I want Italy to take this. I will miss the 2nd half cause I have a bball game tomorrow.

you need to skip your basketball game. its the goddamned final.

italy 1 france 0, for the record.

i'm pulling for zin al-din + le bleus

always nice to see a legend go out on top

"I buttfuck MC's" Pharoahe Monch

but i have a feeling italy will pull a 1-0

unforutnately ill be at work, gonna have to sneak off every 15 minutes to catch a couple minutes of the game

and then tear it down in a square of handpicked revelers.

they'll leave the tournament having not given up a goal by another team. At least that's what i'm hoping.

Don't know which.

I've hated France this cup, and I've liked watching Italy. But, I don't think I want to see Azzurri fans have that much joy.

BTW, De Rossi is available to play lol.

Italy should win this one. It's a shame Nesta can't play.

I'm pretty nervous about this.


I just hope they play like they can. Forza Italia.

----------------
Forza Azzurri

I have a feeling - Zidane to set the ball rolling, Italy equalise and then Thierry steals the show

italy are better than france

no one has scored against italy yet

italy havent lost a single game in 2 years

they badly want to avenge the defeats of 1998 and 2000

and yet

i think france have some sort of hold over italy (france really stole that 2000 final)

and of course the great man blesses the pitch with his prescence for the last time

but then again

i have been waiting for barthez to cost france this whole tournament, he hasnt - yet

in saying that, viera and the rest of those 'old' guys have been doing so well lately and i love the blend they seem to have with the new generation

these players and teams know each other so well this could be an absolute classic epic final

i am torn

i am calling it

his luck may run out soon, but hopefully not before the end of this match. all those bobbles and fumbles haven't cost France yet... but we've all seen Barthez's howlers in the past.

France, 2-1

i hope zidane wins though

i mean come on. it's Italy.

although, of course, if italy win, it will make Ukraine unofficially the 2nd best team...

>although, of course, if italy win, it will make Ukraine
>unofficially the 2nd best team...

You're killing me man

FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE...(to be continued)

who use their own men to colonize. I'll go with France for the simple fact they colonized more territory(not counting the Roman Empire).

and also, having Zidane go out on top would be awesome.

<---Yet another example of Georgia Southern RUNNING this ATL Entertainment shit. Recognize.
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Henry will continue his magical touch (as long as he stays onside!)

Viera will continue his tackling prowess and his ability to contribute to the offence.

France wins - may take extra time - but I don't anticipate PKs.

That's my take.

I don't think the final match could have worked out any more in the reverse of what I predicted :)

<---Yet another example of Georgia Southern RUNNING this ATL Entertainment shit. Recognize.
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Italy will take this one...well...I want them to, hard to call but I'll give the VERY slight edge to Italy.

italy looked very impressive against germany. they are favourites going into the game. i think (and hope) france will win though. like some people above have said, it would be great to see zidane go out holding the world cup.



http://www.last.fm/user/mrmagic/


listening to...

Monday Michiru
Bilal
Louie Vega presents Luisito Quintero
Tony! Toni! Toné!

http://www.deephousepage.com/

OMG shakira looks great!

it's impossible for her to look bad. absolutely impossible.

France will break those consecutive clean sheets by the Azzurri, but imo Italy is just too balanced esp with that ridiculous backline headed by Cannavaro and then the confidence their offense has along with their playmakers.

Then I'd really cheer for France

It's funny I was also hoping he was not going to return after that collision, because I wanted Trezeguet myself. Henry has been underwheming so far, but oh shit wait...Henry is taking on defenders and beating them, he is NOW doing what made me think he is the best player in the world at one point.

nevermind...that was like magic....

fucking dive and the ref rewarded it, fucking ridiculous

untouched

in a world cup final, you give that kinda call? Thats utter bullshit.

that seemed a little divish. Zizou crushed that though.

Materazzi barely laid a touch on him and he went down.....everyone fucking dives, but the ref rewards this one in a fucking World Cup final.

I'm backing France so I'm only half mad.

Man, he was good. He would've laughed at Malouda.

when will the refs realize & wake the fuck up? Didn't come near him.

Just shameful on the part of Malouda. If they win 1-0 it's so freakin' tainted (as other vicories have been (c) Areg over Eng in '86).

Let's go Italy!



peace

Why he got the final is beyond me.

Fifa is really going to have take a look at the refereeing after this WC... too many cards, too much rewarding of diving. It's a shame because the play has for the most part been good.

thanks to the refs call in which he gave Grosso that penalty. Awful. And the Aussies were going into e.t. with 11 against 10.

They should have a guy in the video booth who can talk through a headset to the ref. They're just making the decisions too quickly. Plus underminding officials is just plain fun. Too much at stake.


2nd half is going to be incredible.

And am I the only one who liked the golden goal rule? If you can't decide it after 90, then first goal wins. It's better than p.k.'s. I'd rather see a team win it then one player lose it.



peace

.. is that an early goal usually means an entertaining match.

this is looking good.

