Cavin Johnson's first task as SuperSport United coach: MANCHESTER CITY live and dangerous at Loftus on Sunday!

CAVIN JOHNSON faces possibly the most frightening introduction possible to his new job as SuperSport United boss on Sunday – when he faces a club by the name of Manchester City.

The most expensively assembled team in the history of English football flew in to Durban’s King Shaka airport today before their Nelson Mandela Invitational opener against Matsatsantsa at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.

And yes, Jesus is coming – Jesus Navas. Sheikh Mansour’s most recent acquisition from Spain's Sevilla is included in the City squad under the management of new Italian coach Manuel Pellegrini, who replaced Roberto Mancini despite their runners-up finish in the Barclays Premier League last season.

Speaking on my show BOLLOCKZ on www.ballz.co.uk, an excited Johnson – who moved to SuperSport last month after taking Platinum Stars to a surprising runners-up spot in the PSL last season – told me: “Neal, in all respects, yes, City players are among the highest-paid players in the world but for us at SuperSport it’s an honour to play them for Nelson Mandela.

“But on the other hand, in England, City are one of the top four teams. In South Africa, SuperSport United are one of the top four teams!

“Two different brands of football are coming together – hopefully on the day we’ll have the advantage. City have had to fly 11 hours to get to our country!

Johnson, who replaces three-time PSL champion Gavin Hunt at the helm, revealed: “Thuso Phala, the man I brought with me from Platinum Stars, is injured unfortunately, but you will see former AmaTuks Senegal strike Mame Niang.

“David Mathebula and Bennett Chenene from Moroka Swallows will definitely play. We have a new youngster called Morne Nel – he’s only 17. I might give him ten minutes against Manchester City! He’s a midfielder. Who knows, what a dream that would be for him! Dino Moketse is another youngster – but he played a few games last season.

OUT IN AFRICA: England captain Joe Hart and City's
Belgian captain Vincent Kompany on the
road from King Shaka airport yesterday

“We have agreed to allow eight or nine substitutions so we will be able to give a lot of players a run.”

Among his more established stars are Sameehg Doutie, rumoured to be wanted in Europe, South Africa’s fastest defender Bevan Fransmann – who will fly off to join Bafana Bafana’s COSAFA Cup campaign in Zambia after the game – and Mor Diouf, who memorably scored from 70 yards in the Tshwane derby against Mamelodi Sundowns last season.

Diouf told me after that goal he loves the long range efforts though England goalkeeper Joe Hart may be harder to beat from the halfway line than Wayne Sandilands!

“The question is, can my players get a hold on players like David Silva or their new Brazilian Fernandinho? That will bring a little bit of spark into our lives at Loftus on Sunday!

“For me it’s about giving the crowd a good display of football – and hopefully we’ll be able to score six or seven!"

England's 2012 champions City, like neighbours United and Chelsea, start the season under new management too.

Their new Italian boss Manuel Pellegrini arrived in Durban today insisting: "I am here to work with young players and the professional team. Winning trophies is important but it is not just about that." 

Johnson grins: “At the present moment, considering what Manchester City have done in the Premier League, it couldn’t be a better start for me at SuperSport.

“We’ve had Engen join us as sponsors and we have exciting development programmes in place.

“I don’t actually support any club in England, as a coach I need to see all the other teams and what they do!

“I’m enjoying this job to the fullest right now. It’s one of the big teams in South Africa, we have a lot of personalities and I’ll see you on Sunday at Loftus!”

You can follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol - or you can meet me at Eastwoods, the Loftus bar, at high noon before Sunday’s game with SuperSport United fanatic Trevor van Wyk and other twitter buddies!

EXCLUSIVE: How I revealed Cavin Johnson's move to SuperSport United in May:  http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2013/06/miracle-worker-cavin-johnson-leaves.html

CITY'S PRE-SEASON TOUR IN FULL!

July 14 Supersport United (South Africa)

July 18 AmaZulu FC (South Africa)

July 24 South China (Hong Kong)

July 27 Tottenham/Sunderland (Hong Kong)

July 31 AC Milan (Germany)

August 1 Bayern Munich/Sao Paulo (Germany)

August 10 Arsenal (Finland)

Orlando Pirates at Sundowns: Benni's not back, Jali's out, Brazilians could go nuts

Just good friends: Roger and Benni

LAST season Loftus Versfeld was sold out for the PSL crunch clash between champions Orlando Pirates and big-spending Mamelodi Sundowns. The missus and I had to sneak through the gates with a little help from sympathetic gatekeepers in Tshwane.

