The man who stands between South Africa and an opening disaster: Itumeleng Khune

ONE man stands between South Africa and a devastating opening defeat when the Rainbow Nation finally shows its true colours at Soccer City on Friday.

If Mexico are going to ruin the World Cup fever sweeping this nation, Itumeleng Khune – armed only with hope and a pair of gloves – is the man assigned to stop them.

On paper, it has to be El Tri, as the Mexicans know their team. They’re ranked 17th to South Africa’s 83rd in the world by FIFA. They have been strong in qualifying and boast a galaxy of stars (watch for Manchester United’s newest signing Javier Hernandez, West Ham’s Guillermo Franco and Arsenal's Carlos Vela up front and former Spurs midfielder Giovanni dos Santos) who would take the mediocre South Africa Premier League by storm.

But Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Khune, after witnessing 180,000 Vuvuzela-venting fans greet the team bus in Sandton yesterday, is having none of it. The 22-year-old, 5ft 11in stopper says: “Mexico should be worried about us. I think anything is possible with the nation behind us. We are more than ready for this World Cup. We will go out there to do our best for the country.”

He certainly has what every goalkeeper requires. Safe hands. As the son of a miner in Tshing, just outside Ventersdorp, he was ready to become a cricketer. One of six children, Khune idolised the South African cricketers – and still enjoys watching the Proteas. He says: “Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener used to be my favourites when I was growing up. Back in Ventersdorp we used to have a rubbish bin as the wickets and use a spade as the bat.”

He only chose football at the tender age of 12 when Kaizer Chiefs – South Africa’s best-supported club - came calling in 1999. Khune recalls: “When we were kids we used to gather at a disused hall before classes and kick a tennis ball around. After school it was the same thing.”

Travelling to the Chiefs academy was a problem. He said: “My parents were not happy because I would only arrive home late at night. Sometimes I had to sleep at the train station as I couldn’t get home. There wasn’t food, there wasn’t money, but we had to accept the situation.”

Khune was a defender back then. He did well in trials – chosen as the 32^nd best player on the day, that’s still the number he wears - but chest problems relegated him to ball boy status. And his enthusiastic diving for the loose ball attracted the attention of Chiefs’ veteran goalkeeper Brian Baloyi “my mentor, on and off the field”. By 2004, aged 17, he was training with the first team.

Three years later, Khune got the nod as Chiefs’ regular No1 when Rowen Fernandez left for Germany’s Arminia Bielefeld and Emile Baron was forced out by injury. He made his local Premier Soccer League debut against Jomo Cosmos in 2007 and immediately impressed, forcing his way into the national squad where he made his debut against Zimbabwe in 2008.

A broken finger put Khune out for three months this season but World Cup-winning Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has stuck with the lad who famously saved a penalty from David Villa during last year’s Confederations Cup.

Khune prepares to add to his 29 caps by defying Mexico – who are rapidly followed by Uruguay and France in a difficult Group A. The hosts have never failed to qualify for the knock-out stages at a World Cup but Khune insists: “Mexico should be worried about us as the hosts and we shouldn't be worried about them.

"We can go out there and upset these countries. It will be nice to take all the nine points in the group stage, but we have to realise the other countries won't make it easy for us."

I’ve watched Khune in all five pre-World Cup friendly matches since then, often with former South Africa goalkeeper Deshi Bhaktawer beside me. We had our doubts. He was groggy after an early clash in the 2-1 win over Colombia a fortnight ago and was taken off at half-time. But last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Denmark in Atteridgeville was a major turning point for the slightly lightweight goalkeeper and most of his colleagues.

While super-fit midfielders Siphile Tshabala, Teko Modise and Reneilwe YeYe Letsholonyane outshone their illustrious counterpart Steven Pienaar, Khune was near-perfect against the great big Danes in goal, failing to claim just one cross and looking generally composed. His distribution, innovative and rapid, has to be seen to be believed – a real lesson for any aspiring custodian.

