In this post I’m looking back to the 2010 World Cup hosted for the first time ever in Africa. It finished with a deserved victory for the best team, Spain, but there were many highlights and lowlights. England fans will doubtless remember Frank Lampard’s ‘ghost goal’ as a particular low point. Neither France nor Italy will remember the tournament fondly. Have a read of this and see what you think.
The worst
Those f***ing vuvuzelas
A recent Google search for ‘vuvuzela’ gives a definition of “a long, plastic horn-shaped instrument that produces a loud, monotonous, and buzzing sound” (my italics). In many countries, for the obvious reason that a loud and monotonous buzzing sound is enjoyable to almost nobody, they have been banned from sports stadia. In World Cup 2010, however, they were judged to be an integral part of the South African spectating experience so FIFA, keen to not upset African sensitivities, allowed them.
It was perhaps a little bit of fun at the start – well, for about five minutes – but the novelty quickly wore off. By the end of the tournament, most would gladly have inserted them where the sun don’t shine if they came across anyone sporting one.
The ghost goal – Germany 4-1 England, Round of 16
Not for the first time in their history, the England team that turned up to World Cup 2010 was less than the sum of their parts. A squad featuring ten players who had or would go on to win 50 caps or more (including four centurions) failed to catch fire under Italian Fabio Capello, and once again went home earlier than they should have.
They had qualified in grim fashion from Group C, failing to beat either the USA or Algeria (the latter in one of the dullest World Cup matches in living memory) before edging past Slovenia to squeak through. A second-placed finish in the group, however, left them having to face the old enemy, Germany, in the round of 16. Germany themselves had not been entirely convincing, but boasted a youthful, talented line-up.
England did not get off to the best of starts. On 20 minutes, the arch goalscorer Miroslav Klose took advantage of weak defending from Terry and Upson to break through and score. Lukas Podolski then doubled the lead on 32 minutes after some smart interplay in England’s half. England, though, did not fold and halved the deficit when Matthew Upson found himself unmarked in the box and headed in a Gerrard cross. Less than a minute later came the key moment of the game. England were on the attack again when the ball bobbled out to Frank Lampard on the edge of the Germany box. His instinctive lob-volley beat a despairing Manuel Neuer, and bounced off the underside of the crossbar. It crossed the goal line by a very clear margin but span back up into the bar before being collected by the keeper. Inexplicably the referee and the linesman, Uruguayan Mauricio Espinosa, failed to see it so no goal was awarded.
Perhaps it was karma for 1966 and Hurst’s infamous disputed goal in the final. Whatever the case, a massive potential turning point in the match was reversed. As England chased the game in the second half they left themselves vulnerable at the back, and conceded two breakaway goals to the Germans. Bad luck (and refereeing incompetence) was not the only reason we lost, but it made a massive contribution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_t3NCDZG8
Capdevila’s dive – Spain 1-0 Portugal, Round of 16
Spain were almost certainly the best team at World Cup 2010, and most will feel they deserved their first, and so far only, triumph. Their tiki-taka style, built around one of the all-time great midfield trios of Xavi, Iniesta and David Silva, meant they dominated possession against all opponents. On the rare occasions they did give the ball away, their defence was tough and effective. The gloss of their triumph, however, was tarnished for some by the cynical gamesmanship that they often deployed to fool referees and frustrate opponents.
A prime example came in the round of 16 against their close neighbours, Portugal. Spain, not for the first or last time, had moved into a 1-0 lead and effectively shut up shop. With only minutes remaining on the clock. Portugal were throwing everything at them, and had pushed central defender Ricardo Costa up the field. When a ball was crossed from the left Costa tussled with veteran defender Joan Capdevila (interestingly the only member of the Spanish team not from either Real Madrid or Barcelona). As Costa rose to head (and actually miss) the ball, Capdevila fell to the ground clutching the right side of his face. He gave the tell-tale sign of the cheat by lifting his head to sneak a quick look at the referee, before collapsing again in apparent agony. Replays showed that Costa had indeed raised an arm towards the Spanish defender and that his elbow may possibly have made slight contact. Under no circumstances, though, was it sufficient to deck the Spaniard. The referee, though, saw it differently and showed a straight red card to the Portuguese.
