Uruguay out to prove there’s life after Suarez
By David Johnson With just hours to go before kick-off, the fans are already making their way to the Green Point Stadium, presumably picking their way through the embers of still-smouldering Luis...
View ArticleThe African question
History will record South Africa 2010 as the third World Cup to feature an African quarter-finalist, and like Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002), Ghana, even without injured powerhouse Michael Essien,...
View ArticleHolland seize moment, reach final
Six games, six wins and Holland are into the final. The traits that brought them to the semis – efficiency, solidity and an ability to score at key moments – got them past a very effective Uruguayan...
View ArticleSemi-finalists Spain prepare for Germ warfare
The talk may be of a rematch between the Euro 2008 finalists, but Iker Casillas has already consigned his country’s famous victory to the past. “People are not telling us how good we were [two years...
View ArticleSouth Africa: The legacy question
By Steve Bloomfield What happens on July 12th? It’s a question that’s been asked from the moment South Africa was awarded the World Cup. Once it’s all over, what will happen to the stadiums? What will...
View ArticleSpain bite the bullet to reach first final
Even before kick-off, the omens are there. Spain’s serene progress on a gentle wave of 1-0 wins. The same result in the final of Euro 2008, their last clash with World Cup semi-final opponents Germany....
View ArticleSpain set sail to break new ground
Fittingly, a newly-renovated (if appallingly monikered) stadium will serve as virgin territory for Spain’s conquistadors on Sunday night. The Iberians’ first ever clash with the Netherlands at a major...
View ArticleThird time lucky for Holland?
And so, the final, the ultimate test of what history will record as the ‘van Marwijk compromise’. Will the Dutch coach’s move to turn the Oranje into their antithesis deliver a golden reward? Was...
View ArticleUruguay bid farewell to the real greatest show
So that’s it then for another four years. When the next World Cup comes around I’ll be nearer 50 than 40 – a realisation that has hit me hard, I can tell you. In spite of Uruguay’s great showing in...
View ArticleBeauty beats bullies as Spain take final step
It shouldn’t be so close. When Africa’s first World Cup final kicks off, favourites Spain are backed by the massed ranks of Shakira, octopus Paul, Johan Cruyff and most of the rest of the world....
View Article
