Contact
The Spanish National Team had their first contact with the first stadium that would host La Roja's debut against Switzerland. The Spanish players already had almost all the players fully recovered: Andrés Iniesta, David Silva and Fernando Torres, who had arrived somewhat touched in South Africa, were fully available to Vicente del Bosque …
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MARCELO DEL POZO
REUTERS
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The captain's message
Iker Casillas, captain of the Spanish team in his third World Cup, wanted to send a message of tranquility and humility to his teammates and to the rest of the competing teams. The goalkeeper was humble and forceful at the same time: “We must be prudent, be calm and we must respect the rest of the national teams, but we are eager to proclaim ourselves world champions …”.
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JUAN FLOR
DAILY AS
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Durban to start
Within 24 hours of the meeting between Spain and Switzerland, the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban was fully equipped to host the meeting. About 7,000 Spanish fans would travel to cheer on La Roja: FIFA had sold nearly 4,000 tickets and the Federation had sold another 3,000 …
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LLUIS GENE
AFP
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Hitzfeld's spy
Otmar Hitzfeld is an old fox on the European bench: he had divided his football and coach careers between his native Germany and Switzerland. In 2010 he was the Swiss coach and his debut was nothing more and nothing less than against Spain. So a few 24 hours after the meeting he wanted to have first-hand information and decided to send his second coach to 'spy' on the methods of his colleague Del Bosque, who, being forewarned, decided to hold the session behind closed doors, preventing any leak …
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PHILIPPE HUGUEN
AFP
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Benaglia relieves pressure
Diego Benaglio, left in the image and goalkeeper of the Swiss team, wanted to pass the pressure on to Spain: “The pressure is all for them. He is not only the great favorite of our group, but one of the candidates to win the World”. Hitzfeld decided that two of his best players, Alexander Frei and Valon Behrami, would not play against the Spanish and reserved them for the following matches (Holland and Chile). The Swiss were a wolf in sheep's clothing …
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Daniel Ochoa de Olza
AP
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Pita a police
Howard Webb, a 38-year-old English referee, was appointed to lead the match between the Spanish and the Helvetians. Webb, whose grandfather was a professional player and his father, a regional referee in England. He had been a police officer (sergeant) and was an international referee since 2005, and that same year he had already directed the Champions League final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium …
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Paul Gilham – FIFA
FIFA via Getty Images
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Maicon missile
Despite its dominance against North Korea, Brazil was unable to open its scoreboard until the second half. Elano saw the rise of his teammate Maicon and put the ball in depth. The lateral rushed to the baseline, saw the North Korean goalkeeper misplaced and surprised him with an effective shot that slipped in at the near post. A great goal for the start of the 'canarinha'.
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FABRICE COFFRINI
AFP
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Elano: perfect birthday
Elano had a perfect birthday. The Brazilian midfielder celebrated his 29th year by scoring the goal that would ultimately be definitive for the Brazilian victory. But much of the blame was his compatriot Robinho: he surprised the North Koreans and put a perfect pass to his partner, who in the race, defined with the right …
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FABRICE COFFRINI
AFP
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Korea cut
Ji Yun-nam (in red) shortened distances for North Korea (he had been at the World Cup in England in 1966 without attending a World Cup): the North Korean advanced diagonally starting from the left, won two rivals in the race, entered in the area and finished with full force, beating goal Julio Cesar. A great goal to celebrate his return to a World Championship …
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CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS
REUTERS
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Cristiano's details
Cristiano's Portugal debuted and, as had happened with Messi, all the focus was on him. In the previous days, he had visited Nelson Mandela, and had earned the affection of South African fans. But against Ivory Coast, the 'seven' barely showed details of his talent: he shot three times on the 'elephants' goal posts, crashing one on the post, the best chance of the match.
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FRANCISCO LEONG
AFP
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Drogba's hand
Didier Drogba was not a starter in his team's debut against Portugal. The striker had undergone surgery for a fractured humerus in his right arm and needed to play with protection. He was no longer wearing the plaster that, for example, René Van de Kerkhof had to wear in the 1978 World Cup final and that caused a psychological battle between Argentines and Dutch before the last match. Drogba would play about 40 minutes, but he barely had any clear opportunities.
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KARIM JAAFAR
AFP
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Christian irritated
Cristiano suffered a couple of innings before the Portuguese exploded in the 21st minute: Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda did not point out a foul on the Portuguese attacker from Ivorian Demel. This caused the anger of Madeira, who faced the African player, mounting a rifirrafe that would lead to Tangana. The referee admonished the two players.
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Armando Franca
AP
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Unexpected goal
Robert Vittek opened the scoring in the New Zealand-Slovakia match with an accurate header, although it should be noted that he was in an offside position. However, it came after a spectacular move 'made in Spain': it started in defense, up to eight different players participated and ended in the goal of the center forward …
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JOE KLAMAR
AFP
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Reid's ends
Winston Reid, New Zealand defender, runs to celebrate the goal he has scored in the match his team played against Slovakia: the defender equalized in the 93rd minute the game for the kiwis. Previously, Reid himself had saved the second Slovakian goal by blocking another Vittek free-kick shot.
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JIM WATSON
AFP
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Henry to the rescue
In a French team rarefied in the environment for extra-sport reasons and its poor performance in the first meeting of the group, Raymond Domenech planned changes in his starting eleven. One of them was the entry of Henry by Nicolas Anelka at the tip of the attack. Even colleagues like Abidal saw this mini-revolution well: “He has shown a lot in the French team and can print his winning character on this team …”. It was the first step to what would come next …
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Francois Mori
AP
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Buffon says goodbye
Bad news for Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian goalkeeper, who had to be substituted in the match against Paraguay, passed medical tests that diagnosed that he had a strong blow to the sciatic nerve. Enrico Castellaci, doctor of the Italian team, warned him: “The injury looks bad. You cannot specify a date for your return …”. Gianluigi would not play again in the different games of La Azzurra …
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FRANCESCO MONTEFORTE
AFP
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Discovering Özil
The young Mesut Özil begins to attract attention for his self-confidence to link the attacks of the German team. But it is Horst Hrubesch, a former German international and discoverer of the new German litter who 'discovers' the world: “We put Rooney through the roof, or Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, but our Messi is Özil. Last year he already demonstrated his potential at the U21 European Championship, we already know what he's capable of. I'm not surprised by his level … “
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INA FASSBENDER
REUTERS
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Carragher protests
Jamie Carragher, defender of the English team, discovered a controversy that had been open for several months, but that nobody wanted to make visible: “Germany has an advantage with the 'Jabulani' (the World Cup ball). It is unfair to the rest. He saw them comfortable, not like the rest, that we have to adapt … “. Carragher complained with some reason, since the Bundesliga had played with that ball, for which his players were more familiar with the ball.
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PHILIPPE DESMAZES
AFP
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