This day in World Cup history - July 5

Author: Peter Auf der Heyde

1975 - Argentina striker Hernan Crespo is born. The forward played in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 finals and finds the net three times in 2006, but can do nothing as Argentina bow out against the hosts in the quarter-finals.

1982 - Italy qualify for the semi-finals. Paolo Rossi is the Italian hero as the Juventus striker, who had returned just in time from a lengthy ban imposed for his involvement in a betting scandal to make the World Cup squad, scores three goals against Brazil in their last match of the second group phase. Against Poland in the semi-finals, Rossi scored a brace that helped his side through to the final with a 2-0 win. In the final, Italy took on Germany and with the match evenly poised, Rossi scored his side's first to put the side on the road to victory. Italy won 3-1 to win their third championship.

1982 - AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino is born on the same day as Rossi scores his hat-trick against Brazil. 24 years later Gilardino himself plays World Cup football as he helps Italy into the semi-finals.

1994 - Italian striker Gianfranco Zola is sent off on his 28th birthday in a World Cup second round match against Nigeria. Italy beat the Africans 2-1 and go on to qualify for the final which they lose on a penalty shoot-out against Brazil. The game against the Super Eagles was the only match Zola plays at the World Cup finals.

2006 - Two people are killed in Ethiopia by Islamic militiamen during a clash over illegal viewing of the World Cup semi-final between Germany and Italy. The militiamen attacked a cinema and ordered the owner to stop the match being shown as this was illegal under local Islamic law, and because men and women were viewing it together. The owner refused and was shot dead. Shortly afterwards a woman was killed in an armed clashed on a nearby street as local people protested over the attack.

dpa adh mis
 

Johannesburg (dpa)

Yellow and red cards at World Cup

7/4/2010 3:12:16 PM

List of yellow and red cards issued at the 2010 World Cup by the end of Saturday, July 3 (60 of 64 games):

Red cards (9)

     Australia (2):
     Tim Cahill
     Harry Kewell

     Brazil (1):
     Felipe Melo

     France (1):
     Yoann Gourcuff

     Nigeria (1)
     Sani Kaita

     Portugal (1):
     Ricardo Costa

     South Africa (1):
     Itumeleng Khune

     Switzerland (1):
     Valon Behrami

     Uruguay (1):
     Luis Suarez

Yellow-red cards (7):

     Algeria (2):
     Abdelkader Ghezzal, Antar Yahia

     Brazil (1):
     Kaka

     Chile (1):
     Marco Estrada

     Germany (1):
     Miroslav Klose

     Serbia (1):
     Aleksandar Lukovic

     Uruguay (1):
     Nicolas Lodeiro

Yellow cards (224):

     Chile (13):
     Carlos Carmona (2), Matias Fernandez (2), Gary Medel (2), Waldo Ponce (2), Humberto Suazo, Jorge Valdivia, Ismael Fuentes, Arturo Vidal, Rodrigo Millar

     Netherlands (12):
     Nigel de Jong (2), Robin van Persie, Gregory van der Wiel (2), Dirk Kuyt, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben, Maarten Stekelenburg, Andre Ooijer, John Heitinga

     Ghana (11):
     Andre Ayew (2), Anthony Annan, Hans Sarpei, Isaac Vorsah, John Mensah, John Pantsil, Jonathan Mensah (2), Lee Addy, Prince Tagoe

     Slovakia (11):
     Jan Durica, Jan Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Robert Vittek, Stanislav Sestak, Vladimir Weiss, Zdeno Strba (2), Juraj
     Kucka, Kamil Kopunek, Martin Skrtel
    
     Mexico (9):
     Efrain Juarez (2), Francisco Rodriguez, Gerardo Torrado, Guillermo Franco, Hector Moreno, Israel Castro, Javier Hernandez, Rafael Marquez

     Paraguay (9):
     Antolin Alcaraz, Claudio Morel, Cristian Riveros, Enrique Vera, Jonathan Santana, Roque Santa Cruz, Victor Caceres (3)

     Slovenia (9):
     Aleksander Radoslavljevic, Andrej Komac, Andraz Kirm, Bojan Jokic(2), Bostjan Cesar, Marko Suler, Valter Birsa, Zlatko Dedic

     US (9):
     Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Jay DeMerit, Jozy Altidore, Ricardo Clark, Robbie Findley (2), Steven Cherundolo (2)

     Germany (8):
     Arne Friedrich, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Cacau, Mesut Oezil, Philipp Lahm, Sami Khedira, Thomas Mueller (2)