It was standing room only for the clash between Johan Neeskens and Julio Leal - but for all the hype, the game ended disappointingly, 0-0.

Tonight the Buccaneers and Msandawana go at it again – only this time Pirates are the double champions and Sundowns are struggling.

With Dutch coach Johan Neeskens under huge pressure and billionaire chairman Patrice Motsepe hit by fan boycotts and poor form, the Brazilians will go nuts if their expensively-assembled side fail to lift themselves up the PSL table from their current spot just above rock-bottom AmaZulu.

But new Sea Robbers boss Roger de Sa is starting to learn about the pressure of being in charge of the Sowetan giants.

Though his side are fourth in the PSL, Pirates went out of the Telkom Cup on Sunday despite leading 3-1 at Bloemfontein Celtic after 90 minutes. And with Kaizer Chiefs leaving Golden Arrows quivering last night to retain their grip on the top of the table seven points ahead of their arch-rivals, De Sa knows defeat will leave the Ghost grumbling. Loudly.

And Pirates go in to tonight’s match without Andile Jali, their talismanic midfielder. Jali was selected for the national squad by Gordon Igesund this week – only to have his name scratched out when the full extent of the knee problem picked up at Celtic on Sunday was revealed.

This morning Pirates confirmed Jali is out for “at least two weeks” and his midfield partner Oupa Manyisa, who had the crucial penalty saved in the shoot-out on Sunday, is also struggling with a tight hamstring.

The official Pirates website insists “the technical team still has the likes of Onyekachi Okonkwo, Thandani Ntshumayelo and Manti Moholo at their disposal” and the entire nation was looking forward to the return of Bafana’s record goalscorer Benni McCarthy, injured in Igesund’s first game against Brazil way back on September 6.

It now appears Benni is NOT back. With McCarthy’s apparent hamstring strain reaching unexpected lengths and last year’s fall-out with the Wits boss De Sa and his assistant Eric Tinkler in the Telkom KO final yet to be publicly tested, a return was expected by most media outlets previewing the game this morning.

But inside sources suggest McCarthy remains out in the cold for reasons as yet unclear ... it all adds up to a fascinating night in central Tshwane.

My old mate Lucky Lekgwathi, forced in to an emergency full-back position on Sunday, simply says what Roger knows: "We need all three points tonight – we’ll need to concentrate. For the whole game. “We are not under-estimating MamelodiSundowns just because of their current position in the table. They are a very good team.

“We have to forget the past and focus on this game and win. If we score, we need to know how to defend, how to win the game.”

Which is exactly what they didn’t do against Celtic. Sundowns striker Anthony Laffor responds: “We all know that Pirates suffered that awful defeat in Bloem. They will come at us but we want it as bad as they do, if not more.”

The Liberian international added on the Sundowns website: “There is always pressure that comes with playing for a big club like Sundowns, and people are always trying to destabilize the team by creating all sorts of untrue stories that there’s no unity in the club.

"In the dressing room, we are a united family, and the coach, being our father, always makes sure that it stays that way”

“Our supporters shouldn't believe everything that they read, they must know that as Sundowns players, we are working very hard behind the scenes in restoring pride to this big brand, and I strongly feel that we are on the right track”

De Sa has pulled a major surprise by leaving Benni out and four-goal Zambian Collins Mbesuma on the bench, going instead with Zimbabwean Takesure Chinyama and Thulasizwe “JuJu” Mbuyanewho, who has yet to score a goal this season.

Mbuyane told kickoff.com: "I don't know whether it is luck or what that I'm always scoring against Sundowns. I am always fired up when we play them and if given a chance I am ready to work hard and won't disappoint."

Personally, I predict another draw – but let’s hope for a few goals this time around. History is against us though. Sundowns drew 0-0 at Ajax Cape Town in their last PSL clash, Pirates drew 0-0 at home to lowly AmaZulu.

The PSL tells us Sundowns and Pirates have met in 55 league matches since 1985. The Brazilians have 23 wins compared to 16 for Bucs, while 16 matches have been drawn.

And big daddy Neeskens may just find his troubled reign at Chloorkop will come to an end if Sundowns finish pointless tonight.

