Where to go for a Spanish ‘Who Are You?’ in response to Edgar Meyer’s Dutch preview of the 2010 World Cup final. Marta in Belfast? “Typical kneejerk fan – probably couldn’t name any players,” said her husband. The tapas bar I like so much in Ealing? It’s Portuguese. Let’s try the Spanish Embassy in London then. And into our lives, with many thanks to the press office for putting us his way, came Benjamin Leyton* a fan of Cadiz, a Chelsea steward and, best of all, a man who admires Sunderland and Darren Bent. Three-nil to Spain, he reckons …

At one stage, people were saying Spain might go out at group stage. Now you are a step away from winning the World Cup – what went right?

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Edgar Meyer – Eddie G to pals – is a passionate Feyenoord fan, which will instantly endear him to those Sunderland supporters who established loose links with followers of that club a few years ago (probably a result of Mackems finding work in Rotterdam). There’s also a hint of Spanish in Eddie’s cosmopolitan family background, but he’s paying the price for earlier good fortune by living, for now, in Doncaster. Oh, and he’s approaching Sunday’s final in confident mood …

Salut! Sunderland: Not a classic World Cup, in most people’s eyes, but your country is in the final. Are you surprised to have got through or were you always confident?

I knew we’d reach a far round, definitely the quarters, maybe the semis, when we ended up with Brazil in the Quarters and beat them, I got alot more confident about going all the way.

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Finding a German fan to preview England v Germany for Salut! Sunderland was not as easy as you’d think. A bit like looking for someone from Stoke City. Even Thomas Hauser failed to respond. I was almost reduced to popping to the supermarket or beach a mile from me in the south of France: loads to be found there. In the nick of time, someone came back from a Facebook site called Deutschland/German/Allemagne, where Germany and England fans have been trading insults but perfectly nice people lurk too. So thanks to Susanne Dornheim, even if reading this introduction will have taken longer than it will to peruse her short, sharp replies …

Salut! Sunderland: England 4 West Germany 2. Germany 1 England 5. But lots of German wins, too. What is it to be this time?

I hope Germany will win I think we have a real chance

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Roman Jerebic* – or, more splendidly, Роман Јеребич – is a man in South Africa, and in a hurry. He was quick as a shot to volunteer to answer questions ahead of today’s England v Slovenia clincher, stressing his own acquaintance with several members of his national team, but then disappeared. He resurfaces just in time with these last-minute, no-frills responses …

So you’e beaten Algeria and drawn against the United States. What is your verdict on Slovenia’s tournament so far?

Slovenia has displayed more than good game so far and has great potential for high ranking..

When you qualfiied and saw the other teams in your group, what were your thoughts and how
far did you believe Sloveia could go?

Nothing special. In the WC only the best teams from all over the world qualify. Attractive but.. All teams are favourites against smallest country in the competition.

What about the World Cup generally? Some of the games have been fairly dull but do any stand out for you as being worth remembering?

I would not say that the games are boring .. (but) far too much now is about tactics and less about pleasure..

Tell us about Slovenia as a footballing nation and as a country – do you ever regret, in footballing or any other terms, the break-up of Yugoslavia?

Never .. Whole Slovenia is proud of the successes of our boys …

Which of your players do you regard as the strongest and in which positions are there weaknesses? I believe you played with several of them at lower levels; are you still in contact with anyone form those days?

Honestly, the most strongest man is our goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.. Weakness? Maybe wings.. We are still waiting for Brecko and Jokic day.. Yes, I played with almost all of them and of course, we are still in contact with guys..

And what of England? Who are the players you fear and where do you see our shortcomings? Did you think we played as bdly against the USA as some English people have said?

England is a great disappointment for me on this World Cup.. Names like Lampard, Terry, Gerrard, Rooney, Defoe and others should easily win this tournament.. Yes, England played very, very badly against the USA

Is the Slovenian press as critical and intrusive as the British variety when it comes to football stars? is there anything like our media’s treatment of the WAGS (wives and girlfriends of players)?

The whole of Slovenia is proud of the achievement of such a small country and their players.. Any result against three favourites in our group was a success.. Nothing special with wives and girlfriends.. We do not have David and Victoria Becham in our country.. And we are happy because of that..

