I disagree. The US doesn't suck. Sure 10-15 years ago they sucked, but soccer in the US is still growing and still improving. Nobody can expect them to be as good as England or Brazil, they're like children in this game. Put it in perspective, soccer isn't nearly as huge in the US as it is in any other country and I'm sure in the next 10 years we'll continue to see the US make advances. Development takes time and they started much later than the rest of the world. The fact remains, they're not going to become a superpower overnight.

What they may become and what they are now are two very different things. IMHO, they suck. When a team goes that long without 1 single point on European Soil in WC play, they suck. Say what you will, but even <b>Ghana</b> has more points, and they are far younger than the US. They look like a deer in headlights when they play teams. They can't shoot, and they can barely defend. I stand by my analyisis that until they get a better "farm" system, and learn to take chances and get a coach that understands the game, they will continue to suck.

Dont underestimate bench scoring. Football is just as much strategy as it is physical. The US doesnt have the caliber of players as some of the other clubs, so a little strategy goes a long way. (Especially since Reyna is not holding his own as a cap)

Johnson should be starting anyway making it uneccesary to bring him in as a sub, but using a strong, physical man up front against a tired defense late in the game is how a possibly inferior team can use the depth of its bench to level the playing field.

And please dont judge World Cup teams by past performances that are 8 years old or more. Look at the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks 8 years ago. You'd be hard pressed to name more than a handful of members on this team that ever saw World Cup play in Europe. How can that past performance be on their head? If anything, it shows the improvement of the team in the past 2 World Cups that they made it deep 4 years ago and held of Italy this year.

Im willing to call game one nerves, inexperience playing as a team and poor leadership by Areana and Reyna and be optomistic about the team's future.

Spain 3-1 Tunisia
Spain are looking good, 7 goals in two games. They are the biggest under-achievers in football, so they've got to win something eventually.

And I still don't get how the US are ranked 5th in the world. Ahead of England, Argentina, Portugal, France, Spain.....??

Good question....

Look, I understand about strategy and all that. The point is, that unless you have some good quality players that can play anywhere in the world and a coach that actually <i>uses</i> strategy, you won't win. Tell me all you want about Brian Mcbride being MVP of Fulham. My response.. AND?? Fulham is horrible. Look at the other teams doing well.. Spain for instance. They have more players playing in the premiership now. Guess what? Their team is alot better in the WC. I just think that until the US gets players that can play in the Premiership or other great leagues (because MLS is just horrible) they won't do anything.

The past performances will always be on their heads because <b>they were ranked 5th in the world and touted as being a strong team</b> Not only that but some idiot on ESPN said Keller was the top keeper in the world. What the hell is he smoking? I need some of that shit.

I'm an American. I love the beauty and simplicity of Football. (yes, it's football damnit, at least get the name right--maybe you'll play better) ;) However, I will not cheer for the US team because I find them severly lacking in passion. Give me a US team with passion and fire and I will support them win or loose. (except for when they play England) :D

Am I the only one pissed off that the last round of the group stages sees matches being played at the same times?

The games - up to now - have been played at 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00 my time, and I got to watch them all. Imagine my horror when I found out that the games were now being played two at a time -at 16:00 and 21:00. Now I'll have to watch what our public broadcaster chooses to screen and miss the other game being played in that timeslot. :mad:

Serves me right for not reading the schedule properly.

Nah, I'm not pissed off about it - at least not today. I'm watching the Germany/Ecuador match since I'm not interested in the Poland match. And later I'll be watching the Sweden/England match. But, I'm sure I'll hit that point later this week when I want to watch 2 games that are on at the same time.

There is a Reason for that :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footbal...82#First_round
West Germany vs. Austria

I don't even think he's the best US keeper. He's a good GK, don't get me wrong, but Brad Friedel is a much better keeper. Is he injured or something?

Friedel announced his retirement from international soccer early in 2005.

Michael Owen injured 3 minutes into the England match. You hate to see that happen to any player.

grrrr

Owen just had to get hurt.

