Italy seems destined to win. they're playing so well and I can't see france scoring against that Italian defence.

Posted by: john figaro from Vancouver on July 9, 2006 09:57 AM

Four hours before game time: Every win on that road to tonight's final was met with Italians claiming their team had won more by luck than talent. Today, Italy's atmosphere is different. There is no connection between scandals surrounding their domestic soccer scene. Many of tonight's spectators, will be those who grew up watching black & white matches with Papa, and want to recapture the high level of national pride that swept Italy in their 1982 World Cup win. Italian superstition does not allow for speaking of a wish - because then it won't come true. But subtle signs such as an increase in church attendance this morning, increased betting in favour of Italy, and a quiet before the storm; help read minds here. More obvious signs include draping the 'Tricolore' flags everywhere, on-line odds, and phrases like 'our team has really come through a lot together, and are now a 'real team'.'

Posted by: Lauchlin Murray from on July 9, 2006 10:15 AM

France will win. Zidane will end his career with a victory. VIVE LES BLEUS!!!

Posted by: jesse james from toronto on July 9, 2006 11:01 AM

Whats up with the thumb sucking thing!

Posted by: Max Hollyman from Canada on July 9, 2006 11:07 AM

FORZA AZZURRI 2006!!! Dobbiamo Vinciere!!! E' nostro destino!!!!
A M P D G P P N

Posted by: DMV from on July 9, 2006 11:07 AM

Forza Italia!

Posted by: Rob from Italy on July 9, 2006 11:40 AM

We hope we gona eat chiken pizza today!!!!!!

Posted by: Fadel Mohamad from Montreal on July 9, 2006 11:43 AM

And the Oscar goes to.........

Posted by: j from on July 9, 2006 12:16 PM

I think France will win this match, because France has logical thinking in the game and Italy just wants to get penalties and fouls to win.

Posted by: kristina from on July 9, 2006 12:21 PM

France will win,looking forward to a great game of football.Allez Zidane,Allez les bleus.

Posted by: George from Ireland on July 9, 2006 01:15 PM

ITALIA ITALIA ITALIA

Thats all you need to know

Posted by: Mike Battista from Vancouver on July 9, 2006 01:18 PM

aspeta, who is forza, and why chicken?

Posted by: ick from Roma on July 9, 2006 01:18 PM

italy will win bishh haha man they nice is gonna be a close game here in usa franklin is blocked with big tv and everything

Posted by: Italy~!~!~!~ from usa on July 9, 2006 01:33 PM

Which ever team can "con" the ref will win. This world cup has been about cheating. Diving to get a penalty against Australia or suffering major facial trauma against Spain, what ever it takes to get to the final. Sportsmen me ar*e. Overpaid actors.

Posted by: Colm from Dublin on July 9, 2006 01:54 PM

Heh...France should win just for elimating portugal..

Posted by: Lee from internet on July 9, 2006 02:28 PM

Italy iis going to WIN.GO ITALY GO

Posted by: simmie from vancouver,BC on July 9, 2006 02:34 PM

I think france is going 2 take it home this world cup.

Posted by: carlos from Canada,AB,calgary on July 9, 2006 02:37 PM

Italy is all set to win !!!

Posted by: Simi from Surrey,BC on July 9, 2006 02:40 PM

France will definetly win the world cup finals.France has worked so hard,and has not gotten any credit.But it will soon pay off.Vive Le France!

Posted by: hamda mohamed from on July 9, 2006 02:56 PM

COME ON FRANCE!!!!! Lets go Henry, Zidane, Barthez!!

VIVE LES BLEUS!!!!! VIVE LA FRANCE!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Gen from on July 9, 2006 02:58 PM

Ironic that both teams colour is blue. I think. The Italians always wear blue and the French are known as Les Bleus. Why is this happening? Why could the teams have different colours or different nicknames? Anyways, on the game, I hope France wins, but I have a sneaking feeling that Italy will win.

Posted by: Adam from Grimsby on July 9, 2006 03:00 PM

italy is out 4 it this time no time 4 play we really need this cup n tonite we r lifting it

Posted by: feezo from dxb on July 9, 2006 03:09 PM

Is it just me or was the second call for a penalty a much worse tackle than the first?

Posted by: Charli from England on July 9, 2006 03:16 PM

They played on green grass and a team scored. Someone had to win, that made the difference!

Posted by: Sean Houghton from on July 9, 2006 03:39 PM

France looks to have the desire and will to win the cup as their star player zidane has started the scorecard with the lead in the early minutes of the game's 1st half.
i wish them all the best.

Posted by: nilkanth from mumbai,india on July 9, 2006 03:51 PM

Okay the whole zidane incident was ridiculous. The ref didn't even see it...

Posted by: Lee from ... on July 9, 2006 04:32 PM

What I want to know is, what the heck was Zidane thinking?!

Here's hoping France still wins

Posted by: James from Vancouver on July 9, 2006 04:33 PM

Zidane is still a great for me.

Viva l'Italia!

Posted by: Antonella from Torornto on July 9, 2006 04:46 PM

Italia!! I predicted right,Italy would win but not on a penalty kick in OT> I love the Italian people and I congratulate the Italian team in beating France.

Posted by: Terry from Edmonton on July 9, 2006 04:46 PM

I was shocked at Zidane's action. Any violence on purpose should be refused.

Posted by: Fu from Montreal on July 9, 2006 04:53 PM

WHAT WAS ZIDANE THINKING? I think something the italian player said must have really set him off...probably a racial comment I think. i'm so upset and shocked by how this game ended what a disgrace.

Posted by: Anna from Kamloops,B.C. on July 9, 2006 05:04 PM

okay i'm sorry for all you italian fans but I wasn't cheering for italy AT ALL because of the horrible corruption in italy. It really makes me sick.
think about it...maybe even this game was fixed(hopefully not)?
VIVE LA FRANCE

Posted by: annie from Vancouver,B.C. on July 9, 2006 05:07 PM

I hate to say this but the win was well deserved by Italy. In the past when they got eliminated, they had accepted defeat with no class. Like them or not, they are truly one of the greatest team in history.

Posted by: Steve from Kitchener on July 9, 2006 05:08 PM

Zizou, what a way to go.
For all the theater of Materazzi, we could see on the telly it was quite an unexpected blow.
What a foolish thing to do to yer team man.!
Jose Ferna

Posted by: jose ferna from Morocco on July 9, 2006 05:10 PM

I think Italy should win cause they are clearly the better team!!

Posted by: Jessica from CA on July 9, 2006 05:11 PM

It is a real disapointment to see France lose the World Cup ... and especially in a shoot out! It hardly speaks to their skills and abilities as world class soccer players. They are the true heroes! Vives Les Bleus!!

Posted by: Charlene from Ottawa on July 9, 2006 05:17 PM

hey guyz itz hendiah jus wanna say dat FRANCE WAS JUST AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGG I MEAN IT AMAZINNNNNNNNNNNNG AND WEN I SAY FRANCE WAS AMAZIN I DUN MEAN DAT ITALY WAS CRAP BUT TO BE A BIT HONEST HERE FRANCE WAS BETTER DEN ITALY BUT DE ITALIANS WERE LUCKY ENUF BCOZ FRANCE DIDNT HAVE DEIR BEST PLAYA WIV DEM ZIDANE ...AS EVERYONE KNOWZ AND YE HENRY ASWELL...GONNA MISS ZIDANE HEZ A GREAT PLAYER BUT THE ITALIAN PLAYER SWORE AT HIM N GOT HIM MAD....ENUFF RESPECT

Posted by: Hendiah Noorzad from England on July 9, 2006 05:26 PM

Ouch, my head.

Posted by: ZZ from France on July 9, 2006 05:32 PM

Zidane, known as a gentleman, has disgraced himself and his team. What a way to finish a brilliant career!

Posted by: Josephine from on July 9, 2006 05:33 PM

He CLEARLY said something about Zidane's mother...

Posted by: debra from Trois-Rivieres on July 9, 2006 05:52 PM

It's over. Italy won. Nothing against Italians, they're great people. Congrats Italy. Italian team, however, DID NOT EARN IT. There's neither heroism nor sport in faking a foul every five minutes or in provoking the opponent. Zidan made a big mistake. I agree. Let's just see why before we judge him. The Italian defence player, whoever his name is, 1. fouled him more than once and 2. said "something" that must have pushed Zidan off the clif. It was wrong and he earned the red. Referee's good call. Anyway, for me, the World Cup ended yesterday. Today's game was lamed by Italian team's impropernesses and Zidan's temper.

Posted by: adham from Germany on July 9, 2006 05:53 PM

Zidane reall showed good sportmanship by headbutting the other player. Guess his team lost thanks to such superb behavior!

Posted by: /b/tard from on July 9, 2006 06:05 PM

Well done Italy!
Nobody likes to see a game go to shoot-outs. It was nerve racking. Credit to France for carrying much of the play in the the second half. They are a tremendous team. The simple fact remains however, it wasn't enough to defeat Italy, a team who's time has come, again... A shame for Zidane, but it wasn't the first time he's lost it. Just a shame he did it here. All in all a great tournament. I empathize with those not favoring Italy, it's easy to bitch, recriminate and get lost in logical fallacy. Don't let your biases allow you to lose sight of the fact that a deserving team won.

FORZA ITALIA, CAMPIONE DEL MONDO 2006

Posted by: Joe Clemente from on July 9, 2006 06:34 PM

Forza Azzuri!! The two teams couldnt have been more well matched...a brilliant game that kept you guessing till the very end! Zidane showed an appalling lack of sportsmanship, behaving like a spoilt and bad-tempered five-yr old. Not only did he disgrace himself but he also let down his team mates, not to mention world-wide fans! In the end, though... I'm pretty sure we would have won anyway =) Forza Italia!

Posted by: Cheryl from Malta on July 9, 2006 06:48 PM

I'm very disappointed in the head butting incident, but I hope that biased referee has his whistle taken from him FOREVER!

Posted by: Tigger from Barrie on July 9, 2006 06:56 PM

great game! Great blog. And the CBC did an excellent job on its website for the World Cup.

Posted by: virginia from on July 9, 2006 07:00 PM

A wonderful game dominated I think by France. Too bad it had to be decided by penalty kicks. Re the Zidane head-butt: His head is a missile. After not scoring on that brilliant header he must have needed some satisfaction. And wouldn't you like to know what the Italian said to him? Must have been something about his mother.

Posted by: David Cameron from on July 9, 2006 07:02 PM

Congratulations to Italy.

What a heart-breaker for Zidane and France! What was he thinking drawing that red card? How could he cap such an illustrious career as one of his generation's finest players with such a stunt? He was the team's general, and generals must show leadership, which includes demonstrating restraint. Instead of us replaying his magnificent, "almost goal" that he headed in overtime, the world will be looking over and over again at his attempt to gore an Italian drama queen.

This was Zizu's swan song. He has no one else but himself to blame for getting ejected. He can still set an example for millions of Arab kids in the ghettos of France and the world over. He can teach them that no matter how angry one gets, they must always keep their eyes on the real prizes in life.

I'm still a Zizu fan. He beat my beloved Brazil in 1998 and I still love the guy.

Thanks for the great years of football, Zizu! Good luck.

And thanks to the CBC for the great game blogs. cheers

Posted by: Kumbir Vandeyar from on July 9, 2006 07:11 PM

Wellwellwell, an entertaining game between two talented outfits. The question on most people's minds is, exactly what did Materazzi say to Zidane to invite the head butt? Zidane is ordinarily a pretty level headed guy... I'm figuring Materazzi must have disparaged or otherwise insulted Zidane's religion. As we all know Islamists don't take kindly to that kind of dialogue. Maybe that ain't it, but you could tell Zidane gave it some thought, turned around and then delivered the blow. Having said this much, I thought the Italians desrved the victory, especially in light of Baggio's big miss in the States a few years back.

Posted by: John Van from London on July 9, 2006 07:16 PM

Quick, somebody call Don Cherry! Where's my cup of
male bravado? I need 20 CCs of testosterone, stat!

Soccer (football) will never get full respect in North
America as long as players are allowed to dive/act for
90 minutes, playing the "beautiful game." Thank god
that kind of crap would never be tolerated in the NFL,
NBA, NHL or MLB.

How ironic that the team that best demonstrated this
trait also won the World Cup.

Posted by: Laslow Panaflex from Canada on July 9, 2006 07:22 PM

Max Hollyman,

nice comment, the "thumb sucking thing" is actually the
italians paying respect to their faith. You could of done a
little research into other cultures belief's before you
exposed you red neck for the world to see.