A lot of Salut! Sunderland readers, and supporters of other Premier League teams, are much
more passionate about their clubs than about the national team. Do you support a team in Slovenia and do you understand such preferences?

I do not support any of teams in Slovenia.. I am from Ljubljana and I prefer Lj club (NK Olimpija), but I am not fan of that team..

There has been relatively little controversy so far (at time of writing). Does this mean the referees are winning the battle for fair play over cheating (diving, feigning injury, trying to get opposing players show red or yellow cards. shirt-pulling etc)?

In short – I (am) disappointed with the refereeing..

Who is your favourite team in the World Cup apart from Slovenia and who do you want to
win/or think will win if it cannot be your country?

My favourite is Spain and I hope they will win World Cup in South Africa..

Have you any knowledge of Sunderland AFC and have you ever seen us play?

Black Cats? Hmm.. J I know all of your history.. Yes, I saw your team played against Arsenal in London in February.. You lose by two goals..

Who are the foregin players, any nationality, you most admire?

All of players in FC Barcelona.. I like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, D. Villa,……….

What will be the score between England and Slovenia?

I hope Slovenia will win.. 2:1 wil be
great..

Roman Jerebic on Роман Јеребич:

Roman lives in Ljubljana, likes the South Park TV series and offers this philosophical thought on Facebook: “Every day when I get up and look at the list of 50 richest people in Sloveniji. If I am still not on the list I go to work.”
But if you think he is holding back a little with his replies, just remember than compared with one Everton fan last season - click here – he is postively verbose.

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Imagine a different world, one where you haven’t the faintest idea of what footballers get up to off the field. A life lived in the beautiful city of Ljubljana, capital of a country where football isn’t even the national sport, and you’ve barely even heard of Sunderland. Jaka Katrasnik* is a keen fan of Slovenia, and his club, NK Olimpija, all the same and looks forward to a result tomorrow that would keep England on our own front pages for the wrong reason … and there may be a second Slovenian fan along soon to rub it in

Salut! Sunderland: The first two games leave Slovenia in a strong position. But how bad does two unimpressive draws make England, and how lucky were you to avoid defeat against the USA?

Yes, we have good chances for advancing to the next stage. In my opinion England didn’t play as good as this team can. I believe England has very good individuals but from seeing their two games I would say they lack team spirit and motivation. The Slovenian team is the opposite. Our players are not as good as England’s. They don’t play in the best European football clubs, as England’s players do. However they are very good as a team. They have team spirit and motivation. They have played very good in qualification (eliminating Russia) and they are playing very good now in the World Cup. They did have some luck against the USA. But so did the Americans. The refereeing was horrible from the start. Dempsey should have gotten a yellow card for that ugly start on Ljubijankic in the first minute. There were more yellow card fouls committed by the Americans that the referee didn’t see. The American goal was disallowed because of Bocanegra’s (3) foul on Pecnik (7) (see the image above). True, the Slovenian players were fouling the Americans also but the referee decided the Bocanegra’s foul was more severe.

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The trouble we go to in bringing you World Cup “Who Are You?”s. The USA edition went down well and now it’s the turn of England’s second opponents Algeria. Another stroll in the park come Friday? Like the one we couldn’t manage on Saturday night? Fahim of Paris*, of Algerian origin, is the man who created a T-short that proclaims “World Cup 2010: yes we can”. The poster says: “Muslim and proud, Algerian and proud. Long live Algeria. Don’t try to change me. Accept me as I am.” Fahim’s answers reveal a man thrilled to see his country – team nickname les Fennecs, or desert foxes – competing in the World Cup, but bold enough to predict a new shock for England …

Salut! Sunderland: What was your impression of your disappointing defeat in the first game, versus Slovenia. Like England, you paid for a goalkeeping error.

A defeat leaving a bitter taste. We dominated practically the whole match and had more chances than Slovenia, but did not win because of our lack of international experience, stupid mistakes bringing yellow cards and the handball (leading to Abdelkader Ghezzal’s dismissal – ed.) but at this level you pay for these things. But it will help us prepare for what comes next and I am proud of our players; they have honoured the colors of their country.

