Yesterday I covered one of the most uplifting events in the history of South African sport and race relations. It was the launch of the Lucas Radebe Sustainable Legacy Park in Protea Glen, Soweto, sponsored by Blue Label Telecoms and put together by the South African Rugby Legends Association (Sarla).
It was a wonderful occasion which I shall cover in a separate article.
The highlight of the opening was to have been the meeting of two world champions at one venue. The Springboks, who turned out in force, and the Azzurri, the World Cup 2006 winners in Germany.
At the event Sarla CEO John Allan, visibly annoyed, advised the mass turnout that at 14h30 the Italians had called to let him know that they would not be coming.
The reason that was given to Allan was that they were embarrassed by the result against Brazil.
Allan advised the packed media that he was happy to be quoted when he called them a disgrace. In addition they had insulted the Springboks and all the other people who turned up for the occasion.
This received a thunderous round of applause from the people gathered there.
As Allan correctly points out; what makes the Springboks special is their conduct both on and off the field. The Italian team needs to learn this lesson if they are going to be able to look themselves in the mirror.
typical yellow bellied woosies, they play like cheats and conduct themselves like woosies. Iis a disgrace that they can even be allowed to play in FIFA events, their league is crooked, and their behaviuor is rotten. Zidane shouldve headbutted the lot of these girls
well, if i were the italians, i’d have been ashamed to show my face after being knocked out of the second round of the confed cup on goal difference, too.
that said, someone should have told the italians that south africans celebrate mediocrity in ways rarely seen outside of the eastern bloc during the cold war. if someone did, maybe the italians would have pitched.
LOVED THE TEAM, but i’m disappointed and embarrassed by the Azzuri for snubbing the occasion…
Quite right Traps, they need a lesson in humility, fair play and good sportsmanship. What message are they trying to convey here? When you loose, you must sulk and snub all and sundry? Who actually need the snobbish losers when in the presence of the inspirational bokke, Rhoo and the like?
Didn’t the Boks scrap the SOWETO leg of their parade after their World Cup win in 2007?
Snubbed the Soweto kids, or snubbed the SARLA event?
Either way, the difference between your writing and that of the tabloids is no sharper than that between twilight and dusk. Question is, are you now in the tabloid style of writing?
Dear Thought Leader (aka Agony Auntie) as an italian that has been in South Africa for most of my life I find the conduct of the Italian National side an utter and unmitigated DISGRACE!!!! As an italian I am ashamed that italian sports stars (who are such based on our support) can conduct themselves in such a manner. Clearly the issues of importance (other than fame and fortune) rank lower on their agenda then their ego’s. South Africa has opened its hearts to this foreign scum and this is the gratitude they show for our hospitality. To put it into perspective, the hopes, dreams and aspirations of hundreds of kids mean nothing to these so called stars. What a shame. They should go back to Italy and hang their heads in absolute shame. World Ambassadors….my foot more like “World Swine Flu” distributors. Azzuri go back to your boot shaped cesspool and face your music for being an utter discgrace to all italians, you dont deserve to be treated with any more respect than I would dole out to Robert Mugabe (and that aint much).
in the mean time, italian prime minister a” disgrace” as he did not snub the shindig.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6550609.ece
what more did you expect from the soccer team.
I fail to see the reason forthis “uproar”, the Lucas Radebe Sustainable legacy park is yet another yawnfest in corporate PR and individual self-righteousness and as such should be treated with the contempt that it deserves. Who really cares whether the Itas pitches or not??
I really think that we have a more pressing issues to contend with than foreign sockerplayers boycotting your feelgood Party.
Most of those kids could not find Italy on a map and could not care less
They probably just pitched up for the free lunch and T shirts anyway.
I wouldn’t feel they were too put out by not meeting the Italians.
Perhaps the Italian real P2-Luciani-BlackCoffee reason for not pitching up, was that the Lucas Radebe Sustainable Legacy Park in Protea Glen, is ‘sustainable’ only in liberalspeak hypocrisy name. They would be required to praise something they know to be a fraud.
Like so many other things in Preach, but don’t practice what we preach South Africa; it does not even consider whether it abides by the Laws of Sustainability; but professes to be sustainable.
So, perhaps the P2 brigade did not want to come and honour, what they consider to be dishonouring the concept of sustainability; and instead provided an easy ‘reason’ whereby those who heard it and did not do any introspection; found it easier to assign blame, onto them; instead of make a fully impartial enquiry?
Please, why does every group that comes to SA have to pose with a bunch of poor kids? Does it really make a difference?
BooHoo, get over it!
@Hopeful
you are forgetting something…soccer is the food of life for the poor. Oh yes those kids probably know the entire Azzuri team by 1st name, surname and club team. I’m definitely sure if the kids were present at the event, there WERE looking forward to meeting the Italian Squad especially the captain Cannavaro
Guys – The Springboks were there to a man plus reserves. Many soccer legends and rugby legends and other sportsmen and women were also there.
Please don’t insult our black kids by suggesting that they don’t know who the soccer world champs are and that they didn’t care about it.
In addition may I suggest that those who snigger at the work done by people to uplift our country send us the website where we might admire their efforts.
The Azzuri must be men enough. they may be world champions but shouldn’t be ashamed to have capitulated to an equally (or more than that) world champs like Brazil. it’s that unreasonable pride that deprived football-loving Sowetans an opportunity to rub shoulders with world champs. hopefully they will come to make up for this next year. that is if they make the grade. The Boks also felt victim to this irrational decision.
In Africa a kid at a government school is owned by the state. To be bused to meet every celebrity no matter what baggage they bring. When Ben Carson the neurosurgeon and philantropist was around they were not bused in. But Mike Tyson was the bomb. By the way R Kelly is around the corner.
This concept is making black people look like beggars at the feast albeit not the kind that profited at the hotel rooms.
Only history will judge weather the decision to predicate the country’s growth prospects on first arms and then entertainment was a wise one.
Leave the poor Italian soccer players alone. It was Fifa who dragged the Italians out to South Africa to concepts they are not familiar with. At least they did not make a storm about bonuses that the kids local role models did. That behaviour deserved a Ken Lewis or Fuld type of congressional hearing.