Just looking back at this one match (out of the hundreds he has played in his career) it appears that he tried to give Thierry Henry a concussion. That is quite shameful. Nearly every professional player has had a shameful moment or five. It's all a matter of how closely they're watched and what perspective the observer takes from the incidents (Take Rooney for example. Most people would call it 'shameful' to stamp on another player's groin. But many fanboys (mostly English) view C. Ronaldo as being the 'shameful' player during that incident).
Zidane deserves it, so would have Cannavaro. No reason to argue....Italy are World Cup winners, I doubt they care whether their team mate wins this award or not.
Ill reinforce my idea that Zidane winning the award is shocking. Is that the example FIFA wants to give to the children? It's totally outrageous.
OK, let's go back over Italy's run, shall we? 1) Game 1. Ghana. Everyone forgets how entertaining Ghana was. They also dominated the match through much of the first half, but Italy's patience paid off and they were able to frustrate the Ghanians in the second half, sealing it. 2) Game 2. USA. For all the crap people were talking about the Yanks after the Czech disaster, it was the US who came ready and forced the issue. Thanks to a dubious double yellow on Pope and a bit of stupidity by Mastro, the US was deprived of their victory. McBride's late offside - while playing 9 v 10, mind you - was not all that far from not being called. Beasley's shot was well placed, screen or no screen. 3) Game 3. Czech Republic. Didn't watch this one (sorry, the Yanks were more important) but they certainly didn't have their hearts in it - not to mention Koller and others. Give Azzurri credit here - they did what they had to do (while the Yanks didn't) 4) ITA vs. AUS. Good g-d, yet again, Italy relied on bunkerball to win again - and took advantage of a very late penalty (a good call, IMO - the Aussie Defender missed his "scissors" tackle and still got Grosso with his outstretched foot - ugh). 5) ITA vs. UKR - If not for Buffon...but remember, taking advantage of counters often leads to scoring chances, so for the earlier posters raving about the "12 goals scored" look again at how they did it. Kinda like empty net goals in hockey, eh? 6) ITA vs. GER - OK, this was their best game, and Cannavaro was a monster out there. Had they beaten France outright, this would have been his Golden Ball moment. That said, Del Piero's finish was another "empty netter" - see above. Enough has been said about Game 7. Anyway, the most entertaining team? I'll take Germany, then France, with Ghana my third. What pisses me off about Italy is the WAY they win, given the amount of talent they possess. They should be able to run some teams out of the park, but their "catenaccio" mentality doesn't allow them to. Then, they find a way for clutch finishes - Spain and Nigeria in 1994; Germany and Australia this year. For the best in Italy, go back and watch the '82 Cup, especially the 3-2 Rossi hat trick over Brazil. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about...Paolo, where art thou?
What a shock for me ! i thought Zidane had 2 awful games at beginning. Not to mention the red card in the final. On the other hand, Cannavaro played extremely well in every match.
Actually if you go back to the beginning, Cannavaro wasn't perfect either, at least not as good as he got later on in the tournament. Plus, the final wasn't one of his best games either. Both deserved to win it. One got the award, the other lifted the World cup.
That doesn't make it right though? If Cannavaro deserved the award, he should've been awarded it... it seems your saying because Cannavaro won the WC, give Zidane the Golden Ball as a concellation prize.
...actually, a lot of people do - and not just in the US, where soccer often equals boring. The 4-1-4-1 (or 4-5-1) should be banned, just as the NHL effectively eliminated the neutral-zone trap which was ruining the game. Rewarding teams for playing bunkerball is exactly what this Cup did - Portugal and Italy were chief among them. FIFA is rightly concerned; for one, I won't remember this Cup for much except the intensity and physical nature. How many great goals will you remember years from now? I can think of two: Beckham's bender and Ronaldo's step-over breakaway. I'm speaking as a general fan here; those with strong rooting interests for the semifinalists will see things with rose-colored glasses, as we all do for our sides. Again, I'll repeat: None of this year's matches holds a candle to some of the legends in the past, namely the '86 final, the 82 QF between Italy and Brasil, and 82 SF between France and Germany (breathless match and the best last 45 minutes, including OT, I've ever seen).
A lot of people have been saying that the semi-final match between Germany and Italy has the ingredients to be regarded as a classic game. I would have to respectfully disagree with you.
No. In the same token, you can't say Zidane DIDN'T deserve it. He was a huge inspiration in leading his team to the final. ANd as far as I know, the voting for the award stops at HT of the WC final, meaning the red card wasn't even considered.
Was he a huge inspiration THROUGHOUT THE TOURNAMENT? I think many other posters he would agree that he had a good tournament especially in certain matches but he does not deserve "Player of the Tournament." I would have even picked Thuram another Frenchmen over Zidane. I know, sadly thats true. Wish they could have waited till after the game ended. Really think about it... FIFA is giving the Player of the Tournament award to a person who headbutted someone. I mean soccer is the most popular sport in the world, terrible message they are letting being sent out...
But Zidane was good in teh first half and even scored that great penalty, which probably took his votes over the top. So whoever voted had no clue about the red card. I doubt they'll withdraw and cancel all the votes after the game is over. There is probably a good reason as to the system of voting and stopping at HT. Thuram was great but when Zidane started playing (against Togo) he inspired the whole team and everyone picked up.
Maybe so, but I still think there are a handful of other players who are more deserving of the award. His tournament was half excellent/half mediocre
Zidane was lucky the ball didn't bounce out when it hit the crossbar, he didn't mean for it to go so high.
But it worked out didn't it? And in great style too. A lot of moments in football aren't planned. Some work out and some don't. Worked for Zidane, failed for Trez.
That was a bad penalty, and Zidane knew it. A shot to an upper corner with sufficient pace will beat the keeper every time; only an idiot would intentionally aim his shot for the center of the crossbar. The difference between the ball landing just behind the line (Zidane) and on the line (Trezeguet) is - maybe a centimeter? In other words, it's pure luck. Zidane didn't play against Togo due to his suspension. Obviously you didn't exactly pay close attention to his performance in the World Cup
I was just wondering... if France had won the pk... would Zidane have been allowed to come back a celebrate??? Or does the red card bar him from the trophy presentation? Or was the reason that he didnt come out for the 2nd place medal because he was just avoid the shame and embarrassment.
Bad penalty turned good penalty. Doesn't matter whether its "luck" or not. It went in didn't it? And yea you're right about the Togo game, excuse me. But every frenchmen will tell you that Zidane's stepping up inspired the rest of them, he is just type of a player.