Posted by: John from Vancouver on July 9, 2006 08:01 PM

A few things to say

1 - Penalty kick: best dive ever of the entire tournament... French fan were talking about C. Ronaldo but their team is not better

2 - Great game meanwhile, Italy had totally dominated the first half while France did the rest of the game. Both teams deserve the win and since we needed a winner, it was Italy

3 - Zidane is not an amateur and whatever did Materazzi say, his reaction was just totally UNACCEPTABLE and his retribution well deserved. It's so unfortunate and such a shame ending such a wonderful carreer that way. I still pay respect to Zidane, he's the man

4 - If you're trying to justify Zidane's act in any sort of way, you are falling into that category: SORE LOOSER

Posted by: JP from Ottawa on July 9, 2006 08:17 PM

here goes the excuses again just like the ronaldo, rooney thing. what zidane did was outrageously wrong. STop assuming that the other guy was provoking him. Don't get me wrong, i was rooting for france.

Posted by: rose from Canada on July 9, 2006 08:22 PM

I'm very curious to know what was said that would make Zidane so angry he would throw a head butt.

I was cheering for France and was so impressed by Zinedine Zidane before this incident.

Posted by: jephperro from vancouver on July 9, 2006 08:25 PM

what a game! i love football!

Posted by: tito from Calgary on July 9, 2006 08:39 PM

It was a great game. It may have been questionable if the early penalty kick should have been a penalty kick, but it was a nice goal by Zindane.
The goal by Italy was brilliant. They are truely finess players!
Sadly, one of the great players goes out with a red car and will forever be recalled for the "head butt" incident. But now he is a "butt-head"! Italy totally deserved the win after that!
(And this is from a German fan!)
Definitely a great game to watch. Can't wait for the next world cup :-)

Posted by: Tricia from Toronto on July 9, 2006 08:48 PM

I am still in shock about Zidane's headbutt, and like many above, I want to know what happened!!?? Thanks for the great blogs (and the NHL blogs were good too!). Too bad Italy won...they are actors and divers.

Posted by: Rosemary from Rochester on July 9, 2006 08:59 PM

It looks like those acting lessons Italian soccer players take in the off-season have paid dividends.

Posted by: Greg from Ontario on July 9, 2006 09:01 PM

First of all, The referee was not biased, because the whole world saw the replay of the headbutting incident. Second, Zidane is not an amateur, and he's not like those young players who get provoke easily (cristiano ronaldo,rooney,etc). He was supposed to be able to keep his head cool.Third, Italy has the best defense in the world! and Gigi Buffon was awesome. Italy deserved to win.

Posted by: Ally from Montreal on July 9, 2006 09:14 PM

A few thoughts. Yes, as an Italian I was cheering for Italy ... but did all of you watch the same game? The "penalty" in the first few minutes, was not even close to being a penalty. The ref clearly blew it. You talk about a dive? Materazi did not touch the French player. Overall, a good game. The Italians dominated but only slightly. Zidane was nowhere to be found in the game except 1) The PK; so what? 2) A great header pushed over the cross bar by Buffon and 3) The famous head but. What was Zidane thinking? A shame to see an otherwise great player go out on such a low note. Otherwise, Italy was full value for the win and for the tournament in general. 2nd least scored upon team (2 goals, of which 1 an own goal and the other a penaly which should never have been called, vs. 0 for Switzerland who played 3 games) and 2nd HIGHEST SCORING TEAM in the WC. Yes, 2nd highest scoring team in the WC. France had a decent tournament, after a poor 1st round, a brilliant tactical game against Brazil (but what if Brazil had not left Henry unmarked on Zidane's free kick?), good game against Spain and so-so performance against Portugal. Forza Italia!!!

Posted by: Spike from on July 9, 2006 09:25 PM

The question is what caused Zidane to loose his temper; it must have been something intolerable. One of the reports say that it was a racial slur from the Italian side.

Posted by: Mojiz Jan from Totonto on July 9, 2006 09:29 PM

I think Zidane did what a man with courage and honor
would do to win. He was a warrior through out the whole
World Cup 2006. Yes, life is not fair. Always remember
Karma can come back to hunt you. Viva France, Zidane
and Spain!! Best wishes to Italy for their Victory! Bravo!!

Fedrich Torres

Posted by: Fedrich Torres from on July 9, 2006 09:32 PM

Viva Italia!

Grazie Azzurri!

NO SOUR GRAPES, Please!

Posted by: mary sbragia from montreal on July 9, 2006 09:55 PM

Forza ITALIA!!!
AUREVOIR ZIDANE, DOMENEQUE, CHIRAC, PLATINI ET
LA FRANCE!!!!

Posted by: MIKE from LONDON on July 9, 2006 10:32 PM

To adham from Germany: Italians certainly do not need
your (potentially politically correct) congratulations, or
your reaffirmation that they are great people -
thousands of years of culture, history and ingenuity are
testament to this greatness. It is quite obvious from
your comments that your "objective view" was blinded
by...perhaps the great disappointment of Italy vs.
Germany??? France's first free kick was not
merited...and Henry et al seemed to have mastered
what refer to as Italy's faking quite well since Les bleus
were on the ground injured for more time than they
were playing. As for Germany - Congratutlations for the
flawless organization - everything was perfect, except
of course your team...perhaps it lacked the heroism and
the perseverance that the ITALIANS clearly had...See
you in South Africa in 2010! VIVA GLI AZZURRI e VIVA
L'ITALIA (senza confini!!!!)

Posted by: miryg from on July 9, 2006 10:44 PM

to all of you who doubt the azzurri, annie from vancouver who posted earlier and kristina from on, italy did not win by penalties to get all the way through to the last game,although if i recall, the last 2 games that france scored in were through diving and receiving penalty shots,which is how they got the goal to eliminate Portugal and keep themselves in today's game.France, if you remember, almost did not make it out of the Group stage. I really respected Zidane as a player before today but what he did, provoked or not, was a sad,last, way to be remembered in what was a good career. Tigger from Barrie,
Did you watch the game? How could you have watched that and think that the referee was biased? Obviously, the ref is not the "biased" one!
Italy worked hard throughout the tournament and deserved their win.

Posted by: Laura from Coquitlam on July 9, 2006 10:48 PM

Looks like the fans of les "Bleus" are a little disappointed. I would be too .

The "Great" French squad who were suupposed to outclass the " Keystone Cops" from Italy obviously got lost in the traffic jam!
1 - The greats like Henry et al were not to be found at the end of the game with Domenech having to sub them with some cadet recruits.
2- Zidane left his swan song with disgrace for which there is no good reason to substantiate. As a result let down the whole squad at his time of need.

In the end all is fair in love & war & now the World Cup sits to Rome till 2010.

So much for the FIFA rating system.

Moral of the story :

What goes around comes around.

Even with all the favors bestowed to the French..... they still coudn't capitalize. (p.s. the FIFA really needs to take a hard look at the refereeing)

The ultra select French squad failed at taming the wild stallions of the Azzurri.

Seeu all in 2010 - minus Zidane

Forza Italia

Posted by: Joe from montreal on July 9, 2006 10:56 PM

I'm just starting to appreciate all the 'hockey-like' pleasures of watching football: positioning, strategy, passing; it's great! But the acting and the diving! It's disgusting! The referees should use the cameras to review the drama. Make 'em wait for the video review; might clean the game up a bit. Too many obviously-faked moments having a MAJOR impact on the outcome of a match. That really sucks.

Posted by: Herbert from on July 9, 2006 10:58 PM

I don't think the penalty kicks are the fair way to end a tied game. What about give it another 15-30 minutes, with both sides eliminating their goalkeepers ??? French would have won this game with the momentum that they had today. The Italy getting this cup is just pure luck & it looks like they counted more on the "lottery kicks" by their heavy focus on the boring defense (3-5 guys against Zidane?!!?) & weak attacks during the game. Shame.

Posted by: brightsun from canada on July 9, 2006 11:26 PM

It was an entertaining game marred by the Zidane incident. It should be revealed what the Italian defenceman said to Zidane to cause such a brilliant and seasoned veteran to lose his cool. It must have been something unmentionable to cause the incident that happened. Sad that this is the way one of the greatest had to leave soccer.

Posted by: John Robertson from Canada on July 9, 2006 11:36 PM

Congratulations to France, Germany, and Italy. These teams all competed with pride, integrity, and tactical skill. In sport there are always contraversies and disagreements. Mistakes are made by referees, coaches, and players respectively, nonetheless, a winner arises. Italy won the World Cup because they deserved to win. They defeated formidable opponents in Australia, Germany, and France. Buffon and Cannavaro were the best players on the team as they contributed to Italy's strong defense. The first penalty kick awarded to France was unjustified and the second appeal for a penalty kick was given to Italy as that decision needed to even out the game. France had their chances, as well as Italy, and the French coach made a grave mistake, in addition to Zidane, by removing Henry and not having Zidane for the sootout. Zidane's headbut was criminal to me, an attempt to cause bodily harm. As a great soccer player who has played many international matches, it would be expected that such an incident would never occur. Zidane, although a great player, has certainly put a cloud over his career. I believe that Zidane should win the "red ball" award for the most viscious foul in the World Cup! Forza Italia. Ho festegiato sta sera a corso Italia in Toronto con i miei amici. Era una festa magnifica. Viva Italia.

Posted by: stefano L. from Toronto on July 10, 2006 12:11 AM

I think it was Henri who broke into the Italian box and was fouled. He kept upright and didn't fall down. He continued on but the keeper stopped his shot.
Has it come to the point where he would get hell from the team,coach or media because he didn't simulate.
I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Sad.

Posted by: Randy Norris from Canada on July 10, 2006 12:16 AM

NOW, had the ref officiating the Portugal vs France match been fair and not gift-wrapped that goal for France (dive by Henry - Henry was touched by the Portuguese player when he was already diving) then France wouldn't have made it to the finals, since in my opinion, they didn't deserve it, and Zidane wouldn't have done what he did today and would have finished his career a football hero. Instead, he has brought shame to himself and to his team who lost to the Italians. Not cool! Why in the world did he do that? At least, even though Portugal came in 4rth place, Figo is still retiring from international football as one of the world's greatest, and with his head up high. WAY TO GO FIGO, YOU HAVE MADE US, PORTUGUESE PEOPLE, EXTREMELY PROUD. WE WILL MISS YOU ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. Good thing the ref didn't call another penalty kick in favour of the French a second time, due to DIVING, which is what the Portuguese were accused of doing by most, including the French. The Portuguese got their revenge, although a bit too late. BIG CONGRATS to the Italians.

By the way, did you have a chance to drop by St. Clair? I did, sporting my Portuguese flag, alongside my husband who sported his Italian flag. To my surprise the Italians were actually quite ok with the presence of my Portuguese flag. What a party! Great ending!

Posted by: Odi from Toronto on July 10, 2006 12:41 AM

Congrats to Italy in a tournament that was difficult both physically and mentally. With the match fixing scandal at home (by the way, poland's domestic league is also starting an investigation into their own league so it's not just an italian problem for all you fans who use this to make intolerant comments about italians)and a former teamate lying in a coma after a suicide attempt and the jinx of penalties weighing heavily on their minds. It takes teamwork, fitness and courage to win and Italy showed all three. Moreover, the thumb-sucking thing is a tribute by Totti to his newborn son as he recently became a dad. Don't be sore sports - luck has worked against Italy in the past and today it worked for them. Also, with 4 world cups and 6 appearances int he final, we must acknowledge their great soccer history and traditions, fallign short only to Brazil. Zidane's actions were reprehensible. We don't know what was said and racism assumptions should not be made. What the heck - people call italians members of the criminal underworld, wops etc. all the time and they don't and that seems to be ok. I support great skill and the love of sport and France was good, but today Italy was better. Have fun and honk your horn, it's back to work tomorrow! VIVA ITALIA! All your players sure are hot! Especially Camoranesi who had his long ponytail cut off after they won the World Cup! Cute!

Posted by: maria from Toronto on July 10, 2006 01:26 AM

Four images of Zizou:

1) That very odd penalty kick in the seventh minute, made even odder by the lack of overt celebration afterwards.

2) His behaviour when he went down in the 80th minute: the pointing to the shoulder (to indicate Italy should put the ball out of play); the weird circling motion of his hand (as if suggesting a substitution); and the grin-/cum/-grimace on his face.

