World Cup closer to home

RAV ILAN HERRMANN

The tapestry that is created by fans travelling from all over the globe converging on one country is a delight to watch. In full view are the multitude of flags, face and body paints, chants, noise-instruments, music and even the style of soccer distinct and unique to each nation.

Not to be completely left out, there is some Jewish connection to the World Cup, albeit minimal.

One is directly Jewish, namely midfielder Kyle Beckerman who plays for the United States. (By the way, the US caused a huge upset by beating Ghana 2 – 1 in their first round match).

While Beckerman is not a regular starter for the opening eleven, with the Americans facing a gruelling schedule in a hot Brazilian climate, bench players such as Beckerman will likely figure into coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s plans.

The other is an indirect connection. Mario Balotelli, Italy’s prolific scorer who plies his trade for AC Milan in the Italian league, is one of Italy’s key players. He was born into a family of Ghanaian immigrants in Palermo but was eventually adopted and raised by a local Italian Jewish family. Silvia Balotelli, the matriarch of the family, is the daughter of Holocaust survivors.

Balotelli has already come up trumps. Italy started off their campaign earlier this week against England with Balotelli nodding in the winner at the far post to give Italy the edge.

A further connection comes from two Nigerian players who play in the Israeli Premier League. Goalkeeper Austin Ajide and defender Juwon Oshaniwa play for Hapoel Be’ersheva and Ashdod respectively and take the field for the Nigerian national side at the World Cup.

It was of course a former Hapoel Tel Aviv player, John Paintsil, who brought probably the most visually Jewish World Cup expression in recent years. Ghanaian defender Paintsil waved an Israeli flag on the field following both of Ghana’s goals on the way to a 2 – 0 victory against the Czech Republic in the 2006 World Cup.

I wondered whether the Nigerian duo who play in Israel would take a leaf out of the Ghanaian’s antic when they face Iran in the first round on Monday night. But in a drab 0 – 0 affair there was no opportunity to wave any kind of flag!

Moving to our own African continent, our representation in Brazil comes in the form of Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Algeria. All the African sides are blessed with flair, skill and a strong physical presence.

The likely qualifying first rounders are Ivory Coast and Nigeria who (supposedly) faced relatively easier first round group games. Ivory Coast face Colombia, Japan and Greece while

Nigeria’s group seemed even more viable for qualification as they face Iran, Bosnia Herzegovina, with the toughest group fixture against a World Cup favourite Argentina. So, the draw against Iran was a rather unpleasant hiccup for them.

The most difficult contest for the Africans will be Ghana who find themselves in a group with Germany and Portugal. The other team in their group is the US who is an ever-improving side (as their win over Ghana showed) and who may be hard to beat. Ghana four years ago beat the US 2 – 1 to advance to the quarter-finals.

It was none-other than Ghana who gave Africa their biggest hope having reached the quarter finals in 2010 and so very nearly reached the semi-finals. With the score poised at 1-1, Luis Suarez the Uruguayan striker got red-carded after handling on the line in the dying seconds of extra time and a penalty was awarded.

 Striker Asamoah Gyan, however, skimmed the crossbar with the last kick of the game, forcing Ghana into extra time. The Uruguayans went on to take the penalty shootout 4 – 2.

The world that night was awoken to the threat that African sides can pose. Ghana put on a startling attacking style of play which drew huge support from across the soccer spectrum.

It was Pele who predicted in 1977 that “an African nation will win the World Cup before the year 2000”. His vision has, however, not been realised and while a continent awaits expectantly, it will be an uphill battle again this year.

The signs are there as Patrick Viera says: “When you look at how many big names African football has produced in the last few years, it’s unbelievable.”. The accomplished Viera, himself a Senegalese, moved to France and helped France secure victory in the 1998 World Cup.

Indeed big African names include the likes of Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon, whose World Cup participation has been cut short because of an injury), Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure (both Ivory Coast) who are all potential match-winners. That said, the African sides have notoriously been plagued by a lack of discipline and teamwork.

The talent and ability is there, but it takes more to win a World Cup. A side needs a more complete package especially these days when the game is so clinical and scientific.

So, can Pele’s prediction be realised in 2014 with an African team going all the way? While most would say no, soccer is an unpredictable game and stranger things have happened.