footballspectator

FIFA passed its sentence on Marco Materazzi and Zinedine Zidane today. Zidane was fined €5,000 and banned for 3 matches. Materazzi was fined €3,500 and banned for 2 games, meaning he will miss the World Cup final repeat - Italy’s qualifier for Euro 2008 at the Stade de France, in September. FIFA confirmed that Materazzi’s verbal abuse was not racist.

Our verdict? Bizarre. Zidane’s punishment: what’s the point of banning someone who has retired? Zidane has pledged to spent 3 days doing community service instead but still, if Zizou had done what he did on the street he would be facing a jail term. The fine is pathetic. It sends out the message that it’s OK to head-butt. Materazzi’s punishment: its disproportionate. How many times do players insult each other on the pitch? How many are punished? An insult is being deemedto be almost as bad as a head-butt!
The decision is obviously politically motivated. FIFA wants to appease the French and preserve the image of Zidane as the greatest player of his generation. It’s too much of a “coincidence” that the Matrix is banned from the match in France where he was likley to receive a “special” welcome. Blatter and Co have made a mess of this one…

OK, OK we said we would put this to bed, but then we found this “photo” which made us re-think. Maybe Zidane just suffers from a nervous tick…

A lot of our articles over the past few days have focussed on the now infamous Zidane head-butt on Marco Materazzi in Sunday’s World Cup final. We have heard what the two protagonists have had to say. It is now time to put the incident to bed. Here we take one last look at how the incident was reported in different parts of the world. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words…

According to Japanese TV:

According to Italian TV:

According to French TV:

According to American TV:

According to British TV:

According to Al Jazeera TV

Accodring to the anti-Italian German press:

Marcello Lippi and Jurgen Klinsmann both quit as coaches of Italy and Germany today. Coincidence? Probably, but these were two of the most successful coaches at the World Cup. The problem seems to have been the pressure they were both under prior to the tournament.

Klinsmann, especially, was heavily criticised in the German media due to the host nation’s poor run of form prior to the tournament. Indeed, had Germany not beaten what was effectively the US’s second team 4-1 in a friendly in Dortmund, he would have probably been sacked. Lippi’s name too had been dragged through the mud due to his links with the “calciopoli” scandal.

Yet suddenly they are both heroes who can do not wrong and all is forgotten/forgiven. While the press may have short memories, Klinsmann and Lippi do not. They know that at the first signs of things going wrong the press will turn on them again - too much success does not make an interesting story after all.Need examples? Otto Rehhagel - worshipped following Greece’s unexpected Euro 2004 victory but now “useless” after Greece’s failure to qualify for Germany. Eriksson hailed following England’s 5-1 victory in Germany in 2001, to the extent that a song was written about him, but now a waste of money for failing to inspire England’s “golden generation” who (according only to the English media) should have won the title with ease.  No question of underperforming players or overhyped expectations - no, no, it was the coach’s fault on both occasions!

Marcello, Jurgen you have done the right thing!

Zinedine Zidane finally gave his version of the events which lead to his sending off. Speaking to Canal Plus earlier this evening, ZZ apologised especially to the children and viewing public for his behaviour but said that he did not regret what he had done. Zizou said that Materazzi had used “some very strong words” and that the insults were directed at his mother and his sister. However, he did not reveal what everyone was waiting to hear - the exact words Materazzi used. This looks now looks like becoming one of those football mysteries that will never be resolved, such as why Ronaldo suffered convulsions before the final at France 1998.

At Germany 2006, we may not have seen a team as flamboyant as the Brazilian team of 1970 or 1982 or an individual performance as great as Maradona’s in 1986, but nonetheless we will all be left with our own special memories, especially Italians. The history books will show that during this World Cup, a number of records were broken.

A clearly out-of-shape Ronaldo broke Gerd Muller’s legendary record of 14 World Cup goals, which he may increase further if he gets himself into shape by 2010 (unlikely). Team-mate Cafu has won his 16th match playing with Brazil but unfortunately also became the player who has received the most World Cup yellow cards (6).

Fellow countryman Felipao, stretched his record streak of consecutive World Cup victories to 11 before Zidane’s penalty ended it in the semis. Brazilian records are not only individual. They remain the most successful team, having gone to all 18 World Cup finals, winning 64 of their 92 matches scoring 201 goals. They also hold the record for most consecutive victories (13) and most victories in a tournament (7).

Turning to finalists France and Italy now. ZZ’s red card in the final made him only the second player to be send off in different tournaments. On the good side, he became only the fourth player to score 3 goals in finals (Pele, Vava and Hurst were the others). Italy’s fourth title moves them into second place behind Brazil (5). They also equalled France’s record set in 1982 for the highest number of different scorers in a tournament (10).

Germany have an enviable record at World Cups and by qualifying from their Group, remain the only team to have qualified for the knock-out stages at every tournament they have played. Their victory on penalties against Argentina means they are still undefeated in shoot-outs.

The Swiss set two records. They were the first team not to concede a goal and yet not reach the quarters and the first team to miss all their penalties in the shoot-out loss to the Ukraine. Portugal’s Ricardo became the first ‘keeper to save 3.

The tournament was the “hardest” of all-time with a total of 26 red and 310 yellow cards. Among the yellows shown were the 3 that Josep Simunic received from Graham Poll - another record…

Many records still remain, however. Here are a few of the best:

The 27 goals scored by Hungary in 1954.

The 5 goals in a single game scored by Oleg Salenko’s against Cameroon in 1994

The 171 tournament goals scored at France ‘98.

How many of these will remain after South Africa 2010?

Speaking to Gazzetta Dello Sport, World Cup hero (and villain) Marco Materazzi admitted that he insulted ZZ, prior to being headbutted in the chest. However, he denied calling him a “dirty terrorist” or bringing ZZ’s mother into it because as he put it “for me a mother is sacred“. Materazzi lost his own mother when he was 14.

According to “the Matrix” as Inter fans call him, he held Zidane’s shirt for a few seconds  which irritated Zidane who turned around and looked him up and down before saying arrogantly, “if you really want my shirt, I’ll give it to you after the match“. Materazzi responded to this with an insult. When specifically asked whether he targeted ZZ’s sister, he described the insult as “one of those insults which one often says and which sometimes comes out during a match“….No denial then - sounds like the theory of the “sister” jibe (which we reported yesterday) wins it then!

Love Zidane? Hate Materazzi? Want to emulate your hero? Now all you need is an internet connection and you can headbutt away to your heart’s content with “Zidane - The Video Game“!

[click on picture for link. NB traffic restrictions may mean that site is not always accessible]

There is a consensus that Zinedine Zidane, normally a quiet man, must have been provoked into headbutting Marco Materazzi. Speculation is now growing as to what Materazzi said or did. Two versions are gathering pace. The first, according to L’Equipe is that Materazzi called Zizou a “dirty terrorist” because of his Algerian roots. The second, according to Brazilian TV channel Globo is that Materazzi insulted Zizou’s sister, Lila, and called her a “prostitute” twice. The channel had lip-reading experts examine the video evidence and this is the conclusion they reached.

France’s Florent Malouda said later that Zizou told the French players in the dressing room what Materazzi had said but did not divulge any details. Zizou’s agent Alain Migliaccio, told BBC Radio Five Live that his client’s reaction was provoked by some “very serious comments“. The rumours are likely to continue over the coming days and unless Zizou himself makes a statement we are never likely to know the truth.

When Zinedine Zidane stepped up and nonchalantly chipped his penalty over Gianluigi Buffon, he seemed destined to write the perfect ending to his glorious career. The World Cup final is the most high-pressured match in sport, played in front of a global audience of 2.5 billion. Yet here was the greatest player since Diego Maradona shrugging off the pressure, showing supreme confidence in his own ability and delivering. The message was clear, “I am at the top of my game“. Gennaro Gattuso, who when asked before the game how he was going to prepare to mark Zidane, responded, “Pray“, must have been worried. The doors to footballing immortality beckoned. Zidane was on the path to usurping the great Johan Cruyff and becoming the third member of the Holy Trinity of football - Maradona, Pele and now Zizou.

Fast forward 102 minutes. The score was 1-1 but France were in control. Zidane was the conductor of France’s orchestra. Italy were hanging on. They had dominated the first half and deservedly equalised through Materazzi. They should have been ahead but Toni’s header hit the bar. Gattuso had kept ZZ subdued, but the difficulty of marking him had taken its toll. He had broken free from Gattuso’s shackles in the second half and his influence had grown.

Then, in a moment of madness everything changed. There was a verbal exchange with Materazzi, a smile, and suddenly Zizou turned and headbutted Materazzi in the chest. The inevitable red card followed. This is was not the first time Zidane had lost his temper and succumbed to an an act of violence. At France 1998, he was sent off for a stamp on Saudi Arabia’s Fuad Amin and missed the next 2 matches. In 2000, while playing for Juventus against Hamburg, he was sent off for headbutting Jochen Kientz. The difference was that on both those occasions he had time to redeem himself and remind us of his wonderful quality as a player. He isnpired France to victory in the final of 1998 with two goals. In the Champions League, the abiding memory is of his athletic volley against Leverkusen in 2002 which gave Real Madrid the title. This time there would be no time for redemption - Zidane walked off the pitch and out of football. The glorious ending became a tragic one.

Without their leader, confidence drained from the French side. They seemed as shocked as football fans around the globe were. Defeat was inevitable. Fabio Grosso stepped up to complete his fine tournament and hammered the ball past the hapless Barthez in the penalty shootout. Italy were champions for the fourth time. They had not reached the heights of their semi-final performance and looked drained, but they did enough and deserved their victory for the manner in which they had won over football fans by moving away from catenaccio playing the attacking football that their talented forward line craved.

This morning Zidane was controversially given the Golden Ball, awarded to the torunament’s MVP. Fabio Cannavaro was probably a more deserving winner. He lead his team all the way, whereas Zidane let his down at the crucial moment.

In time, as the furore over his dismissal subsides, the most vivid memories of ZZ will be of his silky touch, his unrivalled skill and his ability to control a game. It has happened before: Maradona, despite his “hand of God” is remembered as a footballing genius. For what he has achieved through his career Zidane deserves his place in the pantheon of football greats as the defining player of his generation. I for one would elevate him above Cruyff as the third best player the world has seen. But today, my memory of Zidane the player is tinged. Why is genius always flawed?

Anyone who watched Brazil play cannot be anything but disappointed by the Seleçao’s performances. Newspaper Folha of Sao Paulo has now revealed the reasons behind the teams poor showing. The paper claims that the camp was divided, with half of the squad in favour of heavy drinking and other forms of “excess“, with the remainder shunning such behaviour especially during a World Cup. Surprise, surpise, two of the main culprits were Ronaldo and Adriano, who smoked and drank heavily on their days off. Kaka, Lucio, Luisao, Cris and Ze Roberto were (understandably) angered by such behaviour with Ze Roberto saying “I tried my hardest but every player must ask himself whether he did“. One day after Brazil’s exit to France, Adriano and Ronaldo were spotted out clubbing and team-mates have accused Ronaldo of only being interested in breaking the World Cup goals record (which he did).

Cafu is another who does not escape criticism - the accusation against him is that his primary motivation was to break the record for the highest number of appearances in World Cup finals matches and that he did not care about how the team did. This seems a strange charge to hold against him - surely Brazil’s progress in the tournament would also help him improve his record!Whatever the truth, the fact is that World Cups are not won on reputation but on performance and this is why Brazil failed.

Its been 3 days since Germany’s loss to Italy in the epic semi-final in Dortmund and the Germans are yet to get over it. A number of journalists have declared all out war on Italy. Yesterday the website of newspaper Die Zeit had an article entitled “Mafia in the final” with a picture of some of the Italian players posing in their underwear. It also contained a link to an article entitled “Moggiopoli“, reminding its readers of the scandal currently gripping Italian football. Rheinische Post follows Die Zeit’s line and talks of the “French Revolution” which it expects to take place in Sunday’s final. Further, rather than focussing on tomorrow’s game most German press coverage if focussing on the future of their national team.
Following the incidents that marred the quarterfinal victory over Argentina, the Germans accused the Argentineans of being bad losers. Maybe they should take a look at themselves before they accuse others.