Archives for June 2010

After more than six years of fevered anticipation, South Africa is just hours away from the biggest match in its footballing history.

At 1600 local time on Friday, South Africa and Mexico will kick off the 2010 World Cup in front of 94,700 fans at Soccer City, Johannesburg, and a global television audience of more than one billion.

With the game now so tantalisingly close, Matthew Booth, Bafana Bafana's towering central defender and talisman, admits to experiencing mixed emotions.

Speaking from the team's hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, he told me: "Part of me wants to get the build up over with and just play football, but another part wants to keep soaking up the excitement and atmosphere."

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As the Football Association discovered when they first approached him in December 2007, Fabio Capello doesn't come alone but as part of a package.

To secure their man, the FA also had to take on Franco Baldini, Italo Galbiati, Franco Tancredi and Massimo Neri.

Team Capello was formed in 2001 and boasts a formidable range of skills and personalities.

Together they returned the Scudetto to Roma after an 18-year wait and whipped the underachieving galacticos into title-winning shape at Real Madrid in 2007.

Now they embark on their toughest challenge of all, to end 44 years of World Cup hurt for England.

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