1-1

nice goal by Mattarazzi.

zambrotta's tumble... c'mon, let them play.

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

but they're definitely playing better

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

If we don't see at least one goal from open play here, only negative soccer will have won.

dude is cold balling here

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

They are practically camping at the Italy half.

Two left... Wiltord?

Ribery is dead out there

Ukuzala kukuzolula

They are so inferior it's not even funny.

Ukuzala kukuzolula

I like the Trezeguet sub... moving into a two-striker mold to strike while Italy is barely moving. They haven't held possession once the entire first 15 minutes of extra time. France needs to score here before penalties.

that was crazy. Henry off? Now he can't take a penalty!

lol, m. bison on the pitch.

edit:wow what a way to go out...

prob said some racist shit to Zidane

yeah, im wondering myself. im sure the headbutt didnt deserve that sort of reaction...

?

zidane is of scottish descent...

...

what kwez said, well at least the algerian thing. i dunno about the muslim part.

i skimmed that reply, saw algeria and seconded. he was born in marseille; algerian descent.

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

He reps the N. African community big time in France, too.

man that shit is so surreal

We're gonna find out, but he definitely said something. Not to condone Zizou's headbutt, but Materazzi had to have said something ill. "You're team is a bunch of monkeys" or something to that effect.

you've pretty much gotta give a detailed account of fucking his mom in the ass for a crack rock or something



FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

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www.hdbeat.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

basically. but fuck it. the man has won a world cup and is now retired from football. if you're going to take someone do it properly!


http://www.last.fm/user/mrmagic/


listening to...

Monday Michiru
Bilal
Louie Vega presents Luisito Quintero
Tony! Toni! Toné!

http://www.deephousepage.com/

Ya'll got to work on that Adobe Premiere with the quickness n/m?

i found it another site

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

at least to get to penalty shots. Who doesn't wanna be there in the end? May I just don't understand soccer philosophy, but I'm thinking on pure competition terms.

Wiltord, Trezeguet, Makalele, Malouda.. Abidal? Saignol? Gallas?

Man... it's gonna be tough.

if youre cramping, call it quits. might as well sit down on the pitch.

Zidane: He got played and he took the bait like a weak motherfucker.
Henry: He bailed out on his mates. Simple as that. He should have resisted the substitution and go out like a champ. He called for it with his antics.

Ukuzala kukuzolula

Bring on another fresh pair of legs, instead of carrying a passenger - it's common sense

<---Yet another example of Georgia Southern RUNNING this ATL Entertainment shit. Recognize.
www.myspace.com/northernarcatl
www.last.fm/user/KwadwoJuma/

Can we get an 86' please?

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

very entertaining

I'm saying that Zizou headbutt is gonna become soccer lore like the Hand of God and shit.

Here's a wiki link all about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_God_goal

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

***************
www.myspace.com/angoleiro
www.myspace.com/manjingaparty

I want to see both teams going at it for 90 minutes. This match hasn't lived up to what I expected

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

but Italy's back four was strong...

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

I don't know what kwez was watching

Also, whenever a WC match goes to PKs, everyone loses. Seriously.

i've been pissed off all world cup about these bitches faking fouls and acting.

if you gonna get a red, earn that shit.

i'd be interested to hear about what sparked it exactly but that was some manly shit....lol

ain't no acting and whining there, champ.

i still hope france wins

Straight up Gay-Dened that dude for it too.

Someone on some other board claimed that.

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

Like fuck this trophy, don't mean shit like my pride.

lol

***************
www.myspace.com/angoleiro
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At least that's how it is in high school playoffs that I've refereed. I don't know about in the damn World Cup for a legend though.

bah, fuckin italy.

All the way to the bitter end.

They played a better match. The Zizou headbutt seemed to shock them out of the game. The Trezeguet crossbar was what separated the two teams. It's a shame, but congrats to Italy.

For all the talk about Buffon, I thought he would at least make a save in the PK's.

Dating back to the Champions League final of a couple years ago where his team, Juventus, lost to AC Milan on penalties. I saw an article on it recently, but I can't retrieve it, but he has admitted this fear to the press.

I'm either supporting Zidane or Cannavaro, but I need to hear what Zizou has to say about the headbutt first.

For the time being, I'll dig around and throw up a Cannavaro, dude balled all tournament.

I'M THE ZIDANE BITCH!

The game really should have ended on that Zizou header and the legend should have walked off in fucking style.

Props to Buffon, he denied us all a fairytale ending and pushed Zidane to making one of the weirdest endcaps to a legendary career we've ever seen.

The Doc thought of mistermaxxx.

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

Barthez wasn't going to save any PK's regardless.

until Trezeguet missed his.

The head butt was pretty vicious..and all out in the open like that..

I was pulling for France too...

http://www.haarberg.com/bilder/zidane.gif

Enjoy.

