Soaring Wings

Argentine coach Maradona.

Argentine and Danish team  arrived in South Africa on May 29 at OR Tambo International Airport for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“The arrival of Denmark and Argentina this morning means that four of the participating teams have now arrived in South Africa and we look forward to the arrival of the rest ahead of the tournament. The World Cup has now arrived and already we are seeing great excitement around the country with the likes of Kaka and Messi now in South Africa. We wish all the teams well for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dr Danny Jordaan.

“I’m excited to be here, I love South Africa and I’m looking forward to the World Cup,” said Argentine coach, Diego Maradona.

Argentina will open their campaign at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park Stadium against Nigeria on 12 June, moving to Soccer City stadium to play Korea Republic on 17 June. They will then travel to Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba stadium to face Greece on 22 June.

“It’s always good to be in South Africa. I have been here plenty of times and I have always had a good time. The most important thing for us is to adapt to the altitude and prepare for the tournament. I think this will be a challenge for all the European teams because some of them will not be used to the altitude. But we will use the next few days to adapt,” said Denmark coach Morten Olsen.

“We have a tough group, we are faced with sides like Netherlands, Japan and Cameroon. Of course for Cameroon it’s going to be special because they are playing on African soil, but we will see how it goes,” he continued.

Denmark will kick off their campaign against the Netherlands in Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium on 14 June, then travelling to Tshwane/ Pretoria to face Cameroon on 19 June. They must then make the short journey to Rustenburg to face Japan on 24 June.