Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Johannesburg's Ivorian âQueenâ Keeps World Cup Hopes Alive Darren Taylor 22 June 2010 Osso Reine holds one of the wooden figurines sold in her shop...this one's in the image of an Ivorian soccer player Photo: D. Taylor Osso Reine holds one of the wooden figurines sold in her shop...this one's in the image of an Ivorian soccer player Thereâs a section of the African Queen Arts store in the Johannesburg suburb of Bramley thatâs a veritable shrine to one of Africaâs greatest-ever footballers, Ivory Coastâs Didier Drogba. An illuminated wall in a corner of the shop is pasted with posters of the striker in familiar goal scoring poses in the blue of his club, Englandâs Chelsea, and in the orange of his national team, known as The Elephants - currently participating in the soccer World Cup in South Africa. Below the wall is an old television showing hazy highlights of Drogbaâs illustrious career, and media interviews with the man himself.   The adulation for the often-scowling Drogba â this yearâs leading scorer in the English Premier League and a hero throughout the continent â doesnât end with the wall and battered TV. Itâs even on the airwaves in the store, a radio constantly playing the hit Ivorian song, âDidier Drogba, King of Footballâ in homage to the player. The dealershipâs owner, Osso Reine, says she admires Drogba for far more than his soccer prowess. He comes from her home village in Abidjan and does a lot to help the poor in Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba AP Reine devotes a corner of her shop to Ivorian soccer star Didier Drogba âAh, people enjoy Didier Drogba because he put water in everybodyâs house and he help them to finish (building) the house and he sometimes buy them the cars,â she says. Carved World Cup players In art circles in Johannesburg, Reine is known as âThe Queen.â She explains that âreineâ is French for âqueenâ and then giggles, âIâm queen of art â African art.â In her capacity as a well known art dealer, Reine is arguably the most prominent member of South Africaâs small Ivorian community. Lately, sheâs become especially famous for her range of wooden figurines carved specially for the World Cup by her relatives back in Ivory Coast. The statues are all over her shop, painted in the colors of all the teams currently participating in the tournament. Theyâre proving to be very popular among many international football fans in South Africa.  âYesterday we meet the Germany people. They come, they buy the soccer players, and they (are) very happy,â Reine says, adding that she comes from a family of artists. After studying marketing at a college in Abidjan in the 1980s, she traveled throughout Europe and the United States to sell her relativesâ traditional Ivorian artworks, especially wood carvings and masks. âThe ethnic people of Cote dâIvoire, they make many special, ceremonial masks; the masks they have spiritual power,â Reine states. She also visited South Africa in 1994, and the country âcapturedâ her heart. âI decided to stay here. I feel safe here; I also enjoy the wide open spaces,â Reine says. In little more than a decade the original âtiny and poorâ art shop she opened has now expanded to sell works from all over Africa. âNot sleepingâ because of bad African results As an âadopted South African,â Reine says sheâs âproudâ to welcome the globe to Johannesburg for the World Cup extravaganza. She maintains South Africaâs so far performing âfantasticallyâ in hosting the massive event. âI was 20 years ago in Italy when it was also World Cup there. To tell you the truth, it was not the same (good) organization (in Italy). Here (in South Africa) itâs very (much) better,â Reine comments. Unfortunately, she agrees, the same good organization canât be applied to South Africaâs underperforming national soccer squad which is already virtually eliminated from the competition.   Reine describes Bafana Bafana â as South Africaâs football team is called â as âalmost as specialâ to her as her beloved Ivory Coast Elephants. Sheâs saddened by Bafanaâs poor showing thus far in the tournament. South Africa could only draw 1 â 1 with Mexico and was hammered 3 â 0 by Uruguay in its opening matches.  âIâm not even sleeping because Bafana Bafana is my heart, you see. To see them in that condition, I was very disappointed,â Reine says. Sheâs also ânot so pleasedâ with Ivory Coastâs play thus far. Although Africaâs great hopes to lift the trophy have managed a creditable 0 â 0 draw with highly-rated Portugal, the Elephants then slumped to a 3 -1 defeat to Brazil - a result Reines says that left her ânumb ⦠but not without some hope ...â âPortugal can beat Brazilâ Ivory Coast must now beat North Korea by an avalanche of goals on Friday in their last group match if theyâre to stand any chance of progressing to the next round. This follows Portugalâs 7 â 0 drubbing of the Asians.  The art dealer insists that Drogba and company will âfill their part of the dealâ by âsmashingâ North Korea. âI wish them that, because I want to see my country go up,â she says. To further guarantee Ivory Coast a place in the last 16 of the World Cup, Brazil must beat Portugal on Friday â an outcome Reines says is far from certain, despite the South Americansâ brilliance. âAll the soccer players, they are professional, so I canât say [Portugal] canât beat Brazil. No, they can beat Brazil,â she says.  If the results go against it later this week, Ivory Coast will become the latest African team to be knocked out of the competition. Reines says this would be âhumiliatingâ given that many prominent people from her homeland are presently in South Africa to witness the Elephants adopting the mantle of âthe pride of Africaâ and making the semifinals at least.  âAll our ministers are here; everybody â even our president! We canât just go back like that (having being knocked out of the World Cup in the first round); no. We come from far; we come here to win,â she asserts. But, even if Ivory Coast falls at the first hurdle, Reines will not be tearing down her Didier Drogba posters. âIâll put more up,â she declares defiantly. âThis is Africa and we do not turn the back on people who have fought for us.â .