Damnit Damnit Damnit!!!!

He's brilliant with the ball. At least Rooney is in there. I'm betting he scores today.

What the bloddy hell?

Can someone explain to me why Ferdinand and Rooney were taken out?? Jesus.

I really really hate last minute goals. Have fun with Germany, Sweden.

Germans. Pah! We fart in their general direction.
Really nice game between England - Sweden.

When was the last time England actually beat Sweden at football? ;) I'm worried about Germany though, I had preferred a win.

I wish we could clone Allbäck. What a fighter he is! :love: :thumbsup:

Well, before yesterday, Sweden had won the last 11 matches against England. So I guess that makes it 12 matches.

Alot of people are saying Ecudor can beat England. With Owen out, I'm a bit worried but I think England can pull it out.

Rio had a bit of a groin pull, but he's OK, they just weren't taking chances. Rooney was tired, he's not quite up to 90 minutes but almost. Anyway, Gerrard scored so it's all good.

Hello, Equador.

Well, Owen is out. This is a huge blow to England's chances.

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060621/1/7zf7.html

Owen ruled out of tournament
21 June 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com

Michael Owen received the news the whole of England was fearing, if expecting, when it was confirmed on Wednesday that he would miss the remainder of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

The England striker was stretchered off after twisting his knee awkwardly just 74 seconds into Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side’s 2-2 draw with Sweden in Cologne, and his club, Newcastle United have revealed that he has suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

This could well mean a period of at least five months in rehabilitation for a player who only recently returned to action from a broken foot that had sidelined him since 31 December.

Owen, who has flown home to England, said: "Obviously it's a massive blow to suffer the injury – and to be out of the World Cup. As soon as it happened I knew I was in trouble. It was a major disappointment to pick up the injury so early in the game.

"I'll go back home now and work with the Newcastle medical staff to put a recovery programme in place. I'm clearly sorry to be leaving the lads in Germany, but I'm convinced they can go on and achieve success.

"I'll be following all the matches very closely and giving them my full support, hopefully all the way to Berlin. My main objective is now to get fit as quickly as possible for Newcastle United."

The thoughts of England fans will be dominated by sadness for Owen, but there will also be the realisation that the 26-year-old’s injury leaves a gaping void in their side’s attacking armoury, particularly as Wayne Rooney is still evidently short of match-fitness and only the untried teenager Theo Walcott can be considered a genuine like-for-like replacement for the Newcastle striker.

Eriksson, however, opted to leave that particular dilemma for another day and focus on sympathising with a player who has long been his first-choice striker.

"Michael has had terrible luck with injuries since Christmas," said the England coach. "I feel very sorry for him to miss out on the rest of the World Cup - it's blow to him and a big loss for the team.

"However, I am sure Michael will work very hard to get back as quickly as possible for Newcastle and England. He is a true professional and a very mentally strong person. I hope the team can now go on and achieve success in Germany for Michael."

I see you guys haven't yet raised the Lampard argument.
How the hell he plays instead of Gerrard and Hargreaves, God alone knows. What a waste of space he is.

The commentator said it's been 38 years since England have beaten Sweden.
Gerrard was left out because he was on a yellow and they didn't want to risk him missing the next match.
Lampard is still a world class player, he will come good in this tournament.

Yeah, as a Liverpool fan, the Scouser is my favourite player, but Lampard has what it takes also. He's a bit inconsistent but when he hits his stride he's among the best.

A stat i've seen is 18 shots 0 goals. It seems he needs a deflection to score. Its a damn shame that Gerrard has to hang back and cover, he has way more to offer than FL. Its not his game.

Anyway, he STILL manages to score more than the goal hanger.

edit. And FL was on a yellow too.

Ghana just got the softest penalty I have ever seen!
Unlucky US....

I agree, very soft penalty. But, what's done is done. I'd like to see Eddie Johnson come in for the US - they could use a spark. They should be playing with much more urgency... especially with Italy up against the Czechs.

