On the eve of South Africa 2010: 24 Hrs to the Start Of the World Cup.

 1 Day, 54 mins to the the start of The 2010 FIFA World CUP in South Africa

There will be so many words said and written about this World Cup. Already it has a stellar cast of superlatives each aimed at exhaling its uniqueness. As you might as well know, History, is at stake fellow fans.

And as with every record of history, it is fair to the Victorious side. This World Cup is no different.

To Africa, a stage to show case the strides its people have taken. To play host, literary so, to the World.

To the world, the 2010 South Africa World Cup, offers a chance to show viability. The chance to flourish even in unfamiliar
territory.


To all involved, its the hypnotizing allure of standing tall and be celebrated by the whole world that is on offer. To catch a sniff of that moment if you can. You can be what ever you want to be .... be a fan, be a hater, be a journalist, be a security guard, be a referee...After all, it is a world cup. The most watched event in Humanity. South Africa 2010 will have an estimated 40, 000, 000, 000 viewers cumulatively by the time the tournament winners are known one month from tomorrow, June 11th 2010.

As the teams prepare, coaches patch up the nitty gritty,  players try to get into the right frame of mind, team psychologists make use of their science, medical staff work miracles to keep injuries away..Basically all that goes into making sure that a set of 11 capable and ready players turn up on the pitch, the twelfth player is also getting ready.

"You don't swear at them, do you?.......That's the answer to that. In this day and age I think it's important to show the referees some respect. You don't use any language because then you'll be booked and the whole team suffers. You don't want to fall into that trap.''

Steven Gerrard, advising his England teammates on matters of fair play. In particular reference to Wayne Rooney's temperament.

Kind words from the man who shoulders the responsibility of leading the England team not only out of the dug-out when they face USA in their first match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but also to glory replicating the success of the 1966 English World Cup side. That is, if reports emanating from South Africa are true.

Though FIFA denies its existence, it is emerging that the Brazilian referees officiating over the England- USA match, have been handed a list of swear words in English (rumored to be about 20 words), In my opinion a short list, but as referee Roberto Braatz  explained,

"We can't do this in 11 different languages, but at least we have to know the swear words in English."

Earlier his colleague linesman Altemir Hausmann had note that as referees they new they had to endure a bit of the lash- back from the tension of the matches, as Wayne Rooney demonstrated on Monday sometimes action needs to be taken when certain thresholds are broken.

As you might as well know, during the England's World Cup preparation match, against a local South African side, Platinum Stars, Rooney earned a yellow for his barrage of abuses aimed at referee Jeff Selogilwe.

Talking to reporters after the match he said,

"Rooney insulted me,"..... "He said, 'F*** you' ".........."He must learn to control his temper. He could get sent off in the World Cup, especially if he uses this kind of language."......

Meanwhile....

Africa Hopes: Nigeria and Ghana Stars Bullish about their team Prospects in  2010 World Cup.

After a series of  heartbreak after heart break for African supporters in this years World Cup with the sequential loss of  the Chelsea trio, Ghana's Micheal Essien & John Obi Mikel of Nigeria with Didier Drogba hoping for a speedy recovery from his broken arm; two eminent footballers from the continent have spoken separately offering hope with their bullish Sentiments.


Ahead of Nigeria's first tie in the 2010 World Cup against Lionel Messi's Argentina, a recall of World Cup history is necessary. The last time Nigeria and Argentina were in the same World Cup group, 1994 USA World Cup, despite being debutant, Nigeria went on to top the group. Nwankwo Kanu. Nigeria's Olympic hero drawing from his 33yrs of experience and  his 4 previous games against Argentina is expecting a tight one

"You know, it is always very close any time we play them at the top level. It is either 2-1 or 1-0. I expect that on Saturday, it would also be close, but victory will be Nigeria's."

 2010 coppa Italia, Serie A & Champions league hand treble winner with  Inter Milan, Ghanaian midfielder , Sulley Muntari is backing the Ghanaian team to go all the way in the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Despite the blow to Milovan Rajevac side by losing former African football player of the year in Micheal Essien, Muntari echoed the feelings of his fellow Ghanaian team mates when he recently spoke to his club website.

"After what we did in 2006, expectations are sky high, we want to get out of our group and get to the semi-finals or even further,"

Arsene Wenger in his assessment of the World Cup withheld the commonly held notion that Ghanaian team is the Brazil of Africa. Muntari seems to agree with this tag as he promises that the soccer from Ghana will not only enthrall & to cap it all off; is fit for a World Cup semi- final breath at the least if not good enough to replicate the fortunes of the under 20 side who are the current World Champions.