Zidane golden ball

[mjbmedia]

what sort of message does that send out to the football world?

Blatter and co harp on about fair play, not cheating, then reward the french baldy for a head butt (ok he did play some good stuff but i think some shorter than most Italian defender was better than him throughout the tournament) .

Just about sums up football nowadays and the way the world cup is going.

[Welsh Spur]

I think he got it FOR the headbutt....I reckon I wasn't the only one with a smile on my face as that smug **** Materazzi went down like a sack of shit....But Zidane could have waited I mean the game was nearly over, how about waiting till they got down the tunnel...!?! :p

[suBerb]

what sort of message does that send out to the football world?

Blatter and co harp on about fair play, not cheating, then reward the french baldy for a head butt (ok he did play some good stuff but i think some shorter than most Italian defender was better than him throughout the tournament) .

Just about sums up football nowadays and the way the world cup is going.

Well said.

Still, he was rewarded by the journalists.

[Welsh Spur]

I think the votes were probably cast prior to last night's incident.

[DarlinginJapan]

I think the votes were probably cast prior to last night's incident.

Yep, the vote was taken at half-time during the final, before his rush of blood!
Let's all just thank him, France might have won it had he not blown it!

[marcusto]

During Zidane turned back the clock with some amazing performances... shame about the head butt.... but he was the best of WC06

[JJ]

He won it for the Brazil performance.

[Welsh Spur]

What do you mean JJ?? I'm gutted the cheating unworthy Italians won!!!!
It's a disgrace and an injustice to football.

[JJ]

What do you mean JJ?? I'm gutted the cheating unworthy Italians won!!!!
It's a disgrace and an injustice to football.

Eh? I mean that the decision to give Zidane the golden ball was probably mostly based on his performance against Brazil.

[Welsh Spur]

Eh? I mean that the decision to give Zidane the golden ball was probably mostly based on his performance against Brazil.
Sorry mate, misread a post, thought it was one of yours but I just checked, it's one from DarlinginJapan.

[Houdini logic]

Materazzi obviously said something very offensive.

Plus he looked like a childish dickhead, and was it just me, or did he seem to disrespect the World Cup during the presentation?

[Welsh Spur]

I turned off the TV as soon as the result became clear.

[JJ]

Sorry mate, misread a post, thought it was one of yours but I just checked, it's one from DarlinginJapan.

Ah... yeah. The italians didn't deserve to win the world cup by any stretch of the imagination. But then again, there weren't any teams who stand out as the better footballing side. I think the French deserved it more though.

[Welsh Spur]

Well I was backing France as a fair-playing side (with maybe exception to Henry) as opposed to Italy, who maybe need some lessons in Moral fibre.

[JJ]

Well I was backing France as a fair-playing side (with maybe exception to Henry) as opposed to Italy, who maybe need some lessons in Moral fibre.

Yeah, i don't really remember seeing any shady stuff from the French (except the so called facial injury to Henry). Shit, even the headbutt was nice and blatant.

[JJ]

From the BBC

"Zinedine Zidane's agent says the France captain headbutted Marco Materazzi in Sunday's World Cup final because the Italian made a "very serious" comment."

Ooooh, juicy. I wonder what he said...

[Chinaman]

I think that Mafia guy must have said something blatently hurting, such as racist remarks as a normally supercool guy like Zidane to react like he did.

[JJ]

I think that Mafia guy must have said something blatently hurting, such as racist remarks as a normally supercool guy like Zidane to react like he did.

Considering Zidane went from laughing while jogging away to stopping, turning around, then going at Materazzi and headbutting him in the chest, i would think he must have said something pretty shocking. Which doesn't surprise me as Materazzi has always been, and will always be, a ****.

[suBerb]

Someone told me that Materazzi had said : TERRORIST

[Chinaman]

Most Italians are sly bastards. They have fine-tuned the art of fouling and provocation into sciences.

[shoot_ffs]

i'm glad ZZ got sent off, it would have been even worse if he had stayed on and scored. well done the 4th official for having the guts to speak up.

