Brazil in the World Cup 2010

Cape Town is one of the host cities of the World Cup 2010, and one of the major travel destinations in the country; below, a short travel guide for those who are coming to visit Cape Town.

There are some things to do and places to see in Cape Town that it is almost bewildering and so as soon as you become tired for a while of the long sandy beaches, the gentle tanning sun and warm refreshing dips in the sea there is a long list of travel attractions waiting for you in Cape Town.

If you are on Cape Town on holiday then it is a great idea to make a list of the unmissable attractions and concentrate on visiting and experiencing them first. Obviously the top travel attractions in Cape Town which you put at the top of this list will depend upon what sort of person you are and what activities you enjoy.

If you like sports then Cape Town is awash with so many different attractions from Scuba Diving in crystalline waters to playing Golf on some of the most challenging courses in the world. Then after you have dived beneath the ocean you can do the same but with a parachute from 5,000 ft when you are learning to skydive.

If you prefer to sight see from somewhere around ground level rather than beneath the ocean or from a few thousand feet above the ground then a trip to Table Mountain has to be towards the top of your list and better still what about a walk up Table Mountain?

Actually there are a number of routes that you can take to the top of this magnificent mountain though the most used is to begin your walk at Kirstenbosch (one of the National Botanic Gardens) and walk up through Skeleton Gorge which is much more beautiful than its rather alarming name might suggest. You can book either a 5 or 7 day hike and rest assured it will be worth it.

Obviously to walk up any mountain you have to be reasonably fit but if you are not then let the younger fitter ones take the trek while you head to the Table Mountain Cableway.

The Table Mountain Cableway is one of South Africa’s wonders and was built by the British nearly a century ago and since then over 77 million people have used it to get to the top of Table Mountain. The Table Mountain Cableway will take you right to the summit of Table Mountain in around 10 minutes and so that you get a great view the cable car has an interesting feature it rotates 360 degrees offering you a breathtaking view of the city below.

The  photo to the left (by Cape Town Travel Authority) shows Mountain Table overlooking the city and the new stadium.

Today because of the wonders of the www you can buy your Table Mountain Cableway ticket on line and save waiting in line which is good news if you have little ones or are just a little impatient.

After the excitement of riding all the way up Table Mountain you may want to just have a quiet day strolling through beautiful Cape Town, make sure that towards noon you head up to Signal Hill to watch the firing of the noon day gun and witness an old tradition which before wireless and very accurate clocks and other time pieces, allowed sailors to set their chronometers before they set sail across the oceans.

In the afternoon if you want to do some shopping then the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and Canal Walk is the place to be. The V&A Waterfront and Canal Walk are world famous for an original mixture of shops, restaurants and entertainment, which allows the visitor to visit at any time of the day or night an discover something new.

Happily the V&A Waterfront and the Canal Walk are very people and tourist friendly which means that you are not only safe but also that you won’t get lost and being so very close to the centre of town you can visit many more times than just one.

And if you don’t want to walk to the V&A Waterfront or Canal Walk or indeed you prefer to do your sightseeing from a bus then that is exactly what you can do. And better still you can take advantage of the wonderful climate and take an open top bus tour of the city.

You can even hop on a Party Bus (like this one or this one), as everyone knows Cape Town is the party capital of not only South Africa but some say the entire continent of Africa and there isn’t a better way to party than on an open top big red bus.

If you have children especially teenagers then apart from the beaches and the surfing at Hout Bay, they will demand that you take them to the Ratanga Junction Theme Park to ride the Cobra. The Cobra is a fast modern rollercoaster that will rip any wig off and turn most knees to jelly. But it is by no means the only attraction at the Ratanga Junction Theme Park there are over 30 of those and lots of rides for people of all ages.

A day out at the Ratanga Junction Theme Park is well worth it and in the evening as it is so close to Canal walk why not eat out in the open at one of the wonderful restaurants before going home.

If you would like to see Cape Town from the air you can do it in several way, obviously as we mentioned above by Sky Diving or how about a Helicopter tour, there are several to choose from all of which are breathtaking, maybe you would like to fly over the city and ten skim the waves even catching sight of Blue Whales far out to sea.

Or if you are the adventurous type and have always wanted to flying in a Jet Fighter you will be delighted to know that Cape Town is the location for the only private Jet Fighter flying school in the entire world and of course you can learn to fly a jet Fighter there or maybe take a short but memorable flight in the clear blue skies above Cape Town. The choice is of course yours.

No matter what you do in Cape Town you will always have the weather with you, in one of the best places for warm sun days out in the world.