Wow, I didn't see that live. That's brutal.

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

Dude changed his hosting in like three minutes.

... than the moral high ground. Musberger and Foudy make me sick

edit) not for nothin, the ladies in all white are quite attractive

complaining about MusHburger

especially because of how it all ended

i liked France more than Italy, that was already explained in my reply to the "who's Jon going to root for" thread.

throughout the Cup, Italy struck me as kind of dirty and a tad less classy than some of the other teams. thats how it felt, i don't know if its true.

but i found myself absolutely loving this france team.

and then almost the entire game yesterday was just amazing. great stuff, could go either way, guys leaving it all on the field. from Zidane making that great PK shot in the beginning, all through the game, to Italy's tough D, all to the "end" where Henry, having truly given it EVERYTHING, could not even stand up to walk off the field at the end of the first overtime. and now, to top it all off, we were going to see Trezeguet, fresh-legs, in the final overtime, with the great Zidane by his side, leading the way to a great finish.

at this point, if France lost playing their best, i'd be happy.

but right after Trezeguet comes in, Zidane goes and ruins EVERYTHING. the great reception. the last lasting memory. his team's focus for the final period and PKs.

and then the missed shot that made the diff in the PKs was by the one guy that deserved to make it: Trezeguet.

just a disgusting taste in my mouth afterward.

and being excited for Italy isn't as easy when they're a team that seems to have been playing kind of dirty and end up winning the whole thing due to being the victims of dirtiness from France's hero.

edit: and by the way, i'm not passing too much judgement on Zidane. there's obviously something we don't know. but i don't see how words justify abandoning your team, tainting your legacy, and headbutting someone to the ground. i'm still pulling for him, hoping this doesn't claim a disproportionate piece of his legacy.

Looks like a computer programmer.

Ever since that one game I've been waiting for him to appear again, but no luck.

I don't see how there's any way he's worse than fucking Wiltord. I wish we would have seen him this game instead of Sylvain, just like every other game with Sylvain.

c'mon be serious. Wiltord and Dhorasoo don't belong in the same sentence

So if you're saying he's actually worse than Wiltord, you're saying a lot.

The one game he made the pitch, though, he looked plenty dangerous. But otherwise, nah, I don't even know what club he plays for.

>But otherwise, nah, I don't even know what club he
>plays for.

what's going on in Paris right now, btw?
any good transfer prospect? a new striker, maybe?

>what's going on in Paris right now, btw?
>any good transfer prospect? a new striker, maybe?

our recruiting this offseason's been way underwhelming :
- Samy Traore, who yeah, he has scored against us in the past, but so did Semak *shudder*
- Hellebuyck, who to me sounds like Landrin pt 2
- some random Cameroon youngster to replace Bami

Diane sounds like he could be a catch, but that's about it.
As for rumors it seems like the Ilan thing is dead, that's too bad. Now everyone's saying Frau will come, yuck. I've also heard stuff about Charisteas (why not), Alou Diarra (yes) and Rafael Sobis (Brazilian U21 international i think)

And don't get me started on the new jerseys. The home one is sorta okay, but the road one looks like one of those Vuitton bags. I'm actually gonna go to the PSG store on the Champs when i get off work to see if it's as horrible as it looks in pictures.
http://www.psg.fr/fr/news/show.php?id=9729

it looks terrible with "Fly Emirates" over top of it though.

>- Hellebuyck, who to me sounds like Landrin pt 2

he was promising as a youngster, but he kinda disappeared for three years...haven't followed les Verts recently, so I really don't know what he's worth

>Now everyone's saying Frau will come, yuck.

Why the hating on PAF? he was good with Sochaux...

>I've also
>heard stuff about Charisteas (why not), Alou Diarra (yes) and
>Rafael Sobis (Brazilian U21 international i think)
>

Those would be cool, especially Diarra...

>And don't get me started on the new jerseys. The home one is
>sorta okay, but the road one looks like one of those Vuitton
>bags.

I really like the home one. The away...you said it best. Tacky like a Vuitton bag.

what's a tentative starting eleven for 2008? Who will replace Thuram, Zidane, and likely Makalele... Coupet will be in goal obviously.

as for Thuram, who, by the way, I will miss every bit as much as Zidane (he was nothing short of amazing once again in this world cup)...his obvious successor, in terms of influence on the defense and on the team as a whole, is Gallas, who played a fantastic world cup as well. Then there are several candidates for the second central defense spot...Boumsong, Givet, Squillaci if he comes back, this youngster from Bordeaux (Planus). None of them can compare to Lilian, but then again, who can besides Cannavaro?

Or maybe, just maybe...the great Pat could end his career as a sweeper. He's got everything you need and more to do it. Shit, he'd be the black Beckenbauer.