South Africa go into the opening game on a high. They are unbeaten in 12 games since Parreira agreed to return to the hottest seat in football, they are fitter than any side I’ve seen – some of the players have lost 6kg (over two stone) since the first harsh training camp in Brazil three months ago.

Like Guus Hiddink’s ferociously fit hosts South Korea in 2002, Parreira has chosen the “fit as a robber’s dog” philosophy too. And remember, Korea got to the last four eight years ago.

Khune, like the rest of this football-mad nation, is starting to believe. He said: "We have the advantage of our home supporters, those who will be blowing the vuvuzelas at the stadium and the whole nation will be behind us. We have to believe we can win all three group games."

Neal Collins is in South Africa to promote his first novel, A GAME APART, which has hit No15 on Amazon's African best-sellers list. For more information, see www.nealcollins.co.uk.

Readers may be interested in this USA Today piece, published yesterday: http://content.usatoday.com/community/comments.aspx?id=38793306.story&p=2

Exclusive video footage of Monday night’s England friendly see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5CX4pb8Xmo.

Remember, it's never too late to book a flight and come see this World Cup for yourself. You'll be safe, secure... and you'll love it!

Sangoma? It doesn't matter which doctor you choose, they can do the trick

THERE'S a sangoma on the front page of the Johannesburg Star today, leaping in the air outside Soccer City, venue for the World Cup final on July 11.

All twirly bits, loin cloth and head band, this is the kind of guy Europeans and Americans take one look at... and run the other way.

Especially when they discover he has just slaughtered a cow to bless the 94,600-capacity stadium and performed the uKuphahla ceremony to please the spirits of his ancestors before the big kick-off when South Africa take on Mexico here on June 11.

According to the Star, tribal chiefs and traditional medicine men - some still call sangomas witch doctors - came from all over the region to make the vast "kalabash" or cauldron-shaped stadium ready for their side to triumph.

Given they are the fastest rising team in today's FIFA rankings - Bafana Bafana rose from 90 to 83 - they may be having an effect already, though their Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira may want to share the credit.

Black magic? Voodoo? Hey, it could be worse. How about this for a frightening incentive? Diego Maradona has promised today he will run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires if Argentina win the World Cup.

And that's the point. These guys aren't just about superstition and spells, they're about confidence boosting, aiding belief systems, in a more natural way that our sports psychologists or Rudy Geller could ever manage.

I have a unique insight into this. Apart from the passages in my novel A GAME APART (in case you hadn't heard, it's the book you must read before the World Cup, see www.nealcollins.co.uk) where I describe scenes I have witnessed inside African dressing rooms, we have a gardener at the old family home in Centurion.

He is the same age as my father, born in 1933. He's lived in a little room out the back since 1975. For years, dad called him "Smart the garden boy". Until I got back from university, my eyes opened, and got chatting to a man also known as "The Reverend James Sibanda".

He hails from Malawi. He is both a local priest and a doctor. A traditional healer. He drives a Mercedes. Dad drives a beat-up Toyota. Every 45 minutes, on a good day, a new patient arrives to have the bones thrown, the ailments healed, the nerves unfrazzled in an ever-changing Rainbow Nation. Smart still mows the lawn between appointments. What a bloke. I was out talking to him and his son Nicholas before I wrote this piece.

I've seen him at work. Throwing the bones from a little velvet bag, giving herbal remedies, offering wise counsel. Just as I've seen the sangoma hunched over his bubbling kalabash before a major game. And felt the beneficial affect. Honestly. It works.

Mandla Qeleqele, a member of the Traditonal Healers Organisation here, said of today's "cleansing" ceremony at Soccer City: "The purpose is to say to the ancestors that the world is coming to South Africa. So that everything happens in harmony."

I hope it went well. I hope the highly-educated fans from the developed nations don't just snigger at such Africanisms.

Maybe, just maybe, there's something in it. When I tied a ribbon soaked in "muti" or magic around my waist as a young footballer around these parts, I certainly felt it. A honing of the instincts, a settling of the nerves.

