| North Korean team reprimanded - 29/07/2010 |
A news report says North Korea’s football team and coach have been reprimanded by the government for the team’s performance at the 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the IoL site. The team was summoned to a closed-door meeting in Pyongyang earlier this month and criticized for the losses to Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. The report says players were then ordered to reprimand coach Kim Jong Hun. The report cited unidentified sources in North Korea and a Chinese businessman described as knowledgeable about North Korea affairs.
|
Full report on the IoL site
|
 |
| Parker wants more game time – 29/07/2010 |
Bafana Bafana striker Bernard Parker was unable to assist his team, Dutch Eredivisie champions FC Twente, when they played a pre-season friendly against Getafe. Kick Off reports that Parker came on as a second half substitute, 15 minutes before the final whistle, by which time Twente were already trailing 2-1. Parker is hoping that he will be in the starting line-up for Twente’s first official game of the new season, when they play Ajax Amsterdam in the Johan Cruyff ’Super’ Cup at the Amsterdam Arena this weekend.
|
Full Kick Off report
|
|
| More injury woes for Ferdinand -28/07/2010 |
Manchester: Rio Ferdinand will miss Manchester United’s first three Premier League games, as well as England’s European Championship qualifiers with Bulgaria and Switzerland in September, due to the knee problem that kept him out of the 2010 World Cup. The Star reports that Ferdinand had hoped to start the season but will miss another six weeks after United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the defender had sustained ligament damage. There is little prospect of Ferguson allowing his key centre-back to join England before he is fully fit, meaning he is likely to return for his club at Everton on September 12.
|
Full report in The Star
|
|
| Germany eye Khune and Modise – 28/07/2010 |
Bafana Bafana duo of goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune and midfielder Teko Modise’s dream of playing overseas might soon be realized after a German Bundesliga side expressed an interest in them. Sport24 reports that Khune and Modise’s manager Jazzman Mahlakgane revealed that he was hoping to exchange further correspondence with the Germany side this week to facilitate the proposed move to the club he did not wish to name until everything has been finalized. At the same time Mahlakgane expressed his frustration over another of his clients - Siphiwe Tshabalala, the Kaizer Chiefs winger who scored the 2010 World Cup opening goal for South Africa against Mexico at Soccer City.
|
Full Sport24 report
|
|
| Scholes admits WC regret – 28/07/2010 |
Manchester United’s Paul Scholes has admitted that he may have made a mistake by not taking up England coach Fabio Capello’s invitation to play at the 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the IoL site. Capello attempted to draw Scholes out of international retirement in the warm-up to South Africa 2010, but the midfielder turned down the offer. England went out at the second-round stage, and Scholes said: ’A couple of weeks into it, I thought I maybe should have gone. I am not saying I would have made a difference. I am saying I might have made the wrong decision.’
|
Full report on the IoL site
|
|
| Khumalo out of Ghana friendly – 28/07/2010 |
Supersport United captain and Bafana Bafana central defender Bongani Khumalo, has been ruled out of the friendly international against Ghana at Soccer City on August 11 due to injury. The Times reports that this was revealed on Tuesday by United coach Gavin Hunt, who said the tough tackling central defender injured his ankle ligaments and would be out of action for at least two weeks. The injury is a blow to the 23-year-old Khumalo’s hopes of getting a contract with English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur, or with Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers.
|
Full report in The Times
|
|
| Rangers keen on Bafana pair – 27/07/2010Rangers |
Rangers manager Walter Smith revealed his interest in signing two of South Africa’s World Cup stars Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela. Sport24 reports that talks have already taken place between Ibrox chief executive Martin Bain and representatives of striker Mphela and defender Khumalo, at the behest of the Rangers boss. ’We are seriously considering both these players,’ said Smith. ’I believe they could fit in well for us.’ Khumalo and Mphela both scored against France in the finals, are rated at $2.3m each.
|
Full Sport24 reportSport24
|
|
| No glamour move for Morris - 23/07/2010 |
Bafana Bafana defender Nasief Morris has signed for Cypriot side Apollon after being released by Greek club Panathinaikos last week. Kick Off reports that the 29-year-old has been able to sign as a free agent with the Cypriots, though it is hardly the glamour move that had been touted for him after a successful season on loan at Recreativo Huelva in Spain in the 2008/09 campaign. Morris will be hoping to regain his place in the Bafana Bafana set-up under new coach Pitso Mosimane, having missed out on both the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup after not being selected.
|
Full Kick Off report
|
|
| New coach boots French flops - 23/07/2010 |
New France coach Laurent Blanc has punished the country’s farcical World Cup squad by dropping each of the 23 players for a friendly against Norway next month. Blanc’s decision to take action was approved by the French Football Federation’s (FFF) federal council after a meeting with Raymond Domenech’s successor in Paris.
