Fabio Capello and England Squad Outlook

Posted on 26. May, 2009 by admin.

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With England well and truly qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa the outlook for a positive tournament is now on the horizon. Many are saying that this is without doubt a result of the psychological rather than tactical skills of new manager Fabio Capello.

Capello, former AC Milan and real Madrid manager says he has simply homed in on his motivational skills rather than compose any new concepts on the field. He has always believed in the skills of the players but failed to see why they never seemed to play with the same enthusiasm as a nation compared to playing for their clubs. Capello claims he has done nothing more than become psychological with the players and they have followed a lot and changed completely. Already in his short time as head coach for England, the Italian has done more than Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson to improve the overall moral of the English Squad.

With players such as Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole regularly excelling in the Champions League, it is no surprise that England crushed Croatia 5-1 to qualify early for the 2010 World Cup.

Since England’s absence in the European Championship 2 years ago, the side remains one of only 3 from Europe to have a perfect World Cup qualifying record. In addition, England has scored 31 goals in just 8 matches which is far more than any other country. Although it may seem a little too soon to get optimistic, there is a distinct positive feeling already floating around in the air. Come next June all eyes will be once again on England and whether or not we can progress further, preferably without a penalty shoot out.

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Stadium Update for World Cup 2010

Posted on 03. May, 2009 by admin.

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With the FIFA World Cup due to kick off on June 11 2010 all focus is now on the host nation South Africa and whether or not construction work at the remaining 6 stadiums throughout the country are on track. According to latest reports all of the stadiums still undergoing work are more than 80 percent complete and only the finishing touches are required before they can be officially handed over to the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth was in fact the first stadium to be officially opened on June 7 2009 and since its grand opening it has already been venue to 4 major sporting events.

However, work still remains externally in the surrounding area of the stadium and work has already commenced to lay down new brick paving, grassed areas and vegetation. In addition, a precinct area nearby is being modernised and developed in order to fit in with the spectacular effects of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

But the real pride of joy of the host nation South Africa is its Soccer City Soweto in Johannesburg. Built on a hilltop in Nasrec, this stadium is bigger than the new Wembley stadium and has the seating capacity for 91,500 fans. The stadium and its setting is a true marvel and with over 85 percent of the work already completed all that remain to be done is the planting of the grass on the pitch. The Soccer City Stadium Johannesburg will be one of the biggest venues ever to host a World Cup event on the history of the tournament.

The Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, Peter Mokaba in Polokwane and the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit all look set to be fully completed between October 2009 and March 2010.

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