World Cup Final - by those who were there

An interesting collection of players' and other witness' accounts of World Cup Final this year from the Guardian today. Gallas, TH, Trezeguet, Gattuso, Grosso and Pirlo all give their accounts and of course, theres the bit about the Zidane headbutt. Interestngly only Gallas among the French players seem to be aggrieved about their defeat - Sagnol, and Trezeguet are surprisingly honest about France's shortcomings in not being able to beat Italy.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1977473,00.html

Nello Martino: Italy's team liason officer

"A few minutes before kick off I heard the Fifa president Sepp Blatter congratulating Fabio Cannavaro on reaching the final. Then he went to Zidane and, using a completely different tone, said: 'J'espère que vous allez gagner [I hope you win]'. Under those circumstances the victory in the end was even sweeter."

Doesn't suprise me re Blatter,



William Gallas: France defender

"We were so much better than them. They sat back, trying to survive, and just flooded midfield and defence and played for penalties. The ball just didn't want to go in for us. The Italians played the way we knew they would. As soon as they realised they weren't controlling the match they started play-acting. The gamesmanship came out. We created so many chances, taking the game into extra-time and Zizou had a header which might have won it for us. But no one saw what was coming next. My immediate reaction to the head-butt on Materazzi was that the Italian must have said something to him. He must have because, otherwise, Zizou would never have done something like that."







David Trezeguet: France striker

"I didn't have much luck throughout the tournament so perhaps it was inevitable this would happen to me. I took our second kick and thought I'd placed my penalty really well, sending Buffon the wrong way, but it just sailed wide. But we all knew we should have won long before this."

...er, no it didn't - it hit the bar

That just confirms my belief that Gallas is a total cock.

Blatter as well. But we all knew he was pro-France anyway.

"But the fourth official had seen it on his monitor and he informed the referee. Watching Zizou walk off was terrible."

That's quite interesting if Henry is telling the truth.

Gennaro Gattuso: Italy midfielder"I could see in the eyes of every player before the match that we were going to win the final. We were all so determined. Fabio Grosso's goal in the semi-final against Germany had prompted this explosion of joy, giving us a chance to exact revenge for Italian football after the match-fixing scandal. We were 90 minutes from triumph and we were not going to lose. We were there to show the great character of Italians."

William Gallas: France defender

"We were so much better than them. They sat back, trying to survive, and just flooded midfield and defence and played for penalties. The ball just didn't want to go in for us. The Italians played the way we knew they would. As soon as they realised they weren't controlling the match they started play-acting. The gamesmanship came out. We created so many chances, taking the game into extra-time and Zizou had a header which might have won it for us. But no one saw what was coming next. My immediate reaction to the head-butt on Materazzi was that the Italian must have said something to him. He must have because, otherwise, Zizou would never have done something like that."

good old Gallas, as humble as ever.

I think Gallas is a real top footballer.

As a person I am very unsure, he comes across arrogant and sometimes too agressive for my liking. He is not afraid to open his mouth, it would would be wise for him to keep it shut at times.

I think Gallas just isn't, er, very bright and says the first thing that comes into his head.

It's ok; sooner or later Gallas will become used to images like these:

Interesting background discussion on Zidane's headbutt -

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/12/25/off_with_his_head.html


'All of this raised aspects of Zidane's personality and career that he had spent so long covering up or avoiding. although he always insists that he is proud of his background, Zidane has taken great pains to distance himself from any of the more difficult political questions around his triple identity as a Frenchman, an Algerian and a Muslim. All of a sudden, in this moment of self-destructive violence, his inner rage was revealed to the world.

As France slumped to defeat, this quickly became the accepted version in the French Muslim community. A rap song, 'Zidane, il l'a tapé' - 'Zidane smacked him one' - became the hit of the summer. France had lost the World Cup but Zidane, the defender of the French Arabs, was still the hero of the often lawless suburbs. This was, however, to ignore the truth that, as all his fellow players and coaches know, Zidane has always been easily goaded. As a consequence, violence and bad temper have been part of his game from the earliest days.

France WERE the better side in the final though. But the best side doesnt always win.

Italy deserved it all the same for dumping Germany out in an excellent semi.

But in truth, France were the better side by some distance in the final. My heart hardly bleeds for them though, a more arrogant nation you'll be hard pressed to find...

TheCrazy58 wrote:This was, however, to ignore the truth that, as all his fellow players and coaches know, Zidane has always been easily goaded. As a consequence, violence and bad temper have been part of his game from the earliest days.

How many other players have been sent off at 2 World Cups?

The Real White Powder wrote:France WERE the better side in the final though. But the best side doesnt always win.

Italy deserved it all the same for dumping Germany out in an excellent semi.

But in truth, France were the better side by some distance in the final. ...

Don't agree.

The Real White Powder wrote:France WERE the better side in the final though. But the best side doesnt always win.

Italy deserved it all the same for dumping Germany out in an excellent semi.

But in truth, France were the better side by some distance in the final. My heart hardly bleeds for them though, a more arrogant nation you'll be hard pressed to find...

Italy hit the crossbar and were marginally caught offside. Pirlo also came close with a free-kick. France perhaps shaded it, but to say they were better by some distance is an exaggeration.

france were better then italy because italy were held back alot of the time from the second half and to the penalties. but it was clear that it had more to do with being tired then being outclassed.

Roger_Hunt wrote:

TheCrazy58 wrote:This was, however, to ignore the truth that, as all his fellow players and coaches know, Zidane has always been easily goaded. As a consequence, violence and bad temper have been part of his game from the earliest days.

How many other players have been sent off at 2 World Cups?

In the final? Pedro Monzon of Argentina was sent off in 1990. Was there another?

Jaime wrote:

Roger_Hunt wrote:

TheCrazy58 wrote:This was, however, to ignore the truth that, as all his fellow players and coaches know, Zidane has always been easily goaded. As a consequence, violence and bad temper have been part of his game from the earliest days.

How many other players have been sent off at 2 World Cups?

In the final? Pedro Monzon of Argentina was sent off in 1990. Was there another?

I think what Roger means is, how many players have been sent off in two World Cups.

Zidane was sent off against Saudi Arabia in 1998 and Italy in 2006.