us out. We passed their smell test.

Tonight we watched Brazil Ivory Coast at a local restaurant in Camps Bay. Ivory Coast started well but were unlucky when Fabiano scored a spectacular goal. At the beginning of the second half, Fabiano scored again. This time, however, he clearly used his hands to get control of the ball. The goal should have been disqualified. The game got ugly as there were lots of fouls and Kaka got a red card. I think many of us have underestimated how good the Brazilians are. They are bound to go far into the tournament.

Now we are halfway through the first round and some trends are emerging:

People here are very disappointed how poorly the African teams have performed in the tournament. Right now it looks like that of all the African nations only Ghana will qualify into the next round.

The South American teams have been impressive and will have a major presence in the round of 16. In addition to Argentina and Brazil, the smaller countries such as Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay have been very good. Additionally, Mexico is bound to qualify for the next round.

It looks like the players are getting more used to the new ball. They are controlling it better and there are not as many wild shots and goalkeeping gaffes as in the early games of the tournament.

In the first week, the referees were very good. Recently, we have had some scandalous refereeing performances including USA-Slovenia and Serbia-Germany.

From a fan´s perspective here in South Africa, the games have been going smoothly. People have been in good spirits and friendly. It has been wonderful to see so many people from all over the world. This is truly a World cup. In our safari today, there were fans from many countries. We saw American (there are a lot of Americans), Chilean, Japanese, English, Spanish, and some Greek fans, for example.

The ticketing to these games remain a mystery. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what you paid for the ticket and where you sit in the stadium. We got our tickets through the FIFA lottery. Benni and I had great seats for the England Algeria game which were in the cheapest category (Category 3). For tomorrow´s game between North Korea and Portugal, we paid more (category 2) but they are not nearly as good as the ones for our first game. We have seen a number of empty seats at the stadiums here though FIFA claims that nearly all the games are sold out.

Sometimes nations live up to their stereotypes. The South Africans have a big game against France on Tuesday and in typical French fashion the French team is up in arms. The French players have staged a mini revolution against their coach and refused to train today. One player (Anelka) was sent home today for refusing to apologize to the coach. In order to advance to the next round, South Africa has to win by at least 4 goals and hope that either Uruguay or Mexico lose. Since the French team is in such disarray, perhaps the bafana bafana can pull off an upset.

History, nature and some soccer squeezed in

We woke up early this morning to catch the 9am ferry to Robben Island. That is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned during the 1970s and 80s. The ferry ride took about 30 minutes and you get to see a great view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. It was moving to visit the Island and to see the prison and Mandela´s cell. Our tour guide was a former political prisoner himself (for a 6 year period in late 80s) and got quite emotional when he described life in the prison.

After we returned for the Island we drove via Chapman´s Peak towards Cape Point, where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. It was a stunning, mountainous drive. Along the way, we stopped for lunch and watch Holland Japan. We were impressed with the Japanese team. They certainly have the most interesting hair styles in the tournament. Soccerwise they are also quite good and should have tied the game instead of losing 1-0. We then drove to Boulders Beach Penguin Colony and saw a lot of cute penguins that reminded us of Icelandic puffins. From there we stopped at Cape Point Ostrich Farm. Ostriches are probably the ugliest animals around. And not the brightest. So what is going for them? Is it enough in this world to be fast? Then we drove back via Scarborough to Cape Town. The landscape in this part of the Cape, especially the rugged mountains, actually reminded all of us of the landscape back home in Iceland. So we felt quite at home.

Now we are at home watching Cameroon and Denmark. We are all rooting for Cameroon. We haven´t forgotten that the Danes, our colonial masters, sold us spoiled flour back in the 18th century.

Tomorrow we´re waking up early at 5am to go on a short safari to Aquilah park which is about a 2 hour drive from Cape Town. We are aiming to be back for the big match up tomorrow between Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

Soccer celebrity sightings!

Didn´t realize Green Point
Stadium was a dive...but former
German Coach and player Jurgen
Klinsmann was there. And below
is Alan Hansen, the former
Liverpool player, with my friend
Kristjan´s daughter, Lara.

How do you spell boooring?

An anti-climax. After a tremendous build up to the game, the England-Algeria game was a dud. There was very little action and the English players did not seem interested in playing the game. Their main stars such as Rooney, Lampard, and Gerrard hardly made an impression and very few scoring opportunties. The 0-0 score says it all. Soccer-wise the game was one big zero.

The stadium is fantastic, however. It is futuristic and well-designed. The atmosphere was great and we had fun. We had nice seats on the 14th row behind one of the goals. . There was not a lot of singing and the vuvuzelas did dominate. The decibel level was not as bad as I expected (I did wear earplugs).

