The footballers will have a whole wing of the five-star hotel at their disposal. The floors are marble, the rooms are modern, the beds are soft and the hotel also has a modest fitness room. The big unheated outdoor pool will probably remain unused, given the winter temperatures in June in the southern hemisphere.

 

The players will be screened off from the other guests as much as possible. Their section will have its own dining room, for instance, and Dutchman Frank Salentijin will be in charge in the Hilton’s kitchens. He visited South Africa when he was in his 20s and has never left since. Together with the two chefs who will be arriving with the team, he will be responsible for the players’ diet.

 

This imposing Dutchman  - he's 2.07 metres tall! - is consulting with the chefs in the Netherlands about the menu. What can the Dutch team expect?

 

 

And, of course, boboti, a South African casserole with sweet curried minced beef, he explains.

 

Frank Salentijn has not received any wish lists from the players. But some very Dutch products like hagelslag (candy sprinkles) and ontbijtkoek (ginger 'breakfast' cake) will have to be imported with them on the plane. The chef is clearly keen: “I’ll be extra proud to see them at work on the pitch, knowing what they had to eat that day.”

 

About 20 minutes drive away from the hotel is Holland’s training ground. On the campus of Witwatersrand University, groundsman Johan Smith leans over the hedge around the pitch. He is literally watching the grass grow.

 

 

This used to be a rugby pitch covered in kikuyu, a stiff African grass. No good for football, the world football association FIFA ruled. So Holland would get a new pitch with a different kind of grass.

 

Johan Smith ploughed up his old pitch and seeded the 11,000 square metres with 750 kilograms of European grass. All paid for by FIFA and carried out according to its strict regulations: there’s a card indicating how wide the lanes mown in the grass must be and how long the grass has to be.

 

Mr Smith recently received a visit from Philip Cocu, assistant to the Dutch national coach, Bert van Marwijk. He decided that the training complex in Johannesburg looked reasonably good but demanded a few alterations.

 

Johan Smith was instructed to keep the grass short to allow the pitch to become firm. The markings still have to be drawn and there are no goalposts yet. The dressing rooms and the stands will be getting a new coat of paint and the fencing will be changed. At present you can see the pitch from the street. And the national coach does not want any peeping toms checking out his game tactics.

 

Johan Smith will be at the complex during the training days. “I’ll be working with the Dutch national coach. They may want the pitch watered or mowed shorter. Then I’m their man.” 

He’s hoping the Dutch do well in the World Cup so that “his” training ground remains in use until the end of the competition.

 

Holland will be playing their first match in Johannesburg on 14 June, against Denmark.