     Serbia (8):
     Aleksandar Kolarov, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Vidic, Neven Subotic, Nikola Zigic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Aleksandar Lukovic, Milos Ninkovic

     Portugal (8):
     Hugo Almeida, Pedro Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Coentrao, Duda, Pepe, Tiago (2)

     Switzerland (8):
     Diego Benaglio, Hakan Yakin, Reto Ziegler, Stephane Grichting, Tranquillo Barnetta, Gokhan Inler, Blaise Nkufo, Gelson Fernandez

     Argentina (7):
     Jonas Gutierrez (2), Gabriel Heinze, Javier Mascherano (2), Mario Bolatti, Nicolas Otamendi

     Australia (7):
     Carl Valeri, Craig Moore (2), Lucas Neill, Brett Emerton, Luke Wilkshire, Michael Beauchamp

     Brazil (7):
     Ramires (2), Felipe Melo, Juan, Luis Fabiano, Kaka, Michel Bastos

     Honduras (7):
     Wilson Palacios (2), Emilio Izaguirre, Danilo Turcios, Osman Chavez, David Suazo, Hendry Thomas

     Japan (7):
     Yasuhito Endo, Yuki Abe, Yuto Nagatomo, Daisuke Matsui, Yuto Natatomo, Keisuke Honda, Yasuhito Endo
    
     Denmark (6):
     Simon Kjaer (2), Thomas Sorensen, Christian Poulsen, Nicklas Bendtner, Per Kroldrup

     England (6):
     James Milner, Jamie Carragher (2), Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson (2)

     France (6):
     Abou Diaby, Franck Ribery, Jaremy Toulalan (2), Patrice Evra, Eric Abidal

     New Zealand (6):
     Tony Lochhead, Winston Reid, Rory Fallon, Ryan Nelsen (2), Tommy Smith

     South Korea (6):
     Lee Chung Yong, Ki Hun Yeom, Kim Nam Il, Cha Du Ri, Cho Yong Hyung, Lee Chung Yong

     Uruguay (6):
     Diego Lugano, Diego Perez, Egidio Arevalo, Jorge Fucile (2), Mauricio Victorino
    
     Cameroon (5):
     Nicolas Nkoulou (2), Stephane Mbia (2), Sebastien Bassong

     Greece (5):
     Vasilios Torosidis, Alexandros Tziolis, Georgios Samaras, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Konstantinos Katsouranis

     Italy (5):
     Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Mauro Camoranesi, Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella

     Ivory Coast (5):
     Didier Zokora, Guy Demel, Kader Keita, Ismael Tiote, Siaka Tiene

     Nigeria (5):
     Atanda Ayila Yussuf, Chinedu Obasi (2), Lukman Haruna, Vincent Enyeama
    
     Algeria (4):
     Hassan Yebda (2), Mehdi Lacen (2)

     South Africa (4):
     Kagisho Dikgacoi (2), Peter Masilela, Steven Pienaar

     Spain (3):
     Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso

     North Korea (2):
     Hong Yong Jo, Pak Chol Jin

 

Johannesburg (dpa)

Goalscorers at World Cup

7/4/2010 3:07:23 PM

List of goalscorers at the 2010 World Cup after matches on Saturday, July 3 (60 of 64 matches):
 

5 Goals: David Villa (Spain)
 

4 Goals: Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
               Miroslav Klose (Germany)
               Thomas Mueller (Germany)
               Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
               Robert Vittek (Slovakia)
 

3 Goals: Luis Fabiano (Brazil)
               Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
               Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
               Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
               Landon Donovan (US)
 

2 Goals: Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
               Brett Holman (Australia)
               Elano (Brazil)
               Robinho (Brazil)
               Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)
               Lukas Podolski (Germany)
               Keisuke Honda (Japan)
               Javier Hernandez (Mexico)
               Kalu Uche (Nigeria)
               Tiago (Portugal)
               Lee Chung Yong (South Korea)
               Lee Jung Soo (South Korea)
 