Spain might claim, with some justification, that skill in play acting is an important part of the game. Most, though, prefer to call it for what it is… cheating.
The French revolution
In World Cup 2006 France had finished runner-up to Italy in a tournament many felt they should have won. They came to South Africa 2010 having somewhat fallen off their perch (they had suffered a disastrous group exit at Euro 2008, then had qualified for 2010 only via to a very dubious goal against Ireland) but still thought of as a potential winner.
Their campaign, however, was catastrophic and riven with in-fighting and insubordination. The trouble started before the finals when several players were questioned by police following a raid on a shady Paris nightclub. It was also announced that head coach, Raymond Domenech would leave his post after the tournament.
Their first group game was a poor 0-0 draw against Uruguay. They followed this with a dismal 0-2 loss to Mexico that featured an expletive-laden tirade at half-time by Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka against his manager. When Anelka was disciplined by being ejected from the squad and sent home, his teammates decided to strike in support of him. There was more strife on the training ground – including a public contretemps between Patrice Evra and fitness coach, Robert Duverne – and the sudden resignation of the managing director of the French Football Federation. Such was the scandal that French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot to meet personally with the team. Although her intervention was seemingly well received, it did little to improve matters on the pitch. The team lost their final game, 0-2 to South Africa (ranked 74 places below them) and exited the tournament with only one point to their name.
After the team had returned, flying home in economy class, the ructions continued. There were more resignations, bans and suspensions, and damning statements from former greats. Perhaps it was the kick in the derriere that France needed … they recovered to win in 2018 and be runners-up in 2022.
The sending-off that wasn’t – Netherland 0-1 Spain (a.e.t), World Cup final
Referees don’t often admit that they were wrong, but Englishman Howard Webb’s mistake in the World Cup final was so egregious that he really had no choice.
His error came midway through the first half. The ball was headed out by the Dutch and came to Xabi who lobbed it first time in the air towards fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso. As Xabi went to head it, Dutch midfield enforcer Nigel de Jong, seemingly with no eyes on the ball, followed through with a chest-high kick right into the chest of Alonso. It was such a bad (and potentially career-ending) challenge that most observers could not believe it had happened. Somehow the only person on the pitch who did not see it as a red card (and that probably includes most of the Dutch team) was referee Webb. Perhaps he did not have a clear view (although his English assistants surely did), but, incredibly, he gave de Jong only a yellow card.
The game itself was far from a classic and featured 47 fouls and a record 14 yellow cards, including a double (and red) for Dutch defender, John Heitinga. The better side probably won, but other than the delirious Spanish, it will not live long in most people’s memories.
The deliberate handball – Ghana 1-1 Uruguay (Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties), Quarter final
Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is no stranger to controversy (see 2014 World Cup) having been the instigator of many ‘unfortunate’ incidents during his career. One for which he may never be forgiven by footballing romantics came in the 2010 quarter final against Ghana.
The Africans had been the surprise package of the finals, qualifying narrowly from their group before getting past USA in the knock-out phase to become only the third African team to reach the last eight. They faced Uruguay in their quarter final and gave it a really good go. The game finished 1-1 in normal time with Ghana probably the better side. They continued to put Uruguay under pressure in extra time, and were on the attack all the way. In the very last minute, they forced a desperate goal-line clearance from the Uruguayans, but the ball came out to striker Dominic Adiyiah. He planted a firm header that beat the South American keeper and was headed back into the net. The only thing stopping it going in was Luis Suarez, on the line, and punching it out with his arms. To be fair to Suarez, it was only him because his fellow defender Fucile failed to get his hands on it. Suarez was instantly sent off and a penalty awarded to Ghana. Up stepped captain Asamoah Gyan who, agonisingly, sent his shot too high, clipping the top of the bar as it missed.
