GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

for a european team...that's pretty damn good tho!

is it just me or does del piero look just like vin diesel?

Zidane ends World Cup, career with red card for intentional head-butt

By JEROME PUGMIRE, AP Sports Writer
July 9, 2006

BERLIN (AP) -- To the very end of his career, Zinedine Zidane could dictate the flow of play with rare skill and elegant control of the ball.

In the World Cup final, Zidane lost control of his temper.

The parting image for the France captain will forever be him rearing back in anger, lowering his bald head and launching his bald crown into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi's chest after the two exchanged words while walking down the field in extra time Sunday.

The game was tied 1-1 when Zidane was given a red card in the 110th minute. Without their sharpshooting captain, the French couldn't unlock Italy's defense and went on to lose in a shootout, 5-3.

"Zidane being sent off changed everything," France coach Raymond Domenech said. "Even in extra time the Italian team was waiting for only one thing, and that was penalties."

Domenech said he did not know what Materazzi said to Zidane.

"It's regrettable," Domenech said. "We regret it, he regrets it."

The strike to the center of Materazzi chest was clearly intentional, and referee Horacio Elizondo of Argentina briefly consulted with his assistants before showing Zidane the 28th red card of the tournament, a World Cup record. The previous record of 22 red cards, set in 1998, was broken before the quarterfinals round began.

"I have not seen the replays, but if it's voluntary then there's nothing you can say," Domenech said. "But it's a shame. It's sad."

Zidane, whose sparkling play carried France much deeper into this tournament than anyone expected, previously said he would quit soccer when the World Cup concluded.

Head bowed, he walked past Domenech on his way out but did not look at him. As he exited into the tunnel, his head still bent to the ground, he strode past the golden World Cup trophy and disappeared.

Earlier in Sunday's match, he had given France the lead with a seventh-minute penalty -- his 31st goal for France and third in a World Cup final. Zidane was treated for what appeared to be a shoulder injury in the 80th minute; trainers took him off but he returned, holding his right arm awkwardly and wincing in pain.

Minutes before Zidane was sent off, France striker Thierry Henry was taken out of the game in favor of Sylvain Wiltord. Early in the game, Henry bumped his head in a collision and crumpled to the ground, then went briefly to the sideline but returned.

A player of uncommon skill and technical poise, Zidane's ability to control almost any ball, his vision and penchant for big-game goals has earned him comparisons to the greatest creative talents in soccer.

His temper has always been another matter.

Playing for Juventus five years ago, Zidane butted Jochen Kientz of Hamburger SV in a Champions League match, also earning himself a red card.

Eight years ago, Zidane was red-carded for stomping on an opponent while playing Saudi Arabia. At this World Cup he collected two yellow cards and was suspended for France's third group match against Togo.

On Sunday, his penalty kick got France off to a fast start. He chipped the kick into the air and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon dived to his right. The ball sailed over Buffon, hit the underside of the crossbar and dropped over the line.

Zidane raised an arm in the air as coolly as he had taken the kick.

It was Zidane's 31st goal for Les Bleus in 108 appearances, and fifth in the World Cup. He also scored a second straight penalty after notching the winner in the semifinal match against Portugal and had two goals in the 1998 World Cup final when France beat Brazil 3-0.

He almost scored a late goal Sunday in the first half of extra time, but Buffon tipped his powerful header over the bar.

France's success at this year's World Cup had much to do with the now-retired Zidane, including the penalty against Portugal in the semifinal. Taking two steps, Zidane sent his spot kick into the bottom left corner, just out of the reach of Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.

Zidane also scored in the second-round win over Spain, a typically skillful goal which saw him cut inside a defender and then beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

His quarterfinal showing against Brazil was one of his best performances and perhaps better than the final eight years ago.

His precise passes split open Brazil's defense, his fakes sent players the wrong way, and he even twice pointed one way as if to indicate the direction of his pass and then turned around sharply in his signature spin move.

Aside from rare television interviews after matches, Zidane has routinely snubbed the press. Privately, he is believed to be furious at some pre-tournament reports that he had lost his edge.

Zidane, who has played his last club season for Real Madrid, is a three-time FIFA World Player of the Year.

World-Chirac hails Zidane despite red card shame

PARIS, July 9 (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac paid a vibrant tribute on Sunday to retiring France captain Zinedine Zidane, who ended his career in shame after being sent off in the World Cup final.

