SOUTH AFRICA'S WORLD CUP HISTORY

Team Profile: South Africa

GettyImagesSouth Africa played at their first finals in 1998

Appearances at finals:
1998 - First round
2002 - First round
Overall record at finals: Played 6, Won 1, Draw 3, Lost 2.
Best performance: First round in 1998 and 2002.
Most appearances at finals: Lucas Radebe (1998, 2002), Quinton Fortune (1998, 2002), Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002) - 6.
Most goals at finals: Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002), Shaun Bartlett (1998) - 2.
World Cup high: Their first ever finals victory at their second tournament appearance in 2002, beating Slovenia 1-0 with a Siyabonga Nomvethe goal the difference between the sides.
World Cup low: Bafana Bafana's embarrassing failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finishing third in their qualification group behind Ghana and Congo DR, after having been named hosts of the 2010 tournament.
World Cup legend: Benni McCarthy is the country's record goal-scorer and second most capped player, with 31 goals in 76 appearances. He scored at the 1998 and 2002 tournaments against Denmark and Spain respectively.
The story so far: The history of the South African football team, like the country itself, has been greatly affected by the system of apartheid. The enforced racial segregation of the country was hugely contentious and numerous attempts were made to suspend the national side from FIFA because the country's constitution prohibited the fielding of racially mixed teams. But South Africa, along with Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, were one of the founding members of the Confederation of African Football and continued to escape expulsion because of a widespread reluctance for FIFA to become embroiled in political matters.
They were suspended from FIFA competition in 1966 but, after the violence of the Soweto uprising in 1976, a horrified FIFA finally expelled South Africa and the national team would not play again for 16 years. In 1991, as apartheid drew to a close, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was born and the new team played its first game against Cameroon in 1992, winning 1-0. Four years later, hosting and competing in their first African Nations Cup as a multi-racial side, Bafana Bafana lifted the trophy and were joined in celebration by an overjoyed Nelson Mandela.
They went on to play in the 1998 World Cup in France and, after being soundly beaten 3-0 by the hosts in their first ever finals match, South Africa went on to earn admirable draws against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, but finished in third place in the group, two points behind the Danes.
At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, an improved South Africa side were agonisingly close to making the second round, missing out to Paraguay on goals scored. A 2-2 draw with the South Americans in the first game was followed up by a first finals victory, a 1-0 win over Slovenia. In their final game against Spain, Bafana Bafana twice came from behind but were denied by a Raul goal as Jose Antonio Camacho's side narrowly triumphed 3-2. A disappointing failure to qualify for the 2006 finals followed but in 2004 it had been announced that, in 2010, South Africa would become the first African country to host the World Cup.
Qualification: As hosts, South Africa qualified for the tournament automatically but did play a number of friendlies while qualification was taking place. They were involved in the first stage of African qualifying with a place at the 2010 African Nations Cup at stake but finished 11 points adrift of Nigeria in the group, missing out on a place at the tournament.
It has been a tumultuous time for Bafana Bafana and, although they performed creditably at the Confederations Cup - losing in the semi-finals to Brazil and the third place play-off to European Championship winners Spain by just a single goal - they continued to crash to defeat after defeat in friendlies, which eventually saw the sacking of boss Joel Santana and the re-appointment of former boss Carlos Parreira.
Qualifying record (second round): P6, W2, D1, L3, F5, A5, Pts7.
Confederations Cup record: P5, W1, D1, L3, F4, A6.
Most appearances: Kagisho Dikgacoi (11).
Top goalscorer: Kagisho Dikgacoi, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker (2).

WORLD CUP HISTORY

History of the FIFA World Cup

No other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the FIFA World Cup. Ever since the first tentative competition in Uruguay in 1930, FIFA's (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) flagship has constantly grown in popularity and prestige. A group of visionary French football administrators, led in the 1920s by the innovative Jules Rimet, are credited with the original idea of bringing the world's strongest national football teams together to compete for the title of World Champions. The original gold trophy bore Jules Rimet's name and was contested three times in the 1930s, before the Second World War put a 12-year stop to the competition. When it resumed, the FIFA World Cup rapidly advanced to its undisputed status as the greatest single sporting event of the modern world. Held since 1958 alternately in Europe and the Americas, the World Cup broke new ground with the Executive Committee's decision in May 1996 to select Korea and Japan as co-hosts for the 2002 edition. Since 1930, the 19 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However, the FIFA World Cup has also been punctuated by dramatic upsets that have helped create footballing history - the United States defeating England in 1950, North Korea's defeat of Italy in 1966, Cameroon's emergence in the 1980s and their opening match defeat of the Argentinean cup-holders in 1990.... Today, the FIFA World Cup holds the entire global public under its spell. An accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the France 98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch the 64 matches in the French stadium. After all these years and so many changes, however, the main focus of the FIFA World Cup remains the same - the glistening golden trophy, which is the embodiment of every footballer's ambition. World Cup Summaries- updated

