France 1 – 1 Italy
Italy lifted the world cup for the fourth time after defeating the French 5 – 3 in a penalty shootout.
Zidane opened the scoring with a calmly taken penalty after a dubious decision from the Argentinian referee. It wasn’t long before Materazzi equalised at the other end from a corner, and Italy went on to dominate the rest of the first half.
The second half went mainly France’s way, but they failed to capitalise and the scores remained locked at 1-1 at full time. I don’t know how many times this has happened this world cup, but the overly defensive tactics employed by most of the coaches has cost a number of teams dearly. Hopefully in four year’s time we will see a shift in tactics, perhaps towards some 3-4-3 formations. We will if I’m coach, that’s for sure.
Anyway, extra time was hard fought by both teams, and ten minutes from full time Zidane headbutted Materazzi square in the chest. The officials didn’t spot it, but unlike Figo’s headbutt several weeks ago, this one didn’t go unpunished. The fourth official viewed the incident on video replay, and radioed the officials. After a brief consultation with his linesman, the referee sent Zidane off, ending a brilliant career on a pretty low note.
Anyway, the Italians will be happy with their trophy, although their joy will be short-lived as the fate of four big Italian clubs will be decided tomorrow, and many of the players could find themselves in Serie B or lower.
July 10, 2006 2:39 pm 
