GREEN FINGERS: Pitch man 'Obie' Oberholzer, with the new Rand Stadium grass Picture: RAYMOND PRESTON

As the 2010 LOC's chief competitions officer, he is effectively the World Cup's supreme groundsman.

Ensuring that all the 2010 pitches are world class is just one of Blanckensee's many portfolios, but it's the most nerve-wracking.

The world's greatest football artists can only express themselves freely on perfect canvases.

But there's also symbolic terrain at stake: images of terrible pitches have become a stock visual shorthand for the woes of African football.

It's time to give the world a verdant new image.

But at the Confederations Cup, the pitches weren't flawless. Ellis Park, Loftus Versfeld and Free State Stadium all bore the scars of lumbering rugby boots, while the Spanish team were upset about the slowness and dryness of the Free State pitch, which inhibited their zippy passing game.

"A dry pitch is an easy one to solve," says Blanckensee, a respected football administrator with a long track record at Bidvest Wits. "We're not used to watering pitches before a game here, but it's standard practice in Europe. For night matches it's not really an issue, because of the dew, but at the World Cup we will water before the day games.

"The biggest problem we had at the Confed Cup was the heavy load of rugby matches beforehand, and the sponsors' painted logos, which cause a lot of problems for the grass. Since then, we brought in an expert from the Sports Turf Research Institute, who inspected all the grounds and gave detailed reports to all the host cities.

"The most important thing is that before the World Cup we have a longer period of exclusive use, hopefully a full month, after the rugby season ends."

But Loftus Versfeld could be a troublesome pitch if the Bulls have another storming Super 14 rugby season.

The champions are scheduled to play their last home game in the round-robin phase on May 8, at home to the Crusaders.

If the Bulls don't make the semifinals, Blanckensee will get his full month of pristine preparation. But that's unlikely, since the Bulls have won two Super 14 titles in three seasons - and if they secure a home semifinal, it will be played on May 21 or May 22.

Loftus stadium manager Hugo Kemp says the stadium use agreement with Fifa allows for the staging of a semifinal.

"But on May 24, the World Cup's exclusive use begins, according to the contract," says Kemp.

"So we accept that if the Bulls reach the final, we will have to rent another stadium. We're not being arrogant about it, but we have to prepare."

For Fifa, greenness is nearly as important as evenness. And the grass is officially greener at European football grounds - it's rye grass, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa.

While it's thirstier than kikuyu, the hardy African favourite, rye stays green throughout the cold highveld winter.

"Rugby grounds have been using rye for a while now, but in the PSL we still use kikuyu, because there's no football in midwinter when kikuyu turns white," says Blanckensee.

At all the World Cup pitches, groundsmen will over-seed the kikuyu with rye in March, when fixtures allow.

In autumn, the rye will grow as the kikuyu dies back.

"We're using pure rye in Cape Town, because kikuyu is not happy down there. But everywhere else there will be an under-bed of kikuyu.

"With pure rye you need a stabiliser of synthetic material, otherwise divots come loose, but kikuyu provides stability."

No matter how meticulously a pitch is prepared, turf can be damaged and it's difficult to repair it without a "transplant", especially since modern stadium roofs shade the turf for most of the day.

That's why Fifa insist that a backup pitch is laid within a 30km radius of every World Cup stadium: if necessary, the whole stadium pitch can be relaid in an emergency.

This will be the first winter World Cup in 32 years - it was last held in the southern hemisphere in Argentina in 1978.

While the chilly nights will decimate the Brazilian bikini count in the stands, they will permit the fastest football the tournament has seen in decades. Fast football is beautiful football - as we saw at the Confederations Cup, a tournament riddled with goals, pace and flair.

And if Blanckensee and his team set perfect stages, this World Cup could be the most dramatic in history.