Spain among favourites as ‘Festival of Champions’ kicks off
The Source: www.nation.co.ke - 14/06/2009
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Record-breaking European champions
Spain head a trio of serious contenders for next year’s World Cup who are afforded the rare chance of a dress rehearsal in the Fifa Confederations Cup, which got under way on Saturday. Spain, Brazil and world champions Italy will be the favourites at the two-week tournament and will get the opportunity to experience South African conditions 12 months before the 2010 World Cup finals. The eight-team Confederations Cup serves as a test event for next year.
The field is made up of the champions of the six continental confederations plus the last World Cup winners and the 2010 host nation.A 6-0 win over Azerbaijan in a friendly last week marked a record-breaking 32 consecutive matches without defeat for Spain, who are top of the world rankings. They will now seek to extend that run in the Confederations Cup.“It is a great chance to have all the players together in unusual conditions and as European champions we have a reputation to defend,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque in an interview. “None of my players have played in Africa before and we go to a country where it is cool, a change from the hot summer of Spain. It will be a good test of character.”Spain met New Zealand in their first Group A game yesterday, preceded by the opening game between South Africa and Asian champions Iraq. The 2010 hosts are desperate for a morale-boosting set of performances, having slumped drastically in form over the last years.“I need more time with this team,” South Africa’s Brazil-born coach Joel
Santana said after a warm-up win over Poland at the weekend.“But I’m happy with their concentration; we have now begun to show progress.”
” Sou Brazil and Italy are both in Group B, with Egypt and the United States having the potential to play a spoiling role.
Brazil, who won the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany, will make the exhausting cross-continental trip three days before their opening game against Egypt today because of their World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on Wednesday. Italy, in contrast, will have been in South Africa for seven days, and played two warm-up matches, before taking on the Americans on Monday. “We will use the next 20 days to work hard and to also hopefully win the tournament,” Italy coach Marcello Lippi said this week.Officials have been at pains in recent weeks to sell the Confederations Cup as a credible, stand-alone event, though their stance is at odds with Fifa’s decision to turn the tournament into a World Cup test event.Slow ticket sales present a potential embarrassment to the 2010 hosts, who have sought help from South African companies to block-buy seats and pass them on to employees or customers. “It doesn’t have the importance of other tournaments but we are happy to participate,” Del Bosque said.Four of the 10 venues for next year’s World Cup are being used for the two-week tournament, which kicks off and concludes at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The others are in Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Rustenburg, all of which recently completed renovations.A fifth venue in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth was originally scheduled for the Confederations Cup but was dropped 11 months ago when officials feared it would not be finished in time. The venue has, however, been completed and the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will host a British and Irish Lions rugby tour match next week as its first event.Meanwhile, Teko Modise, one of the brightest stars in the South African side of late, has delivered a stern warning, asserting that doubters write South Africa off at their own peril. The Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 will be the biggest moment in the dribbling wizard’s footballing career to date.
Following a flawless season in South Africa in which he walked away with both the Footballer of the Year title and the Player’s Player of the Season award, much is expected of Modise. However, the ‘General’ does not put undue pressure on himself.
Gifted with skill“
I remember the first day I put on the national team jersey, there were expectations. But at that time, people didn’t know who Teko Modise was. The Confederations Cup is my first big tournament. I’m not sure what to expect, but I want to go out there and enjoy my football,” Modise told Fifa.com.
th Africa’s Brazil-born coach Joel Santana said after a warm-up win over Poland at the weekend.“But I’m happy with their concentration; we have now begun to show progress.” While some have been quick to dismiss South Africa’s prospects of triumph in the Fifa Confederations Cup, Modise insists that home support and a recognition of the impact of victory will be factors in their favor. “Its important for us to do well, we cannot be written off. I know we are playing against some big names, but in football, we all have 90 minutes. In that 90 minutes, anything can happen,” he said. An individual gifted with skill, creativity and a knack for scoring beautiful goals, Modise is the man upon whom many of South Africa’s hopes have been pinned. He, together with midfield maestro Steven Pienaar, will be operating South Africa’s engine room during the tournament. The duo are likely to provide headache in ample quantities to opponents. Both are talented, both have big hearts and most importantly, both share the desire to help South Africa spin the wheel of fortune in their favour. Few South African players have garnered as much praise as Modise and Pienaar. In the past, South Africans had looked-up to star players like Lucas Radebe, Doctor Khumalo and Benni McCarthy. With Radebe and Khumalo retired, the younger generation, under the mentorship of Joel Santana, hopes to re-write the history books as South Africa play tournament hosts for the rest of the month. Was overlooked Some have questioned whether Modise and Pienaar can play together effectively in the midfield because of their similarities in style, but Modise is quick to weigh in on the subject.“Steven is a good player, he is a good friend of mine. We don’t play for ourselves, we play for South Africa. For us, personal glory comes last. The most important thing now is to help South Africa proceed to the semi-finals of the tournament, we will take it from there,” he told Fifa.com. Modise has laboured hard and beaten the odds. Despite being overlooked by Johannesburg teams, he travelled to remote areas of the country to nurture his talent away from the cameras. But one performance in particular changed his life. He turned heads when his side City Pillars played South African glamour boys Kaizer Chiefs in a tournament pitting semi-professional teams against professional sides. Within a matter of weeks, he was acquired by South African champions, SuperSport United. After one season, he was then lured to one of South Africa’s biggest clubs, Orlando Pirates, where his career truly began to flourish
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