Memorable Moments from the WC Finals 2006: France vs Italy

Again, these are not necessarily about the football being played on the field. I did watch the match and I thought it was smashing, but somehow seemed to remember things that were not entirely about the football.

a) Pre-match singing of national anthems. The expression on each player's face was a miniature tale of emotions, hopes and resolve.

b) PLACIDO DOMINGO singing during half time!! PLACIDO DOMINGO, I tell you! That was just such a great, wonderful, completely unexpected treat.

c) Repeated close-ups of the special golden balls made in Germany just for the finals. Kudos to the camera-persons.

d) Thierry Henry's karate-slice action when ruing a missed chance in the second-half. I don't know why, but it made me laugh.

e) The Italian teams' 'family portrait pose' when watching the penalty kicks. Emotions were starkly on display, compared to the comparatively cooler countenance of the French (although I am sure both sets of players were equally on edge).

f) The on-field hair-cut given to Argentina-born Azzuri, Camoneresi (sp??). It was actually not a bad cut for something done with what looked like kitchen scissors.

g) Yeah, yeah, I guess I have to mention the Zidane head butt incident. It was actually quite comical, if you ask me. He squared up to Materazzi like he was about to execute the world's most obvious feel-up, then boink! Sorry, that was high comedy for a few seconds.

h) The slow-mo replay of the other players' reactions when Grosso slotted in the last penalty. The slumped shoulders of the French, the screaming relief and joy of the Italians. It just demanded operatic music in the background.

i) Italy winning the World Cup! I cannot be unbiased - I have supported Italy in World Cups since 1994, when Roberto Baggio came so close to winning it but failed from the penalty spot. 12 years later, they win it on penalties. Not quite poetic justice, but it's something anyway, and immensely satisfying.

10 Great Things about a France vs Italy final

Most of these have nothing to do with football. For that matter, I am not even referring to the particular France vs Italy match that was the WC 2006 final played on Sunday night (that will come in another post). France vs Italy is just great generally because:

1) Both teams are The Blues. This is a gold-mine for arm-chair comedians to crack blue jokes.

2) Best. National Anthems. Ever. The Italian anthem is like a stirring Verdian march (although admittedly, not top-grade Verdi; Google reveals that the composer of the Italian anthem is one Michele Novaro who had no other claim to fame) and of course, France has the great Le Marseillaise which is the most impassioned paean to patriotism in the world (and a piece of music distinguished by an arrangement by the great Hector Berlioz).

3) France has Paris. Italy has Milan. The boys would be well-kitted out, both on the field and off.

4) They usually do travelogues of the two countries as background "colour" before the match. When the two countries are France and Italy, the travelogues cannot be less than gorgeous.

5) France: French breads and pastries, crepes. Italy: Pizza, pasta, olives, cannoli. Yummmmm.

6) The post-match interviews will sound impossibly romantic to those of us who do not understand either languages. Not knocking Spanish or Portuegese, but it would not have been quite the same if it was a Argentina vs Brazil match-up. Never mind if Germany was one of the teams.

7) English commentators with plummy accents twist their tongues attempting to sound authentic when pronouncing the players' names: "Zahm-brou-tah" or "Ah-bi-ni-ahl". They usually come across a fair few awkward ones during their weekly EPL assignments, but having 22 of these on the field can only mean a few hilariously wince-worthy moments for us.

8) We are bound to get some enjoyable singing from the fans of both countries during half-time, and whoever wins, in the post-match celebrations. These are countries with proud musical traditions.

9) The stadium will look GREAT with both sets of fans decked out in blue and/or white and waving the pleasingly almost-symmetrical tri-coloured flags of both countries.

10) In recent years, France vs Italy has usually meant seeing Buffon vs Barthez in the battle of the goalkeepers; one has a name that sounds clownish and the other often looks like a clown and sometimes goal-keeps like one.

World Cup rant: The Brazil Love Affair

I am getting sick and tired of sports journalists crying into their cups/glasses/assorted beverage receptacles over the departure of Brazil from the World Cup. With Brazil's elimination, it seems that that the tournament has lost its chance to have a star illuminate the canvas, as Pele and Maradona once did. Apparently, the absence of a Latin American team in the semi-finals meant that "the party has suddenly gone flat", as one commentator pontificated in today's TODAY paper.

Sorry, but have these people been watching the same tournament as us? Sure, it would have been great it Ronaldinho & Co. had stuck around, but only if they had been playing the way they do for their clubs. Patently, they were not. Brazil were underperforming, and in the 5 matches they played in this World Cup, they came nowhere close to exciting the senses or sending the neutral spectator into raptures.