1 Goal: Martin Demichelis (Argentina)
               Gabriel Heinze (Argentina)
               Martin Palermo (Argentina)
               Tim Cahill (Australia)
               Maicon (Brazil)
               Juan (Brazil)
               Jean Beausejour (Chile)
               Mark Gonzalez (Chile)
               Rodrigo Millar (Chile)
               Niklas Bendtner (Denmark)
               Dennis Rommedahl (Denmark)
               Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark)
               Jermaine Defoe (England)
               Steven Gerrard (England)
               Matthew Upson (England)
               Florent Malouda (France)
               Cacau (Germany)
               Arne Friedrich (Germany)
               Mesut Oezil (Germany)
               Kevin Prince Boateng (Ghana)
               Sulley Muntari (Ghana)
               Dimitrios Salpingidis (Greece)
               Vasilios Torosidis (Greece)
               Daniele De Rossi (Italy)
               Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy)
               Antonio di Natale (Italy)
               Fabio Quagliarella (Italy)
               Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
               Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast)
               Romaric (Ivory Coast)
               Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
               Yasuhito Endo (Japan)
               Shinji Okazaki (Japan)
               Rafael Marquez (Mexico)
               Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico)
               Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands)
               Arjen Robben(Netherlands)
               Robin van Persie (Netherlands)
               Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands)
               Shane Smeltz (New Zealand)
               Winston Reid (New Zealand)
               Ayebeni Yakubu (Nigeria)
               Ji Yun Nam (North Korea)
               Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay)
               Cristian Riveros (Paraguay)
               Enrique Vera (Paraguay)
               Hugo Almeida (Portugal)
               Liedson (Portugal)
               Raul Meireles (Portugal)
               Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
               Simao (Portugal)
               Milan Jovanovic (Serbia)
               Marko Pantelic (Serbia)
               Kamil Kopunek
               Valter Birsa (Slovenia)
               Robert Koren (Slovenia)
               Zlatan Ljubijankic (Slovenia)
               Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa)
               Bongani Khumalo (South Africa)
               Katlego Mphela (South Africa)
               Park Ji Sung (South Korea)
               Park Chu Young (South Korea)
               Andres Iniesta (Spain)
               Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)
               Alvaro Pereira (Uruguay)
               Michael Bradley (US)
               Clint Dempsey (US)
 

Own goals (2)

1 goal:    Daniel Agger (Denmark)
               Park Chu Young (South Korea)

Johannesburg (dpa)

Players suspended for their next World Cup match

7/4/2010 3:09:00 PM

Semi-finals

Thomas Mueller (Germany) - Second yellow card
Nigel de Jong (Netherlands) - Second yellow card
Gregory van der Wiel (Netherlands) - Second yellow card
Jorge Fucile (Uruguay) - Second yellow card
Luis Suarez (Uruguay) - Red card

Johannesburg (dpa)

BRING ON BRAZIL, SAY CONFIDENT PORTUGAL

Michael Logan, dpa

Ever since Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast were drawn together in this year's Group of Death, one assumption has remained unchallenged: Brazil would win the group.

Not any more.

Portugal's 7-0 Monday thumping of North Korea - the final Group G side - was impressive in its own right. But it was doubly so when compared to how Brazil huffed and puffed against the same team. While Brazil had to endure a nervous last few minutes against the tiny communist nation in their opening game, emerging with a 2-1  victory, Portugal put on a scintillating show. The goals, scored by six different players, ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The outstanding Tiago's gorgeous through ball and Raul Meireles' emphatic finish for the first goal was the sublime. Cristiano Ronaldo's 87 minute goal, when the ball ricocheted off the captain's back and heavily gelled barnet to land at his feet for a tap-in, was the ridiculous. It was Portugal's biggest-ever win the World Cup, but the real significance lies in the confidence the Europeans will take into their match with the Selecao.

Atletico Madrid's Tiago, to whom official Man of the Match Ronaldo chummily handed over his bauble, says Portugal now have eyes only for the Brazilians. "We played good football, we're happy for that as much as for scoring a lot of goals," he said after the game in Cape Town's Green Point stadium. "Now we start to think about playing Brazil and looking to finish first in the group." There is absolutely no reason why the Portuguese cannot take out Brazil - particularly given Ronaldo has finally broken an international scoring duck that stretched back to February 2009 and could begin banging them in.

Many commentators seem to have been blinded by Brazil's bright yellow jerseys when lavishing praise on the South Americans. While Brazil are undoubtedly strong, they are not in the same class as sides of yore, as their spotty performances in the World Cup so far have shown. Even Argentina boss Diego Maradona felt obliged to point out Brazil were not hitting the heights. "I like Brazil even though they are not playing well and even if they have to use their arms to score," the man responsible for the most famous handball in World Cup history said cheekily in reference to Luis Fabiano's second against the Ivory Coast in a 3-1 victory. Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz is targeting a third successive clean sheet in a game he says puts his team's "reputation and prestige" on the line.

