A feast around ‘Jabulani’ and ‘Zakumi’...Ghana to avenge the Bochum disaster
It is certainly not June 2010 yet but already the atmosphere and anticipation that surrounds South Africa 2010 can well be described as a near perfect semblance of what the event itself would be like.
The International Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa over the weekend hosted a line up of all who mattered in football. From administrators to footballers (the old and new breed) to coaches, politicians and officials of the various governing bodies across the globe, the centre was turned into a feast of a combination of pure display of artistry within and outside the event grounds and held viewers at the main venue itself and over 1 billion television audiences all over the world spellbound.
The excitement heightened when Fifa official Jerome Valcke with the help of English international, David Bechkam, Ethiopian athlete Haile Grabrselassie and South African defender, Matthew Booth stepped up onto the podium to conduct the draw. At this point, the expressions on the faces of some footballers, coaches and FA presidents in the audience, clearly betrayed anxiety. Two seats away from German coach Joachim Low was Ghana's football association president, Kwesi Nyantakyi. His mood was a mixture of tension, calm and composure - after all he has been to such events before and knew how “unpleasant” it can get sometimes.
Soon the announcements began as all eight groups were decided in less than thirty minutes. What many countries feared had happened and by 17hrs GMT every participating country knew which opponents they would come up against in South Africa. For the over 24 million Ghanaians watching at home and an additional diaspora support base, the pairings which had Germany, Australia and Serbia was one, they are well familiar with.
Ghana's romance with Germany is one many football loving always don't remember with glee, especially when in 1996 you sat behind your black and white television set to watch the Black Stars lose to the Germans by a disgraceful 6 goals to 1 with goalkeeper Richard Kingston in post, in the German province of Bochum. It's now been christened the 'Bochum disaster'. But the Black Stars have ever since grown beyond Bochum, 6:1 into a more improved and well refined squad. They have a World Cup participation in 2006 on German soil to show for it, an all time Fifa ranking of 14 in 2008, a manageable third place at the African Cup in 2008 and a legion of players like Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, John Painstil and just recently its finest pot of gold, Dominic Adiyiah who can now stand up against the Germans on any day.
Ghana qualified rather easily ramming through the likes of Lesotho, Libya, Benin, Mali and Sudan in a Group D fairytale that saw the four time champions of Africa top with 13 points, three points ahead of second place Mali.
Germany
Germany remained unbeaten in all ten World Cup qualifiers with 8 wins and two draws. Their World Cup history is undoubtedly enviable among Europe's football elite. For a country that boasts of an impressive 15 appearances in all 19 World Cup finals in the history of the tournament, football is certainly one of those things they do well. They triumphed in Switzerland in 1954, on home soil in 1974 and in Italy in 1990.
This is by no mean an achievement for a team whose coach has risen through the ranks after assisting Jurgen Klinsman at the 2006 World Cup. This is a strong signal to teams Ghana, Australia and Serbia. They have reached the finals of the tournament seven times, winning three times (1954, 1974 and 1990) in the process, a record only made better by Brazil (5) and Italy (4). In recent times, they placed a respectable second at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, third on home soil in 2006, and another second place at the UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
For players like, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Captain Michael Ballack, they have a tall order on their hands as their home fans and legends like Gerd Muller, Rudi Voeller, Frank Backenbeur (Kaizer), Matthias Summer and Jurgen Klinsmann would be watching some miles away from the precincts of South Africa, how these young breed of players can emulate those feats they achieved some years back. They have respite in Lukas Podolski, a well groomed and horned striker with sharp reflexes, who scored a total of 10 goals in the European qualifiers, five goals adrift of Greece's Theofantis Gekas who netted 15 goals.
Australia
Australia took a very good decision by switching from the Oceania to the Asian region as qualifying for the big stage became less strenuous than in 2005 when they had to battle Uruguay in the last play–off to decide who qualified for Germany 2006. The 'Socceroos' qualified against all odds fending off strong opposition from Qatar, China, Iraq, Japan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan.
After a 32 year absence from the big stage, since their 1974 debut, they made a strong comeback in 2006 at Germany but got knocked out at the Quarter final stages by eventual winners Italy. Under the guidance of Guus Hiddink, they showed flashy signs of a promising team that needed just one or two competitions to better their exploits. Four years after the German experience, they find themselves in Africa battling another fine side like the Black Stars whom they beat in a friendly a few months back. For a country which is largely a master when it comes to rugby and cricket, they've taken the whole world by surprise by the sharp improvement in the playing abilities of the likes of former Liverpool and now Galatarsary striker, Harry Kewel, Tim Cahill, Vince Grella and Bret Emerton. Largely drawing its strength from the flanks, Pim Verbeek's boys may just use South Africa 2010 as a major crusade.
Serbia
After successfully becoming a sovereign football nation away from the Serbia and Montenegro alliance they traded in Germany 2006, the 'Beli Orlovi' will be seeking to make amends after an abysmal performance in Germany where they lost all three matches. They played their maiden international, independently, on 16 August 2006, winning 3-1 away to Czech Republic. Under previous alliances with Yugoslavia and Montenegro, they participated at 9 FIFA World Cups between 1930 and 2002, and finished as runners-up on two occasions at the UEFA European Championship.
Blessed with a young and vibrant team, they have quality in depth and could perhaps end up as the surprise package in the group. Players, Nemanja Vidic, Nikola Zigic, Dejan Stankovic, Bosko Jankovic and Milan Jankovic could be a torn in the flesh of any team on the field of play. With tutelage from their coach Radomir Antic, whose playing career in Turkey, Spain and England was without blemish, the eastern Europeans can only be better if they do not make a lasting tournament statement.
The way is clear now for most of these teams. For Ghana, come June 13th in the opening match against Serbia in Tshwane/ Pretoria, the stakes certainly would be high, this time with much more glory and guts to play for than the qualifiers. Coach Milovan Rajevac knows how arduous the task would be as he comes up against his compatriot Radomir Antic and the many Serbians back home he needs to prove a point to.
When the whistle for the games blows, it will be a month's feast on the 'Jabulani'- the official ball for the tournament as players from all walks of life including our very own, will display what they know how to do best. 'Zakumi', the official mascot for the event would be very pleased to welcome every single soul to that beautiful city of Johannesburg.
From June 11 to July 11, it will be one full month of continuous feast around the 'Jabulani' with 'Zakumi' in charge.
Development / Accra / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com