Chirac, who is due to host the players for lunch at his official residence on Monday, said he was proud of France, who lost the final on penalties to Italy. "I have a special thought for Zinedine Zidane who, if I'm correct, wore the French jersey for the last time," Chirac, who attended the final in Berlin, said on national television.

"I don't know what happened, why he was punished. But I would like to express all the respect that I have for a man who represents at the same time all the most beautiful values of sport, the greatest human qualities one can imagine, and who has honoured French sport and, simply, France."

Zidane, in his final match, was sent off in the 111th minute after he butted Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the chest in an off-the-ball incident not seen by Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo. The French playmaker was expelled after Elizondo consulted his linesman.

Chirac said he would tell the defeated French team at their Elysee Palace lunch that they had nothing to be ashamed of in defeat, and had simply lost out in the lottery of a penalty shootout. "It was really a matter of chance. So it's not for me to console them. I have simply to express my admiration and respect," Chirac said.

"I imagine they will be sad. They have no reason to be sad. They have done something extraordinary, which has gripped the whole of France, which is admirable in all respects.

"They all have reasons to be proud of what they have done and proud of themselves, irrespective of a problem of chance."

Congratulazioni in Italia che hanno giocato all'estremità amara.
Congratulations to Italy they played to the bitter end.

fantasyislander said:

i thought i was the only one that thought that!!
too bad he's italian...

SammiJ said:

oooo, but i likes me some italians!!

GRANDI AZZURRI!!!!

Penalty shootouts might be exciting to watch but they are a shitful and gut-wrenching way to decide a game imho.

Anyway, well done Italy.

Italy!

sexyitalianbastards

It's 2:30am here and just got back from the amazing celebrations in London. Soho and Trafalgar Square were full of us Italians celebrating a fantastic victory! Sweet revenge over France!!!! Forza Italia and God knows we needed this victory with all the scandal that's going on in Italian football at the moment.

And, in the words of my fellow compatriots:

Zidane, Zidane, Va fan culo!

Rico said:

i wonder if culo means the same in italian as it does in spanish.....




consulting online dictionaries....




it does!!!

fantasyislander said:

I was asking that this morning too

ZombieKitten said:

It's a slang version of vai a fare en culo, literally menas "go and do him in the ass" but it's used as a "fuck off" equivalent.

PREDOMINANT said:

I am gonna say that every chance I get tomorrow!

With the World Cup and Wimbledon over I don't know what I'm going to do with my free time!

I loved the group stages of and thought it got too negative and cagey in the knock-out stages. Teams like Austrailia, South korea and the African teams really lit up the world cup.

England as usual were so overated! Same old story every tourament- the hype, the expectation, then the downfall.

My favourite match was probably Ghana v. Brazil. Definatley a case of so near but yet so far for Ghana.

The worst was without a doubt Switzerland v. Ukraine. They even managed to make the penalty shoot out boring!

Finally congrats to Italy!

july said:

I-TAL-IA!

I knew it!!!!

Zidane vs Materazzi

I applied my lip-reading skills and this was the exhange between the two players:

Materazzi (twisting Zidanne's left nipple): "Hey Zidane, that must be some expensive cologne you're wearing, great smell!"

Zidane (smiling): "Hey man, thanks, nice one..."

Materazzi: "No, what I said was Your mother was a bald-headed coot from hell!"

Zidane: "Mon Dieu! Take that, you stupid Italian spaghetti!"

BIFF

Materazzi: "Aiiieee!"

.
[Edited 7/10/06 7:49am]

giotto said:

Bravo!

I just saw footage on TV of the French team returning home. The went to a hotel in Paris on the Place de la Concorde where thousands of french people were cheering for their heroes. There was a balcony-scene where all the players appeared. After this was done and all have left the balcony, two players return to the crowd: Thierry Henry & David Trezequet, who missed the french penalty in the final. Henry gestured the crowd to cheer for Trezequet, who was crying.....
It was a moving sight to watch and it just shows what great man Thierry Henry is, excellent!!!!



[Edited 7/10/06 14:17pm]

abierman said:

look at the dude with the guy on his shoulders... i'm telling ya, del piero and vin diesel are twins


[Edited 7/10/06 18:10pm]