Yesterday, in an interview to the press, coach Dunga made it clear that he has no intention of including Ronaldo in the Brazilian team which will go to South Africa.

Reporters asked Dunga if some players, like Ronaldo, who have not been playing lately in the Brazilian team, could still be included in the team. Dunga said:

… Do not delude the fans, do not try to induce me to repeat the mistakes of the past. To play in the Brazilian team is not a matter of just skill, it is a matter of commitment. And it’s not me who say so, it is the group. To join the group, it is required to be competitive and commited.

Brazil was the favorite of the World Cup 2006, for the team had Ronaldinho (then the best player in the World), Kaká, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Adriano and other stars. After Brazil lost the match against France, Brazilian fans felt that several players were more committed with their own interests than the team’s.

One of the most criticized players was Ronaldo. He was said to be overweighted; he denied, but nobody never declared his actual weight. When President Lula said that he was too fat, Ronaldo replied that the President drank too much. Some people pressured the then coach Parreira do dismiss Ronaldo from the team or, at least, keep him in the bench.

"...then, you say that the President drinks too much!!!"

Ronaldo played most of the matches, scored some goals, became the player who scored most goals in World Cup. Brazil lost the Cup, and Dunga thinks that maintaining Ronaldo was a mistake, that he wouldn’t repeat.

Update, December 2nd: FIFA announced the seeds.

The  draw of the first stage of the World Cup 2010 will be conducted on December 4th; this draw will  will determine the eight groups (with four countries each) and its distribution across the host cities.

It is well known that, like in past Cups, the draw will be somewhat directed, so as to avoid that two or three favorite countries had to face off in the first stage, so eliminating one or more of them; if it were no so, it could be possible to have a group with Spain, Brazil, Italy and England in the first stage, and only two of them would progress.

There are several rules to govern the draw, and one of the most important is the definition of the seed countries. Eight seeds will be chosen, and each will be put in a different group, so avoiding a match between them in the first stage.

Today, nobody knows which countries are seeds. In a note to the media, FIFA said:

The detailed criteria to determine the seeded teams for the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ will be confirmed at the next meeting of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ in Cape Town on 2 December 2009 (and announced at a press conference following the meeting).

If the criteria to determine the seeded teams were to include, as in the past, the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, then it would be the October 2009 edition of this ranking which would be considered, and this for sporting reasons. In fact, using the November 2009 edition would create an uneven situation, specifically for the European Zone, where the play-offs involving the eight best runners-up led to an imbalance in the number of qualification matches played between the teams.

So, if the ranking of October 2009 is to be used to determine the seeds, these would be: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England (in case the most recent ranking of November were used, then  Portugal and France would be seeds, and Argentina and England wouldn’t).

By not being a seed, it is certain for a country that they will have to face one of the major countries in one of the first three matches. It used to be the case that seeds could stay in the same host city for more time (so, with less travelling), but now that matches are dispersed across the host cities, this is no longer the case.

Probably the main advantage of being a seed is start the match knowing that you are considered one of the strongest candidates to championship.

The blog about the World Cup in Brazil has attracted several people looking for “jobs in Brazil during the World Cup Brazil 2014” and similars.

It is a necessity for the host country to find skilled professionals to work in a major event such a World Cup. And as it is difficult to have large pools of professionals to perform in just a short term event, it is a tradition to invite volunteers (both from the home country and from abroad) to help in the works.

So, let’s take a look at how FIFA and the South Africa Committee is handling this matter.

On September 2008, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) issued a first call for volunteers, aimed at only South African citizens; until September of 2009, right before the Confederations Cup, a total of 35,000 candidates had volunteered, and a number of 4,030 were chosen “to assist in operational areas such as accreditation, administration, information technology, language support, logistics, transport, information services, media and marketing”.

On July 20th 2009, FIFA and LOC issued a call for volunteers from all over the world. On the occasion, it was stated: “From ushering people to their seats, to assisting the media and foreign language speakers, welcoming people at the airport and driving guests around, it is the volunteers that actually make the tournament happen.”

The paragraph defined what is expected from volunteers: speak languages, friendly personality, willing to make the Cup a successful event (for example, an University student who plays football, speaks English and Chinese besides Japanese, and has an easy going personality, will have strong chances to be admitted as volunteer).

FIFA provided a form (not available any more) for applications. All applications were examined by the Committee, and potential candidates were called for an interview, in person if South Americans, online if foreigners.