Sport24 reports that France suffered a miserable World Cup campaign in South Africa, marked by striker Nicolas Anelka’s expulsion after his foul-mouthed tirade at Domenech, infighting, and the players’ refusal to train.
|
Full Sport24 report
|
|
| Calls for PSL to be transformed – 23/07/2010 |
For Bafana Bafana to be transformed into world beaters, the Premier Soccer League must reduce the number of foreigners and give young South Africans a chance to play on a regular basis. This is the view of new Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane, who rolled out his vision for 2014. Currently the foreign quota in the PSL is five and Mosimane feels the number should be reduced to three so that local players get the chance to reinforce Bafana’s chances of making it to 2012 African Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
|
Full report in The Star
|
|
| Pitso set to ditch oldies – 23/07/2010 |
Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane gave the strongest hint yet that national team players aged 30 and older will not be at the 2014 World Cup, should South Africa qualify. The Times reports that the new coach outlined his vision for Bafana and was bold enough to single out midfielder MacBeth Sibaya as one of the players who will not be in contention for Brazil. Mosimane was more sensitive about the future of Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena.
|
Full report in The Times
|
|
| Nigeria axes WC players – 21/07/2010 |
Nigeria have axed 13 players from the squad which represented the country at the 2010 World Cup as the country looks to rebuild after a dismal tournament. Kick Off reports that players from the domestic league form the bulk of a 35-man squad named for a friendly against South Korea next month in Seoul. Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama leads the 10 survivors from the World Cup debacle, which also includes Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Dickson Etuhu and Danny Shittu.
|
Full Kick Off report
|
|
| Maradona decides on future – 21/07/2010 |
Diego Maradona will decide whether to stay on as Argentina coach after a meeting next week, said the head of the country’s football association. Argentina’s former captain had been due to meet football association (AFA) chief Julio Grondona this week but the meeting was postponed after Maradona decided to travel to Venezuela where he was expected to meet leftist President Hugo Chavez. The AFA said last week Maradona would be formally invited to carry on as coach until the World Cup in Brazil.
|
Full report on the IoL site
|
|
| Germany coach extends contract – 20/07/2010 |
Germany’s national coach Joachim Loew and his three right-hand men have agreed two-year extensions to their contracts following the team’s World Cup success, notes a report on the IoL site. Loew was due to sign a new deal with the German Football Federation (DFB) later on Tuesday ahead of a news conference around midday. Team manager Oliver Bierhoff and assistant coaches Hans-Dieter Flick and Andreas Koepke were also due to sign two-year extensions to 2012, the papers said on their websites, without saying where they got the information.
|
Full report on the IoL site
|
|
| Inter Milan eyeing Pienaar – 19/07/2010 |
Inter Milan have earmarked Everton winger Steven Pienaar as a potential target but a move for the South African would force them to reconsider their squad make-up, notes a report on the IoL site. Following the country’s poor World Cup, the Italian FA have told clubs they can only sign one new non-EU player for their squad per season and young Brazilian midfielder Phillipe Coutinho has been listed as that player. However, that was planned before Rafa Benitez arrived. He was keen on Pienaar while at Liverpool but believes his move to Inter makes a deal easier.
|
Full report on the IoL site
|
|
| Bafana to play Ghana - 16/07/2010 |
Bafana Bafana will play their first game after the 2010 World Cup under new head coach Pitso Mosimane on August 11. South Africa will take on World Cup quarter finalists Ghana at Soccer City in a game that will surely recapture the magic of the tournament that ended on July 11. SAFA CEO Leslie Sedibe said that the game will be played at 20:30 and has encouraged South African football supporters to come out in their droves in support of the national team.
|
Full Sport24 reportSport24
|
|
| Hunt reflects on last four games – 15/07/2010 |
Gavin Hunt, IoL: Well it’s all over and done with now, but let’s reflect on the last four games. I was very disappointed with the Germans in the semifinal game. I really thought they might have had the beating of the Spanish team, but a big blow for the Germans was the loss of Thomas Mueller. He gave them the penetration, creativity and goals that they lacked in that game. I certainly felt that the central midfield of Germany, who had dominated most of their previous games, were outplayed in that semifinal clash.
|
Full column on the IoL site
|
|
| Tshabalala up for goal award – 14/07/2010 |
Bafana Bafana midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala’s wonder strike in the 2010 World Cup opening match against Mexico at Soccer City on June 11 has been selected as one of the Top 10 goals of the tournament. Sport24 reports that FIFA has shortlisted their Top 10 goals from the month-long tournament and requested fans visit the official FIFA site to cast their vote for the Goal of the Tournament.