3) After the incident with Materazzi, he is largely impassive, even spitting at one point . . . but look at his eyes: he knows. And in a couple of shots, he's shown toying with the captain's arm-band. The fact that he remonstrates with the referee only after being booked is likewise strange.

4) The incredibly sad image of Zidane walking off the pitch, looking at the French bench but not approaching it, and walking, head down, past the Jules Rimet Trophy and into the tunnel.

That he was unable to come onto the pitch to collect his silver medal is likewise sad. . . .

Posted by: Brian Heinrich from on July 10, 2006 01:45 AM

Italia might have won but in all three games against Australia, Germany and now France the Italian teams shirt pulling and enticing other players to foul made me lose respect for the Italian team.
I wonder without play acting diving and dirty tricks insulting other teams players if the Italians can win an honest game.
Their top teams are all in courts for game fixing, I wonder If the WK was fixed and how much Euro certain referees received from the Cosa Nostra Mafia.
Sorry Italia and FIFA, but you lost me and my friends as soccer fans. We wanted honest soccer and some of us heartily supported Italia. Winning through enticing red card behaviour to play advantage is just too shameful and unsportive. Pitty for the good players on all teams and the fans

Posted by: H Stam from Japan on July 10, 2006 02:04 AM

It has been a month of great fun.
Today's disappointment: Zidane's buttheading and well deserved red card.
Today’s success: Street celebration on Commercial Drive.

Posted by: Ester from Vancouver on July 10, 2006 03:16 AM

In the final 15 min of overtime play, I witnessed one of the worst displays of unsportsmanlike conduct I have ever seen in my life! I am talking about the headbutt that Zidane of France delivered in brutal fashion to a player of the Italian team.
First of all, lets talk about the fact that Zidane is the Captain of the French team, and you would think that he would be a good role-model to the rest of the team, let alone the millions of people watching world wide. Secondly, lets discuss the fact that with 15 minutes left in the overtime, you would think he would have thought twice about doing something so idiotic as he did, and in so doing, he let his team mates down, and his entire country for that mattter.
Finally, lets consider the fact that this was his last appearance in a World Cup before retiring. And I am sure that anyone retiring from the sport would want their name to be remembered fondly by the heroic deeds they have accumulated over the years. However, in the case with Zidane, their will be forever a stain on his reputation.

Posted by: Matt from on July 10, 2006 05:09 AM

forza italiaaaaa haha zidane ended his coureer with his head hung in shame!!!

Posted by: jessica from london on July 10, 2006 06:45 AM

Wow... a good match. Not as good as Germany-Italy, but good. On the head-butt... STUPID move by Zidane, and worthy of a card, but seriously, if at a walking pace someone can knock you over with a head-butt to the chest, you have no business being a professional athlete. it might have stung a bit, but to fall down like he'd been shot with an elephant rifle? Sham. Give Zidane a yellow in my books on that one. And in the extra time I didn't get the feeling that Italy really wanted it - I felt they were just hoping for penalties up until Zidane went down. Interesting that the goalies played zero factor in the penalties. I think they should move the spot back 5 meters or so if they really want to decide games this way.

Posted by: Andrew from Copenhagen on July 10, 2006 07:03 AM

Who will ever believe this? A conspiracy theory? The biggest fraud in the history of sports? Why not? After the Iraq charade the masses will swallow anything 'the powers that be' want them to. Anything that diverts attention from impending doom & gloom is fair play. I feel ashamed to have permitted myself to become distracted from real world issues. Organized sports is just legalized racketeering. The modern gladiators get to avoid facing the lions. Zidane was the best and he did his master’s bidding – maybe just added some spice to show he was still human. Any doubts? Check mid-way into the 106th minute: 15:34-5 …methinks the fix was in, nudge,nudge....

Posted by: Ray Tyler from Sherbrooke,Qc on July 10, 2006 07:29 AM

God works?
After the head chest but the lord made justice.
Thanks God.

Posted by: Joe Lo Tufo from on July 10, 2006 08:14 AM

Materazzi called Zidane a terrorist.

Nice work, Italy.

I guess after failing to bribe the ref, this was next on the
list.

Posted by: john from Vancouver on July 10, 2006 08:36 AM

This match was bogus, I think that I'll just stick to hockey. Zidane's head is a beast.

Posted by: Dorijan from Toronto on July 10, 2006 09:35 AM

Zidane's headbutt just joined the prestigious group as Totti's spitball, Maradona's hand of God goal and Rooney's foot to the crotch. FORZA ITALIA ! The party just started and it's gonna last for 4 years !

Posted by: Big Show from Montreal on July 10, 2006 09:40 AM

Kristina u were right , Italy won after complaining about ZZ head/body butt , only Bufoon (Italian goalkeeper was complaining)

If you all remember Figo(Portugal) head butted (yes the BBC has footage of this ) a Dutch player and was only given the yellow card, a head /body butt is still violent and as far as Im aware do's not come into different levels, FIFA have to start putting their foot down, and say any kind of physical assault is an auto send off, I have a feeling Italy knew they had to do/say something to provoke the French (and no Im not French/Qeuebecois, in order to try and start something to provoke the French, in order to gain some sort of advantage.
Both ZZ and the Italian guy involved should be treated equally, there are always 2 sides to the story.

France did play better in the 2nd and extra time periods,and the Italians were aware of this, this is the sentiment of the people in the UK.

Posted by: Paula from Oxford.UK on July 10, 2006 09:42 AM

Zidane is a disgrace to the Italian game. He couldve gone out with class, but instead hes hanging the shoes up and should be hanging his head in shame too.
The better team one and we'll prove it in 6 weeks when we play France again. Forza Italia. 4 stars.
Ciao until Euro.

Posted by: Al from Toronto on July 10, 2006 10:03 AM

I am a huge French fan and the loss was devastating... but after what Zidane did, I completely lost respect for him. The Italians deserved to win.

Posted by: Sebastien Budd from Ottawa on July 10, 2006 10:05 AM

Zidane sure left a mark in soccer..and on Materazzi's chest. But seriously c'mon, all you whiners out there saying Italy didn't deserve the cup. Did you see the same team out there on the field like previous tournaments where Italy would score one goal and play the rest of the game on defence. I'm proud to say that Italy is like the Toronto Maple Leafs...the team everybody loves to hate but deep down inside you all know Italians gives people 90+ minutes of great soccer and YOU LOVE IT ! Call us divers, whiners or whatever title you can come up with, we are one of the best teams out there and we are not afraid to say it.
I woke up this morning to a beautiful site...the sun was shining in a wonderful azzurro blue sky. Enjoy the celebrations my Italians and Non-Italian azzurri supporters. WE ARE ON TOP OF THE WORLD !

Posted by: BigShow from Montreal on July 10, 2006 10:31 AM

Forza Azzuri!
Campioni del Mondo!

Posted by: Frank from on July 10, 2006 10:32 AM

I cannot understand why Italy was allowed to continue
in the World Cup tournament while one of the biggest
match-fixing scandals in European football history got
swept under the rug!

Just weeks ago, four of Italy's biggest teams were
charged with match-fixing. The continuing scandal
implicates the top football clubs Juventus, Lazio, AC
Milan, and Fiorentina, involves at least thirty (30!)
referees and thirteen of the players on the Italian
national team roster who played in Sunday's final.
(Though some reports have denied the involvement of
the players, ask yourself how probable it would be that
they weren't involved)! At least five other Italian teams
are currently being investigated. I am shocked and
surprised that FIFA took no action at all against Italy,
imposed sanctions, or even halted the games, which
would all have been reasonable courses of action.

Apparently, all the talk about fair play in FIFA is just
that -- talk! As far as I am concerned, Italy should not
even have been in the final and this win was not
legitimate. For the media to almost completely ignore
this side of the story is even a bigger tragedy.

To be fair, the scandal also implicates a few players on
the French team who play on the Italian top league
team Juventus, but overall, the scandal is a reflection of
the corruption that is endemic to Italian football. I urge
football fans to look into the way the scandal has
unfolded in Europe and how officials in the teams have
used the World Cup to create smoke and mirrors to
cover up the ever-deepening level of corruption that
has taken hold of the Italian football establishment.
FIFA has committed a great disservice not only to the
other teams that participated in the World Cup
tournament but also to fans like us who enjoy the game
the way it should be played (pardon the cliche): FAIR
AND SQUARE.

Posted by: Julian Byron from Toronto on July 10, 2006 10:50 AM

Hooray for Canada. Although not CBC, the "other," network was discovered carrying the Gold Cup final. What a breath of fresh air.
No more nattering, negative ninnies telling me what should have happened or how wrong the referee had been. The announcers both play by play and commentator showed professionalism and dignity. The one time a call was questioned the commentator added that the referee was much closer to the play than he. There were times, while watching American TV, that I switched over to Spanish language coverage and I don't understand Spanish other than cabasa [sp] and GOOOOOOOOOOAL. Even so it was such a refreshing change. I consider myself very fortunate to live near the border and can take advantage of Canadian news, CBC Radio 1 and 2 and "Royal Canadian Air Farce" and "This Hour has 22 Minutes."
Thank you from a greatful fan across the St. Lawrence.

Posted by: Dick Cook from on July 10, 2006 11:00 AM

Based on how Italy played yesterday specifically – it is a surprise that they won. But as a famous soccer philosopher once stated (my Dad): the only statistic that counts in Soccer is the final score.

However, to their credit: Italy has shown itself the grittiest, most improved team throughout the tournament. With a tournament-leading score tally, coupled with the fact that no one Italian player was in the ‘top scorers’, they have showed that this year’s team had the depth that no other had. Add to that their horrible history in penalty shoot-outs and the fact that most of their careers and earnings are on ‘shaky grounds’ due to Serie A issues back in Italy, the fortitude and uncharacteristic ‘calm’ they demonstrated won me over as a fan.

What is really a shame to me is the fact that Zidane won the Golden Ball MVP award. While he played as great as he did when he was younger in this tournament – his last act on the field should have disqualified him with voters.

With a such a low foul count in a tournament that that had record high red card issuance, Italy’s captain Cannavaro was robbed of that award.

Posted by: Sam from Toronto on July 10, 2006 11:05 AM

Oh Pleeeeese, so Zidane head butted Metarazzi? So what, a stain on his career, HA!, all you judges wish you had a semblance of his career including the head butt. As for me, I found the head butt rather entertaining.

Yes the French penalty was a dive but so was Grosso's against Australia. It's amusing to see fanatics go berserk over injustices committed against their team while being blind to the injustices perpertrated by their team, I believe hypocracy should be FIFA's motto.

The teams both played well, and Italy deserved to win as much as France would have deserved it, if they won the penalties.

All in all, soccer is much more entertaining with all its diving, acting, politics, bad calls, defensive play and sore losers than any other sport.

Can't wait for Euro 08!!!

Posted by: Kostas from on July 10, 2006 11:12 AM

Viva La World Cup - Great Football - Nice to see the African Nations are getting closer - Disappointed in Brazil's showing - so much talent - so little demonstration. Italy is a talented team - they are also great at simulation which is what is worst of the sport and which went unpunished in the Tournament. France was surprising - great talent Makelele, Henry and Zidane - Match any three in the world -Zidane so disappointed me with his obvious major foul - there is no excuse for it - He was however, the most talented person I witnessed playing - So sad!!1

Posted by: Terry Maddox from on July 10, 2006 11:30 AM

Forza italia!!!!!

Heres to all you who say that the world cup is a bunch of hacks and divers and say that that stuff doesnt happen in "American" sports. Ha Michael jordan made a career of calls going his way, the heat cuz wade got a bunch of calls his, lebron james, baseball all he players that have been good in the past 15 years are said to have taken steriods, football everyplay theres a foul. Diving and acting is part of the game, every game so stop complaining over 1 billion watched the game and even though france may have played better in the last half of the game italys defense stood strong and the won. Forza italia.

Posted by: Mike D from Detroit on July 10, 2006 12:22 PM

Man the French a sore loooooooooooooooooosers.

Posted by: Marco from Vancouver on July 10, 2006 12:55 PM

I was in little italy when they won the cup. It was the best atmosphere you could ever expect. I was praying that they would win after 20 something years of waiting for it and they did. Forza Italia!! France did play much better than italy did in the last half of the match but i think its because they knew they had the confidence to win in shoot outs and prove everyone wrong. Im sure the new coach would have definately not wanted to go to shoot outs if they didnt know they could pull it off. And all the french fans who say the refs were biased in kicking zidane off, well the french players wasted lots of time with their fakers, but whoever provoked either player, the former juventus player zidane or materazzi, your not suppost to pull out a fight no matter who you are, fights are auto red cards, if you cant control your anger then don't complain it was bad refereeing

Posted by: joey from Montreal on July 10, 2006 01:22 PM

Which of the 17 LOTG speaks to the issues of "diving and acting" as acceptable play?

here's a tip Mike,
buy a dictionary, hire a tutor or stay on your couch!

