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Football

The curse of madness at SA 2010

When Kaka gets a controversial red card and it does not make headlines, then you know something is wrong. When the reigning world champions draw 1-1 with the lowest ranked team at the World Cup finals, then something is not right. The 2010 Fifa World Cup finals is churning out a buffet of shocks, excitement, controversy and, quite frankly, sheer madness here in South Africa. Ghanaians would obviously want to focus solely on the chances of their team the Black Stars and how the once shining bright prospects of qualification to the round of 16 has now been slightly dimmed following a 1-1 draw with Australia. It was a match many observers believe Ghana could have won comfortably with a bit more purpose by players and tactical variation by coach Milovan Rajevac. After the game, there were reports of 'player unrest' and tension but that appears to have quickly evaporated with the focus now on progression to the second round which is possible even with a draw against the ''German machine'' on Wednesday. So before Ghanaians start complaining and crying foul,they should count their blessings that their team remains amongst the lucky few not to have been affected by the curse of madness here at SA 2010. As you read this report, the Football Association of England is in crisis as their Italian coach Fabio Capello contemplates resignation if the ''Three Lions'' draw or lose to Slovenia on Wednesday, according to a BBC report. What a turn of events for one of the so called World Cup favourites given that Capello renegotiated his four-year contract just 18 days ago. The reason for the crisis? Senior England players want a change in tactics. If you think the English are in trouble, what about Nigeria and France? First Nigeria, mathematically still in with a chance of qualification,the Super Eagles camp has been rocked by revelations that midfielder Sani Kaita has had more than 1,000 death threats since being sent off in the 2-1 loss to Greece. Team spokesman Peterside Idah told the BBC that they are treating the threats seriously. "We are taking these threats very seriously. We've spoken to the Nigerian government and also written to Fifa." In an another West African camp there is calm this morning as Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen has vowed to stay on despite being the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. "I will not resign," was his response to a question by my BBC colleague Ibrahim Sannie at a post match press conference. The former Lyon coach added "I don't have any regrets and that's not how I operate." Only time will tell whether how he operates, will stand the test of Africa's zero tolerance to patient team building and planning. The drama does not end with the Cameroon team because France President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked his sports minister Roselyne Bachelot to extend her stay in South Africa and calm emotions as well as tempers as captain Patrice Evra, Raymond Domenech and France Football chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes preapre for showdown talks today. Moments before a public training session was about to begin on Sunday, coach Domenech had to separate his captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne from exchanging blows. The genesis of the trouble stems from Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the squad for verbally abusing his coach. The World Cup is only now warming up and the irony of this edition is that temperatures can drop to below freezing and we still call it a truly African World Cup. Credit: Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, e.Ghana

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.