Here's your answer: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=188829&cid=15559199

If a player receives a yellow card in two consecutive games he is suspended from the next match. The slate is wiped clean after the group stage but it is still possible to be suspended for the second round match. That is if you receive a yellow card in the second and third group stage matches.

I may be wrong on some point here but that's my understanding of it.

Maybe now everyone will agree with me that the US sucks. Soft penalty or not, they still just can't convert chances. Their shots per game is pathetic.

They have 4 years to get some real talent.

As bad as I feel for the US (yes, a soft penalty by anyone's standards) I'm glad to see that at least ONE of the African teams have made it through to the round of 16.

How they'll make out against Brazil is another story altogether.

You never know - Brazil has not impressed so far, damn Aussies gave them a good match.

speaking of soft, I think a strong breeze could take down and injure many of Ghana's players... thus giving American haters of the sport more ammunition. the blatant takedown of McBride(?) just outside the box for the last yellow was a nice touch too... (probably not that he would have done anything with it)

oh well, I still have my Oranje.

All I can say is bring on Italy. Go the Aussies. Bit tired this evening - having to get up at 4am to go to the pub to watch our game against Croatia has taken it out of me.

Ha ha, now you know how I felt when it was in Japan/South Korea! :)

Not anymore. :(

Definitely one of the more memorable games of the tournament, albeit for all the wrong reasons. IMO, the ref let the game get away from him a bit - especially in the beginnings of the 2nd half.

Who am I going to support now?

I was really disapointed by the Netherlands/Portugal game. The ref was horrible and inconsistent and the lack of sportsmanship was appalling. I think the Netherland coach should be kicking his ass all the way home for not putting Ruud VN in the game. I mean really, he's one of the best target men in the game and you leave him on the bench?? M.O.R.O.N.

My only consolation is that Christiano is in the round of 8 now.

The England game started out really flat. If it weren't for the pure brilliance of Beckham, I think the English would have lost. They look good when they press the ball, but for some reason they act like they want to sit back too much, too early. :shrug:

On a side note, that winner for Argentina was a thing of pure beauty!!

I'm so sorry for australia. That penalty was joke. But Italy won't win another game I hope.

just a little humor:



It's just before the England v Brazil match. Ronaldinho goes into the Brazilian changing room to find all his teammates looking a bit glum.


What's up?" he asks.


"Well, we're having trouble getting motivated for this game. We know it's important but it's only England They're shite and we can't be bothered."


Ronaldinho looks at them and says, "Well, I reckon I can beat them by myself... you lads go down the pub." So Ronaldinho goes out to play England by himself and the rest of the Brazilian team go off for a few jars.After a few pints they wonder how the game is going, so they get the landlord to put the teletext on. A big cheer goes up as the screen read" Brazil 1 - England 0 (Ronaldinho 10 minutes)". He is beating England all by himself!


A few pints later and the game is forgotten until someone remembers, "It must be full time now, let's see how he got on."


They put the teletext on. "Result from the Stadium ' Brazil 1 (Ronaldinho 10 minutes) - England 1(Lampard 89 minutes)."


They can't believe it, he has single-handedly got a draw against England!! They rush back to the Stadium to congratulate


Ronaldinho. They find him in the dressing room, still in his gear, sitting with his head in his hands.He refuses to look at them. "I've let you down, I've let you down." "Don't be daft, you got a draw against England, all by yourself. And they only scored at the very, very end!" "No, no, I have, I've let you down...I got sent off after 12 minutes....!!

oh for sure! it was horrible.

who was the 2nd game today? ukraine vs swiss... what a borring game!
but it's funny that they lost but didnt consede a goal.(in normal time.)

Todays games should be a lot better, Ghana Vs. Brazil and then Spain Vs. France.
Goals-a-plenty I hope!

brazil got their game back ,asfor france beating spain that really sucked.

Yeah this is a pretty bad World Cup for results.. nl and us already out and looking like yet another germany/brazil final.

bah, i like the result this far. it would be pretty cool to see france beat brazil.
france and germany for the final? :>

Gimme England-Argentina in the final. Need to pay 'em back for "The Hand of God" and for trying to steal our islands a few years back!

