Author Archives: Mike Woitalla

Mike Woitalla reporting from South Africa
A picture of Nelson Mandela adorned one side of the fan’s large sign and on the other side was the message, “Tell the world that Mzansi for sho is the safe place on Earth.” The fan was among the 45,000 spectators at the Soweto Derby, the Orlando Pirates vs. Kaizer Chiefs game that took place in Durban in conjunction with the World Cup Preliminary Draw. Convincing fans that “Mzansi,” a nickname for South Africa, will be a safe destination is the critical challenge for World Cup organizers.

Mike Woitalla reporting from South Africa
Coach Bob Bradley‘s challenge of guiding the USA to the 2010 World Cup finals came into focus on Sunday at the World Cup Preliminary Draw in Durban, South Africa. For Bradley’s take on the USA’s likely opponents in its first stages of qualifying, his look back on his first year at the helm, and his preparation strategy …

The USA will have to play at least 18 games to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. It begins CONCACAF qualifying in June 2008 with a two-game series against Dominica or Barbados.

Could it be that the face of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is that of Cameroonian player Samuel Eto’o? That’s what FIFA President Sepp Blatter implied at the unveiling of the tournament’s official poster, stating that the profile imposed onto an African map was that of a very popular European-based player from Cameroon.

As South Africa’s World Cup organizers made their case that the crime-ridden nation would be safe for tourists in 2010, Austrian Pieter Burgstaller was shot to death Friday at a golf resort an hour-drive from where the World Cup Preliminary Draw was held two days later in Durban — a resort Coach Bob Bradley visited last week on an inspection tour of potential World Cup 2010 facilities at which to base the U.S. national team if its qualifies

Mike Woitalla reporting from South Africa
“Africa is ready, Africa’s time has come. Africa is calling, come to Africa in 2010,” said South Africa President Thabo Mbeki to launch the 90-minute gala that sorted out the qualifying competition for the next World Cup while celebrating the arrival of the world’s biggest sporting event to the continent for the first time.

It wasn’t that the USA failed to win the Women’s World Cup last month in China, it was how it failed. An unnecessary goalkeeper controversy and an uninspiring brand of soccer is why U.S. Soccer needed to close the chapter on Coach Greg Ryan‘s two-and-a-half year tenure.