Another World Cup winner is set to bow out of the tournament this Saturday as a young German side take on Maradona’s Argentina at Cape Town stadium. In the round of sixteen both of these countries swept aside their opponents, even if in somewhat controversial circumstances. However, no one can really argue that they don’t deserve to be here. They are the leading scorers so far, Argentina leading the way with ten goals and Germany one behind on nine goals.

Germany looks an almost unrecognisable side when compared to teams of previous tournaments. A heavy investment domestically in youth academies, after a dismal performance in Euro 2000, seems to be reaping rich reward. Ozil and Mueller have been revelations of the tournament. We’ve seen back-heels, flying full backs and even a surprise loss in the group stage. A more attractive brand of football that has slowly seen them become the European Brazil, everybody’s ‘other team’.

The loss of Michael Ballack in May has been quietly absorbed. Podoslski has taken on the armband and not done too badly, and a midfield berth has opened up for younger legs. And what of the holder heads? They are still there, leading the way. Klose has resumed his love of scoring at World Cups and Friedrech has been solid in defence. While they may not have been considered favourites at the beginning of the World Cup they may well be at the next event.

On the other hand Argentina have been touted as one of the favourites to win this World Cup. It’s easy to see why, they haven’t lost a match since playing Spain in November last year. For me, there is still some concern over Maradona’s credentials. While his team have done well this far, you’d do well to remember that they struggled to even qualify.

No matter, their team sheet has players that would make it into anyone’s dream team. Messi being the player fans were most excited to see at this event. In vain, he has tried to replicate the club form that has helped Barcelona become an almost unstoppable force in European football. Sheer bad luck has prevented him from getting on the score sheet. It’s simply a matter of time before he scores. And even if doesn’t, he has that magic ability to pull in defenders and create chances for his team mates. The other two forwards, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez, have done well enough in his absence on the score sheet.

Germany may have to revert back to a more disciplined approach against the South Americans; they are still learning this new found ability of total football. Argentina certainly seem the favourites, but in a world cup rife with upsets who knows.

On Monday 21 September, The Coca-Cola Company and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will take the world football’s greatest prize, the real solid-gold trophy to 86 countries during a 225-day tour, allowing thousands of fans to enjoy a rare close-up view of the authentic FIFA World Cup™ Trophy, including every nation in Africa.

“The worldwide passion for the sport of football is unrivalled and gives our business the best platform to connect with fans everywhere Coca-Cola does business,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, Globally.

The ceremonial start of the tour kicked-off with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent taking the first steps with the Trophy on its 134,017 kilometer journey. The FIFA World Cup™ Trophy was flown from Zurich to its first stop in Cairo, Egypt on September 24.

Free tickets to the 2009/10 Trophy Tour will be made available to consumers via Coca-Cola promotions in countries the trophy visits.  At events in each city, fans will have the opportunity to have a souvenir photo taken of themselves with the trophy, view a special 3-D movie showcasing memorable moments of the FIFA World Cup, participate in interactive displays, and enjoy all sorts of other entertainment.

On December 2, 2009, the Trophy will arrive in Cape Town, South Africa in time for the FIFA World Cup™ draw. After it has completed its tour of Africa, the Authentic Trophy will then be taken to 31 countries across the globe.

Paraguay beat Brazil convincingly this weekend, they remain in 1st position for the South American world cup 2010 qualifying group. The exact same Paraguay that came to the super stadium in Atteridgeville on March 26th and were handed a footballing lesson by Bafana bafana. I sat in the stands that night, every goal was crafted out of creativity and our finishing was top drawer, do not let the lack of local press coverage fool you, we were a world class team and Pereira’s plan was finally starting to unfold!

That magical night was Pereira’s last at the helm of a football side that desperately needs to perform on the world stage in 2 years time. In his place came a new man, A Brazilian successor. Too little time has passed to have an accurate estimate of how far we have been setback, but the initial signs are not positive. A glaring question in my mind is how did we conspire to lose the man who was finally able to extract the best of this ever underachieving side? It still seems very little was made of a man effectively dashing the hopes of an entire nation.

South Africans love football, it knows no bounds and as a nation it has an unbelievably high amount of viewing choice thanks to the high demand for top quality football.

This world cup represents an opportunity few countries will ever experience, it is a chance to replicate great tournaments and add a touch of uniqueness to it, I would love to believe we could draw on our energies and emulate a country like South Korea by capturing the entire world with a simple formula of enthusiastic support and beating the footballing odds, It does seem like we lost that opportunity when we lost the man who was in the first year of an excellent three year plan.

The main problem however runs deeper than our top level management. Football is a global language and even more so it is a way to captivate thousands of people whilst making a salary. To compete on that level however, you have to be good, the better you are the higher you climb. The lack of an effective youth structure has put us at a serious disadvantage. If a genuine football talent is spotted at a young enough age the possibilities are endless. The fewer structures you have in place, the more likely it would be for those talents to slip under the proverbial net. It is a problem which is well known amongst most local football minds yet never really seems to be dealt with.

On the plus side last year was a good one for the local premier soccer league after a sluggish start the climax was thrilling. The local partnership with local media giant Supersport is bearing fruit, The PSL was voted the 9^th best football league in the world recently and it could very well climb. Coupled with general sponsorships climbing to high new levels it seems we now have a platform to generate the best out of a football mad country. The talent is out there, it just needs to be harvested!