And what would a volunteer gain in return? Volunteers would not get paid, would not get free access to matches. From the FIFA website:

What will I receive from the OC and Host City as a volunteer?
The OC and Host City will offer no financial remuneration, but volunteers will receive meals while at work. Over and above the tournament-specific training, volunteers are afforded an opportunity to participate in the world’s largest sporting event, a certificate of acknowledgement for participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, invaluable work experience and an official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ volunteer uniform. You will also get a once in a lifetime opportunity to build friendships with people of different cultures, races, backgrounds, ages and nationalities.

What will NOT be provided to me as a volunteer?
• Accommodation will not be provided.
• Fuel allowance will not be provided.
• No travel will be paid to get to the Host City where you have been selected to be a volunteer.
• The OC will also not pay for travel, accommodation and Visa for International Volunteers that wish to participate as volunteer during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

Of course, besides these volunteer opportunities, there will be several jobs available in the private sectors. For job opportunities in Brazil in 2014, read this post.

Now that the Qualifying is over and all countries to participate in World Cup 2010 are defined, it’s time to start talk about bettings, odds, and favorites to win the World Cup.

FIFA just announced the ranking of the best countries in the year so far. Do betters agree with FIFA?

The table below shows who are favourites, according to betters of Ladbrokes, the most traditional betting house in England (table is online today, November 23rd; bets are accepted till December 4th).

According to them, Spain is the main favorite to win the World Cup, with odds of 4:1 (betters make US$ 4 for each US$ 1 they bet). Brazil is second, with slightly higher odds of 9:2 (or 4.5:1). Other relevant candidates to winning are, in order: England, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Holland, Portugal and France. Countries with the highest odds (not shown in the table above) are North Korea (350:1), Honduras and New Zealand (both with 500:1).

Below, the current betting odds at William Hill, one of the major houses in the United States. Among the top ten favorites, the only difference between Americans and British betters is at 8th and 9th position, where France and Portugal switch positions.

Below, the odds at Sports Betting, another major American house; also, no change among the top favorites:

A few remarks about these odds: all but one ex-champions are among the favorites (the only exception is Uruguay); Spain, the top favorite so far (Spain is also favorite according to other parties, such as Goal and Eurosport), is top of the FIFA rankings, current European champion, and qualified to the Cup winning ten out of ten matches (in a group which included also Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia and Armenia); Brazil, as usual, is among the top favorites (not surprisingly, as Brazil finished first in the Qualifying, with three rounds in advance); Argentina had a very difficult time to secure a slot in the Cup, but also, as usual, ranks among the favorites.

How accurate are these odds? In 2006, the absolute favorite was Brazil, but the team failed long before the finals; the same happened in 2002, when France was favorite, and in 1998, when Argentina was favorite.

The History of World Cups show that not always the favorite wins, and one of the “usual suspects” take the title.

A few days ago, after the last matches of the Qualifying, all 32 countries which will participate of the finals of World Cup 2010 were known. On November 20th, two days after  the end of the Qualifyings, FIFA updated its ranking of the World teams. Below, a screenshot of the 33 best ranked teams.

It is no surprise that most of the qualified countries are at the top of the ranking.

Spain regained the top position, which they occupied for most of 2009; Spain lost briefly the leading after being beat by United States in the semifinals of the Confederation Cup 2009. Brazil is back to second position; the difference between Brazil and Spain was of just three points in the previous ranking; since, Brazil won England and Oman, whereas Spain won Argentina and Austria – FIFA assigned 33 more points to the Spaniards than to the Brazilians.

Out of the ten top ranked, only Croatia (the tenth) is out of the World Cup. Between 11th and 20th, only Russia (13th) is out. Between 21st and 32th, the following countries are out: Czech Republic (23rd), Ukraine (24th), Israel (25th), Bulgaria (27th), Egypt (29th), Norway (31st) and Romania (32nd).

That means that there are nine countries which are not ranked amongst the best 32 in the world, but are going to South Africa anyway. Eight of them would be: Slovenia (33rd), Slovakia (34th), Ghana (37th), Honduras (38th), Japan (43rd), South Korea (52nd), New Zealand (77th) and North Korea (84th).

What’s the worst country (according to FIFA ranking) to participate of the World Cup in 2010? South Africa, host country, ranked 86th.

Who will be the 23 Brazilian players who will be in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup?

Brazil qualified early (three rounds in advance) to the Cup; coach Dunga used the last two matches in the Qualifying and two friendly matches in Dubai (against England and  Oman) more to test alternative players (such as Hulk, who left Brazil at age 15, plays currently in Portugal and was unknown to most Brazilians) than to practice with a definitive team.

