ITALY 1-1 FRANCE:
Italy triumph as Zizou explodes
Italy won the World Cup on penalties as Zinedine Zidane ended his
wonderful career with a red card for a shameful headbutt.
Fabio Grosso smashed the winning kick past Fabien Barthez as the
Azzurri claimed their first world title since 1982.
It is their first ever win on penalties in the World Cup and heals
the scars of their shoot-off defeat in the 1994 final to
Brazil.
France's David Trezeguet was the only player to miss, firing his
shot against the crossbar, and Italy skipper Fabio Cannavaro then
lifted the World Cup to celebrate his 100th cap for his
country.
It was a wonderful moment to mark a brilliant tournament by
Juventus skipper Cannavaro.
But the final will be remembered for many years for Zidane's moment
of madness on his last game before retirement.
He charged at Italy defender Marco Materazzi and butted him in the
chest in the second period of extra-time.
Horacio Elizondo, who sent off Wayne Rooney the quarter-final,
reached for the red card after consulting with a linesman. Zidane
made his way slowly down the tunnel in tears.
He will not be back as he always planned to retire from football
after the final.
Sadly the enduring image of one of the greatest footballers of his
generation will be of him ramming his bald head into
Materazzi.
The Italian defender fell to the floor and his team-mates reacted
furiously.
Both players had been involved in a tussle and Zidane's temper
seemed to snap after something Materazzi said.
At first, Elizondo seemed to have missed the incident but after
talking to his assistant, he pulled out his red card.
Zidane and Materazzi had been the key actors in the drama all
night.
France went ahead through Zidane in the seventh minute when
Materazzi was adjudged to have fouled Florent Malouda as he made a
clumsy challenge inside the area.
The France skipper stepped up and copied Peter Crouch's cheekily
chipped penalty - with one vital difference.
Where Crouch landed his kick in Old Trafford's Stretford End
against Jamaica, Zidane's made it into the goal - just. His dink
hit the underside of the bar, bounced down a yard over the line and
spun out.
Argentinian ref Elizondo and his linesman were on the ball and gave
the goal.
Zidane jogged away with an arm raised as he joined Pele, Vava and
Paul Breitner as the only players to score in two World Cup
finals.
It was a breathless start and Materazzi made amends for conceding
the penalty when he climbed above Patrick Vieira to level the
scores.
The former Everton centre-back, in the team because of an injury to
Alessandro Nesta, met Andrea Pirlo's out-swinging corner and headed
in his second goal of the tournament.
Luca Toni then hung in the air and rattled the bar with a header
before the break as France struggled to cope from corner
kicks.
Again it was Pirlo's expert delivery which caused the problem and
Barthez was relieved to have the woodwork on his side.
France opened the second-half well.
A typical burst of Thierry Henry's pace and power down the inside
left channel sliced open Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta.
The striker opened up his body for a right-foot shot but struck it
tamely, straight at Gianluigi Buffon.
Zambrotta then hacked clear from Henry in front of goal and the
Arsenal captain dithered over a chance moments later.
France lost Vieira in the 55th minute. He limped off holding his
hamstring and was replaced by Alou Diarra.
Marcello Lippi made two changes on the hour, removing playmaker
Francesco Totti and English-born Simone Perrotta, in a bid to halt
the French charge.
Within seconds, Toni found the net with a header from a Pirlo
free-kick but one of his team-mates had drifted offside and it was
ruled out.
Pirlo shaved the post with a curling free-kick and Lippi played his
final card in the 86th minute when he sent on Alessandro del
Piero.
Just like the Euro 2000 final between the countries, extra-time was
needed.
Trezeguet, who scored the golden goal in Rotterdam six years ago,
came on but this time he would be the villain not the hero.
Buffon made a fingertip save to keep out a powerful header from
Zidane in extra-time before the France captain did more damage by
sinking his head into Materazzi.
Henry, who was knocked out in a first-minute clash with Cannavaro,
limped out of the final in extra-time.
Italy had trusted in fate all the way to Berlin.
The Azzurri have reached the World Cup final every 12 years since
1970.
And their domestic football is in the midst of a corruption
scandal, just as it was when they last conquered the world, 24
years ago.
In the stadium where Jesse Owens won four gold Olympic gold medals,
Italy won the World Cup for the fourth time.
- credit: ESPNsoccernet, 10 July
2006