;)

Well...Argentina vs. Germany tomorrow.

Pretty much an early final if you ask me.

I know I'll be at work wondering how the game is going, but I won't give in to the temptation. Must...wait...to...get...home.

Oh man oh man oh man

What a huge disappointment for Argentina. Leading the game 1-0 until Germany pulled the rug under them!!

I can't believe the substitutions the Argies made, they're 1-0 up and they make defensive subs! That an Italian tactic, not Argie!

It's all set up for an England V Germany final now! :)

Yeah, Like I said before, the game lasts 90min. You just can sit there and play it cool when you're only one goal ahead. Especially against Germany, we don't stop fighting till the end.

Great saves by Lehmann.
Jens Lehmann du bist ein Fussballgott :D

If there's anything I admire about the German team (asides from their amazing goalkeeper) it is their spirit. When they all stood arms around shoulders during the penalties, they looked like winners already.

Now, if anyone could tell me what the hell happened afterwards? :confused: I didn't know it was possible to give out red cards after the game is over...

i missed the end after the penalty kicks. what happened? i know something went wrong with the players and they got in a fight or something??

it was still a great game. i still think germany for the final. it would be great!!

..........yes,what happened????? :eek: :confused: :eek:

according to a german newsmagazin, Tim Borowski of the German team signaled the Argentinians to be quiet because they insulted the german players during the Penaltys. After Germany had won an argentinian player wanted to kick Borowski but he kicked Metzelder instead (probably mistaken him). For that the agentinian player recieved the Red Card (affter the Game!) and a fight started. I think there will be more Cards for the argentinians.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/inte...424554,00.html

Edit:

Borowski signals the argentian players to be quiet because they insulted the german players
http://img.aftonbladet.se/sport/0607/01/hanar438.jpg

Cufre kicks Metzelder:
http://img.aftonbladet.se/sport/0607/01/sparken210.jpg

Metzelders Leg:
http://img.aftonbladet.se/sport/0607...-Brak4-602.jpg

Ouch!

That was really uncalled for.

here is a video about it:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DBDN9jh1sw4

I don't know what the guys are talking about, but I looks like too much machismo on the argentinian side.

Well the defender did lie down in front of the striker, he really shouldn't have done that. Sure the striker could have jumped over but he doesn't have to.

Germany will beat Italy though, (I hope).

Whats the point of giving Argentina a red card anyways since they're out of the tournament??

Oh my god, England are cursed! :mad::(:mad::(:mad::(
<----Doesn't look like it is coming home....

I was just gutted after that result. Even with ten men, they had chances to win and played even, at times better, than 11 man Portugal. But when it went to penalties, and no Beckham or Rooney to take one, and Lampard leading off, I had a bad feeling.

My opinion on penalties is it doesn't matter how good a scorer a guy is supposed to be, the guys you have take those kicks are the guys who are playing well, because they have the confidence. Lampard's confidence was zero and it went downhill from there.

I felt sorry for the English penalty kickers, they all looked like they were heading for their own funeral. But their offensive play was pathetic. Kicking long balls up to Crouch and hoping he will perform some solo magic against three or four defenders, that's not going to win a game. That's how we played in fifth grade maybe.

Asides from that, gooooo Europe! :D :thumbsup:

Yes, could someone more rules-of-the-game-savvy than me explain that? Please?

I think it's mostly just to send the message; however, FIFA does impose monetary fines for cards accrued in the cup. I don't think that they are significant, unless they can also add additional fines on top of the mandatory ones. Perhaps a card being awarded could be a factor in FIFA's determination of the extent of additional fines?

