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/ 1 June 2008

Bafana stumble against Nigeria

New Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana now knows how hard he will have to work to earn his massive R1,5-million monthly salary and build a competitive team for the 2010 World Cup finals after his first game in charge ended in disappointing 2-0 defeat by Nigeria in the opening 2010 African Nations Cup Group Four qualifier on Sunday.

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/ 29 May 2008

Bafana are ready, says Pitso

Now is the time for budding Bafana Bafana stars to stand up and be counted as South Africa take on Nigeria in a tough 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier in Abuja on Sunday. Kick-off is at 5pm South African time. There is no Benni McCarthy, and three midfield aces in Teko Modise, Delron Buckley and Lerato Chabangu are all nursing an assortment of injuries.

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/ 22 April 2008

Pienaar agrees Everton deal

South Africa midfielder Steven Pienaar has agreed a permanent move to Everton, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday. The playmaker has impressed since moving from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan last summer, resulting in the Toffees agreeing to a three-year deal with the player.

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/ 25 March 2008

‘Rock bottom’ Bafana tackle Paraguay

Seldom has a friendly international meant so much to 2010 Soccer World Cup hosts South Africa as that against Paraguay on Wednesday. Underperforming Bafana Bafana need a win to silence a growing band of critics, led by Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile, Parliament sports committee chairperson Butana Komphela and several top first-division coaches.

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/ 12 March 2008

Benni McCarthy back in Bafana squad

”Yo-yo man” Benni McCarthy is back in the Bafana Bafana squad to play Paraguay on March 26 — strengthening the suspicion that the enigmatic striker requested coach Carlos Albero Parreira not to include him in the squad for the recent African Nations Cup tournament in Ghana.

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/ 8 February 2008

Perhaps there are some positives for Bafana

Although his new side failed to make it past round one at the Africa Cup of Nations, Carlos Alberto Parreira won’t be entirely depressed. Bafana’s performance at the tournament in Egypt in 2006 was marked by a medley of administrative foibles, disruptive player mutinies, pre-tournament shenanigans and sepulchral lethargy that showed on the field when they failed to score.

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/ 30 January 2008

Bafana hope for a miracle

The final countdown has started for Bafana Bafana as they take on Senegal in the last first-round fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana on Thursday night with only a soccer miracle seemingly able to earn them a place in the quarterfinals. Senegal, meanwhile, are in the same precarious position as South Africa.

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/ 18 January 2008

For club or country?

There has been much debate about whether the African Cup of Nations should be held at the end of the European season so that there is not a club-versus-country clash. Two football experts discuss the pros and cons. The continental showpiece kicks off in Ghana on Sunday.

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/ 11 January 2008

Pienaar storms out of press conference

South Africa midfielder Steven Pienaar stormed out of a press conference on Thursday after refusing to answer questions about his late arrival at a 2008 Africa Cup of Nations camp. ”I’m going,” shouted the Everton star after his attempt to set the agenda was rejected by journalists in Durban, where Bafana Bafana are training.

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/ 9 January 2008

Wright-Phillips leads Chelsea charge

Shaun Wright-Phillips scored a goal and forced an own-goal in injury time to give 10-man Chelsea a 2-1 win over Everton on Tuesday in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals. Wright-Phillips, who put Chelsea ahead 1-0 in the first half, duelled in front of the net for a high ball with Everton’s Joleon Lescott, who inadvertently knocked the ball into his own goal.

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/ 9 January 2008

Music to Parreira’s ears

The belated, but soothing pronouncement from Bafana Bafana administrative manager Sipho Nkumane on Tuesday night that ”all the players are now in camp” must have sounded like music to the ears of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. The last three players to arrive were Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar, Maccabi Haifa fullback Tsepo Masilela and Bloemfontein Celtic’s Tumelo Nhlapo.

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/ 24 December 2007

Pienaar’s ‘moment of madness’

Cristiano Ronaldo scored an 88th-minute penalty to give Manchester United a 2-1 victory over Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday. A lazy trip by Steven Pienaar on Ryan Giggs allowed Ronaldo to score his second of the day from the spot and extend United’s home league winning streak to nine games.

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/ 30 November 2007

SA ditch Benni for Nations Cup

South Africa have ditched star striker Benni McCarthy for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira also dumped first-choice defender Bradley Carnell and midfielders Delron Buckley and Macbeth Sibaya from a 23-man squad named on Friday.

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/ 18 November 2007

US lift Mandela trophy

It has been said that Bafana Bafana is a sleeping giant — and, on the evidence of the 1-0 defeat against a disciplined, determined United States line-up in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge game at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon, the sleeping giant is still sleeping.

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/ 13 November 2007

Steven Pienaar bouncing back from low

Slowly but surely, South African midfielder Steven Pienaar is recapturing the form that made him one of the most sought-after players in Europe in his early 20s. Pienaar is now a regular starter for Everton, and impressed in patches during his team’s creditable 1-1 draw at 2005 and 2006 Premier League champions Chelsea on Sunday.

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/ 12 September 2007

Bafana regain pride by holding Uruguay

South Africa held Uruguay 0-0 on Wednesday in an international friendly to regain some pride after a weekend mauling by Zambia. But the 2010 soccer World Cup hosts needed help from Zimbabwe referee Tendai Bwanya to contain the visitors, who finished fourth at the Copa America in Venezuela two months ago.

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/ 29 August 2007

Benni ends international exile

South Africa star striker Benni McCarthy will end a 19-month international exile when he plays against Zambia in Cape Town next weekend. The Blackburn Rovers striker, second highest English Premiership scorer last year, was included on Wednesday in a 22-man squad for an African Nations Cup Group 11 qualifier on September 9 at Newlands Stadium.