Posted by: Stephen from NOTL on July 10, 2006 01:28 PM

YES Paula from Oxford.UK

I'm sure the BBC has plenty of footage regarding the offences of players from other teams, including the winking of Cristiano Ronaldo, which apparently was the biggest offence of them all. But please tell me - do they have footage of the hooligan called Rooney who stomped on Carvalho's family jewels? And the kick to Figo's face during the Portugal vs Netherlands game? And the kick to Cristiano Ronaldo's leg, very close to his package, to ensure that neither would play the rest of the game? And how about Miguel who had to leave after being kicked violently? Not all of the players who committed all of these fowls were given the yellow cards. Clearly, from the reports that I have seen aired and written by the English media, they only seem to see and comment on the offences of others rather than on the nasty play of their own players and the fact that they are sore LOSERS and always blame others for sucking at football! Regardless of what was said to Zidane, he deserved his red card. I was especially pleased to see this after the campaign which was carried out by the French players, their coach, and the French media and fans against the Portuguese players and the Portuguese people, before and after the France vs Portugal game with the support of the pathetic English media and fans. Italy deserved to win since, even though they were accused of diving they dove less that the French, who accused the Portuguese of diving, yet won a PK for diving against Portugal and Italy. The French loss was a victory for me. We have a saying in Portuguese that when translated goes something like this, "By the mouth dies a fish" and I add "By the head dies the roster". How fitting!

Posted by: Odi from Toronto on July 10, 2006 01:49 PM

France shout of won because italie in all the match they did they only wanted penaltie shots

Posted by: michael from on July 10, 2006 02:03 PM

The first French goal came about as a result of another French dive, the replay showed no contact was made. Italy should have won this game without the extra time and penalty kicks.

Posted by: Peter from Montreal on July 10, 2006 02:14 PM

Stunning 'Final' observations:

1. Pulling even a 'tired' Thierry Henry for Trezeguet, and watching the substitute then blow the game. Nice call, coach!

2. No matter what Materazzi said (and all the holding and body work on Zidane over the previous 90 minutes probably didn't hurt), when you make millions to run around in panties at the professional level, 'taunts' are a part of the game. No excuses - who cares what Materazzi said.

3. The Italian teams play dirty, spit on people a lot, pull hair, and are nasty, prima donna play actors. WOW. Let's do an investigative report. The media may have broken the 100-year-old secret code with those insights!!

Overall - a generally good, entertaining game and the team that blew it, lost. Funny how that happens.

Posted by: Jack from Toronto on July 10, 2006 02:18 PM

To all those criticising the acting in soccer to draw foul calls as inhibiting the sports popularity in North America, I say tune in to an English Premiership match on a Saturday afternoon. The best league in the world is the best because of the lack of diving by players and the abundance of crushing challenges and genuinely clean play.

Posted by: Tony Mikulandra from Toronto on July 10, 2006 02:31 PM

This is directed to Odi in the above post. Figo retiring with his head held up high? Yeah high enough to deliver a head butt to a Dutch player and only earning a yellow card. I've seen players get ejected for far less than that.

Posted by: Tony Mikulandra from Toronto on July 10, 2006 02:44 PM

From someone unbiased just watching the game for the love of the sport; Did anyone watch any of the World Cup besides the final? If you did you would have understood how the process worked. Replays are available and Zidane was ousted like he should have. After a long career do you think that was the first time someone ever said "words" to him? It was a bone-head reaction from a so-called professional. What a way to end a career. France's PK in the first half was a weak, no-touch call but there could have been one in the second half that wasn't. Both teams played well but France had the edge in ball possession. And finally the world will see in time something done with the constant acting, it takes away from the great game and world cup throughout that it was. Hopefully one of these cups, Canada could even qualify again! Maybe even score... dare to dream!

Posted by: J D W from Canada on July 10, 2006 03:17 PM

John from Van. Relax it is only a game! Sorry you feel that way about the Italians. But, this is our 4th World Cup and in addition,Michelangelo, Benini, Botticelli, Cellini, Cicero, Caruso, Cabato, Dante, Galileo, Grimaldi, Garabaldi, Marconi, Meuci, St. Thomas Aquanis,Toscanini, Marco Polo, Virgil, Vivaldi, Verdi, Sinatra, DiMaggio & Columbus...
No Other People Can Make This Statement

Posted by: Franco from Ottawa on July 10, 2006 04:18 PM

Once again Italy finds a way to a win, was it my imagination or did Italy get everyu free kick. France dominated from the start of the second half till the final whistle. And if the ref makes the right call when Malouda is mauld in the penalty area...Italy loses. Once again Italy benefit from poor officiating and win the game. Just once I would like to see Italy play without diving like they are practicing for the Olympic Diving team.

Posted by: Joe from Edmonton on July 10, 2006 04:23 PM

Should Zinedine Zidane have won the Golden Ball?
Poll results are: Votes Percent
Yes 11801 61%
No 7636 39%

Total votes for this poll are: 19437

UK AOL poll.

Maybe Ireland did not get in this world cup , (irelands population 3Million)

but they could sure show a thing or 2 about how to play with your heart and soul and not a clowns costume :)

take note Italy and Portugal.

Posted by: missy from Ireland on July 10, 2006 05:12 PM

Here here Tony Mikulandra, well said.
Even the German crowd were booing every time Rinaldo was diving oh and touching the ball , he did a classic dive , in the game against Germany (3-1)it was quite amusing, as no one was even near him (lol)and he was still pleading to the ref (im always looking for different angles of humor)and he certainly gave us and the Germans this.

Yes Rooney is a bad ass boy and the Brits know this , and we openly admit this and he's not hiding behind ref's pants, pretending to be the victim all the time and we know this too , but we also know he is gifted.
One thing Rooney is not and thats a fake.

Lenge liebe Deutschland.

Posted by: paula from UK on July 10, 2006 05:32 PM

This one is for you Tony Mikulandra from Toronto - with all due respect

The very obvious and intentional kick to Figo's face by a Dutch player took place during the same match and no yellow card was shown. It was also during the same match that Cristiano Ronaldo received an intentional kick to the leg, not once, but twice in the span of a couple of minutes - this one, however ensured Cristiano Ronaldo's exit from the game, and the players who committed these offences were not punished. I've also seen players be given red cards for doing what these Dutch players did. I'm not excusing Figo's actions! AND I still believe that Figo ended his International career on a good note, and with his head up high, despite coming in 4rth. WAY TO GO, FIGO!

Fact #1: Cristiano Ronaldo was not given the Best Young Player's of the Word Cup award because of his 'diving' which constitute 'unfair play' according to FIFA. Even though he had the highest votes, FIFA overruled it and gave it to the German player who, in my opinion, did not deserve it as much as Cristiano did.

Fact #2: Zidane gets an award, even after he performs such a violent act. Surely, even thought most journalists voted for Zidane, FIFA could have overruled it. They should have given it to someone else. Or was Zidane’s actions ‘fair play’? Interesting, eh, and FIFA talks about fair play.

As for all the other awards, they were well deserved. Congratulations to the recipients!

Posted by: Odi from Toronto on July 10, 2006 05:38 PM

Well, Well, Well,
Italy won ....and on a penalty shootout!!
Italy dominated in the first half, and showed great resilience and character to take the game away from France after a dubious penalty call. The key factor of the game was the abysmally poor performance of Totti that left his teammates do extra work to cover for him. In a game as tight as yesterday this was huge. Italy plummeted physically in the second half, and left the field to the French. Yet even with a strong dominance, France was rarely a threat to Buffon.
Then what to say of Zinedine Zidane! What a blow! What Zinedine did yesterday was inexcusable regardless of what Materazzi might have said to him. A really sad end for a phenomenal player. Italy finally broke the curse of the penalty shootout. Five shooters, five goals, and what goals.
At the end, the difference between both teams was two inches of separation on the Trezeguet penalty shot. Not much to separate victory from defeat.
Honour to France, Honour and Glory to Italy! Well-done Germany for a fantastic World Cup tournament.
e Viva l’Italia.

Posted by: Giovanni Di Prisco from on July 10, 2006 05:45 PM

Regarding Franco's comment about "But, this is our 4th World Cup and in addition,Michelangelo, Benini, Botticelli, Cellini, Cicero, Caruso, Cabato, Dante, Galileo, Grimaldi, Garabaldi, Marconi, Meuci, St. Thomas Aquanis,Toscanini, Marco Polo, Virgil, Vivaldi, Verdi, Sinatra, DiMaggio & Columbus...
No Other People Can Make This Statement"

You are truly correct. Nobody could ever make that statement and take credit for those Italians. Well spoken. Im sure no other countries that have any sort of track record could name 22 important figures. I should say, with intelligence such as yours, you should count yourself among them.

Posted by: Thomas from on July 10, 2006 05:46 PM

It is possible that the Italians may have conspired or worked a plan to get one of the best footballers out of the way, for example, Zidane is an experienced footballer. The Italians may have known he was a better player than them, and that if they had not acted sooner they would have lost. They wanted to win the world cup, just as the French team wanted to. If whatever I say is right or wrong, it is just possible that the Italians may have wanted Zidane out of the way by causing a provocation - humiliating, insulting and waiting for him to deliver a physical blow e.g. a headbutt or a punch etc. Zidane should have realised that that was what they were waiting for; he should have ignored provocation and concentrated winning the game for France! Unfortunately, he blew it out of the window with his headbutting!!!!!!!!!! But, consider the possibilities? If everybody knew that there was going to be some trouble a re-match should have taken place, thus to allow for a fair play!

Posted by: Michael from on July 10, 2006 06:09 PM

Let me tell you, this is a first for me. Usually I'm rooting for any team but Italy. Not because of Italy the nation but the Italian supporters. Well, for once, I put my hopes behind Italy to win, truly the better team on the pitch, and the only team deserving of being in the finals. France, like the game against Portugal were handed a sweet package by the ref, aka the Penalty kick, which seems the only way France can score these days. The thick and thin of it is that France was undeserving of being in the Finals, and to be there on a very questionable penalty kick versus Portugal makes the world of professional soccer suspect. Frankly, I have seen a world cup dominated by lies, deceit, foul play, propaganda, diving and head butting, and not all of these were done on the pitch. A strong, highly English biased media will ensure, for years to come that we get the official version of the story. For those of you with enough courage to swim against the tide of B.S. I will be there too. I for one have had enough of the catering to the practitioners of sensationalism. Viva Portugal, Forza Italia.

Posted by: MATT from toronto on July 10, 2006 09:24 PM

How we love to wag the finger at what’s deemed unprofessional in the world of sport. In this case I mean the red card and consequent theories of Zidane’s fall from grace.

Let us not forget it was Zidane’s ability to act on instinct in his unique way that set him apart and earned him the title of one of the most brilliant player the sport has ever seen.

Personally I think Matterazzi deserved the head butt. The fact that Zidane hit him right in the heart is profound. It shows that what Matterazzi said to him was hurtful and Zidane’s primal instincts kicked in right to the heart of the matter.

The referees should have been protecting Zidane from the kind of antagonism he had to put up with from the obnoxious Matterazzi. Especially after the brut Cannavaro almost ripped Zidane’s shoulder off!

Aside from Buffon and Camoranesi none of the other Italian players really shone or had any magic. The way some of them acted when they won further confirmed to me most of them are boys and not men.

Only a real man like Zidane could head butt Matterazzi right where it counts. It shows ZIdane’s not only human, but a warrior too.

I hope the French kick the Italians butts literally and figuratively in the European Championships in 6 weeks because some of the Italian players could benefit from a good pied al culo.

Vive la France!!

Posted by: vita from Vancouver on July 10, 2006 11:16 PM

After reading the comments I had to write the following:

1. How could the ref be biased by awarding Italy free kicks? You get a free kick or corner kick when the ball is sent out by the other team...how on earth can this be fixed?

2. Contrary to popular sentiments, France did not enjoy possession more than Italy. It was actually fairly split with France at 51% and Italy at 49%. France also had more fouls at about 25 compared to Italy's 17.