Zidane...well, you definitely can't replace him. Which probably means the system will change and we won't rely on a ubiquitous #10, since I can't think of anybody who could fill that role. It blows, because France traditionally sucks balls when we don't play with that type of technical leader in the midfield (the Papin/Cantona years, after Platini retired and before Zinedine took over, are the most recent example). But for some reason, I feel it could work this time around if Henry manages to play as well with France as he does with Arsenal now that the team *will* be built around him...also if Ribery confirms all the hopes he's generated in this world cup (he was a fucking trooper). And if Malouda gets to the proverbial next level (he's got the talent).

To answer the question, though...I would guess they'll play with one more striker. So numerically, Trezeguet or Cisse will replace Zidane.

Now Makelele is a big loss too, but Diarra can fill his spot. And Rio Mavuba is very promising in this position as well.

I'll have to look him up.

in related news:

Thuram said he wasn't quite sure he was going to retire from the national team (YAY!)...

>as for Thuram, who, by the way, I will miss every bit as much
>as Zidane (he was nothing short of amazing once again in this
>world cup)...his obvious successor, in terms of influence on
>the defense and on the team as a whole, is Gallas, who played
>a fantastic world cup as well. Then there are several
>candidates for the second central defense spot...Boumsong,
>Givet, Squillaci if he comes back, this youngster from
>Bordeaux (Planus). None of them can compare to Lilian, but
>then again, who can besides Cannavaro?

Phillip Mexes has to be a lock for this spot - how he didn't make the squad is beyond me

Roma didn't do so bad last year either...but for some reason, Mexes is just not visible at all. He is a good player indeed.

>>Now everyone's saying Frau will come, yuck.
>
>Why the hating on PAF? he was good with Sochaux...
Sochaux, lol (wait, you were being ironic, right ?)


anyway i really wanna see what Kalou will do this season. He had some ups and downs last season, but he's got major player potential

Pinocchio will be playing alongside Pauleta next season. Great, just great...

i was wondering why the Italian players were clowning dude and pulling his hair

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"If I walk into "Apple Store in the 'Hood" with pants that actually fit, will I be escorted to the door?" © random geek

that Materazzi tweaked Zizou's nipple? I can't wait to hear Zizou's explanation

but he must have said something to go with it.

You can kind of see it here,

http://f10.putfile.com/7/18916303717.gif

ASAP.

Materazzi gave his bitchass version ("I don't even know what an islamic terrorist is", wtf?), Zinedine *has to* give his now...

interview on french network Canal+, at 8pm local time

I can't wait to hear. Part of me thinks it'll be dope if he just says... "I'm never going to say what Materazzi said."

tu entends, benny?

if not, I hope their website will have a transcript
if they do, I'll post it (translated, obviously)

I've seen it referenced a couple times now but can someone clue me in? thanks

got sent off for it.

Buffon running out to the ref WHILE THE BALL WAS IN PLAY because he was so outraged. How hilarious would it have been if France had just tapped it into the goal?

dope!

and France's performance in the second half and overtime was so epic I can't even be mad...

Zidane's grand exit was a dumb move, of course, but I'm not not mad at that either. To be honest, I'm almost glad he did it. We all know Materazzi said something fucked up...and most of all we all know he's the one who ended up looking like a little punk crawling on the ground.

And let's not act like Zidane being out was a factor in the final result. He had given everything he had, almost got us the win with that fantastic header...

I knew we weren't winning a penalty shoot out. Not this time. Not because of Barthez vs Buffon. Just because the Italians were due for a victory...we beat them 3 times over 20 years in major competitions, twice by some sort of miracle...we were bound to lose a close one.

Fuck all of y'all trying to insult the greatest, though...
He's still a living legend, your favorite player is most probably not.

and the last image of Materrazi is of him making his penalty. It was no way for a living legend to go out, and I'm kinda mad about that, even assuming Materrazi said something racial or otherwise deeply offensive. I mean I'm glad Materazzi got fucked up, but it's such a fleeting win, in the bigger picture they lost.

And it got me slightly off rooting for France too, from that point on I was fairly ambivalent.

2- All the other players scored theirs, pretty easily at that

I don't think they missed Zinedine in the penalties. And I'd rather see him go out that way than missing a penalty like Baggio in 94...

As for Materazzi...his penalty is the one Barthez was two inches away from saving. How ill would that have been?

The thing about Zidane is, he sets such an example for how to play the game 90% of the time...he doesn't commit fouls, he never dives, he never calls for yellows like a little bitch AND he takes defenders' abuse the whole game long. Now once in a while...he'll just blow up and fuck a motherfucker up. You have to take the good with the bad. It wasn't what made us lose.

But it's still a bad way to go out. And he was diving a bit in the first half (to the ref's credit, both sides were diving, the ref just kept waving play on and eventually the diving stopped). Now that I think about it, it's actually small shades of Mike Tyson gnawing on Holyfield's ear to avoid the frustrating loss when he had already used his best shots. I mean I can understand, for such an intense competitor, he felt like that header should have won the game for them, and then something just happened to trip his fuse. And I have great respect for his career, he's no Rooney or anything close to that.