The final Brazil roster will be announced only in March 2010, after Brazil plays the last friendly match before heading to Africa. Until there, nobody knows (not even the coach Dunga) who will be chosen.

However, if it is hard to tell who will be there, it is possible to point some players who will not be there.

Most of the players of the 2006 World Cup are not in the team any more. Dida, Cafu, Juan, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo (read what Dunga said about Ronaldo), Ronaldinho, Zé Roberto and Juninho all started playing against France and have not been rostered by Dunga.

Other possible absences in 2010 will be Adriano (currently in Flamengo, will probably be the main striker of the Brazilian Championship of 2009), Alexandre Pato, Diego (playing in Italy, listed by FIFA as candidate to player of the year 2009).

Dunga, from the beginning, made it clear that, when judging the players of the Brazilian team, more important than self-marketing or even skill, was the team spirit (Dunga himself was not the most skillful of the teams of 1990, 1994 and 1998, but certainly was one with the strongest team spirit).

This helps explain why, for example, Ronaldinho is out of the team. Many considered Ronaldinho the main failure of 2006, much because he was more concerned with the hype around his performances than with playing for the team. Dunga kept Ronaldinho out in the first rosters; called him and left him and Kaká in the bench a few times (so as to teach them some humility). Dunga even took Ronaldinho to the Olympics in China, but it seems he wasn’t satisfied with his performances.

So, when the final roster comes, the list may bring some surprises: players like Felipe Melo and Elano, who are not stars but play for the team, can be listed in place of stars like Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, who, according to Dunga, play in a too selfish way.

Today, November 18th 2009, Uruguay became the 32nd and last country to confirm presence in the World Cup 2010.

The following countries will play the finals of the World Cup 2010:

South Africa: host country, only pre-qualified country (until 1994 2002 – rectified, thanks to the commenter who pointed the mistake – the previous winner was also qualified  - France, winner of 1998, was the last one to benefit from this).

From Africa: Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon.

From Asia/Oceania: Japan, Australia, North Korea, South Korea, New Zealand.

From North and Central America: Honduras, USA and Mexico.

From Europe: Netherlands, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Portugal, Slovenia, Greece, France.

From South America: Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

In World Cup finals, Brazil has already played against: Cameroon (1994), Algeria (1978), Japan (2006), New Zealand (1982), Australia (2006), USA (1994), Netherlands (1974, 1994, 1998), Spain (1934, 1950, 1978, 1986), England (1958, 1970, 2002), Italy (1938, 1970, 1978, 1982, 1994), Germany (1974, 2002), Switzerland (1950), Denmark (1998), Portugal (1966), France (1958, 1986, 1998, 2006), Mexico (1950, 1954, 1962), Chile (1962, 1998), Argentina (1974, 1978, 1982, 1990)  and Uruguay (1950, 1970).

Brazil also played against Yugoslavia (1930, 1950, 1954, 1974) and the Czech Republic (1938, 1962 and 1970), which later would  split and give origin to Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia. Considering also these split-ups, none of the countries is making a first appearance in the World Cups finals.

All previous World Champions will be in South Africa. Also, all major football countries will be there, (see this comparison between countries in the Cup versus FIFA rankings).

The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups; the draw will occur on December 4th 2009. The draw will be conducted in such a way that all groups will have stronger, strong, weak and weaker countries (as per FIFA judgment).

After the draw, this blog will recall past performances of Brazil against their first three adversaries.

Buy Spain Uniform

Yesterday, Spain won Argentina by 2 x 1 in a friendly match; the Spaniards are set to finish the year with a memorable campaign (update: later on the year, Spain would earn the top position in FIFA ranking, and would be considered the top favorite to win the World Cup).

But the main star of the match wasn’t any of the teams or players: it was the introduction of the new jersey of Spain for the World Cup 2010 (the whole world want to wear the uniform of the World Cup champion).

Spain uniform is manufactured by German Adidas. The jersey maintained the predominance of red, with details in yellow and blue along shoulder, sleeve and neck areas. This shirt is paired with blue shorts.

The former Spain uniform had fine yellow vertical strips and very little blue (smaller photo).

The new uniform seems to attempt a revival of the 80s, when jerseys looked simpler.

Durban is one of the host cities of the World Cup 2010; Brazil will play at least one match in Durban, on June 25th 2010, against Portugal. Below, a short travel guide for those visitors who are coming to attend the World Cup.

