I wish I had written about this earlier, right in the midst of everything, but at the same, now that it has been a week, its been useful to reflect and let things sink in fully. What a final it turned out to be. Definetely not a game I am going to forget ever, but not really for the reasons I hoped. I am a huge Zidane fan, he’s my favorite player, and it was quite painful to see things end the way they did.
It is nearly impossible to overemphasize how monumental a World Cup final is. It is a game watched, live, by over a billion people, from every part of the world. Any and every fan watches it, along with millions who are interested in the spectacle, supporting their country, etc. As a fan one only gets to experience a handful over a lifetime. As a player, to participate in one automatically puts them in truly elite group, to score or have a significant impact on the game, ensures that they will be remembered for generations to come.
Therefore it is easy to see why it seemed that there was no more appropriate game to be his final, then the World Cup final itself. He had already ensured his status as France’s greatest player ever by 2000, by leading them to titles in France 98 and Euro 2000, and in the years afterwards increasingly cemented himself into that position. This looked to be the crowning moment of truly glorious career. The French were ready to build statues of him, his 2nd cousins were going to be national heroes. The whole of France was yearning for Zidane to bring them the cup, the country was in a period of low morale after various internal problems over the last couple years, and the cup would, at least temporarily, make them forget all their troubles and give them a reason to party like never before.
The feelings were especially strong considering the way France started the tournament. Their first 2 games were quite indifferent, with 2 dismal performances from Zidane. In fact it looked quite unlikely that they would even reach the 2nd round, much less the final. I remember distinctly the end of the France-Korea game, their 2nd group game. They were winning 1-0 from the start of the game despite not playing too well, and were trying to secure the result in the 2nd half. Korea were attacking non-stop and the equalizer seemed imminent. Sure enough, with 10 minutes to go, Korea scored and it seemed quite likely France would not make it to the next round. Then came an even bigger shock when Zidane got a yellow card, it was his 2nd in 2 games, meaning he would miss the final group game. All of a sudden, it dawned on everybody that this could be the very last we see of him. The thing that really made this whole retirement issure really reach a grand scale was because players usually just retire from their national team, but continue to play for their clubs, so even though its sad for the fans that they wont see their in their national colors anymore, they know they will still see more of them in general. However, with Zidane in the 2006 WC, he was going to retire completely. And so there was always the thought running through everyones minds “Is this his last game?”. I remember before the WC, when he announced he would retire after the tournament, everybody was saying that no matter how France performs, at-least we will see him in 3 more games. But in those few minutes, when Korea equalized and Zidane got the yellow card right after, it looked to be the end. In another few minutes he was subsituted off, I think because Domenech realized that he was going to be suspended for the final group game, and wanted to make sure he got a standing applause in case things didn’t work out for France. But everyone was too stunned at the moment, I remember Zidane walked off the field, chucking his captain’s armband to the side, as what was happening dawned on everybody. I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps it would have been better if he had stayed in retirement from the French team after Euro 2004, although his return, along with that of various other important veterans, was what helped France score 10 goals in their final 3 qualifying games and ensure their spot in the cup.
Fortunately, France won 2-0 against Togo in their last group game, giving them a pass to the knockout stages. From then on it was a real show from Zidane. His goals and assists were absolutely crucial in knocking out Spain, Brazil, then Portugal, leading them to the final. I remember the Spanish were taunting him about how it would be his last game, instead France played great, Zidane was magical, and capped off the game with a nice goal. (Also a quick note which belongs in the previous post, one of the real lowpoints of this cup was the behavior of the Spanish fans in the France – Spain game, where they were making monkey chants and other racial taunts at the black French players, I hope FIFA is more aggressive with such behavior in the future and it was especially satisfying to see France win against Spain for this reason.)
Anyway, fast forward to the final, everything is setup for Zidane’s crowning moment. And it started off great. Although it seemed a non-existent penalty to me, France were awarded one for the “foul” on Molouda with only 5 mins having passed. Up steps Zidane. I dont think its possible for any of us to truly comprehend how nerve-racking it must be to take a penalty in such a game. But what a penalty it was, I would have to say the most memorable I’ve ever seen. Zidane, like so many other aspects of his game, has always taken penalties masterfully. Those of you who had the opportunity to enjoy the thrilling Euro 2000 semi between France and Portugal will remember how ridiculously exact his placement of the golden goal penalty was. Once in a blue moon we get to see players chip in a penalty with real class. But this one wasn’t just classy, but placed as well as could be, bouncing against the cross bar, then within the goal, and then actually bouncing back on the cross bar and outside because of the spin. But what a way to score a penalty in the final, and against the best goalkeeper in the world no less.