3. Italy had exccellent defence. Soccer is about defending just as much as it is as scoring goals.

4. Games are won on luck, physical strength and mental stamina. ZZ just got frustrated and reacted. It is not the first time this has happened - he was actually suspended for 5 games while playign for Juventus for a similar act.

5. Italy never wants pentaly kicks so comments about waiting for the PK's are nonsense. Italy has always lost on PK's in the past.

6. Don't be sore losers - you win some and you lose some...maybe in 4 years another team will win.

7. Easy with the intolerance against canadians of italian descent. It's not cool and it's inexcusable just because they are "white" or your favoured team was unsuccessful. Don't use this blog to post instigate hate or nonsense.

Congrats to Italy! Party hard! Thanks Germany!

Posted by: maria from Toronto on July 11, 2006 12:58 AM

to miryg, correct, italians don’t need affirmation for "years of culture" (many cultures achieved greatness before the romans/italians, e.g., aztecs, chinese, indians of the indus valley, egyptians & greeks to name a few). we appreciate "ancient" rome, or da vinci, but recognize roman/italian culture has its share of unsavoury aspects (e.g., gladiatorial barbarism, live human sacrifice & blood lust, or more recently, the fascist benito mussolini & tacky, morally reprehensible modern mafia culture vis-a-vis countless scandals in modern italian history). moreover, winning without respect is meaningless. for most of the billions watching this final it was rather hideous. in fact, i suspect this world cup will be further soured if it's found out that materazzi provoked zidane with a racist taunt (zidane's violent response can’t be excused either). the penalty call in the 1st half may have been dubious, but the foul against the french in the 2nd half in the box was a penalty & that would have finished the game for italy who were being outplayed. i'll be in south africa likely cheering canada in 2010. but truth be told most of the world thinks the brazilians best represent the values of the beautiful game (co-winner's with spain of fifa's fair play award this year) – they’re the epitome of champions. indeed, how brazil accepted defeat to the french recently was instructive. contrast the display of the italians when being stretched by the footballing upstart americans or australians. that's why mostly only italians will admire italy's win at this world cup, whereas the entire world always admire brazilian wins (58, 62, 70, not so much 1994, though romario proved then the most lethal striker alive & 2002). honour above all & beauty to boot. that's what people admire! bring on south africa 2010! p.s., here's to thomas & his astute remarks directed to franco, who appears to be living his life vicariously.

Posted by: phil from on July 11, 2006 03:38 AM

To vita from Vancouver:

I'm sure we'll all sleep better at night knowing there's a hero such as yourself out there championing the cause of the "real man" and his apparent need to exercise his primal insticts. Is that how the French are going to win?

Your comments are breath-taking in their narrow-mindedness...

Posted by: Joe from Vancouver on July 11, 2006 04:45 AM

MATT stop whining about the english media. I'm sick of hearing that in your comments. Your sour grapes of France beating Portugal rings through your comments as well. Portugal lost get over it, because they didn't get to the final there was a conspiracy. Come on Portugal had their chances in the France game and blew it plain and simple. Oh and bye the way you make yourself out to be quite a soccer fan (I just wonder if you were one of the few thousand in a city of millions that went down to the rogers center to support the Canada U20 team you know Canada the country your in now, something tells me you weren't)

Posted by: DMan from CANADA on July 11, 2006 06:31 AM

After the 2006 world cup, I have learned:

1) Sadly.... the majority of people out there are sore losers.

2) The majority of people out there have not watched ALL THE GAMES, yet they seem to know EVERYTHING about every team. If you want to comment on how a team played, WATCH the game. Don't be a sheep, please.

3) It's very sad to see the amount of racism that I've seen and heard displayed everywhere in this great city of Toronto. Disappointing to say the least. If any country won the world cup, I would be happy and proud for them. But then again, I'm not racist...

5) PLEASE stop saying that the Italians paid off the refs to ultimately the world cup. I would expect this to come from a 9yr old. Realistically - and I hope that ALL ADULTS realize this at one point or another - THE ENTIRE world cup CAN NOT be staged. If you really believe this, just get off this site.. get off the internet... and go back to grade 9... because obviously, you missed something.

4) AND FINALLY - congratulations to Italy - because they won. Period.

Posted by: Linda from Toronto on July 11, 2006 09:11 AM

To Matt:

Why is it whenever Portugal loses the powers that be are "suspect" to use your term? I heard the same BS when Portugal lost to Greece, as if Greece has any clout in soccer circles.

Face it, Portugal has some talent but they lack teamwork and discipline and that's why they lost the Euro final and the WC semi final.

Show some class and accept defeat graciously and stop blaming everyone for Portugal's failures.

France played well, could have gone either way, no shame on you.

Italy, the only result that matters is the win, congrats!

Posted by: Nick from on July 11, 2006 09:19 AM

1998 World Cup Final:

“Earlier in the competition Zizou received a red card and a two-game suspension in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia for stomping on an opposing player for no apparent reason. Reports from people close to Zidane state that the Saudi player in question had provoked him verbally”.

Perhaps he just gets provoked easily..? But I still think he’s a great player!

Honestly... he's great with ball, but shows no sportmanship qualities whatsoever. WE - as CANADIANS - were so shocked when Bertuzzi did what he did - but yet we sit back and admire a man like Zizou?

I don't get it.

Posted by: Lia from Toronto on July 11, 2006 09:22 AM

To Vita...

Ca va ma petite Gauloise? Would you like a tissue paper to whipe off those tears or are you a warrior as well? If I were you, I'd worry more about France qualifying without Zidane then beating Italy. And by the way, your 'real man' should have scored the winning goal instead of headbutting an opposing player. Good way to show your kids who are watching the sport to be a 'real man' by choosing violence to proove a point. Vita...here's something for you, If you don't have anything intelligent to say, say nothing at all.

Posted by: BigShow from Montreal on July 11, 2006 09:34 AM

Odi of Toronto, first of all Portugal set the tone for the match with Holland by committing a series of reckless tackles, shirt pulls, clutching, and cheap shots in order to aggravate and force the Dutch into committing a cardable offence in retaliation. A notable foul that was omitted by the officiating crew was a brutal kick to the face of Van der Sar by a Portuguese player. It is a tactic used by Portugal and other teams to try to create a situation where the ref draws out a card thereby changing the dynamics of the match. Where cards were not issued the constant diving, feinting and pure acting, performed by most of the Portuguese roster tried to illicit a response from the ref. None more deserving of an Oscar than the prodigy himself Cristiano Ronaldo. It is no revelation that Portugal employed these tactics throughout the World Cup. I am in no way excusing the Dutch of any of the cards they did receive or failed to receive but I firmly believe that Portugal set the tone for the match hoping to draw the Dutch into a scrappy match that would stunt the lethal Dutch attack. If Portugal wasn’t worried about the potency of their own attack against the marquee teams of Europe it would play an open game free of any ambiguous challenges. Is it just a coincidence that the knockout stage games that Portugal failed to win did not produce a red card for their opponents?

Posted by: Tony Mikulandra from Toronto on July 11, 2006 09:43 AM

With regard to your comments about the supposed double standard existing in the snubbing of Cristiano Ronaldo by FIFA for the Best Young Player Award and awarding of Zidane I have to say that Ronaldo is at the start of his career and is off on the wrong start at that, with the audacity of his foul appeals. A post above from someone at the tournament mentioned how the German fans were amused at the pitiful antics perpetrated by Ronaldo. There is no doubt that Ronaldo is a player of immense talent but if he continues to incorporate a program of appealing for fouls committed by the air around him he will have put his talents to waste. Zidane on the other hand, has played out a long and illustrious career free of any other incidents of a comparable degree of violence. His play throughout the tournament was inspiring; 3 of his goals coming in the most pivotal matches. An argument could have been made for Cannavaro of Italy getting the award but in the end 1 moment of stupidity was not enough to justify a career of brilliance.

Posted by: Tony Mikulandra from Toronto on July 11, 2006 09:43 AM

Hope you can grow this story. A billion
people saw Zinedine's humiliation.

My wife Maria is Brazilian, her son French from her first marriage. Her late father
kept goal for Sao Paulo FC in the 1940's.
They are the current world club champions.

We love and breathe the game in Brazil.
Perhaps you know that TV Globo here had three deaf teenage boys lip reading the
players and coaches throughout this cup.

I suggest that CBC can, as John Lennon suggested in Hey Jude, take this sad song and make it better.

Personally I love and loathe competitive games. Google Terry Orlick the Canadian
author of Winning Through Cooperation - I share his views.

While in North America, I've listened to some great stuff on your service.

Zinedine has a rage problem. He can be
helped and you can do it with a 30 minute
programme, while addressing other major problems.

Posted by: Richard Iley from Brazil on July 11, 2006 10:43 AM

To Franco and Thomas, and the long list of why things Italian somehow 'relate' to the 2006 results, a wag may also add in counterpoint: Mussolini, Roberto Benigni, "I surrender", and "How much to fix this premier league game, Signor?' (and I'm Italian - this list could be longer).

Posted by: john from Toronto on July 11, 2006 11:13 AM

With regard to your comments about the supposed double standard existing in the snubbing of Cristiano Ronaldo by FIFA for the Best Young Player Award and awarding of Zidane I have to say that Ronaldo is at the start of his career and is off on the wrong start at that, with the audacity of his foul appeals. A post above from someone at the tournament mentioned how the German fans were amused at the pitiful antics perpetrated by Ronaldo. There is no doubt that Ronaldo is a player of immense talent but if he continues to incorporate a program of appealing for fouls committed by the air around him he will have put his talents to waste. Zidane on the other hand, has played out a long and illustrious career free of any other incidents of a comparable degree of violence. His play throughout the tournament was inspiring; 3 of his goals coming in the most pivotal matches. An argument could have been made for Cannavaro of Italy getting the award, but in the end 1 moment of stupidity was not enough to negate a career of brilliance.

(*** my above post had an error in the last sentence***)

Posted by: Tony Mikulandra from Toronto on July 11, 2006 12:00 PM

Italians enjoy the cup while you have it, because it wont be till another 12 yrs till we see you in the finals again (70, 82,94,06) which you will loose. As for your serie A league. what can i say? Juventus serie C and roma, lazio, ac mila serie B italian soccer has always bored me. so the only thing your going to look fordward to is that cup.....VIVA BRASIL!

Posted by: brasil from on July 11, 2006 12:36 PM

First of all, Zidane will remain the best player Football has produced. He will be remembered for that and not for the headbutt, so what's the diffrence between pinching someone hard in the chest when he didn't even have the ball or headbutting them.? same thing, Zinedine wanted to show the world that cheating has to stop. and he did it in front off billions of people. I think he is brave to do that. and when it comes to dignity and family respect I would have done the same thing too. Materazzi might be Sicilian but Zinedine is an Algerian Berber. Dignity comes first before anything I salute him.

Posted by: Rachid from Saskatchewan on July 11, 2006 12:55 PM

This to Rachid: What exactly does headbutting a player have to do with cheating?? I don't get it. Please explain.

The great Zizou was only thinking of himself when he attacked the italian player because teh italian player insulted him.
SO WHAT? You don't think that all players insult each other? Of course they do!

France COULD have fun with him - and he should have thought about HIS COUNTRY and HIS TEAM. (by the way,... I'm french)

But, he showed the entire world that he could only be selfish. He wasn't brave - he was childish and immature.

(The world would crumble if everyone used violence to sort out their issues.....look at WW1 and WWII and all the wars that are currently taking place)

Don't moralize Zizou's actions.

I can only hope that the world will forever remember what a fool he really is.

Posted by: Linda from Toronto on July 11, 2006 02:50 PM

Whats all the fuss about Zidanes actions? Does it really matter what Materazzi said? It didn't matter when Totti had his incident at the Euros.... No excuses... a true champ would have acted in a better way.... great job by fifa to award him the golden ball.... they sent out a great message for young soccer players every where...

Posted by: Rick from Montreal on July 11, 2006 03:10 PM

Can't we all just get along?

Posted by: Rodney from L.A. on July 11, 2006 03:22 PM

For sure theres corruption in Italian soccer as there is in Horse racing in the UK.

