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Masilela: SWC through my eyes

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs defender Tsepo Masilela gives his thoughts in an exclusive piece for Teamtalk on the upcoming World Cup, where he believes anything is possible.

Despite Bafana missing out on the World Cup, the interest in the tournament in South Africa is still phenomenal, and below, Masilela gives his views on the upcoming Brazil spectacular.

He wrote: Africa is my beloved continent.  Many will expect most of the African teams to bow out early in the competition; I disagree. 

There are many African players that are playing in the different leagues for the best teams in the world. These are players such as; Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Kwadwo Asamoah, Michael Essien, Obi Mikel and many more. They are all from our continent and have major impact on the different leagues.

This indicates the capabilities of the African teams and the shock they can bring to the World Cup in Brazil. The same applies to Germany and other regions of the world. It promises to be an enticing and nail biting affair for the different countries. One will be brave to point out the victor.

Everyone wants to be the champions of the world and the title comes with massive sacrifice. I think I understand the high level of international football that the world plays, because I had the privilege of playing in the Spanish League (La Liga).

It is a tough challenge for players who play in Africa or different parts of the world to migrate from their countries to play in foreign leagues. They have to adapt to the culture and style of play from the one they are used to playing at home. 

Players like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi and many more have to be saluted for adopting and becoming great players in the process.

The Brazil World Cup will showcase this mixture of talent and different styles of play. One thing is certain, the World Cup is unpredictable. We have seen countries that take what appears to be strong looking squads, but choke on the big occasion. The teams that are least expected to progress sometimes are the ones that go and shock the world.

People expect players such as Andres Iniesta to shine at this World Cup but from personal experience, it is different playing for your country as compared to playing for your domestic team.

The Messi you see in Barcelona is not the same that you see playing for Argentina. The national teams have less time to prepare for competitions and to get the players used to playing with each other.

The technical part of playing for the national team is different from that of a domestic team. This further complicates the level of performance for both players and the team as a whole.

Tsepo Masilela
Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana player

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