So we’re down to the final eight. And I think it’s safe to say that they’re the eight best teams in the competition – despite some refereeing controversies, there have been no great travesties. Uruguay and Paraguay I suppose are the surprise packages who have had easier routes into the last eight, but no one can begrudge them a spot – all a team can do is beat what is in front of them. Even English fans would concede that England didn’t deserve a spot in the final 8.
It’s a shame to see the likes of Italy, England and France not in the final 8, but the fact is, all three teams were inarguably awful. Like naughty school boys, they now need to head home and reflect on what they have done.
Since I am English, I’ll share some of my thoughts on the World Cup so far from an English perspective…
England’s demise began way back when John Terry was red carded for his disgraceful tackling of Wayne Bridge’s then girlfriend. When that’s the sort of pedigree you have leading the team, what more can you expect on the pitch? “I’m not a bad guy” protests Terry, although he knows he is. In fact that is part of the problem. They’re all bad blokes. They’re a bunch of selfish, arrogant, overpaid yobs who are the farthest thing from professional. They haven’t the foggiest about playing as a team or about playing for their team mates. When a team like Japan does just as well as the English team in the World Cup, questions need to be answered. The German player Thomas Mueller sagely observed, “You don’t only need chiefs, you also need a few Indians. You need people who are willing to do the hard work. It may be a problem with England that players are simply not mentally prepared to go that extra mile for their team-mates.” Spot on I’d say.
England could learn a thing or two from the humanitarian, South African concept of ubuntu which speaks to the essence of humanity – that we cannot exist as human beings in isolation.
Certainly the players need to take the bulk of the blame. But what of Fabio Capello and his £6 million annual salary? For he’s not such a jolly Capello after all. Master tactician – I think not. England are playing the same dire football with the same dire problems as they were when he took over in January 2008. He’s had two and a half years to find a strike partner for Rooney, to find a left sided mid-fielder, to experiment with and work out a winning formation and to realise that Lampard and Gerrard can’t play together. Fabio hit the headlines just before the World Cup by lending his name to the hair-brained ‘Capello Index’ whereby he was going to rate the players after each World Cup match. He then proceeded to beg a few players to reconsider their retirement from International football – hardly good for team moral – and went on to select a decrepit defence that was always going to struggle against pace. And as for Emile Heskey, well he should have been out of the England setup years ago. Unfathomable, given his England record of 21 goals in 38 caps, that Peter Crouch didn’t start.
The Brits were outraged about the MP expense scandal – it dominated headlines for months. Something must be done they said, “Off with their heads.” And so it was that a number of MPs lost their seats and left politics in shame. And as for the fat cats in the City? Criminal sanctions, job losses and heavy restrictions on bonuses. Yet nothing is done about the outrageous sums paid to supposedly top footballers or about their feckless behaviour. These are the real role models of our children and it’s time someone stepped up to the plate. Cap their salaries, cap the cost of tickets, take into account the money players earn from sponsorship deals and then tax the bejesus of out of them.
Another talking point of this World Cup has been the use of technology. It is my sincere hope that aside from the use of technology in football, we also take a long hard look at the whole culture of football and the system of remuneration. It’s out of hand and perhaps hosting the World Cup in Africa has helped to highlight the egregious extravagance of FIFA and the player’s salaries.
FIFA is running a dangerous monopoly with far too much power. Football is the people’s game, yet everywhere you look this World Cup you will see the letters TM – including after the official slogan ‘Ke Nako’ – ‘It’s time’. African words now the property of FIFA.
MATCH was the accommodation agent set up by FIFA – another sham designed to profit from South Africa instead of allowing the money to flow freely into the communities that need it most. After promising the World to many hotel and guest house owners, Match eventually relinquished more than 450,000 of the bed nights it had initially reserved just weeks before the World Cup was due to start meaning that the beds simply didn’t get filled.
Despite all the greed, South Africa has triumphed and has played its part in protecting the essence of football. South Africa has shown, once again, the power of sport to unite and uplift communities. The tide is turning and I hope that integrity and humility can be restored to the beautiful game before it is too late.