I'm just frustrated because I didn't get to see him in his prime (beyond that '98 Final win), and it's a bad note to go out on, imo. I guess him missing his penalty would be worse in some ways, but I dunno, red-carded at the World Cup final isn't great either.

Edit: Just curious about Trezeguet, do you mean that he was likely to miss 'cause he's a choker or in bad form, or just since Buffon is used to saving his penalties?

but if you believe in some sort of futbol fate, and I do...he was going to miss regardless if Zidane was in the game or not

plus, without being all esoteric...if you think about it, he was a sub all tournament but one game. In that one game, he wasted every chance to score he had. He was invisible today even though he played half an hour against tired opposition. All things that can contribute to mess up your confidence...

oh well. At least the Sox just won that long ass game against you guys today. It would have been a really dreary sunday otherwise...

if Abidal had missed, now that would be a differernt matter. trezeguet was always going to be one of the takers

not really a team disaster though, they can't really blame him for losing

i agree with everything you just said. there were only around 10 minutes to go when he was sent off and it was going to penalties.

will the rest of the france be feeling the same way though?


http://www.last.fm/user/mrmagic/


listening to...

Monday Michiru
Bilal
Louie Vega presents Luisito Quintero
Tony! Toni! Toné!

http://www.deephousepage.com/

Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
che schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.

----------------
Forza Azzurri

Howver, France played the much better game after the first 35 mins or so, esp in that 2nd half, Azzurri were content with simplying leaving their back 4 very back and let 4 men counter-attack with no real overlapping from the sidebacks....plus the Azzurri midfield simply couldnt keep any possession, it was so sloppy, the whole team looked out of synch offensively where as Les Blues were knocking it around with ease and had some great buildup esp with the overlaps from their smf's, but that backline was too strong along with the defensive midfield, Cannavaro and Materazzi played great as they have all tournament, esp the former.

That first penalty was such a bad call by the ref(Lzandro sp?), but the equalizer changed everything with a perfect pass by Pirlo(who was notably absent for the rest of the game though)...but it seemed like that first penalty actually helped the Azzurri as not only did they level but the ref was very wary of calling another penalty, and imo Malouda did get fouled by Zambrotta in the box in that 2nd half.

Henry played one of his best games of the tournament, but he just couldnt get that last touch to get the go-ahead...he was finally coming farther out to run at defenders but Italia was giving him far too much space in the first place, they were very lucky that no one made a good run off the ball on Henry passes(you could even see Thierry motioning with his hand for someone to cut the fuck in diagonally after one of his passes were knocked out).

That Zizou headbutt was just a horrible way to go out....I know it really didnt affect the game as he was dead tired and Treze woulda taken the PK anyways, but thats such a classless thing to do esp in your very last international game...I dont care what Materazzi says I hate Zidane going out in that fashion because I do like him so much. He nearly gave France the victory with that header(GREAT save by Buffon) but then he goes out on a header to someones chest, I mean cmon...you're a legend, finish with class and on the field with your team. Speaking of dissapointment, Totti just didnt look fit whatsoever after that 120 min battle vs Germany, did you even hear his name other than when he got subbed for DeRossi?

Cannavaro.....what else can you say about this cat? I mean his timing is fucking perfect, he never tires, he is a great leader, and to top it off, did anyone else see how stone-cold he was during those PK's? This cat AINT EVEN MOVE!!! That shit was too gangsta, what an amazing tournament for an amazing player.

Even with all the clouds hanging over them, Forza Azzurri took care of business with that tremendous defense and just enough upfront and in the air to get it done.

I think this exit for Zidane is more exciting than a PK loss exit, more interesting in the long run. I'm personally kinda praying that Materazzi said some racist shit, because this could be a lightning rod moment for really talking about racism in football.

Even if he just said some wild unsportsmanlike shit, it could still be a good point for talking about sportsmanship after this Cup, which was definitely tainted by some of the diving and all that.

Other than that, as much as I wanted Italy to lost and didn't care for their side at all, Cannavarro was amazing and first class all tournament. Respect.

that dude is a fucking man.

he rocked the shit out of henry at the beginning of the game, as a friendly reminder of who was populating the back line

and he was stone-faced during those PKs. pirlo and co were going crazy, but cannavaro stood there without even the slighest change in expression. GULLY

...yeah, that was a solid move.

Pirlo's corners were brilliant. The next one to Toni was pretty much just as good of a cross. His touch is astounding.