[marcusto]

Zidane deserved to get sent off... but Matterazzi is dirty cheating b**t**d in all fairness never liked him.... knowing him he did say something extremely offensive and the head butt was well deserved.

But in all fairness Zidane has been sent off a couple of times b4 for headbuttinh oponents

[Chinaman]

If he had really said terrorist, how I hope Zidane was a real one so that Mafia guy will be scared for the rest of his life.

[Houdini logic]

The main rumour is that he said something about Zidane's mother

[Chinaman]

Well, if it's about mothers, I think the Italians are of looser morals than the Arabs, and Materrazzi is the more likely to be the natural son of somebody else than Zizou.

[Welsh Spur]

This world cup must have been played in the worst, albeit competitive, spirit ever.

[Chaydle]

I have no interest in what Materazzi said, there is no excuse for that reaction. In every game of football ever played there will have been harsh words between players. A man of his experience and responsibility should have been able to deal with it.
I for one are glad the italians won.

[JJ]

I have no interest in what Materazzi said, there is no excuse for that reaction. In every game of football ever played there will have been harsh words between players. A man of his experience and responsibility should have been able to deal with it.
I for one are glad the italians won.

I disagree. Regardless of what Zidane did, at no point in this competition did Italy deserve to win it.

[Shuggie13]

I think it's ludicrous he got the award. Absolute nonsense, just like Blatter exnorirating the divers at the weekend. You don't give an OBE to someone for their lifetime work to charity a week after they are jailed for murder (an extreme example I know).

Who cares what Materrazi said, Zidane is a seasoned pro, he should of ignored him.

As for the descicion made at half-time who to award it to. Did it occur to them they could pick a second choice after the incident. Or was that far too logical.

Finally everyone who thinks Italy didn't deserve it. Their achievement against a strong, in-form host nation in the semi's far exceeded Zidane's accomplishment against a piss-poor Brasil team that, to be frank, were going to get knocked out by the first half decent side they met.

[Chaydle]

I thought Italy played a fantastic part in the game of the tournament against Germany. Prior to that game I too was very cynical about them but they played most Un-Italian like........honest, attacking, pace and quality. Apart from the Germans and Argies, the other teams in the tournament were bland and didn't catch my eye.

[JJ]

Finally everyone who thinks Italy didn't deserve it. Their achievement against a strong, in-form host nation in the semi's far exceeded Zidane's accomplishment against a piss-poor Brasil team that, to be frank, were going to get knocked out by the first half decent side they met.

Brazil were so poor against France purely because the French contained them the entire game. The entire midfield, which is where all of Brazils chances come from, were given absolutely nothing to work with because the French back 4 with Makelele and Viera ahead of them were absolutely untouchable defensively.

Had Italy not cheated their way past Australia, who's to say they would have even won that game?

[Shuggie13]

Brazil were so poor against France purely because the French contained them the entire game. The entire midfield, which is where all of Brazils chances come from, were given absolutely nothing to work with because the French back 4 with Makelele and Viera ahead of them were absolutely untouchable defensively.

Had Italy not cheated their way past Australia, who's to say they would have even won that game?


Again, any half decent side were due to beat Brasil, they were appauling, yes France outplayed them, but in relation to how Italy beat Germany there is no comparison. If you are going to use the whole of the tourney as a reference and we are talking about 'lucky', France were incredibly lucky to get to the final after their shocking group matches. And if we are going down that route Italy had a far harder group.

[JJ]

Again, any half decent side were due to beat Brasil, they were appauling, yes France outplayed them, but in relation to how Italy beat Germany there is no comparison. If you are going to use the whole of the tourney as a reference and we are talking about 'lucky', France were incredibly lucky to get to the final after their shocking group matches. And if we are going down that route Italy had a far harder group.

I wasn't using the whole tournament as a reference, nor did i mention luck.

Italy's win against Australia was simply disgusting. Any team that is willing to cheat a worthy opponent in the dying minutes deserves absolutely nothing.

