Day 19 – Sunday 27th June [Arg v Mex Live]

It is our second-last full day in South Africa & we are both eagerly awaiting our departure back home. Joburg weather has been surprisingly stable. Days are bright & warm, while the nights settle into a serious chill.
We get off to a late start today as is typical. I spend some time down in the lobby skyping with Jackie & the kids – Love you guys. I happen to bump into a couple of Aussies who have been travelling with the Fanatics but are now travelling on their own. I think their names were Matt & Ryan [brothers], but I could be mistaken. They appear really cool guys, late 20’s & will be away for a total of 2 months – wow. They are also planning to do some more travelling through either Mozambique or Zanzibar – sounds awesome. Maybe a consideration for a future visit to South Africa but for now we have this tour to finish before heading home.
We have tickets for tonight’s game between Argentina & Mexico – a highlight for me as I am a huge fan of Lionel Messi & am hoping to see some of his magic, although our seats are so far up I may need a telescope. In any case we decide to go to Sandton first to watch the blockbuster England v Germany but not before stopping in at a local cafe in Germiston [based on a recommendation - however as we would find out maybe we should not be so lax with our time]. It has been billed as world war three – I am not kidding, that is exactly what some DJ on radio called it – by the way with the exception of the local South African Native Culture, Sash & I have observed that much of South African suburbia is very similar to that of Melbourne, as is the cultural diversity. South Africa appears to have been a settlement for many Europeans in much the same way as the US, Australia & Canada have been in the past, hence the similarity to Melbourne.
Anyway back to the game at hand. We move from place to place trying to get to watch the game. All restaurants, bars, pubs are jammed. We did not get there early & now we are struggling to find a place to watch the game. We finally have to make do with make-shift seating at the Marco Polo Gaming Venue, but on their smaller screen – mate the place is packed. Either everyone loves the POMS, hates the Germans or a bit of both.
There is a lot of atmosphere as I guess you might expect with two teams like England & Germany going head to head – gee there is a lot of feeling between these two & it does not all relate to football. Germany ultimately do a hatchet job on the English & win the game 4-1 even though at 2-1 an English goal that crossed the goal line [great shot from Frank Lampard] was disallowed – who knows what may have happened. The German faithful there took joy in sticking it to the English – I have a feeling they have been waiting a while. Both Sash & I are a little gutted as we both have a soft spot for the English Team & were hopeful they could advance, but the Germans are looking clinical again – I expect the British press to do a number on the English team – Fleet Street, the home of journalistic character assassins – good luck Capello.
Enough about the English, it’s time to get to our live game – Argentina v Mexico. Today we have decided to go early & take in the atmosphere – we are leaving at about 6.20 & the game starts at 8.30. Well the drive to Soccer City is meant to be a short one from Sandton [GPS says 25 minutes]. To cut a very long story short, the drive takes 75 minutes, the parking is organised by Idi Amin’s grandson – what a pirate - & the walk to the ground took more time than my last Ironman event. Shit the organisation at Joburg compared with the other cities is crap at best. We actually get into our seats about 5 minutes into the match & yes we are sitting in Melbourne [well it feels that far away & they are category 1 Seats – Sep Blatter you bastard, where are you sitting eh].
The game itself turns out to be ok. Argentina are so powerful, they will be hard to beat & so full of stars. Messi was again sublime with moments of razzle dazzle. He is the new re-born Maradona, but the stand out today was Carlos Tevez who scored a sizzler from 30yds – you legend. They won 3-1 – way to good for the joyful Mexicans.
After the game we caught up with a couple of guys we met who are staying at our hotel – Thomas & Aras - two great blokes who are in good spirits tonight. Thomas is of German descent & is still over the moon about Germany’s win, while Aras is supporting Argentina & is also flying. We decide to head to a bar/lounge in Melville, a place near downtown Joburg that they went to yesterday. The bar was small but cosy & the music was ok. We spent an hour or so there before pulling stumps. Bars seem to close at 2am in Joburg so its closing time on another day/night in Joburg. Two sleeps to go.