TOP 10 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP MOMENTS PART I

I thoroughly enjoyed the FIFA World Cup, 2010. And here are my personal Top 10 Favourite moments from the gallant show put up by the Rainbow Nation. Oh Africa!

  • The excitement for the World Cup reached the highest level due to two songs. Wavin’ Flag by K’naan and Waka Waka by Shakira. Wavin’ Flag was the Official Anthem of World Cup sponsor Coca Cola. This song went on to become a huge hit with people all over the world. And nobody could stop humming the lines, ‘When I grow older, I will be stronger, They’ll call me freedom, Just like a Wavin’ flag!’ And the Official FIFA World Cup 2010 anthem Waka Waka by Shakira only made an impact during the course of the tournament, with the song being played in TV Channels, the Radio continuously.

 

I personally loved both of these anthems. And these two songs will make me remember the extravaganza that FIFA World Cup 2010, in South Africa was.

  • The early elimination of two of last Cup’s finalists was disappointing for everybody, but not surprising at all. The adamant nature of both of the Managers of these two Football powerhouses in this year’s Cup made them perform so appallingly. Marcello Lippi refused to budge from his position of taking players like Antonio Cassano. And Raymond Domenech made a stupid decision in not taking Karim Benzema, Sébastien Frey, Philippe Mexès and even Samir Nasri to South Africa. The tactics they employed were clearly ineffective. Lippi and Domenech, both refused to shake hands with their opposing managers after the end of their group games. Both teams finished bottom in their respective groups. A new low for those proud Footballing Nations.

  • Oh, is that a buzzing bee on drugs? Or an aeroplane let lose in the stadiums of South Africa? Surprise, surprise! It’s the Vuvuzela! What did you expect? For me, they were hell annoying, but not unbearable. I could deal with it’s presence. But some people clearly couldn’t, while others caught on to it very quickly. Vuvuzelas became a phenomenon. Debates raged on as to whether they should be allowed in the games involving Non-African teams. FIFA persisted with them. South African authorities said that the World Cup in South Africa should have the distinctive South African feel. And they were allowed at all the games. They sold like hot cakes all around Africa. But, I would like to see them limited to Africa. Thankfully enough, they were banned from Wimbledon, F1 GPs, PGA Tour Events, and the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil too! But FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa belonged to the Vuvuzelas! It was Africa, baby!

And those who want a taste of the Vuvuzela, try this – Blow Me!

  • The Ascent of the Young energetic Deutschland team. Players like Muller, Ozil, Khedira, Croos, Neuer  led by their Senior counterparts Klose, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, and the Captain Lahm. They played the Best football in the tournament for me. Better than even eventual winners Spain. They were God-like. Swift movements on the wings, the impromptu interchange of flanks between Özil, and Müller was flawless at certain times. But they were cagey in the Semi Final against Spain, and eventually had to bow out. They have a great future ahead.

  • Robert Green. And his howler against the USA. I don’t need to say more. See the video, you’d understand!

  • That Superb Frank Lampard goal in England’s Round of 16 match being disallowed, led to a lot of debates about the use of Goal line technology. I personally would love to see technology being implemented in these sort of situations. This World Cup like every other World Cup was marred by referring blunders. USA were disallowed of two goals. Kaka getting that obnoxious red card, are just a few of the shambolic gaffes made by referees in this year’s Cup. But certainly the disallowed Lampard goal was the talking point as far as referring at this year’s Cup is concerned.

That is it for now. Will publish the second part in a different post.

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