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SA club game sparks 2010 optimism
By Matthew Kenyon, Johannesburg
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Pirates fans are among the most visible -
and vocal - supporters
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The success of a major sporting event so often depends
on the home team having a good tournament.
If the local heroes flop, so much impetus and atmosphere is lost - it
can take the wind out of the sails of a championship, leaving the visitors
to go through the motions.
On the other hand, if the hosts do well, the celebrations give life to
the whole event. Think Germany 2006.
Which is why everyone involved in organising the World Cup here in South
Africa fervently hopes Bafana Bafana can rise to the occasion in 2010.
There are a lot of doubters, because their qualifying campaign for the
next Cup of Nations in Angola was an abject failure.
However, there are also grounds for optimism.
South Africa should have beaten Nigeria in their penultimate qualifying
game.
Since the end of that campaign they have gone on a run of four friendly
victories against Cameroon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Malawi.
Most of Bafana Bafana's big stars still play in South Africa's top domestic
competition, the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
So the health of the PSL is a good indicator of how the game is developing
here, 18 months before the start of the country's global showpiece.
There was certainly a buzz when I went to the Johannesburg Stadium for
a PSL game between Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town on Saturday.
The ubiquitous "vuvuzela", a kind of plastic trumpet blown noisily
and enthusiastically at nearly every game here, provided plenty of atmosphere,
as did the dancing competition before kick-off.
Pirates are one of the country's really big teams and there was a good
turnout for the game.
Indeed, some observers have detected an increase in attendance at many
PSL matches as the World Cup draws nearer.
On the pitch, and on television, the presentation is slick and there are
obviously still plenty of sponsorship dollars around - an estimated $72m
over five years.
But what about the standard of the play?
One match is hardly enough to make that kind of judgement, especially
as this was just a week before the two teams go head-to-head again in
the South African cup final.
So I turned to Pirates coach Ruud Kroll for an assessment.
He has coached in Europe and in Egypt - most notably at Zamalek - and
recently led Pirates on a 10-match unbeaten run, which came to an end
with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ajax.
"The North African quality is a little bit higher," he told
me.
"You can see in the African Cups that Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and
Sudan dominate that league. You can see them dominating African competitions.
"In South Africa after 1996 [when they won the Nations Cup on home
soil] a lack of development has been the biggest problem - the development
of young players.
"They're still speaking here about a player being a big talent when
he is 25 years old.
"In Europe and North Africa that is not possible - at 17, 18, 19,
20 that talent must be there."
But Kroll thinks things are improving for Bafana Bafana and next year's
Confederations Cup will provide a good test in the build-up to 2010.
"They had a bad start under the new coach and now they're doing a
bit better, although only in friendly matches," he said.
"The Confederations Cup next year is important - then you will see
South Africa's standing."
Everyone connected with South African football hopes they pass that test
- and the bigger one to come in 2010.
BBC Sport,
8 December 2008
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