Decision Time
Kudos to the World Cup folks for making U2 the official soundtrack to the games; today, we see the end of a month’s fun and excitement, and those of us who love the event will have to wait until South Africa hosts in 2010 to get our next fix.
But we have one more to go, and it’s the big one. I think that on paper, Italy should win; but on paper never meant less than it does in this sport, and in this final game in particular. France will shock the world with two World Championships in three Cups, and Zidane will take his rightful place as one of the three best players to ever set foot on the pitch…
France 2, Italy 1…
UPDATE 1:03 p.m.: Wow, what a blow to France, as it looks for all the world like Henry suffered a concussion in the opening moments, though he has returned to the pitch…
UPDATE 1:07 p.m.: Whoa – who says this sport is boring? The 2006 World Cup Final is off to a crazy start – a foul in the box, and France goes up 1-0 with a penalty kick from – who else – the great Zidane…
UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: One of the knocks against soccer is the flopping – not in this game thus far; people are going down because they are hurt. Pretty rough start…
UPDATE 1:19 p.m.: And it’s a new game in the 20th minute, as Italy scores off the beautiful set piece: a header from the corner cross, and we’re all square…
UPDATE 1:30 p.m.: No more scoring, but Italy is in control right now…France is turning the ball over far too much in the midfield, and Italy is just crisper…
UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: Well, I guess I’m liveblogging this thing – I should have advertised, I think I’m liveblogging to myself. In any event, France needs to try harder to avoid the corner kicks, because Italy is downright dangerous with those headers off the cross – very nearly 2-1…
UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: There’s sure to be plenty of stoppage time, but it appears the first half will wind up tied…there’s the announcement – just two minutes? Odd…
Good first half, though, and it’s anyone’s game, though Italy is definitely dominating possession and looks to be the crisper team…
UPDATE 1:53 p.m.: Oh, God, a Jim McKay feature coming…ahh, skip that…here’s some half-time reading from the much-maligned Mark Starr, who remembers the hopes for a new France that flowed after France’s 1998 victory, and the disappointment that followed (the lesson: don’t look to sports to solve your policy problems)…
UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: Beautiful shot of the stadium in Berlin as the second half gets underway…I’ll certainly miss the spectacle…
UPDATE 2:08 p.m.: Beautiful movement by Henry…it’s a pity that there was so payoff…
UPDATE 2:10 p.m.: Ummm, no…that was not good by Henry…too much fooling around, when he had a clear chance for a shot on goal…
UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: Well, Italy is living a charmed life right now, as France has come out attacking…
UPDATE 2:19 p.m.: I wonder if the French attack at the beginning of the second half has worn Italy down some…as the match enters the 60th minute, Italy looks tired to me…
UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: Well, shows what I know…now it’s France looking tired, and Italy may very well have been robbed..that looked like a score…good attempt by Henry on the counter…nice action here…and surprising, this late…
UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: Well, there’s Bill Clinton and Chelsea…and now, in the 72nd minute, both times are beginning to look a little long in the tooth..
UPDATE 2:39 p.m.: And Zidane comes back on, after an apparent injury (it actually looked like a flop)…nice to see…
UPDATE 2:46 p.m.: France has certainly had its chances, but here we are in the 88th minute, and it’s beginning to look a lot like overtime…
UPDATE 2:51 p.m.: And that’s the end of regulation; Italy has to feel very, very fortunate to still be in this thing; France dominated the second half, but just couldn’t connect…
UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: And another magnificent shot of the beautiful stadium in Berlin…
UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: Neither time has been able to string together much in this first overtime as it passes the halfway point; fatigue will clearly be the dominant factor from here…oh, France missed a great chance there!…
UPDATE 3:09 p.m.: Ohhhhh! That was so close to being a great moment! Zidane should have had that header…
UPDATE 3:11 p.m.: Some severe exhaustion hitting Henry here, as the first overtime ends…still 1-1…
UPDATE 3:15 p.m.: That’s it for Henry, who had some great runs…a shame he couldn’t put one in the net…
UPDATE 3:18 p.m.: Well, what an ugly sight. The end of the career of Zidane with a headbutt to the chest…suddenly, the game loses its luster…wow, what a crappy thing to happen…
UPDATE 3:28 p.m.: Well, despite being one man up, the Italians continue to struggle…this one will go to penalty kicks…still, the Zidane headbutt looms over the game, and has really marred this final…the crowd is not happy, but they are angry about the wrong thing, as Zidane clearly was completely out of bounds…
UPDATE 3:42 p.m.: Well, that’s it then…Italy, 5-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 regulation and overtime…and fitting, really, as France, though the better team, killed the whole mood (or should I say Zidane did). Congrats to Italy, as they win their 4th World Cup…
About the Zidane Headbutt!
I find that the act of zidane even though lacking in beauty was justified.
Racism in Europe is alarmingly increasing whether be it in Football stadiums or in every day life. Swastikas are becoming a normal sight in Soccer stadiums today. Insulting and attacking coloured players is becoming a habit. Even making monkey sounds and throwing bananas every time a coloured player touches the ball(Italy and Spain).. This is not acceptable anymore. Its really gone too far.And the newly ammmended FIFA sanctions against racist behaviour are a joke!.. Somebody had to come up and show that Enough is enough and this is what zidane did. Thank you for standing up for your honour and the honour of other minority players like you.
And for those who keep on saying: ” He should have kept his cool , because its the Worldcup and his last game”.. Do you not realise that the message your sending is simply: Its ok to let racist behaviour slip by , just because its the Worldcup?..Soon people will start finding their own excuses to let racism slip by… No , racism has slipped by already too much. Enough is Enough . I think Zidane made the strongest statement any player can make on the last game of his carrier: NO TO RACISM.
note: we will know in a couple of days what exactly are the “very grave” comments that matterazzi said when Zidane speaks out as he promised.
People like you should be burned at the stake. First of all, you have no fu**in clue what was said, yet, you write as if you do know. You see, the problem with the world is that people like you live in it — you make claims that are completely unsupported, and you actually think that your convictions are justified. If it was up to me, I would torture and disfigure people like you. You’re a superficial child of the politically correct generation — completely empty convictions — your ideas are the voice of a guilty, upper-middle class conscience. I don’t expect you to understand what I’m saying, so go ahead, chant away your slogans of “anti-racism”. I feel sorry for you.
Um, lp, you can leave that kind of talk at the door; this isn’t that kind of blog. I welcome all comments, and I don’t ask for a particular viewpoint; but this talk of torturing and burning at the stake is completely out of line…
Disagree away, but not in this manner – not in my house, at any rate…