Beware Soccer City on June 11 you Mexicans. There's magic afoot. And 90,000 blaring Vuvuzelas!

Aaron Mokoena relishes his role as the battling underdog as the World Cup looms large

SOUTH AFRICA captain Aaron Mokoena left Wembley on Saturday night beaten but not broken, wearing a t-shirt saying “Thank you Pompey”. Fans on the south coast of England may consider reciprocating with tops emblazoned with “Thank you Mbazo”. Earlier he sported the Nike effort you can see on the right.

Having seen his penniless Portsmouth come within a missed penalty of shocking Chelsea’s millionaires, the 29-year-old "Axe" now prepares to engineer an even bigger upset. Helping his baffling Bafana Bafana – 80^th in the latest FIFA rankings – emerge from Group A against Mexico, Uruguay and France.

As he contemplates a move to a club which can actually afford to pay their players,Mokoena is already turning his mind to the big kick-off at Soccer City on June 11. After a 1-0 defeat which saw penalties missed at both ends, Mokoena said: “There are a lot of similarities between that FA Cup final and the World Cup for me. People never thought Portsmouth would even get to the final because of all the things happening at the club.

"We all know that a few players will leave because of the club's problems and the fact that a lot of players are on loan. Next season will be totally different and at the moment I don't know what the future holds.

"Most people wrote us off, but we showed the character that we have in our dressing room. The pride will remain. We feel so proud because we gave it our all."

And of course, giving his all is what Mokoena does so well. An early block denied Nicolas Anelka a clear shot on goal, a double block on the half-hour saved the courageous goalkeeper David James and generally the former Blackburn defender enhanced his market value – though he committed the “foul” which provided the free-kick for Didier "The Diver" Drogba’s only goal.

But the boy from Boipatong takes it all on the chin. Looking ahead to his next monumental task – the odds on South Africa progressing from Group A area about the same as you could get on Pompey winning on Saturday – he said: "I think it's good to be underdogs. I said before the Confederations Cup (last summer) not to write SouthAfrica off and we surprised people then.

"I'm going to say exactly the same thing again. Don't write off Bafana Bafana before we've even kicked a ball. The important thing is that there is nothing impossible in life. Do you want to take the easy way out or do you really want to fight it through?"

Mokoena will arrive in South Africa too late to join Bafana Bafana for today's friendly against Bryan Robson's Thailand in Nelspruit. But his presence in the backline, judging from this FA Cup performances, can only improve South Africa's chances.

Victory over Jamaica, but do South Africa have a host of a chance?

WHISPER it, but the World Cup hosts may not be the pushover everybody's expecting in South Africa this summer. Last night, on neutral soil in Germany, the South Africans beat Jamaica 2-0 at Offenbach's Bieberer Berg Stadion—a much-needed triumph over a side 11 places above them in the latest FIFA rankings.

The Rainbow Nation's favourite whipping boys Bafana Bafana (Zulu for "The Boys, The Boys") went ahead after 52 minutes through a goal by the veteran striker Mohlomolleng Surprise Moriri, 30, and the even more experienced Siyabonga Nomvete, 32, added the second goal five minutes from the end.

Neither can expect to start South Africa's first World Cup clash against Mexico at Soccer City on June 11 if controversial West Ham striker Benni McCarthy, also 32 (above), gets the call from his homeland after weeks of speculation.

But last night's performance—without their overseas stars—was certainly an improvement from the lowest-ranked side ever to host a World Cup. Though they have qualified for two World Cups since resuming their FIFA membership in 1992 and won the African Nations Cup in 1995, the South Africans have declined rapidly in recent years.

Even FIFA president Sepp Blatter was expressing his fears earlier in the week after a drab 0-0 draw against fellow qualifiers North Korea over the weekend. He said, "If South Africa go on to play like they did against North Korea they won't qualify for the knock-out stages. No goals, no going forward."