But he knows his men will need to be at the height of their powers.  "The game we played today will not help us overcome Brazil, we will have to muster up the same kind of performance," Queiroz said. Should Portugal produce the victory they so desire, they will no doubt find themselves among the favourites.

COURTESY OF DEUTCHE PRESSE AGENTUR

PLAYERS SUSPENDED FOR THEIR NEXT WORLD CUP = 6/22/2010 4:50:51 AM

Johannesburg (dpa)

Third group match:

Harry Kewell (Australia) - Red card

Sani Kaita (Nigeria) - Red card

Valon Behrami (Switzerland) - Red card*

Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) - Red card

Kaka (Brazil) - Yellow/Red card

Miroslav Klose (Germany) - Yellow/Red card

Jonas Gutierrez (Argentina) - Second yellow card

Craig Moore (Australia) - Second yellow card

Carlos Carmona (Chile) - Second yellow card

Matias Fernandez (Chile) - Second yellow card

Simon Kjaer (Denmark) - Second Yellow card

Jamie Carragher (England) - Second yellow card

Jeremy Toulalan (France) - Second yellow card

Efrain Juarez (Mexico) - Second yellow card

Kagisho Dikgacoi (South Africa) - Second yellow card

Robbie Findley (United States) - Second yellow card

GERMANY, THE EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

By César Luis Menotti

All the teams at the World Cup in South Africa have had their first outings, some are setting out on their second appearances at the tournament, hoping to get beyond the group phase.

However, the general feeling is that up to now that the sense of tension in this World Cup is only being maintained by the hopes generated by the spectacle alone, the festivities.

The feeling in the stadiums is that of "fiesta time" and this is nourished by the fact that these fiestas are indeed the best. They are noisy and colourful, but football fans, with few exceptions, can find no other satisfaction than the hope of a good game.

But this hope of a good game is only being fulfilled by a few teams. The best of them is Germany. They, as no other team, understand how order and disorder complement each other. This is their concept and, using this as a base, organise themselves, win games, score goals and excite the fans. As Argentinian author Osvaldo Bayer said about the German team in the match against Australia: “It looked more like a waltz than a military march".

Argentina was the second outstanding team. All the organised disorder is generated by Messi and at times Tevez. Their talent is possessing a definite idea of ball possession paired with good technique. But Argentina will have to pay more attention in their defence where problems in zonal coverage by the outside defenders could be observed.

Brazil, however, didn’t show any spark at all, didn’t shine. They did not waltz but, however, managed to stay faithful to their traditions, embodied by the dribbling of Robinho and the deep, effective passes of Maicon.

Spain, in spite of the result, did not forefeit its identity, expressed by the playing of Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Piqué. What they were missing was the Messi of Barcelona, someone capable of changing the tempo of play. There was no one to break up the rhythm of the game. Neither Iniesta, nor Villa, both who needed more space to bring their valuable goalscoring abilities to the fore.

Switzerland won, because in football as in life itself, chance plays a role. Switzerland hardly got near the opposing penalty area, they defended with eight and at times nine players, closing their ranks at their own penalty area, leaving their opponents no space to manoeuvre.

However, there was nothing of note from the other teams. Italy had nothing to offer, neither did England, nor France, nor Portugal. There are some teams who still have to learn that discipline carried out to excess ends up in inflexibility.

The fear of losing order, or the state of being over-disciplined, terminated in a certain vulgarisation of many teams, especially in the case of the African participants, who seem to have lost the joy of playing, which means a de-culturalisation of their individual style, a great disappointment.

Holland, on the other hand, can grow, can continue to be the Holland faithful to the idea of creating order, then disorder and organisation. They showed a team capable of providing a good game.

All in all, at the World Cup fear has been at the forefront of things up to now. This has manifested itself in concepts and tactics based on discipline, order, caution. The few have gone forward with a minimum of possibilities, the majority is unnecessarily afraid.

Creating order, disorder, organisation means nothing more and nothing less than "I want to play better than the other guy". The teams who can write this on their flag, who can adhere to this concept, will be the better teams, especially in the group of the protagonists, say, Germany, Holland, Argentina, Brazil (in spite of Dunga), Spain (in spite of their defeat), as well as Chile, perhaps the Ivory Coast.

Let us take time to reflect. Let us hope that ingenuity and skill will prevail, but the skill of originality, not that of deception. I am not interested in cheap tricks, on waiting for a champion just to bask in his reflected glory. I want to enjoy watching Germany with Oezil, Brazil with Robinho, Argentina with Messi, Holland with Sneijder.

