Movie of the Week: AVATAR

This was a truly phenomenal film. The imagination that James Cameron had to create is unbelievable. He managed to create an incredibly captivating world. The amount of fresh ideas was staggering.The attention to detail when it came to the landscape, plant and animal life was outstanding. Throughout the movie you always feel that you are experiencing this planet for the first time with the AVATAR. You feel that you are part of this world. For 160minutes I was not bored for one second and could have gone on watching for hours. Rarely have I ever been engulfed into a new world/universe, I got the same feelings watching this as when I first Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, a truly awe inspiring world. The plot might not have been mind blowing or fresh, but was solid enough and so was the acting and dialog (the villain was over the top). The overall package was a treat. I can't ever imagine enjoying watching a movie more than I did watching AVATAR in 3D. SEE IT!

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Merry X-MAS

Badry for Badry

Call me pessimistic, call me anti-Egyptian coaching (3o2dt el khawagah), call me whatever. I just don't feel Ahly are up to par this season. We have not been dominant even in games we won and for the first time in years I sometimes have no idea where the goal is going to come from. Hossam El Badry the current coach is doing a bare minimum job getting by. How can I say that? Ahly are on top of the Egyptian league with 4 clear points. We are undefeated in the league and we are playing the magical 4-4-2 formation. We can't really ask for more with all the injuries we have in our squad. I disagree.

Ahly is not your regular club and since it's creation 100 or so years ago fans are always expecting the club to win. I do not think there is any other team in the world who is more dominant domestically and at the same time acquiring continental success. In the last 5 years under Manuel Jose and due to the mediocre form of arch rivals Zamalek, Ahly has become even more in control. You don't believe me? Just take a look at how Zamalek fans were celebrating a draw versus Ahly. Look at how coaches alter their tactics drastically when facing Ahly. In the past they had a right to be weary, not anymore. Frankly then, topping the league is not really an achievement, it is expected. Add to that the fact that Zamalek are in shambles and Ismaily as always have a slow start and a lot of financial problems and it seems to be a must for Ahly to be on top.

As for the injuries to Barakat and Trieka off course they have an impact. They are 2 world class players, however lets not put things out of perspective. For the last 2 years these two have been in and out of injury all season long especially Barakat and Ahly continued to deliver consistently with and with out them (albeit the end of last season where we looked overexerted). This is not Badry's problem, the injury's were always going to come (both Jose and Shehata had overused some of these injured players mainly Trieka) however it is starting to become a broken record. You cannot blame everything on injuries. Badry to his credit has incorporated some youth players, more of necessity that strategy, and it seems he has hit the jack pot. Players like Shokry, Shehab, Shebeta and Farouk have a bright future ahead of them and Ahly would do good to keep hold of them. Shokry in particular in my opinion has the makings of a true star.

As for the mystical 4-4-2 formation. Come on, this urban legend should be put to rest. It is not that Egyptian players cannot play 4-4-2, it is their coaches that can't make them play it. They are too scared of the repercussions (non so than Mr. Shehata how plays all friendlies using no sweeper but not competitive games). Think I'm wrong? Look no further than Tarek El Ashry's Haras Al Hodood. They have been playing 4-4-2 for years to devastating effects. As a virtually new team they have managed an Egyptian Cup win and a Super Cup win against Badry's Ahly. Ashry on two occasions taught Badry a lesson or two on how to incorporate 4-4-2 to good use. Zamalek got taught a lesson too. It is a joy watching the movement of the Harass players on the break. They counter instinctively, their movements are built in. Why Harass Al Hodood are performing poorly against weaker opposition is strange but one would think that dressing room unrest coming from a lot of contract and transfer rumors are a contributor. Arab Contractors too use the same formation. Ahly have played numerous times under Jose using 4-4-2 in trying to push forward for draws or wins, so the know how is there and Badry knows it. He does have guts that are lacking in many other coaches. He incorporated it and stuck with it but frankly it is no rocket science.

Ahly's performances under Badry have left a lot to be desired. In the last 5 games we have been an eye soar to watch. Against the Arab Contractors we were dominated for the whole game and our keeper Adel Abdel Moniem had repeatedly kept us in the game (He is showing true potential and continues to grow in stature. Why did we buy Ekramy?) Not to mention how the Contractor's attackers we missing chance after chance. We came up 2-0 winners but the performance should have been a warning for things to come. We then drew with Ettihad 1-1 in a 50-50 game which could have gone either way. We looked good going forward but were ripped to shreds at the back mainly due to the inability of Ahmed Aly to do any defensive work. How I miss Sedeeq. Against Zamalek we were controlled for most of the first half but came on strongly the second. We had most of the play but we created very little. The two best chances of the game fell to Mido how missed on both occasions with the goal at his mercy. It is a shame looking at him play now. Again against Ismaily it was the same but a bit better since they were down to 10men for most of the second half. 3 draws on the trot for Ahly and I couldn't remember when was the last time that happened. Against newly promoted Gouna we were poor for the whole game. Again we created very little and it seemed there was no way were going to score. We did via Forkey with the help of some shocking defending. Gouna pressed forward towards the end and Ahly were restricted to zonal defending. They were unlucky not to get a point. Things need to change. Ahly's Coach is lucky he is not competing in the African Champions League as such results would be very damaging and would get fans on his back.