When Algeria made it through to the finals, what was your most optimistic thought about how far you could get in South Africa?

Nobody expected to see us in the World Cup. For me after the first victory against Egypt in Blida, I was very optimistic about our qualification. It was hard but, thanks to God, we competed with the champion of Africa in the title and fully deserved our qualification. I will not deny the great joy I felt, as would any Algerian. I had always dreamed of seeing the Algerian flag aloft in the World Cup and the fact that World Cup takes place in South Africa on the African continent made that joy more immense still.

Who are your best players and in which positions do you have weaknesses?

We have 23 players representing 35 million Algerians/ These 23 are our best, with all their qualities and their defects, but we play without our centrepiece, our playmaker Mourad Meghni (Lazio). We have a solid defence but lack of cohesion in attack. But in time, we will achieve effectiveness.

Were you happy or sad to be drawn in Group C, ie with England? What do you make of our team, and players like Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard etc?

I am happy above all that Algeria is in the World Cup. This has provided joy to 35 million Algerians and we are proud of them. We found ourselves in a tough group, with England – Capello as coach, favourites in the group and one of the favorites for the 2010 World Cup. England has some great players like Gerrard, Rooney etc. … but we have players who play with heart and we can go out and give you a really good game, even if it will be very hard. To play against England is an honour and a blessing for us because a year or two ago we were not even playing against the European teams, so imagine the struggle we’ve had to get this far and where we are today. It will be a joy and pride to play against England difficult as it will be.

Describe the rivalry between France and Algeria.

We cannot really talk rivalry in the history of France and Algeria, but there are many of us Algerian-born French Algerians, many in France.

French citizens of Algerian origin are sometimes criticised in France for whistling in derision when La Marseillaise is played in stadiums. It’s reminscent of the English “cricket test” invented by a politician of the Right (Norman Tebbitt: who will British people of Caribbean descent support when England play the West Indies? What do you think?

For my part I never whistle La Marseillaise. The national anthem of each country has its history and we must respect each others’ anthems. The whistling comes from a minority of Algerians who do not understood the value of sport.

Do you expect a lot of cheating in the World Cup and do you feel the referees should be stricter that ever in their response to diving, pretence of injury, short-pulling, blatant obstruction, demands that opposing plpayers be booked or sent off?

I think the referees have strict rules during this World Cup. They will not be handing out presents; we saw the second yellow card shown to Ghezzal in our game against Slovenia. I think this World Cup, the first in South Africa, will be a great tournaments and that the referees will be respected because it is one of the only sports where so many people can assemble for the celebration of football and sport in general.

What is the significance of football for you and in the daily life of your fellow Algerians?

I’ve been immersed in football since I was small, all the big tournaments but in football but I’m not a fanatic. I watch only on TV and rarely go to the stadium. But the other thing is that we’ve been waiting for this for 24 years. That’s along time. So I am following them, supporting them, and know the ordeal they have suffered (being beaten by Slovenia). I’m happy to see them in the World Cup soccer makes me happy when I see Algeria in World Cup or other major international competitions.

Do you think Franck Ribery’s wife (of Algerian origin) support France or Algeria?

Mrs Ribery is a woman respect very much. In common with any French person who has Algerian origins she supports Algeria – as does Zidane; you saw against Slovenia that he supported Algeria. Algeria has a great past we’re really proud of our flag and our origins.

Lots of supporters in England are more passionate about their clubs, in our case Sunderland, than their country. Is it anything like that among Algerian fans and do you follow a club?

I personally am not too concerned with the Algerian league since I’m in France.I’m more a ligue 1 man. Marseille is my favorite team; I watch nearly all their games on TV but my passion is much deeper for Algeria.

Tell me the non-Algerian players you admire most in the world.

Messi, Rooney, Drogba, Ronaldo.

We had Moroccan player – Talal El Karkouri – at Sunderland but never, i believe, an Algerian. Who, among your team, shoild our manager Steve Bruce be trying to buy?

I would advise you to keep an eye on the Algerian players; I think you’ve followed the game vs Slovenia. Nadir Belhadj plays for Portsmouth but wants a change of scenery you saw his performance – he’s very good. There is also Bougherra in central defense, Ziani in midfield, Yebda. We also have very good young ones -boudebouz etc. I do not know what kind of players or positions you are looking for but the Algerian players have plenty of quality.