A great day in Pretoria... and Port Elizabeth. England and the USA emerge from Group C

WHEN I was kid I had this nightmare. I'm walking through Pretoria with an England shirt on and the cross of St George waving over my head. I last about ten minutes before large Blou Bulle rugby fans leave the Limey trampled underfoot with my flag stuck somewhere painful.

I used to wake up sweating.

That nightmare came to pass today at the heart of Afrikanerdom, where they used to be more bothered about the Boer War than the World Cup. Video evidence will soon be available. I had no choice. England playing for their lives against mighty Slovenia in Port Elizabeth but I'm assigned to the USA's battle for survival against Algeria at Loftus Versfeld.

What a day. There were 35,000 at the home of what I once knew as Northern Transvaal, where Englishmen, Americans and certainly Algerians might have been in for a frostry reception in the 1980s.

And here we were, thirty years later, flags resplendent, celebrating perhaps the most colourful World Cup in history. For a taster, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ryvtZP9qnk

Africa's first effort at hosting the global extravaganza could have done with an African victory - and certainly the Algerians, who claim to represent the whole of the Arabic northern power block - were out in numbers.

And the Yanks? Incredible. Thousands of them draped in their stars and stripes. Yes, thousands of Yanks and their dollars loving South Africa. And there's me and the missus, the only ones with the red cross waving and England emblazoned across our chests.

To provide context: I lived in what was known as Verwoerdburg from 1970 to 1985. Tough place to grow up with my accent. Even tougher place to play rugby against schools like Menlo Park and Affies.

But today the centre of what is now known as Centurion was home to a thriving fan zone. The centre of Pretoria was alight with World Cup fans, the beer was flowing, FIFA's licensed hot-dogs were selling like hot cakes and I thought to myself... what a beautiful World Cup. How far this nation has come in the 16 short years since democracy.

Not that the game between the US and Algeria glittered too much at the start. A chap called William Clinton took a seat near me. Well, within 400 yards. It's on the video! Former American president Bill (we're familiar now we've been to the same game) said: "South Africa is bursting with pride. They think they've done a good job, better than everyone said they would. It's been good for this country and this continent and I believe in them."

Okay, he didn't tell me that. He told the SABC cameramen. Me? I was talking to Algerians, Pretorians and Americans. Neither side could produce the early goal which might have swung Group C. And then the mobile phone twanged. My brother at home in Centurion. Jermain Defoe had scored for England after just ten minutes against group leaders Slovenia, that mighty nation of 2,030,000 who prefer skiing to football.

England (pop 52,000,000 with football the national sport under the patron saint St David of Becks) were finally playing. Glimpses of the action on the screens in the boxes. How to take in two games at once?

Conversation flowed, flags waved and all I got in response to the dreaded England shirt was a sea of smiles and chants of "Eng-er-land".

When Algeria hit the bar, England responded in distant Port Elizabeth with a Wayne Rooney effort which hit the post. As the US began to wrest control of the game at Loftus, Slovenia were starting to play after half-time at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Two huge crowds gripped by Group C action - and a global audience of billions tuning in to see South Africa host day after day of perfectly run international football.

Okay, Bafana Bafana were squeezed out on Tuesday, but the nation should not mourn. The French have gone home to rotten fruit to be told they have put their nation back 50 years. President Sarkozy will meet with Thierry Henry today to tell him so.

But for the rest of us, this World Cup keeps on giving. England hung on for victory, improved but still way short of what we expect from our millionaires in boots.

But just when it looked like they would win the group despite John Terry's press conference tantrum on Sunday, the US came up with the goal we'd all been waiting for.

America's greatest footballer threw himself into the melee with the 91st minute winner which broke Algerian hearts and put the US through on top of the Group. Landon Donovan, some geezer.

A goal like that might have led to trouble at some of the games I've seen over the years. But not here, not at the Rainbow Nation's grand party. The thousands of Algerians laughed and sang with the cockahoop Yanks. They didn't react to the over-the-top celebrations by the American players. They simply took it on the chin. Incredible. Try that at West Ham or Millwall.

And it went on. Through the Pretoria night, flags waving, vuvuzelas blasting. The much-derided park-and-ride system moved smoothly into action and an hour later, everyone's been there, done that. England and the US through from Group C. Slovenia and Algeria go home with heads held high.