Hossam El Badry is not bad. Most of the time Ahly play better in the second half showing that he has some sort of positive input. He should focus more on creating chances and opening up opposition instead of blaming injuries. Yesterday I heard him say that Ahly players expense a lot of energy because teams defend when they come to play us. News flash Mr. Badry that's how it is and how it's been for 100 years, deal with it. The CAN 2010 in Angola gives Badry some time to re-arrange his cards and heal his wounded. I hope it is put to good use

Predictions, Looking Back

Last month I decided to predict the remaining Teams to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa with some mixed results. Here is a look of how I did

AFRICA

Manga's Prediction: Cameroon, Gabon, Togo

Actual: Cameroon, Gabon, Togo

Prediction: Tunisia, Nigeria, Mozambique

Actual: Nigeria, Tunisia, Mozambique

Prediction: Algeria, Egypt, Zambia

Actual: Algeria, Egypt, Zambia

Manga got just 1 incorrect answer. It seems I know my continent and sadly my country well. Cameroon duly delivered while Tunisia threw away qualification. Egypt like I had said could not beat Algeria twice.

EUROPE

Manga's Prediction: France , Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Russia

Actual: France, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia

Manga got just 1 prediction correct and that was because Henry used his hand. Bosnia was always going to be a long shot and Ukraine vs Greece was too close. The real shocker has to be Russia not qualifying.

THE AMERICAS

Manga's Prediction: Uruguay

Actual: Uruguay

On paper this was much easier than it actually turned out to be with Uruguay edging it 2-1 on aggregate.

Overall I manged 10 out of 14 predictions correct. Not bad I would think. Next time have faith in Manga, or not if you are from Europe:

Egypt vs Algeria: The Failure

Last Wednesday was a very sad day for Egyptian football. Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in the play-off game to reach the World Cup for the third time. Egypt's best footballing generation ever didn't. I was almost reduced to tears after the game. I am after all a fan. Football rarely has this impact on me. It can always change my mood for sure but never frustrate me as much. I recall my eyes watering twice after a football game. In 1990 after England knocked us out of the World Cup with a Mark Wright header and when AC Milan lost the Champions League (no, not in Istanbul) against Ajax to a Patrik Kluivert goal in the 88th minute. Yeah I don't know why I cried either. My frustration came from the fact that after all this I was right. Never have I wished more to be wrong and for Mr. Shehata to prove he is the mastermind tactician he so blatantly is not. You can blame who you want for our failure to qualify, Algerians, players, referee or luck. I blame Hassan Shehata.

Where to begin? His failure was not in mismanaging this final play-off match. It was throughout the qualifications. Egypt has played the same game of football for the entire campaign. We played poorly and below our potential in all 7 games. If you bring your memory back to the Zambia game in Cairo, where it all began. We had no midfield couldn't control the game, couldn't create chances and Zambia ripped us to shreds on the counter attack. They got a deserved equalizer and if it was not for some luck they would have won. (My father told me then that it was never going to happen, should have listened). We followed this up by a humiliating defeat to Algeria. We played a decent first half with Trieka and Zidan combining perfectly but without any real menace or chance creation. After going down by a goal it all went bad. Mr. Shehata is no tactician, he panics and eveything goes to hell. He couldn't contorl Algeria and hit them on the break when it was 0-0 and he couldn't attack to get a draw after going a goal down. In trying to attack he left us wide open at the back and we got hit by 2 more goals. This was a turning point in the qualification. Algeria took momentum and self belief from that game and never looked back(they had started with a poor 0-0 draw away to Rwanda). There was a break after this from the qualification and Egypt went to the Confederations Cup.

Egypt faced Brazil then Italy and we managed an incredible showing against Brazil and beat Wold Champions Italy. Shehata inadvertently had discovered a gold mine. Injuries to all of his top strikers forced him to play a 3-6-1 formation with Zidan as a lone striker supported by Trieka form the midfield with three holding midfielders that included Hassan, Shawky, Homos or Hosny to control the game. This worked perfectly it gave a lot of freedom to the wing backs Mowaad and Fathi (Mohamady)to bomb forward, with Trieka free to roam as he pleases in midfield and the pace of Zidan. We looked scary in attack and solid defensively. Egypt's holding midfielders were not just grunts. They could pass and shoot the ball adding extra support in attack when needed (Shawky and Homos both scored in this tournament) It might have not sounded pretty but it was perfect. Only when Mr. Shehata decided to change this against the U.S.A were we convincingly beaten. If you recall we played the same game we had continued to play afterwards and versus Zambia and Algeria previously. Drained after playing both Italy and Brazil Shehata decided to play with just 2 holding midfielders and opted for 2 strikers plus Trieka. We lost control of the game and couldn't even defend a theoretical 2 goal advantage and lost 3-0 without testing Tim Howard once!Live and learn I thought, but it seemed Shehata had the memory of a gold fish.

In Cairo we beat an unlucky Rwanda (yes, unlucky. take a look at the game) 3-0 by sheer determination. Again it was haphazard and thanks to the referee we managed to score a very late penalty and an injury time goal. Due to the results of Algeria we had to win all our remaining games and then some.We went to Rwanda next with all of our top choice strikers out and Zidan was banned by our brilliant Coach because he decided to stay with his club and not show up for a firendly against Guniea that put into highlight all of our flaws both in attack and defense. It ended 3-3, Guniea finished bottom of their qualification group. I can't recall a single chance we created against Rwanda. We played poorly and luck was on our side and Ahmed Hassan scored after a skirmish in the penalty area. I said then that our midfield was poor and we would live to regret goinng a goal up and wasting time in my article When the Going gets Tough. We all regret it now!

Against Zambia it was even worse. Same game plan. We couldn't go forward and left ourselves wide open at the back and would have lost convincingly if not for Hadary. We won with our only shot on goal (more info in Zambia 0 Hadary 1). Other results meant Egypt needed to beat Algeria by 2 goals to force a play-off. After scoring an early goal we again played the same game we have been playing. No midfield, no chance creation and very poor overall. Hadary again kept us in it and Meteb scored a goal at the death to keep us in it. Luck was on our side one last time (The Aftermath for more details regarding the game)

Then came the final game. All of Egypt was hopeful. We had made a tremendous comeback. Morale in the Algeria camp has to be low. Guess what? Hassan Shehata again played the same game. It was his third time playing Algeria and it seemed he had learned nothing. He tinkered with his team again. A team he has been coaching for 4 years now. I would have understood if he started with the same formation as the last game, although I would prefer Fathi on the flanks for protection. But no way, this is Shehata. He decided to go with a new midfield combo. Not in any game since he took charge of Egypt did he ever play Fathi and Hassan as the only holding midfielders together and again he LOST THE MIDFIELD! Where was Homos? The player who started the last game never even played this one!. Where was Shehata's 3-6-1, his masterpiece? Surly he could control Algeria with it.

He opted to bench Zidan for some reason although this was to be an open game (prior to Egypt conceding). There was going to be space and Zidan's pace and dribbling ability would have been lethal. The only time he got the ball in a good position he created something out of nothing and Meteb missed a glorious chance. We proceeded to play the same game. Random play, no tactics and long balls. If he wanted to play long balls then what was the point of passing six passes before hitting a long ball? Wasting time while we were down? and if Shehata wanted to play the long ball strategy then why not get Mido to help you out. He is a real threat in the air!

Hadary also wasted 25minutes by hitting the ball straight to the oppositions keeper! What the hell was that about? It took our manager that long to notice that this is idiotic. We became much more dangerous as soon as we passed the ball around. We conceded against the run of play at the end of the half.

The second half Shehata had to do something. He decided to play Zidan for Zaki and Hosny for Fathi? As we have come to expect a straight swap.. Taking Zaki off was strange as although I'm a fan of Meteb it would be a no brainer to take him off as he hasn't played a full 90minutes for almost a year. Changing players in the exact same position. we wasted 2 changes and we did not become more dominant. The coach of Algeria tried to help us out by starting to defend too deep and taking off one of his forwards. Shehata's luck had truly run out. His changes didn't work! He even decided to change things just as we started playing better. Hani Said pushed into the midfield for support and his impact was very noticeable. The former Bari man originally plays in midfield and caused a bit of havoc with his passing and runs. Egypt missed a glorious chance after Hany had put Trieka through and Hosny missing the follow up with the goal at his mercy. We also managed one or two decent free-kicks. Shehata took off Saka for Eid AbdelMalek whose sole purpose was to pass the ball to Mohamady for the cross. Hani went back to defense. Nothing had changed from the first game. We again failed to capitalize on their 2 central defenders clearing to the edge of their own box. No one was there for the shot. Why was Zidan taking corners. He crossed 4 identical corners in the same area were not a single Egyptian player was there. Apparently he never took corners before! Why wasn't Moawad put into play. It was obvious he had the upper hand over Algeria's right back. The list goes on. We continued to look poor up to the final whistle. Egypt's dream was over.

My point here is that it was not the final game that knocked us out. We were poor in all our games and there is an old saying in football that throughout a season decisions even themselves out. Meaning; effects of the calls and breaks for and against a team cancel one another at the end. The same goes with luck we were lucky to reach a play-off game and we were unlucky to lose it. It is probably the most game we had clear cut chances in. There should be no pats on the back for Hassan Shehata though. He failed to qualify from the easiest qualification group in Africa. His 2nd seed Zambia didn't make it through the group stage in last years CAN 2008. Algeria hadn't even qualified for the last 2 Nations Cup. I remember my friends and I celebrated when we learned of the draw! Egypt lead by Shehata gifted qualification to Algeria. It was easy, a win against Zambia, one more goal against Rwanda and we would have been there. His tentative approach and inability to learn from games cost us qualification. Supporters of Shehata will tell you he won two CAN in 2006 and 2008. I tell them bravo. He must have done something right at some point.

In 2006 it was on home soil and in a World Cup year with a lot of the top teams focused on the world cup. Shehata also had 7 starters from Ahly who at the time was the most dominant force in African Club football. Not only that, Ahly was playing fantastic football as well. Hadary, Gomaa, AbdelWahab (R.I.P) Barakat, Shawky, Trieka and Meteb. In 2008 Egypt got a lot of momentum after the 4-2 win versus Cameroon and it is much easier to keep momentum when you are in a tournament. We played some good football but had some luck on our side too. We have fantastic players and we were underdogs in a lot of the games and that always works in our favor. Most of all there was no pressure. Shehata can't deal with pressure or instill the confidence required for such crucial matches. Shehata should resign or get sacked.