Anyway so the game continues, Italy ties soon after. Towards the end of the 2nd half Zidane hurts his shoulder, stays on the ground, and a chill runs through everyone’s spine as he is seen making a hand signal (usually this is for asking to be substituted out) but fortunately he was just asking for assistance, and so he is taken off the field, drenched with magic spray, and returns to the field with a rousing applause from the entire French crowd, obviously, but also more than a few of the Italian fans, who were fortunate enough to be able to witness him perform for many years with Juventus of Turin. So the game stays tied at the end of 90 mins. Fast forward to overtime, Zidane plays the ball out to the right, recieves a perfect cross, puts in a powerful header, and for a second the whole of France was ready to explode. It was shades of 98. But unfortunately the header was too central and Buffon came up with a brilliant save. The 1st half of overtime ends, France is playing better, but even if it goes to penalties the French arent worried. After-all Italy always loses in penalties, they absolutely dread the thought of it. All the Zidane fans couldn’t be more satisfied, what seemed to be a middling end to his career was turning out to be increasingly memorable every minute.
And then came THE moment, the headbutt felt round the world. It is weird that the defining moment of the World Cup was not seen live by the referee, most of the players in the game, or the billions of people watching world wide. With penalties imminent, everyone was expecting an uneventful few minutes of 2nd half overtime, before what would be the ultimate drama that is penalties. So when the image of Materazzi on the ground was beamed worldwide, no one really thought twice about it. Afterall, this very game had started with a lengthy incident of Henry getting hurt then assisted. I was slightly annoyed as Materazzi was not getting up right away and various players were protesting vehemently. Buffon actually ran all the way upfield and Cannavaro was quite upset also, it seemed like it would drag on for a couple mins unfortunately, but never was there any doubt that things were going to head comfortably into penalties, and although France seemed to have the marked advantage, everyone knows things could go either way. But no one, and I think I can quite confidently say, that absolutely NO ONE was prepared for the bizarre scene that was suddenly replayed on everyones TV screen.
I dont think there is any single word that could encapsulate the feeling of shock, confusion, anger, and sadness that hit me at the moment. This could not be! It seemed totally surreal. There was lots of commotion on the field in the moments that followed, it wasn’t clear whether he was going to get ejected from the game, although as the replays were broadcast over and over and over again it was more than obvious that he deserved a red card. And what a totally bizarre way to get the red card. No one needed a second replay to see that he was going to get one. It was just total confusion in my mind, what was happening?? Something must be wrong here. But sure enough, after talking with his assitants, the ref runs up to Zidane, pulls out his card, and orders him off the field. It was clear from his posture and face that he himself was in a state of shock, he discusses something with the ref, but thankfully he doesnt protest anything, and within a few seconds he begins walking off the field. No one can believe what is happening. For the fans within the stadium it is 10 times more confusing, the replays of the incident were not shown on the giant screens as FIFA has a policy against showing controversial incidents on the screen. As Zidane walks away, he looks up at the sky, it seems like he is saying something to himself, then his head drops and he heads to the tunnel. On the way he passes right by the trophy itself. What an image that was. As he walks past it, his head is dropped low, his back to the trophy, but also to his team, career, country, and the world. He disappears into the tunnel. I dont think there will ever be any other minutes of any other WC final where I, and so many others, have our minds as far away from what was going on in the actual game as we did in the end of that game. So the final mins of 2nd half overtime wrap up, France actually manages to dominate the rest of it but it is obvious that there is a tremendous psychological blow. The penalty shootout takes place, the goalies dont play any real role in the shootout, and except for Trezeguet (how ironic is that, after his golden goal in the final to sink Italy) the shooters are on target, but that one mistake, a mistake of probably a mere 1 inch too high, as the ball bounced on the line off the cross bar, is enough to award Italy their fourth World Cup.
But that was just the details. All anyone and everyone is thinking about is what the hell happened with Zidane, and as it sinks in, the real question arises: what led him to do what he did? I think the New York Times summarized what the whole final was about in their coverage of it. As expected, the July 10th, 2006 edition had front page coverage of the most watched event in the world. But rather than a headline such as “Italy: The New World Champions” or “Italy Wins Their 4th World Cup”, the headline ran “France’s Team Loses to Italy as Star Falters”. Rather than the first picture being that of Canavarro lifting the trophy, there was a still shot of the headbutt and another photo of the subsequent red card. I was in a state of disbelief, this could not be the end, after everything seemed to be working out so perfectly. I remember the medals ceremony, everyone was holding their breath to see if Zidane would emerge to accept his silver medal, but it wasnt to be. That really was the end. As we all realized that this was really it, what happened really did happen, the big question was why?
To be continued soon…
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