----------------
Italia: Campione del Mundo 2006

i know i should look at this game in the global context of what the team achieved over the tourney, but it still feels like we were so close to pulling it out. Although once it was going to PKs pretty much everyone knew the Italians were taking this.
I've got no reasoning for what Zidane did, but it shouldn't taint what he's done overall. In my book the man is the greatest French player of all time, and top of his generation for sure.

lets be real here ..... they built him up all tournament bringing his name back up when he hadnt been anything special in four or five years ..... the last match he played was less than legendary but its cool bc france advanced what happened today was an absolute disgrace you think he hasnt played in big games before and had shit said at him ? i dont understand anyone siding with him i had a lot of respect for him as a player before today but its hard to respect basically bailing on your team in the 110 minute when your the supposed heart and soul of it

it wasn't until about the 5th replay that i realized it, but there was a classic highschool-corridor trip there, tap one heel and send it into the back of the other leg

i maybe need to see it one more time to check he wasn't already on his way down when that happened

france played better i think. italy had a better first half but probably only because france took an early lead. italy fell to pieces in the second half, although eventually the substitutions restored balance

zidane? i laughed so hard because it looked like he got away with it. everyone (that is american?) seems to be assuming materazzi said something racist... i doubt that would be enough to trigger that sort of response. i mean, footballers say nasty stuff all the time. i have seen Zidane react violently a few times before, usually when there's a lot of pressure. end of last season at madrid they were making a film about zidane so they had dozens of cameras following his every move. at the end a rabble developed after two harsh challenges on raul, and zidane ran in out of nowhere and close-lined someone.

maybe he thought 'if i can win the world cup, AND get away with this, i'll be undisputed.' maybe he compared his career to Maradona's and realized his catalogue lacked an outrageous foul that went unspotted

ultimately it was immaterial. although MAYBE zidane would have created/scored a winner. i think he was just pissed after missing the header, and with all the pressure, lashed out. a bit like Rooney (i think people should also give rooney a break... he's not a thug, he just made a bad mistake. people talk about him in such a patronizing way)

very close penalty shootout. off the cross bar and bounced on the line. nothing in it really

he stays on his feet untill the trip occurs
everyone was busy watching for contact from the knee upwards, the foul occurs when his boot catches meluda's heel

was a clear-cut penalty, but of course the ref wasn't going to call that. A shame because Malouda had an open shot.

Nobody's talking about Vieira coming out either, that hurt, because France doesn't have any other real aerial threats on set pieces.

he deliberately veers to the side and falls over the guys legs

vieira going off was big... france might have won in open play otherwise
but i guess you've got to take a bit of bad luck. italy didn't have nesta, totti was unfit

He had it coming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HblsV-urHg&search=materazzi

he probably fucked with Zidane all game

Zinedine should still have kept his cool

the fairytale ending that all had hoped for didn't come to pass, and for that more than anything, the American commentators were mad—mad that they couldn't beat a made-for-Hollywood storyline into the ground for the entire post-match commentary and beyond. Instead, they browbeated, harangued, chastised, etc. Remember, this is the home of "farewell" tours for departing athletes that last an entire *season*, not one testimonial game, complete with in-game stoppages of play and press conferences and flashing bulbs and all of that.

We didn't get that from Zidane, we got something realer... his quiet, simmering rage, the final enigmatic act from an enigmatic player. The simple don't like enigmas. I still have utmost respect for Zizou

moral highground is what people should take

stunned, shocked, upset feelings that the great fairytale ending was thrown in the trash in the final moments would make any normal soccer fan mad, its not all about alterior motives just because these guys happen to be part of the media. they're not just upset cuz they don't get to do some kind of special ratings-boosting spin on a great ending. they're upset because normal people like seeing great memorable moments.

and they talked about how fucked up it was, because, regardless of who's at fault or what can be justified, it was still fucked up that it happened.

>We didn't get that from Zidane, we got something realer... his
>quiet, simmering rage, the final enigmatic act from an
>enigmatic player. The simple don't like enigmas. I still have
>utmost respect for Zizou

mean Zidane's off the hook, because he should have been thinking about his team, his fans, his country, and his own legacy ... BUT this video definitely makes Zidane look a lot less crazy to anyone who might have thought he just tweaked out for no reason.

vicious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gyu8W1g2co&search=sorin%20elbow

has Materazzi been getting red cards for any of that crap? I saw he got suspeneded for two months for punching someone, but in the videos of him spiking Shevchenko and such you never actually see him getting carded.

it's Fox, and some dude named Jamie Trecker, but...

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5760742?FSO1&ATT=HMA

FOXSports.com's Jamie Trecker reports that French players told French media members that Materazzi used a racial slur which prompted the headbutt.

You can see the alleged nipple rub as well as Materazzi running his mouth. The more I watch, the more I'm happy Zidane put him on his ass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1i_l0OeeMc

"...mais pourquoi? Mais pourquoi???"

he's a nitwit

memorable to me

.

Follow the link for a long, good read on Zidane from 2004:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1182707,00.html

One of the theories about Zidane as a player is that he is driven by an inner rage. His football is elegant and masterful, charged with technique and vision. But he can still erupt into shocking violence that is as sudden as it is inexplicable. The most famous examples of this include head butting Jochen Kientz of Hamburg during a Champions League match,... and his stomping on the hapless Faoud Amin of Saudi Arabia during the 1998 World Cup finals....