He will stay till Angola in 2010 I'm sure and I'm glad, as afterwards he will be sacked and we can get a coach to lead us to glory. No Egyptian coach will take us to the world cup in the foreseeable future. We have some bright lights like Tarek El Ashry but it is too early for him. The Egypt job should be given to one man and one man only. Manuel Jose. He has enough experience and rapport with all football fans in the country. He would be untouchable and if left to work in peace we will be there in 2014.

Road To South Africa 2010: Egypt vs Algeria, The Aftermath

Prior to the game 38% of voters on the Poll thought we would directly qualify and another 38% thought we would force a play-off game. 24% thought that Algeria would go through, they were wrong. Egypt has indeed forced a final play-off game versus Algeria for one last time. I had earlier predicted in my article Road To South Africa that Algeria were favorites to qualify, I stand by that but I'm ecstatic Egypt were able to force one final game. I also mentioned that for Egypt to qualify they had to do it in Cairo, but after yesterdays extraordinary circumstances I'm inclined to take a different perspective.

The game was a very tense affair for players and spectators a like. However, after the dream start we had with a Zaki goal in the 2nd minute I thought we would put Algeria to the sword, I was wrong. I'm not sure what happened after this goal as it seemed to me that as a team Egypt took it's foot off the paddle a couple of minutes later, maybe because they realized they had to score just 1 more goal in the remaining 90minutes or possibly a bit of relief set in. Regardless this helped Algeria regain it's composure and like true professionals they started to get more and more into the game. Their midfield lead by Zaini dominated the game and it seemed Egypt could only regain possession by fouling the opposition. Egypt were restricted to long balls and direct play for the rest of the first half.

Algeria could have equalized at the final breath of the first half if not for Hadary. The veteran again proved that he is with out a doubt one of the most composed and talented keepers in the current game. He was arguably Egypt's best player and time and again delivered to keep us in the game with a number of fantastic saves. Abdel Zaher El Sakka was another excellent performer and his return to the squad is most certainly welcome one. He was calm and collected throughout the game and this proved invaluable as his counterpart Hani Said was a nervous wreck at some parts. Nerves seemed to have taken the better of the Egyptian team as they were unable to put on any serious number of passes to open up the opposition and again in the second half it seemed Algeria were dominating the midfield even more and were truly scary on the break. At a point it seemed that Algeria were much better footballers, freely dribbling past one or two players from Egypt. I knew otherwise and I could only attribute this to that Egypt were tense and wanted the ball in the other side of the field ASAP.

Our starting eleven, I thought were the best for this game and for once me and Shehata agreed on something. Tactically we left a lot to be desired and there is nothing that rubs me the wrong way more than a coach that has no impact on the game in the 2nd half. Captain Hassan did nothing to try and regain the midfield, he even weakened it by taking off Homos and adding Brakat. Ok Homos was not particularly impressive, but who was? Trieka was a ghost, he was not looking for the ball as much as he usually does and nothing was working for him. I'm thinking the ball he hit the post with that eventually lead to the goal hampered his confidence. Chance creation was left to Zidan. The striker dropped into our own half to get the ball (Trieka's job) leading to a lack of attacking presence inside and around the box. Zidan should have been getting the ball closer to the box by Trieka. The few times he got it there he was ever so dangerous. Barakat was lost for the first 15minutes he came on, and neither he nor Shehata new where he was supposed to play. Egypt changed formation a number of times throughout, credit to Shehata trying to unsettle the opposition, but at points it seemed too random and haphazard.

Tactical complaints aside, it was always going to be difficult for Egypt with Algeria employing 11 players behind the ball and in fairness we were not as bad as I initially thought during the game. Every time we manged to break down their tough midfield we looked extremely dangerous and in my opinion their defense is not as strong as they set themselves to be. They only look strong because of their midfielders protecting them. The game would have been a lot easier if Mohamady showed more ability to cross the ball when getting into really good positions and/or if we were better placed to take long shots off his cleared crosses. To Mr. Shehata's credit the fighting spirit on the pitch was very evident. Egypt's players fought for each other and for their coach. Not once did you see a player waving or arguing with his fellow teammates, when frankly some deserved it. Egypt were a disciplined team.

Algeria dropped deeper towards the end of the game and Egypt looked more and more dangerous, however as injury time drew closer I had almost lost hope. Egypt are known for a lot of things, injury time winners was not one of them. If this were an Ahly game I would have had faith till the last breath. Ahly does this sort of thing regularly, you need to look no further than last season's last game. It is something inherit in Ahly's footballing culture, it is not in Egypt's. So you can guess my shock and awe when Emad Meteb (Moteb or Meteab) rose to head the ball clinically into the back of the net at almost the final kick of the game. I was ecstatic, all of Egypt was. I was even happier the goal scorer was Meteb.