But their fourth win in 16 attempts, and two goals after a considerable drought, raised hope of qualification from Group A, which also includes formidable France and unsung Uruguay.

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose side dropped from 88th to 90th in the FIFA rankings announced this week, purred: "That was much better. I enjoyed the game.

“They never gave us any time to rest throughout the match. I must say that perhaps in the last 12 matches we have played—including Paraguay—this was the most difficult and I appreciate it."

A weakened Jamaica were drafted in at the last moment when China pulled out as friendly opponents for the South Africans, who have been struggling to find worthy opposition on their pre-World Cup tour.

Parreira, who has yet to add overseas stars like Everton's Steven Pienaar, Maccabi Haifa's Tsepo Masilela, Portsmouth's FA Cup finalist Aaron Mokoena, and Fulham's Kagisho Dikgacoi to his squad, added: “My boys were ready for the challenge that was posed by Jamaica and we dealt properly with them, especially in the high balls and dead ball situations in which they are good.

“The game was very tough, but all in all I am happy with the performance of the team. It was much better than the one we put out against North Korea."

The one problem? Midfielder Teko Modise—the popular Orlando Pirates midfielder often linked with a major move to Europe—picked up a wrist injury. As he left the stadium with the limb heavily bandaged, he said, "I think I have a fracture but it still needs to be checked. It is very sore."

Aaron Mokoena: Under Presidential Orders to Lift the World Cup (but it would be nice to win the FA Cup too!)

AARON MOKOENA faces the two greatest challenges of his life over the next 44 days – under orders from the President himself to lift the World Cup in Johannesburg on July 11.

Relegated Portsmouth face Premier League leaders Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 15 then his beloved South Africa prepare for the World Cup kick-off on home soil on June 11. Only a madman would back the man known as “The Axe” to escape the chop from President Jacob Zuma.

But then this is a man who lived through the downfall of Apartheid, who had to dress as a girl to escape a massacre and perhaps most remarkably of all, inspired Pompey to victory over in-form Spurs in a dramatic FA Cup semi-final upset last month.

Mokoena, raised with a tennis ball at his feet in the dusty streets of the Boipatong township near Johannesburg, is spending any spare time during the most exciting weeks of his life promoting charities and leading campaigns against gun crime. “Mbazo” (literally “The Axe”), is “giving something back”.

Last month, when his amiable, outspoken President Jacob Zuma came over on a state visit, Mokoena (above, left, at Downing Street with his President) cracked an invite with him to Buckingham Palace. He recalls: "The president called me over to the Queen and he said to her: 'You've got to know this man - he is the one who will make sure that South Africa wins the World Cup. He is the captain of the country.'

Was Elizabeth II fazed? Mokoena grins: “Well, the thing is she is well-informed. She obviously knew that the finals were in South Africa and she also knew who I was!”

Perhaps more intimidating than telling England’s sovereign how he intends to tame her Three Lions, is the message from The President himself. Mokoena adds: "President Zuma and I had a discussion. He just got straight to the point and he said to me ‘You have to make sure we win’. He loves football so much. I didn't know but he's a Liverpool fan and he used to play football himself.

“He used to be a captain of a team in the prison with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island. But that's exactly what he said to me: 'You've got to make sure that the country wins.'"

Such pressure means little to Mokoena after his formative experiences as a boy in the Boipatong township near Vanderbijlpark, about 50 miles from downtown Johannesburg.

In June 1992, before democracy dawned in the Rainbow Nation, 40 people were massacred in a political attack – backed by police - which saw pregnant women and children murdered on the streets.

Mokoena told The Guardian: "The people were murdered at night. It was awful. We were crying. But then we were told they would come back to kill all the young boys.

“So my mum had to protect me. She dressed me as a girl and we went to the community hall where there was enough protection for people from the township, especially the boys.

"It wasn't an easy upbringing. It was a township and in townships anything is possible. My brothers and sisters really experienced Apartheid while crime-wise it was absolutely bad but I always had the support and protection of my family."