Yet, surprise surprise, they won the whole thing. Proof that cheaters prosper in the modern game.

[suBerb]

To be sure, Germany- Italy was THE match of the tournament.

The best performance in ONE match was Italy's against Germany.

[Shuggie13]

To be sure, Germany- Italy was THE match of the tournament.

The best performance in ONE match was Italy's against Germany.

And that is my point, out of the two they deserved it more in my opinion for the match against Germany. Lets face it, it was a poor world cup, there was not one team that was outstanding throughout.

[Shuggie13]

JJ,

I wasn't using the whole tournament as a reference, nor did i mention luck.

However you quoted and responded to my post where I was talking about others that said Italy were lucky.

[nuttyhotspurs]

the italians deserved to win it. they had an extremely solid defence, only conceded 2 goals and scored goals when they needed to. they were the most consistent team so they won it. simple as that

as for the penalty against austalia, sadly its part and parcel of the game nowadays. lucas neil was a numpty for going to ground in the box at that stage of the game and without a replay it looked like a definite penalty first time round so it had to be given

zidane deserved to be sent off and behaved like a p£%$. if he was in the street he would of been arrested for doing something like that. to win an award after the red card is pathetic. i cudnt give a crap what was said to him, it happens all the time. someone with his experience shudnt of reacted in that way. rooney on the other hand......

[Chinaman]

At least he had the balls (Don't know whether they're golden) to headbutt the bastard in the open, unlike the Italians who are always doing something dirty from behind. The scandal they're in tells all.

[JJ]

JJ,



However you quoted and responded to my post where I was talking about others that said Italy were lucky.

Only because you quoted me, it looked like your point was in direct reply to mine. ;)

Either way, i detest the level of cheating that the Italians get away with, and it clearly works to the point where people are convinced they played well all tournament, which is even more infuriating.

[Chaydle]

How about the arrogance of the french players throughout the tournament, it was obvious that the senior players were running the team, Domenech was merely a spectator, thankfully it will the last tournament for the likes of ZZ, Makelele, Batrez, Thuram, Vieira.
Italy played as a team and had great spirit, the skill of Lippi was to harness the furore regarding the corruption scandal to create a seige mentality and brought them the world cup.

[JJ]

as for the penalty against austalia, sadly its part and parcel of the game nowadays. lucas neil was a numpty for going to ground in the box at that stage of the game and without a replay it looked like a definite penalty first time round so it had to be given


Doesn't matter what it looked like. The fact that it was unnoticable just goes to show the level of simulation that some of these players are capable of.

I don't care who you are, be it Italian, English, Brazilian, this is meant to be a football tournament in which the best footballing sides progress, and Italy didn't win the match by playing football, therefore they had no right progressing.

I know the modern game is littered with cheating, that doesn't make it any less sickening when a team who cheated throughout wins it.

The Italians are no better than the Portuguese when it comes to fair play, they're just higher profile players who get more decisions their way and who are better at cheating.

[JJ]

How about the arrogance of the french players throughout the tournament, it was obvious that the senior players were running the team, Domenech was merely a spectator, thankfully it will the last tournament for the likes of ZZ, Makelele, Batrez, Thuram, Vieira.
Italy played as a team and had great spirit, the skill of Lippi was to harness the furore regarding the corruption scandal to create a seige mentality and brought them the world cup.

The arrogance? Did you see how well France doing before the world cup and before ZZ and the other senior players stepped up? They were absolutely terrible.

If it wasn't for the senior players doing what needed to be done, there is absolutely no chance that they would have made it to the final.

The French did exactly what the English players should have done. They stopped listening to the shit manager.

[Chinaman]

I read somewhere that the Italian team has the worst fairplay percentage in this WC.

[Chinaman]

The arrogance? Did you see how well France doing before the world cup and before ZZ and the other senior players stepped up? They were absolutely terrible.

If it wasn't for the senior players doing what needed to be done, there is absolutely no chance that they would have made it to the final.