The Predator, as my father and I like to call him, has been recovering from a six month lay-off and was subject to huge ridicule at the last CAN 2008 in Ghana. Meteb in my opinion is the best striker in Egypt's current generation. Ever since the first time I saw him in the U-20 African Nations Cup under Shehata were he finished top scorer he seemed special. He is miles ahead of our other strikers, with all due respect to Zaki, Zidan and Mido (the thin one). He might not have the dribbling skills of Zidan, the brute force of Zaki or the presence of Mido but he is much more. He has all these abilities combined. The boy can shoot with both legs and is lethal in front of goal. He works tirelessly for his team and is never selfish. He can take on defenders or hold them off. He can take direct free-kicks and head the ball too. People tend to forget that he was pivotal to our CAN 2006 win in Egypt with 3 goals. In 2008 his work rate and positioning opened up chances for the likes of Trieka, Zidan and Zaki. When Manuel Jose's Ahly were dominating local and African football he was the pivot in front of Barakat and Trieka. He would have never scored a more important goal in his career than that against Algeria and I'm glad he will get his over due credit.

Algeria will be distraught, they were 30 seconds away from the World Cup in South Africa. They have suffered yet another set back. 2 month ago it seemed unlikely Egypt could fathom 2 back to back away wins and even if we had done that Algeria were surely going to thrash Rwanda and make it impossible for Egypt to beat the goal difference, but here we are. Egypt has proved a worthy contender and in any other year 4 wins and a draw would have sent us to the World Cup with flying colors and if the head to head rule was applied we would not be playing a decider. Egypt has now got the momentum and hopefully top players like Trieka and Ahmed Hassan will rise to the occasion now that some of the pressure has been lifted. If Algeria can lift themselves after the heart break to put on a performance against Egypt next Wednesday it will be very interesting. Otherwise Shehata's men will be there to finish off the job they started in Cairo.

Road To South Africa 2010: Europe

EUROPE

Nine group winners have already qualified with just a few surprises. Most of the top guns came through with out a scratch: Germany, Italy, Spain, England and the Netherlands. Most surprisingly was the first time qualification of Serbia that sent France to the play-offs. Slovakia also qualified for the first time with old friends of the competition Denmark and Switzerland making it through. It was the end of an era for teams like the Czech Republic and Sweden who failed to even make the play-offs and who have been a constant show up in many previous World Cups.

The top 8 out of 9 runner ups were drawn to face-off against one another for the final 4 spots in Europe. Scotland were eliminated as the worst runner up. The draw was seeded according to the latest FIFA rankings, a decision that made many teams furious. Non more so than the Republic of Ireland whose coach Giovanni Trapattoni called this a disgrace. He had a right to feel aggrieved as this decision was taken prior to finding out who has qualified and was not part of the original rules. However, although I might think this to be a bit unfair, overall it is better for football and the World Cup as a face off between Portugal and France would have truly been bad for the competition.

Play-Offs:

Game 1:

Republic of Ireland v France: This has to be one of the toughest games to call. Ireland are on a high, they have a good coach in Trapattoni who was recently described by Ancelotti as "Very Very Smart" and a solid squad that includes the likes of Given, O'Shea, Dunne, Duff, Reid, Doyle and Robbie Keane. They might not be world beaters but they are an experienced bunch who practice their trade in the strongest league in the world, The Barclay's Premier League. Italy failed to beat them twice in qualifiers and they finished the group stage undefeated. On the other hand France will still be coming to terms that they are actually in the play-offs. However, they are an experienced bunch and will quickly focus on the task at hand. I'm not particularly fond of Reymond Domenech nor am I a fan of his strange antiques when it comes to coaching, but he has lead this team to a world cup final before. There is also the fact that the French team is one of the strongest in the world. World class players in every position. In attack Benzema, Anelka and Henry. The fantastic on form Gourcuff in midfield, Ribery if fit will be a hand full. In defense there is Arsenal trio Sagna, Gallas and Clichey in addition to Eric Abidal. This is to name a few of the available options. France have history and experience on their side but Ireland are a disciplined team under the Trap. It is going to be close.

Manga's Prediction: France to South Africa

Game 2:

Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina: It seems clear cut with Portugal on paper huge favorites. Taking a deeper look at things may give us a different perspective. Portugal are not on form at the moment and injury to their best player and arguably the best player in the world Cristiano Ronaldo will not help their cause. He is confirmed to miss both legs of the play-offs. Chelsea right back Bosingwa is also injured. Coach Carlos Queiros is not as experienced as one would think and Portugal provided a poor showing in their group and lost twice to group winners Denmark. Make no mistake though they are sill a handful and boast talents from the top leagues from Europe. They also include a nice mixture of youth and experience. On the other hand Bosnia have true experience in Miroslav Blazevic. He is the coach that lead Croatia to 3rd place in France 1998. He has probably the most prolific striker in European football at the moment in Edin Dzeko. His teammate Misimovic is able to both create and score goals and with the rest of the squad mostly playing in the Bundesliga they have quality.

