[OFF THE POST] Wanting to be be good hosts, South Africa organizers asked competing teams to send the special requests that will make their stay in South Africa that much more enjoyable. Some lists were short -- Slovakia only wanted two ping-pong tables and an electronic dartboard -- but others bordered on the excessive. Argentina's long list of requests included a luxury toilet for its coach, Diego Maradona.

The E-Bidet featuring a heated seat, a warm air blow-dryer and front and rear bidet wands sells for $450 at sandman.com and is billed as "the world's best toilet seat."

The request also included specifications on for new wash basins, toilet bowls, cisterns and taps.

"They felt that the basins and toilet bowls were not up to Maradona's standards," said Colin Stier, head of the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre, Argentina's base camp.

Stier added that the bathroom was torn apart to install a toilet that met Maradona's needs.

"Of course, we were happy to do so," he said. "If it makes Diego more comfortable during his stay, then it's worth the effort."

The Argentine federation went to the trouble of having an architect spend two weeks at the center to monitor work.

It also requested that the rooms in which its players stay be painted white and included a long list of menu requests, including 14 different salads, three different pasta sauces and three different puddings at every meal.