Zidane's first coaches at AS Cannes noticed quickly that he was raw and sensitive, eager to attack spectators who insulted his race or family. The priority of his first coach, Jean Varraud, was to get him to channel his anger and focus more on his game. According to Varraud, Zidane's first weeks at Cannes were spent mainly on cleaning duty as a punishment for punching an opponent who had mocked his ghetto origins.

*** one wonders what Le Pen's response will be.

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."

Fuck Zidane. Gattuso is gangster. He's a fuckin World Cup champion

----------------
Italia: Campione del Mondo 2006

THAT is a quote.

or are his primeval grunts only intelligible to italian fans?

I don't think he's too worried about what you think of him.

He's played integral roles on teams that have won the Scudetto, the Champions League and now the World Cup. The Man wins. That's what he does.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

FUCK that motherfucker.

But Gattuso isn't dumb enough to get sent off in a World Cup final.

And as Jason Jones said on The Daily Show last night, he can probably claim to be one of the 23 most fuckable guys on the planet right now.

I'd rather be young, Italian and a World Cup champ than old, French and balding.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

I mean, it's stupid to insult Gattuso, he's a great player, no doubt...but what Zidane did has nothing to do with being dumb. You know as well as everybody else that Materazzi is a bitchass cunt, revered by some of the most ignorant fans in the world (Inter) precisely for his vile behavior on the pitch...not controlling one's temper when faced with such assholery is not being dumb.

>
>I'd rather be young, Italian and a World Cup champ than old,
>French and balding.

Seriously, dude...besides Italians and futbol geeks, who's going to remember Gattuso 20 years from now? Zidane on the other hand...

Plus, 34 is not old by any standard (other than for playing professional futbol).

And I'm no Materazzi fan.

I'm just respoding to vigina's seemingly irrational hatred of Gattuso...I'm not the one who brought up Zidane originally.

I'm not gonna agree that what he did wasn't incredibly stupid, however. Just because Materazzi's a douchebag, doesn't mean Zizou didn't fuck up, big.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

first of all, it wasn't that big of a fuck up. He wasn't going to change the outcome of a penalty shoot out anyway. And as good as he is...he had given everything so I highly doubt he would have helped us score in the final 9 minutes.

but mostly, he didn't make a "dumb decision" as everyone says. It's not like he pondered the shit in his head, like "hmmmmmm, what would Diego do?" or something.

he's just did not control his temper. The reason why some folks (including me) respect him somewhat for it is that it means he wasn't thinking about his retirement and how to end his career properly. He was 100% in the game, with all his heart...and yes, he fucked up. It's still not dumb.

>And as Jason Jones said on The Daily Show last night, he can
>probably claim to be one of the 23 most fuckable guys on the
>planet right now.

but I must say, it was painfully not funny

I usually love the Daily Show, but for some reason all their world cup segments sucked. Colbert was funnier with it (before it started).

no homosexuality

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/photos/index.html?i=0&d=1

39 is insane

Perfect timing for the Chapelle show Lost Episode's. HE'S FROM THE STREETS!! WU TANG!!

that was perfect.

Too bad it ended that way for Zidane but he created it for himself, no matter what was said to provoke it.

Buffon made an amazing stop on Zidane and Cannavaro, wow, just a great tourney and amazing final. That back line for Italy is amazing. Only goals they concede was an own goal and a PK throughout the entire tourney.

Pussiest possible way to end a match.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldFootballNews&storyID=2006-07-10T163843Z_01_L10406204_RTRIDST_0_SPORT-SOCCER-WORLD-FRANCE-ZIDANE.XML

Apparently Materazzi straight up called Zidane a "dirty terrorist".

That does not change the fact that the headbutt was one of the gulliest things I've ever seen.

hilarity ensues

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyid=2006-07-10T182702Z_01_L10426945_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SOCCER-WORLD-FRANCE-ZIDANE-MATERAZZI.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-AlsoToday-7

live, only on replay after the Italians pitched a fit, and thus the red card given to Zidane was illegal?

but apparently (as with most things) they were wrong...

according to an in-stadium account from a BBC correspondent:

"Confusion reigned inside the stadium when Zidane was dismissed because the incident was not replayed on the two big screens.

I got the feeling that any neutrals - and there were plenty of them - suddenly started rooting for the French."

I believe the ref consulted with his assistants, who saw the play, and then issued the red.

Disappointed ZZ went out like that. Curious what was said b/c it seemed Zidane had turned to walk away.

I don't feel bad for teams when they lose on PKs because that's what you get for not scoring during regulation. As a casual soccer fan, I wonder why teams such as France (with Ribery, Henry and Zidane) don't attack more. Especially when time is winding down.

If all things are equal, do you really want to take your chances with PKs?

I wouldn't.