It was perhaps inevitable that Uruguay, having dodged defeat would prevail in the penalty shoot-out and so they did, the final kick in the balls for Ghana being Abreu’s Panenka to seal the deal. Suarez became a villain across the world, but a hero in his own country.
The best
Come Klose – Germany 4-0 Argentina, Quarter final
In 2009/10 Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose had a pretty miserable season. A man who had scored better than a goal every two and a half games in his decade-plus Bundesliga career, managed to find the net only three times in 25 matches. Working on the premise, though, that form is temporary but class is permanent, German manager Joachim Loew chose to select the 32-year-old for his 2010 World Cup squad.
Loew may have regretted it temporarily when Klose got himself sent off in the group game against Serbia (for two yellow cards) then had to sit out the match against Ghana. Klose, though, quickly redeemed himself with the opener against England in the round of 16, and was picked to start against Argentina in the quarters. Germany got off to a fast start with a goal on three minutes from Thomas Muller, in the form of his life, before the Argentinians mounted a fightback. They made plenty of chances, but could not get past the German defence and keeper Manuel Neuer. Meanwhile, Germany showed speed and incisiveness on the counter-attack. This paid off in the 67th minute when Podolski burst into the box from the left and squared for Klose to tap it in. Another attack resulted in a goal for Friedrich, before the nail was hammered into the coffin in the 89th minute, when Klose volleyed home from a Mesut Ozil cross. A team containing the world’s current best player, Messi, and managed by arguably the best ever, Maradona, had been beaten 4-0. And Klose had scored more goals in four World Cup games than he had in the whole of the preceding league season.
Bizarrely, Klose went on after the World Cup to have an even worse season, scoring only once in 20 games before being released by Bayern. He did, though, return for a fourth World Cup, in 2014, where he became the player to score most goals in finals ever, with 16. Class is obviously permanent.
Italy’s first round exit
It is perhaps a little unseemly to take pleasure in another country’s demise, but given how often England fail to deliver on the biggest stage, it can sometimes be the only thing keeping you going. In 2010 it was Italy and France (detailed above) who failed to turn up.
Italy were reigning champions and ranked fifth in the world. They can normally be relied upon to turn up for the World Cup, but not this time. They were drawn in probably the weakest group of eight, alongside Paraguay, Slovakia, making their World Cup debut and lowly New Zealand. Italy were strong at the back and in midfield, but lacked a real cutting edge, with no established international goalscorers. This was evidenced in their first two games, both rather toothless 1-1 draws, which left them needing to beat Slovakia in their final game to guarantee progress.
Slovakia, though, had not read the script and took the lead with smart goal for Robert Vittek after a mistake by Daniele De Rossi. Vittek then doubled the lead in the second half with a neat near-post flick. With less than 10 minutes left, Italy gained a lifeline with a goal from Di Natale, and nearly got an equaliser but for a narrow offside. Slovakia were not finished, however, and in the 89th minute, and with his first touch, Kamil Kapunek scored to take the lead back to two. There was still time for a worldie from Quagriella but it was too little too late. Italy lost a classic 3-2 and the champions had fallen at the first hurdle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjkoviB3Pec
Bafana-bafana – Tshabalala!
In 2010 South Africa became the first (and thus far, only) African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. Less than two decades after the dismantling of apartheid, the award of the tournament recognised the great strides the country had taken since 1991. For the players, it was a chance to put their team on the football map, and to bring pleasure to the millions of black South Africans for whom the sport is their driving passion.
As hosts, they got their chance in the very first game, kicking off the tournament against Mexico in Johannesburg in front of almost 85,000 fans. Against their higher-ranked opponents they were perhaps a little fortunate to go in all-square at half time, but there was no luck involved in their opening goal. After a Mexican attack broke down, the South Africans swapped passes smartly in their own half before a ball found Siphiwe Tshabalala charging down the left-hand side and getting behind his defender. Without breaking stride, he took one touch then let fly with his left foot from inside the box, finding the opposite top corner of the net. It was a moment that symbolised the exuberance and natural flair of African football, and brought joy not only to South Africans but to football followers across the globe.