On Thursday, the fax rang in Hack’s Safa office and Terry Venables’ application came sliding out. Venables, holidaying in the Maldives, is deadly serious, and the big lure is that South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup, so there is no need to worry about qualifying.Safa are believed to be offering a four-year contract, but they have had 12 managers in 13 years so there are short odds that the new man will not see the end of it. “The applications haven’t been from Mickey Mouse people; Lothar Matth? and [former Republic of Ireland manager] Brian Kerr have been among them,” Hack said.Venables is using the former Chelsea player Richard Gomes as his go-between. “I recently had a long meeting with Terry about South African football and 2010, and he indicated his interest in coaching Bafana and asked me to represent him,” said Gomes. “He could bring in someone like Lucas Radebe [they were together at Leeds].”So, not only will Dumitru be out of a job in a couple of weeks, but Safa even advertised the post before a ball has been kicked in the African Nations’ Cup.The tournament is huge in continental terms.

Sixteen teams who have qualified from the play-offs will converge on Egypt, with the hosts looking to win it for the fifth time. But they are not the players on everyone’s lips.Ranked 23rd in the world (though they did not qualify for Germany 2006), Cameroon are Africa’s highest-rated side, and with Barcelona’s striker Samuel Eto’o their most likely source of goals, the “Indomitable Lions” are worthy favourites.While World Cup qualification threw up some staggering results – Angola, Togo, Tunisia, Ghana and the Ivory Coast will all be in Germany, at the expense of Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa – it seems fair to suggest that things will revert to normal in Egypt. Ghana are without Chelsea’s injured Michael Essien, and the pocket battleship forms such an integral part of their side that it is difficult to see them getting through a group that includes a rejuvenated Nigeria and Senegal.It is hard to believe El Hadji Diouf is still only 24, but the Bolton striker might finally make the headlines for the right reasons. He is said to be the most popular footballer in Africa, but at the last Nations’ Cup he was given a three-match ban for fighting after Senegal lost to Tunisia in the quarter-finals. The hosts went on to win, and could again make a strong impression.Chelsea’s Didier Drogba will fire the Ivory Coast attack, but his team may need more than his goals and theatrics to emerge from a group which includes Egypt and Morocco.For the Nigerians, the Italian-based striker Obafemi Martins, Stephen Makinwa and Obinna Nsofor will make their Nations’ Cup debuts along with new midfield talent Christian Obodo, Sani Kaita and the much sought-after John Obi Mikel.

Middlesbrough’s striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu will not be missed, say the critics.But it is the Marseille left-back Taye Taiwoo, another who has made a seamless transition from Nigeria’s youth teams to the senior side, who is spoken about in the most glowing of terms.BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE PYRAMIDGROUP A: Egypt, Ivory Coast, Libya, MoroccoGROUP B: Angola, Cameroon, DR Congo, TogoGROUP C: Guinea, South Africa, Tunisia, ZambiaGROUP D: Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, ZimbabweTop two in each group qualifyFriday 20 January: Egypt v Libya, Cairo International (5pm)Saturday 21 January: Morocco v Ivory Coast, Cairo International (12pm) Cameroon v Angola, Cairo Academy (3.15pm) Togo v DR Congo, Cairo Academy (6pm)FOUR TO WATCHDidier Drogba, Ivory CoastThe Ivory Coast’s sudden rise to international prominence can be attributed partly to the 27-year-old Chelsea striker. His caution is usually at odds with Reading’s ambitious play. After all, he always said his ambition was to bring top-flight football to Reading, but he never promised to stay on afterwards.
While Madejski talks about when Reading play in the Premiership, manager Steve Coppell does not even risk the word if. Although Reading are not immune to mid- and late-season breakdowns, the huge buffer they have established between themselves and promotion disappointment leaves just the question of whether the club’s millionaire chairman, John Madejski, will still support them financially after they get into the Premiership In the past few days, he has planted serious doubts.

Although their goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann, was required to make three spectacular saves, the long-term future at the Madejski Stadium has only one threatening cloud. The defence, the midfield, the management came under fire but probably the most pertinent message asked “What is going on?” At precisely the same moment, Sir Alex Ferguson was saying something similar in the City of Manchester Stadium dressing rooms, and the hairdryer would have been blowing at its fiercest in the direction of the back four.. Reading’s journey towards the Premiership continues to weather all threats. At half-time yesterday the message board on Manchester United’s official website could be described only as democratic. When it came to blame, just about everyone connected with Old Trafford got their fair share. A tug on Henry’s shirt – the only time a Middlesbrough player got remotely close to him – a second yellow, and he was off Not that it made any difference.. Instead, the visitors finished with that number as Doriva was dismissed.

With a euphoric hat-trick, this most compelling of strikers equalled Cliff Bastin’s record of 150 League goals for Arsenal and led the annihilation of an utterly abject Middlesbrough who are in very real danger of being relegated

It was seven It could have been 10. Show me ambition, Thierry Henry declared, and I will stay He then showed why. “We’re a team of giants.”As Birmingham pressed for an equaliser, the defender Mario Melchiot was found wanting for pace when Darren Bent got Charlton out of potential trouble by scoring his 14th goal of the season at the death.. He looked very much at home at this level, using his height and heading ability to set up Jiri Jarosik with a chance early on.