Enough with this idolatry of a team which is far lesser than the sum of its parts. As a football lover, I wanted Brazil's famed quartet to make our hearts sing and our pulses quicken. On the rare occasion, they almost did but never has so much promise delivered so little. The exit of this Brazil team playing with this little inspiration is NOT a great tragedy. The tournament would not be the poorer for it.

This bemoaning of Brazil's loss detracts from the tournament's true unfortunate casualty - Argentina. This was the team that showed the flair of Latin American football, the sheer joy of movement, the gasp-inducing feats of deft touches, delicate flicks and of course, the ubiquitous back-heel. In the end, they were stymied when they reverted against type (and instinct), but their collective World Cup display had won them fans, or at least indifference from traditional Argentina-haters. This year's Brazil might not have lost fans, but certainly did not convert the neutral.

Let us not forget that there is one semi-finalist that played as we would have liked Brazil to have played. I speak of Brazil's conqueror - France. Sure, we lost Brazil and with them, the potential for pyrotechnics from the three R's, Adriano and Kaka. But in losing Brazil, we got France and the pyrotechnics have already been on full display from their resident magician, Zidane.

To those Brazil-blinkered journalists, is Zidane's virtuosity somewhat lessened by not being South American? If Ronaldinho had played as Zidane had in the last 2 matches, I have a feeling these same journalists would be hailing his contribution as being on par with Maradona's 1986 heroics. Surely a great performance is a great performance, whichever country the player is from?

If there is a school of thought that South Americans have a genetic birth-right denied to others, well, there will be a Brazillian in the semi-finals. Portugal's Deco was born in Brazil and even spots the trademark single moniker. Big Phil Scolari, Portugal's coach is of course Brazillian, and some of his essential Brazillian-ness might rub of on the team. Heck, at the risk of dredging up ugly colonial history, let me point out that Portugal settled Brazil ages ago and a great many Brazillian footballers probably have some Portuguese genes in them.

If people need the Brazillian ideal in order to wax rhapsodic over the "People's Game", Portugal is the ready-made stand-in. For me, what I mourn is not Brazil's exit, but the fact that the Brazil that we hoped to see simply did not turn up. Of the eight quarterfinalists, Brazil put up the 2nd worst performance (only second to Ukraine who were hopelessly outclassed). There was no injustice in their exit; only the most churlish would deny that France outplayed them comprehensively and were not only more tactically sound, but also more attractive on the eye. To me, that is the ultimate indictment of this Brazillian team; that they were ultimately rather dull.

But no duller than journalists who resort to the cliches of South Americans as romantic artists and Europeans as pragmatic artisans. The last great "artistic" Brazillian team was the one in WC 1982. They were superlatively entertaining and did not win the title. Since then, Brazil has been hard-nosed, professional and as pragmatic as any German team. As a corollary, Europe has had its share of entertaining teams that played beautiful football - primarily the Dutch teams in the Cruyff days and more recently in 1998 (their quarter-final against Argentina, to me, remains a World Cup classic), and of course, the free-flowing France of the golden generation. To stick doggedly to the LatAm-Europe dichotomy is just plain LAZY journalism.

Rant over. Next - football commentators and the Dread of Dead-Air.

Looking ahead to the World Cup QFs: Thoughts on the Round of 16

The romance of footballing upsets is very fine and well, but I, for one, am glad that the traditional powerhouses were largely represented in the 2nd round matches. I don't care what they say - I would MUCH rather watch Holland vs Portugal and Spain vs France than Turkey vs Japan and Mexico vs USA (both these matches being part of WC2002 2nd round line-up). When the strong teams are in the 2nd round, you get the possibility of quarterfinals matches pitting former champions against one another - to wit, Argentina vs Germany and Brazil vs France.

It's not that I don't want less-fancied teams to do well - I was rooting for Ghana and really wanted South Korea to make it through the group stages. It's not even that I don't believe the powerhouse teams to be over-rated and sagging under the weight of their own unwarranted self-expectations - they ARE.

It's not even about the teams themselves. It's about their nations and their supporters. Even in a world that is generally passionate about soccer, these supporters stand out. There is something more than passion that defines them; there is a fierce pride and the sense of standing on at least having once stood on the path to glory. Maybe I am a sap, but I find that rather stirring.

So much for that. Back to the events in Germany in the last week.