Mokoena also had his studies. "I was an academic boy. I was into mathematics and I loved science. I wanted to study further but, because of football, I couldn't do what I wanted to do."

For that reason he backs the 1GOAL initiative, which aims to get all children into school. He makes the point: "We are talking about 72 million kids worldwide who don't get the chance. Apartheid jeopardised the opportunity for kids in South Africa to be educated. The President and I are trying to change that. It is one thing he wants to leave as his legacy."

Mokoena learnt his trade under the great Jomo Sono with Cosmos in Johannesburg before travelling 5,000 miles to join Bayer Leverkusen and then Ajax in 1999.

After a couple of seasons on loan with Belgian club Germinal Beerschot in Antwerp, he moved to Genk. He played seven games in Holland and around 70 in Belgian before his big break in 2005. A £500,000 move saw the Axe land at Ewood Park, where he joined compatriot Benni McCarthy under Mark Hughes.

After 101 games as something of a cult figure in Lancashire, Mokoena headed for the deep south and Portsmouth last year, where he has earned similar devotion with 29 games in a difficult season at Fratton Park.

The youngest ever South African international – he was capped against Botswana in February 2009 at the tender age of 18 years and 87 days – he has succeeded former Leeds great Lucas Radebe as the Bafana Bafana skipper and at 28, he is South Africa’s most capped player with 99 so far.

Forced to miss Carlos Alberto Parreira’s pre-World Cup tours to Brazil and Germany this month by the demands of Portsmouth’s doomed Premier League campaign, the 100^th cap remains on the horizon.

South Africa’s task in June is nearly as daunting as Portsmouth’s this month. The lowest ranked World Cup hosts in history – they are currently 88^th in the FIFA list – South Africa kick off the first African World Cup at Soccer City on June 11 againt Mexico, with France and Uruguay to follow.

Unlikely or not, success at the World Cup after the big Wembley day out remains Mokoena’s amibition. Remember, his late, late extra-time winner in the third-round replay at Coventry kicked off the fairy-tale cup run for the Premier League’s bottom club. And his was inspired in the semi-final shocker against Tottenham.

He said: "It's been a fantastic run for us and especially lately, because we know that it's the only thing we had after our points deduction and relegation.

"We need the FA Cup more than anything and there's absolutely a parallel between Portsmouth and South Africa. It's exactly the same. We need the FA Cup more than anything and South Africa need this World Cup more than anything. Hopefully, we can do as well in the World Cup as we have done at Portsmouth in the FA Cup.”

Speaking yesterday to launch a campaign against gun crime, he added: “The debt at Portsmouth? It’s embarrassing. It shows how bad it was. Up and coming players have been involved in this. It’s not good for the game.

“But the Pompey fans kept on going. They are passionate supporters. Every game we played, we were aware of them, the money they pay to watch us play. We rose to that.

“At the moment, we have to sell players to make money. I have a meeting before I can talk about my future at the club.

"I must say it's been tough. But in the semi-final against Tottenham, we showed what character we have. I'm sure a lot of people elsewhere wouldn't have coped with the situation that we've had. The important thing is that there is nothing impossible in life. Do you want to take the easy way out or do you really want to fight it through?"

But of course, as his President might say, the FA Cup final is just a warm up for the real thing. The big thing. Mokoena insists: "We saw what happened at the 2002 finals with South Korea and it can definitely be the same story with us.

"We experienced it last summer when we had the Confederations Cup in South Africa (they reached the semi-finals while Spain and Italy went home early) and I am sure that the atmosphere will be even hotter at the World Cup. People are so over the moon to have the World Cup and we are going to show how much it means to us. The Confederations Cup was a good rehearsal and it's absolutely possible that we can do well at the World Cup.

"I think it's good to be underdogs. I said before the Confederations Cup not to write South Africa off and we surprised people then. I'm going to say exactly the same thing again. Don't write off Bafana Bafana before we've even kicked a ball."