World Cup 2010: From the Ground in South Africa

Sound your vuvuzelas! World Cup fever has hit the Motherland, and Gustavo Schneiderhoff is on the ground in South Africa, documenting the sights of the tournament. Gustavo, who hails from Argentina, isn’t a journalist or photographer. He actually works in sales here. He also happens to be on his vacation at the World Cup, so it’s incredibly kind of him to submit his thoughts and photos of the historic event to Anglophenia.

Gustavo

After Gustavo landed in Johannesburg, a little snafu with his passport almost kept him from getting to the World Cup at all. “Customs was moving really fast,” he told me. “When I got there, the lady looked at my passport and says it’s full! I needed a page for a stamp, otherwise I could not get in! Holy sh**!”

But that’s when the Argentine charm kicked in: “After talking with a supervisor – I smiled and talked as a salesperson – they did me a favor and let me in!!

“I am in Johannesburg surrounded by people from all parts of the world! The feeling is….let the World Cup begin!!!!”

Gustavo sent along these photos below from the Argentina-Nigeria match this past Saturday. As you can see, Argentina’s devoted fans painted Ellis Park Stadium in swaths of pale blue and white, and they helped spur their team on to a 1-0 win against Nigeria: