World Cup 2006

I agree, yellow cards should of been shown. One to Figo for his boot to the face of (Abidal?), Ronaldo for continuous diving and Fogo for diving. To say the referee is biased after getting away with all that and then claiming it's because Portugal is a 'small country' is just hilarious.

England is a pretty small country, maybe that's why we lost too. :rolleyes:
 
mw84 said:
England is a pretty small country, maybe that's why we lost too. :rolleyes:
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England may only be one-third bigger in size than Portugal, but it has five times as many people. However, size doesn't matter (apparently).
 
rhisiart said:
England may only be one-third bigger in size than Portugal, but it has five times as many people. However, size doesn't matter (apparently).
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lol

Yes, it's... erm... how you... use... it (the people). So I'm told.
 
Hey! Don't talk about small countries. Switzerland was definitely the smallest country in the second round, eh? ;) ... Final: I'm for Italy. Think I've said it before. I simply don't think France should win this. Italy has shown they can take on a challenge.
 
Speaking of small countries. Why doesn't the Vatican have a team? They have the funds and the Swiss. I know.... this is silly. Sorry.

As for Italy. Why not. Could be a good revenge. They sure do want it. However...."ce n'est pas possible" according to the true supporters here. Those that refused to not give up on their team since the beginning, unlike so many journalists and fair weather fans.
 
reed said:
Speaking of small countries. Why doesn't the Vatican have a team? They have the funds and the Swiss.
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Yea, and what a great kit they would have.

swiss_guard.jpg


(P.S. See image below for dissapointed England fans)
 

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I was expecting Germany to win and, perhaps expectedly, they did. It was nice for Germany to end the tournament on some sort of high. I felt a bit sorry for them after they lost in the Semi-Finals, having exceeded expectations and played some very attacking games. As I say, they seem to have been good hosts for all the teams and the fans.

So, the Final tomorrow! Both Italy and France have solid defences. France has some older, but very talented, players. Personally, I'd prefer it if Italy won and feel the Italian team might just have the edge. Some of France's team were looking quite tired recently, too. I'd probably predict a 2-1 win to Italy.
 
I also want Italy to win. I think it will be 1-1 and then in the last minutes, Italy shoots a goal. 2-1 for Italy. What I dont like about the French team is, that most of em are not even French. Its unfair, because everyone knows, that Africans have long legs (they always win marathons) and really can run fast. Thats unfair against other teams, because for example the German team has mostly Germans, Portugal mostly Portugeese, Spain has mostly Spanish in their team etc...
 
I'd love to see Canavarro win a world cup medal, he's such a class act and a model captain. Italy might find it hard to score against the French defense though. Looking forward to a great match, will be very sorry that it will all be over by tonight...now where's that girlfriend of mine gone....!
 
Funny front page in Libération: a French newspaper here. A cartoon with the major French Ministers, Sarkozy & Co. what....posing like a football club in uniform and all. Chirac is laying down and on his jersey is written..."Zirac."
One thing is sure people are honking horns already here. We'll see later on. I'm no expert, but I see France winning. A clue...look at Zidane's face when the teams comes upon the field at the opening. His determination seems to swing things. Just a theory.
May the best team win. Ciao.
 
So, what did everyone make of the final? It certainly had some talking points!

Congratulations to Italy. The match was not particularly decisive, as both Italy and France had moments of dominating the game, and Italy certainly started to look extremely tired by the end.

The penalty did not look like a penalty to me, although there was some small contact. Hard to say. The other penalty appeal by the French, ironically, looked more like a penalty to me but it was not awarded. I think the referee was mainly OK. It was good that he allowed the game to flow as much as possible, and he was not going along with the occasional diving by both sides. Also, am I right in thinking Materazzi was involved in giving away the penalty, scoring the equilizer, and the sending off of Zidane? Quite an influence on the game, then...

Of course, as mentioned, one of the biggest events was the sending off of Zidane... Just what was he thinking? His behavior, caught on camera, looked to me to be aggressive and he lashed out at the Italian player with a strong headbutt to the guy's chest, knocking him over. There is speculation that the Italian said something to him first. Still, what a sour way for Zidane to leave international football. As well as being remembered for being a great player, it will also be remembered that one of his last acts was to lash out, get sent off, and his team lost in the World Cup final.
 
Watched the match too, thought it was very poor. Italy looked tired very early into the second half. Strange world cup, very few quality forwards shone. Klose did well but he's a relatively average player. Other than that, Henry, Ronaldhino, Ronaldo, Schevchenko...none of them grabbed any game by the scruff. We wound up with a final where both teams played with a lone striker and a packed midfield.
Have to say that I was delighted to see Canavarro picking up the world cup, what a fantastic player. Was absolutely stunned to see Zidane, what in the name of God was going through his head? Last professional game of his career, World Cup final with France a 1-1 heading for extra time, it doesn't matter what was said I just don't understand why a professional like Zidane who has surely had things said to him in the past would choose that moment to headbutt someone :(
 
I missed the first half, from what I saw in the second and extra time, France looked to be slightly (and ONLY slightly) the better team in that they seemed to be making more opportunities, unfortunately they didn't do much with those opportunities.

It was a shame that Zidane decided to end his career the way he did. His attack on Materazzi looked pretty vicious.
 
I'm _quite_ certain that something had to be said that provoked this reaction. But I can't think of _anything_ that would necessarily cause this... Friend and I were reporting the game live in a club, and this really left us stunned. I think he simply damaged his image forever now. He'll always be the one who instead of winning the game chose to ruin his halo.

I'd say this was _not_ the best World Cup I ever saw. France, after the first half, did more for the game, I thought, but since neither team managed to get the round thing into the square thing before the end of the 120 minutes, it came down to the penalties. Which, I think, is not worthy of a World Cup final. Nice, though, that Italy, who was the only team ever to lose in a World Cup final in a penalty shoot-out (because there's only _been_ one 'til 2006), now also won one.
 
France expected to win, they didnt think that the Italians were so good. The second point is, they were already very tired - that also made them weak. In the second half they were already desperately trying to win, fouling a lot. It was a great shock for the French.
 
Ah Penalties! That's the way the cookie crumbles. Most folks here seem to be glad it is over and think..."hey we came this far. Pas mal non?"
I think Thurman was the most hurt by the loss. A great player and a gentleman.
Of course the Zidane finish is on people's mind. Materazzi DID say something to Zidane. But what for him to blow his cool at such a critical moment? So unlike him. Lip readers are trying to figure it out. One theory... he called him a "terrorist." But that is just a theory.
Also that the fourth referee used a video on the call which is strictly forbidden and can only be used for sanctions posteriori. Of course Zidane mertited the sanction. Too bad. He is very good for penalty shots. Something the Italians new very well. Hmmm.
Anyway, it's over. See you all for the European Cup.

Make room for the Tour de France!!!!!
 
I don't think it matters what Materazzi said, like I said above. And let's not forget how Zidane started out. How he was _before_ they won the World Cup in 1998. He wasn't exactly the "cool" player. Guess he still had it in him... But yeah, let's move on. September, I think, is when the qualification for the Euro 2008 starts. This should certainly get interesting, because there are a few teams which will change rather drastically. France is one of them. The old men won't come back. The question is, whether there are enough younger players to fill the voids. Figo won't come back either. But I think Portugal _does_ have the players there. We've also seen some teams who already switched to a younger generation, which by 2008 should definitely be ready and should hit their high in 2010 at the next World Cup. Holland. Switzerland. And not to forget: Germany.

A side note on Germany... I watched German television (ZDF) when they lost to Italy. After the game, one of the co-commentators said they should now look forward to 2008 and 2010. And the commentator said what was on my mind: "We first have to qualify for those as opposed to ths World Cup." ;)
 
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