|
Full Sport24 report
|
|
| SA climb in FIFA rankings – 14/07/2010 |
South Africa have climbed to number 66 in the latest Fifa World Rankings, their highest position in three years. Bafana Bafana’s good showing at the 2010 World Cup, where they beat France, at the time ranked ninth in the world, and drew with Mexico, who were in 17th, has seen them move into the Top 70. They are also now ranked 12th in Africa, a climb of five places, and a platform from which they can now push for a place in the Top 10. South Africa were not the biggest movers amongst the African teams though.
|
Full Kick Off report
|
|
| Spain go top in FIFA rankings – 14/07/2010 |
Spain returned to the top of the world football rankings issued on Wednesday by the ruling body FIFA in the wake of their first Soccer World Cup triumph, notes a SPort24 report. But the 2006 winners Italy crashed out of the top-10 and the runners up from four ago, France, even out of the top 20 after both went out in the group stage of the tournament in South Africa. Spain, who had lost first place to Brazil a few months ago, returned to the top with 1 883 points with the World Cup triumph on Sunday, 1-0 over the Netherlands.
|
Full Sport24 reportSport24
|
|
| Del Bosque relishes moment of glory - 12/07/2010 |
Spanish players flung their 59-year-old coach Vicente Del Bosque into the air on the pitch at Soccer City on Sunday night as they celebrated a stunning 1-0 World Cup victory over the Netherlands. Del Bosque, who became known for his stony expressions throughout the tournament, smiled with glee as the team grabbed him and began to toss him gently into the air.
Scenes of ecstasy spread around Soccer City after the final whistle with Spain supporters singing ’ole, ole’ and dancing in the aisles of the packed stadium.
|
Full report on the IOL site
|
|
| Van Bronckhorst’s last match - 08/06/2010 |
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has only one better way to say goodbye for good. The Times reports that that is to score in his last competitive game as well, and finally give the Netherlands the World Cup. ’I hope it will be the most beautiful game of my life,’ said Van Bronckhorst, who is retiring from football after the tournament but made sure he will go out in style by scoring the first goal in a 3-2 win over Uruguay in the semifinals.
|
Full report in The Times
|
|
| Dynamic duo help sink Uruguay - 06/07/2010 |
Real Madrid rejects Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder once again showed the Spanish giants what they are missing as the Dutch dynamos helped book The Netherlands a place in Sunday’s World Cup final. The pair have been in sparkling form in South Africa and their second-half goals within three minutes of each other sealed Holland’s 3-2 win over Uruguay in Tuesday’s semifinal.
|
Full report on the IOL site
|
|
| Uruguay can spoil Dutch party - 06/07/2010 |
Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk is not planning on changing his tactics for the World Cup semi-final against Uruguay, despite criticism about the lack of Dutch flair that has dogged his team throughout the tournament, notes a Sport24 report. ’We are continuing down the road we have chosen,’ Van Marwijk said. ’I will not let anyone distract me from that.’ Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, meanwhile, is drawing inspiration to beat the favoured Dutch from the 1950 ’Miracle of Maracana,’ when his tiny nation beat Brazil at Maracana stadium to earn its second World Cup title.
|
Full Sport24 report
|
|
| Dutch & German success a headache for Bayern - 04/07/2010& |
The success of Germany and the Netherlands in the World Cup knock-out rounds has posed a problem for Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal, a Dutchman.
The Times reports that seven members of Germany’s national football team play for Bayern, as do two members of the Dutch squad, making Bayern the best represented club among the four World Cup semi-finalists. ’I regret it’, Van Gaal wrote on his homepage on Sunday, referring to the teams’ success, ’because I can’t make good preparations’.
|
Full report in The Times
|
|
| No own-goal for Felipe Melo - 04/07/2010 |
Netherlands’ playmaker Wesley Sneijder has been credited with his team’s opening goal in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil by Fifa’s Technical Study Group. The Times reports that the goal had originally been awarded to Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo, who flicked the 53rd minute goal-bound cross from Sneijder into his own net to level the scores at 1-1. Sneijder now has four goals in the tournament, the joint highest with Slovakia’s Robert Vittek, Argentine Gonzalo Higuain and Spain’s David Villa.
|
Full report in The Times
|
|
| Brazil sack coach Dunga -04/07/2010coach |
Dunga was already expected to stand down as Brazil coach after the 2010 World Cup, notes a BBC News report. Dunga has been sacked as Brazil coach following his country’s quarter-final exit from the World Cup. A statement from the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) confirmed the former captain has been dismissed, along with his entire coaching staff.
|
Full BBC News report
|
|
| |