After the game, the Algerian fans celebrated like they won the game.

World Cup Fever

You see the World Cup everywhere in Cape Town. Every other car sports a South African flag and driving around town you see flags draping from balconies. There are a lot of colorful fans walking around and vendors selling world cup paraphenelia at every other corner. Last night, I was awakened at least twice by people singing in the streets and blowing the vuvuzuelas. Not very pleasant but it was a not so subtle reminder that yes I was in the host country of the world cup. Both times these were English soccer fans who clearly had sampled the local brew and were getting ready for the game tonight Friday. Their rendition of their national anthem was a bit off key...

" I wouldn´t be here today"

The arrival lounge was lively when we arrived at Cape Town International. Dancers greeted us and World Cup posters everywhere. I went to a vendor for the local cell phone company and was able to get a South African cell phone number for my time here. They simply put a South African SIM card into my international phone. It cost less than $20 and then it is pay as you go. Very easy and cheap! While conducting this transation, I started talking to the woman working working there. She said the number of visitors for the World Cup had been modest and she thought that the event was not having a very positive impact on the local economy. She said that we were unlucky not not have arrived the day before because it had been "Youth Day". When my son asked what that was, she explained that it was to commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprisings. She then looked at Benni straight into the eye and said, "if those brave people had not protested and risen up, we would still have Apartheid. I would not be able to get this job. I wouldn´t be here today."

Quite powerful.

Some pictures

The one on the left is of Benni from the top of Table Mountan. You can see the futuristic Green Point Mountain in the middle of the picture. Tomorrow night, we will be seeing England Algeria in that stadium. We will be behind one of the goals, about 14 rows up.

The picture on the right is taken in Camps Bay where we are staying.

Oh Beautiful!

The natural setting for Cape Town is spectacular. I have not been to a city that is as beautiful from a natural point of view. The combination of majestic mountains and the embracing blue ocean combine for breathtaking views wherever you look.

After our arrival on Thursday, we went to the top of Table Mountain that towers over the city. The mountain was packed with tourists from all over the world who were decked out in their national flags, colourful hats, and scarfs. It is chilly here in Cape Town.

Long Trip!

It took about 36 hours and four segments but we made it to Cape Town. Here is Benni asleep at Heathrow where we had a 5 hour layover.

Leaving tonight

Benni and I depart the US tonight for South Africa. It will take us almost two days to get to Cape Town. We fly via London, Istanbul and Johannesburg. We land in Cape Town at noon on June 17th (Iceland's Independence Day).

There will be no blog updates in the meantime. But check back on the 17th!

Our first game is on Friday: England vs. Algeria.

So far so...ok

The tournament is off to a slow start. The games that I have seen have been ok and nothing dramatic has happened so far. There have been some surprises such as the tie between the US and England, the big German victory, and Japan's victory over Cameroon. But with each day, the pressure builds and the results really start to matter. The games become do or die situations. And the further we go into the tournament, teams start developing personalities and gain a momentum. So by the end of this week, it should be getting more interesting.

A few observations:

1) The new ball does seem funky. It has a strange bounce and I have seen many players and goalies completely misjudge the ball. It is scandalous that FIFA should introduce a new ball at this tournament. This was driven by economics because every other little boy or girl in the world right now is nagging their parents to buy them the new world cup ball. So Adidas is set to make a lot of money from marketing this new product.

2) The officiating has been good so far and the games have been fairly clean.

3) The African nations have disappointed. I am hoping that Ivory Coast wins their first game though. Drogba, their star player, is back healthy which only will help.

4) The goalies have been in unusually prominent roles early on in the tournament both as heroes and villians. We have seen some bizarre goalkeeping situations.

5) Messi is majestic and magnificent.

Earplugs

Am packing for the South Africa and have to remember to pack earplugs.

1) http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/unofficial-noise-maker-world-cup-vuvuzela-10818506

2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2010/jun/15/vuvuzela-an-idiots-guide

Vuvuzela - vo vo rrrroooom.

USA-England

Watched the England-USA match here in Williamstown Massachusetts at The Log on Spring Street. There were probably about 200 people there, most of them American, and the atmosphere was great. When the game ended, people cheered as if the US had won the game. Tying England was indeed a wonderful result for the US. The US team played well as a team. Clearly the goalie Tim Howard was the best player on the field and kept the US afloat. But the unsung hero of the US team was the midfielder Michael Bradley, the son of the US coach. He is the "Makelele" on the American team. He does all the dirty work and is a great defensive midfielder. He is exactly the type of player the English team needs out in the field.

