The Italy vs France match in a glimpse

Here's my very own review on the final match played in Berlin, which marks the end of the month-long world cup season. These are just my honest remarks and are not meant to be offensive towards anyone. Your critics and comments are welcomed. To all soccer fans, keep the footie spirit as we await the start of the English Premier League, Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga and the other domestic titles up for grabs in countries all round the world!!

6 years ago, David Trezequet scored a Golden Ball in the EUFA Euro 2000 and ousted the Italians for the title of European Champion. He was the toast of the nation. Ironically, 6 years later, his spotkick crashed against the crossbar and refused to cross the line, unlike Zidane's earlier penalty kick, and handed the Italians the title of World Champions. Talk bout getting from hero to zero. Well, was it just a matter of nerves as he takes on his Juventus teammate and best buddy, Gianluigi Buffon, or was it fated that the Italians would lift the world cup this year as it is the year of the dog, according to Chinese horoscope? Only Brazil and Italy had ever won the World Cup in the year of the dog which comes around every 12 years. Guess we'll never know the truth but it is Trezequet who gifted the Italians the victory and title.

The French team started rather strongly in this match and went 1 up when Florent Malouda was felled in the Italian penalty box by Materazzi. Italian fans cried foul when a penalty was awarded and many accused Malouda of diving. I would say that it was a clumsy challenge by Materazzi and yes, Malouda was diving a little but which footballer doesn't? Anyway, Zizou stepped up to take the spotkick and converted, much to the relief of the French fans. It hit the crossbar but bounced back down and over the line. Zizou took a different penalty kick ( in terms of style ) compared to the one against Portugal. This time, he decided to lift the ball which is a risk as even experts in penalty-taking such as Beckham had blasted it off to the stands and out went England in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2004. We will see that happening to Trezequet much later in the match. But, at least, the luckless Trezequet's strike shook the crossbar. Another coincidence - they both have David as their 1st name *chuckle*

After the penalty, Italy knew that they had to find the equalizer. Italy had never trailed a game in this world cup and many thought they might crumble but they showed no signs of that at all. France fell back to defend. 12 minutes later, Italy finally found the back of the net from a set piece after many unsuccessful attempts which included one that rattled the crossbar. Italy was really putting pressure on France as they were on target thrice from 3 corners. It was Camoranesi’s persistence and tight control near the touchline that forced the corner that yielded the 19th-minute equaliser. Andrea Pirlo’s delivery was inch-perfect and Materazzi Materazzi rise above Patrick Viera and powered his header home. The scores are now tied at 1-1 and remain so until extra time.

After an enthusiastic display in the first half, more action was expected in the second half. But, instead, it turned into a lacklustre performance by both teams. There were creativity in the midfield, near-misses but still no goal. The Italians had a disallowed goal ruled for offside early in the second half with Luca Toni heading pass Barthez. Well, that was the exact same way France scored against Brazil - Viera was in an offside position but Henry wasn't. So Henry’s goal counted. This time, Toni was in an onside position, but his teammate to the nearside (i.e. farther away from goal, and not interfering with play) was offside. Toni’s goal was brilliant but the linesman flagged it away. Well, it is really rather hard to judge if Toni was offside as so many players were standing close to each other in the penalty box. It looked like Toni's head was offside though his legs weren't. Can't be real sure, though. *shrugs*

Anyway, the game continued with the Italians having more possession but lack the strike force in front of the goal. As the game plays on, France came out of their shell and took a different approach. France had always been well-known for being defensive and it was evident during the qualifying and group stages. Low count of goals scored and low count of goals conceded. No doubt France have the best back four in Lilian Thuram, Willy Sagnol, William Gallas and Lizzarazu ( replaced by the young but talented Abidal ). Experience comes with age, though, with Thuram and Gallas called out of retirement for this World Cup.

It was near impossible to penetrate the French defence and Toni did not justify himself as the top scorer in Italian Serie A and the first man in 40years to score more than 30goals for one season. Toni, like nearly every striker in every team ( ie Pauleta, Henry, Ronaldo of Brazil, Van Nistelrooy, Wiltord, Gilardino etc. ) was way below par.

Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian captain, at the other end was driven to near insanity by Franck Ribery, Henry, Zidane and Malouda. Materazzi, the hard-tackling central defender, Fabio Grosso, the versatile leftback, and Rino Gattuso, the defensive midfielder, struggled to hold on the defence alongside Cannavaro. Even Camoranessi, Totti, Perotta and Pirlo were forced to play on their own side of the pitch. However, France did not take their chances and the Italians forced the match to go into extra time. There was several incidents in the Italian penalty box but the referee was not going to reward another penalty after giving a rather harsh one in the first half. Surprisingly, Elizondo, shown so few yellow cards in this match. He was the referee who sent off Wayne Rooney for stamping on Carvalho.