Year Champion Runner-Up Result 3rd Place Host 1930 Uruguay Argentina 4-2 United States Uruguay 1934 Italy Czechoslovakia 2-1 (ot) Germany Italy 1938 Italy Hungary 4-2 Brazil France 1950 Uruguay Brazil 2-1 Sweden Brazil 1954 West Germany Hungary 3-2 Austria Switzerland 1958 Brazil Sweden 5-2 France Sweden 1962 Brazil Czechoslovakia 3-1 Chile Chile 1966 England West Germany 4-2 (ot) Portugal England 1970 Brazil Italy 4-1 West Germany Mexico 1974 West Germany Holland 2-1 Poland West Germany 1978 Argentina Holland 3-1 (ot) Brazil Argentina 1982 Italy West Germany 3-1 Poland Spain 1986 Argentina West Germany 3-2 France Mexico 1990 West Germany Argentina 1-0 Italy Italy 1994 Brazil Italy 0-0 (3:2 pk) Sweden United States 1998 France Brazil 3-0 Croatia France 2002 Brazil Germany 2-0 Turkey Korea / Japan 2006 Italy France 1-1 (5-4 pk) Germany Germany

Team Records Brazil holds the most World Cup championships with five, Italy is in second with four titles and West Germany/Germany holds third with three World Cup titles. Hungary has tallied the most goals in a single World Cup when they scored 27 in 1954. In the 1954  World Cup Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 for the most goals (12) combined in a World Cup match. Hungary beat El Salvador in 1982, 10-1 for the highest goal differential in a World Cup match (Hungary is also the only team to score 10 or more goals in a World Cup). Individual Records Ronaldo is the top scorer in World Cup history with 15 goals, and he is followed by Gerard Muller with 14. Salenko of Russia scored 5 goals in a match during the 1994 World Cup. Bert Patenaude of the US was the first player to ever record a hat trick (1930 World Cup). Hakan Sukur of Turkey scored the fastest goal in World Cup history in 2002 when he scored 11 seconds into the match against South Korea. Lothar Matthaus of Germany / West Germany has the most appearances by a player in the World Cup with 25. Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland was the youngest player (17 years old) to ever step on the field in World Cup (1982). Pelé of Brazil was also the youngest player to score in a World Cup (1958) match. Pelé also was the youngest player to ever win a World Cup (1958). Roger Milla of Cameroon was the oldest (42 years, 39 days) player to play in a World Cup (1994). Milla also scored a goal in that match against Russia. The first player to ever be ejected from a World Cup match was Galindo of Peru in 1930. World Cup Records The 1994 World Cup held in the United States had the highest average attendance with over 68,990 for each match. The 1950 World Cup Final (Uruguay vs. Brazil) had over 174,000 spectators for the largest number of spectators to watch a single game. While this match did determine the winner of the World Cup that year, it was not a "true final", as there was a second round of group play and the top placed team, Uruguay, was the cup winner! The 1970 World Cup Final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City had the highest Final attendance with 107,412 spectators attending the game. The 1954 World Cup held in Switzerland holds the highest average for goals per game 5.38 (140 goals in 26 matches).

messi wins

Lionel Messi Wins European Club Footballer Of The Year Award
The Argentine has been named as the continent's best.Allen Ramsey
Aug 27, 2009 12:58:27 PM

