A visit to a large complex known as Melrose Arch on the outskirts of Jo'burg was the first stop of the day on our first full day in the city. This location, like so many others, had the games being broadcasted on a massive screen, where fans from so many parts of the world gather to watch the matches. We enjoyed a nice lunch in the main square before wandering around the various shops and outdoor cafes. At one stage I was approached by a reporter from ESPN-Brazil, who mistakenly thought that my Villa shirt was a West Ham replica and wanted me to do a Robert Green impersonation on a makeshift pitch that they had put together. After politely pointing out that I was a Villa fan and would never subject myself to public humiliation in such a way, I exited sharply.... While eating lunch we watched the Paraguay-Slovakia match on the big screen. I have to say that Paraguay look impressive and may be a team that could advance beyond the round of 16. Apparently they only finished a point behind Brazil in qualifying....
We returned to the hotel at 4pm to catch the Italy-New Zealand game at the hotel lounge. Mikey was suitably unimpressed with his azzuri idols as they stuttered to another draw.....
It was now time to layer up (nights in Johannesburg get into the low 30's) and make our way to "Soccer City" stadium for our third live match, Ivory Coast vs Brazil. We were looking forward to a good game between the five-time champions and a very talented Ivory Coast team.
We had been mistakenly told that we could use the park and ride close to our hotel simply by producing our match tickets. Once we arrived at the lot (with no directions to the stadium) and were refused entry we had a simple choice to make..... "follow that bus!!" A trip through the streets of Jo'burg then ensued as I made sure that the bus didn't lose us..... what i wasn't ready for was the fact that there are lots of bus-only lanes on the streets of the city. A calculated risk was taken..... and we got ourselves to the bus station and general parking area for Soccer City.
The stadium itself is a magnificent structure and seats 90,000 people. In a similar way to our first game, there was a diverse mix of fans with most neutrals expressing a love for the Ivory Coast.
Of the three live matches we've seen, this one had the most goalmouth action with the Brazilians showing some class in front of goal. But give credit to the Africans who certainly made it hard for the Brazilians and can consider themselves very unfortunate to concede a second goal that contained two blatant handballs in the build-up. Kaka was sent off in the final moments as the Brazil team employed some serious time-wasting tactics that verged on ludicrous. Kaka was petulant and unimpressive for most of the game (he must be friends with Wayne) and was lucky to have stayed on the field for as long as he did.... Drogba was impressive for the Ivory Coast as was a central midfielder by the name of Tiote... the game ended 3-1 to Brazil. We collectively agreed that this had been the most entertaining of our games so far.
The shuttle bus service back to the car was efficient but predictably packed! The driver had no concept of standing-only passengers apparently and those of us standing were quickly "introduced" to each other at every turn and braking moment....unfortunately for me, the guy next to me hadn't used the old spice in a few days, yet had no problem extending his arms as high as possible to get a good grip.....not a pleasant aroma!
We finally got back to hotel at about 11:30pm and grabbed a quick bite to eat in the hotel pub before retiring.....
Today we will visit Nelson Mandela square in Johannesburg before another full day of footie. Match 4 is tonight - Spain vs Honduras. A must-win for the reigning European champions, so lets hope there's goals....
Congratulations to France.... :)
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