In terms of the World Cup it means nothing, but the player is now suspended for the next 3 international games and will get fined accordingly for his red card. Also, he may get a longer suspension and bigger fine, if FIFA think it was unnacceptable (which it was).
Thinking about it, I can remember my brother getting grounded for the same thing, but he was 6.....

can i just mention the pleasure i took in watching the majesterial demolition of brazil done by france on saturday? zidane seemed to me the sun ra of football that afternoon--from a slightly other dimension. i do not have the faintest idea where this france team was during the group stage--let's hope the version of the french team we saw play brazil is the one that shows up thursday to demolish portugal...allez les bleus....

I'm so disgusted with the British team. The few times they actually tried to attack they looked good. But once again they chose to sit back and get beat. After watching the Rooney play about 100 times, I don't think he should have be red carded. I think he stepped on the player accidentally. I didn't really see him doing it on purpose. I did find it funny when he pushed Christiano though. There is no Manchester love during the world cup I suppose. Anyway, wtf is up with Lampard?? He looked like a school boy out there among men....

I don't really know who to go for now. Even my Man Utd. loyalty can't help me decide.


Fucking underachieving English

www.ihateronaldo.com

Fucking cheating winking bastard. I hope Rooney decks him good and proper when they get back to the Man Utd training ground.

And that's all I have to say about that.



Honestly, it's Sven's fault (the manager). He simply cannot motivate players.

Good thing it was his last game. I just hope Sven hasn't had him in his back pocket like I think he has...

I'll be going to a German restaurant to watch the game tomorrow. Go Germany!

I was under the impression that rooney was red carded because he shoved the Portugal player in the middle of the whole mess

Nope it was for the "stamp" on the Portuguese player, according to FIFA.

I get the feeling Ronaldo will have an uncomfortable start to the season at Man U.

As was I.

Which wasn't a red card.

The Portugal player he shoved was Christiano Ronaldo, his Man Utd teammate, who ran straight to the ref and began appealing to him. When Rooney shoved him that's what the ref picked up on as far as I can tell. But a shoving's not a red card, it's a yellow at most and a quiet word.

i don't know...all is fair in love and war...and football. i mean, this is the world cup...and if you've got to get one of your club teammates tossed to help your national squad move through, then that's what you do. on the field, its all business. cheating / influencing the ref is pretty much a tradition in the game.

rooney has a rep as a rough player, and it really did look like a pretty deliberate shot at the guy's junk. i don't know that it warranted a red, but not like one of those calls that's just completely out of nowhere that the refs have been throwing.

i guess i can't see blaming ronaldo in this...he did what he had to do to help his team. i don't like the little punk ass mullet wearing bitch, but its not his fault the ref tossed rooney.

roach,

yeah, france whipped brazil's (potentially prosthetically enhanced?) ass. zidane...a whole other level. owned the field. i'm just afraid of what happens if he gets a yellow in the portugal match...possibly out for the final? i strongly dislike carrying the cards through the knockout rounds.

edit: clarificational purposes

FIFA are full of shit!
You can see clearly the ref just gives a free kick and is doing nothing.
Then as soon as he sees the shove he springs into action and shows the card.

unbelievable finish to germany/italy game.....thought the germans where going to win most of the game....came up short at the end...........xoxoxoo

For those who couldn't catch the game:

Italy - 2
Germany - 0

Italy scored twice in the last two minutes of overtime.

That was the best game of football I've ever watched..... which isn't saying much, I don't normally watch sports.

Pardon me but bull fucking shit that's the best game that anyone's ever seen. I'm not going to lie to you, the additional times were extraordinarily exciting, but the game before that was snooze-worthy. One team attacks, and the other defends. The defending team makes a cruddy counterattack which is foiled. Rince and repeat. I quite literally little fell to sleep twice.

But, like I said, the additional time was nail-biting. That's how soccer SHOULD be played. Bad luck on Germany's part, someone HAS to take down Italy. They did no deserve to beat Australia

I don't think it's such a bad thing if Italy wins the tournament. Granted the Aussies got screwed but what is done is done. Of the Aussies and the US, one really outplayed them in a 2nd round game and the other landed a draw in the 1st round. Saying you did that against the World Cup champion in the World Cup is an accomplishment. You have to think positive.