My daughter Karen Magnea and her friend Ada dressed up in patriotic American attire for the game and painted their faces. They were the most colorful fans in the room.

"How to Write about Africa"

During the tournament, we will see a lot of coverage of Africa. The following article by Binyavanga Wainaina, a very interesting writer from Kenya (who taught at Williams College for a semester several years ago) is an excellent satire about how people incorporate and perpetuate stereotypes in their writings about Africa.

http://www.granta.com/Magazine/92/How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-1

Coming Out Party for South Africa?

Will the World Cup catapult South Africa into the big leagues? In the past, hosting major international tournaments have often signaled that the host nation is primed to be an economic powerhouse. For example, the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, and the 2008 Beijing games brought these nations prominently onto the world stage and coincided with their economic ascendancy. To a certain extent the same can be said about the 1956 Melbourne games (where, as everyone knows, Vilhjálmur Einarsson got a silver medal in the triple jump). The Olympics in Japan, in particular, demonstrated to people around the world that Japan had recovered from the calamities of World War II and were a great advertisement for the country and its industrial products.

However, this connection between hosting international tournaments and economic growth is not always a positive one. The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City did not lead to economic prosperity in Mexico and Montreal is still paying for their 1976 games. Perhaps the current economic turmoil in Greece can be partly attributed to the debt they accumulated to put on a good show for the 2004 Olympics. Sometimes, success in a tournament can help an unpopular government stay in power and offer a useful distraction from domestic political turmoil. For example, winning the World Cup in 1978 solidified the military government in Argentina, helped them continue their "dirty war", and emboldened them to consider waging war over the Falklands/Malvinas a few years later which had devastating results for Argentina.

Now, for the first time, Africa is hosting the World Cup and the continent will have the world´s attention for one month. The tournament will undoubtedly highlight Africa´s severe economic and political problems. But it could also demonstrate that they are open for business and bring out positive aspects that people do not often associate with Africa.

World Champions: Spain

You heard it here first: Spain will win the World Cup and hoist the Jules Rimet trophy on July 11th for the first time in Spain's history.

Spain has traditionally choked and been perennial underachievers at the World Cup. However, this year it will be different. They are the reigning European champions and they have a phenomenal and well-balanced team. They also gained some experience playing in South Africa at last summer's Confederations Cup. So they know what to expect in terms of the physical environment. They play exciting soccer. Xavi is the world's best midfielder with an immaculate touch. If Iniesta is healthy, Spain also will field the world's second best midfielder. Their midfield is so strong that Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, who is one of the best players in the English Premier League, is a substitute. They have strong attackers in Villa and Torres who have a knack of scoring in big games. Their achilles heel is their central defense, however. I have never been a big fan of Puyol but their goalkeeper does more than compensate for their defensive liabilities.

I predict that they'll play The Netherlands in the final.

¡Viva España!

The World Cup and Racism

The World Cup in South Africa will highlight the history of racism and the legacy of apartheid in South Africa. In many ways, the tournament is an indication of how far South Africa has developed since its apartheid days. At the same time, racial tensions still remain high both politically and economically and a lot of work still remains. Even though apartheid has been formally abolished, it seems that South Africa is still somewhat segregated along racial lines. For example, soccer is followed primarily by black South Africans whereas the white South Africans prefer cricket or rugby. It is possible that hosting the tournament and the inevitable nationalist frenzy will bring South Africans closer together as they continue their reconciliation efforts.

In addition to soccer and the games, The World Cup will be a "teachable moment" about how South Africa is continuing to work through its apartheid legacy and therefore address the broader issue of soccer and race. Racism continues to be a significant problem in soccer especially in Europe. A number of African players, such as Cameroon's mercurial Samuel Eto'o have often complained about the racist slurs they hear from the terraces and on the field. Furthermore, Eto'o maintains that black players are treated differently by the clubs than their white counterparts. Eto'o stated in a recent newspaper interview, however, that he believed that the World Cup, especially if the African teams do well, will have a positive impact to battle racism in the sport. Though I fear that racism, especially on the European continent, is more pervasive and entrenched, I do hope that Eto'o optimism prevails and that one outcome of this summer's tournament is more awareness of the history of racism and a commitment to work towards a more tolerant environment in soccer.

Sleepers and nightmares

Who are the sleepers in the tournament? Which teams will have a nightmare of a tournament?

In the sleeper category, I think Mexico, Serbia and Chile will be pleasant surprises. Conversely, Portugal, Germany, and Italy will disappoint.

