World Cup crescendo
Posted Fri, 07 Jul 2006
The World Cup roadshow has been packed up for another four years after a sizzling final in Berlin. Getting withdrawal symptoms already? Dan Nicholl looks back at the best and worst of Germany 2006.
Best match: The Germany-Italy semifinal produced as good a 0-0 result as you'll find in regular time, while Spain's opening match against the Ukraine suggested the Spaniards would go a lot further than they actually did. But for sheer entertainment, Argentina's demolition of Serbia and Montenegro was irresistible. The beautiful game? Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous on this occasion.
Worst match: Portugal-Holland was no great advert for the game (20 cards, four of them red), but at least it was entertaining. Pity the poor sods who forked out to watch this one. Ukraine versus Switzerland was grim, uninspiring, and painful to watch; the penalty shoot-out that sent the Ukraine through was more an act of euthanasia than anything else.
Best player: Up until the final, there wouldn't have been much debate. Zinedine Zidane was sublime against Brazil, and masterful against Portugal — and when he scored from the penalty spot to put France ahead, he looked to have sealed a fabulous farewell. But the red mist descended for an inglorious exit, while Italy's defence held firm, as it had throughout this World Cup. And that defence was marshalled majestically by the man who takes the mantle, and who held the trophy aloft on Sunday night: Fabio Cannavaro.
Disappointing: Ronaldo looked destined for a nightmare tournament until he shrugged off his critics to go past Gert Muller's scoring record; it left his team-mate Ronaldinho as the man who failed to deliver on high expectations, although he probably wasn't playing in his most comfortable position. No great tournament for Frank Lampard either, and Ruud van Nistelrooy's tumbling stock plunged further.
Surprise package: Four years ago South Korea and Turkey bucked the odds; nothing quite so dramatic this year, Ghana and Australia probably the biggest of a mild set of shocks. So I'll take the two finalists: Italy's league is falling apart at the seams, while France’s start to the tournament had the French media in savage mood. Making in the final — in both cases — has been an extraordinary achievement.
Early exit: Brazil departed well before anyone thought they would, but the team who caught many by surprise in leaving early were the Czech Republic — tipped as dark horses and a team to watch, Pavel Nedved's side couldn't manage the second round.
Taking it well: Was it a penalty? No, probably not — and haven't the Australians let us know about it. If Italy win on Sunday, then expect a torrent of claims that the Aussies would have been champions had the Italian flair for diving not saved them. But even the Australians can't match the Brazilians — knocked out in the quarters, a group of disgruntled fans decided that the only option was to burn down a statue of Ronaldinho that had been built to celebrate his World Player of the Year award. Nice touch; who said fans were a fickle lot?
Optimistic: The Russians, who — according to a poll done before the tournament — believed that glory was just weeks away, with more than half those polled insisting that Russia would win the tournament. Which would have been quite an effort, given that they weren’t at the tournament.
Best goal: Esteban Cambiasso's finish to a blur of Argentine passes has to take it, for a mesmerising example of a team goal; for individual brilliance, Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez get the nod for similar volleys from either side of the area against Sweden and Mexico respectively. You've got to hate being a 'keeper sometimes...
One to forget: Being a referee is never easy — would you want the job of giving Wayne Rooney a card? — but Graham Poll really should have done better, giving the same player, Croatia's Josip Simunic, three yellow cards in one match. He's since given himself a red, and retired from international refereeing, which is a shame — he might enjoy the publicity and lap of the limelight, but he's also one of the better officials in the game.Enjoy your holiday: Plenty of players didn't see any time on the field in Germany, the brooding Oliver Kahn one of the more high-profile. But the ultimate tourist was English toddler Theo Walcott, brought along by Sven-Goran Eriksson as an exciting young talent who might never have played for Arsenal, but did enough to convince Sven to take him along. Is he any good? We'll have to wait a little longer to find out.
Thumbs up: The English (by and large) behaved themselves, the Germans and Poles didn't clash as expected, and the tournament played out to a blast of colour in streets and cities across Germany, the country turned into one giant football carnival. Here's to something similar in 2010.