But in order for these virtuoso violinists to take wing and play, they need the double basses to define the beat. The tactics and discipline they customarily use to unsettle their opponents must lead in the end to the strategy of a conviction to play to win.

(c) César Luis Menotti 2010, distributed by Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Messi and other stars short of a team

By Veronica Sardon, dpa

Buenos Aires (dpa) - Argentina have a problem that looks difficult to solve in the run-up to the World Cup: they have Lionel Messi but cannot get him to play as he does at the glittering Barcelona.

Messi is arguably the world's best player, Barcelona is arguably the world's best team, and Argentina currently stand before the huge challenge of building a side in which the young superstar can flourish as he has proved he can do.

In fact, Argentina do not just have Messi. They also have other in-form strikers, like Carlos Tevez and Diego Milito. They have long-established midfielders like Javier Mascherano and Juan Sebastian Veron, defenders like Walter Samuel and Martin Demichelis... and even a legendary coach like Diego Maradona.

What they conspicuously lack is a team, a connection between the parts that makes the whole worthy of being considered a candidate to the title in South Africa 2010.

Maradona, his men and others in the football-crazy South American country look forward to having the pieces come together when they train and work together for a full month before the World Cup. Perhaps that way they can get things to happen.

Argentina qualified for South Africa at the last minute, regularly underperformed on the pitch despite fielding scores of players in total and suffered humiliating defeats. They even had coach Alfio Basile sacked and Maradona brought in to motivate players who are otherwise widely regarded as global stars.

So far, the only thing that seems clear in the run-up to South Africa is that Messi and Argentina need each other. "What he won with his club is tremendous, he needs to put the icing on the cake by winning the World Cup," legendary Argentine striker Mario Kempes said recently.

And Messi, set to turn 23 in South Africa, agrees. "To become a legend, to be great, you also have to win a World Cup," he said in an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo.

Argentina need to win the World Cup that they already won in 1978 and 1986. And Messi, who has already won everything with Barcelona, needs a team that can be his springboard to precocious greatness - real greatness, of the kind that can only be sealed in a World Cup.

Before that can happen, a new set of connections needs to emerge on the pitch.

"Diego and his team-mates need a committed and convinced Lionel. And Lionel needs his coach and team-mates to believe in him, but not to leave him alone in what is a shared responsibility," says prestigious Argentine analyst Juan Pablo Varsky.

Getting to the nitty-gritty, another Barcelona legend thinks Maradona can learn valuable lessons from the Catalan club.

"Nobody at Barca wears himself out less than Leo. If he spent the match running, chasing his moment, when it came he would have no spark, he would be exhausted by the time he had to shoot," Johan Cruyff explained.

"Many ask themselves, and ask me, why Leo is not like that when he plays for Argentina. Because his team-mates are not the same, or even his situation on the pitch, and he is forced to run, to sort out his life individually, and he wastes energy in a pointless way," Cruyff added.

Argentina have Messi, but so far they have been embarrassingly unable to make the most of having him, just as Messi has been unable to be in the Argentine blue-and-white shirt even half the player that has astonished the football world in Barca's blue-and-red shirt.

South Africa will be a chance for Messi to redeem himself in the eyes of Argentine fans and to attain the only portion of football glory that he cannot aspire to with Barcelona.

It remains to be seen whether Argentina can provide him with the structure Messi needs to shine, and rise to greatness as a team in the process.

THE COACH - DIEGO MARADONA

Diego Maradona, 49, is a global football legend, one of the game's three greatest players in history.

As a player, he led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, and he sealed his legend against England in the quarter-finals of that tournament, with the so-called Hand of God goal, which should have been disallowed, and with a magnificent dribbling effort that was voted the goal of the 20th century.

As a coach, however, he has had very little experience at club level, and both there and in the national team he has so far failed to convince fans and commentators alike of his aptitude for the position.

Courtesy of Deutsche Presse-Agentur

STADIUM: Free State Stadium: Rugby and football live together

Bloemfontein, South Africa (dpa) - Football and rugby have not always enjoyed a very harmonious relationship in South Africa.

In the apartheid days, rugby was considered the sport of the ruling white minority, while football was the sport of the black majority, who enjoyed no political rights.

In the capital of the Free State province, Bloemfontein, the Free State Stadium stands as a shining example that the two sports can quite comfortably exist next to - and with - each other.