The French did exactly what the English players should have done. They stopped listening to the shit manager.

You've hit the nail on the head. How I wish someone had hit Sven on the head.

[Chaydle]

The arrogance? Did you see how well France doing before the world cup and before ZZ and the other senior players stepped up? They were absolutely terrible.

If it wasn't for the senior players doing what needed to be done, there is absolutely no chance that they would have made it to the final.

The French did exactly what the English players should have done. They stopped listening to the shit manager.



Fair point, but this isn't the first time the French have done this to their manager, it is inherent in their nature...

[JJ]

Fair point, but this isn't the first time the French have done this to their manager, it is inherent in their nature...

Don't get me wrong, there has to be a certain level of arrogance to even attempt it, but chances are it wouldn't be so much of a problem if they had someone like Lippi in charge.

[suBerb]

It's a brute fact that many Italians are prone to cheat. Still, Italy's performance against Germany had nothing to do with cheating, as far as I remember. So,they can play superb. MJ said it too.

[JJ]

It's a brute fact that many Italians are prone to cheat. Still, Italy's performance against Germany had nothing to do with cheating, as far as I remember. So,they can play superb. MJ said it too.

Oh i agree. The semi was the match of the tournament and Italy showed that they can play beautiful football, which is why it's that much more annoying that they do feel the need to cheat when they can clearly play the football to win matches.

It makes as little sense as teams like Milan and Juve having to fix matches (supposedly of course ;) )

[Chaydle]

The only controversial incident I remember involving the Italians was in the Aussie game, Neill went to ground and Grosso fell over him, I don't blame him, they were down to 10 men and facing extra time, it's totally different than the Portugese falling over with no contact.

We can all remember Michael Owen doing the very same more than once!

[gbspur72]

Can't say any team really stood out. Found the diving etc. in the tournament
really dissapointing and you could count the good games on 1 hand. Roll on the premiership when we can see some REAL football.
As for the player of the World Cup Cannavarro should of got it IMO,he had 7 great games as opposed to ZZ's 2 or 3 tops.
I'm afraid to say the World Cup is no longer the pinnacle of football it's now the Champions League, lets hope thats where we will be next season.
C.O.Y.S

[JJ]

The only controversial incident I remember involving the Italians was in the Aussie game, Neill went to ground and Grosso fell over him, I don't blame him, they were down to 10 men and facing extra time, it's totally different than the Portugese falling over with no contact.

We can all remember Michael Owen doing the very same more than once!

Controversial moment yes. But you'd be surprised how many shady tactics they use to control the flow of the game. Players staying down when clearly not hurt to stop the opposition from progressing. Knowing when to dive to win free kicks. Now everyone does it these days i know, but after watching every game the Italians played this summer i noticed a serious amount more than the average team. No more than the Portuguese, but like i said, they're better at it.

[Shuggie13]

JJ in principle I'd agree with you. In the past the Italian's made Ronaldo look like the most honest, non-diving player on earth. I rember one of those pony Inzaghi brothers always falling over the place. In some of my previous posts on other threads I said that at times Italy infuriate me, but when they are good (such as against Germany) they are great.

For me they were the lesser of two evils, in a tourney full of average teams. And in this tournemant we saw very little of their past hysteria. There was the incident with Di Rossi, which was by far the most violent act in the World Cup (he should of been banned for the whole tournemant but that's another debate) and the Australian incident.

I agree with the previous posts about the senior French players, However I think they were very fortunate to get to the final. If they should get any kudos it was for the Spain match not against Brasil. The only player I actually feel any sympathy for is Thuram, a completely unsung hero. As for the rest of the squad..... c'est la vie.

