In a rare slip caused out of lack of awareness, I suppose, Zizou head-butted Italian defender Materazzi and cruised out of the last match of his career holding a red card. Was the saddest moment of yesterday’s match. I know there have been incidents in his past when he was suspended for similar acts but he was playing so well this tournament and could have gone out in style. Hopefully, he will be forgiven by the French public. Maybe we’ll see more of Zizou sometime soon!
dunefield says:
My 2 cents!
I hope we don’t see anymore of him!
As much as I like him for his skills, what he did was apalling at best. It wasn’t lack of awareness, it was very intentional.
July 10, 2006 — 8:02 pm
Lakshmi says:
Re: My 2 cents!
Just that I believe it was total lack of awareness that made him botch up that way. Somehow I credit him with more sense than rising to an opponent’s provocation. Well, c’est la vie…
July 10, 2006 — 8:16 pm
hemya says:
its how you look at it..:)..for me..that was the happiest moment…Azzuri all the way:)
July 10, 2006 — 8:14 pm
Lakshmi says:
Yeah, they were playing really well yesterday. Just that they didn’t encounter any major teams en route to the finals whereas France beat some biggies to get here.
July 10, 2006 — 8:18 pm
hemya says:
Well France had an easy group stage I’d say…Italy was in what was considered as the Group of Death..Czech Republic was ranked 2 in the world…USA ranked no. 5..and ghana was the surprise team in there too..and they beat Germany then….the host nation…which is probably the toughest thing to do…..so i think its a huge misconception that they did not encounter any major teams…..France did well to beat giants Spain and Portugal.wont take away any credit…..as for Brazil…I think Brazil is to blame for the loss….They were just to overconfident…I think its a huge misconception that Italy had it easy….they had it relatively easy in the knock out stages….but they were in a very tough group which they topped
France did very well to overcome their initial sluggish performences….but you also have to look at Italy’s depth…..they had 10 different players that scored…..
July 10, 2006 — 8:25 pm
Lakshmi says:
Yeah, you’re right. They put in some really good performances in the last few rounds. Didn’t see the initial matches and can’t comment. Right now, all the matches are mixed-up in my head…:-)
July 10, 2006 — 8:32 pm
Lakshmi says:
USA ranked no.5? Surely, there are other teams in the running…?
July 10, 2006 — 8:32 pm
soleilensuisse says:
Those rankings barely made/make any sense. I may not be completely unbiased. Italy has some class players – Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Buffon (even with his buffoonery antics); but the fact remains that they played one awesome match (against Germany) and were largely helped by all kind of luck. (Remember vs. Australia – a 70to30 dive which got a penalty as opposed to a card). Besides, I don’t like many of the Italian players for the simple reason that take take playing rough to a whole different level. In fact, the same Materazzi was earlier chided even in his native Italy for the way he plays. (If you want to know how, take a look at one of the old video compilations on youtube.com). Also going by how Italian club football is played, racist comments are not beyond a lot of the current lot.
As for Zidane, what he did cannot be condoned (even if insults amounted to family or racism). A sad and tragic crescendo for a masterclass artist.
(Just presenting my views. Kindly do not flame.)
July 11, 2006 — 11:48 am
Lakshmi says:
Considering that I got 4 copies of this comment by email, I am all ready to flame…:-)
Btw, Portugal was another *rough-playing* team. They notched a score of 24 cards in this tournament leaving every other team far, far behind.
July 11, 2006 — 1:13 pm
splitpeasoup says:
If I were the French public, I would certainly not forgive him. He cost them the title with a vicious and pointless act of violence. I do not think we will see any more of him.
July 10, 2006 — 8:16 pm
Lakshmi says:
Hmmm, one never knows. From a newspaper report that I read, it seems that the French populace is behind him.
July 10, 2006 — 8:17 pm
kookygoblin says:
I heard the chap called something akin to “terrorist” to Zizou’s face.
July 11, 2006 — 4:42 am
Lakshmi says:
You know, it’s just that there’s no justification for Zizou’s behaviour. I think he is the better player… and so this reaction of his is quite uncharacterstic, I think.
July 11, 2006 — 1:14 pm
aish11 says:
Zizou reacted on teh heat of the moment..I guess its justified cos Materazzi calld Z a terrorist & also called his sis a ‘whore’.
Racist M!
July 11, 2006 — 6:30 am
Lakshmi says:
I am sure people say worse stuff on the field… all to provoke the others.
July 11, 2006 — 1:14 pm