OPENING DAY WORLD CUP 2010

The great day has finally dawned. I awoke to a sunny wintry Cape Town day. My thoughts were focussed on what would occur later today. By this I mean whether the host country’s team Bafana Bafana would be able to conquer Mexico on the soccer playing fields of Soccer City later today. But more of what transpired in that match later.

Scenes of an incompletely full Soccer City stadium were of concern. It later transpired that the traffic grid locks besieging Johannesburg car drivers had delayed the arrival of many of the spectators for the opening match. The area around Soccer City looked rather arid. An attempt should have been made to develop the bare sand filled areas with some green gardens. There are no complaints of the stadium however. Soccer City looked imposing. The atmosphere as the stadium filled shall leave an indelible mark on my memory.

The opening ceremony commenced at exactly 2pm with the acrobatic display of some fighter planes. Their acrobatics in the air had me concerned and hoping that no tragedy struck whilst they executed their intricate manoeuvres in close proximity to each other. The little South African girl blowing some dust of her palms heralded the commencement of a slick opening ceremony, the likes of which I have not seen before. Full marks go to the choreographers. The climax was the quick listing of all 32 teams playing at this tournament and the unfurling of the FIFA logo for this tournament.

The key match for the day commenced at 3pm. It would be fair to say that South Africa was outplayed for most of the first half. The converse applied for the second half. The match reached the fifty fifth minute with both teams tied without scoring. The dream moment then dawned. Mexico was caught on the break by Bafana Bafana. There was a speedy run down the left flank. The Mexican goalkeeper came off his line. The South African player had the better of the Mexican defender and shot for goal close to the Mexican posts. The ball sailed into the netting. The first goal of the 2010 tournament was scored by Tshabalala of the South African team. There was an eerie moment of shock before the reality sunk in. South Africa had scored! Soccer City erupted. And South Africa erupted as well. I bet that the ubiquitous sounds of the vuvuzela and car horns were heard throughout South Africa.

History shall show that Mexico equalised later in the game. If only, South Africans would muse, if only we could have kept the Mexicans out. I suspect, like I had predicted before that Friday would have had one long night of celebrations in South Africa with no prospect of the Saturday dawning. Mexico had crossed the South African line before this, but the goal was ruled offside. South Africa came perilously close to shutting out the match on two further occasions, but striker Modise failed to convert. The match ended drawn at 1-1.

The second match was played at the Cape Town stadium. France played Uruguay, both previous world champions. The first red card of the tournament was shown to a player from Uruguay in the 75^th minute of the game. The French failed to capitalise in the last nine minutes with an extra player. The match ended in a 0-0 draw.

The first day of the 2010 world cup soccer tournament has come and gone. We in South Africa have changed in some way or the other. The opening ceremony and the first match shall be etched in the memory of all of us who were here to witness and experience it. Soccer games, I predict have also changed forever. One cannot visualise attending or watching a soccer game without sound again. The sound of the vuvuzela drowned out everything else at Soccer City. The same occurred in the Cape Town game.

The 2010 soccer world cup is well and truly en route.