In World Cup history, Germany and Italy have always done well even though they have not always had the best team. Somehow they have found ways to win even when not playing well. In both Germany and Italy there seems to be a culture of success so that when the team advances into the later stages of the tournament and the pressure starts to build, these teams have always responded positively and embraced the challenges. This year, I am doubtful, however, that Germany and Italy will repeat their historic success. First of all, they are not playing in Europe where these teams have had most of their victories. Second, the Italian team is one of the oldest teams in the tournament and I am not sure if playing in the high altitudes of South Africa will help them. Third, the German team will miss Michael Ballack´s leadership and energy. Other key players such as Rene Adler and Heiko Westermann are also hurt. Even the legendary Franz Beckenbauer does not think that Germany will advance late into the tournament. So 2010 will not be the year that the World Cup trophy returns to Italy or Germany.

Portugal is in an impossible group (Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea). It will lose to Brazil and their game with the Ivory Coast will be tight. But I think that the Ivory Coasters will prevail. The Ivory Coast has a very talented team that is experienced. Its members play at some of the best teams in Europe. So I doubt that Portugal will make it into the round of 16.

Geopolitics

What are some of the interesting underlying geopolitical questions that may influence the soccer at the World Cup?

1) PIGS in straits

What effect will the economic turmoil in Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) have on their play? Will the economic situation make these teams even more determined or will the crisis back home be a distraction?

2) North Korea Out of the Closet?

The tensions in the Korean peninsula will only be magnified when both North and South Korea play. Will success or failure on the soccer field lead either country to contemplate moves in the military arena? Will success lead to nationalistic fervor that might compel the authorities to act?

3) British Coalition - winning concept?

The new Conservative-Liberal Democratic government is unusual in the British context because coalition governments are fairly rare in that country. Now the British politicians have to "play together" and make painful compromises in order for the coalition to survive. Will this team concept translate into success on the soccer field? Will Gerrard and Lampard be able to form a valuable midfield coalition? If the British team does enjoy a good run in the Cup, will that make it easier for the coalition government to make painful, yet necessary, cuts in government services and expenditures?

4) Africa on the rise

Having the world's biggest tournament held on the African continent will signal that Africa is open for business.

Chelsea Curse?

Are Chelsea players cursed for this World Cup? So far this spring and summer, a surprising number of current and former Chelsea players have been injured that will either eliminate their chances of playing in the Cup or shorten their play considerably.

Germany's Michael Ballack, Ghana's Michael Essien, and Nigeria's John Obi Mikel have all been ruled out of the Cup due to injuries. Didier Drogba recently broke a bone near his elbow and the former Chelsea player Arjen Robben may have pulled his hamstring in a recent friendly. It looks though that both Drogba and Robben will play some games in the tournament but they may not start the first game.

Are Terry, Anelka, Lampard, Ashley Cole, Carvalho, and Kalou next?

Nay sayers

It has been amazing to see how much negative press the South Africans have received leading up the World Cup. First, the media emphasized that they would not have their stadiums ready in time. Then they talked about the roads and airports not being able to sustain all this traffic. Finally, there is the endless stories about crime.

On the first two accounts, South Africa has proved its naysayers wrong. The stadiums are all ready and look fabulous, especially Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. Other infrastructure improvements have been on time. The big wild card is of course crime. I am sure, however, that the South African government has taken the necessary steps to minimize that problem. Crime is a major problem in South Africa. We will probably continue to hear a lot of crime-related stories and these incidents will be sensationalized. The overwhelming visitors to South Africa will have a great time and not experience any crime. But the media is waiting and ready to pounce on any incident to perpetuate the notion of a crime infested South Africa.

But to what extent is racism a factor in this media portrayal? We did not hear anything about Australia not being ready for the Sydney Olympics or that the Germans would not be able to pull of the 2006 World Cup. However, when the Olympics were held in Greece, everyone was predicting that it would be a fiasco and nothing would be on time. I am confident that the World Cup in South Africa will be a fantastic event and will go as smooth as any such big event.

Two weeks to go!

We have now secured our tickets for the world cup. Benni and I will see five games:

1) England - Algeria

2) Holland - Cameroon

3) Portugal - North Korea

4) Round of Sixteen: 1A vs. 2B

5) Round of Sixteen: 1H vs. 2G

I predict that in game 4 we will see Mexico vs Greece (thought it theoretically could be France vs. Argentina) and game 5 will feature Spain vs Ivory Coast.

I do predict that Spain will play The Netherlands for the final game and that the Spaniards will prevail and become world champions for the first time.