Manga's Prediction: I'll go out on a limb here, Bosnia Herzegovina to South Africa

Game 3:

Greece v Ukraine: The Greeks have the distinct advantage of having one of the greatest coaches alive in my opinion, Otto Rehhagel. He has been with them since 2001 and sticking with him has put Greece on the map of world football after their Euro 2004 win. The German tactician is more than capable of leading Greece to the World Cup but it seems Greek football is at a period of change with very few footballers playing outside of Greece. Yes this maybe due to the fact the Greek league has improved a lot but still, they are not the impenetrable fortress they used to be. Ukraine face the same problem with an abundance of local players in the National team. However, club football in the Ukraine is on an up with Dynamo Kiev doing wonders in the Champions League and Shakhtar Donetsk winning the UEFA Cup recently. Schevchenko and Co face a tough battle. This one is going to be very close

Manga's Prediction: Tough one, youth to edge it. Ukraine to South Africa

Game 4:

Russia v Slovenia: Slovenia are more of an unknown quantity to me. They did have some good result in qualifiers mainly edging out Czech Republic convincingly for second place and beating group winner Slovakia twice. However, in my opinion this was one of the easiest groups in qualifiers. This aside Slovenia will be facing one of the most exciting European teams, Russia. Lead by the brilliant Guus Hiddink and his fantastic captain Arshavin, Russia have a real chance of lighting up South Africa. We all got a taste of what this team can do at Euro 2008 . They came second to the mighty Germans in qualifying and pushed the Manshaft till the end. It would be a huge upset if Slovenia pull this off, but then again this is football and this is what makes it amazing.

Manga's Prediction: Russia to South Africa

R.I.P Enke

Germany and Hannover 96 Goal Keeper Robert Enke was declared dead yesterday after his car was hit by a train. Initial reports suggest that it was suicide. Enke had lived with personal tragedy after losing his two year old daughter to a rare heart disease. Enke would have been Germany's number one Goal Keeper in next years World Cup in South Africa.

A tragedy like this helps remind us that footballers are actually human beings and should be treated as such, it's not always fame and glory. My condolences to his family on this tragic day for world and German football. Enke was 32

Road To South Africa 2010: The Americas

CONCACAF

The Qualification include teams from North and Central America along with the Caribbean. 3 teams have already qualified from this region. Mexico, U.S.A and surprisingly Honduras sending Costa Rica to a play off versus Uruguay.

Honduras qualified dramatically as they beat El Salvador away from home 0-1 in a very tight affair. Their game ended early and they had to wait on the result of U.S.A and Costa Rica. U.S.A were assured of qualification and Costa Rica needed a win to qualify automatically and were well on their way with a 2-1 lead against the U.S. However, an injury time equalizer sent them to the play-offs. Wild celebrations erupted in Honduras who reach their first World Cup since Spain 1982 thanks to the efforts of such stars as David Suazo, Wilson Palacios, Figueroa and top scorer Carlos Pavon.

SOUTH AMERICA

Brazil as expected dominated proceedings and qualified with 2 games to spare. Chile and Paraguay followed and a final day win for Maradona's Argentina against Uruguay sent them through and pushed Uruguay for a play-0ff match as Ecuador failed to beat Chile.

Play-Off:

Uruguay face off against Costa Rica in a two-legged playoff for the final qualification spot in the Americas. Uruguay have been there before and although will be disappointed to have to go through this again they have enough quality to do so. From Napoli's Walter Gragano to Villarreal's prolific Striker Diego Forlan it seems the odds are in their favour. Costa Rica too have an abundance of players playing in Europe but in my opinion lack the caliber that is ever present through out the Uruguay squad. If experienced coach Oscar Tabarez can get his team to perform up to their potential, Costa Rica will face an uphill task.

Manga's Prediction: Uruguay to South Africa

Road To South Africa 2010

It's crunch time in World Cup Qualifications. Come the end of November 18th all nations to be present in next year's African World Cup will be determined. As a result I thought of discussing each continent and It's qualification possibilities in a series of articles.

AFRICA

Two teams have already qualified with a round to spare, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire. For the rest of the Continent it's do or die, not only for World Qualification but also for CAN 2010 in Angola next January.

Group A

Cameroon lead the group by 10 points, 1 point ahead of Gabon with both teams travelling to Morocco and Togo respectively. Cameroon need a win to insure qualification while Gabon need to win and hope the Lions fail to win at Morocco. What makes this more interesting is the fact that both Togo and Morocco need a win to clinch the final qualification spot to the African Cup of Nations next year(Top 3 teams qualify), with Togo needing a win to make sure of that regardless of the other result. Cameroon are back to their winning ways under the guidance of Paul Le Guen and have made a remarkable come back under new captain Samuel Eto'o with 3 wins in a row (twice against Gabon and once versus Togo) to put themselves in pole position.

Manga's Prediction: Cameroon to South Africa, Gabon and Togo to Angola

Group B

Surprisingly Tunisia are clear favorites to qualify from this group. They are 2 points ahead of Nigeria thanks to a remarkable 2-2 draw away to the Super Eagles. Nigeria face failure to qualify for the second year running, a disaster by their standards. A win against Mozambique away from home would ensure the Carthage Eagles of Qualification. A draw with Nigeria failing to beat Kenya in Nairobi would lead to the same result. However if Tunisia fail to win and Nigeria beat Kenya the World Cup Qualification spot would go to Nigeria on Goal Difference.

Nigeria's predicament came via a 0-0 away draw with Mozambique sparking speculation that Tunisia's trip there maybe more difficult than it seems.

Similar to Group A both teams have a fight on their hands as Kenya and Mozambique still have real chances of making it to the Nations Cup with Mozambique ahead by 1 point.