[singapore spur]

Can't say any team really stood out. Found the diving etc. in the tournament
really dissapointing and you could count the good games on 1 hand. Roll on the premiership when we can see some REAL football.
As for the player of the World Cup Cannavarro should of got it IMO,he had 7 great games as opposed to ZZ's 2 or 3 tops.
I'm afraid to say the World Cup is no longer the pinnacle of football it's now the Champions League, lets hope thats where we will be next season.
C.O.Y.S


agree totally with this , dont think any team played well enough and consistantly enough through the tournament to "deserve " to win . italy did win , france didnt basically sums it up for me .

as regards zz sending off , arrogance taken to the extreme from him , as experienced as he was he should know what winning means to his team mates and his country , but he has always been a bit of a hot head simmering under his veneer of class.
someone mentioned he has been sent off 14 times in his career and i remember a few , and they havent been for footballing offences .


as regards what mattarazi said " it ranges from his mums a terrorist whore . to his sister same etc etc
but the one that i am going for was , after twisting zidanes nipple
zidane asked " what you doing that for ?"
mattarazi said " i am checking to see if you are hiding any bombs "to which zidsane smiled , mattarazi then went onto say "mind you if i was an algerian i would blow myself up too " and then ZZ lost it .

[mjbmedia]

lol you watch the lips, he doesnt say much, its only a few words

[JJ]

Something to do with wishing death on his family now supposedly.

Materazzi has admitted he said something, but won't say what.

[marcusto]

Mattarazzi should be beaten with sticks if it was racial abuse then get 5 match ban and like a massive fine.... but no one really knows quite what was said.... Apparently Zindane insulted Mattarazzi dead mother and then it went from there...

Also remeber Zidane has been sent off quite a few times b4 for Violent conduct(in other words head butting someone)

[Houdini logic]

Back to Zidane or whatever, I know he shouldn't have headbutted, but if your mother is ill and someone calls her a whore or whatever, then you can't blame him so much for doing it.

Everyone can snap, I probably would have broken his nose to be honest, Materazzi an an arrogant, slimeball ****.

Zidane regrets it and rightly so, I would forgive him and want to know EXACTLY what that prick said.

[spurs61]

Materazzi was only doing what any other defender would have done, particulally against The World's Greatest Player (tm). Surely after over a decade at the top of football Zidane has got thick enough skin to smile and ignore any comments made, especially as Materazzi is notorious for winding-up his opponent. Regardless of what was said, Zidane reaction was unforgivable, how does a great player let down his team mates and his entire country to seek retubition for a personal vendetta, 10 mintes from the end of a World Cup final!!!!????

[marcusto]

Its not the first time Zidane was sent off for head butting someone... Materrazzi had insulted Zidane... but looks like Zidane insulted him and they got into a war of words... and Zidane lost it.

If Matterazzi racial abused Zidane then UEFA must make an example out of him...

I just wanna know what ZZ said to Matterazzi

[JJ]

Materazzi was only doing what any other defender would have done, particulally against The World's Greatest Player (tm). Surely after over a decade at the top of football Zidane has got thick enough skin to smile and ignore any comments made, especially as Materazzi is notorious for winding-up his opponent. Regardless of what was said, Zidane reaction was unforgivable, how does a great player let down his team mates and his entire country to seek retubition for a personal vendetta, 10 mintes from the end of a World Cup final!!!!????

Depends on the comment. The everyday footballer's ******ish comments don't tend to be made up of calling people the son of a terrorist whore, or wishing an ugly death on the family of a man whose mother is in hospital. He clearly said something that in Zidane's eyes was unacceptable, and for him to consider it unacceptable would suggest that this wasn't the run of the mill football banter.

Judging by the headlines, Materazzi has cost his nation any real recognition as the only thing people are talking about is the Zidane incident, not the result. When people look back and think about this world cup, the first thing that comes to mind will be Zidane, not Italy.

[JJ]

Its not the first time Zidane was sent off for head butting someone... Materrazzi had insulted Zidane... but looks like Zidane insulted him and they got into a war of words... and Zidane lost it.

If Matterazzi racial abused Zidane then UEFA must make an example out of him...

I just wanna know what ZZ said to Matterazzi

Chances are the reports of what Zidane said to him are true. The general consensus is that after Materazzi was holding his shirt he simply said to him that if he wanted his shirt so badly, he could have it at the end of the game.