The underdog Italians, whose soccer federation is a mess of corruption and dysfunction, hung tough against the French side on Sunday and prevailed on penalty kicks. These are players who likely no longer have teams to go home to in their home country, who were supposed to be soundly stomped by the more technically perfect, more experienced French side. Those fuckers.
Want to know why I was rooting against the French team from the start? Zidane. This prick has all of the talent any player could hope for, but he throws it away at least once per tournament by doing something so utterly unsportsmanlike and mean that even the French press turns on him.
On Sunday, in overtime, tied 1-1, Zidane responded to a comment from Materazzi by attacking him with a brutal headbutt to the chest. The field referee didn't see it, but the sideline referee did. Red card. Buh Bye. You just lost the match for your side.
This from the same beloved player who stomped on the chest of a fallen Saudi player in 1998. Nice. I mean, sure the Saudi player had taken a dive to try to get a penalty call, but still.
When it came down to penalty kicks, the best striker on the team was in the locker room, and the French couldn't match the Italians.
Of course, the sportswriters then jammed their heads into the pitch and voted Zidane the best player of the tournament. Um...really? What about Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro? He played a brilliant tournament and didn't attack anyone as far as I know...
So, good bye to the best French player in history. I hope you stick to your word and retire from international play after this.
Now as for the rest of the World Cup, I hope FIFA doesn't cave into the media pressure to change the game again before South Africa in 2010. The American press especially are calling for the addition of another field referee, automatic red cards for diving, instant replay, and the abolition of the penalty kick shoot out in favor of returning to the Golden Goal overtime...
No. No. No.
Referees should keep total control of the game. Soccer is different because so far it has resisted massively dehumanizing the game with computers and television replays. The referee is a part of the game in soccer, not merely a technician. Teams must adapt to the referee's mood and tendency. Referees make mistakes, and it is part of the game, just as the sporting courtesies even hated rivals afford one another on the field (like putting a ball into touch when an opposing player is down or conceeding drop balls and throw ins back to the other team). I still think we should go back to the extra time being kept solely on the field. Playing past 90 minutes and not knowing how much time the referee is going to add is massively exciting in a tie game when your time is striking.
Overtime. If anything, FIFA should extend the overtime to another 30 minute session and allow the sides 3 more substitutes. After the first overtime period, go to Golden Goal. The shoot out is actually not a bad system, and it is exciting to watch, but I understand how some think it is a cheap way to end a match.
And diving...well, it's part of the game, always has been. Is it unsporting? Maybe. But added to the human element comments above, I think it adds drama to the game.
3 comments:
You've got to admit, tempers flare when you're this fierce a competitor and the game is this important. And, as you point out, this guys a hot head (probably part of what makes him a great player). He's a bit of an asshole, though. No doubt. But part of the issue is the fucking play acting. Players who roll around and piss and moan like they've been flayed really irk me. Don't you hate that shit...the fishing for the call with all the drama?
You know, it's kinda sad how I knew all week long the final game would be played while I was at work on Sunday, and how I planned to watch whatever live updated the web would provide, and it took until this afternoon, looking at the headline on today's rag they call a paper to remember that this all happened yesterday.
I guess I'm on of the pathetic. I was sort of counting on that last ditch, do-or-die effort for France, but you know what? I'm completely tired of thugs playing "sports" and being heroes. I'm completely tired of violence in the name of competition. I'm sick to death of players - the latest being a female - claiming "mixin it up a bit" is acceptable in sports.
I'm sorry for the rest of the French team that the one guy cost them a title. I totally hope all that shit the US asks for re: 2010 gets thorougly laughed at and then dismissed.
But I also hope that soccer doesn't become the refuge of thugs and brawlers.
As for what albangorhard said - yeah, I do hate that shit. When it is shit.
Tempers flare, players push and shove, they foul intentionally, etc. We've all been in sports enough to know that. But Zidane is a punk. The guy has been red carded 14 times in his career.
As for the diving, well, I don't mind it in soccer as much as I used to hate it in the NBA (when I could stand watching NBA basketball). At least in soccer, diving is against the rules in itself and can result in a foul call or a yellow card. I go back to the human element: the referee. All they have to do is use their discretion and call the dives. When they do (watch UEFA play, the diving is curbed by quick whistles and a few yellow cards) the practice diminishes for that match.
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