Posted by: paula from uk on July 11, 2006 05:04 PM

In view of the incident between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi on Sunday’s World Cup 2006 Final Championship, Italy should not deserve to hold it’s 4th title of the World Cup trophy with regard the “Scandal”. If what happened was true than Italy acted dishonestly! I sympathise with France, especially, Zinedine because of those outrageous sayings about his mother, family and having his nipple twisted. When he reacted, his only mistake was when he blew it and lost control head-butting his opponent (Marco). If what Marco says isn't true and how he denies those allegations made against him, I am sure he will have nothing to hide when he examines his conscience before going into a confession box. However, if it were to be resolved a re-match between Italy and France should be imposed and that the cup should be returned, if it were to be? This was foul play and bad sportsmanship! I’d rather see a final match played in fairness ending with good handshakes. The 2002 World Cup Final with Brazil and Germany was better, but this one was poor! Italy should not get away with such scandal!

Posted by: Michael from on July 11, 2006 07:23 PM

Italy were hardly the worst offenders of diving and simulation in this tournament. All throughout there were French and Portuguese players dropping like sacks of potatoes after barely being touched.

Posted by: joe from peterborough on July 11, 2006 08:11 PM

i am appauled at the stereotypical and substandard comments about this game.
Italy and France both played a GOOD game, and yes it was VERY unfortunate about Zidane's actions, and whether or not Materazzi affronted him with words, but that is all they were...WORDS.
Zidane could have easily just brushed it off and controlled himself. But he chose the ingenuous way to lash out.
He was FAIRLY punished for it.

As for those who speak of prejudice and disrespect on Materazzi's conduct.
Re read the comments you wrote about the Italian players and Italians in general before judging others.

Accept the loss, the win by Italy and most importantly accept this like a mature individual like Zidane should have.

Posted by: amicitia from edmonton on July 11, 2006 08:36 PM

Quote from brasil:

Italians enjoy the cup while you have it, because it wont be till another 12 yrs till we see you in the finals again (70, 82,94,06) which you will loose. As for your serie A league. what can i say? Juventus serie C and roma, lazio, ac mila serie B italian soccer has always bored me. so the only thing your going to look fordward to is that cup.....VIVA BRASIL!"

RESPONSE: Ah yes, there's a faithful standby...
You can also thank serie A, B and C for giving Brazilans employment...
As for your own recent World Cup accomplishments, wow, very impressive. Predictably, the first tough opponent for Brasil is usually its downfall. So much for "your" beautiful game. The French and Argentines concur with what the Italians already know, Brasil = Forte con i morti...
;-}

Posted by: Joe from Vancouver on July 11, 2006 08:44 PM

I read each and every single comment in here, and well, this is a discussion forum... and well, we're all discussing. I am both French and Canadian, and I admit that both teams played as best as they knew at that time according to their values. Many different views have been casted, but really, if you don't talk to Zidane and Materazzi, well all you will get is different interpretations of what happened, but did it? The only way of knowing would be to sit with both of them and determine for yourself what happened. Period. And even then, they could even lie... so what now?

Of course I am disappointed that Les Bleus ont perdus, because my French pride and ego are just acting out, but hey, the Azurris like the Bleus are, well the blue team... So the Blues have won! lol.

You may think this is funny... but, I own a lot of the countries' flags because I respect every person, culture, nation, country on this planet... not to toot my own horn, but why does it seem like I'm the only one at times to show respect and be interested in other cultures?... but in any case, I'd, of course, show my French pride, but also carry around the opponents' flags? España, Brasilia, and Italia! You know competition is a great ego booster when won and an ego loser when lost... So meh, it's all about the ego really... whomever understands the game all around, including fairness, cracks in the game, and whathaveyou, deserve to win... in our overall view... or not. Congratulations to every team making it this far. Congratulations Italy, for figuring it all out. Congratulations France, because you are half my blood.

Posted by: Laurent from on July 11, 2006 09:04 PM

To Dman, clearly you haven't read what I’ve written clearly enough, if all you've extracted from my postings is "whining about the English media". My comments on English media have been made to reinforce the point that Portugal would get no respect on and off the Pitch. A point you clearly do not comprehend, I do not expect you to understand. Similar to you, I too cannot understand why English Soccer fans are all sour “grapes” about the defeat to Portugal. Once again rioting in the streets, attacking Portuguese businesses and citizens in England and of course all done with racial slurs that would make Zidane fume at the ears. This of course is very similar to what happened after the defeat to Portugal at the Euro Cup. But why should you care, it didn't happen to you, and of course you are after all beyond reproach.

I'll attempt to break it down further for you, since it's my belief that you, like millions of others, have been swaddled in a bed of complacency, fattened by the sweet nothings whispered into your ear each day at 5 o’clock. Yes I do think that your English media decided that Portugal would be the tournaments scapegoat for all the bad that happened on the pitch regardless of the behavior of other teams. It isn't a lot to demand a fair and correct representation, which unfortunately has not happened. But why should you care I'm sure you think that Zidane the “Raging Bull”, was just a victim, and I'm sure in your little world, France deserved to win the cup.

Posted by: matt from toronto on July 11, 2006 10:25 PM

FIFA is now investigating the matter of racist slur evidently committed by Matterazzi HA HA HA sucked in to the mostly dirty playing Italian team. Now the world will see who the REAL champions are.
Hint: Les Francais.

Posted by: Tara from Montreal on July 11, 2006 10:28 PM

One of the most difficult experiences to explain to children was when my 7 yr old son asked me a few years ago, "daddy, why did those people fly the planes into the buildiings?"....how do you explain this to a child ? Fast forward to what Zidane did in the WC final and the 10yr old boys team I coach asked me "coach,why did Zidane head butt the guy in the chest?"...
Zidane was a great player and did great things, but the key phrase is WAS...he is NOW nothing but a complete idiot and a terrible role model for any young players who watch the game...shame on you Zizou..

Posted by: anthony g from woodbridge,ontario on July 11, 2006 10:57 PM

Tony Mikulandra, with all due respect:
You need to watch the Netherlands vs Portugal match again. I taped it, and having watched it more than once, it is very clear that the Dutch were the ones who began the fowling. The fowling started a couple of minutes into the match by one of the Dutch players who kicked Cristiano Ronaldo, not once, but twice, as I have stated earlier, on his thigh. I'm also not excusing the behaviour of the Portuguese players either, but remember the Dutch haven't won a game against Portugal in 15 years, so they were pretty desperate to win that one. Furthermore, the antics of the Portuguese were no different from those of the other teams, but they got a lot of negative attention, in my opinion, due to the fact that they come from a very small nation and no one expected them to go as far as they did; beating the Netherlands, then the English. HOW DARE THEY! I hope the Dutch have gotten over that, as for the English, they have not, yet, and still talk about Cristiano Ronaldo’s wink, which to them was the most outrageous and unethical thing to do. HOW PATHETIC! We, Portuguese people, are extremely proud of our players for what they accomplished. Everyone else, you should also be happy for your team's accomplishments. And if your team did not go as far as you expected, don't blame another team for it. As for Zidane, regardless of how great of a footballer he is, he shouldn’t have gotten the award. After such a violent action, regardless of what was said to him, giving him the award only sends a terrible message to all of the young players around the world. FIFA needs to take a really good look at the BEAUTIFUL GAME and reevaluate the refereeing, the fowls, and who is given the awards. Viva l’Italia for having won the cup!

Posted by: Odi from Toronto on July 11, 2006 11:29 PM

Odi I think that is what FIFA did in not giving Ronaldo the award. As for you always stating in your posts that the english have not gotten over it, I was cheering for the English and I'm over it who cares it's a game. I think what most of the posts on here are about how the Portugese fans claim there was a media bias against them and a grand conspiracy against them, give it up. I know how you've also wrote what a violent thing Zidane did but have yet to see you condemn Figo for doing the same? That to was uncalled for no matter what was done to Figo. Now I know what Zidane did was wrong but so was what Matterazzi did. It seems you people only think "fair play" refers to the physical aspect of the game. So if you think that verbally abusing someone on the field racially or otherwise is all right to do as long as it isn't physical that is pretty sad.

Posted by: HeavyD from CANADA on July 12, 2006 12:24 AM

As a typical American, I do not generally watch soccer (football), and this was my first time giving a hoot about the world cup. After viewing several matches including the final I have come to the conclusion that I will not watch the world cup again. The referees played far too much of a role in several of the matches that I watched (which wasn't all their fault because players were flopping left and right). Also,in my opinion, the whole attitude surrounding the game is totally wrong. That is, fanatic soccer lovers get pissed off at guys like me who call the game effeminate and then go around calling Zidane's headbut (among other fouls) disgusting and a blemish on the sport. My point is that soccer should allow for more contact and, as Americans say it "let the players play".

Posted by: Bill from on July 12, 2006 01:14 AM

Who cares what Matterazzi did to Zidane or what he said, since when were all you people on the field to hear what when on between those to, he could have said "move"! Point is it does not matter what was said, the "great" Zidane has still refused comment, so no one really knows. Henry his teammate said "you can take the boy out of the rough neighborhood but you can't take the rough neighborhood out of the boy", that my friends is quoted , so bottom line is Zidane is animal, he is has a temper issue which he has showed in the past and maybe he should look into anger management courses. Well to me he is nothing but an idiot. And for all those who have nothing good to say about the Italians and their deserving win I have one word for you
JEALOUSY!!!!

Posted by: Leonard from toronto on July 12, 2006 01:28 AM

Matt Whatever!! You make me laugh. As I said in my posts I'm A CANADIAN fan maybe you didn't read my post clearly either. I just find it funny that you continue to put words in other mouths as well. Nowhere in my post am I sour that England lost! All i was saying is that it is a joke that you contunie to blame Portugals misfortunes on the English media, if they are that powerful would they not have found a way to magiacally beat Portugal (maybe with whispering subliminal messages on the news at 5:00 beamed telepathically intot he Portugese players hotel rooms). As for your last comment I didn't think that France deserved to win I thought Italy deserved to win they played better. So please stop trying to think for the people that disagree with you and put words in their mouth, it's nausiating.

Posted by: Dman from CANADA on July 12, 2006 01:38 AM

QUTOE FROM Joe from Vancouver:
RESPONSE: Ah yes, there's a faithful standby...
You can also thank serie A, B and C for giving Brazilans employment...
As for your own recent World Cup accomplishments, wow, very impressive. Predictably, the first tough opponent for Brasil is usually its downfall. So much for "your" beautiful game. The French and Argentines concur with what the Italians already know, Brasil = Forte con i morti.....

italians have always won and have gone far due to their luck. The game agaisnt australia was probably bought by them, because that penalty never existed. but then again look at your league and what happened with it. I guess italian players will have to go to england, and spain for employment. as for our "jogo bonito", well that says it all...no one has talent like brasilians do, mind you we have produce the best players that have played in YOUR leagues, so WE bring il jogo bonito a italia, espana and soo on...when was the last time we heard of an italian winning FIFA world player of the YR?

Posted by: brasil from on July 12, 2006 08:49 AM

Very entertaining...every time soccer fans trash-talk each other, an Italian supporter must be laughing somewhere.

As someone who cheered for England through this World Cup, I must admit somewhat sheepishly that the best team won, in the end. It was awefully close, mind you, but the clear winner was Italy. Here is why:
Italy only allowed two goals in, in the entire tournament and neither of those was from open play, either (an own goal, and a somewhat questionable penalty by Zidane in the final).
Italy does not score a lot of goals, but they are able to come up with big decisive goals when it matters (such as the late goal against the Germans in the semi-finals, or Materazzi's equalizer in the final).
Italy were probably the most disciplined team with the strongest midefield and the best goalie. France had an admirable run, too and so did Germany and Portugal...however, the Italians kept on getting better and peaked as a team, at the right time. (By comparison, France played their best games against Spain and Brazil, and then seemed to go down a notch; and the German team probably played its best game in the third-place match)

Also, and I've said it here before, it seems shocking to me that people would try to excuse Zidane's foul. Provoked or not, he was wrong. History will show that this otherwise amazing player (who I, incidentally loved to watch play) went out on a sour note...just like Maradona went out on a sour note after his doping test in 94'. Too bad!

Posted by: Jan Triska from on July 12, 2006 11:26 AM

Brasil - you wrote: "italians have always won and have gone far due to their luck. The game agaisnt australia was probably bought by them, because that penalty never existed."

All I can say to this is: you sound like a child. When you grow up, and realize that games on the world cup level can not be "bought"... THEN, we can have a real discussion.

(and that penality DID exist and Italy DID win that game. wake up!)

Posted by: Cindy from St.Catherines on July 12, 2006 11:43 AM

. . and congratulations to you Laurent A billion of us watching - that is a rare shared cultural(?) experience in our fragmented world.

A Dutch lady in Australia once said to me that we could learn two things from other people - how to be and how not to be.

