Confederations Cup thoughts

Comments (9)

As a proudly South African blue living in Cape Town I thought I'd like post a few observations in the aftermath of the Confederations Cup currently being contested here.

1. It's oft not advisable to judge a player after one major tournament (Daniel Amokachi anyone?) but I believe that I have seen the best goalkeeping talent to emerge from South Africa since the likes of Gary Bailey and, more recently, Andre Arendse. The boy Khune (pronounced 'koo-neh') has been a revelation.

I only really began taking note of him after he saved David Villa's penalty in the final group game against Spain, but he truly has caught the eye both in the remainder of that game and in the semi-final versus Brazil. What immediately caught my attention was the way he catches the ball when struck from distance, hardly ever offering rebounds to strikers lurking in the box.

Another instantly recognizable attribute is his agility, and the size and accuracy of his goal-kicking. At 22, I expect to hear much more about "spiderman" after his exploits at the Confederations Cup.

2. Steven Pienaar is a gem of a player. Reading a few of the comments about the little man on here in the past few days, I must say that I concur with what the majority are saying. And then some! Naturally, I am biased, but Steven Pienaar is the type of player that is a joy to watch. When he's on song, he runs at defenders and into space all the time, dragging them out of position before delivering a killer pass.

The way he dictated much of the play against Brazil (five times World Champions, lest we forget!) made for delightful viewing, and if he improves his game even further (becoming more of a goalscoring threat, for instance), then Pienaar will become an even better player.

As to whether or not he should don the "Mikel mantle" and begin orchestrating things from the middle, or continue his fruitful link-up play with the improving Leighton Baines down the left is a poser, but that is part of what David Moyes is paid to do ? make those kinds of decision. I suppose much will depend on Arteta's recovery, and activity on the transfer front.

3. This tournament was a roaring success, any way you choose to look at it. It produced some scintillating football, some wonderful goals and a couple of results that can only be good for the game. As wonderful a sight as Spain are when they are in the mood, I believe that the USA were the better team on the day in their semi-final, and in many ways reminded me a lot of the way Everton play in that and their other games. No superstars, just defending as a unit, knowing their strengths and limitations and sticking to a gameplan ? and look at the results!

ps: To the site moderators: thanks for a fantastic website, both in terms of design and content! One of the first places I visit daily I assure you ;)
David Gallant, Cape Town, South Africa     Posted 27/06/2009 at 18:58:08

Return to the Mail Bag