The World (Cup) Is Over
...and the Italians have won on penalty kicks. Several things must be said about this.
First, everyone decries the shoot-out, saying things like, "A shootout is no way to decide the planet's biggest sporting event," as
John Powers writes in today's Globe. Well, perhaps, but what are the alternatives? Had the players had to continue, they would have started collapsing on the field. And the shootout, for all its artificiality, is pretty darn exciting.
Second, Zidane. Zidane, Zidane, Zidane. What happened? I have been trying to find someone who has written exactly what the Italian player said to him that prompted Zidane to level him with a headbutt—
not the first time Zidane has done this, by the way—but no one seems to know. In any case, it truly is a sad way to end a career. But at least we won't have to hear that ESPN announcer say "Zidane..."—pause—"The magic..." anymore.
Third, the Italians' second goal, the one that was nullified by an offsides call? I didn't see the offside, did you? (But then again, maybe that's because ESPN showed the replay only twice over the next hour or so.) In any case, the Italians' first goal shouldn't have counted, as the scorer clearly used his arm to hold down his defender.
Fourth, I agree with John Powers when he writes this:
Maybe the best team won this World Cup, maybe it didn't. But one thing is certain. The most clever team won it. The most cynical team won it. The team that was the truest exemplar of what this tournament was about and of what soccer has become.
In a Cup that was remarkable for its lack of scoring, for its record number of red and yellow cards, for its flopping and rolling, Italy knew more than any of the other 31 teams how to lift the golden trophy at the end.
Italy was not the most beautiful team to watch (although as essentially all of my female friends have pointed out, they were probably the best-looking team of the Cup).
That was Brasil...which, erratic though it was, still looked better, in its occasional moments of harmony and grace, than any other team in the Cup.
Do we really have to wait four more years?