I really think a lot of good can come out of that horrible incident. Can we reflect more and be less judgemental?

Brazil is my adopted country. I've been learning a lot looking at how most of the best players approach the game here.

They play for love, and get paid. They are happy guys! Isn't that what it's all about?

Posted by: Richard from Brazil on July 12, 2006 12:15 PM

My love for soccer just started after watching Zidane’s 2006 FIFA games and saw some moves and reading a few articles over the internet.
He is a true humble man despite what happened in the 2006 FIFA final match.
Materazzi should be punished for his act because he provoked him FIRST with very strong offensive remarks especially around the last 12 minutes of the game. It was a very crucial moment for France and winning the World Cup.
FIFA stuffs did not protect the final events appropriately. This needs to be investigated seriously to preserve the beauty of World Cup.
My heart goes out to Zidane in this especial moment of his life. Hope, we will see him in the future games despite he is 34 because he is still strong health compared to other athletes at his age.
Wishing you the Best, Zidane!

Posted by: billie from on July 12, 2006 12:17 PM

COngrats to Forza Azzurri! I think they were a strong team and they certainly made good choices and had good talent...but all I think about is Les Bleus.

What did Materazzi say to Zidane? I have little experience with trash talking but I know it's an important part of the game, or should I say a common element of sport, but I think racism in sport is disgusting. I think that to say "Oh this is men's stuff and men are tough and it's part of the game" totally ignores Fifa's "Friendship and Fairness" ideals. To head butt Materazzi was a choice, yes, but after 14 years of racial slurs and other disgusting comments, I am not surprised.

France embraces (at least on the team) their colonial conquests, whereas Germany keeps them on the bench and Italy refuses to acknowledge they may have immigrants in their midst. I support and celebrate France's use of their diverse squad and I wouldn't be surprised if such a homogeneous squad such as Italia would be racist.

I hope the truth comes to light. Racism is deplorable and disgusting.

Posted by: Erika from Toronto on July 12, 2006 01:23 PM

italians have always won and have gone far due to their luck. The game agaisnt australia was probably bought by them, because that penalty never existed. but then again look at your league and what happened with it. I guess italian players will have to go to england, and spain for employment. as for our "jogo bonito", well that says it all...no one has talent like brasilians do, mind you we have produce the best players that have played in YOUR leagues, so WE bring il jogo bonito a italia, espana and soo on...when was the last time we heard of an italian winning FIFA world player of the YR?


Wow, your Jealous. 2006 World Cup Champions Italia and nothing you say or do will change that...

Posted by: Murad from England on July 12, 2006 02:14 PM

For the Brasil person with nothing good to say about Italian soccer. Roberto Baggio was the last Italian FIFA footballer of the year. When was the last time a Brasilian scored 31 goals in the Italian league. For all your great players, they are big flops in Italy i.e Ronaldo and Andriano, the showed how great they are at the world cup to. The Italian league is to tuff for them. Brazil has produced some of the greatest players and teams ever, but you would be ignorant to say Italy has produced greatness as well.
I cannot understand were everyone can call Italy divers without mentioning France first. They did it against Spain and Portugal. As for the Australia game for those who know the rules that is a clear penalty. Anyway get over it Italy are the World Cup champions and the rightfully deserve it.

Posted by: Anwar from Toronto on July 12, 2006 02:56 PM

Hey Brasil,
In case you hadn't noticed, italians won the silver and bronze ball AND the world cup which is a lot more than Brasil achieved. If Brasil was so talented, then why oh why did they get booted out in the quarter finals?? Uh huh. Buh Bye.

Posted by: DD from toronto on July 12, 2006 03:01 PM

I love soccer and while I enjoy watching the games, I
regret all the diving, the bad refereing desicions, etc.
But to my own disbelief, I am way more disgusted with
the way certain people have reacted to Zidane's
incident with Materazzi.
While I don't applaude Zidane's actions, I don't think he
deserves all the blame. Materazzi played an important
role in what he did and I don't see many fingers
pointing in his direcction, if these people are calling
Zidane all sort of names I wonder which words will be
appropiate for Materazzi and themselves. I also wonder
how many of these people will stay calm while other
person take a toll insulting them.
Italy, has a great scandal going on for corruption
among their teams and players, unfortunately
Materazzi gave them another thing to be ashamed off.
As off Zidane, I will remember him as the great player
he is, the passion he had put through all his years in
soccer, and the human nature he shares with us.

Posted by: Georgia from Canada on July 12, 2006 07:39 PM

Hey Anwar, how much did your Italian friend pay you to make those comments against Brazil? Hope he paid you enough to buy yourself some books on soccer history. Get educated my friend. You may also want to check the FIFA website for some learning! Also this is for DD from Toronto, when Italy beats or even matches Brazil's extraordinary record in all categories then speak, you fool. By the way, the new FIFA ranking just came out today and guess what?? Uh huh - BRAZIL IS STILL # 1!!!

Posted by: VAL from Markham on July 12, 2006 08:09 PM

One thing I still don't believe is the accusations against
Zidan for his head butt...That metarrazi deserved that
hit because he surely offended Zidan with the words that
his racist alikes on TV utter...It is a shame to give a red card
to not only a great player but a great human too like Zidan...
or did everybody forget charity matches...after I watched
the red card given to Zidan ,alll the enthusiasm I had for
the final match was gone..It shocked me that this green peacful
field,for some midgets, is no more than another place to practise Racism..
shame on all those Racists..

Posted by: On His Side from Syria on July 12, 2006 08:15 PM

thumbs up to the 2 people above me, The Brasilian failed to realize that the only good thing that came out of Brazil this World Cup is that Ronaldo set a new record, Ronaldhino was useless like throughout the whole tournament and don't say that Italy has failed to produce great players, just to continue the list of greats, what about to Paolo Maldini who is probably the best defenseman of all time, Paolo Rossi, Dino Zoff, Did you forget about all these people, the expression is right, IGNORANCE IS BLIND, as for the diving part, Italy did have a couple of them but trust me it didnt make them win any games, the penalty against Australia is and will always be considered worthy of a penalty kick,on top of that it must have been worthy of a penalty kick to Fifa because they didn't fire the referee who called it. Anyone who plays soccer or played it or watches it knows that it was worthy of a penalty kick. On a last note the nike campaign, its called Joga Bonito, so much u know about your joga bonito, how you supposed to know what it is if you cant spell it :)

Posted by: Justin from Montreal on July 12, 2006 08:19 PM

Dammit people!!! It's over!!!! There is nothing anyone can do about it!!
The better team prevailed!!!
Enought of the racial slurs!!
Congratulate the Italians for a game well played.

Posted by: Nancy from on July 12, 2006 08:36 PM

I am saddened by the un- bridled, self righteous bigotry displayed by some users of this forum. Instead of one ugly incident during a game, we now have many- most of which are demonsrations of personal prejudice towards Italians in general!
My father was an Italian immigrant, who became a university professor. As a result of his daring to step out of what were considered to be proper roles for immigrants, I had to endure the prejudice of some very silly elementary school teachers. I am now 40 ; how far we still have to go when a soccer game allows some to publicly confirm their intolerance and employ such words as 'dirty'and 'cowardly'and use those words to insult an entire culture. Thi is not the Canada that I know. Perhaps this is the future.

Posted by: Michael from on July 12, 2006 09:14 PM

Bribing, diving, and winning: it's all in a days work for the azure. Some champions they are. They real story isn't Zidane's headbutt, but what provoked it, which is probably a mix of materazzi's comment and the prospect of losing to a team so comitted to a cheap, underhanded style of play.
Despite all of that, France was the better team that day and Italy won by only 3 inches. If this is what makes a champion, then I'm with Zidane, the greatest player of our generation and the greatest of all time with his head.

Posted by: Dannyo from Vancouver on July 13, 2006 12:55 AM

So now Italy doesn't deserve the world cup because Materazzi trash talked on the field? You make it sound as if he's the only one doing it. You all must live in a perfect world where Materazzi is the devil. Oh please, you guys should get a job at TSN and join their panel of crappy sport analysts. Trash talk is part of any professional sport. Maybe the beautiful game isn't as beautiful as you want it to be but it's still the greatest sport out there.

France wasn't even suppose to be in the final, they got 2 undeserved penalty kicks against Portugal and Italy. The bad officiating got them to the final just like Korea got so far in 2002.

As for our friend in Brasil, maybe your team should consider some teamwork on the field because it seemed everybody was trying to do a solo performance. Maybe Brasil does play an interesting soccer, but one-man shows don't win you a cup.

Posted by: BigShow from Montreal on July 13, 2006 07:21 AM

Poor Zidane, maybe FIFA should pass a hurt feelings rule, automatic red card for any trash talk, that's the solution, and only against vilified teams like Italy, cause the French must be above trash talking for sure.

Congratulations Italy, the only one's who care "how" you won are the losers!!!

Posted by: Greek from on July 13, 2006 09:15 AM

For Phil,
Italy won with no respect is what you are saying and everyone admires Brazil's victories. Lets look at 2002, a World Cup with the worse officiating ever seen, with contraversy everywhere, 1994 a beautiful penalty shootout. Lets not forget 2002 when Brazil was playing Turkey in the first round when the Turkish player pass the ball to Rivaldo for the corner kick, the ball hit him in the thigh but he dropped like someone shoot him holding his face, the Turkish player got a red and had to miss a game, that was a class act deserving of respect. If that was an Italian it would have played over and over again. As for the penalty in the first half Malouda was not even touched the one in the second was a penalty but the ref gave the gift in the first he is not giving another. Lets stop focusing on what Materazzi did but more on what Zidane did, no excuses. All pro atheletes interviewed all say he did the wrong thing. If it was the other way around you would ask for the death penalty. Italy played a great toutnament and have to be given credit. Phil let me guess you probably eat Italian food and buy Italian clothes and shoes, don't feel bad the whole world criticizes Italians but they all want Italian clothes food cars and etc. Viva L'Italian.

Posted by: Anwar from toronto on July 13, 2006 09:50 AM

the worst thing about this is... if Italy had not of won the world cup, the entire world would have been happy.

As someone of italian heritage, it makes me so sad to see everyone reduced to hatred and promoting violence (Zidane), only because they don't "like" Italians.

Lets all be honest for a second: if an italian player had done what Zidane did to a french player - the entire world would be outraged. But, instead...we have people saying that what Zidane did was right..and that he is a god.

It makes me sick to see the double standard that exists in this world...

Posted by: laura from toronto on July 13, 2006 02:12 PM

Hey Val, I think maybe you should get some books on Fifa world Cups. First of all Brazil plays in one of the easiest qualifiying groups in the world, if they were in Europe believe me they would have missed a few world cups. Italy qualifiing out of europe has been to all but 2, In 1930 we did not participate and in 54 we did not qualify. So those records you talk about keep them. The FIFA ranking is all about marketing means nothing. Prior to the World CUp Italy was 13th and guess what they won when Brazil was number one. Brazil if you can remember did nothing from 1970 to 1994 and in 82 Italy won against, what some will say the greatest Brasilian team put together. Don't worry Brazil will begin to slump again, they have already started.

Posted by: Anwar from toronto on July 13, 2006 02:53 PM

Forza Italia,
By far the best team throughout the tournament. Best defence in the world and strong offensive play when they needed it. They had one of the strongest midfields. Brazil was week, they don't play as team, and who cares about the Fifa rankings. USA was #5, and Italy #13, give me a break! Biggest divers = Portugal! Germany was the second best team in the tournament. Who cares what was said to Zidane, it's trash talk, suck it up. Happens all the time. Cannavarro should have won the golden ball. Best player in the world!!!
Italia #1!!!

Posted by: M from Winnipeg on July 13, 2006 05:24 PM

Laura i'll tell you something, there have been statistics that Italy is one of the most hated soccer teams in the world, i remember hearing it around the time of the 2002 World Cup after Italy got eliminated in that poorly ref'd game against Korea, like i said the survey showed that Italy is one of the most hated soccer teams in the World, do not ask me why but you can ask the ignorant people that say that Materazzi deserved that Headbutt, I just think Zidane has anger issues that need to be checked out bcuz most of us know (those who are not blinded by ignorance) that Zidane did a similar act when he was playing for Juventus, and as for the provoking, HOW IS MATERAZZI SUPPOSED TO KNOW ZIDANE'S MOM IS SICK THE DAY OF THE FINAL??!?! (yes thats meant to be in caps)As well guess what bad talking is part of the game, from experience of playing soccer from the age of 6, which makes it 11 years of playing soccer i have yet to go through 1 season (except for the first 4 years) where 1 team provoked us or we didnt provoke a team, its up to people to turn around and walk away like mature adults, Zidane obviously has some issues with growing up, by all means i had respect for the guy throughout the whole tournament until that poor demonstration of immaturity. Point made. and please feel free to insult me all you want bcuz there will not be one reason that u can say that will tell me why Italy should not have won it, if your gonna tell me the Australia Incident, read above in my other comment. Peace out, FORZA AZZURRI-CHAMPIONE DEL MONDO ****

Posted by: Justin from Montreal on July 13, 2006 05:42 PM

Italy deserved that World Cup, no matter what. All of these people on here criticizing Italy are jealous....

