Altitude, Messi and Ellis Park

Ellis Park in Johannesburg, famous for South African Rugby and in particular the 1995 World Cup triumph was the venue tonight as it hosted Argentina vs. Nigeria. The stadium itself is stunning, with steep stands providing excellent viewing from any vantage point. The match lived up to expectation as the speed and dash of the Africans pitted itself against the flashy skills of the South Americans. Lionel Messi deserves particular attention and showed a spell of brilliance which has made him the worlds best. His ability to maintain control of the ball at full speed, riding the bumps and use the ball effectively is so good, its frightening. As we all know now, Argentina won and looked to only be in third gear but it was the performance of the Nigerian keeper that stole the show. A personal highlight was watching the antics of Maradona on the sideline. His extroverted manner is a joy to watch.

I went for a run with Musky this morning. Having never run at altitude before, I now realise what all the fuss is about. After 2km, it felt that I had run 10! The air just thickens up very quickly. We then hit the Virgin Active Gym at the Bedfordview Country Club. Awesome place with TV’s affixed to each treadmill and bike.

Tomorrow we are off to Durban for the much anticipated first up clash against Germany. News out of the Aussie camp is that Pim has been tinkering with the squad over the last few days and its anyones guess what the starting line up will be. Harry has apparently been tearing it up on the training track but is still unlikely to start the match. There is much excitement at the GG Army base here at Hotel Nicol. For some, it will be their first chance to see Australia on the biggest stage having not been to Germany. I am starting to get flashbacks of the night before the Japan opener four years ago. We were in Munich having a quiet dinner and then early night as we had to board an early morning train to Kaiserslauern. Tonight the pre opening game ritual has been maintained as we ventured to a restaurant called “Rhapsody” and watched England vs. USA. At 6am tomorrow morning our convoy will depart Johannesburg bound for Durban to mark our new date with destiny. Fingers crossed that the outcome is similar to that magical day when Timmy bagged two and we got the ball rolling. Come on boys, come on Australia!