Regardless of the chaotic situation in the Chile side, Brazil should have bounced back from a lackluster performance earlier in the tournament as they crushed their opponent with a 6-point haul. They prepared for this game, working on drills designed to neutralize every attack of Coach Nelson Acost.
Steve McClaren has pointed out that the players need to prove a point in their Uefa Euro 2008 qualifier match against Israel in Tel Aviv.
More than anything else, I believe Steve McClaren is the one who should prove a point for England. The squad was spectacular in the last FIFA World Cup and their current team which was supposed to be the same line up as before is far from half of their previous face.
Steve has put in a lot of changes starting in getting rid of David Beckham who should have provided the leadership and maturity England needs to develop its young core like Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.
Francesco Totti said he would not participate in the Italy national squad anymore and would not be playing for FIFA World Cup or the UEFA Euro.
His absence to the national squad doesn’t have an impact on Italy’s future because Totti has mostly been absent during important games of the team. He was sent off after Italy lost in FIFA World Cup 2002 and was banned from Uefa Euro 2004 because of spitting on Christian Poulsen, Danish midfielder.
He was present in FIFA World Cup 2006 but his presence wasn’t felt at all.
Totti, have fun and enjoy your new found freedom.
[tags]Francesco Totti, Italy[/tags]
When will Raymond Domenech accept that the old boys’ time has arrived and he should let them go and think of the future of France on a long-term basis?
Liliam Thuram is a great defender and still plays well for Barcelona while Claude Makelele another great midfielder playing for Chelsea are valuable assets for France but they would not be likely to play in FIFA World Cup 2010 in Africa. Looking short-sighted, I don’t think they can even make it past Uefa Euro 2008.
Pavel Nedved doesn’t have any injuries and is perfectly fit but announces he is no longer playing for the Czech National team to give younger players a chance and says it was a difficult decision for him.
I don’t think it was a difficult decision for him to make since he doesn’t really have any options, and the difficulty lies in his acceptance that he can no longer play and keep up with the younger players in the National Team. At 34 years old, it would be foolish for a coach to include him in the team and build plays together with him as he is already at the sunset of his career and most likely would not be a factor in Euro 2008, let alone FIFA World Cup in South Africa on 2010.
I reacted badly and I would like to apologise for it, I would like to apologise because a lot of children were watching the match. I do apologise but I don’t regret my behaviour because regretting it would mean he was right to say what he said.
The world finally heard Zidane’s side after he appeared on French television saying that Materrazi said insulting things to his mother who is in the hospital and sister — once, twice, thrice.
Classic Zidane. Albeit he’s calm and shy persona lie a true warrior who descended from Algeria ruled by France for 132 years, born in French soil and grew in a tough environment outside Marseilles. Because of Zidane, Algeria learned to blind themselves from France’s doing, forgave and loved their country all because of the maestro.
The world cup is the greatest sporting event in the world, but a one man’s journey towards restoring love on a country whose rulers were hated for all memory is bigger than the extra time of a finals game.
I am so happy for Zidane on winning the Golden Ball Award. France would never reach the finals without Zidane who powered his country right after the group stage. He seldom showed any semblance prior to the group of 16 which does not matter, because legends and the greatest players play and get paid for the biggest games of the tournament. Come to think of it, Zidane being the captain allowed his teammates to build confidence prior to the group stage without dominating and being the center of attention. He used his teammates’ growth and confidence to support him in beating their opponent’s en-route to the finals.
As predicted France controlled the game primarily because of their midfield players who dominated Italy and set key plays resulting in 8 more shots and 2 more shots on goal. They threatened Italy most of the time and looked so close to scoring another goal after Zidane’s 7th minute penalty kick. The most beautiful shot could have been Zidane’s header in the 104th minute launched with precision, grace and the ball flying perfectly just under the top bar only to see Golden Ball rival Buffon deflect the shot.
I went for Lukas Podolksi to win the Best Young Player award with the way he electrified the crowd at Germany. True enough, the Best Young Player award is not based on popularity for which he will be a runaway winner given the games are played in his hometown; rather players who have impacted the course and performance of their team throughout the tournament.
If you do not know how old Lukas is, you would have guessed wrong adding more years to his current age. His maturity is way beyond his age which can be seen on how he reacts on tackles, drawing fouls, positioning himself on the field; on the other hand you will have a feeling he is a kid with all his energy running back and forth without showing fatigue or slowness of age.