Germany and Portugal, with their offensive weapons, should have attacked more too.

they just weren't able to finish, that's all

http://zidanedamage.ytmnd.com/

--
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

And I swear to god, my heart is in my throat. I'm still nervous.

I just wanna see the celebration again.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

sike. I'm just kidding. Enjoy it, you got 4 years...

I know I must have watched those Wiltord and Trezeguet goals from 2000 a good thousand times.

...it terrified me.

All I could think was, "Wiltord is terrible...I'm pretty sure he hasn't scored any goals, anywhere since 2000...there's no way he doesn't score here."

And all of a sudden, Italy looks like the best PK team in the world? Incredible turnaround, incredible feeling.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

Grosso lived everyones dream that day - who hasn't thought about scoring a penalty to win the World Cup for their country?

they had this "team salute" or whatever you wanna call it, from the balcony of the Hotel Crillon in Paris...there were a few thousands people there who came to thank les Bleus for their run. Expectedly, Zidane, Henry and Ribery were the favorites of the crowd, but then Domenech brought out Trezeguet...and he received the loudest ovation (which made him cry like a little punk and Henry had to console him, but that's another story).

And I think it's cool.

like... "f'ck all that other sh't, we still love you Zizou" .. that was nice.

I mean, as much as that image will always be lumped in with his legacy, there was so fucking much more to Zidane. He's an all-time great, period.

He gave that country a lot more than he could ever take away, it's good to see an instant forgiveness.

Actually, that kind of reminds me of how Italy continues to revere Roberto Baggio. I've never heard of any fan who doesn't love him, which is rare in a country where club teams hate each other so much.
But how could you hate Baggio if you're Italian? How could you hate Zidane if you're French?

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

the main outcome of this may just be 'we take your point, zinedine'

on baggio, didn't he play for EVERY club in italy at some point?

...and Brescia.

It speaks poorly for the way they coach in Italy that he couldn't find a home where he thrived like he should.

Milan's coaches (sacchi especially) were awful to him, which saddens me greatly.

----------------
Azzurri: Campioni del Mondo 2006

"We didn’t want to organise anything beforehand, as only the British celebrate second place."
- Gennaro Gattuso, World Cup Champion.

He moves teams like every year. Italy seems unique in the sense that the top players do seem to move between the top clubs. In other leagues, vary rarely will a team sell one if it's best players to one of its main rivals

should've won the golden ball but I'm pretty sure he could care less. Zidane wasn't even the best player for France in the tourney, scarface was (Ribery). Zizou played greta against Brazil & Spain but was mediocre for most of the other games.

Which brings me to my next question: Platini or Zidane?

Most of us have never seen Plats play but I've seen extensive highlites and would give a slight nod to him. Dude scored 9 goals in euro '84 including 2 hat-tricks, not bad for a mid-fielder lol. It's not like the French were far off in '82 or '86 either:

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/fra_frg.html



peace

along with Giresse and Tigana (unfortunately, I'm old enough to have seen them play...and remember most of it). And for a long time, even after the win in 98, I kept thinking he was better than Zidane.

But that changed with Zidane's performance in the 2000 euro.
Platini was more of a scorer (Baggio famously said he was a 9 1/2, just like Michel), and also more of a moral leader. He was also a fantastic passer. But overall he didn't have the same influence on the game. And most of all...he only won the euro. When it comes down to it, it's a simple formula:

2 world cup semis + one euro << 1 world cup + 1 euro + 1 world cup final + 1 euro semi

The knock against Zidane was that he played with better teams than Platini, which might be true defensively, but Zidane never had anybody as talented as Giresse to help him set things up in the midfield (Ribery would be the closest, and it's not even a comparison).

it's bullshit, plain and simple

he wasn't good in the first two games, but the whole team sucked, and he was far from the worse. Then he was great against Spain, exceptional against Brazil, decent against Portugal and great against Italy...definitely our best player, along with Thuram. And everybody on the team would agree.

I didn't say he was the worst anything. Basically I just felt Ribery played better throughout the tourney. Yeah I suppose he was better in the final then I gave him credit for but Fabio still got robbed.



peace

Euro 2008 qualifier in France. Circle the calendar for that one

http://www.football365.com/news/story_188557.shtml

Marcello Lippi has resigned as coach of Italy.

The former Juventus boss decided to quit just three days after leading the Azzurri to their fourth World Cup triumph.

There had been widespread backing for Lippi to stay after his side beat France 5-3 on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 following extra-time.

Lippi, 58, replaced Giovanni Trapattoni as Italy coach in July 2004, signing a two-year contract.

"After the conclusion of an extraordinary professional and human experience during my time guiding this group of players, I believe my role as coach of the national team is over," Lippi said in a statement on the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) website.

"I have therefore announced to the FIGC my wish to leave the post as national coach when the contract expires.

"I would like to thank the FIGC for the trust they have given me in the last two years I have worked for them."
************************************************************

Who is going to succeed Lippi?