The goals dried up somewhat but I did not find the football any less enjoyable. There were really only two truly boring games in the 2nd round; Switzerland's interminable draw against Ukraine and sad to say, England's lacklustre win over Ecuador. Italy vs Australia was actually rather entertaining, despite the defensiveness of one and the lack of finishing of the other. Argentina vs Mexico was an absorbing match, although it might have disappointed those who expected to see more of the Argentina who turned up against Serbia and Montenegro. Portugal vs Holland was strange, somewhat ill-tempered and littered by yellow and red cards but there was no shortage of good attacking football. Ghana vs Brazil was an open and attractive match, let down only by some questionable refereeing and Ghana's misfiring shots in front of goal. Germany vs Sweden started at a rip-roaring pace and although it settled to a placid inevitability later, there was not a dull moment in the 1st half. Spain vs France was an excellent match in terms of the skills and tactics on display.

In all, a good round of matches, leading to what could potentially be a great round of Quarterfinals showdowns.

I am not sticking my neck out to predict the results. Only one small prognostication: I have a feeling England can go far in this tournament. They are in the QF without having played even one half of good football, and they are facing a Portugal team depleted by suspensions. Something (call it what you will: luck or fortune or fate or destiny) is on their side.

World Cup: Thoughts on the Group stage

Far fewer surprises this year compared to the string of upsets we saw in Korea/Japan 2002. All the seeded teams survived the initial round of matches. Perhaps the biggest upsets have been the failure of the Czech Republic, Poland and Croatia to qualify; but these are minor upsets at best. Certainly, there was nothing here than approached the shock of France, Portugal and Italy booking early flights home in 2002.

I personally prefer it when the traditional "powerhouse" teams make it through to the knock-out stages. The David felling Goliath stories are fantastic and add the touch of whimsy and romance that any World Cup needs. I did think this got out of control in Korea/Japan, where we ended up with Turkey and South Korea as semi-finalists. Realistically, it is usually the big names that make it to the final anyway, and as a viewer, I want to see Argentina and Germany duke it out in a match-up that either may win rather than South Korea (2002 vintage) playing well but losing gamely to a good but not great Germany (also 2002 vintage) that still had the nous and experience to come out on top in big matches.

The fairy-tale romance of the group stages was supplied by two vastly contrasting teams; the skillful, enterprising Ghanaian Black Stars and the battling, enthusiastic Australian Socceroos. After this tournament, the Ghana players will probably be in the position of the Senegalese four years ago - highly sought after and fielding offers from a host of European clubs. Of course, Michael Essien has already trailed a path in this respect. The great Senegal experiment at Anfield (speaking from a totally biased Liverpool supporter point of view) was a mixed success, and I do think the Ghanaians might make a better fist of it. As for the Socceroos, I have been chuckling for two weeks about this team, where an oft-injured Liverpool player is the big star, and its other luminaries ply their trade in Everton, Blackburn and Middlesborough. I fully acknowledge the childishness of this sort of sniggering, but I rather think the Australians themselves might rather enjoy being the dogged journeymen sticking it to the Lamborghini-driving millionaires.

Most enjoyable matches to me were Croatia vs Australia and Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro. In a tournament of largely enjoyable matches, the Croatia vs Australia match had added drama, unpredictability and the hilarity of Graham Poll issuing three yellow cards to one player. Argentina vs Serbia& Montenegro was one of those beautiful one-sided matches that happen when a team just "clicks" and reaches sublime heights. It brought to mind Holland beating South Korea in the 1998 World Cup finals, when the Dutch machine just purred with movement. Argentina was in a similar zone in this match. I do not think we will see anything like this again in this World Cup, but we will always have THAT 24-passes goal.

Teams that impressed: Argentina, Spain, Germany, Brazil (in fits and starts), Switzerland.

Teams that were sorely disappointing but probably deserved to qualify for the next round: France, England.

Teams that showed enough to give their fans cause for cautious optimism: Italy, Portugal.

Teams that deserved better luck (and perhaps easier qualifying groups): Ivory Coast, South Korea, Czech Republic.

A few words on England (since anyone who calls him/herself a fan of any EPL club must have some interest in the English national team): The saga of Rooney's metatarsus occupied far too many column inches than I had time for. The English have this strange ability to become fixated on one small bone in the foot of one player, rather disconcerting for a great civilisation that has given us Shakespeare and Colonial Imperialism. It's great that Ronney is back for England, who looked a sorry lot without him and a very-slightly-less-sorry lot with him. The team has been completely devoid of imagination and I think Sven's a bit of an idiot, but they have not lost yet, so who am I to say anything?

How it looks like it's shaking out:

The likely money is on: Germany vs Brazil in the finals, again. Or, if sheer talent can overcome home-ground advantage, Argentina vs Brazil.

Going out on a limb for a long-odds previous-winners finals: England vs Italy or Italy vs France.

The very long-odds non-previous-winner finals: Switzerland vs Spain or Ukraine vs Portugal.

Predictions to be updated as the round of 16 plays out.