Zidane was out of line regardless of what Materrazzi said to him. Are we children that when someone says something wrong to us, we go and head but them?? He crossed the line, and whether you people want to accept it or not, thats the truth. Time to face reality!!!! Zidane should feel like an idiot considering he had a great career, and on his final game, he completely screwed up his entire reputation

Bottom line is that Italy won, fair and square, so get used to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Diana from Toronto on July 13, 2006 07:34 PM

Dman, who said anything about subliminal messages? Nor have I ever said that I blame English Media for Portugal's loss. I was simply pointing to a bias that was and is being cycled and recycled by the spin doctors of information, and appears to resemble more of a smear campaign than unbiased journalism. Its unfortunate, but I don't believe that you have properly understood my posts. Feel free to re-read them, or feel free not to, in the end it don't matter to me. Thankfully we've got another medium called the internet where folk like you and I can get our views across, and in that I respect your comments. Live long and Prosper as "Spock" would say.

Posted by: MATT from toronto on July 13, 2006 10:00 PM

anwar: people should aspire to free themselves from the chains of nationalism, one can begin by ceasing to live vicariously. & there's no need to apply rose-(or apparently in your case) "azzuri"-coloured glasses of paranoia to my comments. as to what people may think or do in hypothetical scenarios, please, in future try to premise all your arguments with fact. moreover, i didn't say that every brazilian player in history has acted faultlessly, nor did i say that a brazilian who acts less than honourably should be treated with impunity. in its play, brazilian soccer TENDS to represent the world's game most beautifully (take any global poll you like) & they're the most successful team (represented at all world cups from the tournament’s inception & they've won the most too) & they're demonstrably the most honourable team (more fifa fair play awards than anyone else; note, italy has never won the world cup's fair play award). & please, i was in europe in 2002 & the media did indeed play over-&-over the video of rivaldo's feigned injury (which was shameful, no doubt). by the way, i'm apt to eat foods from anywhere in the world, including italian. indeed, i enjoyed a stay at the grand baglioni in firenze recently & dined all over the city. as for suits, my preference is english-cut bespoke (savile row), i do have one pair of italian shoes in my wardrobe (but they're casual dress), regards cars, i had a maserati some years ago, was horrendously unreliable, & funnily enough, that was the story with one of the motorbikes of my youth, a duke 916 which, back then, i replaced to my satisfaction with a japanese-engineered & built suzuki TL v-twin); more recently, on four-wheels, i've been very partial to my german-engineered mercedes. prego provi e liberi la vostra mente dall'inganno che tutto italiano è grande. non è semplicemente allineare.

Posted by: Phil from Markham on July 14, 2006 02:14 PM

To addto the above comment - after France thrashed Brasil 3-0 in France '98, guess who was still #1 in the FIFA rnkings? Yes, that's right, the recently thrashed Brasilians. I think FIFA just keeps them there no matter hat the reality is: and the rality of this last tournamment was tht theylooked impressively unspectatucalr for a World #1.

Posted by: Shaun from on July 14, 2006 02:28 PM

Zidane is a great man and will be remembered, respected
and revered long after the foul mouthed, racist and
insulting Materazzi vanishes into well deserved oblivion.

Posted by: Doreen Langmead from on July 14, 2006 02:52 PM

The approached Argentina referee Elizondo Horacio used and send off just Zidane with a red card knowing that Materazzi provoked him FIRST with very offensive remarks towards the last 12 minutes of the game is raised a question. It was a very crucial moment for France and winning the World Cup. The world also predicting that too!
Did Italy forget that they won 2-0 with Germany in the last 3 minutes of the game and came in the final match?
It would be fair if the referee would also give a red card to Materazzi because he started the ugly event.
Zidane lost his temper in protecting his pride. That’s the key point to review, discuss and investigate in the biggest televised sport event in the world and punished Materazzi very strongly so the beauty of future FIFA WorldCup can be preserved.
FIFA has heightened the slogan "Say NO to Racism" this time. FIFA must act accordingly.
The Italians got nervous when they saw Zidane about to score the goal at the beginning of the 2nd extra time. They attempted to bring him down and were successful, which lead them to win the World Cup. But, it was done in a very vicious way. The referee did not see anything about Zidane and Materazzi’s ugly acts himself. We all noticed and also the media broadcasted that in some incidents the referee did not make any calls that he was supposed to. The referee’s performances are in questions and unlawful? So, the final result?
To rectify the situation, FIFA, let’s redo the final again!

Posted by: billie from on July 14, 2006 03:18 PM

I personally respect both teams, but since Almost Everybody's saying how the Italien guy earned the red card, and not ZZ. Well, instead of a red card he got head-butted by Zidane!

Posted by: M from vancouver on July 14, 2006 04:17 PM

A messsage to Anwar:

Will you marry me? LOL!! Thanks for such imtelligent and well-researched comments on an otherwise ridiculous blog and hate-filled blog.
VIVA ITALIA - WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS 2006 and all the bitchin by the self-rightous will not change it! I am going to buy myself a Dolce & Gabbana dress to celebrate! Ha ha ha!

Posted by: maria from Toronto on July 14, 2006 04:59 PM

I dont know what everyone is talking about. I think Materazzi was the man of the game. He deserves an award. First for scoring a Goal, then taking out the best player for France, Then scoring on a penalty shot.

What ever talk or foul is made. great! I call this a game of skill and sometimes words are exchanged to take a player of his game and that is exactly what Materazzi did. He got Zidane to commit to a foul.

I have been playing this game for 24 years now and I am known at getting people angry at me. But thats when you know you skill is working and you move in to take the game.

Exactly when a player is try to go after you and not the ball anymore you already have him beat.

I do agree that France did outplay Italy in the second half and extra time, But I am flabergastered that Italy has won and I feel they played very well through out the Tournament. Thanks all and take care!

Posted by: Palermo from Vancouver on July 14, 2006 05:01 PM

The bottom line, Zidane is the best and the most elegant artistic soccer player in the world. I happened to learn about him during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Since then, we became very fond of him, especially his games. He is known to be very gentleman and a family person. The first ending of the 2006 final match would not tarnish his legacy at all. It is just a temporary glitch in the chapters of his life and will be faded away very soon. Our family enjoys his games very much. I must say that after watching his games in the last several weeks, our admiration for him is growing.
I must also add after reading the forensic lip-reader analysis report today, he did the right thing. I would be doing the same and smash the provoker rights the way. There is no room for the trash player. All players must maintain a minimum ethical conduct in the field! If they failed to do so, then send them off.
In this circumstance, Zidane did it because he noticed that the referee was unreliable in many situations in the earlier parts of the game and unable to make a call when needed and control the field accurately. This final game is the proof. As evidence, watch it again. Along with the players, the referee performance should be also investigated due to failing to handle it correctly and for improper send off. The player who initiates it first must be send-off from the field with proper disciplinary actions. The starter is the culprit.
In this case, Zidane is the victim. So, the final result should be thrown off and redo the final match again for a fair balance. FIFA should look into it very seriously. The world would be happier if FIFA could make it happen and preserve the prestige of World Cup.

Posted by: billie from New York from USA on July 14, 2006 06:49 PM

It's hard for people to keep perspective. Zidane is one of the world's great players, he's proved it for years. He's also a professional that has played for years and therefore knows the crap that gets said in soccer games, much the less the world cup final. He failed to hold his temper in and got the boot. For crying out loud, we live in North America, where trash talk in the NFL, NBA and yes, even our NHL happens all the time and I doubt our athletes are more polite than European ones. Getting under your opponents skin mentally is part of professional sports and therefore athletes need to be prepared both mentally as well as physically. I'm amazed at the people who seem to want fair play sports by having no trash talking, while at the same time advocating and supporting violent reprisals.

Zidane is a great footballer. Zidane screwed up and deserved the red card. Can't he be both?

Posted by: cupfan from Michigan on July 14, 2006 11:09 PM

I think neither France nor Italy would feel happy and glorious about winning this Cup since it was decided on Penalty. Let's face it: Italy dominated the first half and France came back stronger in the second half while the Italians were showing signs of tiredness. Therefore, I was pretty sure that France was going to win until ...the Zidane-Materrazzi issue surfaced. The departure of Zidane from the field leaving France with a 10-man team, the switching of Thierry Henry, the absence of Patrick Vierra did swing in favor of the Italian team. And it came down to whoever could handle the pressure win. In this case, Italy could. Fair? Only the people on the field would know. I can't say that Italy deserve to win more so than France. France did go home without its Gold but it still won the hearts and love and support of its people and those around the world. Zidane still is a living legend in the history of soccer.

Posted by: Iken from on July 15, 2006 04:35 AM

People!

The game is over! Stop making allegations and whines. Keep it for the next world cup!

Posted by: Truth from b-land on July 15, 2006 03:20 PM

Raymond Domenech (frances coach) made avery bad decision by taking out Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet shouldn't have takin such a hard shot in penelties but france has the 2010 world cup anyways.

Posted by: nim from Edmonton on July 16, 2006 12:52 PM

Raymond Domenech (frances coach) made avery bad decision by taking out Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet shouldn't have takin such a hard shot in penelties but france has the 2010 world cup anyways. What a terrible way to end zizou's career.

Posted by: nim from Edmonton on July 16, 2006 12:54 PM

Did Italy forget they won the match with Germany in the last 3 minutes? What kind of a stupid remark is that! Who cares, it shows they had the stamina to finish the job! It was the italians that scored not the Germans, two not one goal in the final minutes. I applaud such determination. Again why do you all feel the need to knock the italian soccer team? And for your comments about Zidane and his incident, my son plays competetive soccer and kids say all kind of insults on the field. If a child knows better not to react to words why should a professional be any different. Re do the final match, are you mad! I guess if France had won we should re do the final match because Zidane's penalty shot was not a foul at all!!! So all of you grow up and face the facts, Italy played a great tournament and they are the champions, for FOUR Long Years!!!!

Viva ITALIA>>>>>>

Posted by: Leonard from toronto on July 17, 2006 02:47 AM

Replay the final; can there be a more pathetic statement!!!

Posted by: Jason from Toronto on July 17, 2006 01:09 PM

to Billie:
Yes Zidane is one of the greatest players to have played the game, but there is no excuse for what he did. Materazzi did what all players do. It is used to get players off their game and he succeeded. Everyone, who understands sports and it's competitiveness will agree that Zidane was out of line and he has a history of this. All that said he will still be remember as one of the games best, but please stop making excuses for him. All in all Italy played a fine tournament and they did not get calls going their way. In 7 matches they had one penalty shot, France had 2 or 3. Way to go Italy.

Posted by: anwar from toronto on July 17, 2006 02:29 PM

Billie: what can you possibly learn from Zidane? There are greater soccer players out there, that have shown skill and tact and professionalism.

Zidane is not the victim.

Funny thing happened to me today... I had a customer yell and almost punch me in the face (I work for a computer repair company). I had EVERY RIGHT to hit and insult the customer. It was WITHIN my right to do so. But, you know what i did: I refrained from lowering my self, and to promoting violence. If only Zidane had done the same.

It's people like you (that believe that violence can be justified) that make this world a little less nice.

Posted by: laura from Toronto on July 18, 2006 09:20 AM

Doreen Langmead: if i were you, I would investigate Zidane's actions in 1998. In the game against Saudi Arabia, Zidane got a red card for hitting a player. The reason? The guy insulted him.

Sounds like Zidane has a temper problem.
For all we know, the Saudi Arabia & Italian player could have said "get out of my way", and Zidane exploded. LOL.

The fact is that soccer is a sport full of taunts. Do you see other players acting in such a shameful way?

What would YOU do if someone headbutted someone YOU knew? Hmm...

Posted by: Sam from windsor on July 18, 2006 09:27 AM