Another great day from the World Cup that keeps on giving.

Neal Collins is in South Africa to complain about England's performance and promote his first novel A GAME APART. See www.nealcollins.co.uk.

To see Neal at the National Arts Festival on July 4, go to http://www.computicket.com/web/event/neal_collins_a_game_apart/148367625.

Like watching Wycombe play at Wembley. My first World Cup venue review

SO while most of the rest of the football-speaking world were watching Chelsea held 3-3 by Everton, Spurs upset 1-0 at home by Wolves and Manchester United go down1-0 against Aston Villa, guess where I was?

At Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, the venue for South Africa's World Cup clash against Uruguay on June 16.

Other games at Loftus, South Africa's favourite rugby ground? Serbia v Ghana on June 13, Cameroon v Denmark on June 19, USA v Algeria on June 23 and Chile v Spain on June 25.

They will also host the round of 16 clash between the winner of Group F - probably Italy - against the runner-up in Group E - possibly Cameroon or Denmark - on 29 June.

Beneath the shadow of the Lukasrand Post Office tower - complete with giant football to advertise the coming World Cup (pictured by yours truly), Loftus is a huge venue, capacity 50,00, with no roof against tropical storms in summer, but then it doesn't rain at all in the winter, which is what the southern hemisphere nation will be experiencing during the World Cup.

It's been used as a sporting venue since 1903 but has enjoyed a few upgrades since. I did what few tourists - or whites in this country - would dream of. I simply walked up to the ground, asked for a ticket... and enjoyed my 90 minutes.

Was I threatened? Mugged? Intimdated? Nope. The ticket cost R20, which is about £1.50 (and a fifth of the price of World Cup tickets), and for that I had about 48,000 seats to choose from. The crowd amounted to around 2,000, partly due to the fact that ever-popular Kaizer Chiefs were playing two hours later down the road at the sold-out Atteridgeville Super Stadium.

Somehow though, the hardly band of about 1,000 SuperSport United supporters, with their side heading for their third successive Premier Soccer League trophy, managed to create an atmosphere using a band of buglers, trombonists and bass drummers, not to mention plenty of the traditional Africa Vuvuzela horns. For the full 90 minutes, as they tore the PSL's bottom club apart, the SuperSports superband kept up their melodic progress.

But what music was it? The latest African hits? Traditional stuff? It certainly wasn't the kind of nonsense the Sheffield Wednesday brass band use to drown out the crowd at Hillsborough. Problem solved. The ladies behind me explained that were playing "popular wedding songs" throughout. At it wasn't half bad.

In that huge bowl it was all a bit like watching Wycombe Wanderers struggling for their lives in Division One - but using Wembley or Twickenham as a home for their tiny band of fans.

SuperSport, boasting three BafanaBafana (The Boys, The Boys as the national team is known) regulars were simply too physical for Cosmos, who had all the talent but must have weighed about two stone less on average than the home team. Ironic really, because Jomo Sono, the once-great South African footballer of the 70s who named his side after his New York Cosmos experiences, is now a huge old induna!

More important than the 3-0 win by SuperSport United, which puts them even further clear of the chasing pack, is how the place measures up as a World Cup venue.

Ironically, England's cricketers will be training 400 yards down the road at Pretoria University's LC De Villiers Stadium on Monday as they prepare for the first Test against South Africa at Centurion on Wednesday.

And that kind of sums up the area. Plenty of sports grounds, the local university, with busy Sunnyside, the commercial centre of Pretoria, just down the road. We drove around the centre of Pretoria without a problem, windows open, just like you would in any other city.

I went to the game on my own, without a ticket, and had no trouble getting sorted. I struck up conversation with Reggie Mthale, a local electrician, who said: "We are all determined this World Cup will be the greatest ever. It's the first for Africa and all our sides have got a tough draw. But all South Africa have to do is beat France. I hope the referee keeps an eye out for handball!

"I know the stadium is empty tonight but in South Africa only Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates get the big crowds. When the World Cup comes, this stadium will be filled for every game. And you can feel safe here, not matter what people might tell you."

Oh, and the final link to Saturday's Premier League shocks? The last time Manchester United lost to Aston Villa was in 1983. Back then, both goals in a 2-0 win were scored by a striker called Peter Withe, a man who was spotted by Derek Dougan playing for Arcadia Shepherds about a mile away from Loftus Versfeld!