The Cheetahs rugby team, which competes in the Super 14 series, where it plays against teams from Australia and New Zealand, and the Bloemfontein Celtic football club, both use the stadium for some of their home games.

There is a flip-side to this sharing though as the doubling-up has caused some extra work for the groundsmen as the pitch requires extra care due to frequent use and tough rugby matches being played at the venue.

Built in 1952 as a rugby stadium, it was upgraded for the 2009 Confederations Cup and saw one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when the US managed to beat the European champions Spain in the semi-final.

During the refurbishment, the capacity was increased from 38,000 to 45,000, with a larger media centre, as well as increased parking also being introduced.

Last year's Confederations Cup was not the first time the stadium has hosted matches during an international competition as the venue was used for both the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations a year later, which South Africa won.

Free State Stadium, which is centrally situated in Bloemfontein and thus easily accessible, will host six matches, including a potentially decisive game for the hosts in Group A against France on June 22, during the World Cup.

The stadium will also see one round of the last 16 being played, which could potentially see a repeat of the 1966 World Cup final between Germany and England, should one of the two teams win their group and the other finish runner-up.

Visitors to late matches in the stadium will be well advised to dress warmly though as Bloemfontein has one of the coldest climates during winter nights and the stadium does not offer a lot of protection against the cold.

Matches (kick-off times in gmt):

June 14 1600 Group E Japan v Cameroon

June 17 1400 Group B Greece v Nigeria

June 20 1130 Group F Slovakia v Paraguay

June 22 1400 Group A France v South Africa

June 25 1830 Group H Switzerland v Honduras

June 27 1400 Round of 16 1D v 2C

Factfile:

Stadium: Free State Stadium

City: Mangaung/Bloemfontein

Built: 1952

Construction: medium upgrade

Completion: 2008

Gross Capacity (after upgrade): 45,058

Courtesy of Deutsche Presse-Agentur

STADIUM: Cape Town Stadium

Cape Town (dpa) - Cape Town's new World Cup stadium has it in spades.

The 66,000-seater stadium is nestled at the base of Cape Town's iconic flat-topped Table Mountain, a few hundred metres from the Atlantic Ocean in the Greenpoint neighbourhood.

The stadium will host nine World Cup games, including a semi-final on July 6.

It's not the biggest of the 10 stadiums - Soccer City is bigger - but it has the biggest price tag of 4.5 billion rand (616 million dollars). That's more than Beijing's Bird Nest.

Cape Town's 2010 manager Pieter Cronje says the stadium's spectacular setting hiked up the costs by 1.2 billion rand.

The wind that barrels down Table Mountain was the biggest headache.

"It's as if you're driving on the motorway and you get caught in the slipstream of a passing truck," Robert Hormes, the German-born stadium architect explained to dpa.

Around 400 extra tonnes of steel had to be brought in to prevent the retractable roof from shaking violently.

Special measures also had to be taken to prevent noise and light pollution, given the stadium's location in a residential area, near the city centre.

The outer teflon-coated fibre glass membrane diffuses the light at night, giving the oval stadium a soft, almost fairytale quality.

From the beginning, the venue was beset by controversy. Many said the stadium was too far from the Cape Flats - the vast area of black and mixed-race townships to the south-east of the city, where most football fans live.

Others argued that the city's rugby stadium should have been upgraded for the World Cup instead of building a new venue, which could become a white elephant.

The city has two Premier Soccer League teams, Ajax Cape Town and Santos, but neither team has enough support to fill a stadium of this size.

A consortium composed of Stade de France and local company SAIL has been chosen to operate the stadium after the World Cup. It plans to attract concerts, operas and other big events.

Meanwhile, the public park around the stadium, Greenpoint Common, is also getting a facelift. During the World Cup, a Fan Mile will link the stadium with the city's main train station.

Matches:

June 16 1130 Group H Honduras v Chile

June 11 1830 Group A Uruguay v France

June 14 1830 Group F Italy v Paraguay

June 18 1830 Group C England v Algeria

June 21 1130 Group G Portugal v North Korea

June 24 1830 Group E Cameroon v Netherlands

June 29 1830 Round of 16 1H v 2G July 3 1600

Quarter-finals W52 v W51

July 6 1830 Semi-finals W58 v W57

Factfile:

Name: Cape Town Stadium

City: Cape Town

Construction: new

Completion: 2009

Gross Capacity: 66,005

Courtesy of Deutsche Presse-Agentur