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Lionel Messi, Barcelona-Manchester United (MARCA)
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The European Club Footballer of the Year award ran parallel to the draw for the Champions League group stages, which you can discover here.Lionel Messi is officially the best player in Europe, according to UEFA, who today named him as both the overall winner of the European Club Footballer of the Year award and as the European Club Forward of the Year for his exploits when his club, Barcelona, swept all before them.The overall prize saw Messi shortlisted alongside the other three positional winners, who are revealed below, before he received the grand award.The shortlists, as well as the final winners, were selected by sixteen of Europe's top coaches, namely those who led their sides to the First Knockout Round of last year's competition.As expected, FC Barcelona dominated the nominations and ended up scooping two of the possible five accolades, while English sides such as Manchester United and Chelsea - not to mention Liverpool - were not far behind. Every single nominee came from one of these four clubs.Here we offer a full examination of each winner, as well as a look at the players each one defeated to earn their prize (or, in the case of Messi, prizes.)
EUROPEAN CLUB FOOTBALLER OF THE YEARWinner: Lionel MessiShortlisted: Edwin van der Sar, John Terry, Xavi
After the four awards below were given out, the respective winners gathered to hear which player out of these four cardinal positions was judged to be Europe's best.In the end, and to the surprise of few, Messi garnered the award.The young Argentine was asked to select his crowning moment from a memorable year, but in particularly bashful fashion he offered this response:"It's really difficult to pick just one. It was an unbelievable year which gave me so much happiness and success."
EUROPEAN CLUB FORWARD OF THE YEARWinner: Lionel MessiShortlisted: Samuel Eto'o, Cristiano Ronaldo
The Argentine was up against some stiff competition for the best forward prize, in the shape of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who reached the final of the Champions League and won the Premier League with Manchester United, and his own former team-mate Samuel Eto'o, now in Italy at Inter.All told, Messi hit nine Champions League goals last season, making him the most prolific player in the contest. He also provided five decisive assists for teammates.
EUROPEAN CLUB MIDFIELDER OF THE YEARWinner: XaviShortlisted: Andres Iniesta, Steven Gerrard
Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez was also confirmed as UEFA's club midfielder of the year at today's Champions League draw in Moncao, having beaten off competition from club colleague Andres Iniesta and Liverpool's talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard.The Spaniard was a part of the smooth-passing, aesthetically pleasing Blaugrana side who attracted plenty of praise from neutrals as they collected an astonishing treble of trophies, with their European win supplementing victories in the Copa del Rey and La Liga.
EUROPEAN CLUB DEFENDER OF THE YEARWinner: John TerryShortlisted: Gerard Pique, Nemanja Vidic
Chelsea defender John Terry was earlier named as UEFA's club defender of the year, having emerged as the best from a trio of top contenders which was completed by Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic and Barcelona's Gerard Pique.The lion-hearted Englishman was superb last season as the Blues won the FA Cup, once again showing all the leadership and commitment of a player who has now picked up this award three times."I think just to train hard every day, that's something I try and do myself," he revealed. "Especially for myself, not to get my hands on that trophy (the Champions League) is enough motivation for me. And that's something I'm aiming to do, to lift that trophy with Chelsea Football Club."
EUROPEAN CLUB GOALKEEPER OF THE YEARWinner: Edwin van der SarShortlisted: Victor Valdes, Petr Cech
Edwin van der Sar was today confirmed as UEFA's official club goalkeeper of the year, having been named as the continent's top glovesman ahead of the draw for the Champions League today in Monaco.The Manchester United keeper fought off a challenge from Chelsea's Petr Cech, the winner of the award last year, and Barcelona's Victor Valdes, who of course won a treble with the Catalans last season.Van der Sar enjoyed something of a renaissance last season, defying the critics who felt that he was too old at 38 to keep his place at Old Trafford to set a clutch of clean sheet records.

Life is about choice,do it right!!!

A young man,who just graduated from the university was so lucky,so lucky that his first search for a job earn him his heart desire,The company gave him a car, house and a blossom salary but this cmpany has a unique policy or we should perhaps,call it motto which is "Miss work lose job" meaning ,if a worker under this company miss a day in the office or work rather,with or without,(sometimes with) a genuine excuse, the worker loses his/her job."What a policy"
One day, this young man receive a phone call that his mother, the only family he had left in this world,the one who laboured to make sure his dreams come true(with the help of God) was ill and will like to see him.....what a puzzle this will be ! The only thing that could flash through his mind at that very moment was the copanys'policy"Miss work lose job".But this young man must make a choice ........
What will you do, if you are in this type of situation?

Life is all about choice, making decision(right or wrong),The kind of life we live eveyday show the type of decision/choice we make..Everyone makes choice based on desire,choice to become great or less,the choice to do things that will change this generation/life positively or negatively...........

"Success comes as a result of choice/decision we make and failure also comes as a result of these choice/decisions we make"-sulaimon ayo

"What a joy it will be to make a right choice in life, the bible says :What a joy it si to find just a right word for a right occasion (pr15:23)

All human knows the difference between good or bad, we all know what is right or wrong, we only try to dulge it because of our selfish reason and sometimes due to lack of information(ignorance)


Do it right, make it right,whatever decision you want to make in life think twice and make a right choice..............


Seek knowledge and get information because lack of information causes deformation and deformation is responsible for wrong decision/choices,it also make it live in the shadow of what appear to be right...........Stupid people are happy with their foolishness but the wise will do what is right(pr15:21)-GSAF

NB: Nobody can destroy you without your permission,get all the advice you can and you will succeed,without it you will fail(pr15:22)......So in order to succeed and not fail,make a right choice; Life is about choice, do it right.............................................



Thanks
SULAIMON AYODEJI