Rousting Africa´s Sleeping Giant

Posted by John Doe at 5 August, at 11 : 41 AM Print

South Africa Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira stood outside the auditorium at Soccer City Stadium on Thursday being interviewed by a television crew when word came that Mexico´s coach, Javier Aguirre, was arriving for his session.

An innocent enough encounter, one that coaches in the United States negotiate all the time. Their paths accidentally cross, they smile and shake hands, and then they go their separate ways.

But not here. Not at South Africa´s World Cup.

The South African delegation wanted to stop the interview on the spot and usher Parreira away from Aguirre so the two coaches would not meet face to face with their teams´ game a day away.

In his remarks, though, Parreira hardly seemed like the kind of person about to be intimidated by the presence of the opposing coach. "Playing in the opening match of the World Cup is special," he said. "But out there on Friday against Mexico it will be a battle

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