Manchester United chief executive David Gill has hinted at more signings by the club this summer.
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Tag: worries CBC.ca | Serbia ease past Japan in World Cup warm-up Bangkok Post Serbia forward Dragan Mrda(L) fights for the ball with Japan defenders Yuhei Tokunaga(C) and Yuji Nakazawa during their international friendly football ... Japan Won't Lose The Plot This Time, Says Inamoto World Football Serbia coach Antic torpedos Japan's World Cup target |
Barcelona gem Lionel Messi scored four goals in a rout of Arsenal to set up a mouth-watering semi-final with Jose Mourinho's Inter, who edged CSKA.
Goal.com's Tim Sturtridge reports on new worries for Brazil international Adriano, Martin Palermo's dry streak at Boca threatening his World Cup place and Uruguay getting closer to the fans…... Read more...
Overlooked amid the inquest into Liverpool's display at Birmingham was Joe
Hart's brilliant performance in goal.
Nickname: Bafana Bafana (The Boys)
FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: #88
Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira is not South African, he’s Brazilian. But he’s not any old Brazilian, he’s the man that won the 1994 World 
Cup, ending Brazil’s 24 year World Cup drought. He also coached Kuwait in the 1982 World Cup, the United Arab Emirates in the 1990 World Cup and Saudi Arabia in the 1998 World Cup. He also returned to coach Brazil at the 2006 World Cup. But that didn’t go as well as the first time. Parreira took the South Africa job in 2007, a big name for a big job, but had to resign in 2008, due to his wife’s illness. Compatriot Joel Santana was his unsuccessful replacement, and Parreira returned to the job in late 2009.
Key Players: Aaron Mokoena is South Africa’s captain and currently their most capped player. He’s a physical defender, but has been part of a depressing Portsmouth team in the English Premier League this season. At least he has the World Cup to look forward to. Steven Pienaar is a creative midfielder/winger with a few tricks up his sleeve and (usually) a silly haircut. Striker Benni McCarthy has been on and off with international duty lately, but is South Africa’s all-time top scorer and most accomplished striker having notched goals in the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and England.
Player with best YouTube video: Steven Pienaar.
Player with best name: Innocent Mdledle. Like the smoothie.
Player with best nickname: Aaron Mokoena is known as “Mbazo” or “The Axe”. Which is why we recommend opposition strikers get out of his way.
Qualification: As tournament hosts, South Africa qualified automatically. But because Africa Cup of Nations 2010 and World Cup 2010 qualification were merged, South Africa still went through the qualification process, and were knocked out in the Second Round.
Interesting: When 6ft 6.5in centre back Matthew Booth has the ball, the South Africa fans sound like they’re booing him. But they’re not, they’re just doing a long chant of his name: “Booooooooooo-ooooooooooth!”.
National Anthem: The South Africa national anthem diplomatically mixes the two pre-apartheid anthems into one, and also incorporates five of the most widely spoken languages in South Africa. A masterpiece of reconciliation. Listen to the South African national anthem, and other Group A anthems, here.
Kit: Yellow shirt, green shorts, green socks. Home jersey looks like this:
Read our review here, or buy your South Africa jersey here.
Squad: South Africa World Cup squad page.
World Cup History:
1998 – First Round
2002 – First Round
 CBC.ca | Can South Africa leaders cool racial tensions after killing of white supremacist? Christian Science Monitor By Savious Kwinika, Contributor / April 5, 2010 South Africa leaders are stepping up attempts to calm racial tensions in the wake the brutal killing of ... Vengeance vowed in S. Africa | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/05/2010 World Cup Race War Possible After Murder The rainbow nation loses its glow |
 Mirror.co.uk | World cup tickets unsold AsiaOne It is understood that sponsors have returned 378000 tickets while 650000 more have been handed back by various football associations, reported the Mirror. ... Animal attractions, but low-key games in Nelspruit Bringing Cup to Africa meant overcoming challenges 1M TICKETS UNSOLD |
Inter Milan’s defeat to AS Roma at the weekend has sparked worries that the Serie A leaders are suffering from fatigue ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg at hom... Read more...
Siena won yet again as they continue to fight against relegation while Atalanta too eased their relegation worries with a marvelous home win.... Read more...