Anyway, back to the match.. On it went into extra time. 1st half, no goals... 2nd half, still no goals... Just at that moment the sun had reappeared from behind a cloud to throw light on Italy’s spirited recovery and stoke up the temperatures inside the arena, Henry began to emerge as a key performer, seemingly impossible to shrug off the ball, and that also brought the best out of the dynamic newcomer Frank Ribery. France came close on several occasions and in extra time Zidane would have scored with a header had Buffon not denied him. The night was soon to take an even more devastating turn for Zizou, a moment of madness ensuring that his retirement began at least nine minutes earlier than it should have done. The French wizard was shown a straight red card for headbutting Materazzi. Everyone thinks that only the young players lose their head but it seems that the older ones lost their cool even more frequent! Figo did the same thing against Mark Van Bommel of Holland. Figo was lucky to escape with a yellow card. But not Zidane. It is really disappointing to see such a brilliant player like Zidane to react so immaturedly especially when the match looked like it was heading down to penalty shootout and he is France's most trusted player to convert the spotkick. Materazzi definitely said something really offensive and filthy but Zidane could've kept his composure and ignore such a foul-mouthed player. What Materazzi said remains a puzzle until and unless Zidane or Materazzi wants to reveal it but here's what the Inter Milan defender offered :

“I’m not cultured and I don’t even know what an Islamic terrorist is,” Materazzi was quoted as saying in Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport. He didn’t specify what he said to Zidane.
"I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned round and spoke to me, sneering," the Italian defender said. "He looked me up and down, arrogantly and said: 'If you really want my shirt, I'll give it to you afterwards.' "

Finally, the match headed to the old nemesis - penalty shootout. Brutal to the loser but it does settle the score and a winner emerges. Both the goalkeepers were unimpressive and did not manage to save a single penalty kick. Most of the time Buffon dives the wrong way. Barthez, on the other hand, was better at picking a side ie right or left but the balls were either too fast for him or too far from his reach. So, it came down to the penalty-takers themselves and on that fateful night, Trezequet fell from hero status to zero in bout 1 minute. He was the 2nd player to take the spotkick for France after Wiltord converted the first one. The ball rattled off the crossbar without crossing the line and Buffon pumped his fist into air while Trezequet stares in bewilderment. De Rossi made up for his four match ban by converting the 3rd penalty for Italy before Abidal drove home the 3rd for France. Quite a surprise to see Abidal stepping up to take the penalty but he is indeed a fitting replacement for Lizarazzu. Next came Del Piero and the Juventus captain fired the ball into the back of the net. It'll be all over if Willy Sagnol misses but the ice-cool defender chipped the ball in neatly. The 5th and final spotkick for the Italians will be decisive in crowning them world champions. Fabio Grosso, the unknown defender before the World Cup who marked his place in the squad by scoring against Germany in the semifinals, took his place in front of Barthez. Like all defenders, he was composed as he took the spotkick. A no-nonsense left-foot strike into the right-hand corner of the net underlined the contribution the Palermo defender has made to the Italian cause this past month. Italy was crowned world champions for the fourth time, after a gap of 24 long years. Forza Azzurri!!

All in all, I wouldn't say that it was a pretty victory for Italy but they are the worthy champion judging by way they performed throughout this world cup. France is a fantastic team with sensational players. Kudos to France! Trezequet should not be blamed for the defeat as taking a penalty not only requires skill but also lots of luck, which apparently, he lacked. All the 5 players who were handpicked to take the spotkicks had come out tops during practice session otherwise their respective coaches would not have selected them. Lifting the ball had always been risky though it is a guarantee that the goalkeeper would be unable to save it. Quite evident as Buffon was clearly beaten only for the crossbar to deny Trezequet a goal. Hence, most players opt for a curled, fast ball, preferably just 1cm away from the goal post. Most of the time, the goalie will be beaten unless he picks the right side and manage to cover the entire goal mouth. Rolling-on-the-grass and to-the-centre spotkicks are the ones goalkeepers always hope for, especially when it could barely tear a tissue paper!

Italy had always been a powerhouse in football and Italian Serie A is one of the most acclaimed league. However, the national team had been nothing but disappointment. Even the illustrious Paolo Maldini did not get the honour to lift the world cup as Italian captain with a squad packed with skill&quality. Italy usually play stylish games with classy passings but the results are often against them. However, Marcello Lippi changed the approach and tactics in transforming the Italian team into a world-beating team, concentrating on getting the goals and winning matches. Most importantly, Lippi does not select his squad only from big clubs like AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and AS Roma. Instead, he included Luca Toni of Florentina , the top scorer of the Italian Serie A, and Fabio Grosso of Palermo ( moving to Inter Milan next season ) in his first team.

Well, that marks the end of the World Cup and it'll be another four years of waiting. Until then, the World Cup stays in Italy. Campioni Italia!