MANILA, Philippines - This World Cup will be remembered for a lot of things.
It’s the first time it was held in the African continent, and it’s probably the first time as well that the host country, which is South Africa, failed to get past the group stage.
It will be remembered for its many upsets, that powerhouse countries like Italy – yes, the 2006 champions – and France, England, Brazil and Argentina failed to even get to the semis.
In between these teams are 13 World Cup victories since 1930. Brazil is on top with five, followed by Italy with four, Argentina with two, and one each for England and France.
They all thought of getting far this year, but teams from the Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay and Spain proved tougher on the pitch. Of the Final Four, however, only Germany and Uruguay have ever hoisted the golden trophy.
Italy and France, which met in the finals four years ago, met somewhere along the way – on their way out of South Africa.
This World Cup will also be remembered for its share of controversy, for the goals that were denied, for the goals that got away. This could be the last time close calls will be judged by the naked eye. There were even team protests, and near walkouts.
Then there’s the vuvuzela, that colorful South African horn that produces the very distinct – many say irritating – vuvu sound that has been the background drone of every game in this World Cup. Said to be invented in 1965, patterned after the aluminum bicycle horn, the vuvuzela is the symbol of the South African culture.
It provided the sound, like a swarm of bees, heard across the globe. Hated at the start of the tournament, the vuvuzela ended up as the most sought after World Cup souvenir, as hot or even hotter than those player jerseys.
A vuvuzela sells for around 80 South African rand, which is equivalent to around P500. Everybody wanted to have one, and leaving this World Cup without it would be a mortal sin.
This early, the host of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil, is fine-tuning its own version of the vuvuzela, known in Latin American countries as the corneta, and hoping to make an impact as loud as the vuvus.
Matches are held in 10 different venues, each one of them capable of hosting the final if needed. Smallest among them is the 43,589-seat Mbombela Stadium, known as the Giraffe Stadium due to the 18 roof supports honoring the long-necked African mammal.
Then, easily twice as big, is the mother of all stadiums, the Soccer City in Jonannesburg. Built at a cost of $440 million, it glows like the calabash or ancient African pot or the squash at night, giving the illusion of being on fire.
South Africa, to football fans from all over the world, is heaven.
And for four days, that was how it felt for a big group of journalists, all 111 of us, chosen from 21 countries and brought to South Africa by Emirates, the leading luxury airline, as part of its sponsorship of this World Cup.
In one batch came journalists from Italy, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. We were among the lucky ones, the lucky souls, to get to the action at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Each match – there were 64 lined up for this tournament – was played before tens of thousands, and on the very cold afternoon of July 24, these journalists were handed tickets to the Italy vs Slovakia match.
On the side, the journalists were given a day to enjoy the safari at the Pilanesburg National Park, a 55-hectare game reserve three hours outside of Johannesburg. It is the fourth largest park in South Africa.
Tickets to this World Cup are as precious as gold; even more precious for some matches. At the ticket booths, as the tournament entered its knockout phase, good seats sold for around $400, and even more nearing the end.
In the quarterfinals, they went for as much as $700 each, for the semifinals $1,400, and for the title match today one should be prepared to pay as much as $2,700 – roughly P124,000.
In the online market, the prices were definitely higher, as high as $3,000 for the Argentina vs Mexico encounter in the Round of 16. For the finals, at the 94,700-seat Soccer City, it has gone twice or even thrice as much.
But to the fanatic fans – and in football, there is no other type – it is definitely worth every penny, even considering that a ticket is good for only one match, a 90-minute match that, more than victory or defeat of a team, means a country’s honor, and for the fans, whether the sun shines the next day or not.
The fans come as prepared as the players. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and forms. They come dressed like kings, queens or some of the famous super heroes, their faces painted, bodies draped with the colors of their respective flags.
They carry their banners and blow their vuvuzelas, celebrating each goal and ruing every missed opportunity. To some, it gets as patriotic as crying over a loss, feeling the pain probably greater than some of the players. The intensity on the pitch is felt even stronger, it seems, in the stands.
Regardless of the final outcome, this World Cup will be remembered as South Africa’s World Cup.
To football fans, it means everything. To the South Africans, it’s the only thing.
Editor’s note: As we go to press, the first of the two semifinal matches – between the Netherlands and Uruguay – is just hours away. The second semifinal match – between Germany and Spain – will be played on Thursday at 2:30 a.m. Manila time. We thus cannot say who will be in the finals, to be played at 2:30 a.m. Monday Manila time, but we will be watching the match with the rest of the world.