What is the most likely score in England v Algeria? Who is your favourite team other than your own and who is going to win the World Cup?

Difficult game: if we lose, we’re eliminated. But I will continue to support my country and it will be a surprise victory for Algeria, 1-0, or a draw so that true life is like the T-shirt I created: “World Cup 2010: yes we can.”

* Fahim on Fahim:
Just call me Fahim of Paris, creator of MONDIAL 2010 YES WE CAN ALGERIE T-shirts, Or contact me at Facebook. ONE TWO THREE, Viva Algeria.

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So, they kick off today: South Africa v Mexico with Nelson Mandela, sadly, absent following the death of his 13-year-old great granddaughter in an accident after last night’s concert, and France v Uruguay tonight. And tomorrow Fabio Capello’s finest, minus Darren Bent, open the Group C campaign against the United States of America, the country from which we gratefully accepted Claudio Reyna at Sunderland. From the US fans’ site Sam’s Army, the highly knowledgeable Mark Spacone* looks forward to the game through American eyes, with American spelling and terminology …

Salut! Sunderland: What are your feelings about the composition of Group C and how do you rate your chances of progressing?

When the first ball came out of the pot and it was England, I threw up and once I cleaned up and regained some composure, I thought the world was against us and the pots were stacked to ensure we Yanks would be in the group of death and eliminated in the first round just to show the world we don’t know the difference between a football and, well, a football! As the draw continued, it became clear the American dollar is still worth something in Sepp’s pocket because he drew us in with Algeria and Slovenia. Wait, I forgot, the draw is random! On this side of the pond, we think the US and England will advance into the second round (any order will do for us). Slovenia, however, may be the wedding crasher! Many are hoping the U.S. comes out of the England game without any injury regardless of the result, but the hopeful are looking for a draw, and the plain down right crazy who want to give others the ultimate “I told you so” are looking for a win. I wonder if Landon Donovan scores the winner if Everton supporters will chant “USA” again should he return there and perform as well as he did on loan this past season!

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A late contender has surfaced in our Who Are you? awards. He supports Birmingham City but was not on the original shortlist. So he could be either Kevin Ball – their Kevin Ball (left), not ours, and living in Devon – or he could be Leigh Bosworth from the Yorkshire Bluenoses. Or, in the spirit of the age, someone could get most of the votes but still not win anything …

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Try even harder to forget politics, delve deeper into Jody Craddock’s world of painting and you meet some interesting people (Ricky Hatton, the boxer, is shown here with Jody’s portrait of him). Take a look at his gallery*. In the first part of the last – and rather special – Who Are You? of the season, we heard about Jody’s time at Sunderland. Click here if you missed it. Now let’s see what he thinks about diving, his own preferences in art and the likely outcome of Sunday’s game. And what about the World Cup and the absence of England caps in Jody’s cv? …

Salut! Sunderland: Do you look out for our results?

Jody:
I look out for everyone’s results, even more so those that have a direct effect on Wolves also.

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Colin Randall writes: election day and we probably all deserve a break. Let us turn away from Brown, Cameron and Clegg, think about Sunday’s last game of the Premier League season …. and welcome Jody Craddock*.
** **
Jody served Sunderland well, earning the lasting affection of our supporters before moving on. At Wolverhampton Wanderers he has been a pivotal figure in getting the club up and keeping them up and won effusive praise recently for a man-of-the-match display against Stoke. He has also continued to develop his gift for painting. Salut! Sunderland was honoured that he was willing to answer questions – set by Pete Sixsmith, me and subscribers to the Blackcats e-mail list – ahead of that final game: Wolves v SAFC. Here’s part one …

PART ONE

Salut! Sunderland: What is your view of the reasons for things going wrong after Sunderland’s two seventh place finishes under Peter Reid?

When safc finished 7th twice I feel it was all about balance with the majority of the team being British and a scattering of quality foreign players. The following seasons before we got relegated I feel the balance wasn’t quite right. Vague I know, but we were all to blame as we didn’t play well enough.

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