Manga's Prediction: Tunisia to South Africa, Nigeria and Mozambique to Angola

Group C

Sadly for me Algeria lead this group by 3 clear points from top seed seed Egypt. Algeria has had a great run in the campaign having not lost any games and accumulating 4 wins that included to wins against Zambia and a 3-1 thrashing of African Champions Egypt in Algeria. Their only negative point came at the start of their campaign with a 0-0 draw away to Rwanda. Egypt seemed dead and buried after 3 rounds and the encounter versus Algeria in Cairo would have been pointless had Egypt not won two strongly contested 1-0 away wins versus Rwanda and Zambia respectively a feat Egypt had not achieved in god knows how long. This group comes with a twist. Egypt needs to beat Algeria by 3 clear goals to ensure automatic qualification, if they manage to win by only 2 goals a one legged play-off game on neutral ground on the 18th of November will have to be played to decide who qualifies to South Africa since all other tie breaking criteria between the teams would be equal . Any other result or an Egypt win by just 1 goal would hand qualification to Algeria for the first time in 24years. I really can't see Egypt beating Algeria twice in 4 days so I feel our best chance is not to go to a decider. The job must be completed in Cairo. Egypt's task is daunting yet not impossible and the 6 time African Champions need to show what they are truly made of if they are to qualify.

Manga's Prediction: Algeria (by numbers and probability) to South Africa, Egypt and Zambia to Angola

Resurrection

Leonardo refused the term AC Milan resurrection after the 2-0 win at home to Parma because he says we were not dead to start with. Maybe he is right, Milan were not dead but they were terminally ill and on their way to a timely demise.

I wrote in my article Les Miserable around a month ago of how AC Milan have become a wreck. A month would seem an eternity now and I'm almost forced to eat my words. That's the beauty of football, you are always one result away from turning your fortunes around. The 2-1 home win against Roma completely transformed the Milan season. However the pinnacle has to be the outstanding win versus the galacticos of Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. It's was not the scoreline that was impressive it was the way Leonardo approached the game. The Brazilian tactician proceeded to field an attacking formation much to the surprise of everyone, playing Ronaldinho-Inzaghi- Pato with Seedorf as extra support in midfield.

His gamble paid off and the 4 man attack is still doing wonders, with Milan undefeated in their last 5 games scoring 11 goals in the process. However the main ingredient missing is the presence of a Target Man. Huntelaar has failed to deliver and is still without a goal for his new club and Inzaghi is too old to play every 90minutes. Pato needs support. Enter Marco Borriello the former Genoa star has been plagued with injuries ever since his return to Milan having scored 19 goals in his last fit season. Yesterday against Parma he was reborn. It was the his first 90minutes in almost a year and he capped it off with 2 goals including a wonderful scissor kick to seal the win. His skill and finishing is unquestionable but if he can keep fit, AC Milan and Italy's long lost top class Striker has been finally unearthed in their own backyard. Ronaldinho appears to have found new motivation, although still a shadow of his formal self he seems to be heading in the right direction and playing for the team. He continues to provide assists for fun. Pirlo and Seedorf continue to impress by putting on performances that better explain why Ancelotti was keen to acquire the service of one or both of them (I still think 30million euros for Pirlo was enough to buy 2 younger players). They are match winners and the more you have in your team the better off you are. Nesta though has been truly magical, his elegance and grace are the markings of a dying breed of central defenders. Defenders that depended more on wit and skill than brute force. He is definitely back to his best. There is not greater resurrection however than that of Nelson Dida.

Leonardo should be given a lot of credit for sticking with him and supporting him even after his howler in Madrid. Dida was almost sold last season and has been sidelined to the fringes of Milan. A string of injuries to Abbiati and Storari gave him a chance to showcase his talents versus Madrid and he failed miserably. But thanks to Leo, he has been outstanding ever since pulling off incredible saves against both Chievo, Napoli and Parma.

Milan off course play Real Madrid again next Tuesday and everything could be undone with a home loss although I disagree. Regardless of the result Leonardo has silenced a large part of his critics, myself included with tactical awareness, man management and courage. I will not be surprised if Pato and co put Real to the sword a second time.

Check out the Borriello Goals versus Parma

Zambia 0 Hadary 1

Egypt took on Zambia last Saturday looking for an away win as the only option to maintain their hopes of qualification to next year's world cup in South Africa. I was expecting to see an Egyptian side full of purpose and energy. A side setup to score goals since score average was going to be a criteria. A coach who knew what he was doing. Off course Hassan Shehata never disappoints and Egypt put on one of the worst footballing displays in our history. I think this might have been worse than the Egypt/Ireland game in Italy 90'. At least then Gohary new what he wanted from the game, one point, and managed to do just that by parking the bus in front of our penalty area for 90 minutes. One can argue that Shehata did the same, Egypt did get 3 points thanks to a screamer from Hosny Abd Rabo (his form may have dropped but boy can he shoot a ball). We did get a 0-1 win at the end but we gave a new meaning to the term winning ugly. It's always a plus win you play poorly and win, it is said to be the mark of champions. Ahly does so on a regular bases and so does great teams like Man United.

