Claude,
I don't like Materazzi either.
In 1998 a stricker named Guivarch (I think he was from Bretagne) broke Cannavaro's face with his elbow. He deserved a red card, but nothing happened, maybe because the match was played in Paris. France won that match after the penalty kicks. Of course we weren't happy.
I think that Guivarch was a disgrace for the french football, but this does not change the fact that in 1998 France won the World Cup.

Andrea,

Unfortunately, I watched nearly all the 1998 World Cup matches except for the one against Italy. I only made it back home in time to watch the semi and final. But any players in any teams that play 'dirty' football should be looked at as a disgrace to their country, I agree. I don't think Italy shouldn't deserve their win, only I should say that Materazzi did not deserve his cup, even though he was the one that tied the score for Italy.

What an absurd discussion here.
I have been absent from the forum for a very long time for the simple reason I have nothing musical to contribute........alas.
One of my very best friends is Italian and we watched the final at his place. (here in Holland).
First of all I think that there was not ONE team that really shone throughout the Championship, worse even I think not ONE team truly deserved the cup. And to pre-empt your criticism, even though I would have liked Holland to win I had been saying for months that Holland did not even deserve to go to Germany and that they had no true business being there, simply because our team sucked.
But Italy, and once more (Dreamer and all the others) I congratulate you on winning ,but it is absolutely ludicrous to maintain that they were the best team and that deserved the title. They were by far the luckiest team though.............
As for Zidane, a great great player who made a terrible mistake. I am glad he was awarded
best player of the tournament all the same...

Greetings from Holland,
with a national team that once was the pride of a nation, these days only our trainers seem to be "cream of the crop"..............

Dreamer writes: And let me tell you one more thing: Klinsmann was really clever to resign; he knows that your team is nothing special and the third place is much more than you deserve...

Dreamer, and your source is? Has Klinsmann ever stated these words?

Congratulations, Italy...till the next World Cup!


A win today might be a loss to the same team the next day. In football, as it's been proven countless time, there is no BEST team. BEST only lasts a fleeting moment in time. A lot depends on the outcome and often it has nothing to do with talent. Even Brazil loses so even with its five World Cup victories it still is as vulnerable as all the other teams.

Well said ... I am an Italo-American who very recently had the wonderful fortune to visit and experience Italy ... While not being a soccer fan at all, filled with my even more enthusiastic Italian pride, I was rooting for Italy to win ... I do not know if one team is better than another, or if a foul is a foul ... I only know that when the ball passes into the net, a point is scored ...
However, I also know that if a team plays poorly, as is being said about the Italian team, than another team should beat them at some point, unless those other teams are playing even more poorly ... AND while a team could very well get lucky for one game, maybe two, can we call it luck if the go all the way and win the championship??? ... if that is true, I would love for some of that luck to run off on me ... maybe then Technics would start producing keyboards again !!! ... which is where I am going now, as we all should, to make BEAUTIFUL music ...
CIAO,
t.

PS I started this thread (SORRY !!!), and I wouldn't mind being the one to 'finish' it ...


[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 07-12-2006).]

[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 07-12-2006).]

I don't usually keep track of soccer, but this year I was actually interested in it. So, yes, congratulations to Italy! I thought Germany was going to make it to the finals...

When I watched the game, the event was HUGE...how many people were actuall present at the game? It looked like 10x more people than what we see at the superbowl.

>>>Dreamer writes: And let me tell you one more thing: Klinsmann was really clever to resign; he knows that your team is nothing special and the third place is much more than you deserve...
Dreamer, and your source is? Has Klinsmann ever stated these words?<<<

Taike, just to answer this quesion and get this right: This is nothing but a very subjective assumption by somebody: Klinsmann never said it and surely never thought of it. Everybody in Germany wanted Klinsmann to stay, because he built up a desolate and heavily critisezed bunch of players to a very brave playing team, that deserves the word "team" in the sense of: Winning is a business of every single member of the crew. This was maybe the most important point why he got so popular. Klinsmann resigned because he felt burnt out and because some bitter old V.I.Ps in german football critisized his new methods of training the team and complained about some other stuff. Unfortunately Klinsmann has a very good memory and seems not so forgiving. He told the players and everybody who wanted to know how proud he was of the spirit and the success the german team achieved after two years of hard work. Thats why everybody wanted to keep him and they tried very hard including the players. They put pressure on him when he started and they put pressure on him when the WM was over, just in a different way, too much of what he could take. 2.) He was living up to the idea that Germany could go for the finals, he had high hopes for it and said this many times. Still he was more than happy how they beat Portugal in the semi final. The comment above, clever Klinsmann is leaving because his team isn�t worth staying with is simply - well - "uninformed", to say the least.

Heinrich

per italian lip readers-

Materazzi first told him: "Hold on, wait, that one's not for a feccia ('shit', 'scum') like you." Zidane then allegedly told Materazzi that if he really wanted to have his shirt, he could have it afterwards. It is unclear what Zidane specifically said , but the claim is backed by Zidane's body language as he walked past Materazzi. Materazzi allegedly replied: "I'd rather take the shirt off your wife." he reportedly added: "We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore."