Valiant U.S. Run Ends

The U.S. is out of the World Cup, but its run has to be considered a success. Here's my NBC Sports column.

Black Stars Make History

A thoroughly deserved win for Ghana over the U.S. Great game. This team can go far. Already it has matched the best-ever performance by an African team in the World Cup (Cameroon, 1994, Senegal, 2002). This is a side more than capable of beating Uruguay in the quarters. Come on, give us a Ghana-Brazil semifinal.

The African Coaching Problem

Here's Bill Rhoden's story in today's New York Times about what went wrong for Africa at this year's World Cup (where only Ghana advanced to the second round). So much has been made of the hiring of white coaches as one cause of Africa's footballing problem. While I agree that African football can only develop if indigenous coaching develops alongside it, I don't buy the argument that European coaches can't succeed because they don't understand the tribal mindsets that permeate multiethnic African teams. It is precisely because a European coach is not part of a particular ethnic group that a country like Nigeria hired a Swede, Lars Lagerbäck, as coach. He is seen as above the favoritism and nepotism that has influenced the selection of players for so long in Nigeria. The real problem is African coaches are not given the training or the resources to do the job properly in Africa, and they are left to work with a shrinking talent pool as the best African players continue to move abroad. The top players who are found in the African national teams are also all used to playing under white coaches in Europe.

Nothing But Fear Mongers

About 300,000 people are visiting South Africa for the World Cup, way down from an initial forecast of 450,000. The smaller number of fans has been blamed on everything from the global recession to South Africa's cold weather. But surely all the media fear-mongering ahead of the WC about South Africa's terrible crime rate and the numerous terror threats apparently aimed at the tournament played a major part in dissuading people from coming.

As I just walked through Pretoria downtown after midnight, chatting with a stranger about Bafana Bafana's Cup exit, I remembered reading this preposterous article by Louise Taylor in The Guardian last year.

Bring on the second round

OK, so the last day of the opening round was a dud. But now we move on to the knock-out stages. Some tasty match-ups in store. Here are my predictions.

Super Eagles Deserved Better

So, only Ghana left after Nigeria crashes out. That Yakubu miss with the goal gaping from three yards out is the worst I can recall...in recent World Cup history. To think Nigeria would have made it had he scored. Awful. The Super Eagles certainly had other chances and probably deserved to win, but the truth is they were disorganized in the back and, no surprise, both Korea goals came off set pieces.

Blow It!

Still people are complaining about the vuvuzela. Of course, only people sitting on the couch at home. Here in South Africa everyone's into it. Most of all foreign fans, who blow it with greater abandon than the locals (though not as well). It brings a great sense of "other" to the games. And gives the tournament a unique feel that is sorely needed in the increasingly watered down World Cup. There was nothing particularly German or Japanese about the last couple of World Cups. Sounds like people better get used to it too, according to the AP.