:(

I guess two overtimes in 4 days were just too much, Germany looked exhausted and failed to concentrate during the last 30min. Italy played the first really good match in this WC.

It's funny, a lot of people share your opinion, that it was a good game. And a lot thought it wasn't too great at all. I think the stakes, the pressure, etc really heightened the emotions about this match.

I'm not going to fault Ronaldo for being stupid. Even though he is a Man Utd kid, I can't stand his diving etc., but I do hope Rooney lets him know what's going on once they get back to camp. Rooney is one kid I wouldn't want to fuck with.

As far as the Italy/Germany match. *YAWN* I found it incredibly boring with not tactics or excitement.. until the overtime period. If France continues to play as the are now, I have a feeling they will be lifting the cup. *sigh*

I find France to be the least objectionable side left, now that the Germans are out.

Cannot stand either Portugal or Italy so Zidane, Henry, Ribery et al are my last hope!

Of note, the next the FIFA under 20 championships will be played here in Canada in 2007. The same tournament where Maradonna, Figo, Henry and many other big names first made an international splash. Hope you'll all follow the action next year and maybe a few will even come to Toronto, Montreal or any of the other cities where matches will be held and take in teh action first hand. It's a cheaper ticker than Germany, that's for sure!

well there we have it---france italy.
obviously, one should hope for a crushing of italy.
preferably with a more interesting/impressive second hald of play from france as well.

allez les bleus.....

I really don't want Italy to win, but at least they've somewhat started earning some respect from me. Against Germany they atleast attacked consistently, something they don't do against good teams...ever.

I don't want france to win, but i also don't want italy to win :D
Italy played their first good game against Germany.
France played boring during the whole tournament. Their defensive stile of play when they lead sucks big time. I like offensive football with lots of goals, football Klinsmann style :D
So I think that if Italy plays as good as against Germany they should and will win.
Otherwise it will be boring with a very lucky winner.

Yup, that about sums it up for me. I guess if I have to pick, I'd want Italy - but only because I just really don't like France (the team - the country itself is fine). I'm MUCH more excited about the 3rd place match than the finals. :lol:

i dont see italy defeating france--they simply do not play with as much intelligence as do the french. plus i hate them. i expect to see france in form parallel to what you saw against brazil--aggressive play in the middle and up front, lots of quick counters and a solid defense. all that plus zizou. italy is a good side (much as i dislike them--they are masters of the portugal whine and dive school) but i dont see them faring well sunday.

at least i hope not.
you never know.
it's only 90 minutes.

I was almost too disgusted to watch the rest of the game.... some of the dives in this sport make me wonder how these people can sleep at night. Sportsmanship does not include embellishing "injuries". Faking them long past their potential usefulness only hurts your team... when you have to be taken off the field in agony and then trot back on, finishing the match... gah... I just don't even know what to think.

/ rant

Anyway, I will be cheering for France, but I hold my nose doing so. I just despise them a tad less than Italy. Italy made me sick with their "simulation" (as the commentators refer to it as)

Always the best reason of all!

I don't have much to say but my sister and my mom are in France right now and they sent me this in an e-mail:

"P.S. Yes, it is a BLAST being in France during the World Cup. Viva la France! The night of the last game (July 5), we were in Avignon and there were car horns honking in the streets until 1 a.m. I slept through it (somehow?) but poor Mommy didnt. We were/are exhausted, needless to say, but we have France spirit!! :o) There was champagne galore that night! "

People really get into their soccer there... Up till 1 honking horns and all that? What time was the game? Surely it couldn't have been 9:00 when it started, was it? I know that's the time difference from here to there and it was on at 2:00 where I am, but was that a game repeat or was it really that late in Germany when the game was?