An interesting coincidence: Durban is located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal; Natal is also a host city of the World Cup 2014, in Brazil.

It is strange how when you think of visiting cities around the world or even in South Africa, Durban doesn’t seem to automatically come to mind; that happily is what makes Durban really a rather exclusive place to visit.

Durban is actually really very, very attractive and like a genteel English Victorian seaside town Durban has a lot of perfect places to visit. The Botanical Gardens (the older ones in South Africa) are a miracle mixture of traditional Victorian plant houses (such as the City Hall, photo to the left) and modern architecture and this beautiful amalgam of building styles houses some of the most beautiful plants in the world and some of the rarest.

Below, some photos of Durban.

If you visit the Botanical gardens then you mustn’t miss The Orchid House as you walk around the well kept and neatly manicured gardens, and if you want to pretend that you are in a nice corner of England on an unusually sunny day then stop by the Tea Rooms and have Scones and a Cream Tea; they are delightful and so very English.

Do you like fish? Does you family like fish or Dolphins? Well if they do then they are in for a treat and you could be spending a couple of days visiting first the uShaka Marine World where there are water slides and rides for people of all ages and of course a marvelous Dolphin show.

Or taking a trip to the Durban Sea World Aquarium where you can see fish almost in their natural environment and then unlike most Sea World Aquariums you can get in the water with some of the fish and believe it or not Sharks as well. The Sharks obviously are harmless ones, but if you have a snorkel and some fins you can swim with them and the feeling is amazing.

You become one of the attractions too as people on the outside of the aquarium watch your antics. Be prepared to spend a lot of time here because the park is enormous. In the centre you wander through a complete and astonishing shipwreck on one side watching enormous manta Rays and the other very large sharks with teeth that any dentist would appreciate.

If you are spending some time in Durban whatever you do don’t miss The Valley of a 1000 Hills. It is an area of thick dense tropical forest that is dissected by deep gorges, villages of the happiest smileiest people in the world and small rivers.

The Valley of a 1000 Hills has been described as one of Africa’s best kept secrets and that is because it is so beautiful it will have a lasting impression on you.

This is a place of great history home of the Zulu nation and from wherever you look you will see small villages of neatly kept round huts. You can drive to The Valley of a 1000 Hills without difficulty or why not take The 1000 Hills Choo Choo steam train that runs through the area and if you do please don’t forget to wave back at some of the friendliest people on the planet.

One of the most interesting parts of Durban is the Indian Quarter, there are over 1 million Indians living in South Africa today who are relatives from the workers who were imported to work in the Natal sugarcane fields. Most of the Indians who live in the Indian Quarter have never integrated and so they have kept their traditions and customs alive and that means if you walk through the centre of the Indian Quarter, as you walk down grey Street you will see the Golden roofs of the Juma Mosque, shops selling Indian spices, leather good and of course gold and jewellery.

And if you like Indian cooking this is the place to be at any time of the day, especially at night when you will be invited into a family owned restaurant to taste some of the best Indian food in the world.

It is hard to believe when you walk through any part of Durban that it is the second largest city in South Africa with around four million people living there, it is a homely friendly place and so visitor friendly and a great place to visit whether you are alone or with your family.

One of the best and most exciting places in Durban is the oddly named Durban Golden Mile. The Golden part of the name is easily understood it comes from the beautiful golden sand on the beach, the odd part if that the Mile is about six kilometers or 3.72 miles long, but you can forget that because there is so much to do along Durban’s Golden Mile.

First the Golden Mile is a very long pleasure beach and enormous beach resort which is home to too many to count fountains, splash pools, waterslides and swimming pools and of course the sea if you are a little adventurous, well the waves can be big enough to surf on as they crash onto the beach.

Second are the places to shop from stylish boutiques to interesting little markets where ‘handmade’ is the fashion.

Then at night the whole area changes and the wonderful nightlife begins, from modern nightclubs to daring menus in exotic restaurants you can experience everything you would ever want to as the sun goes down and the lights begin to twinkle along the seafront.

If you have time then there is somewhere just a short distance out of Durban that you must see. The Umhlanga Rocks are just 12 miles north of Durban and worth a visit. The rocks that give the place its name are actually on the other side of long wide white sandy beaches. The Umhlanga Rocks area is home to some of the most exclusive hotels in South Africa and form a resort that was established by the English over 150 years ago.

Everything here is exclusive from the shops to the beaches both of which can boast being the biggest in South Africa this is a Mecca for the well heeled tourist and for all beach goers in the country.

Below, a movie about Durban produced by South Africa TV Channel.