The troubling point here is that Egypt managed just 2 shots (1 on target) for 90minutes. We failed to create a single goal scoring opportunity. Our defense was being ripped to shreds, especially behind our two wing backs Moawad and Fathi(Barakat). I'd accept that normally as when your are pushing forward spaces are bound to open up at the back, funny thing is that we weren't pushing forward! We couldn't connect 2 passes together so why were our wing backs out of positions on a regular bases? no bloody idea, ask captain Hassan as it seems he had no idea how Zambia were playing or how to adjust his team accordingly. Say what you say about El Hadary but he is the only reason we are still in World Cup contention. I stand by my words in previous articles that we need to prepare a replacement, but he has proved that he is a man for the big occasions and manages to lift his game accordingly. He did it in the CAN 2006 final and 2008 semis versus Cote D'Ivoire and lately versus Italy in the Confederations Cup. I only hope he can do it again versus Algeria. Hadary managed five world class saves in the first half to keep Egypt in the game. I'm not sure why the rest of the team couldn't lift their game but it seems clearly that most of them were over trained. The long preparation period seemed to have drained them and when you can't pass the ball extra physical effort can help, it didn't cause we did not have it either. I hope to god we don't postpone the league and have a very long preparation period prior to the game against Algeria.

We needed to win this game and you win games by creating chances. Egypt has arguably one of the best play makers in the continent in Mohamed Abu Trieka, so it would seem as a no brainier to use him, we didn't. Shehata proceeded to throw him upfront as a second striker and he rarely touched the ball for 90minutes as Ahmed Hassan and Abd Rabo couldn't fill in that role. Even Barakat was thrown as a wing back and it took our coach 30 minutes to realise that he doesn't have the legs to play there anymore, not in these conditions anyway. Trieka as a support striker might have worked if he has soemone to suplly him the ball and dictate play. Egypt has Hommos, the best passer of the ball in Egyptian football., however he was a sub and never saw any action.

We were slightly better in the second half after the addition of a second striker, but it was a low benchmark and we upped our game from crap to poor. We created half a chance and Hosny delivered. Zambia were distraught, they couldn't believe they conceded a goal as it seemed inevitable that they would score. Push on I thought, the Zambians have lost hope, Egypt's players have come to life, now is the time to put in a second and increase the pressure on Algeria. Never, not under Shehata's reign. Like we did against Rwanda we proceeded to waste time instead of delivering the killer blow to a dazed opponent. At the final whistle scenes of crazy celebrations were on hand. I had no idea why, It seemed I wasn't alone and ART analyst Khaled Bayoumi was baffled too. He was truly upset, as was I and as should any Egyptian who dreams of seeing his beloved Egypt in a World Cup . We had put ourselves in a bit of a jam with just a 1 nil victory, why the celebrations? Luck was on our side, why the rolling on the grass? We needed a favor from Rwanda, why the group hugs? A simple pat on the back would have sufficed followed by an apology by Shehata for an appalling performance and a thank you to Hadary and the right foot of Abd Rabo.

Rwanda did cut us some slack by maintaining a respectable score versus Algeria yesterday and losing just 3-1. After the game me and a friend pondered how simple it would have been to qualify. Just one or two more goals and a simple 1-0 defeat to of Algeria in Cairo would be enough. Apparently Shehata and the players didn't realize that and as Mr. Bayoumi implied it seems captain Hassan was only looking to keep his job by using the excuse that he didn't qualify to a world cup on goal difference, boohoo! Sadly for him we need to win by 2 clear goals to force a play-off game or a toss. Not the daunting task Shehata would have loved had Algeria thrashed Rwanda, no excuses. Sadly for us it would have been much simpler, had Shehata looked to the real goal and instructed his players to score goals and not celebrate poor 1-0 wins against mediocre opposition. My faith lies with the players and not their coach, like they did versus Brazil and in two CAN's they can rise to the occasion once more and take us to South Africa. They are after all the greatest footballing generation Egypt has ever seen and I'm afraid if they fail we will have to wait another 20years to come close.

Another major concern for me was the post match (excuses) conference:

1- The weather was hot

This really made me laugh as it seems Egypt is located in the North of Europe were temperatures are below zero for most of the year. Egypt is in Africa damn it. We are surrounded by desert and temperatures rise to mid 40's in the summer, so I don't think playing in the heat would be much of a shock to most players, hell most Egyptians.

2- The pitch was poor

Oh my god, have you ever seen a pitch in the Egyptian League? are you people from Egypt or maybe imposter's? 'Agroud' stadium anyone? The pitch was better than 75% of African fields.

3- We were upset the U-20 team lost in the World Cup which added extra pressure on us, was the final excuse.

I was extremely annoyed by this one. Shehata and Trieka both said it and it seemed like a PR stunt to suggest that they are the ones who please the fans. Regardless, what does the the U-20 team have to do with it? They lost in the World Cup second round after topping their group and scoring 9 goals. Shehata lost to Japan, drew with Jamiaca and beat England to finish 3rd in his group and get knocked out by Argentina in the same competition with a far superior team most of whom play in the current Egypt first team. I suggest Trieka and Shehata get to the World Cup first before talking about other teams. I pray to god we don't lose a game of ping pong or maybe not qualify for Cannes film festival before the Algeria match cause Shehata might break down before the game, then again why is that a bad thing?

Regardless of anything Egypt will be backing Shehata and his team against Algeria in November. Me I'll be counting on exceptional talents of Trieka and Zidan, the ever tireless Ahmed Hassan and Hadary. My money is on Egypt.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/56/42/69/fifa_wc_south_africa_2010_regulations_en_14123.pdf

Page 21 has qualification rules