People do get into soccer there, for sure. I was in France about a week and a half ago - and the fans were up all night in Paris - honking horns, yelling, having a great time. I think the game that particular night started around 8 or 9 france time. So it makes sense that they were still rowdy late that night. I know the time difference is that they're 6 hours ahead of me and I'm on EST. so it's 1ish here and it's 7ish there right now. Hope that helps ya out Frostie. :)

Kickoff was at 9 CET so I guess 8 in Paris? They're on GMT I think. It's a pain in the six for me, because I have to get up at six or seven to get to work and the Germany-Portugal game for instance ended about half an hour before midnight. It's impossible to go to sleep at once after all that excitement, so I've been like a zombie at work lately. Red Bull is my friend.

I've a hard time deciding on who to root for in the final as well. I have a long-standing hatred for the French handball team, but the Italians were so horribly whiny in the Euro Cup... meh. The bronze game looks like it's going to be fun though. My money is on Germany!

Yeah!
cars with honking horns are driving through our city now :D
and we "only" won 3rd

14 Hours... Looks like this will be good. Not sleeping is taking it's toll on me though. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep.

Kick-off in the UK was 8:00 and France are an hour ahead of us, so it was 9:00 KO there.
I want France to win cos I have 20 quid on them!

And whats with all the overtime stuff?? It's EXTRA time! :)

Remember today's game starts an hour earlier than yesterday's.

I did not remember that. Luckily, I got home just in time for the second half to start... and a pretty boring half it's been so far.

Nice way for Zidane to end his career on a down note.

http://img436.imageshack.us/img436/5...eadbutt7mn.gif

Italy wins, and I'm glad. France has nice Arsenal representation, but I dislike their National team.

Quite the intelligent post there. Hopefully the mods will delete it and throw out a ban to boot?

what the hell was with that Zidane headbutt? That's just some crazy shit.

I was hoping for a France win, but oh well, let Italy have their fun.

What did he say to Zidane????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBV52...page=6&t=t&f=b

France was the better team 8[

Zidane! Sans blague!

I have to think the Italian player must have spewed some sort of racial slur towards Zizou to get him to respond so violently. You would hope at least. What a despicable act.

Funny, I saw a car parading around the parking lot of a shopping center honking and flying the Italian flag. Never thought I would see that here in Orange County, California.

The game overall was pretty boring. France was flat after their goal until the second half when they seemed to be revived. I was rooting for Italy, because I just hate the Arsenal players on France and I can't stand Barthez. Even though Zidane did an incredibly stupid thing, I think overall he ended his career on a great note. He's only one of 4 players to score a goal in the finals in 2 seperate WC's. That's pretty special. Who knows why he headbutted the guy. Maybe he was just frustrated because he felt he wasn't getting calls. (of course his diving didn't help a couple of times) Overall, it was a good tournament despite the few horrible displays by some players.

That was an odd moment for Zidane to channel the spirit of Wayne Rooney, that's all I gotta say.

Can't stand Italy (the football team, I like country) so it is too bad they won, IMHO.

france outplayed italy for the whole of the match, with the exception of a phase of the first half. they were the better team.
on the other hand, you have to give the italian defense credit for holding off the attack they came under in the second half and during the extra time.

like the rest of the planet, i am curious about what prompted zisou to flip out. i suspect we will never know.

i find it difficult to say anything nice about italy's team though: i thought they were awful in the final in general.

as usual, the officiating was a joke.

ah well.

France should never have had a chance at that penalty in the first half. That was a shitty call to make, especially in a final. I wasn't going for either team and I found myself screaming at the TV when the ref awarded a PK.

i wish Brazil won, but i'm definitely glad that it was Italy instead of France! It's players like Zidane who put a damper on that team..

yeah, that was a tough call...of course, the call the ref didn't make in the second half where the french player was obviously taken down in the box, no contact on the ball, sort of balanced it out.

huh? yeah, he dropped some serious head butt knowledge and it was stupid move...but zidane put a damper on the french team? he owned the tournament from the knock-out rounds on. it's just too bad he didn't drop that guy after the match :D

Looks like a dive to me. Watching his legs it looks like he kicks them out. He drops straight down too. I would expect an impact to the chest to push a guy back more, not drop him like a stone.